Fancy Yakiniku

Out in Yokosuka, there is a fancy Yakiniku restaurant. Soco has been bugging me a lot about this place and she says it is pretty good. We went there and yes, it was very good. To get there, go down blue street. Turn left at the Yokosuka-Chuo station. Turn right at Coco's and go down that street until you see a fancy traditional Japanese style building. There is plenty of parking if you turn right down that street.
Family at Fancy Yakiniku

Nayeli sucked all the milk out!
Nayeli at 12 Weeks
11 Weeks

The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift

"Four Stars out of Five"
This movie was pretty exciting, filled with action sequences, nice rides, girls and an interesting plot. The special effects make up for some of the crappy focusing and cheesy editing. Before watching, you must keep in mind that this is going to be totally unrealistic so if you come in expecting that, it will be much better than you had expected.

What I like about this movie is that I can somehow relate to it. This guy is the son of a U.S. Navy Lieutenant and has to move to mainland Japan. I'm assuming that IF this was based on a true story, they would most likely be stationed here in Yokosuka or Atsugi. But I don't know know anyone living in Tokyo and wanting to commute to work everyday like that.

The people in the theatre (Yokosuka, Japan) got some pretty good laughs because we all have the same struggles of living in big city Japan. We all know what it is like to be in a place crammed with millions of people. We also laughed at the guy's struggle with the language barrier. I find it unrealistic for anyone to be able to drift in Shibuya! Too many cars, packed with too many people no matter what time at night or how early in the morning.

The cars were beautiful. Nissan Skylines everywhere (sorry, not sold in the states yet... but close, Infinity G35 body is the same but not AWD) They were making fun of Korean made, Hyundais.

Education factor: not much. Lots of wreckage. People dying from car accidents. That was realistic. Learn about the popularity and underground culture of drifting in Japan. Japanese people take this a little too seriously. For me, it just shows that the only way to be able to afford this type of hobby/sport, you gotta be in the Yakuza (Japanese Moffia).

Acting: The guy was too old to be in high school. He looks like he is in his 30's.

Plot: Feasible. Interesting. A lot better than the previous two movies. I was reading the reviews, on this movie and a lot of people can't really relate to it so it had bad reviews. They don't understand what it was really about. Drifting is a new concept of street racing which requires practice and skill.

Overall, I got a good cheap thrill. To me, for the love of cars, it is worth buying. There is a surprise ending.

Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum

Recently, it has been the anniversary of the Nagasaki and Hiroshima atomic bombing. I got to visit the atomic bomb museum in Nagasaki while TAD to Sasebo, Japan. Today, Nagasaki has no traces that a bomb ever went off. Just this museum. I found it humorous to see a Japanese person drive by in their tiny car blasting American hip-hop music. The newer generation seem to admire the Americans while the older Japanese may still have a grudge. The bombing was many years ago and people are still living with the radiological effects of nuclear radiation. The museum was quite morbid. Cameras were not allowed inside the museum so I was unable to snap some shots. However, the stories told and devastation made the visit very heartbreaking. I saw an old man break down and cry when he was reading a testimony of people losing their loved ones and not knowing what to do. Pain from the burns and injuries. People dying of thirst. Horrible. Just horrible. 75% of the victims were elderly, women and children who had nothing to do with the war.

Ground Zero

Nagasaki City on August 9,1945
Population : about 240,000
Deaths and injuries caused by the atomic bomb
(estimates up to the end of December 1945)
- Deaths : 73,884
- Injuries : 74,909
(from a 1950 study by the Committee for the Preservation of Atomic Bomb Artifacts)

Link to Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum

TAD, the Secret to Making More Money

Castle like building along Iwakuni River
Kintai Bridge in Iwakuni

Another way of making more money while in the military is by traveling. While in Temporary Duty status, you earn something on top of your income called, per-diem. It is pretty good. In my last TAD, I earned $410 for 8 days of travel. That is supposed to supplement the cost of taxis, bus and train fare and any cost you may incur while in travel status. If you spend more than what they give you, it's your bust.

My last trip, I went to Sasebo and Iwakuni. Above are some pictures of Iwakuni.

Sort your Garbage at McDonalds!

McDonald's Japanese Trash Can (you must sort your garbage)
Shinkansen - Bullet Train
Life is a blur on a bullet train.

Today is Friendship Day. Many Japanese will come and visit our Navy base to celebrate our lasting friendship.

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Big Face
Surf-board

Shinkansen - Japan's Bullet Train

The Shinkansen

Everything is a blur



The next stop is a;s!%4l3?!

The Shinkansen is the fastest train in Japan. It runs all the way north and south. I got to take it all the way down to Hakata from Shin-Yokohama. It is like riding an airplane on the ground. It is a smooth ride as entire cities pass by in the blink of an eye.

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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

Birthday Party for Deanna

Nayeli is always asleep

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

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.

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.

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???