Meeting @ MindSay

I am actually pretty excited about tonight.  After my long tiring weekend with friends over till late Sunday afternoon, I vegitated all day yesterday.  I didn't do shit!  I even took the fajitas I made Saturday and reheated the meat and veggies for last nights dinner!  I should have used that for tonights dinner but that is okay!  I busted out the patato soup I made a few weeks back and froze the left overs! 

 

I need some help with two subjects for my next paper.  We are doing a compare and contrast paper.  I want subjects/topics that are orginal.  DeLaney suggested Dogs and Cats.  Coltin sugested marital arts (any two), Randy has made no suggestions.  My girl Teri suggested Paganism vs Christanity (to indepth of topics I think) and my girl Bree suggested long hair vs short hair.  The only thing I have come up with is  washing the dishes by hand or by dishwasher!

 

I want topics that that is orginal but not a lot of research.  I have to have all my homework done by Friday afternoon before I pick the kdis up from school. We are leaving for Sioux Falls for the weekend right after I pick them on Friday.  We are going to our Regional TKD tourny.  I can get the majority of my homework done today but I need my subjects for my next paper to do a compare/contrast chart for one of the assignments!  Please help!

 

Anyway I have an IEP meeting today at 2:30 with DeLaney's speech teacher, then we have to blaze to TKD, after TKD we blaze home,  I'll get the kids feed, Randy can get their homework and baths done and at 7, I'll blaze to the Pub.  Our pool league starts tonight.  Yay!  I have decieded I am treating myself with a few drinky drinks tonight!  I need them!  :D

 

I can't wait!  Tuesdays are definatally going to be my night!

Work starts again for me in about three days, but will end abruptly about seven weeks from there. September will be uninteresting but October should prove to be lots of fun as I pack things up and ship things home. I am getting more and more excited about it as each day passes.

We had a meeting today, sort of a "back from vacation" thing. I got to see all of my co-workers and we got a chance to talk about this and that. I told some of them that I was going home in November and they seemed to think that was pretty cool... but the weird part is that many asked me when I was coming back. One in particular, an older, nice guy that I have spoken to on many occasions, had this dialogue with me:

"Going home in November? Must have found a new job huh? So when are you coming back to Japan then?"
"What?" I asked, "um, never. I'm going home for good."
He looked  at me, somewhat shocked, "Really? You don't want to come back? You want to live in America??"

As the word "America" was said there was a bit of a shiver to the guys voice. Like it's such a bad thing. It reminded me of how I used to think, and it made me realize just how proud I am now to be an American. Now mind you, I won't go waving the flag around, buying black velvet paintings of eagles crying or voting republican... I'm not that kind of American. But I will say I enjoy the freedom, the space and the general attitude of the country of my birth. It just took a little while for me to realize it.

Back to my conversation, I was then asked what I planned to do when I got home.
"Well, I plan on being with my family and friends."
"Well, what about your Japanese friends?"
I did tell the truth. I said "They'll be fine, I have all their info and they want to visit me in the states!" What I didn't mention is that not one of the friends I have made out here is actually Japanese. Sure, I met these new friends in Japan, but they are all sorts of backgrounds... Asian and European. But no Japanese. Not one. I know more Japanese people in America then I do in Japan. And that's another reason I want to go home.

"But what about all the things Japan has to offer?"
I started to feel like he was a spokesman for the Japanese Consulate of Foreign Workers or something. I basically said that it would be best for me to live in America. Both me and my girl would prefer it (yes, I had to explain how my girl is Japanese but born in America and likes The USA better and so do I etc...)
He digested what I told him for a moment and finally said "Well that's cool. I kinds wish I could move back sometimes too... but I haven't paid taxes in the USA for over 40 years. I really can't go back".

So now I understood the disdain. Still a pretty cool guy by my standards.
For me, Japan used to mean a freedom from everything that I was used to. No more mundane, day to day routine, but instead an exciting and interesting new world to explore. Now, it means nine hour work days, low pay, high taxes, people who are constantly "too busy" to do anything (I will explain that in more detail in a later post) and long, loooooong commute times.

America used to mean boredom, no opportunities and  stifling family members and friends that would keep me from doing what I wanted to do. It was too cushy, too easy, too drab. I needed to get away and do something on my own... but now, just like a painter stepping away from the easel, I can now see America for what it really is to me. Opportunities abound, free stuff all over the place, personal transportation so you can go wherever you want whenever you want, 24 hour everything, food from all around the world (and cheap), a house or very large apartment and most importantly, foreigners.

