FHOTC Training

The FHOTC training was a long and boring evolution. It was a requirement before going into theatre. There they gave us classes on everything we needed to prepare ourselves for deployment into Kuwait. The food wasn't bad, it was regular galley food and on the last day of our training, we got crablegs and lobster. It was pretty cool. The CO and XO served us some food. I do not have much time to type everything... but I'll keep this page up to date.

2005 Tokyo Motor Show

Nissan's Pivo. Bubble Concept car which eliminates reverse driving.

Nissan's Sports Car March

The Tokyo Motorshow was a blast! An automotive enthusiasts dream. Most of the cars shown are mostly sold in Japan, but a small select few will touch US pavement. There were a lot of concept cars and concepts for concept cars. Automotive technology is always getting better and better. Sports/high performance hybrid cars are also very popular. All the companies for hybrid car parts and hydrogen fuel cell technologies were taking over.

Future Nissan Skyline

Nissan Skyline Concept

It's a Volkswagon

Ferrari

Mazda's Concept

Concept Car with strange door opening

Motorcycle Car

Motorcycles are so exciting! So exciting, they made a car that drove like a motorcycle!

Harley Davidson Motorcycles

Lexus LF-SH is quite popular

The crowds were terrible. I found myself bumping against almost everybody just to get some good pictures. But that is to be expected at the Tokyo Motorshow!

Karaoke Parlors and Japanese Pimps

Last night/early this morning was the very first time me and Soco have ever been to a Kareoke Parlor. A group of friends and us were pretty much the loudest ones there. We cranked up the volume to the max, drank beer and sang to our heart's content. It was really great! There was plenty of privacy in the little party room. The place served all kinds of drinks, ice cream and food. The service was top notch. And having the microphone in your hand makes you feel like a superstar no matter how crappy of a singer you might be.

I also learned what men in business suits, who look like CIA agents with their earbuds, are doing in the streets at midnight. They are like, what we call in the states, pimps. They will come up to any (single) guy and try to introduce him to a girl and tell you where she is, so you can hook up. She will usually be located at some hotel somewhere and the business man will give the guy a room number. After the engagement(sex), you are expected to pay the girl with a gift no less than 30000 yen (300 dollars) in which the man takes the girl to a nice store. That is why you see some school girls with expensive Gucci purses. Prostitution is illegal, however the men aren't paying the girls with cash. A loophole in the system. In the states, this would appear to be a sleezy thing to do, but here it is handled with professionalism. In Japan, sex is sex, the girls don't expect anything else.

Being stationed at the hospital and Soco being a laboratory technician, I know for a fact that the STD rate is high in heavily populated places such as this. And condoms don't protect from other STDs such as crabs, genital warts, and herpes. The consequences of STDs can be life changing and extremely painful.



Damn it, I can't seem to get that song, "Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto" out of my head. At the end of the night, my throat was sore from all the yelling and screaming of the lyrics of Smash Mouth "I'm a believer" (from Shrek), Shaggy's "Wasn't Me.", and Anchor's Aweigh (in which, I didn't pick that song, but some joke-ster wanted me to sing that one, so I did, with my best pirate voice).

View of Mt. Fuji on the Tomei Expressway 

100km/h rocks! 

Getting Worked to Death

Wooden Statue in the Tokyo National Museum

Getting stationed in Japan has it's ups and downs. Aside from the great liberty here, unfortunately, there are some manning issues at this place. It has got me wondering, is it so hard to find people who want to come to Japan? The shop I work at has been working on a skeleton crew for almost a year now. We lost four techs and only two of them got replaced. One of our crew got deployed to Iraq, one is working in Diego Garcia and the rest of us are constantly pulled for command, ASF, decon, Biomed, color guard and ASW duties. Two have been pulled to do strictly administrative services (another manning issue). Our boss(the chief) is never there because he is working a side job, wasting time at meetings and pull all kinds of unusual duties. Everytime we suggest process improvements, he just acknowledges, but nothing ever happens. He is so useless. He is a "Yes, sir", "Yes, maam" kinda guy so it ends up screwing us in the end.



Let me give you a scenario, which crap like this always happens. Last Friday, we shutdown our shop to move 50 lockers to make room for a new Lieutenient! Although, there is an empty office with computer hookups and air-conditioning a few yards away. Using the lame excuse: "It is too far away." Our boss doesn't have the power of suggestion or come up with good ideas. He would must rather get spit on, just so that he doesn't look bad. I wish I can be in his shoes. I would fix everything. In this scenario, I would start by telling that officer, "No sir, this is a controlled and industrious area. We cannot allow people to trek back and forth through this workspace to your office because someone could get seriously injured and you would not want to be responsible for that." You see, the power of saying 'NO' and a good reason would do the job. That officer would be a damn fool to force it.



