A Patriot's Project: One American's Journey

A Project Launched

2010-02-17T10:01:00.003+09:00

Whether your political views skew to the Left, the Right, or the Middle, it should be agreed upon that our nation is at a crossroads. However, we must look to the past in order to move confidently forward. With that in mind, I embark upon my quest into discovering the roots of America. I plan to read a biography on every one of our Presidents, peppered with a few biographies of other leading figures (how can you NOT read about Benjamin Franklin?), as well as defining moments in American history .
I have started by reading a biography of George Washington. Maybe not a unique starting position, but an obvious one. The biography I chose was "Washington: The Indispensable Man" by James Thomas Flexner. I'm only four chapters into it, but I have already learned so much about the man who became the "Father of our Country." I learned that he started out as a horrible commander. Washington had an innate understanding of critical nodes and junctures and that the current battle practices were inadequate and antiquated for battles raging in the New World. He resented the notion of the time that only those of blue-blooded origins, of which he had none, should serve in posts of command. In his regiment, promotion was awarded on merit! This is a practice that is sustained in our fighting forces today.
Although he understood he lacked the knowledge or experience to serve in the appointed posts, he failed to understand when he should keep his mouth shut and trust in those more experienced and knowledgeable in matters of strategy and war. One such event was the push to disengage the French from Fort Duquesne. Brigadier General John Forbes' strategy was to wait; to cut the French off from their supplies and their friends (the Indians). Washington riled against this strategy in the impetuousness of youth, thinking it too slow. However, he was amazed when, the regiment finally reached the fort, they pushed the French out without so much as a single shot fired.

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2009-03-01T09:18:00.001+09:00

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2009-03-01T09:10:00.001+09:00

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2009-01-26T15:29:00.001+09:00

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CIMG2976

2009-01-26T14:26:00.001+09:00

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2009-01-26T14:07:00.001+09:00

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2009-01-25T13:26:00.001+09:00

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2009-01-25T13:16:00.001+09:00

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30bday21catchstandanymore

2009-01-25T12:56:00.001+09:00

30bday20digginin
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30bday17morekaraoke
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30bday15easilyamused
30bday14candlesallout
30bday13huffandapuff
30bday12morelitthanthecake
30bday11happybirthdaydearchief
30bday10unsuspectingchief
30bday09herecomesthecake
30bday08wrongdecade
30bday07chickdigthesg1hat
30bday06peopleseyebrow
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30bday04letssang
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havensadachristmas06-1

2009-01-25T12:41:00.001+09:00

havensadachristmas06-3
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sada 4
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2009-01-23T12:11:00.001+09:00

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Winter hits Misawa

2008-12-21T19:28:00.003+09:00

Winter finally hits Misawa

Only snowing a couple of hours, and already there is well over 2 inches.

Zaar-dog out in the snow

DJ, the abominable snow-dog!

Hmmmm, last I checked, it wasn't the 25th, yet... Someone opened Christmas presents early! I think I found the culprit... returning to the scene of the crime.

looking guilty

He REALLY opened his present

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SOSHA XMAS Party 2008

2008-12-13T10:57:00.002+09:00

Our last Christmas in Misawa. Here are some photos from last night's SOSHA Christmas Party.

You're supposed to tell us before you jump into our arms

Awww, the love birds

Anthony not too happy having his pic taken

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Getting ready to do the bunny hop in respect to the XO's b-day

XO in bunny ears and a boa for his birthday

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A couple of my Sailors

Our table

Me and my new LPO

More of my Sailors

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Me and Wiensz,.. damn and I'm in heels, too

CO talking to the XO

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my soontobe former LPO

DJ 2TRU in action

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Me and Ant in front of the XMAS tree

A better pic

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Our spread

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2008-12-04T18:35:00.001+09:00

scan

Posted via Pixelpipe.

2008-11-29T20:01:00.001+09:00

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How's THIS for irony?

2008-10-13T20:25:00.001+09:00

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,436702,00.html

American Paul Krugman Wins the Nobel Prize for Economics

Monday, October 13, 2008

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — American Paul Krugman won the Nobel economics prize on Monday for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity.

Krugman, born in 1953, and a professor at Princeton University in New Jersey and a columnist for The New York Times, formulated a new theory to answer questions about free trade, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.

"What are the effects of free trade and globalization? What are the driving forces behind worldwide urbanization? Paul Krugman has formulated a new theory to answer these questions," the academy said in its citation.

"He has thereby integrated the previously disparate research fields of international trade and economic geography," it said.

Krugman was the lone winner of the $1.4 million award, the latest in a string of American researchers to be honored.

The award, known as the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, is the last of the six Nobel prizes announced this year and is not one of the original Nobels. It was created in 1968 by the Swedish central bank in Nobel's memory.

Acupuncture

2008-10-09T15:49:00.000+09:00

So I tried acupuncture today. Not bad. Stung a little. They put needles in my abdomen and ankles then hooked electrodes up to them. That part was a little weird. I felt a slight burning sensation, more on my left than my right. At some point, either my foot twitched, or I moved my big toe, something, cause all of the sudden I almost shrieked. Either the needle, or the electricity hit a nerve. It felt like I was stabbed in my bone. It only lasted a bit then faded. The guy then had me get on a massage table and put these booties that fill with air and squeeze your legs and the roller went up and down. The girl I went with had acupuncture done for weight loss and asked not to have the massage cause it hurt her back. He then had her lay down and he put needles in her back. She said her back felt a lot better and that she would prolly have it done again. All in all my treatment only cost me 2,000 yen, or $20! I have to go back in 5 days.

Also, I am on leave tomorrow! Navy B-day Ball is tomorrow night. Navy turns 233 on Monday.

A Little Article I Found on Foxnews.com

2008-10-08T16:37:00.002+09:00

Monday , October 06, 2008
By John R. Lott, Jr.

Article Link

When you interview for a job, here is a hint: make sure you know what the job is. Joe Biden failed that test last Thursday. He couldn’t even get right what a vice president does, but the media didn’t notice.

The media is all over itself about how smart and experienced Biden is. Political analyst Charlie Cook is quoted in the Washington Post on Saturday as saying “Biden is clearly so much more knowledgeable, by a factor of about a million.” Saturday Night Live does a skit about Biden being smart, if slimy. Meanwhile, Governor Sarah Palin is treated as being nothing more than a simpleton.

Yet, take Biden’s statement from the debate on the role of the vice president:

Vice President Cheney has been the most dangerous vice president we've had probably in American history. The idea he doesn't realize that Article I of the Constitution defines the role of the vice president of the United States, that's the Executive Branch. He works in the Executive Branch. He should understand that. Everyone should understand that.

And the primary role of the vice president of the United States of America is to support the president of the United States of America, give that president his or her best judgment when sought, and as vice president, to preside over the Senate, only in a time when in fact there's a tie vote. The Constitution is explicit.

The only authority the vice president has from the legislative standpoint is the vote, only when there is a tie vote. He has no authority relative to the Congress. The idea he's part of the Legislative Branch is a bizarre notion invented by Cheney to aggrandize the power of a unitary executive, and look where it has gotten us. It has been very dangerous.

One should be careful when throwing around terms such as “most dangerous” and “bizarre.” But Biden is confusing which part of the Constitution covers the Executive Branch (it is Article II, not Article I). More importantly, the notion that the vice president can preside over the Senate only when there is a tie vote is simply wrong. Nor is it true that the only legislative involvement the vice president has is to break tie votes. The vice president is the president of the Senate, where he interprets the rules and can only be overridden by a vote of 60 senators.

Early vice presidents spent a lot of time in the Senate. Thomas Jefferson even spent his time writing “A Manual of Parliamentary Practice: for the Use of the Senate of the United States.” Modern vice presidents may show up only when they think tie votes will occur, but that is their choice.

This isn’t rocket science. The Constitution on this point is very straightforward: “The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.”

Instead, it was Palin who got it right. Besides correctly stating that the vice president holds positions in both the executive and legislative branches, she also noted that:

Of course, we know what a vice president does. And that's not only to preside over the Senate and [I] will take that position very seriously also. I'm thankful the Constitution would allow a bit more authority given to the vice president if that vice president so chooses to exert it in working with the Senate and making sure that we are supportive of the president's policies and making sure too that our president understands what our strengths are.

But just as the vice president’s job includes more than simply being ready to assume the presidency if the president dies, the Constitution merely states what the vice president’s minimum responsibilities are.

Compare the uproar over Palin’s answer to Charlie Gibson about the “Bush Doctrine,” a doctrine that Gibson clearly didn’t understand and for which there apparently exist at least four different versions. Where is the outrage over Biden not understanding what vice presidents do? For Biden, his inability to correctly say what vice presidents do was surely his “gotcha” moment.

Yet, this mistake during the debate was hardly unique. Biden got a lot of things wrong in the debate that are going unnoticed by the fact-check media. Take just a few:

-- Will McCain's health care proposals raise taxes? Biden says that McCain’s proposal will cost people money. The Tax Foundation finds that could easily be "roughly deficit-neutral over ten years."

-- Under an Obama Administration the middle class will "pay no more than they did under Ronald Reagan"? No, the tax rates will be similar to the higher rates under Clinton.

-- Did "we spend more money in three weeks on combat in Iraq than we spent on the entirety of the last seven years that we have been in Afghanistan building that country"? No, one year’s worth of spending in Iraq equaled five in Afghanistan.

-- France and the U.S. "kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon"? No, and it wouldn't have made much more sense if he had said "Syria" instead.

-- Is it really “simply not true” that Obama said that he would meet with the leader of countries such as Iran without preconditions? No, Obama said “I would.”

-- Did Obama warn against letting Hamas participate in Palestinian legislative elections in 2005? No.

-- Do “Iraqis have an $80 billion surplus”? No. If oil prices had remained high, it might have reached $50 billion by the end of this year.

-- Finally, an amusing point as evidence that Biden is just one of the people he pointed to, inviting anyone to have a beer with him at "Katie's Restaurant" in Wilmington, Del. Unfortunately, people will have a hard time taking him up on his offer, since the restaurant hasn't had that name for probably 15 years.

Unfortunately, voters who are trying to get an accurate count on whether the candidates are telling the truth can’t rely on the media. FactCheck.org mentions only one of these points, the size of the Iraqi surplus. The Washington Post mentioned Biden’s misstatement on Hamas and Katie’s restaurant. AOL’s coverage of the errors in the vice presidential debate was by far the worst, though that might not be too surprising given that Tommy Christopher, who wrote their news analysis, also blogs on the Obama Web site. None of these checkers mentioned Biden's statements about the role of the vice president.

Compare this to the attacks on Sarah Palin:

-- FactCheck.org criticizes Palin for claiming that McCain’s health care tax credits will be "budget neutral" – they argue that the tax credit will be larger than the new taxes that the program will impose. Fine, but if the people at FactCheck.org believe that is true and that the Tax Foundation is wrong, Biden’s claim about increased taxes is even more inaccurate. But FactCheck.org doesn't even mention Biden’s statement from the debate.

-- From AOL's news analysis piece. “Palin: Said that it is untrue that the U.S. is killing civilians in Afghanistan. According to an analysis by the AP, however, the U.S. is killing more civilians than insurgents are.”

What Palin actually said was: “Now, Barack Obama had said that all we're doing in Afghanistan is air-raiding villages and killing civilians.” Whether one believes the AP estimate or not, the question is whether she was accurately characterizing Obama’s statement of the job that our forces were doing. And Obama said, “We’ve got to get the job done there and that requires us to have enough troops so that we’re not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians” (emphasis added).

-- FactCheck.org’s first critique claims that Palin was wrong to claim that troop levels in Iraq are down to their pre-surge levels. They are correct that after the recently announced drawdown, 6,000 more troops will be in Iraq than immediately before the surge. But why not mention that 84 percent of the 38,000 troops in the surge are home or are in the process of coming home?

The media seems to have been covering for Biden for some time. While news stories still talk about Dan Quayle’s spelling mistake 18 years later, there has been almost no news coverage of Biden’s numerous wacky statements. What if Quayle had said something similar to Biden’s recent statement that, "When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the, you know, the princes of greed. He said, 'Look, here's what happened.'" A neat trick given that Herbert Hoover was president in 1929 and television was not yet invented.

It might not fit the simple template for a 36-year veteran of the Senate to not understand what vice presidents do (after all, eight vice presidents have served with him), but Biden knew less about this than the political outsider, Sarah Palin. Given that they are running to be vice president, why didn’t that story dominate the news coverage after the debate?

Rules for Non-Military

2008-10-08T16:32:00.000+09:00

*Rules for Non-Military

Dear Civilians, 'We know that the current state of affairs in our great nation has many civilians up in arms and excited to join the military. For those of you who can't join, you can still lend a hand. Here are a few of the areas where we would like your assistance:

1. The next time you see any adults talking (or wearing a hat) during the playing of the National Anthem - kick their ass.

2. When you witness, firsthand, someone burning the American Flag in protest - kick their ass.

3. Regardless of the rank they held while they served, pay the highest amount of respect to all veterans. If you see anyone doing otherwise, quietly pull them aside and explain how these veterans fought for the very freedom they bask in every second. Enlighten them on the many sacrifices these veterans made to make this Nation great. Then hold them down while a disabled veteran kicks their ass.

4. (GUYS) If you were never in the military, DO NOT pretend that you were. Wearing battle dress uniforms (BDUs) or Jungle Fatigues, telling others that you used to be 'Special Forces,' and collecting GI Joe memorabilia, might have been okay when you were seven years old. Now, it will only make you look stupid and get your ass kicked.

5. Next time you come across an Air Force member, do not ask them, 'Do you fly a jet?' Not everyone
in the Air Force is a pilot. Such ignorance deserves an ass-kicking (children are exempt).

