8-23-10

Wow...it really has been forever since I last blogged. My apologies, but just so you know it took me 15 minutes to log in because I couldn't figure out how to translate the page.

So I guess I should start with the most important news in case someone is in the dark. Gil and I got married on July 10th! We went down to nan's condo at the beach for a week and had an amazing time. He is coming out here for Christmas so that we don't have to spend that time apart.

A lot has been going on as of late. I had the pleasure of going TDY (temporary duty orders) to Yokota Air Base in mainland Japan. It was really an awesome experience. I sadly did not get to go to Tokyo, however, I hope to get to soon. Disney looks awesome.

I also went snorkeling for the first time here at Mieda Point. It is unbelievable. I think a few of us from work are going back this weekend, so I am going to invest in a cheap underwater camera. You won't believe what I saw. There was a sea snake, a couple lion fish, multiple clown fish (nemo's), hundreds of starfish and sea cucumbers. The list goes on and on.

Tomorrow night I plan on cooking dinner for a few of my co-workers. I feel like a real person right now because I am house/dog sitting for some friends while they are on leave. I think we are going to have sirlions, whole kernnel corn, mac and cheese and cresent roles. I hope it turns out well to say the least.

Believe it or not, I have actually taken a few pictures, so I will try to post them soon.

This week is the Japanese holiday obon week. Obon is an annual Buddhist event for commemorating thier ancestors. It is believed that each year, during obon, the ancestors spirits return to this world to visit. Traditionally, laterns are hung in front of houses to guide the ancestors' spirits, obon dances are performed, graves are visited and food offerings are made at house altars and temples. At the end of Obon, floating laterns are put into rivers, lakes and seas in order to guide the spirits back into their world.

I was at a friends house who lives near the sunabe sea wall and we saw a parade in celebration of Obon. One guy had a camera, so hopefully he will post picks soon and then I will repost for you all.

Also, on September 1st I pick up Corporal, which I am super stoked about. Well, thats all for now.

Reporting from AFN Okinawa, I'm LCpl Meredith Watts.

3 Paychecks Later

S20, Carberry and I all had our pics made at the beach before Schwab Fest. You can tell that it was rainy. Thats because it was Saturday. Haha.

So I realize that it has been 3 paychecks since I last updated. That is not my intention, however, I haven't really been doing much of anything compliments of all the rain. The "rainy season" is no joke. It never fails...it will be beautiful all week and then rain Friday thorugh Sunday (except during the 96 then it rains through Tuesday). I had a crazy experience this weekend. I went to bed rather early after range week on Friday. When I woke up the following morning I had a slight panic attack... I looked outside and it wasn't raining. I honestly thought I had slept until Monday.

Me driving to Schwab Fest.

I went to Schwab Fest since I last updated. They had some belly dancers perform, as well as a local band "Kentucky Rain" followed by the main event, LIT. Kentucky Rain rocks. LIT was just eehhh. I met some really cool people there, however, I never got their name. It really is a shame I know. However, I got to hang out with another Stokesian, Taylor Hall. Needless to say we had a good time.

Belly Dancers

Random guys I met.

Me, Chelsea (s20), Taylor and Random guy.

Random drunk guy dressed as Tigger.

Guitarist from Kentucky Rain. Also plays at a local bar (Al's Place) on Gate 2 Street.

Like I said early I had range week. I finished qualifying this past Friday. I shot a low expert. It wasn't what I wanted, but Schwab is the worst range in the Marine Corps so I guess I will take what I can get.

This past Saturday a couple people I work with and I went to our intern's high school graduation. It was pretty much like a graduation in the states, but somehow they make it last longer. I was glad I had the opportunity to support her nonetheless.

From left to right: LCpl Alisa Helin, Amanda the Intern, Air Force SSgt Rachael Garneau, Me

Helin was dressed like someone else at the graduation so we had to get a pic.

Also, here are a few pics from my favorite place...American Pizza Man. Great food and great zombie juice.

A few of us chillin with zombie juice at American Pizza Man.

The soap at American Pizza Man always makes me laugh.

Finally, great news. I am coming home July 6th. So I hope to see you all then.

Dorm 176 a.k.a. home.

Typical "Honcho" or cab.

Reporting from AFN Okinawa, I'm LCpl Meredith Watts.

Diddle Daddle

The above photos are from Jack's Place and Chili's where we had Cpl Malta's going away dinner.