Well anyway, that just leaves me and the LPO (my other boss), here to fix and repair equipment at the hospital. Another thing, I'll be leaving for Kuwait in a few days. So that is going to leave only one person (the LPO) to repair, maintain and calibrate all of the medical equipment in this hospital, branch clinic in Sasebo, Iwakuni, Negishi, Atsugi, Camp Fuji, Chenhae Korea, and the pacific fleet. I'm scratching my head... And right now, I would say we're up 40% on all things running the way it should. I don't wish this situation on anyone. It is clearly a nightmare for any new guy checking-in in the future. I'm tired of working hard and late all the time and putting out fires. Once I get finished with something, 4 or 5 things come up. The workload is multiplying! I just have to say one thing, "So long, and thanks for all the cola."

Watching TV is so 21st Century!

Big House in Hiroshima

As television is becoming more and more obsolete, watching the most current shows, live news, comedy shows, when you want them, in demand, is all on the internet now-a-days. No more spending countless hours on commercials or wasting time waiting for your favorite show or music video to come on, it's all on the internet. Man, I love it! AOL has all the newest and old music videos, live CNN, National Geographic, streaming radio you could ever want. Now, I just have to figure out how to connect my television to my computer so I can connect my television to the internet. I've been looking for a new video card with s-video or AV output, but prices are a bit expensive for that kind of toy. Another project of mine is to get a good DVD +/- rewriteable disk drive. Also, I want to get a good camcorder with the new Hard Disk technology. I know that JVC already has one with their "Everio G". It has 40 gigabytes of memory which can record 7 hours of Ultry DVD Movie quality videos. Really exciting. Tapes are quickly being phased out and DVD is the norm. DVD is going to phase out in the upcoming years as Blu-ray and HD-DVD becomes popular. Why is it so great? An entire box set of DVDs can fit on one HD-DVD. The new X-box 360 will feature this technology.

I'm also pretty excitied that someone (Volkswagon) had crossed the finishline this year at the robot(unmanned) vehicle races in death valley in Southern California. The pentagon gave those developers a year to fix up their robots after last years race. (One year is an eternity in electronics technology) The obstacle course featured 3 different tunnels to knock out GPS, winding dirt roads with 20 ft drop off cliffs, bottle necks, barb wire fences, trees, giant rocks and ditches. Real amazing. It won't be long before artificial intelligence makes our way into our homes.

Tommy Davidson Comedian Show

I don't know how they get celebrities out here, but MWR is doing a good job bring them to Yokosuka. Tommy Davidson is known to star in the 90's hit comedy show, "In Living Color". He also starred in "Woo" and a few other movies. Real funny guy. The theatre was packed. I was glad to show up an hour early to get seats. The people who got there late, got to stand. It was a great comedy show. He had something to say about everybody. The dances of each race, buff people in gyms, who should become the next president, Cops... Tommy was right about the plane trip to Japan. When you fall asleep on the plane, you wake up, you're still in the plane. And you fall asleep again, when you wake up, you're STILL IN THE PLANE!

Toy Vending Machines

These little vending machines are so cool! From children's toys to naked anime girls, they have something for everybody. My favorite is the mini-Gundam (robot) action figures. I'm still anticipitating when Japan actually creates a real Gundam. Soco likes the Disney scenes. The stuff in vending machines are cheaper than purchasing the same thing from the store. You just have to put the darn things together yourself. (Small mental challenge, required)

Strange Fashion Sense

White Trash Charms, Roppongi Hills

The Japanese tend to pick something and dedicate their entire lives to perfecting one thing. It is really strange. In places like Harajuku and Ikebukuro, there are a lot of fashion clothing stores. When they focus on one theme, they take it to the extreme. Look at the picture above. They take it to a whole other level. Once, me and Soco ran into a East L.A. Mexican clothing store. They decorated their store with machine guns, Mexican women holding guns, plasma tvs which displayed bouncing cars, knives, Mexican flags and tattooed latino gang members. I though it was kinda funny, but Soco was offended and wanted to burn the store to the ground. Well, sometimes the Japanese think they got it all right. Hehe

Departure Time is Near

These past weeks, I've been prepping myself for departure to Kuwait. I can't help but think, "Man, I'm going to miss the Sushi here." Oh well, that is life. I'm going to be eating mess hall food for the next six or seven months. Army food shouldn't be that bad... I hope. I'm still going to do my best to keep this blogger up-to-date while out there.

A little good news on my side, me and Soco found out that we are going to become parents. I'm pretty excited and is looking forward to becoming a dad. I noticed that a lot of people use their baby as an excuse for not going out much. I'm not. I'm still going to enjoy Japan as much as possible! Now it gives me an excuse to check out those cool toy stores. I'll be one of those bastards who take a giant baby stroller on the train.