6. If you witness someone calling the US Coast Guard 'non-military', inform them of their mistake - and kick their ass.

7. Next time Old Glory (the US flag) prances by during a parade, get on your damn feet and pay homage to her by placing yo ur hand over your heart. Quietly thank the military member or veteran lucky enough to be carrying her - of course, failure to do either of those could earn you a severe ass-kicking.

8. Don't try to discuss politics with a military member or a veteran. We are Americans, and we all bleed the same, regardless of our party affiliation. Our Chain of Command is to include our Commander-In-Chief (C in C). The President (for those who didn't know) is our C in C regardless of political party. We have no inside track on what happens inside those big important buildings where all those representatives meet. All we know is that when those civilian representatives screw up the situation, they call upon the military to go straighten it out. If you keep asking us the same stupid questions repeatedly, you will get your ass kicked!

9. 'Your mama wears combat boots' never made sense to me - stop saying it! If she did, she would most likel y be a vet and therefore could kick your ass!

10. Bin Laden and the Taliban are not
Communists, so stop saying 'Let's go kill those Commies!' And stop asking us where he is! Crystal balls are not standard issue in the military. That reminds me- if you see anyone calling those damn psychic phone numbers, let me know, so I can go kick their ass!

11. 'Flyboy' (Air Force), 'Jarhead' (Marines), 'Grunt' (Army), 'Squid' (Navy), 'Puddle Jumpers' (Coast Guard), etc., are terms of endearment we use describing each other. Unless you are a service member or vet, you have not earned the right to use them. Using them could get your ass kicked.

12. Last, but not least, whether or not you become a member of the military, support our troops and their families. Every Thanksgiving and religious holiday that you enjoy with family and friends, please remember that there are literally thousands of soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen far from home wishing they could be with their families. Thank God for our military and the sacrifices they make every day. Without them, our country would get it's ass kicked.' 'It's the Veteran, not the reporter who has given us the freedom of the press.' 'It's the Veteran, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech.' 'It's the Veteran, not the campus organizer, who gives us the freedom to demonstrate.' 'It's the Military who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester toburn the flag.'

One more:
13. If you ever see anyone either standing for or singing the national anthem in a foreign language - KICK THEIR ASS.

Voted!

2008-10-08T05:46:00.000+09:00

I voted AGAINST every incumbent senator or congressmen going up for reelection. Those idiots couldn't find their head if it wasn't connected to their necks! Too busy trying to make Bush or the other side look bad than doing their damn jobs. I mean, when you start campaigning for the next higher job BEFORE you even get elected to the job you are running for, how can you expect to do your job?

Ah, Friday!

2008-10-04T08:06:00.000+09:00

So at the readiness run today, the wonderful 35th Fighter Squadron Base Honor Guard put the flag up upside down. Not once, but twice! This is the second ceremony they've done that at. Chief Master Sergeant Boggs told our Master Chief, that they need to replace the AF honor guard with a Navy honor guard so it'll get done right! LOL!

The Weekend has Begun

2008-10-03T14:31:00.001+09:00

Dudes and Dudettes. For Japan, the week is over. The weekend has begun, and I am settling down to watch some movies and play XBOX. This will be my only weekend this month to just chill. The rest of the month I either have to work, or have volunteer things (or both), or, like next weekend, have the Navy's B-day Ball to attend (which I was SUPPOSED to take leave for, but had to cancel due to a fracken class I have to teach). No Stargate Atlantis this week, but we have the two-hour Sanctuary premier to look forward to.

Pretty Good Day

2008-10-02T18:06:00.001+09:00

Had a pretty good day. Finished an award, did some GMT's, worked out. The 30 day shred is no joke! Ant did it with me, we are both pooped! We had steak and fries for dinner. 7 weeks until I am FREE! Oh and did we know that the Russian troops in Georgia are actually peacekeepers?

New Hair Dresser

2008-10-01T17:17:00.001+09:00

After two years, and many failed attempts, I finally found a great hairdresser in Japan! I've heard about her for the last year, but finally got around to making an appointment. She did a great job with my hair. Almost as well as the Seattle Hair God.

Thank YOU!

2008-09-23T16:11:00.001+09:00

Funny how life and living in a small community is. You talk to one person, who talks to another, and pretty soon info has gotten out. My camera was found! A friend talked to her friend who wound up having the camera. I get it back tomorrow, and I will send out pics.

To Whoever Stole My Camera

2008-09-21T18:07:00.000+09:00

You can keep it. I don't care about my camera. I do, however, care about the pictures on the camera. I can buy another camera, I cannot replace those pictures. So, whoever decided it would be fun to take advantage of a drunk Navy Chief, in uniform, no less, keep the damn thing. Just get me back my memory card, you piece of shit!
Nevermind you totally proved the very reputation of the ugly American Serviceman, you ripped off a fellow American Serviceperson. I hope you are proud of yourself!

And, Surprisingly, Lightening Did NOT Strike!

2008-07-28T12:42:00.003+09:00

Well, guys... Hanging out here in Seattle with my friends the Z's. I attended church with them (yes, the Catholic kind), and I am still left standing to tell about it! I cannot believe it. Not only that, but we had the funniest priest, one referred to in tighter circles as Father Chappel, for obvious reasons once you hear him talk. The old biddies gave stink eye to all with young children who were less then quiet. Of course, it was only fitting that Z and I picked the ONLY pew without a kneeler, and the asian lady next to us kneeled anyway, so... we were guilted into it. On the way up, we cried Jesus Christ, not because we were particularly moved, but because we wanted to move and couldn't.
We then went on a Ferry Boat over to Whitbey Island to see another old neighbor from Hawaii. That was actually a pretty cool ride. Will post pictures later.

Heading to Tokyo

2008-05-09T05:49:00.001+09:00

I am taking a 4-day weekend this week, and Ant and I are heading to Tokyo's Roppongi district to see what we can see. We head down on Saturday morning, bright and early, on the Xinkansen (bullet train for you non-nihongo speaking peeps). I've never been on it in the day time and heard it is a trip. We hope to go to the zoo that day after checking into our hotel. We are also planning to visit the Tokyo Tower on Sunday. One night we plan on visiting the Tokyo Absolute Ice Bar, which is this bar where everything is made of ice, from the tables to the walls, to the art. We'll be back Monday afternoon. I plan to take lots of pictures so I'll post them on here.

Holy CRAP!

2008-04-29T16:30:00.003+09:00

OK, so two weeks ago, Ant and I were woken up by a 5.7 at 0430 located in the ocean on the other side of Japan from us. Today, I am standing in an office at work, and I had just leaned on the fridge in that office when some one shouted, WOAH! I look up and the walls are swaying back and forth, rather noticeably. It went on for at least 30 seconds! Things were rattling on the walls and on the shelves. I look up on the USGS site, 5.8, about 65 miles east of us; 40 miles deep.

Check out the link...

Anniversary and the Trip Back

2008-04-15T10:18:00.005+09:00

Well, Saturday was my husband's and my 8th wedding anniversary. As with many of our anniversaries, we spent it apart. I was enjoying my last night in Hawaii, the place we got married, with friends out to dinner. I guess that isn't a bad way to spend an anniversary if you can't be with your significant other.
Sunday I started my trip back to Misawa. Everything went smoothly, for the most part, until we took off, that is. I made it to the gate in a half hour (not bad for checking the bags, getting my boarding pass, getting through security, etc.) and finished reading my book (good thing I brought two along with me). We boarded slightly late, but no worries, AND I think I was the only non-Japanese person on board. The entire last quarter of the plane was empty. I had the ENTIRE row to myself, and I don't mean the couple of seats around me, I mean the ENTIRE row.
However, as soon as we took off, I knew it was going to be a bumpy flight. We had the WORST turbulence. I about got air sick it was so bad. One of the flight attendants almost hit her head on the ceiling before the captain finally turned on the fasten seatbelt sign. AND people kept getting up, even with the fasten seatbelt sign on. They tried to "hurry" to the bathroom. Of course, the captain tended to wait until the turbulence was just about over to put on the seatbelt sign. Details.
When I made it to Japan, I about kissed the ground. Immigration was a turn, too. For once there were fewer foreigners coming in to Japan than Japanese. There were even some Buddist nuns from Tibet in the line with us!
I Black Catted my bags to Misawa and caught the train to Tokyo Central. Ran the 6 flights of stairs and escalators to the XinKanSen (bullet train) in 9 minutes (took of 30 seconds after I sat down). Then caught the 13 minute ride to Misawa from Hachinohe. I was even home 90 minutes early!
It feels good to be home. A little weird. Of course it is going to fell even more weird when I start back up work tomorrow.

China is a Crafty Country

2008-04-09T14:50:00.003+09:00

We've heard a lot about the Olympic torch, and its troubled journey through France and other places. We heard that because those pesky dissidents have no regard for people's safety (knocking over a woman in a wheel chair in France), the Chinese government had no choice but to cancel the Paris leg of the torch relay. What they "failed" to mention is that the Chinese government has a team of Chinese special forces guys running with the torch to guarantee its security, and it was THEY who knocked the woman over in her wheel chair, not a bunch of wild dissidents. So, if you haven't figured it out before, don't believe what is said about the Olympics, or the various aspects of the dissident movement in relation to the Olympics. China's Olympics are troubled, and they are trying desperately to save face at this point, in any way they can.

Chinese Style Divorce, Revisions

2008-04-09T14:46:00.003+09:00

OK, so there were a few parts of Chinese Style Divorce that I didn't quite understand or missed all together. So this blog is to shore up those bits. For one thing, Xiao Feng's dad had her with another woman, who Xiao Feng knew as "Auntie." This was the woman who died early on in the show, and the reason why the mom had Xiao Feng go with the dad to the funeral. I guess the mother adopted her when they met and married. Gao Song took a promotion and moved to Tibet. That be about it...

Chinese Style Divorce Chapter 23

2008-04-04T16:47:00.001+09:00

OK peeps. Here it is. The long awaited Chapter 23. Thanks for hanging in there with me.
Xiao Feng’s mom wakes up in the hospital with dad by her side. Dan Dan is at the grandparent’s house being spoon fed soup by his mom. Uncle is hanging around, too. Tells her that their parents are coming home, she says she’ll leave. He tells her no, don’t.
Dong Bei and Gao Song are having a drink together with dinner. He tells Gao Song that he wants to divorce his new wife because he is still in love with Qun Zi. Then he breaks a bottle over Gao Song’s head. Gao Song just looks at him in surprise as blood starts to poor down his face.
Mom is lamenting on her children and grandchildren’s lives. Then takes off her jade bracelet for her husband to give her daughter.
Xiao Feng goes back the apartment and surveys the damage she caused. She looks at the broken glass of the windows. Gao Song is in the hospital with a bandage on his head, lamenting to Qun Zi about Xiao Feng. Xiao Feng shows up to the hospital, and sees Qun Zi in the room with her husband. She stops outside the door to listen. He goes on about how sometimes no matter how much you love someone, you cannot make it know to them. He starts to cry… So does Xiao Feng outside the door. He goes on about how angry she is, and he doesn’t know why. Qun Zi tells him she loves him, but he says she is a child, and knows nothing about such things. He goes on about how much he still loves Xiao Feng. Now everyone is crying. He asks Qun Zi to leave. Xiao Feng leaves, too.
Mom is getting tired, tells dad so. He tells her to go ahead and rest, knowing full well that she is prolly about to die. She tells him to not be sad, to go to sleep, too. Next, Xiao Li visits Gao Song in the hospital. Asks if he is going to divorce Xiao Feng. He thinks awhile. Then says it is too troubling. Shakes her hand as she leaves.
Qun Zi finds Dong Bei hanging around the hospital. She actually decides to talk to him. They look at each other a while. Dong Bei hopeful… oops, nope. Qun Zi smacks him nice and hard right across the face. He’s like, ok, yeah, I deserved that. Off she walks. Good Girl!!!!
Later when the nurse comes to give mom her medicine, dad can’t wake her. She’s died. Gao Song, newly released from the hospital, walks in on that sad scene. He leaves, letting them be. Next scene, the funeral attended by Dad, Xiao Feng, Brother, and Dan Dan. They try and get dad to leave the plot, but he has to be pulled away. He is overcome with grief. Xiao Feng supports him as they walk back to the car. He hands her her mom’s jade bracelet. Tells her her mom loved her, wanted her to live well. Tells Xiao Feng that she has another sister. Her mother knew about it. It was with her mother’s sister. He’d spent the rest of her mother’s life trying to make it up to her. Xiao Feng walks away in utter shock. Gao Song spends the night in bed awake, alone. Xiao Feng spends the night alone on the dock, thinking. The dad spends the night looking at his wife’s picture. Xiao Feng calls Gao Song on his cell. She tells him they need to talk. He asks if they can do it over the phone, she says no, face-to-face. He says he doesn’t have time. He’s sorry. Gao Song heads to the Christmas party. He gets up and gives the speech he should have given last year. He thanks his bosses for giving him the opportunity. He apologizes for the trouble he’s caused. They drink to his boss. Xiao Feng shows up in the back. Everyone turns to look, wondering what will happen. He says he needs to thank his wife, for without her, he wouldn’t be there. He tells her he misses her and walks off the stage. Xiao Feng stays in the back of the room then asks if she can speak. They give her the stage. She tells them about her other sister. And how her parents forgave each other. She tells her husband she loves him. They’d been married for over 10 years, and they’d both forgotten that they loved one another. She says that if he decides not to stay with her, she’ll grant him a divorce.
They then return to the refurbished home. They just stand in silence for a while. Gao song looking at Xiao Feng, Xiao Feng looking out the window. She finally speaks his name, he walks over to her. Touches her face, kisses her. Then the camera pans to the divorce document.