Learned/Experienced/Observed

1. Kimchi is awesome.

2. I think I will eat pretty much anything that is cooked or in some cases not cooked by a Japanese person.

3. They don't import U.S. pennies here and I wonder everyday how much money I lose with each purchase.

4. I hate doing dishes, but I think my own cooking is amazing.

5. I am bad at remembering my camera, but I always see the picture I should be taking.

6. I hate how I meet cool people and then they leave.

7. I am the most prepared person ever when I get locked out of my room. (Will explain shortly).

8. I wish U.S. culture was more like it is here. The people are so nice and humble.

9. The yen rate needs to be at least 1:1.

10. Sushi hear kicks sushi in the U.S. butt.

11. It is hard to grocery shop and buy meat and bread for one person.

Okay, so yesterday at around 5 pm I grabbed my bag of Uncle Ben microwave in 90 seconds rice and walked to my microwave to cook it. All was good until I heard the click. BAM! Just like that I was locked out of my room. See, last week sometime they decided to put automatic locking door locks on our room and common area doors. So, if you even go to the bathroom you have to remember your key.

So anyways, back to the story. I was locked out, but you know I could survive for a little while because I had my bag of Uncle Ben rice and conveniently enough a fork that I had washed and left to dry by the sink. Also, I had my wallet. I was wearing my baggy black sweatpants and my black blood giving t-shirt without shoes. So needless to say I was in no way ready to go out in town until my roommate got back and could unlock my door.

So I sat patiently in my common area for like an hour doing nothing but eating my rice. Then Carberry came and I told him I was locked out of my room, but then I remembered I had been doing laundry and the dryer didn't drive my civilian load the first time so I had switched the dryers and then forgot about them. So in this load of laundry I had blue jeans, t-shirts, socks, undies and a bath towel.

So I took a shower and got dressed with my nicely washed clothes all folded neatly in my common area. I had everything I needed but a pair of shoes, my phone and of course my room key. Well I knew the phone and keys were a lost cause, however, I the shoe problem could easily be fixed. So I went and got a pair of flip flops from S20 that was way too small, went and got Carberry and we trucked it over to the BX.

Once we got there, I was on a mission. I was getting me a new pair of tennis shoes. Then I saw them. It was as if there was only one pair of shoes in the store. I had to get them...these plaid Nike's are (insert you're awesome, epic, astounding word here).

Thus is the tale of how I am the most prepared and resourceful person to get locked out of my room for 6.5 hours.

Also, this morning I was super-not-lazy. I went to the commisary got groceries and cooked an amazing bacon-egg-cheese on hamburger bun. So I felt obliged to include a photo.

Simple Update

Hello All,

It has been a while since I last updated you with what is going on... and honestly it is because I haven't been doing a lot.

There is the prospect of me getting a POV (personal vehicle) though, which is super exciting. It will really only be to drive to and from work but at least I won't have to work ridiculous hours then.

I am on duty this week for work which means if the sea condition changes or anything it is my responsibility to go in and change it on the TVs and AM/FM radio. The sea condition is very important here on Okinawa because the current can be extremely dangerous.

So picture this...65,000 people tune in to listen to you on the radio. They call to make requests, listen to you blabber about yourself and give out command information with just the right twist so they continue to listen. Well... that is going to be me for 3 hours this Saturday. One of the responsibilities of duty is a weekend duty show. Should be interesting.

We had training last week from 2 Air Force Master Sergeants last week and I had to do a live 1 hour show and I almost had a heart attack. So if cardiac arrest ensues after this then you know what happened.

I have found a pretty awesome place on BC street which parallels gate 2 street. It is the American Pizza Man. The pizza is fantastic and so are the drinks. If anyone on Okinawa is reading this and hasn't been there I highly suggest it. Hit me up on facebook and we can go any weekend but this one because I'm on duty.

Well, I don't really have much else to add. I plan to get some pics of AFN and the people I work with sometime this week if I can remember to take my camera to work. I mean I forgot my cover (hat) today so who knows.

Oh... I almost forgot I did a feature story shoot on Pete Phipps today. He is a Captain in the Army and a grad of Westpoint. Him and two fellow soldiers/Westpoint grads are biking across America this summer to raise money and awareness for the wounded warriors project. So check out their webpage, track their progress, and donate if you can.

www.pedalinwithapurpose.com

Also, be sure to check out studentorgs.unc.edu/vw then click on Spring 2010 *NEW* and go to page 24. Chelsea Pardue, a student at UNC, did a story on me. It is pretty amazing if I do say so myself. So don't miss it. It takes a little while to download, but it will be worth it.

Well, thats all folks.

Reporting from AFN Okinawa, I'm LCpl Meredith Watts.

Kadena International Wine Fest (Sounds a lot like Catalina Wine Mixer)

So this past Saturday night I had the pleasure of going to my first international wine festival. It was held at the Rocker NCO club here on Kadena Air Base.

I guess I'll start with what I wore... or rather how my outfit came about.

