Monday's Dinner

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.

Quarantine!

We had Aslan's vet appointment yesterday to see how long her quarantine period will be. Everything went great, and she has only until September 15 for in-home quarantine. This is the best we could have hoped for for her. She is in the hotel with us, and we are supposed to only take her out in the backyard for bathroom breaks. We have been taking walks around base, but we discovered that we aren't supposed to. Aslan has always been a bit of a rebel.

This is a picture where no one is looking at the camera. I like the overgrown root tree monster in the background, though.

From the Lottery to the Water

After our fortuitous first day on Friday, we decided to take some
time off to relax. We met up with our friends Andrea and Dave,
missionaries here in Okinawa. (I knew Andrea when she was a little
girl at a Bible study I attended in Germany when I was in the Air
Force). We went to lunch, then snorkeling in the beach. We knew that
we wanted to get in the water quickly, but on the second day was
indeed a gift.

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.

Our Lucky First Day

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.

The Reason for God

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.

First Photos

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.

Our Palace

Here is the living area of our hotel room here in Okinawa. Maybe
we'll get to see the beach one of these days!

At least Aslan as a two-story house.

Arrived!

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.

Almost There

We are almost in Okinawa. So close.

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.

Trip to Cannon Beach with Kim and Susan

This is Aslan right before she vomited two stomachfuls on the patio of this ice cream shop. It was disgusting for all. Looking at this picture, I can see it in her eyes.

In Oregon

I like Oregon.
I like Kristie.

Vegas Tomorrow

Eric and I are leaving for two nights in Las Vegas on Wednesday
afternoon. It's become an annual event, with this being the fourth
time in a row. There's no way we can lose again this year. The odds
must be in our favor!

Kristie and I returned late last night from a whirlwind of a trip to
Rhode Island. It was excellent, and I'll tell you about it soon, OK?

In Newport RI

This is a good picture of my wife, as it represents her not-so-secret
obsession. Here she is with her hand in the cookie jar.

Back in the United States

We left Germany on Saturday, and made it safely to Seattle. We were a
bit worried about Aslan in her kennel for 13+ hours, but she made it
without incident. We had trouble finding and retrieving her in the
Seattle airport, but in the end we reunited. She was bouncy and
smiley as ever. I think that she is becoming accustomed to traveling.
She has, after all, been to more countries than most of our friends
and family.

Kristie and I are enjoying being back in the States. Here are a few
things I've noticed in our short time here:

1. Lots of selection in the supermarket. I had a difficult time
choosing dog food.
2. Starbucks tastes better here. We had Starbucks in Wiesbaden just
before we left, and ordered an iced americano when we arrived. There
is indeed a difference.
3. People drive big SUVs everywhere.
4. You can take a right on red.
5. Our rental car had 193 radio stations on satellite radio. In
Germany, we had one American channel.
6. There is lots of water in toilets here, thus eliminating the need
for a toilet brush.

We went for a stave-off-jet-lag hike today, and, coincidentally
enough, met a family of Germans on the trail. They had just came from
a trip from southern Oregon, where the father told us that he wanted
to go to the prairies of Oregon to be in the wild west he has seen in
movies.

We drive to Portland in the morning. Perhaps we will see you sometime
soon.

Gore's Cowardly Decision

On Monday, Al Gore (you remember him- the loser of the 2000 election)
decided to back Barack Obama. The really took some guts to publicly
do so. Wouldn't that decision be far more weighty if he had done it
during the Obama-Clinton primaries when it would have counted for
something? No, Spineless Al waited to decide until there was no
longer a decision to make before making his decision. I would have
been far more impressed if he stood up against the Clinton Machine to
show support for Obama, like Kerry, Edwards, and Richardson did. If I
were Barack, Gore's support would mean little. It's like the girl who
decided to pick me for the prom after all the other boys in the
school were killed off. Should I be honored or insulted?

Al tops of his showcased bravery by insulting George Bush at a rally
for Obama. Wow, that guy has some cojones. Call it the audacity of
courage.

Cannon Beach

Cannon Beach, we are coming soon!

Buildings in Prague

Our trip to Prague last weekend was quite nice. Great beautiful
buildings, massive hordes of tourists, and exorbitantly high prices.
I thought it was the most expensive city in Europe (not counting
England). What happened to the good ole days when you could walk into
a former Communist country and feel like the kaiser regaining power
with your almighty dollar? Stupid globalization.

I thought the coffee was especially good. I think I mentioned before
that European coffee isn't as good as it's romanticized to be. It's
usually some combination of overroasted, burnt, and sour. Not at this
place: http://www.ebelcoffee.cz/locations.htm.

More Prague

Wow, six beers? How ever do they fit them all under one roof?

We ate pizza at a great outdoor cafe beside a church.

I can hear the salespitch now: "Hello, sir. Can I interest you in a eurodog to go with your euro-tanktop?"

(European men love wearing capris. It's just not a good look on men, especially with dark socks)

Boxing Up

The first round of movers came on Wednesday. That shipment was the
stuff going into storage while we are in Okinawa. I decided to put my
books into storage, as I was afraid that the humid air could turn
them moldy. I sent them away out of love and affection.

Few people can properly understand the pain that this separation will
cause. I have stood in front of the shelves daily and stared,
touched, and sometimes even read those books. They were my 753 little
idols. And now they are gone, taken from me by two incredible sweaty
German men (one of whom had a gastrointestinal problem and stunk up
our bathroom in a wicked way).

The remainder of our household goods will get packed up on Monday and
Tuesday, but who cares about that stuff?

At the Car Wash

To prepare our car to sell, I brought it to a place called Mr. Wash here in Wiesbaden. It's Germany efficiency at its finest. I drive in to get it washed, then drive around and park it on a huge conveyor belt. It travels through an assembly-line cleaning that would make Henry Ford grin. They clean the mats, windows, interior, and vacuum. It's pretty fun to watch. They have a soundtrack of light classical playing, making me think of these car men as ballet dancers with rags.

The Honda come out glistening. I proudly hung a vanillaroma tree on the back window crank, then it rained.

In Prague

We arrived in Prague last night around 7 pm. We have all day today, and leave tomorrow night. It's a quick trip, but we wanted to be certain to visit here before we left Europe. I think this may be our final European trip for now.

We ate dinner on the river, walked through the old downtown area, then got a bit lost. We were walking on the highway trying to find our hotel.

Here's our hotel: http://www.miss-sophies.com

Private vs Public Faith

"Any tendency to treat religion as a private matter must be resisted, Only when their faith permeates every aspect of their lives do Christians become truly open to the transforming power of the Gospel."

 

Pope Benedict XVI, Speaking to bishops during his visit to the U.S.

 

Belgium Crane Technique

On our last day in Belgium, we had lunch in Leuven, a city outside of

Brussels. In the downtown area, I saw this statue perched on a
building. It reminded me of Daniel LaRusso's winning move in The
Karate Kid. I think this may have been his inspiration. Or, perhaps
it was the other way around.

Of course, the perfect picture would be to have me in a similar
position next to the statue.

That's two Karate Kid-inspired blog postings in a month.

Babies in the Brugge Window

Now, there is far more to tell about our trip to Brussels and Brugge
last weekend, but this is the first thing that came to mind. I've
seen crazy kid displays in Europe before, but these were especially
weirdo. These babies look like little dead men. They were all in one
display, which added to the strange feeling.