Chinese Style Divorce Chapter 22

2008-04-03T15:49:00.000+09:00

Xiao Feng is back at her apartment, grinding up her pain pills. Dumps the concoction into two wine glasses. Qun Zi shows up, driven by Gao Song. She carries a huge bouquet of flowers to give Xiao Feng. Qun Zi talks Gao Song into letting her go alone. But he insists on coming up if only for a moment. Xiao Feng can’t remember whose glass she put the drugs into, and tries to switch glasses with Qun Zi. Gao Song is asked to join them in their meal of appeasement.
Dong Bei goes over to Qun Zi’s house. She isn’t there. He calls her apartment. She isn’t there idiot! He then tries her cell. She answers asking where she is. He wants her to leave and come see him. She tells him to go to hell. She continues her meal with the estranged couple. Having not been able to switch the glasses, Xiao Feng offers a toast. She goes back into the kitchen and washes down the pills into the sink.
Dong Bei comes rushing in while dinner is going on. Qun Zi takes her leave to deal with Dong Bei leaving Gao Song and Xiao Feng alone. They sit in silence. Xiao Feng finally says she should go. Gao Song tells her go, then! She storms out. Her brother is waiting for her outside. He wants to know how it all went.
Dong Bei is angry at Qun Zi’s anger. Isn’t she the one who wanted the divorce? Qun Zi says she is in love with some one. Who he asks? She walks off.
Xiao Feng tries to get Dan Dan to drink his milk. He complains of a stomachache. She is getting upset with him not drinking his milk again. He spills it, she knocks him down. He head is bleeding, bad. She calls Gao Song, who is eating noodles alone, to come help. Brother is holding him on the front seat, trying to staunch the bleeding. They get to the hospital, Xiao Feng waits nervously in the waiting room. Gao Song and her get into it. He wants to know what happened. He has some stitches in the end, but is fine. Xiao Feng agrees to go back to the apartment, as that is where Dan Dan wants to be. They all sleep in bed together.
Next day, Gao Song is called into his bosses office. The boss tells him they are thinking about letting him go. That night, Xiao Feng asks to have a chat with Gao Song. He tells her to go ahead. She talks about how they’ve been together 10 years, that Dan Dan isn’t that old. Their relationship is having a negative impact on Dan Dan. She is really trying here, but he laughs her off. She storms back into their bedroom. Gao Song sleeps that night at work. Xiao Feng spends the time online chatting with her “friend.”
Dong Bei goes back to see Qun Zi at her apartment. She doesn’t let him in. He calls her apartment. She doesn’t answer. He calls her cell phone. She doesn’t answer. He calls Gao Song, who’s at the hospital. Decides to meet him there. Gao Song and Xiao Feng are still chatting. Xiao Feng decides she wants to “meet” him. Will Gao Song finally have his proof to earn a divorce? He agrees to meet with her. Of course, as they are setting up the place and time, Gao Song is called away for a surgery. Xiao Feng continues her discussion with Dong Bei.
The next day, Dong Bei meets with Qun Zi. He asks who she is in love with. She tells him none of his business and storms off. Xiao Feng anxiously awaits her online lover. Gao Song watches her from afar. He then approaches her and asks who she is waiting for. They go home, he shows her all her emails and chats he’s printed out over the weeks and months. She starts destroying the place. Goes wild. Breaks windows, pots, tables, lamps, the computer… EVERYTHING is fair game. Gao Song just stands and watches. Dan Dan cowers in his room. After the house is severely destroyed, and there is a lull in the noise, Dan Dan comes out of his room with a little knife and begins to cut himself. He is rushed to the hospital where they are met by the rest of the family. They all crowd around him when he comes out with his wounds stitched up. Xiao Feng’s mom takes it particularly hard and slaps her daughter, HARD. Says she is ashamed of her as a daughter, then collapses with a heart attack from all the excitement.
Next day, Gao Song walks into his office followed by his students. Finds Xiao Feng in his office. They all give their condolences. He asks them to leave, she tells them not to. That she wants them all to hear what she has to say. She tells him that he doesn’t have any feelings for her or their son. He doesn’t care for anyone. He has no one. He is no one. He leaves, head down. Xiao Feng calls after him. He turns, shakes his head, and walks out. She then breaks the window to his office and prepares to jump. They all just stare at her. Gao Song gets down on his knees in shock and horror. Xiao Feng turns and looks at him, he bows to her, eyes wide and pleading… He lowers his head and cries.

Chinese Style Divorce Chapter 21

2008-04-03T15:48:00.000+09:00

When Xiao Feng’s brother goes to talk to Gao Song, Gao Song is already packed and ready to leave. He tells the bro that he still loves Xiao Feng, but too many things have gotten in the way. They have nothing in common anymore. He knows she hates him… divorce is the only way they both can be happy. Brother goes to take his leave, but runs into Xiao Feng on the way out. She rushes in to see what damage her brother has caused to Gao Song now. She sees the bags, asks where he is going. He says, she already knows. They fight, she storms out, taking her brother with her.
Later, as she sits in shock at her parents’ house, her brother tries to talk her down. She refuses a divorce. She insists he was seeing another woman, that she saw it with her own eyes. THAT is why he wants a divorce, she says. She goes to see a lawyer. See what she can do.
Xiao Feng goes back to the doctor. He says she is better, but he is still concerned.
She goes with her brother to buy a video cameral, maybe to catch him in the act so she can have evidence against him???
Qun Zi runs into Gao Song out in town. She has her neighbor with her. They talk.
That night, Xiao Feng sneaks out to spy on Gao Song. If it isn’t a woman, she doesn’t know why her marriage is failing. She returns home, takes off her shoes, puts them away, and sneaks around the house. Gao Song is asleep, she video’s it and leaves. She continues to video tape Gao Song. Even outside his work, talking to Qun Zi. Of course, He gives her a ride somewhere, opens the door for her… She just continues to video tape them, going out with friends, etc. She follows them EVERYWHERE. ALL the time. American PI’s have nothing on Xiao Feng.
She takes the tape to her lawyer, who asks how often they were together. Xiao Feng responds day after day… basically says that, according to the law, it isn’t enough to prove he is having an affair.
Qun Zi is out with her neighbor drinking and crying. He takes her home.
Xiao Feng sneaks back into their apartment. Gao Song isn’t home, yet. It is almost 2am! WTF!!! Qun Zi stumbles into her apartment with her neighbor helping her. Xiao Feng pulls up to the apartment building… Qun Zi passes out on the bed, her neighbor tries to rape her. Xiao Feng thinks it is Gao Song and bangs on the door. Qun Zi escapes and opens the door to let her in. Xiao Feng storms in only to see an empty apartment as asshat escapes down the pole. She slaps Qun Zi and storms back home, wakes the now home Gao Song and cusses him out. She goes back to her parents to tell her bro, he isn’t buying it. He asks if she is sure it was him.
Next day at work, Qun Zi walks in with a puffy face from the face slap Xiao Feng gave her. Yells at Gao Song about it. He is shocked, SHOCKED I tell you!
Xiao Feng is now testing a voice recorder, playing with Dan Dan. She leaves it hidden in the house as she tries to get Gao Song to confess. He tells her about the night of the storm, when she followed him originally. He tells her what really happened, about Qun Zi finding out about Dong Bei’s marriage, and her getting upset. He went to calm her down, you see. She isn’t buying it. He yells at her for hitting people. She tells him to go to hell. He storms out. She takes her recorder and leaves with her brother.
She storms into his boss’s office the next day. Boss calls security and asks to have Gao Song brought to his office.
Xiao Feng calls and apologizes to Qun Zi. She now buys what happened that night. Asks Qun Zi to come meet her. Qun Zi tells her she’ll be there. Xiao Feng takes a camera, and her pills?

Chinese Style Divorce Chapter 20

2008-04-02T15:19:00.000+09:00

Chapter 20 sees Gao Song filling out divorce paperwork. He leaves it on Xiao Feng’s computer desk. She rips it up, too. Xiao Feng tells her “lover” that she doesn’t’ know what to do. Her parents health isn’t so good and Dan Dan is still so young.
Gao Song goes out clubbing with Qun Zi. Though, he doesn’t do much besides sit at the bar and drink while Qun Zi throws some epileptic fit that, I guess passes for dancing on the China Club scene. He then leaves, Qun Zi follows saying she’ll leave with him. He tries to tell her no, he’ll get a ride home, but she goes to leave anyway. She and her friends drag him to her house. More drinks all around. He actually turns it down once again. Xiao Feng calls Qun Zi, she lies for Gao Song. They then leave. Xiao Feng sees Gao Song get out of the cab with Qun Zi in it. She isn’t happy.
The next day, Qun Zi asks Gao Song if Xiao Feng suspected anything because she wasn’t answering or returning her calls. He says no. He goes out again the next night to the club scene. If you think Qun Zi was having an epileptic fit, Gao Song was doing an even better impression, off in a corner, all by himself. Working out some issues. Qun Zi sees him and cries (have no clue why, other than maybe his dancing was causing her actual, physical pain).
Again, Xiao Feng waits for him, this time seeing him pace outside the house. He hangs with Dong Bei the next day. Plays pool. Dong Bei tells him how he now understands it all. He asks how Qun Zi is. Gao Song tells him she’s fine. Hanging with friends. Qun Zi is supposed to have plans with Dong Bei later that night. But he never shows. She goes to his house and finds the locks are changed, her key no longer works. She comes face to face with the new little lady.
Qun Zi calls Gao Song in tears. Telling him she needs his help. He lies to Xiao Feng telling her work called, he needs to go in. It is storming something fierce outside. She doesn’t believe him. Gets dressed and follows him out (and where is Dan Dan, you ask? Your guess is as good as mine).
Dong Bei and the new little lady are hanging out at home. Dong Bei is agitated. He seems to be having second thoughts on his second marriage. He is worried about Qun Zi. Meanwhile, Xiao Feng is in a cab following Gao Song. He meets up with Qun Zi who asks if he knew about Dong Bei and why didn’t he tell her… (I guess she didn’t really know, oops). She is ready to commit harry-carry! He apologizes, says it is for her own good… she says whatever… she goes crazy, of course, this is when Xiao Feng drives up in her taxi, to see him wrestling with her, trying to keep her safe, trying to get her into his car. Now she thinks he is sleeping with Qun Zi. Dong Bei comes running over to Qun Zi’s to check on her. Of course, she is out, having a melt down. He sits on her stoop, worrying. Here comes Qun Zi, escorted by Gao Song. She thanks him, apologizes and goes upstairs to her apartment. Qun Zi meets up with a worried Dong Bei who is also very jealous. She tells him to drop dead and runs into her apartment.
Gao Song leaves. Its pouring, and there, of course, waiting for him outside, is Xiao Feng. PISSED AS ALL HELL. He tries to explain, but she is livid. Wild. She slaps him, HARD. Crumbles down the stairs of the building, having fallen and hurting her back. But she refuses help from him. Now he’s just had the night from hell.
Later, Dan Dan is sleeping with Xiao Feng, her back still hurting. She asks him to look at her back. Her back is bruised as hell. Dan Dan is worried. She makes it to the doctor the next day. He tells her she’s bruised and needs to take it easy (gee thanks, ASS!). Gao Song makes it home and finds her X-rays. HE takes a look at them.
Xiao Feng’s older brother comes once again for a visit. He asks about the parents. They decide to take a taxi, as Xiao Feng Cannot drive. Dan Dan tells her that his mom and dad fought, and she got hurt. She goes to her parents to help with dinner. Asks where her brother is. Mom tells her he went to her house. Xiao Feng is in a panic, and in pain, as she races back home to stop her brother from beating the crap out of her husband. Too late, bro is waiting for Gao Song. IT IS ON!!! He tries to explain it to bro, but he isn’t hearing it. Bro warned him about hitting women! Hitting his sister is even worse. Starts counting down. Xiao Feng is slowly making it up the stairs. Makes it in just in time to stop the beat down. ALMOST. He pushes Xiao Feng aside and punches the crap out of Gao Song. She tells him it wasn’t his fault, her injury. Tells him to leave. They ride back in relative silence, which broke long enough for her to tell her bro not to tell the rents.
They go back to the parents house to celebrate mom’s b-day. She is sorry Gao Song couldn’t make it. Xiao Feng makes his regards, saying he had something at work. Ma calls Gao Song, he says he’s sick. She tells him to take care of his health. Dad gets mom a read coat.
Next day, Dan Dan is riding with uncle. They are talking (AGAIN! No seat belts, none, zip, nada). Dan Dan says he’s scared. Xiao Feng’s bro tells him not to be. It will all be alright. Bro goes to see Gao Song. Bro asks if they could talk. Dan Dan tells Xiao Feng that uncle is at home, talking to dad. She rushes out, again… (did I mention that you can see their breaths INSIDE during this last scene?)

Could YOU Pass This Citizenship Test?

