baggage.

As I have been packing for the last few hours, I realized just how many bags I really have. I have way too much stuff and in true fashion still think that I have no proper suitcase and nothing to wear over the next two weeks... so typical, right?

The funny thing about packing is that you tend to dig up things you thought you had long since lost... you dig up things from the last trip you took, the trip before that, and even long before that one. All those things I thought I had buried way back out of sight in the closet seemed to have a way of falling out in front once I grabbed the first bag.

It seems like that is so similar to my life some days. Today, I had someone tell me something that I hadn't seen in myself even when looking. I thought I had buried this emotion away, way back somewhere I would never have to see it again. When I least suspected it, this just jumped out and grabbed me before I even knew it had happened. Maybe I am finally learning that no matter how far away I go (because I think I have gotten about as far away as possible), my past and where I come from will still be a part of me. I can't change that, but I can change how I take it forward. This doesn't have to be a bad thing I don't think, just another chance to learn about me and who I want to be....when and if I do decide to become a grownup. :)

bright lights.

 And here I was beginning to think that my Japanese friends didn't like Christmas lights!

 My wonderful Japanese friend, Saito, took me to see this Kindergarten school house on Christmas night. It was the most spectacularly lit building I have seen all year.... though my standard aren't that high. None of my neighbors have lights twinkling on their balconies like mine. However, walking all around this bulding, taking in the sight made me smile and feeling a little closer to the Christmas I am used to.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Mine will be complete in  week when I am really home. For now, I will keep enjoying the lights!

blessed.

"Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love!"  ~Hamilton Wright Mabie

Christmas is my favorite time of year. I love everything about it. I love lights, trees, fireplace fires, bell ringers at the mall, and egg nog. Even my favorite movie is about christmas time, love actually. I think people are kinder and remember the good in the world a little more at christmas. 

However, it became a little tougher to remember all my favorite things from the other side of the world this year. It was really tough to wake up somewhere other than my parents' house this morning. Nothing screams adulthood and responsibility more than having to be away from your family on Christmas. I realize tons of people do this every year, but this was a first for me.... and definitely not something I look forward to repeating. It was quite a lonely feeling. Even with my friends here around me, who I am so thankful for, I would love nothing more than to be with my crazy loud family tonight.

But even a million miles away, I feel so blessed on Christmas. I have amazing friends and a family who loves me whether I am close by or not. Thank goodness for them and skype. With that combination I will never really be alone. 

It's almost like I can be there to open presents with my sisters and favorite nephew (on his first christmas) even from Japan!


merry christmas.

wedding bells.

Today, (well yesterday at home) my sweet sister, Amy, got married!

I was so sad to be on the other side of the world, but thanks to wonderful technology, I got to see her just before the wedding began. She looked amazing, of course! 

I wish so badly that I could have been with you on your special day but know that I am loving you and wish nothing but the absolute best for you and chris!

sisters.

I CANNOT wait to see these two crazy girls in ONE WEEK!

The three of us could not be more different and could not have had more different paths over the past year... austin, chicago, and japan... But I cannot not think of any better dates to ring in 2012 with. We have all taken on so much and grown up so much in the past year. I can't wait to celebrate the start of another great year with two of my wonderful sisters!

love you crazy girls.  :)

heart.

“Mankind is a great, an immense family… This is proved by what we feel in our hearts at Christmas.”

~Pope John Paul XXIII 

tunes.

thank you, sallyb. for my most recent musical obsession.

companion.

Isn't this what we all hope for? A special someone you like so much that you want matching plastic-like riding suits!

exhausted.

the train proved to just be too much for this fella....

and those sitting near him? couldn't be the least bit concerned.

wrapping.

who will win... me or the wrapping paper??

merry (early) christmas!

festive.

and more tacky christmas comes to my japanese pad :)

is it bad that i get so excited by glitter??

note: this is the only wreath on the whole building.

christmas in a cup.

this. was. magical.

peppermint ice cream with pop rocks in it.... genius!

it is the little things in life, right??

stepping stone.

Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward.
Henry Ford

tacky christmas.

And so it begins.....

I missed putting up ornaments with my family this year. This happens to be my FAVORITE ritual. SO, I decided to bring Christmas to my little Japanese home. This year's theme is Tacky Christmas....the shinier, the better!

charlie brown christmas, shiny style!

What a peaceful way to spend my evening... hot coco, christmas candles, a twinkling tree, and The Holiday. I love the Christmas Season!

domestic failure.

Tonight I had a visit from my local Japanese security company.... unplanned. The night's events unfolding:

5:30 Start making dinner.