I didn't have anything. So I had my mom mail me a couple of dresses. Too bad I didn't get her to send a black one. All the girls I was going with were wearing black. I can't be the only one in green and white... I mean seriously.

So it's four hours until time to go... thats when I started shopping. S20 and I ventured to the Base Exchange (BX) because I can't fit into the locals clothes, therefore, town was not an option.

We spent approximately 25 minutes shopping... shoes included. In true Meredith fashion I purchased the first dress and shoes I tried on. It looked good enough I guess.

So I got all fancied up... I even wore my hair down for this. I know. Big Surprise. I had to buy a straightener to do so.

When we got there it was kind of crowded. However, we got our wine glas

ses and started tasting (I have decided that I will not grow up and become a wine conesiour). One guy had 3 Merlots. Two from Chile and one from Italy. He said, "Now we are going to start our journey in Chile...mmm...and what do you think of that? Now this is a Chilean wine made very similiar to an Italian wine...mmm...and what do you think of that? Now this one if from Italy...mmm...can you taste the similarities?"

My answer was most definitely. The first one was okay. The second one bad. The third awful. But of course I didn't actually say that... instead I waited for him to take a

nother unlucky person on the wine tour and I slipped away from the table.

Now don't get me wrong I tasted a lot and like a few. So all was not lost.

In my personal opinion all the vendors can keep their wine. The food is the reason to come. I had lump crab wrapped in back with a cream sauce on top, scallops cooked the same way, crab ragoon with real crab and minimal cream cheese, teryaki beef skewers, sushi... the list goes on and on.

So the lesson learned from the whole experience... Go hungry, leave full,

and pick up a bottle of the cheapest white wine on your way out the door.

Thats what S20 and I did. It proved to be just right.

From left to right: S20, me, cpl watson, ssgt garneau.

Reporting from AFN Okinawa, I'm LCpl Meredith Watts.

MCMAP

So this past week I did MCMAP (Marine Corps Martial Arts Program) and I test out and got my grey belt which is the next level up.

It was a very painful and action packed experience. I did learn how to do an arm bar from the mount and the guard which is pretty cool.

On Wednesday we boxed... which I have learned that I would rather lose the fight than beat up on someone I know. I had to fight two girls. I was so much bigger than they were. It was exactly evenly matched... and thats all I have to say about that.

Then I fought a guy. He had the reach and weight advantage on me. So my logic was... if I can't beat him standing up I will give it a shot and take him to the ground... the only problem is it is hard to fight on the ground with boxing gloves.

Needless to say it was fun and, as I said before, I advanced up a belt which is exciting.

This morning I shadowed Cpl Castillo on the radio. That was pretty fun. I even got a call in that complimented me which was exciting. I had a couple mess ups... but nothing too serious. The 9 year olds calling in and requesting songs was kind of a pain.

Anyways... I hope to head to the "city" tonight (Naha) and get some good food and good pictures. If not I promise to get some more pictures soon.

Well that is all for now... wish everyone back in the states the best.

Reporting from AFN Okinawa, I'm LCpl Meredith Watts.

Saturday Night Special

First of all I want to apologize for not having my camera with me... hopefully I will be able to catch this experience again on digital film.

So Carberry and I decided to head out to American Village which isn't to far from base to grab some chow Saturday night. We went to this little mexican place. I ordered Taco Rice which is pretty much amazing. It is yellow rice with ground beef on top and lettuce on top of that. It is served with salsa and some kind of sauce that is a lot like thousand island. Although it wasn't exactly El Cabo's ACP or mexican cheesesteak... I guess it will do.

Carberry ordered the Mexican Lunch. It was two tacos, two enchiladas, some kind of wild rice looking stuff and these little dough things. It was pretty delicious. The taco shells were nothing like what we have back in the states... it was kind of like funnel cake. Not sure how to explain it. Overall delicious.

So then we were heading out and just going to travel up to Camp Foster to visit a couple of friends when we saw a crowd gathering... so we walked over and saw a street performer setting up.

He performed some very interesting things coordinated with his ipod of course. It was sort of like interpretive dance at the beginning with these ninja looking things. Then he took out some glass ball looking things and did some really cool stuff with that. He finished his act juggling fire.

He spoke 98% Japanese the whole time. He would speak for like 5 minutes in Japanese with a one sentence English translation.

He concluded his show with "After this... I ask you for money."

I would dare to say he made at least $200 for his show... or roughly 18000 Yen. He had quite that gathering. He was very interactive with the crowd and was extremely funny. He made a Titanic reference that just about had me rolling on the floor laughing.

Anyways... Hope all is well in the states.

I start MCMAP tomorrow for my grey belt. I'm pretty excited.

Reporting from AFN Okinawa, I'm LCpl Meredith Watts.