2008-04-02T11:44:00.000+09:00

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 8 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

Chinese Style Divorce Chapter 19

2008-04-01T13:52:00.000+09:00

Xiao Feng tries to get Dan Dan to drink some milk before bed. He says he doesn’t want to. Xiao Feng gets midievil on his ass. Gao Song stops her. They get into a huge fight. Dan Dan, not wanting to cause another fight, drinks the damn milk only to throw it right up. She again is up half the night waiting for a response from her mystery lover, AKA Dong Bei. Next day, Qun Zi tries to tell Gao Song how great being single is. How she and Dong Bei are great friends now. He helps her out, they go out on the weekends (i.e., they are dating). Gao Song tells her to shut up, that their situations aren’t the same. She tells him to go to hell. He then calls a divorce lawyer.
The lawyer basically says it won’t be so easy, due to them having a young child. He tells Gao Song it might be better to work things out. There may be no other way.
Mystery lover emails Xiao Feng, which just rocks her world. Of course, Gao Song gets a hold of it. He is concerned cause she thinks she is “seeing” another man. He prints out her emails.
In the morning, she is all nice to Xiao Li again… volunteering to take Niu Niu to school. Xiao Li is less then thrilled and asks Gao Song what is up? She is so manic! He says she is going through the change (of course, blame EVERYTHING on female troubles). Xiao Li says it isn’t possible, she isn’t even 40, yet. Gao Song says of course it is possible.
Dong Bei is out at night with sultry girl. They continue to play drinking games. Qun Zi is expecting him, though. I guess she thinks they are still married. She prepared little Jiaozi with money in them. She waits and waits… She goes to call, then realizes she doesn’t have the right.
Gao Song takes the emails to his lawyer, who tells him they aren’t conclusive to showing intent to harm either him or their son, which is the only way he will be able to obtain a divorce. He walks away dejectedly. Gao Song laments to Dong Bei at the office. Qun Zi walks in and there is an awkward exchange. He apologizes.
At this point, Gao Song becomes desperate. He starts emailing Xiao Feng and chatting with her from an internet café. She tells him to call her on a pay phone. She proceeds to sit and wait for that phone call. Gao Song calls her from another pay phone, realizing that she monitors his cell phone. She answers after several rings, but neither says a word for quite a while. Finally she says hello… Asks who is on the other end. Gao Song hangs up.
Later they are messaging one another. She asked why he didn’t say anything when he called her. He said he was nervous. Then prints out their conversations.
Qun Zi is having dinner with Gao Song and Xiao Feng and lets it slip that Dong Bei is remarrying. Her first question, of course, is who is she? Gao Song tells her about Dong Bei and Sultry woman’s engagement party coming up, asks if she wants to go. She says yes… and they go. Gao Song offers a toast to Dong Bei and Sultry woman. He is ribbed about not drinking. Gao Song actually refuses to drink and sticks to it. Xiao Li drinks instead to offer the toast, though she is none to happy with him getting married so quickly after divorcing Qun Zi.
That night, Gao Song asks Xiao Feng to take a look at something he has written. It is about a divorce. She rips it up and goes to bed.

Chinese Style Divorce Chapter 18

2008-03-27T16:25:00.003+09:00

Qun Zi returns home. Dong Bei and Xiao Feng continue their on-line chats. He tells her how he has really learned a lot. He thought he could get married and have things not change. He realizes now he has to be unselfish. He explains how women in their 20s are kind of childish, but women in their 30s have something unique.
Xiao Feng is called "Xiao Gunianr" by a woman while out walking (basically young lady). She is thrilled. Gao Song comes back from his business trip. He notices a marked difference in her demeanor. He says she even looks younger. He admits he still loves her.
Xiao Feng is ecstatic when she sees Qun Zi next. She seems to have fallen in love with her online friend (oops, she really doesn't know it is Dong Bei). But Qun Zi seems to have figured in out. Tells her that Dong Bei has been chatting a lot online. Xiao Feng says it isn't possible. Qun Zi beings to snoop through Dong Bei's computer, figuring out his passoword, she signs into his messenger. Sure enough, there is Xiao Feng telling him she thinks of him, and how she wishes they can meet in person.
Meanwhile, he drives by his bar, knowing his sultry vixen is in it, but chooses not to go in. He comes home to a once again devastated Qun Zi. She tells him she wants a divorce. And off they go the next day to get the divorce (quick process in China). He says he's sorry. After a chat, she grabs him and cries. They tell each other they still love each other. He asks her to remarry him. She says she can't trust him.
Dong Bei and Gao Song have dinner together. Dong Bei tells of his recent divorce.
Again, more chats between Xiao Feng and Dong Bei. Qun Zi mourns her marriage. She goes back to the apartment to collect her stuff. Dong Bei comes home in the middle of it. Sees the picture of them, once torn, now taped back together. The next day, she takes one last look around. Goes to grab her bag, but Dong Bei stops her. Asks where she will go. She says she will go and stay with a girl friend. Then find herself a place. He tells her she can always stay there.
Xiao Feng and Xiao Li meet on the street. Xiao Feng tries to act like nothing has happened. Xiao Li seems to be pretty forgiving and they make plans for later. Xiao Li asks Gao Song what is up with her. He doesn't know, but he seems pretty happy with Xiao Feng's turn of attitude. Then he thinks about it and considers that she could be having an affair. He goes to sleep in Dan Dan's bed.
The next day, Dong Bei helps Qun Zi look for a new place. Nothing seems to fit. They start to talk... maybe start to reconcile... but then the idiot turns on the radio. Qun Zi shuts down. Later at work, she signs into his account. They then have lunch together. She tells him she found a place.
Meanwhile, Xiao Feng is stalking Dong Bei over the internet. She waits furtively for him to appear on line. Writes him 50 some emails a day. She is upset again, turns manic against Xiao Li and Niu Niu. Xiao Li tells her daughter that Xiao Feng is sick in the head. She is upset and taking it out on everyone else.
Dong Bei helps Qun Zi move into her tiny, micro apartment. He says it is small, she says it is just one person.
Xiao Feng is constantly on line waiting for Dong Bei to appear. She is manic over it. Dong Bei is having dinner with Qun Zi. They decide to stay friends.

Ben & Jerry Ought to be Arrested!

2008-03-27T14:29:00.001+09:00

Their Peach Cobbler ice cream is absolutely a crime! Holy CRAP!!!! It is wonderfully delish!

Chinese Style Divorce Chapters 16 & 17

2008-03-26T16:31:00.000+09:00

Qun Zi is sleeping on the couch. She still cannot bring herself to sleep in their bed. Dong Bei, being ever so smart, proceeds to continue to visit his favorite bar. Lately he has been hanging out with a very sultry woman. Even brings Gao Song into it. Nothing happens, just someone for them to talk to. But still. He has been chatting online with Xiao Feng, even, about their perspective others.
Niu Niu is told by Dan Dan that he isn’t allowed to play with her anymore. His mother has told him not to. Hurt she runs to her mother, who is understandably upset by this turn of events.
Xiao Feng and Qun Zi have made up. They are back to hanging out again.
Gao Song and Xiao Feng have a terse equilibrium going on. Though she keeps making cracks about other women. He has continued to not answer her calls.
Dong Bei is still trying to make things up to Qun Zi, but she seems pretty set on breaking things off at this point. She has dinner with Xiao Feng, they lament about the idiocies of men. Qun Zi tells Xiao Feng that she is just too unhappy. In her heart she knows she still loves Dong Bei, but she can’t ever see herself trusting him again.
Dong Bei, fresh off his thwarted romantic overture, goes back to his favorite bar where he runs into the passed out sultry chick. He writes his name and phone number on her arm for her to find upon waking. How utterly romantic.
Qun Zi is sleeping in Dan Dan’s room. Gao Song is sleeping at Dong Bei’s on Qun Zi’s couch (he’s drunk again).
Xiao Feng and Dong Bei chat online while Gao Song is behind Dong Bei, Xiao Feng doesn’t know. Dong Bei asks if she still loves Gao Song. She takes a while to respond, but ultimately says she hates him. Gao Song is crushed. Gao Song tells Dong Bei to ask why she doesn’t divorce him. She says because she hates him. Dong Bei asks what kind of logic is that? If she hates him so, divorce him. Gao Song realizes that he has no other choice.
Gao Song starts to knock back the drinks. He goes off on Dong Bei and storms into Dong Bei’s room.
Next day the phone rings, it is Xiao Fengs dad. Her mom is sick. She calls Gao Song and asks him to come. He says sorry, he forgot to tell her, but he is out of town on business until tomorrow. She yells that his work seems to be more important than her.
Dong Bei makes it out with his sultry woman. They play drinking games. Dong Bei keeps losing. Qun Zi is home all alone on her couch.
Gao Song goes over to Xiao Li’s. He asks her to watch Dan Dan. Understandably she tells him where to stick it.
Dong Bei returns home. He takes a shower, but Sultry Girl calls. Guess who answers? Surprisingly, she doesn’t make anything of it.
Xiao Feng is seeing to her mother. Seeing her father and mother together makes her realize that that is what she wants, too.
Sultry Girl keeps calling Dong Bei. For once he mans up and doesn’t answer. Now he takes to stalking his wife. She’s over at Gao Song’s watching little Dan Dan while his parents are otherwise occupied. He falls asleep in his car outside their apartment building.

More Idiocy

2008-03-25T03:08:00.001+09:00

OK, so this 70's radical had her sentence reduced and they let her out on parole last week. Then this week, they issue a warrant for her rearrest, saying, "OOPS, we miscalculated your release date BY A YEAR." I'm sorry, but that is just cruel and unusual punishment, and isn't that illegal in this country? I know she murdered someone and all that. But to let her out of prison and have her start to try and adjust to life again, only to pull her back for more. It was their bad.

The Chinese Olympic Games are F-d!

2008-03-25T03:02:00.002+09:00

Just watching the news and seeing the protests during the Olympic torch lighting ceremony in Greece. I'm sorry, they are just Fucked! I don't see a full out boycott, but I do see lots of protests, even athletes pulling out due to this Tibet mess.
They then interviewed the Olympic Head. He's like the call for boycott is unfounded. He said the Olympic committee is in constant talks with China about human rights. Get this, he called it Silent Diplomacy! So how are you in talks with someone if it is silent? Do you TEXT your thoughts to the other party? He was so paid by the Chinese!

Polynesian Cultural Center

2008-03-24T12:22:00.002+09:00

Last weekend I went with my new friend, Sam, to the Polynesian Cultural Center. Now, I've been there before, but never the all day thing. Just the food and show. This time, we did the all day thing. Here are some pictures.

Chinese Style Divorce Chapters 14 & 15

2008-03-24T12:21:00.001+09:00

Xiao Feng is over trying to talk Qun Zi out of having a late-term abortion. Doesn’t work, so she drops her off at the hospital. Dong Bei tries desperately to get ahold of Qun Zi, and when he does, she tells him the baby is already gone. So, what does a guy do? He goes and pays for sex! So Qun Zi comes home to get some things, ooops, there is a red stocking that the hooker left behind!
Xiao Feng drops Qun Zi off at Dong Bei’s after she returns from her parents’ home. While Qun Zi and Dong Bei talk, Xiao Feng goes and looks at the wedding video. OOOPS! There is Xiao Li, the neighborlady, dancing with her drunk husband at the wedding, and her husband’s hands all over her. Too late, Qun Zi realizes what Xiao Feng is watching and goes to try and explain. Xiao Feng grabs the disk and runs to the corner photo shot to get prints made of the video. Afterwards, she comes across Xiao Li walking with her friends on the street and about runs her down with her car. Xiao Feng storms out of her car and lays into Xiao Li right there in the street. A huge crowd forms to watch the entertainment. Traffic is blocked in both directions, and the police just stand there taking it in. Xiao Li takes it for a bit, then lays back. Xiao Feng slaps the hell out of her, and is tackled by Qun Zi, who has finally arrived to break it up. Xiao Feng and Gao Song may be in the dumps again, but it looks like Qun Zi and Dong Bei have worked things out.

Dong Bei has managed to get ahold of Gao Song to warn him. So he is prepared, slightly, for the mess he is about to come home to. Xiao Feng is crazy with rage and sadness. Poor Dan Dan is in his room trying to keep it all out of his head. Xiao Feng asks if his ED line is for real, or if it is another lie. He says, of course it is the truth. She doesn’t believe it and tosses the bedroom about. Dan Dan is in his bed crying. The next day, it is obvious that Xiao Feng and Gao Song have been up all night, again.
Qun Zi and Gao Song run into each other at work. She tells him that Dong Bei and her are working things out. He says great! Xiao Li is being gossiped about at work.
Xiao Feng visits with a doctor. Shows him her hubby’s paperwork, tells him it is her friend’s hubby. He tells her it is indeed ED. She asks if he’d be able to get it up with other women, he says no, it is prolly heart related impotence. Gets her thinking. She asks Gao Song if he can’t have an erection at all? He says that is right, not even one in the last 6 months. She says, that is funny because he seemed to have one just fine at the wedding with Xiao Li. She tries to get out of the house, but he prevents her, even shoves her to the bed. She manages to get out the front door, but he grabs her and pulls her inside. Surprisingly, she cries out for help from Xiao Li.
They sleep in their clothes on opposite sides of the bed. Dan Dan tries to wake them to take him to school, but two straight days of fighting takes its toll. Poor Dan Dan comes out to a trashed house and tearfully starts to clean it up.
Xiao Li gives Gao Song the cold shoulder when they run into each other on the street. Xiao Feng is asked back to teach. Xiao Feng takes Dan Dan to Mai Dong Lao (MacDonald’s) and he asks about his parents. She finally seemingly beginning to realize what all of it must be doing to Dan Dan. She tells him every family has problems.
Qun Zi and Gao Song have lunch. She asks him why he just didn’t tell Xiao Feng what happened at the wedding… He says he didn’t know. Qun Zi tells Gao Song that he and Dong Bei weren’t the same. She leaves work and runs into Xiao Feng. Qun Zi tries to explain what happened, that Gao Song is a good guy, give him a break. Xiao Fei tells Qun Zi that she is a little girl. What does she truly know about things.
Dong Bei is in a waiting car and calls Gao Song to give him a warning. Gao Song calls Xiao Feng, which diffuses the situation between her and Qun Zi. Xiao Feng storms off into her car and drives off.
Gao Song comes out and tells Qun Zi and Dong Bei he won’t be making it to the company Chrsitmas party. He has a headache. So they meet up with Xiao Feng to give her his regards. So she goes with them to the Christmas party. Gao Song calls Xiao Feng telling her he’ll be there, and she leaves the party to wait for him. They meet up and walk into the party together. But Xiao Li has a few more things to get off her chest to Gao Song, first. She is mad at him for lying. He says he’ll change. She runs off. He follows. He catches up to her and she tearfully tells him she wants them to go home. She says she doesn’t care about other people, only him. He asks if she really wants to go home, she says yes. So they leave.
Meanwhile, everyone at the party is looking for him, including his boss!