5:40 Burn bread. (Not great cook.) Smoke detector starts going off. 

5:41 Flailing a towel around at detector.

5:42 Smoke detector still going off. Push button to silence detector.

5:43 Japanese alarm starts making noise and speaking to me. Realize detector hit was gas detector, not smoke.

5:44 Hit buttons to make it silence. Smoke detector still wailing.

5:45 Turn off smoke detector. Call housing agent for help. Enlist help of Japanese neighbor. Neighbor can't fix it.

5:55 Security shows up. Laughs at me. Tells me not to hit detector again.... via translation of housing agent on phone.

Successful night for the blonde Japanese wannabe.

noodle beings.

The is an ENTIRE museum dedicated to CUPNOODLES here. It is pretty awesome. Who knew noodles could be so inspirational??

The birth of ramen!

that's A LOT of noodles!!

The place of invention... who'd have thought noodles would be so revolutionary?

"enriching the world's eating habits..." really??

amazingly enough, america doesn't consume the most.

NOODLE Reflections:

zooRasia.

I spent my Black Friday venturing out to the zoo. It was a great day off from work and proved to be very educational.

Finding the zoo seemed complicated at first, but they made it fool-proof... follow the lion!

 After finally arriving at the zoo, we found lots of crazy animals and lots of "Engrish" entertainment!

Lessons from a Japanese zoo:

• zoo has an "r"
• chimpanzees catch and eat their own poo
• penguins swim on the surface like ducks/fish
• layla is pregnant for the 3rd time
• the first okapi in 5 years will soon be born
• okapi is a real animal (see above.)
• minmin is an ass (wild mongolian that is)
• cranes are very different from storks
• kangaroos don't jump in the upright position
• Japanese bears sing love songs
• red-faced monkeys mount each other to show rank
• zoo animals speak japanese
• polar bears have tourettes

I loved the animals and loved reading all the placards with awkward random information!

war eagle.

roar!!

best entertainer!

swimming seals.

tiny penguins!

can you say scary?

stork, not crane.

say hello to Layla!

super cute until i saw him eat poo.

life.

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”
― Neale Donald Walsch

Life lesson picked up during a great New Port adventure :)

germs.

Say hello to my FAVORITE nearly one-year-old. I got to hang out with this little guy and his Mommy this weekend. Besides the deathly bug I contracted from this small person, I could not have enjoyed it more.

love you guys.

fam time.

SO EXCITED to be headed home... home, home to TX.

O how I have missed this crazy group. I love them so.

friend time.

This weekend I spent an AMAZING weekend in Boston with my friend Cait. We did  brunch, shopping, nails, drinks, and football.... could not have asked for a better weekend! It was some much-needed girl time.

Love my friends so much.

travel.

The most treacherous travel experience I have ever had...

1. Almost late for shuttle to Tokyo due to late packing.

2. Inside seat on 12+ hour flight, inside of non-English speaking couple who do not get up. AT ALL.

3. Blizzard causes next flight to be delayed.

4. Blizzard causes next flight to be canceled.

5. Spend the night in D.C. without my luggage (i.e. clothes).

6. Next morning flight diverted due to medical emergency. (I do hope she was ok.)

7. Sit on runway for 1.5 hours awaiting permission to fly last 15 minutes.

8. Get rental car, get lost, find way again.

9. Arrive at school, minus lunch, one half-day late.

10. Jet lag sets in.

Wow. I just hope the return flight is smoother.

whining.

A women under stress is not immediately concerned with finding solutions to her problems but rather seeks relief by expressing herself and being understood.

John Gray

So it's not just me... I don't really want to fix the problem always, I just feel better after whining a little.
I know, super grownup-like.

clean.

My only grownup points for the week....

I returned to a completely clean apartment. No idea that I cleaned it before departing. Let's hear it for acting like a grownup one tenth of the time. And yes, I have flowers on my wall that Granny sent me.

Good to be home :)

survival.

Not in achievement, but in endurance, of the human soul, does it show its divine grandeur and its alliance with the infinite.
Edwin Hubbel Chapin

just keep swimming.

Today, I swam with the fishies! :)

After leaving Guam, we had a swim call. It was a great day of fun for everyone... I even overcame my fear of heights and jumped from midships. Swimming in the ocean is kind of crazy, a little more difficult that normal and you are pretty buoyant. The temperature was perfect and the water was soooo blue.

that's a long ways down from the center...

It was one of those rare moments where I think how cool it is that this is my job.

inflation.

Do you see the price on that shelf?? In Guam, Andre' is over ten dollars! 

