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Wednesday, October 24, 2007

US Navy Birthday Ball

One of the great honors of being able to work for a military base overseas is that civilians like myself sometimes get the opportunity to drop in on the formal events that our military counterparts enjoy. This year, the US Navy celebrated its 232nd birthday on October 13, 2007. Conveniently, it was also the same day that I ran 13.1 miles in the World Wide Half, but you can read about that part of my day here. We made plans to attend the Navy Ball that evening and had a blast, though I wish I had the strength at the time to dance with Nicki... I owe her one. Thanks to Thomas and Nathalie for sharing pictures from the evening:

The Mabori Crew


Not bad for a guy with sore feet, knees and quads. Of course it helps to be seated with such a beautiful woman.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

13.1... all done


Yesterday, I ran my 13.1 mile Phedippidations Worldwide Half Marathon Challenge. Thanks to everyone for the encouragement and kind words along the way; and for those that donated to the Hole In The Wall Gang Camps charity. Many thanks to Nicki, who threw an impromptu breakfast burrito party for some people to help spread some love once I got home from the run, to Thomas, who met me at various points along the journey to take photos and to deliver sports drink hydration, and to everyone who showed up at the finish for the company, the high-5s and the pats on the back.

All in all, we raised over $300 for the charity, which I plan to send out within the week once the remaining donations come in. As I mentioned before, they will be sent in memory of Nicki's grandma, Marcia, who passed away earlier this year.

And for those who are wondering, I feel great about my finish time. My goal time was 2:15, but I told myself that I'd be happy with anything under 2:30, considering that I only trained for about 8 weeks prior. Now, my knees are sore, my Achilles are a bit tight on both legs, and my calves have seen better days. But in a few days, I'll be back at 100% and ready for my next road challenge.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Island Fever

Mike rescheduled with his student this week and is teaching him tonight rather than Thursday, so after running around the house making our home presentable and cooking up my weekly "treat" (tonight it was Apple Crisp) for his student, I now have time to relax and type down my thoughts.

Island Fever. The term is affectionately used in America where most of the time it affects Hawaiians. Obviously and maybe a little unfortunately, I'm not Hawaiian, so in the past I couldn't ever understand how someone could get tired of living on an island. I can safely say however after spending almost 2 years in Japan and only really visiting "home", I've caught onto the idea. I'm ready for a change!

We are in the beginning stages of planning a vacation in Thailand - WOOHOO! I'm ready for sun, sand, beaches, swimming pools, massages, elephant rides, hotels and shopping. I'm especially looking forward to no cooking or cleaning for a while. I really don't mind that it's a series of different islands as well. One can't really ask for much when one lives amongst thousands of islands in the Pacific. The important part is that it's going to be a different cultural experience.

In other news, Mike's half marathon is this weekend so type in a message to wish him luck. He's been working hard and even has been showing off his blisters and blackened toenails to me. Boy, I must love him a lot to indulge him the way that I am! Actually, I take that back. Although I have rubbed his legs and dutifully retrieved aspirin for him as he lays down on the couch in a sweaty lump, several times I've grimaced and shoved his nasty feet away. All the more reason he needs encouragement from our readers out there. It seems as though he might not be getting enough at home. That Saturday morning I'm planning to have breakfast burritos and some close friends over to give him a pat on the back to congratulate him. Although I wish I could invite all of our cyberspace friends, I'm afraid I just don't have enough chorizo!

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Budding Artist?

For the past couple of months, Mike has taken on teaching English privately every Thursday night. His student comes over right after we put Josh down for bed, so during the session I'm banished upstairs. In all honesty, I really appreciate this time. It gives me one nice quiet uninterrupted hour to sit, contemplate, and blog.