Chinese Style Divorce Chapter 13

2008-03-21T04:30:00.000+09:00

Qun Zi and Dong Bei are listening to the heartbeat of their baby when Dong Bei gets a phone call. He drives Qun Zi over to Xiao Feng’s house and explains that he has some business to take care of for a while. Xiao Feng and Qun Zi look at all of Dan Dan’s old baby clothes. Xiao Feng’s older brother calls. He is home from the Army again. Xiao Feng and Gao Song drive Qun Zi home, early, as the brother is coming in that afternoon…. Can you smell what is coming?
That is right! Qun Zi catches Dong Bei in the act. She runs out of the apartment in utter shock and goes to Xiao Feng’s house. Meanwhile, Dong Bei drives around frantically trying to find her. Qun Zi tearfully tells Xiao Feng and Gao Song what happened, and Gao Song calls Dong Bei and tells him off.
Dong Bei shows up, but Gao Song won’t let him in. Lays into him even harsher. Dong Bei states he doesn’t want to return home alone. Gao Song goes with him. Again, no seatbelts were used in the filming of this show!
The next day Qun Zi goes to work in a daze. Gao Song tries to reach out to her, but she is skeptical of his intentions. Rightfully so. He tries to talk her into giving Dong Bei a chance to explain his actions. Dong Bei shows up to talk to Xiao Feng, who gives him a cold reception. Asked how Qun Zi slept. Xiao Feng tells him she slept very well. Asked if she talked about him. Xiao Feng mentioned Qun Zi wanting to give up the child/terminate the pregnancy. This slaps Dong Bei in the face.
Dong Bei is wracked with grief and remorse. He waits for Qun Zi to get off work. She tries to give him the cold shoulder, but he forces her into the car. Tries to force a romantic dinner at the house. She refuses to eat. He tells her that she is first in his heart, as is the child she carries (can I vomit now?), but she isn’t hearing it (good for her!) and sleeps on the couch. Dong Bei tries to convince her to take the bed, but she can’t sleep there knowing what transpired in their bed.
Xiao Feng and Gao Song talk about the situation over dinner. Of course they both have differing views on what happened and what should happen. Heated argument ensues.
Again Dong Bei waites for Qun Zi outside of her work. Again she gives him the cold shoulder, but at least gives him the time of day and willingly gets into his car (AGAIN, no seat belts). He takes her to her doctor’s appointment (men don’t go in, but wait outside). Qun Zi tells her doctor she doesn’t want the child (one child policy, if she can only have one child, and she divorces the father, that is it). The doctor tells her she is crazy, the child is healthy. She is lucky. However, she tells the doctor of her family situation and wishes to terminate the pregnancy. Doctor tells her at 7 months, it is fully viable and therefore should not be willfully terminated. Qun Zi tells her she really doesn’t want it. The doctor asks if she is fully sure of her decision then schedules her for the procedure for the following week.

Kua'aina Burger

2008-03-20T04:47:00.001+09:00

I got to go to the Honolulu Kua'aina Burger this past Sunday. I was able to introduce my new friend Sam to the wonders of the burger that is ONO!

Some pics to make your mouth water....

my burger... I got my usual bacon burger with provolone cheese added

my fully constructed burger.

Sam eating her burger!

Finally! I love this place!

Chinese Style Divorce... Chapter 12

2008-03-20T02:23:00.003+09:00

Fresh off the disaster that was the night that wasn't... Xiao Feng goes grocery shopping... She runs into the little lady, (AKA Qun Zi), who tells her she is preggers... Xiao Feng is happy for her, but Qun Zi isn't so sure it is the right time, yaddah, yaddah, yaddah. Dong Bei convinces her that it IS a good thing, and she is happy, finally. They hire a made, a pregnant made. She and Qun Zi become friends.
Gao Song and Dong Bei go to the local Y where they do laps. They talk about women and well, nothing happens... Gao Song then goes to the doctor where he tells the doctor that he hasn't been able to "perform his manly duties" in over half a year. GASP! That explains it all. He is diagnosed with E.D. and has to explain it to Dong Bei (boy, ppl in China ARE more open with their personal issues) AND his wife. Xiao Feng of course thinks it is about her, but Gao Song convinces her it isn't. She then proceeds to pour nasty-tasting herbal-tea concoctions down his throat. However, there relationship is suddenly much better with the air cleared. Seems that impotence was the best thing to happen to this couple!
Xiao Feng calls Qun Zi late at night, only to be told by Dong Bei that she went to her parents, as the pregnancy was not sitting well with her. Thing is, if Qun Zi is away, who is the women in Bed with Dong Bei? uh-oh!
The rents have yet another choir performance. And Xiao Feng tells Qun Zi all about Gao Song's issue. She also tells the neighborlady who gives her a recipe for a herbal remedy. This herbal remedy is found by Gao Song late one night, he recognizes the hand writing and attacks the neighborlady for meddling in his affairs!
Qun Zi returns home to find a stray hair in her bed. She questions Dong Bei about it. He side-steps it by giving her 3 possibilities for how the hair go there. A) It is HERS; B) it is the cleaning lady's; C)it is another woman's. He lets her decide. I guess she decided options A and B were better than C.

Chinese Style Divorce... Chapter 11

2008-03-19T03:29:00.002+09:00

So Xiao Feng and Dong Bei's little woman meets at McDonalds (or in Chinese, Hamebaobao Wang). Xiao Feng is serious at first, but the little woman gets her to laugh. Next thing you know, they are inseparable. After that first meeting, Gao Song thanks the little woman, and the little woman tells him off. He tries to tell her that he wasn't cheating, that the weddingdrunkenmaconneighbor thing was a big misunderstanding... she wasn't hearing any of it.
Xiao Feng is still obsessed with Gao Song's cell phone. Starts calling everyone in it. She'd hang up on the men and with the women she'd ask if they know Gao Song. If they said yes, which they all did, as he was in the middle of instructing them, she'd also hang up. However, one of them, when she told them she was Gao Song's wife, told her that, "Oh, I remember you from the wedding. You were so pretty." Uh-oh! Xiao Feng puts two and two together and goes to see the neighborlady... She explains all.
The little lady and Xiao Feng again meet for lunch. They start talking, and Xiao Feng admits her marriage isn't going too well. Little lady asks how long its been since, you know... Xiao Feng admits it has been awhile. Little lady and her then go shopping for lingerie. Xiao Feng buys a pretty red number and wears it to bed that night. However, Gao Song wasn't having any of it. He turned her down stating he had to get sleep due to a big surgery in the morning. He'd take her up on it on the weekend. Xiao Feng is understandably upset. She put herself out there, after all. She brings up th wedding.
Next day Xiao Feng tries to call him for dinner. He doesn't answer either his office phone or his mobile. So Xiao Feng goes over to the neighborlady's house and uses his phone.... He answers..... BUSTED!!!!

Chinese Style Divorce... Chapters 9 & 10

2008-03-17T14:18:00.003+09:00

Xiao Feng has been feeling down in the dumps... She quit her job over her own inadequacies, and she has been moping around the house. Her old boyfriend calls her up, again, and says he is in town once again. He is having another get together and invites her. At first she says no. Gao Song tells her to go, get a new outfit, go to the spa, have fun at her lunch. She does and comes back much refreshed. Gao Song has another surprise, he is taking them all on a holiday skiing. However, the ski trip is short lived. The friend, Dong Bei, and his pretty new wife are also there. He tries to keep them away from one another, Dong Bei helps, but Xiao Feng sees through it. She is upset that Gao Song doesn't want to introduce her to his friends. She storms off, takes the car and returns home. Gao Song and Dan Dan are forced to take the bus back to town.
Xiao Feng again goes to see her mom, interrupting her parents' choir practice. Mom tells her to calm down, it can't be all that. She goes home and Gao Song announces that he has to go on a business trip. Xiao Feng asks if he is going with anyone, he says yes, a woman in her 50s. Xiao Feng can tag along to the airport if she likes to meet her. Fine, she does, and is relieved.
Gao Song flits off to work. He calls Xiao Feng later in the day promising to be home for dinner. As he heads home, Dong Bei shanghais him on a little side trip. Regardless to say, Xiao Feng isn't very happy. She gives him three conditions.... 1) he must not ignore her; 2)He has to answer her calls and call her several times a day; and 3)he cannot go on anymore business trips with young single women, a 50+ woman is ok. He agrees to her terms, not realizing how hard they will be to follow.
Xiao Feng preceeds to call him several times the next day. And he also calls her, very tired already of their little arrangement. He then gets called into surgery. Xiao Feng calls several times every minute. Gao Song gets the calls missed list and grows even more weary. Xiao Feng again tries to call, he ignores it. She then calls from a pay phone and he picks up. She yells at him for ignoring her calls. He screams that he is very busy and cannot always take her calls. Meanwhile, the new little wife is showing her reception video to all the girls in the office. Remember this is an office she shares with Gao Song. They all want to know who the lady he is dancing with is. She says, oh, that is his wife. They say, oh, she is very pretty.
Xiao Feng goes home and talks to neighborlady.... Tells her what she feels. Neighborlady does her best to calm Xiao Feng down, but to no avail. Xiao Feng storms off to Gao Song's work. Neighborlady warns him, he has the nurse railroad her. She sits outside all afternoon waiting for him (stalk much?). He calls neighborlady and asks if she could watch Dan Dan for them. He finally comes out and the two married people have a chat. Suddenly the phone rings, it is the new little wife of Dong Bei's texting Gao Song with a little joke. Xiao Feng snatches the phone and calls Dong Bei's little wife back. Little wife hangs up. Xiao Feng immediately starts to scream to Gao Song over who the woman is that he has been sleeping with. Then storms off driving home (have I mentioned the distinct lack of seatbelt use in this show. Even Dan Dan doesn't wear his, AND he sits in the front seat!). Upon arriving she realizes that she has forgotten Dan Dan. Neighborlady brings him over. Xiao Feng finally thanks her. Gao Song then arrives home, they get into a heated argument (a screaming match, basically) that literally lasts all night. The next day poor Dan Dan brings them breakfast. Xiao Feng starts doing some detective work. She still has Gao Song's phone and starts looking through his calls. She then calls Dong Bei's wife at work, while she is in Gao Song's office. Asks if she is Dong Bei's wife then asks to meet to have a chat.

Chinese Style Divorce Chapters 6-8

2008-03-15T05:30:00.002+09:00

I have been remiss. I know you all are waiting on baited breath for the next segments of our saga.
FINALLY, Xiao Feng and Gao Song have a long overdue talk. As they talk, poor Dan Dan is waiting at school. No one can reach his parents as they are not answering to talk things out. No, he isn't seeing the neighbor. The neighbor accidentally left the jacket in the house when she came over while he was in the hospital (finally, it came out!). Suddenly, Xiao Feng hears the neighbor's daughter outside. AIYA! What time is it? Dan Dan has been forgotten! They rush out the door to the school. Dan Dan has sneaked away and gone on a cross-town journey to his grandparents. It has been several hours, but, finally he made it, and called his very relieved parents. Things are looking up!
Seems Gao Song and the neighborlady are up for the same promotion. He gets it. Meanwhile, Xiao Feng's professional life has taken a turn for the worst. She fails her exam (59%!), and begins to study her butt off for the next time. Her husband has been working long hours in surgery due to his new job and has not been making it home until REALLY late at night. She is having to deal with her son on her own. However, things are going good between them, and Xiao Feng has moved back home.
Husband's friend gets married, but Xiao Feng could not attend. So, Gao Song asks neighborlady to attend with him. She meets him there, after he has already drank two bottles of wine. The new wife of the friend mistakes the neighbor as Gao Song's wife. Xiao Feng proceeds to drunkenly grope her, she pushes him away. He passes out on a nearby couch clutching neighborlady's hand. Meanwhile, Xiao Feng comes looking for him. Her mother has had a minor accident, and her ankle is injured. Who better to seek out than her doctor-husband? The friend tells her he was in the bathroom. Wait there and runs to try to wake him. To no avail, the Friend goes back to tell Xiao Feng that he has already left. Later on, he finally makes it to the in-laws and takes care of the mom. He is attentive and patient. The mom tells Xiao Feng that he is a good man. She is lucky.
The friend and his new wife are out shopping at this time. They see neighborlady and her daughter out. The wife is like, who is that kid with Xiao Feng (has never been set straight)? She is going to call Gao Song to find out. Xiao Feng answers. New wife was like, who is this? Xiao Feng is like, who is this? Friend finally pulls the phone from his wife and says, sorry, didn't mean to call. Xiao Feng immediately rounds on her husband. It was a woman! Who was it? Gao Song looks at the caller ID and states that it was his friend, and the woman was obviously his wife. He works with friend's new wife and she starts to poke around him at work. Both the friend and his wife believe that the neighborlady is his lover, now.
She is constantly helping with her now hobbled mother. Hubby is still working long hours. Xiao Feng is already doubting her abilities as a teacher when, during a student-teacher conference, one of the parents starts to verbally attack her. She realizes she has been failing her students and quits. She is depressed and feeling sorry for herself. Her husband tries to be understanding, but she insists on moping around the house. Gao Song's new position allows him to buy at least one new car. Xiao Feng proceeds to learn how to drive it.