Yesterday, me and Soco went on a bike ride to explore route 16. Somehow, we followed it and somehow, it became another highway. I'm still trying to figure out where route 16 made a turn or stopped. I still don't get how Japanese people can figure out their streets. We didn't find anything cool... We just got the smell of exhaust and sore butts.

Running out of Food

Living out on the Japanese economy has it's advantages and disadvantages. One of the disadvantages is how small everything is. Or maybe an advantage? There was a bazaar last weekend, but I really had no more room in my apartment for more clutter. Me and Soco were totally satisfied with not feeling like that we have to go to the bi-annual bazaar, figuring that they're basically all the same. The vendors sell furniture and souveniers. And for sure, we both know that we have enough furniture and souveniers! Another disadvantage is the refrigerator and kitchen. The kitchen is so freak'in small. Sometimes when Soco is cooking, I need to get in there to pull out something from the fridge (maybe a drink, whatever...). There is a 50% probability that I will have to bump into her in some way to get to that fridge and a 70% probability that I hit her with the refrigerator door and a 90% probabily that there won't be any drinks in the fridge because we ran out. What the heck?!? Why is everything so small. I'm getting tired of shopping for food everyday.... Running out of drinks and ice cream, and having food spoil in the matter of hours or a couple of days. Being forced to, once again, eat out. It is killing my morale.

Me and Soco have decided to reevaluate our living situation to see if living outside of the naval base is good for us. Yeah, it is. We are both environmentalists and figure that personal inconveniences is not as important as being good to the earth. You see, by living out in Japan, you MUST separate your trash for recycling and conserve water and electricity to have more money in your pocket when it comes time to pay the bills. It feels good to know that the hundreds of pounds of trash we generate goes back into becoming a vacuum cleaner or something. Being a dual income family, we pocket some extra cash. We have a plan to purchase our first home in cash-money. I don't want to entertain the thought of having somebody else getting rich off my debt. My parents have taught me well. Buy everything with cash. No credit cards. No financing. Save money! Living on the government's dime (base housing) equals less income. I get paid an allowance for living out in town and if I live below my means, it means more income. We figured that a lot of our problems would be solved only if we owned a car. I'll get one when I get back from the desert... Anyways, I'm running out of food and space. Now I know why Japanese people are so skinny. Also, I'm going to have to start throwing out some clutter for recycling...

Attack of the Show on TechTV

Attack of the Show Attacks JAPAN!!!

School Girls, Eggs, Lung Cancer and Electricity Bills... "That's what's up with Japan." Click on the links for Attack of the Show! 56k Beware!

What's up with Japan?

TechTV goes to Ginza Toy District

Meet the Squid

School Girls and Squid

Posted in the Train Station 

Grand China at Grandberry Mall

Grandberry Mall is, so far, the closest thing to an American style plaza that I've ever seen here in Japan. It is located in Minami-Machida. You just take the Yokohama line at Yokohama Station towards Hachioji and get off at Nagatsuta (8 stops). At Nagatsuta, you must catch the Den-En-Toshi Line towards Chuo-rinkan. Get off at Minami-Machida(3 stops) and the mall is right there. So convenient! No getting lost to find it... Once we got there, me and Soco hit up the All-You-Can-Eat Chinese Buffet! Grand China is the name of the place. It is unlike any chinese restaurant I've ever been to, because I actually left there so full! There was a long line when we were there and we just did everything the people in front of us did. Stand in line until we were called. (I've gotta learn Japanese...) Learn how to say "No Smoking" please... Anyways, the buffet had Dim-sum, all kinds of salads, desserts, ice cream and soups. The Chinese food here tastes very good and is much different from the cooking in the states. The spices seem to be more authentic. For example, fruits and vegetables are a lot juicer and tastier here. Some of them are huge and most of them grown perfect! Damn them... Japanese people are almost perfect in everything they do. Anyways, I served myself duck egg salad, coffee jello, sweet and sour pork, soft bun stuffed with red bean paste, dumplings, gyoza, seaweed salad with chicken, rice soup, and spicy fish. Real good, real unusual. I would like to go there again. I left stuffed and happy. After that, we walked around the mall. There were outlet stores, restaurants, and a giant rock climbing stone in Rei Outdoor Store. Unfortunately, it makes me realize how wasteful Americans are with real estate. Although, this place is large in landmass, they couldn't fit many stores in it. Well, I got me a souvenier at the LEGO store and walked around hoping to find more interesting stores. They have a GAP and a home decorating store with French fashion designs called FrancFrancFranc. This outdoor plaza is worth checking out but I wasn't too impressed. I would only go there again for the food.

Train Station at Nagatsuta