Since our return home, I haven't gotten out much. I mean "gotten out" in terms of being amongst the people or, "in Japan". Many of our readers are familiar with the US Military life overseas. However for those readers who are not, suffice to say that it's quite possible to spend one's whole time here in Japan with virtually zero interaction with Japan. Most bases have just about any amenity needed to live. I do most of my shopping there for groceries and other small items. It's also where I do all of my other things, like dry cleaning or tailoring. For many who live on base, going "into Japan" takes a concerted effort sometimes, especially if one has children. Josh has started preschool on base 3 days a week leaving me time to drive him to school, go to the gym, run errands, drive home, eat lunch, clean, and drive back to pick him up at school. This leaves me little time to see what the latest and greatest thing is out in downtown Yokosuka. On Josh's days off though, I try to do something fun. This week was a little difficult and because I've been busy running around, I also feel like I really haven't had time to reach into my writer's hat and do a really good entry (This is my latest attempt).

Last night, I made plans to go to SPASSO with some of my friends. There were two newbies in our group that evening. Nathalie has been with our group of friends for sometime but was unable to attend our previous SPASSO outings due to her pregnancy and then new baby. Kerri has just arrived in Yokosuka and was able to have her first onsen experience. There is truly (and I think I've said this in previous posts) nothing like sitting in a hot salt/mineral water bath looking out into the dark ocean underneath the stars. The autumn weather was perfectly cool across our faces as we chatted and watched swirls of steam rise up into the sky. Time always flies but I can honestly say that nothing frees my mind more than just having that time with adults. I come away nice and warm. Usually upon my return home, I crawl into bed and sleep like a log.

This morning we woke up to sunshine after about 5 days of light rain. Since I had such a good night's sleep, I was finally ready to take Josh to the Nogeyama Zoo up in Yokohama to see the animals. I really enjoy this zoo. There's no fee to enter, but there are no concessions except for snack and drink vending machines. Although the exhibits are compact (Animal rights activist in the States would have this place shut down in a heartbeat) it makes it very easy for Josh to see all of the animals. They also have a small petting zoo with chicks, guinea pigs, and mice. Small children absolutely adore this part. They also are nice enough to supply an English map upon request.

While we were home in California, my younger sister Kimberlee gave Josh her old digital camera (can you believe it..."old" digital camera) and this was the perfect opportunity for him to use it. We all might be able to take an educated guess as to why he might be so fascinated with taking pictures? Well, at any rate this was his first real photography session. That's right, Josh at 4 years old went out into the field to express himself artistically through photography. In his honor, because he is a member of this family, and because we are absolutely smitten with him, we will be creating a "Josh's pictures" tab on the side... coming soon! In the meantime, click here to enjoy Josh's pictures and stories!

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Wastin' Away Again In Yokosuka-ville

It's been one of those months... September that is, though it still doesn't feel like October yet to me. Nicki and Josh were gone for 3 weeks, my supervisor at work accepted a job offer elsewhere, the big boss asked me to take over my supervisor's workload until the vacancy is filled, Nicki and Josh returned... and all the while I've been spending most of my free hours training for the half marathon coming up on October 13.

Actually, despite my newfound double-workload and crazy race training schedule, I've been really happy recently. My new workload has enabled me to learn a lot of the financial side of our organization, which, as of October 01, not only entered a new fiscal year, but also transitioned from one organizational structure to an entirely different one. I've been learning by the ol' trial by fire method, thrown into the deep end of the lake with concrete boots and no life preserver. But alas, it's also giving me a chance to show the big boss what I'm capable of, so hopefully what he's seeing and hearing is good.

Also, the half marathon training has really impacted my daily life. It's a stress reliever, a health inducer, and an opportunity to just free my mind and let it deeply explore the random thoughts that somehow creep into one ear, through my cerebral cortex, and out the other ear. I feel tired at the end of most days, but it's accompanied by a strange new energy. I feel my legs getting stronger, my knees getting weaker, and my heart and lungs improving at their individual duties. In short, I'm really excited about October 13th.

In related news, I mentioned way back when that I would set up a page to list my charity's contributors and found a nifty way to do it through the Hole in the Wall Camps website. Too bad that I didn't figure it out sooner, because all those checks that were written to me could have just been submitted straight to the charity. Nonetheless, here's the link to my support page:

Mike's Support Page

Now, my donation collecting is legit. I signed a contract on the site and gave them my contact info; so if I don't pay up, they'll hunt me down.

Thanks to those of you that have contributed with your kind words of encouragement on our blog posts and in emails, your cheers from around the world, and the donations to Hole in the Wall Camps.