Chinese Style Divorce Chapter 5

2008-03-11T04:46:00.002+09:00

Xiao Feng is still on her business trip, Dan Dan is still at his grandparents, and Gao Song is in the hospital with a bad infection of sorts. He hands the neighbor (who is in a pretty blue dresssuit with a nice jacket) his keys and asks that she bring back his cell phone for him. She goes to his house, grabs his cell phone, but cannot leave behind the mess that is a bachelor's pad. So she takes off her coat, and starts to clean. Meanwhile, Xiao Feng has returned to her parents' house, hands out some pressies to her folks, and trudges to her home to talk to Gao Song, who is still in the hospital. She sees the coat hanging on back of the chair that the neighbor has left there. She mistakenly believes it belongs to Gao Song's lover. She grabs it and storms back to her parents. Neighborlady realizes she forgot her coat and lets herself back into the apartment. Only it is gone, Xiao Feng has it at her parents'. Gao Song is out of the hospital. Tells little brother that he could be dead and Xiao Feng wouldn't care. Little brother takes him to a restaurant where Gao Song sees his fiancee with another man. Little brother goes wild, interrupts the dinner, and the couple breaks up. Next we see them back together again, and wonderously in love. Confused? Join the club. Meanwhile, Xiao Feng's parents talk her into going home and talking to Gao Song. She brings the coat and asks who "she" is. Of course Gao Song really doesn't know what she is talking about, but recognizes the coat. But he doesn't say anything, fearing she may then get the wrong idea about her friend, the neighborlady. She storms out. Then calls him at work the next day asking if there relationship was heading for a divorce, then hangs up.

Chinese Style Divorce Chapters 3 & 4

2008-03-07T13:38:00.004+09:00

Hmmmm... plot thickens, my compatriots. Xiao Feng (our wife) is going off on her husband (Gao Song), yet again. Talks about something that is expensive. Then suddenly Xiao Feng flings herself at Gao Song and is madly in love with him. Gao Song goes to meet mystery man again, only to be told that his services aren't needed. He goes home empty handed to a very angry Xiao Feng. Xiao Feng goes back to her parents' place, and her dad gets a phone call about someone close to him being in the hospital. Mom asks Xiao Feng to go with dad and off she goes. Meanwhile, back at the laojia (Chinese for home), Gao Song is getting closer to his fellowdoctorneighbor who is now newly single. Even accompanies her and her daughter to dance class (where the boys were mysteriously dressed in matching blue leotards (they are dressed like girls!) only the daughter, Niu Niu, has a pink leotard on. Xiao Feng comes back home, still mad at her husband. Meanwhile, Gao Song's little brother gets engaged.
Now Xiao Feng is at home, her hubby out to eat with mystery man. He gets prodded into drinking a mug of beer, and suddenly cannot stop himself. Toast after toast later, he staggers into an alley and falls asleep in a doorway. His cell phone is promptly stolen. Eventually Xiao Feng is called, she goes over the the doctorneighbor's place to ask if she could babysit Dan Dan (the son). Neighbor said she'll go get him. So Xiao Feng is sitting at home, in bed, when Gao Song comes home. He asks her if she still loves him (bad time to be asking buddy...). She doesn't answer, tells him to go clean himself up and come to bed. He wakes her a while later demanding to know if she still loves him. She basically tells him to go to hell. Next day, Xiao Feng goes to a communist play put on by her parents while Gao Song has a romantic dinner with the neighbor. Gao Song comes home and asks about his guest, who has gone home. He tells her it was a single woman friend (ooops). Next day, little brother calls and gets Gao Song to accompany him to a mansion where he meets up with this "Triad" type guy. Gao Song walks out and starts to walk home. Angry at the little brother. Brother manages to coax him back into the car and drives him home. Gao Song is really sick at this point. Running a hight fever. Barely makes it home (did I mention that Xiao Feng tries to call her husband throughout this episode only to have him NOT answer his cell when he sees it is her). Wife left him a note telling him she is out and Dan Dan is at the grandparents. He collapses on the sofa. Neighbor calls and comes over when he tells her he is sick. He is running an extremely high fever, and she insists he go to the hospital.

Chinese Style Divorce Chapter 2

2008-03-06T03:57:00.002+09:00

Ready for the riveting chapter 2? I know you are...
OK, so our fearless wife gets a call from her first love and agrees to have dinner with him (now mind you it is a group gathering of all their old friends). Hubby isn't exactly happy, but he trusts her. So she goes off, gets her hair done, goes to buy a new coat, but doesn't. She goes to the lunch and dines on lobster and crab and a whole assortment of expensive dishes on her first love's dime. All the time one of her once friends starts talking to her about how successful he is and how much money he has and how he isn't married or attached and what a great catch we is and she should never have let him go. So she runs out, goes home and starts a fight with her husband about how they never have enough money (reason she didn't buy the coat) and how her life has sucked, yadda yadda yadda. The fight ends in him running to the bedroom and slamming the door on, gasp, his wife's fingers (now how/why she got them into the hinged part of the door is beyond me). Speed forward, her bro is heading back to base (he is in the army) and is upset about her hand. He has a little mano-yi-mano with hubby and tells him to treat her right or else. Hubby isn't happy, another fight ensues and she storms off to her parents. During this time, our hubby is called into work to help a mysterious patient and is handed $2,000! Hmmmmm.... After two days, the parents kick wifey out, telling her she needs to work things out. Things between husband and wife are still tense.

Chinese Style Divorce

2008-03-05T03:11:00.001+09:00

OK, so I'm watching this Chinese Serial...

Starts out with this couple. Husband is a doctor, wife is some sort of office worker. They have a kid. she calls the husband and says, don't forget about our important dinner. He says I won't, but then I guess his little brother gets hit by a car while on his scooter, and he has to operate on him. So, he misses the dinner, but neither the husband or the wife mention it. Then the neighbor comes home, you find out later she is a doctor who works with the husband of our main couple. She is crawling into bed and finds a stray hair that is CLEARLY not hers on her pillow. Confronts husband, who acknowledges the infidelity, and of course, blames her for it.
Slide back to our main couple... the wife goes to the grocery store where she meets another neighbor, and old man. He gets into an argument with the clerk, and promptly dies of a heart attack. She goes home, tells her husband and promptly gets into a fight with him cause he has to go back to the hospital to check on patients... He gets into a fight with his brother who is still hospitalized (I guess for falling in love again?)
Swoosh, suddenly the wife's parents call and they are coming to visit, along with her older brother (wait, isn't there a one-child policy in China? why are there all these brothers and sisters?)
And in the midst of all this, the husband goes rushing off to the hospital again...
End chapter.

Back in Hawaii

2008-03-05T02:47:00.002+09:00

Ah, back "home." Living at the Honolulu Airport Hotel. Dealing with nightly fire alarms because some backwoods hick cannot understand the concept of "no smoking in the rooms."
Started class yesterday. It was a cluster fuck. Not only did we sit there for 8 hours and NOT meet our instructors (or Laoshi, as they are called in Chinese), but they couldn't decide which classroom to put us in. We'd be told to go to one classroom, only to have them announce on the intercom that we were all to report to another.
Typical, we have an interview to place us into our classrooms. I started out in the advanced class. However, in a throwback to DLI, they went off my DLPT5 scores, you know, the ones that aren't supposed to count, yet. They put me in with the intermediate... which, are all E-4s to E5s. So guess who the class leader is? Yep, me. Of course, being one of the few E6 and aboves, and I think the only senior NCO, I was going to end up as a class leader anyway.
Don't have to come in until 1200 for the intermediate classes... So I have mornings off. don't know how I'm going to survive the mornings at the pool/beach and afternoons doing something I love.
So now we get to watch Chinese Style Divorce. A lovely serial, which, as yet, makes no sense. I'll keep you posted.

And you think YOU'VE got snow!

2008-02-16T23:58:00.001+09:00

OK, so, as promised, here are some photos of snow in Misawa.

As you can see above, the snow is piled twice as high as the cars in front of it. They've had to start trucking it to open fields. There is just no where else to pile it up.

This snow was piled about 15 feet high.

We've managed to dig out from the last blizzard (our landlord went and hired a bulldozer to take care of the 6-inches of ice that wasn't melting) only to have 3 days of blizzards hit us back to back to back. So, now we are back to 6 inches of snow and ice everywhere. The fence at the end of our alley looks like it is about to topple down into the field below due to the amount of snow piled in front of and on top of it. AND, it is STILL snowing. Up at work, the snow is waist high on me.

NIU Shooting.... Freakin' Whacked!

2008-02-15T17:49:00.001+09:00

This is so surreal! I lived 45 minutes away from NIU. I listened to the 94.9 Radio Station every morning. I went there for camp every summer!

Former student kills 5 at Northern Illinois University, sparks 'chaos'

* Story Highlights
* Students hold candlelight prayer vigil as campus clears out
* Twenty-twopeople shot, 6 are dead, including gunman, police say
* Gunman "just kicked the door open, just started shooting," witness says
* Illinois governor declares state of emergency after shooting

DEKALB, Illinois (CNN) -- A gunman dressed in black stepped from behind a curtain at the front of a large lecture hall at Northern Illinois University on Thursday and shot 21 people, five of them fatally, then shot and killed himself, said university president John Peters.

"A lot of people were screaming. Everybody started running for the door," said student Zach Seward. "It was just complete chaos."

Four died at the scene, including the shooter, and two later died at a hospital, he said.

At least 22 people, including the gunman and a graduate student who was teaching an ocean sciences class, were shot, Peters said.

Late Thursday, dozens of students gathered on campus for a candlelight prayer vigil. Video footage showed students comforting one another and a young man playing guitar.

Official school events and classes were canceled until further notice, Peters said. VideoWatch report wrapping up the NIU day of horror »

Seven counseling areas were set up throughout the campus, and hotlines were established.

NIU senior Daley Hamilton, 21, said most students were heading home to their parents. "My parking lot at my apartment is pretty sparse," she told CNN.

She said she and her roommate were planning to leave Friday. "We are really on edge and just kind of want to get out," she said.

Tributes were also surfacing online. A Facebook community called "Pray for Northern Illinois University Students and Families" had more than 14,000 members by late Thursday.

NIU student Amanda Hart Garner posted the school's fight song, including the lyrics: "Free, steadfast, devoted, true/We will always stand by you."

Seven of those wounded in the shooting were listed in critical condition.

Four of the fatalities were female, said Peters.

Most of the injuries are head and chest gunshot wounds, a hospital spokeswoman told CNN.

The gunman started shooting from a stage in the room shortly after 3 p.m. (4 p.m. ET) in Cole Hall, officials said.

Police Chief Donald Grady said authorities do not yet know of a motive.

They know the identity of the gunman but have not released his name, Grady added.

The shooter was a graduate student at NIU in the spring of 2007. Currently he was not enrolled there but, Grady said, "He may have been a student elsewhere."

A preliminary investigation has not uncovered a police record on the gunman, and records showed he had no contact with NIU police while a student there, Peters said.

Gunman 'just started shooting'

Kevin McEnery said he was in the classroom when the gunman, dressed in a black shirt, dark pants and black hat, burst in carrying a shotgun. PhotoSee photos of the scene »

"He just kicked the door open, just started shooting," said McEnery, who was in the class at the time. "All I really heard was just people screaming, yelling 'get out.' ... Close to 30 shots were fired." VideoWatch a student describe the chaos at the scene »

There are about 162 registered students in the class that met in the large lecture hall.

A student described the classroom as having four exits -- two at the front and two at the rear.

"Witnesses say someone dressed in black came out from behind a screen in the front of the classroom and opened fire with a shotgun," Peters said.

At 3:03 p.m., NIU police responded, and four minutes later, the campus was ordered into "a lockdown situation," Grady said.

At 3:20, an all-campus alert went out via the campus Web site, e-mail, voice mail, the campus crisis hotline, the news media and various alarm systems, he said.

"The message basically was: There's a gunman on campus, stay where you are; make yourself as safe as possible," he said.

Rosie Moroni, a student at the school, told CNN she was outside Cole Hall near the King Commons when she heard shots coming from the classroom she was heading to.

The shot was followed by "a lot of people screaming," then people ran out the doors yelling, "He's got a gun, call 911," she said.

"It was complete chaos. It's very scary here right now."

By 4 p.m., DeKalb police had swept the area "and determined there was only one gunman" and that he was dead.

Grady said the man used three guns: a shotgun, a Glock handgun and a small-caliber handgun, and was still on the stage when he turned one of the guns on himself. The small-caliber handgun had not yet been recovered, he said.

The gunman started shooting with a shotgun, then switched to a handgun, said Grady.

Security around campus was increased in December when police found threats scrawled on a campus bathroom wall that included racial slurs and references to last April's Virginia Tech shootings. Learn about other recent school shootings »

One of the threats said "things will change most hastily" in the final days of the semester.

Peters said there is no evidence that points to a link between the December incident and Thursday's shooting.

Grady said it was unlikely authorities could have prevented Thursday's tragedy.

"As much as we do, it's unlikely that anyone would ever have the ability to stop an incident like this from beginning," he said.

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich declared a state of emergency, which will open the governor's disaster fund to reimburse local government entities for "extraordinary expenses related to the response in NIU DeKalb" and will allow the state Emergency Management Agency to provide assistance, the governor's office said in a statement.

Eighteen victims were taken to Kishwaukee Community Hospital, its Web site said.

Of those, seven were in critical condition and were flown to other hospitals. One fatality, a male, was confirmed -- but was not the gunman, the hospital said. Two were admitted, and eight others were discharged.

Nate Llewellyn, a spokesman for Advocate Good Samaritan, said it had received two female patients and one male: Nineteen-year-old Unnum Rahman was in serious condition and in surgery after receiving gunshot wounds to her right eye and arm; Maria Ruiz Santana was in surgery and in critical condition; an unidentified male shooting victim was in surgery.

