Saturday, July 22, 2006

Busy as Heck





Nayeli in Purple Dress

It seems like that since Nayeli has been born and after I got off from leave(vacation) I have very little time to myself. Especially, updating this blogger! It has been even a struggle to figure out what to eat sometimes. There's no time to cook anymore. No time to do anything except take care of the baby and work. I've been considering going back to college, but when will I have the time?

7 Weeks

Friday, July 14, 2006

My Experience at an Awards Committee Board

Government Vehicle Ride

I took another trip to Camp Fuji to repair an X-ray film processor. The scenic trip from Yokosuka takes about 3 uninterrupted hours. Camp Fuji is where U.S. Marines, Navy Seabees and Security forces qualify or requalify for their rifles. The clinic there may see a few minor injuries such as heat casualties and sprains. Not much. If need be, major injuries can be flown to Yokosuka or Yokota.

Mitsubishi parked in front of sushi place

My Clash with Officers

Yesterday, I was put on a committee called the, "Awards Committee Board". It is a group of people who come together to grammer check awards and decide who gets one and who doesn't. A representative from every department is supposed to attend to convince the board that a service member is worthy of such an award. Well, when I walked into the board room, it was full of higher ups. Officers and Chiefs mostly, with me being the lowest ranking person. When it came to my co-worker being written up for an award, a Commander (O-5) was arguing with me (E-5) about my co-working being worthy of getting an "End of Tour" award. A "NAM" they call it, the Navy Achievement Medal. My friend had already moved to Texas to attend Advanced Biomed School so, of course, he was up for an award. It made me a little bit angry that the Commander didn't really understand my point of view that my friend went above his line of duty when it came to taking over a service contract and single-handedly developed and implemented a preventative maintenance program for anesthesia machines for the hospital and the 7th fleet saving the Navy hundreds of thousands of dollars. She said that, "It was his job." I couldn't argue with that. Yes, it was his job, and his job is to save money. But, she didn't argue when an officer was worthy of a NAM for doing his job of being a good optometrist. This guy didn't even save any money, he just "improved" a process. I was thinking, "What a hypocrite." I didn't say that out loud because I was going to lose because of my lower status in rank and years of service. So basically, no matter how right I may be, I would still lose. It is unfair.

Bridge

Old Fire Station at Camp Fuji

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Nayeli 7 Weeks Old

Friday, July 07, 2006

This Sunday's Protest against US Realignment in Japan

Planned Route for Protest

Regarding this Sunday’s planned protest -- group will meet in Verny Park between 1300-1400. From 1410-1610 they will divide into two groups and walk from Verny Park down 16, while the other half will split to the Honch and walk to Mikasa Dr. All will end up at the city hall park. Protest route map attached. This group is one of the tamer ones but the numbers will be large (they are trying to get around 20,000). Rally theme is “stop assignment of a CVN” and “cancel the agreement of US forces realignment.”

Isn't Japan so courteous as to warn us ahead of time of their protests? The last protest I witnessed took about 2-3 hours and it appeared to be 20,000 people or more. It was a LOT of people.

Monday, July 03, 2006

Attempt at Using Japanese Ingredients



It is nearly impossible to read Japanese writing so sometimes you just have to look at the pictures and try to make the best of it. The waffles didn't turn out that great. I had to play with the ingredients a little and the cook time to perfect my waffles. It took me four tries until I got it right.

Deanna and some Japanese boy.
Sushi and Funyuns, good stuff.

Growth Spurts





Nayeli has been growing about an inch a week. And it shows! Her face is much fatter and she is getting heavier. The 3 month old clothes is fitting her much better and some of the onesies are tight on her.

Saturday, July 01, 2006

Belgium Waffle Maker and Angry Baby



This weekend we went and got a restaurant style Belgium Waffle Maker. I was missing the Waffle House and their "all you can eat waffles". They're the best. The waffles made by this machine creates the most perfectly toasted waffles. They're crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. They can be eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yummy!


Some Faces of Annoyance
I want teeth!
It hurts to burp. Make it stop.
My Arms! Where's my arms???