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!