The 113-year-old school is 65 miles west of downtown Chicago and has an enrollment of more than 25,000. The campus covers 755 acres.

My SGA Boyfriend...

2008-02-09T15:36:00.000+09:00

John Sheppard
100%
Ronon Dex
75%
Maijor Lorne
42%
Carson Beckett
33%
Steve the Wraith
25%
Radek Zelenka
25%
Rodney McKay
17%

So you want to be an Ice Road Trucker?

2008-01-29T16:25:00.000+09:00

My brother is a trucker. He recently told me he would like to be an Ice Road trucker. Travel up to Canada to Yellow Knife and drive on the great ice road delivering goods to the Canadian diamond mines. Thing is, I've been driving on an ice road the last week. That is right! We had a blizzard last Thursday, and it has snowed about every day since. Here in Japan, they don't plow, they don't salt the roads. They just let the cars pack the snow down where it melts slightly during the day, then freezes back up at night. I've been driving around on roads that have SIX inches of ice on them. That is, I am driving on a surface that is six inches above the paved road. It is insane. It is even more insane to walk around in and around snow that is up past your knees, too. We've had 83 inches of snow since Thanksgiving. We only had 50 inches all winter last year. They are running out of places to pile the snow when they plow on base and the parking lots off base. They've started to truck the snow out to the fields. And on base the snow piles are about two stories tall.

Long Time No Post

2008-01-06T09:49:00.001+09:00

I know I haven't posted in a while. Things have just been nuts. Between work, traveling for work, and just plain life, I haven't felt up to doing much. So... There you have it.

Some thing that have happened... I got to see me aunt and cousins for the first time in 10.5 years on my latest business trip to Monterey, Ca. That was nice. Went wild in the pet store, so my furkids had a nice Christmas.

Won an iPod touch at my Holiday party last night...

Still haven't cleaned my house, though I've started...

Lost my wedding ring 10 days ago. Know where I had it last, just don't know where it fell and rolled to.

Had a good Christmas. Received lots of movies and TV shows on DVD. Including season 7 of Gilmore Girls and all 6 seasons of That 70s Show.

Went from having no gaming consoles to having all three. We primarily bought the PS3 off of one of my PCS-ing Sailors because we wanted a Blu-ray player. We also have our Xbox for our HDTV player.

Made a new years resolution to try to quite bitching so much. Has not been easy. In fact, I've been failing pretty miserably, but then I am pretty miserable, so there you have it. Also trying to quite swearing so much... again, also hard. Also, to be a better wife...

Other than that... not much else.

Hope this blog finds everyone ok.

A change is coming....

2007-09-29T09:50:00.000+09:00

My only complaint about this week's Grey's Anatomy is that it wasn't long enough. It still has its squee factor, people. I was among those who cringed at the soap opera-y feel of them bringing in Merideth's half-sister, Lexie, but I believe that she will make a great addition to the show. As long as they don't get too far into the whole, you-killed-my-mother-and-made-my-father-drink-so-that-he-doesn't-
know-what-year-it-is issue. Good to see Miranda taking the higher ground with the whole Torrez being chief resident thing, too. Wishing that tomorrow would be better for Callie instead of gloating. It just solidified why we lover her! It will be interesting how the whole Derek/Meredith thing plays out, too. Now I only have 71 minutes until Stargate Atlantis!!!!

I had a BLAST!!!

2007-09-23T10:34:00.000+09:00

OMG! Last night, I attended my first EVER Khaki Ball. Let me tell you! There is nothing more enjoyable then seeing a bunch of people, namely Navy Chiefs, who usually have to be dignified and the epitome of military bearing, get drunk and get DOWN in their khakis! I had a Heineken and three RUM and cokes (I mean two parts Bacardi Rum and one-half part coke). How I was still standing is beyond me. I was feeling GOOD. I danced and ate... finally left about 11:30 PM when Ant came and got me (I couldn't drive after drinking all that!). So now is the aftermath. I am not feeling hung-over, I just feel it.

September 11, 2007

2007-09-11T08:19:00.000+09:00

It is six years after the world changed forever. It falls on the exact day of the week as it did back in 2001. As I look back, I see us getting used to daily terrorist attacks, getting used to our loved-ones going off to war... I just know that this is going to continue for a long time. Decades maybe. Thinking my eventual kids may grow up in a world where they know that they will grow up and have to deal with this, either going off to fight themselves, or having to deal with a family member having to go off to fight, depresses me.

WTF!

2007-09-11T08:02:00.000+09:00

OK, so Ant and I went to the exchange last night. We picked up S3 and S4 of Reno 911 (damn why do I love that show) and some other things. We go to pay, I swipe my debit card, told, debit just went down, can you push credit? OK, so I reswipe... DENIED! Checkout lady says "Sorry, your card has been declined." WHAT!!! There is plenty of money in that account... ok, swipe again, Declined... annoying checkout lady says, again, "Sorry, your card has been declined." "Something is wrong with your system," I say. She looks at me dumbly. I swipe a second card... Denied, too!. "Sorry, your card has been declined." "look I know something is wrong with your system." another dumb look. Ant tries his... Same thing... "Sorry...." finally one of the other checkout people says that except for the Star Card and the local bank cards, the system is down. "oh, is it? OK." To me, "Our system is down." No Shit! Ya think? Now she gets it. So I pay by check.

What the Japanese will do for American Pizza

2007-09-08T17:30:00.000+09:00

Last Sunday was the Misawa Air Base Air Show. Over 150,000 people were expected to descend upon the base. That is tripling the city of Misawa! Here is a video showing why these people really showed up! The Japanese pizza is small, weird and expensive. This is their one chance per year to get cheap, delicious American pizza.

All the Japanese people waiting for American Pizza

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You gotta love idiots!

2007-09-08T15:44:00.000+09:00

Mississippi Man Mistakenly Calls 91l, leads Cops to His Meth Lab

Thursday , September 06, 2007

AP
ADVERTISEMENT

ESCATAWPA, Miss. —
A man trying to call a news station to complain about not getting a FEMA trailer after Hurricane Katrina accidentally dialed 911 and was charged with making methamphetamine after police arrived, authorities said.

Curtiss Randall Coleman was trying to get the number for Biloxi's WLOX-TV on Wednesday just before the 6 p.m. newscast, investigators said. He misdialed when trying to reach directory information and called 911 instead of 411.

When he hung up on the emergency dispatcher, the Jackson County Sheriff's Department was sent to the home to see if anyone was in need of assistance.

Deputies said that when they arrived at Coleman's house, no one answered the door. Officers broke in and allegedly found a methamphetamine lab.

Coleman, 53, and four others were arrested, including Coleman's son, Christopher, 30. A fifth suspect remains at large.

"It was a calamity of errors on Mr. Coleman's part," said Sgt. Curtis Spears, commander of the Narcotics Task Force of Jackson County.

Along with the Colemans, narcotics agents also arrested Erin Paula Oliver, 35, of Moss Point, and Leslie Renee McMahon, 27, of Ocean Springs. All four were charged with conspiracy to manufacture meth.

A person who answered the phone at the Jackson County jail declined to say whether Coleman and the others had attorneys.

More of Fitow

2007-09-07T13:53:00.000+09:00

Typhoon Fitow Tracks for Misawa

2007-09-07T13:26:00.000+09:00

We entered Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness (TCCOR) 1, a full 12 hours earlier than anticipated. Meaning, high winds imminent. Right now, Fitow, the name of our friendly neighborhood tropical storm, is tracking to hit us directly, at 9pm local time, tonight.

Here is some video taken earlier...

And some graphics from the tracking site... We are located at the 9pm spot.

Where it was at 9AM this morning...

Misawa Braces for Fitow...

2007-09-05T16:21:00.000+09:00

Around midnight this morning, we entered Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness (TCCOR) 4. What this means is we are expecting some nasty weather within the next 72 hours... As you can see from the graphic below, it is going to get bad, and pass right over Misawa.

I, for one, am hoping it does get that bad for a number of reasons... I have to work this weekend, for one. It has seemed that everytime I get time off, it rains. I mean, AS SOON AS I LEAVE the building, clouds roll in, and as soon as it is time for me to work, beautiful weather, again. Well, now, the other half of the workforce can understand our plight. ENJOY the misery losers!

I REALLY Hate DFW!!!

2007-08-14T11:42:00.000+09:00

12 August 2007, 2015hours
The latest in the saga of my journey to Baltimore... So the guy at gate A39, where I am currently waiting, comes over the PA and says, "People waiting for flight 2200 to BWI, the plane isn't going to be in until 9:18 pm. We probably won't BEGIN boarding until 10:00 pm! Oh, and by the way, the gate has been changed to C16, that is CHARLIE 1-6." Meanwhile, I finally have a good outlet, my computer is charging, but I am now at the wrong terminal.. WTF! Pack everything back up, get on the tram, yadda yadda yadda.... Get over to the gate, no working plug! Have I mentioned I hate DFW. I change my mind. I want to go through Atlanta afterall.

I Hate DFW

2007-08-14T11:41:00.000+09:00

12 August 2007, 1950hours
I should have known when I got to Misawa City Airport, and the plane wasn't there, that this was going to be a baaad travel day. The plane was late coming in from Tokyo (which never happens in Japan). We took off 30 minutes late, but managed to make it into Tokyo only 10 minutes ahead of schedule (the Japanese fly like they drive, they floor it!). I got my bags, made it to the shuttle bus counter, got my ticket for the 11:55 shuttle to Narita from Haneda (it was then 11:45) and waited in line for my shuttle. And waited, and waited, and waited... That is right folks, even the shuttles were running behind. A situation so unheard of in Japan, the epitome of efficiency, that the shuttle attendants were panic-calling anyone they could get ahold of to find out what the hang up was after the shuttle had been late only 30 seconds...

So, I finally get on my bus, make it to Narita, make it through to the ticket counter, make it through security and immigration... make it to my gate, make it on the plane for the 10.5 hour flight to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Now, that is where it hits the snag that makes me think I should have seen the signs. You see, the genius at ticketing decided it would be ok to give me a layover of 90 minutes ate DFW to get to the gate (slight problem), off the plane (ok), clear immigration (U.S. citizen, no problem), get my bags (problem), get through customs (big problem), recheck my bags (bigger problem), go back through security (ok, this is just ridiculous), get on the tram (which, surprise, was running behind schedule) to make it to the literal opposite side of the airport for my flight for a take off time of 5:05 pm. Guess what folks, I made it... That is right, I made it .... to the gate just in time to see my plane taxi for take-off. I rebooked for the 9:30 pm flight, putting me into BWI at 1:30 am. At least they gave me a $10 food voucher. Good thing I have friends there who are willing to come pick me up, drop me at my hotel, pick me up from the hotel, and take me to the car rental place. Cause otherwise I would be S.O.L. Thanks Mei-mei!

I love the USA

2007-08-14T11:40:00.000+09:00

12 August 2007, 1930hours
You know what I love about the U.S.??? Going into the ladies room and not having to look for the western-style toilet symbol and finding that there are only the Japanese squatter-style toilets left... Then having to decide whether I have to go bad enough to consider using one of them....

Transformers!

2007-07-29T22:04:00.000+09:00

Although it IS a Michael Bay movie (Stealth was a total bust), it is AWESOME!!! None-stop action, almost from the word "GO!" Shia La Beouf was ingenious in his role as Sam Witwiki. The only things that put some stops to my utter stupification was the usual Bay-isms that popped up throughout the movie. Such as stationing a fleet of ships in the Yellow Sea to keep an eye on Qatar, or the fact that people did flee when the final fight started... They were still flitting around OUTSIDE, riding bikes, pushing baby carriages, etc. So, I suggest seeing this movie. You won't be disappointed.

Stupidity

2007-07-29T09:38:00.001+09:00

OK, yes, my usually anal tendencies failed me for once. And in the most inopportune of situations. After traveling an hour to the Seoul/Incheon International Airport from the base, finding our ticket counter, standing in line and finally having our turn to check in, I realize ... my orders aren't in my bag with my travel itinerary! OH SHIT! They won't check me in without my orders due to the fact that, even though I asked for a stamp in my passport, I didn't receive one. So, it was either leave the Korean Peninsula with my orders or with having a stamp in my passport. And as I had neither, I was in a sticky situation. Luckily I had my receipt with the Lodge's phone number on it. And after two attempts at sending a bellboy up to the room I had occupied, my orders were finally located right where I remember putting them after I checked into the hotel (on the bureau next to the TV which was then covered with the unread newspapers) and faxed to the airport. We made it to our gate as the final call for boarding was being called.

Now usually I double and triple check to ensure that I have my orders, passport, itinerary... Not this time... but let me tell you, I will now make multiple copies and a softcopy at home.

Some Seoul Searching...

2007-07-26T11:37:00.000+09:00

I've been in Seoul, South Korea for a few days now. I did some eating and shopping last night. Myself and two fellow travelers took a taxi to the Itaewon shopping district of Seoul. We spent the first hour or so looking through the shops. Two of us were looking for blankets; nice, heavy blankets you can only find in Korea or Japan.

Nice, eh? Quite warm, too.

Curiosity led us down some back alleys, which led us to some nice surprises. We found a couple of streets with more upscale shops. Shops not containing the usual crap that you found in the more touristy areas, but shops with some really nice antiques. I mean, let me tell you, Seoul could be the antique capital of the world. All those "Antiquers" should grab their passports and book a trip to Seoul!

We also went to a tiny Korean restaurant in the heart of "Little Albania."

We had Kimchee...

Bulgogi, which we cooked ourself at the table...

and some other pickled-fish dish that was also pretty good...

I also took in some sights...

a nice little view from in between two buildings...

The "Welcome to Korea" archway.