In America we are all in the same boat. We are all foreigners. America is this grand social experiment, and we've managed to all get along well enough to form one of the most powerful nations the world has ever seen. I love that I am a part of that. Anyone can be an American, but only natural born Japanese can be citizens in this country. I like our system better.

Anyways, I really do only have roughly 7 weeks of work left, so I'm going to spend most of that doing very little, especially after I give my notice of termination. This is going to be a sweet two months...

-Maru!

I met someone during my lunch today. She was sitting all alone and I just had a wave come over me, I had to go talk to her. Long story short, I asked her out and she accepted!

 

I am going to pick her up tomorrow at 6:00pm, I made reservations already for dinner, after that, not sure yet what we are going to do. Maybe go to see "The Dark Knight", not sure if that is a first date type of movie but, we will see.

 

Wish me luck!

By Heather Graham

Special to American Forces Press Service

 

Nov. 28, 2007 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates met with soldiers and family members here yesterday to present Purple Heart medals and get a first-hand look at issues and concerns he usually sees only on paper. Gates began his morning by joining soldiers for breakfast at the Eagle's Nest, a 4th Infantry Division dining facility. Over scrambled eggs, bacon and grits, Gates discussed Army issues with the soldiers.

 

After breakfast, the secretary met with 30 Army spouses representing the 4th Infantry Division, 1st Cavalry Division, 13th Sustainment Command and 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment to hear their issues and concerns. The spouses were selected for the meeting based on their active roles in their units' family readiness groups, Col. Diane Battaglia, 3rd Corps public affairs officer, said.

 

The meeting was Gates' first with spouses, he said. "I look forward to hearing from you," he told the group before his closed-door meeting. "The nation owes each of you a great debt of gratitude."

 

Spouses were able to ask questions of the defense secretary during the meeting.

 

On most of their minds was the deployment length and cycle.  "The first majority concern was how long the 15-month deployments would last," said Sheree Weller, the wife of Capt. Shane Weller, a pilot with 1st Aviation Combat Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division. "He gave us a good time frame."

 

The spouses at the meeting said they felt the defense secretary adequately addressed and answered their concerns and questions.

 

"I had four questions," Mariah Murdoch, wife of Maj. Timothy Murdoch, rear-echelon commander of 1st Cavalry Division's Special Troops Battalion. "Every question was answered before I could ask." Gates addressed other concerns she had not even considered, she added.

 

"He talked about incentives for family members other than spouses," she said. One incentive would be the possibility of soldiers being able to pass Montgomery G.I. Bill benefits on to their children. The secretary emphasized that can't happen overnight, she noted. "He made it abundantly clear there is a lot of bureaucracy involved," she said.

 

Both women agreed Gates was prepared to answer their questions and concerns.

 

"Every question posed, he had already considered," Weller said. "I felt he was listening."

 

Weller again met with Gates, albeit briefly, during the 1st Cavalry Division Purple Heart and volunteer recognition ceremony following the spouses' meeting. She was honored for her volunteer efforts for the First Team.

 

At the ceremony, Gates presented 12 Purple Hearts to division soldiers and certificates to the volunteers.

 

Gates wrapped up his two-day trip to the area following the ceremony. He had been a guest of the Greater Killeen Chamber of Commerce at a Nov. 26 dinner reception. In his speech, he addressed the progress being made in the global war on terrorism and the need for the passage of a supplemental war spending bill.

 

In a question-and-answer session following his speech, Gates addressed the troop surge and improved security in Iraq.

 

(Heather Graham is news editor for the Fort Hood Sentinel.)

Apparently, Brian doesn't know we're not friends.  And to be fair, we're not NOT friends... it seems the people who know about my initial feelings towards the gentleman have had the common sense to not tell him...even if they ARE his twin brother and/or co-board member.

But tonight, he and James were wearing very similar outfits (James' dress shirt was yellow, his was a sort of forest green), and I think he heard me comment on the fact that they were even dressed alike, and he came over and was telling me about how he and James were doing interviews for the same job and how the company sorta lumps them (like, telling James he got the callback, and to bring Brian along too), and it was fine... contrary to popular belief and the IRHC gossip ring, I don't HATE Brian.  So random.

And then when my meeting let out (which Joanna sat in on, plus 10), I gave James' a high five and then had to walk the long ways around the table, which meant walking by Brian who was talking to various people, and he stuck his hand up for some fiving.  He also fived Chris and Ms. Joanna, but I think those were afterthoughts. 

Also...Chris is possibly straight?  I'm getting new vibes from the child.  Oh other jailbait.