In reality, Ron is a Japanese store filled with leather boots and
hats. Perhaps it's time for me to undergo a fashion change.
Worth reading: China confiscates Bibles from Americans at the airport. The country--and the world-- must decide whether China is an open, free country or a closed, oppressive one. Stories like this point to the latter option.
We think that we found a place yesterday as well, so it was a
productive day.
Kristie and I had an excellent trip to RI last month. From the time
we landed on Monday to the time we leave on Monday, we were on the go
with lots of family and friends to see and spent time with. The only
negative part is that I left my favorite sweatshirt in the Enterprise
rental car. Those crooks there stole it!
My mom and Bud, my step-dad
My mom and me
My uncle and aunt and cousins
Brianna
My brother David
My dad and me at Starbucks. No matter how hard I try, I just can't get him to like that coffee!
DJ looking pensive
DJ and me
My good friends Artie and Charlie
Today we had three briefings: water safety, driver's safety, and
housing. We got our licenses, and a friend lent us his car so we are
mobile. The water safety video scared us, and I don't think that
we'll be getting into the water ever again.
We had an agent show us a couple of places, but we are beginning to
think that living with a beach view is more difficult than we though.
We saw a place with a great view, but the apartment was ugly, dirty,
and pink. I'm trying to talk Kristie into just giving up and living
on base. We'd have to wear uniforms and go to roll call each morning
at 0400, but I think we could use a bit of discipline in our lives.
Kristie needs it more than I, however.
More housing appointments today at 9. Our place is out there
somewhere, I can feel it.
For dinner, we met up with Carol, my former boss in Korea and in Germany (she is the one who hired me in DoDDS). Carol showed us her beautiful house on the beach, then we had take-out in the park near the water.
We got our indian food from this little shack on the beach. An incredibly sweaty man made us chicken curry, lamb curry, and nan bread. We both enjoyed the food, but really liked the little doorway that even someone of my small stature needed to duck to enter.
We sat on the beach until well after sunset.
The coffee shop were ate at served their coffee in a mini glass pot.
The waitress brought both the pot and a cup to place in front of me.
It was funny. I thought that if the server at Denny's dropped off a
pot and a mug with my Moons Over My Hammy, it would be service
deserving of leaving without a tip. But, in Japan, it was small and cute.
The water was warm and clear, and I saw more fish than I did in previous snorkels combined. We ran into a group of young Marines who were spearing fish. I looked underwater as one of them speared a squid, and then he bragged to his friends. A few minutes later, I saw the half-dead little squid limping away from him as he was on the prowl for more things to senselessly kill. Idiots. This scene reminds me of that one video of the two Marines who threw the puppy off the cliff a few months ago. I wanted to yell at them and tell them to stop destroying God's creation for mere sport, but they were Marines and they had spears.
We spent Friday getting some things done around the base. Here's what
we accomplished:
1. Bought cell phones.
2. Set up bank accounts. We are ready to cash any donation checks
that you'd like to send.
3. Completed paperwork on the post office, and picked up the crate of
forwarded mail. Everyone loves mail, and I think that this is one of
the aspects that links us as humans.
In the evening, we decided to join the Officers Club on base. With
the membership, we get discounts, free meals, etc. Nothing too
thrilling, but something that I wanted to do. As we filled out the
paperwork, the woman handed me a scratch-it lottery ticket for new
members. I scratched it and won $100. The women behind the counter
were very excited, almost as if their enthusiasm would somehow
translate into a small tip for their services. The next morning, we
went to breakfast at the club and the counter worker said, "I heard
you won $100 yesterday." I wanted to get our photo in the paper, you
know, with me holding out five crisp twenty-dollar bills all fanned
out in front of my cheesy grin. No such luck, though. There was no
photographer in sight. Only Kristie, but she was too busy thinking of
way to spend my winnings.
With this only our first day on the island, we can only wonder of the
good fortune headed our way.
I recently finished Tim Keller's The Reason for God, an excellent look on the rationality of the Christian faith. It's a perfect read for those of you who have that spark of faith somewhere deep inside, but still have questions. Give it a whirl, why don't you? After reading this, I picked up C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity to reread, as it has been awhile. Since I put all of my books in storage, I had to buy a new copy.
If you rather hear Tim Keller's sermons, go here for free downloads on the subject of "The Trouble with Christianity." I'm currently downloading a few to throw on my iPod.
The first picture of Kristie in Japan. We are on Yokota AB outside of
Tokyo.
The first picture of Kristie in Okinawa. You can see that she is enjoying a typical Japanese breakfast.
At least Aslan as a two-story house.
At 8 pm (I'm not even sure what time that was in Oregon), we finally
arrived on Kadena AB. It was fine, just a bit frustrating. I felt
that I was heading to basic training again. We were yelled at, told
to board buses, and had no idea where to go. Our friend, Jen, was
there to meet us and to take us to our hotel.
The room is OK, nothing too exciting. We have a dog room, so it's a
bit more run down than others. The bed could have been made of nails,
and we still would have welcomed sleep.
It's 5:30 am, and it is already humid. I'm in trouble.
We arrived at the Seattle Airport at 5 am (thanks, Lela!) and waited
to get on the military contracted flight to Okinawa. The smiley
counter lady at Northwest told us that we had business class tickets.
We aren't sure why, but the seats were great. They were the first
seats on the 747 with lots of room in front of us. Aslan could have
joined us there. We sat up there with what appeared to be officers,
not that enlisted riff-raff in the economy hull. I feared that if
trouble went down, I'd be asked to lead the troops. I'd right flank
around the plane and pounce for a surprise hail-Mary attack for bags
of peanuts and bland coffee.
Currently, we are at a stopover at an air force base in Tokyo. It's 4
pm local time, but our time is almost 11 pm. That's a long time to be
on the road. We were able to let Aslan out of her cage and run here
around for a little bit. She met other friends whose owners were
inconsiderate and sadistic enough to force her in a cage for 12
hours. She was spry and wiggly, as usual.
We should arrive at the base in four hours. Then, we'll have rest.