Korean McDonald's

Now, I was watching the news, and Fox was reporting on the South Korean hostage situation in Afghanistan, and how it was the ONLY thing on all the stations here. However, walking around town, even though everyone had a TV set up on the street, everyone was glued to the set, it wasn't the news they were watching. It was the Asian Games Soccer Match between Iraq and the South Korean teams. That was the real thing people couldn't stop talking about.

Ooops! She did it again...

2007-07-25T14:21:00.001+09:00

DAMN! Not even a week out of rehab, and Lindsay Lohan is once again arrested for Driving Under the Influence and Driving While Intoxicated. Heeped onto this, one FELONY charge of Cocaine Possession, and one FELONY charge of Trafficking of an Illegal Substance. And again, she seeks the refuge of rehab. This time, she also sought medical help...

"LOS ANGELES - Lindsay Lohan was busted for drunk driving and drug possession on Tuesday, just days after completing an alcohol treatment programme following her arrest in May for similar charges, police said. "

You know, I was watching the news as I typed up my report, and I first thought it was discussion on Ms Lohan because she was now out of rehab, had turned herself in for her last offense, etc., etc. Then I realize, HOLY SH!T, AGAIN!!!

Book SEVEN is finally here!

2007-07-21T10:50:00.000+09:00

So, Ant got a bug up his ass to go to the BX at 0700 for book seven of Harry Potter. The line was already around the corner...

... and extended back around this corner...

Ant not looking so happy... Wait, wasn't this his idea???

camping out with the others...

And the final product. Book 7 in our hot little hands....

Damn PX advertised for over a week about the 0800 presale... then on the day of, nope, sorry, we can't pre-sell.. have to wait until 0901 as that is 1201 GMT! WHAT, you can't pre-sell? Amazon has been doing that for almost a year! You can't do it an hour early? Whatever! Anywho, half the base was there. AFN included. Ant may have made it onto Around the Services for today or sometime this weekend.!

Let there be STEAK!!!

2007-07-15T23:38:00.001+09:00

So, being stuck in the States, I decided to make the most of it. I decided to see a movie. I picked a chick-flick, "Knocked Up." I chose this movie because The others I would have seen, (Die Hard, Harry Potter, Transformers) I would have liked to have seen with my Hubby, who is 6,000 miles away, at the moment.
And, as I had 90 minutes before the movie started, I decided to go to Applebee's. Party of one, I sat at the bar. I looked at the menu and decided, LET THERE BE STEAK! I hadn't had one in a while, and they are super expensive to have one at a restaurant in Japan, so there! It was so delish!
Movie was cute. Had its funny moments and its IsodidnotneedtoseeTHAT moments. But all in all I enjoyed it.

Stuck in Florida, Courtesy of Man-Yi

2007-07-15T13:21:00.000+09:00

Well, I made it to the airport with 45 minutes to make it through security and all that... plenty of time. Unfortunately, Typhoon Man-Yi made it to Tokyo with plenty of time to cancel my flights. So, I am stuck in Florida for another two days. Had to rent another car, move back into billeting. SUCKS! But it IS Florida!

Eat your heart out Olive Garden!

2007-07-10T11:35:00.000+09:00

Macarni Grill is SO much better! Sorry Amanda, but it is true. I ate at Macaroni Grill today. Oh My God! utterly delish! I had a chicken and mozerella sandwich.

I found a new wonder drug!

2007-07-10T11:22:00.000+09:00

Orange juice. That is right, Orange juice. My throat was killing me because of the long flight. I mean, for 3 days the darn thing was just damn painful. I couldn't swallow. Then I had a tall glass of orange juice and it immediately felt better. Then I took a 4 hour nap, and the pain was gone. As it started to come back, I drank more orange juice, and the pain goes drastically away.

My new camera and the Wii hunt

2007-07-10T10:37:00.000+09:00

I went and found a new digital camera. It is a Nikon Coolpix. It has an in-camera red-eye reducer, a 3 inch LCD screen, and an optical stabilizer. I bought a 2-Gig memory card, which happened to be on sale at the price of a 1-Gig card. It also came with a rechargeable battery, which can be recharged via the USB port in my computer. This thing is bad-ass!
I've also been on the hunt for a Nintendo Wii. I've been all over Pensacola, Florida. No luck. In one way it is funny, cause there are tons of PS3s and Xboxes around. Considering how much I hate Microsoft, the "Zune" is just ridiculous, and how much Sony is messing up, with trying to outdo microsoft... It is funny. But still. It is also annoying. We'll probably have to order one, have it sent to Ant's parent's house, cause no one wants to send things to APOs, way to support the troops, and have Ant's Parents send it us.

Fly Delta

2007-07-07T23:39:00.000+09:00

OK, I just have to rave about my international flight on Delta Airlines! For one thing, they had these in-seat tv screens that let you watch movies, and it wasn't some crappy in-flight movie they picked for you, either. You had your choice from about 30-odd movies. I watched two, "Hog Wild" and "In the Land of Women." I would have watched a third or fourth, but I had vainly tried to get some sleep. So I settled on reading and listening to my iPod. I also had tons of leg room, and a seat in between myself and the other gentlemen in the row. Food was decent, I had about 3 meals and a snack on board. Hey, it was a 13-hour flight!

Sleep, Glorious, Delicious SLEEP!

2007-07-07T10:08:00.001+09:00

Well, I made it safely to Pensacola, Florida! Man, was that a trek. 26 hours, 3 planes, 2 checked bags, and 1 carry-on, and I am here. I have amassed a 32 hour sleep deficit. You'd think I'd have been able to sleep on the 13 hour plane ride to Atlanta from Tokyo! Nope, I had an annoying Brazilian teenager pounding on the back of my seat. And, not wanting to start an international incident, I just went with it.
SO, I get to P-cola, get my rental car, get to base (without getting lost, pretty great for me!), get to billeting, get my room (actually it is a suit, a bedroom, a kitchen, and a sitting area) and it is now midnight. I crawl into bed and blissfully fall asleep. Next thing I know, my wrist watch alarm is going off. Now that thing is set for 0400 Japan time. I'm like, there is no fricken way it is 2pm! I finally take my eye mask off, yep, 2 pm! WTF! I've gotta get up, in a minute. Next thing I know it is 330 pm. I'd fallen asleep again! 15.5 hours of sleep and at 8pm on Friday, a mere 4.5 hours after I'd gotten out of bed, I am ready for bed again.

SON OF A B!

2007-07-01T07:24:00.001+09:00

OK, so, I am finally going to get to take a few days leave. After putting in leave and having to cancel it, putting in leave and having to cancel it, each time because another business trip came up, I am finally going to get to take three days of leave.... or so I thought! Turns out, they can't get me out on Sunday, so now I have to leave Thursday. This means that, once again, I have to cancel my leave! To top it all off, some idiots decide to try and blow themselves up in Scotland. Then the TSA decides it has to up its security measures... all not 3 days before I leave on a jet plane bound for the good ol' U.S. of A! Just like when I graduated from grad school, and Ant flew out to MD to see my ceremony, and that idiotic threat about liquid explosives forever kept Janice Dickinson from having her make-up onboard the plane, and our children from being able to have their formula.... just days before we flew back to Hawaii!!
So now, I am flying to Florida, 4 days before the conference, stuck on base, without a rental car.... SON OF A B!

the sound of election season... Japanese style!

2007-06-14T19:26:00.000+09:00

For the last few weeks, Anthony and I have been wondering about announcements that seem to go on every day. At first it seemed like the same time every day, 1200 or 1500... then it seemed that it would happen intermittently. Lately it seems like it is all the time. Ohiyogozaimas.... dit dit dit gozaimas... dot dot dot gozaimas... konichiwagozaimas.... every other word gozaimas. We thought it was one of the car dealerships we live near. Finally, driving to work, I had the "fortune" to witness just what was making all the racket. A van outfitted with many megaphones and a lady in white gloves sitting in back with the windows open and a microphone in one hand. And plastered on the side, pictures of what must be a candidate for office. AH.... here it comes again... must be winding down, only been 10 minutes since they drove past last...

You know you are living in a foreign country when...

2007-06-14T12:52:00.000+09:00

you make sure you have enough money in two sets of currency in your pocket at all times.... We go out, and we automatically ask, do we have enough Yen/Dollars? Never know what you are going to be up against. Even on base, certain places take Yen, others Dollars. When we pay our car fees, for instance, we pay on base, but have to make sure we have Yen. Go figure. It is a strange experience.

And you know what is annoying? Yennies. the Japanese version of Pennies. They are light, almost like they are monopoly money and made of plastic. There is absolutely no reason for them, except to take up space. My hubby uses him in his gaming night as extra pieces when he runs out.

POC:AWE

2007-06-09T00:02:00.000+09:00

Just got back from Shimode Mall where we watched Pirates of the Caribean: At World's End. Awesome movie! Worth the trip down there and back. We ate at the food court and had a hodge-podge of food. Ant ordered these fried calamari balls... not popular with us... He also went to McD's and ordered a Big Mac Combo. I had the veggie noodles-Miso soup. Driving home, I think we were behind a drunk Japanese guy who kept swerving all over the road. He finally pulled the hell over.

Which Tarot Card Are You?

2007-05-27T17:43:00.000+09:00

You are The Empress

Beauty, happiness, pleasure, success, luxury, dissipation.

The Empress is associated with Venus, the feminine planet, so it represents,
beauty, charm, pleasure, luxury, and delight. You may be good at home
decorating, art or anything to do with making things beautiful.

The Empress is a creator, be it creation of life, of romance, of art or business. While the Magician is the primal spark, the idea made real, and the High Priestess is the one who gives the idea a form, the Empress is the womb where it gestates and grows till it is ready to be born. This is why her symbol is Venus, goddess of beautiful things as well as love. Even so, the Empress is more Demeter, goddess of abundance, then sensual Venus. She is the giver of Earthly gifts, yet at the same time, she can, in anger withhold, as Demeter did when her daughter, Persephone, was kidnapped. In fury and grief, she kept the Earth barren till her child was returned to her.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Yet Another Earthquake

2007-05-19T07:03:00.000+09:00

Yeah, 12:59:58am, I am sitting at my desk at work. Working through another mid, when I feel the earth start to shake beneath my feet. I'm thinking, nah, its my imagination. Then my monitor starts to shake, and the whiteboard behind me was shaking... and someone shouts, YEAH! I suddenly realized, nope, not my imagination, this was an earthquake. And a pretty strong one at that. The strongest I've felt since arriving. It was centered about 65 miles North East of Misawa and a 5.5 magnitude.
Now, here is the other thing. This is like the 4th or 5th earthquake I've felt in the last two weeks. The last one was on Wednesday morning around 530am. It was centered at about the same place. 75 miles North East of Misawa.. about a 4.4 magnitude.
I am just thinking a big one is about to hit. So many earthquakes centered near the same spot... I am getting nervous.

My 30th!

2007-05-13T18:20:00.000+09:00

Last night, my work section had a party. It just happened to fall on my Birthday. Well, here are a few pictures from then.

First Beer...

They thought it would be funny to put "40" on my cake...

I find it hilarious!

Still laughing...

Feeling good...

Beer #2.

About time to go...

The Big Three-Oh!

2007-05-11T15:10:00.000+09:00

I was awake at midnight to usher in the end to my 20's and the beginning of the rest of my life. :D I had a moment (a big moment) to ponder my life thus far. When my mother was my age, she was divorcing my father and looking at single motherhood with two kids. She had an education, but nothing that would enable her to support her family. I have a happy marriage; two wonderful fur-kids; a house in Hawaii; two working, if old, Japanese cars; a burgeoning career; great co-workers; a college education; visited China; lived in Japan, Hawaii, California; Texas, D.C., Florida (ok, so only for 5 weeks there in the Sunshine State).... I have a lot to be thankful for, and I am. I am going to include some photos of birthdays past as a sort of montage to the big day.

My 25th B-day in 2002. Zaar was only 4 months old!

More of my 25th b-day, heading in to my bro, Christian's b-day, which is the 12th. He is singing his lungs out in this pic. He is getting ready to PCS to Officer Training School in this picture. Then off to Korea and Germany, amongst other places.

11-12 May 2002. Later on that night/morning. All of us at AnnaBanana's. From L-R: Ed, Ant, Me, Christian, Mike; (back row, L-R) Jimmy, Other Guy, and Ken.

My 26th B-day, 11 May 2003. We now had a 16-month old Zaar and a 11-month old D. J.

Well, there you have it. Some of my 20s captured on camera for all to see.

The Cherry Blossoms Come to Misawa!!!

2007-05-09T15:19:00.000+09:00

OK, it is spring in Japan. And although this time a year comes around about a month later than Tokyo, 400 miles to our south, it does visit, nonetheless. And with spring in Japan comes the beauty of Cherry Blossoms! Here are some pictures, though they do not capture the full effect, they do give you an idea.

Across the street in front of the City Hall.

Right out the base.

The park. They put up these pink lanterns which reflect the pink from the cherry blossoms and vice-versa.

OOOPS!

2007-05-08T20:35:00.001+09:00

One of the sucky things about working shift is you tend to get your days/dates/times mixed up. I am perpetually either a day ahead or a day behind, depending on my mood and the day. Well, today, I was a day behind. And this is bad. Bad because I had an eye appointment, and appointment I desperately need, scheduled for 8 May at 1345 (that is 1:45pm for you non-military types). I, somehow, thought that 8 May was Wednesday, ie, tomorrow. Then, as I thought about it at 1600 (4pm) that, hey, wait, 11 May was Friday, 10 May is Thursday.... that means TODAY is 8 May. Sh!t. OK, well, I'll just go in tomorrow and try and reschedule. Did I mention how badly I needed this appointment and how hard it is to actually get scheduled for one??? It isn't like I can go to the local Walmart or a Pearlvision or something like that and get an appointment next week. I am pretty much stuck.