Cold Showers

Ah yes, here I am back in Sasebo. It has been about 11 days since my return to the island of Kyushu. When I first arrived I was greeted a no-shit rainy season. It was either literally raining in every sense of the word (I like to think of the Forrest Gump when describing weather in Vietnam). Pretty awful stuff compared to the "rainy" season that was being complained about in Yokosuka. On top of the rain, there was the humidity! Now, I'm a huge patriot of Wisconsin where "it's not so much about the heat, but the gosh darn humidity," but I would not have minded trading places. The subject title should be a little self-explainitory. I have no problem taking cold showers these days. Japanese rooms are sectioned off by doors making a bunch of smaller rooms. This apartment I sleep in is no different, and I think this is done because when you want to turn on the air-conditioning or heater, there is less space you need to consider. When I'm home, my A/C is on. Those are the facts.

Let's see, when I came home on a Wednesday, I planned out my 96-hour special liberty (for my PRT score) for the long holiday weekend. I returned to work in Sasebo for just one day when I was off for the next 4. It was nice except for Saturday when I had to run in the aquathon. That was a 750m swim and 7.5km run. I did not place that well, but then again I didn't train that well either. As bad as I did, I learned my lesson never to sign Kristoph to do these kinds of competitions without his permission first!

Later that same day the Carey's and I drove up to Fukuoka for the night. Originally we were scheduled to drive up to Tokyo and climb Mt. Fuji, but after just spending the month up in that part of the woods I really had no interest in going back so soon. Saturday, July 3rd we three went out to eat and then the men went to a club. I feel embarrassed sharing the name of this place, but it is notable: Happy Cocks. How do I describe this place? Open a can of sardines, and that is how the club looked and smelled. It was much too crowded for a good time. For $30 though it was all you could drink...Kristoph and I capitalized on that. The walk home was fun, but the next morning wasn't so fun. Because Kristoph's wife, Emma didn't go out with us, she had little sympathy for how we felt, and wanted to get sight-seeing.

Seeing the sights we did as Emma wanted to hit up the Fukuoka Aquarium. I'm more of a zoo kind of guy myself, but it was interesting all the same. The seal/dolphin show was my favorite part. On the way home we took a wrong turn and instead of going to Sasebo, we took a 40 minute detour to Nagasaki! Japanese highways isn't like the interstate system. There are very few exits and turn-around points so if you get going the wrong direction, you really feel your mistake. I learned I have another pet peeve, and that is when my gas tank gets below 3/4 full I get rather paranoid. Since I wasn't driving I kept my anxieties to myself, but I didn't drive anywhere the next day just to be sure I could get to work on Tuesday.

As for the 4th, the actual holiday I didn't do anything except the aquarium. It was foggy and rainy that night so I just stayed at my apartment recovering from my near-allnighter the night before. Do I regret not seeing the fireworks the base provided? Of course not because in a year I will be back in the states where 'Merica's birthday can really be celebrated. I'm going to really look forward to St. Patrick's day though. Pretty sure that was talked about earlier in the blog.

Less than a month before I go home, and it isn't going unnoticed. I had duty twice this week which is a bummer, but it keeps the clock moving fast so I really don't dwell on the time. Time is flying by so fast! Only two more weeks of work, and then it's off to the motherland, but not without hiccups.
You see, Rich cancelled his wedding with MJ. That put a kink in my plans seeing how I already bought the plane tickets. Instead of going to Buffalo, NY I wanted to switch flight destinations to Burlington, VT where Rich is living. I also wanted to change my travel companion from JenJen to Neuman. You know, I wanted the boys to console a friend instead of just bringing a date. I love Jennifer, but this was a man's mission! Small problems to this. A) the rerouting of the tickets was more costly than the original tickets themselves and b) they won't allow me to change the name on the second ticket. The end of the story ends with me cancelling the flight in general and writing an email to US Airlines public relations department. Could this be karma for when I had to cancel Father's ticket back in March because I thought I was going to Haiti? Grumblegrumble

Had my interview with the master diver here in Sasebo, and things are looking good. He is going to endorse my package which in translation means the liklihood that I'm going to Dive Med Tech school after Japan is about 95%. Do I really need to go into deapth abut how excited I am?! As long as I get on the PT horse again, I should be okay. It also means I won't spend that much time inbetween duty stations either. Unless something happens...well, that can be discussed at a different time.

Last night was Matt Olysk's wedding reception. It was a good time. The same day, but earlier in the afternoon was CDR Service's going-away picnic. There was some good conversation and story-telling, but I'm happy because I get to see them later this week at swim practice. CDR Service has been dubbed the "greatest naval officer you'd ever want to work for." We joke that when he becomes admiral to think of us to put some of us on his staff. I'll go fetch his coffee anyday if it means serving under Big Mike.

That's about it for now. Check facebook for all picture uploads and I'll holler back later. Morale is high.