THIS, my friends, is what is wrong with this world.

homeward bound.

I have loved having some time to be back in in The States, but I am now ready to go home. Yes Cat, home as in Japan. :) 

My little Japanese apartment is calling my name, not just for some space and my familiar things, but also for the sweet "me time" that comes with it. It seems I have come to find peace and solidarity in that eight hundred square feet I can call my own. Living alone and traveling alone have helped me to learn that I can enjoy my own company. Yes, I will always love a chance to spend a weekend shopping and gossiping with Sarah, but I also like the freedom to do whatever I want whenever I want just because. I never would have thought that I would enjoy this, but I do. I don't want this forever, but right now it is just right.

It seems that I am still learning about myself with every little step. Either that, or I am getting old enough to eat alone at bars like my parents...      :)

war eagle.

One of the BEST parts of being back for a brief time is that I could watch my TIGERS on tv. Shockingly enough there is no American football on Japanese television. I am praying that we (I mean that we as in I will be yelling at the tv just as if I were there!) will give the Razorbacks a run for their money and leave Fayetteville with a win!

Hopefully, by next season I will really be there to cheer in person!

sd, ca.

I have been out of Japan for a few weeks, so I have been unable to come up with any new items that I find somewhat amusing like train signs or police-mobiles. Instead, I have resorted to laughing at US cities...

In case you cannot read the fine print, it reads: "Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol." I swear, the woman driving this car was seventy years old. Bless her heart, I am sure she is sweet, but what criminal will she be running down? It looks like your Grandma (no offense, Granny) is the only person who will be keeping me safe in this city... maybe the Japanese motor bikes are not so bad; those guys are pretty fit!

peace.

Peace: a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict.

So, inner peace could be described as the lack of violent inner conflict? This is the ultimate goal isn't it? This seems like such a simple thing but has proven, for me, to be quite a difficult task.


Not quite I year ago I was commissioned and "officially" joined the Navy, for better or for worse. I was certain it was much more for the worse, rather than better. The last year has been the greatest emotional roller coaster I have faced. I have dealt with changes in goals and directions, relationships, and even where I live, my time zone, and my day-to-day support network. I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out why and what this all means.... when I would feel better. I have looked for comfort in all directions even when it wasn't the best decision. I looked everywhere but inside. Today, not quite a year later, I stop the searching.


Today, I woke up and looked into the mirror at a girl who was smiling back at me. I stared for a moment before realizing the girl was actually me. I am, for better or worse, a year older a year stronger and a year happier. I was searching for a way to stand up on my own two feet and eventually I found it... only an ocean and a year away, plus some very good friends and family along the way.   :)

mom time.

What a wonderful way to spend a weekend in beautiful San Diego, with my favorite lady!

And, yes, we toured the Midway. Headphone and all.

welcome.

"Welcome to the United States...." 

What they should have said is, "Welcome back to your own country where you must get undressed, have all privacy violated, and have your possessions dug through  in the airport just to enter the country."

I am back in America! I am here just for a short time but fully plan to enjoy my few weeks in the San Diego sunshine with shopping, beaches, and a couple great visitors. :)

Ahhh.... how great to be back in The States, even for just a bit! This is the land where I can throw away trash however I want, read the street signs, order a pizza (with no mayo!), and get starbucks on nearly every street corner....

little things.

It's the little things that make me smile...

And, do I care that I bought these myself just to make my apartment a little more cheerful? Nope. :)

origami.

Origami (折り紙), from ori meaning "folding", and kami meaning "paper"; kami changes to gami due to rendaku) is the traditional Japanese art of paper folding.

My Disney Princess origami creation:

See, I told you I was practically Japanese.

ten.

It has been ten years today since I sat in Coach Rush's Speech Class my freshman year of high school in the Ag Barn and listened as the principal announced over the intercom that there had been an attack. It was in that classroom that I watched the second tower fall and learned what true hate and terror looks like.

I will never forget that moment. Our nation will never forget that day.

yummy.

bannana milk on the train? yes, please.

grownup.

Being a grownup is tiring.... today I got to work before dark and left after dark. Maybe I should have read the fine print way back when.... It is tiring and there is so much to figure out along the way about life and love...

"I guess when it comes down to it Being grown up isn't half as fun as growing up These are the best days of our lives The only thing that matters is just following your heart And eventually you'll finally get it right." - The Ataris

Tomorrow I get to do it all again. Eventually, the big lesson here will kick in and I will get it right.

courteous.

Dear Americans,

Please take notes from the Japanese on how to handle yourself while using public transportation.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

emily