Curious George

Cont...

The Story of Mr. Roundhead

Oki Fever

I was recently introduced to myspace.com and quickly began reacquainting myself with many people that I have lost contact with over the years. Most of my friend requests have been from/to several people that I went to high school with or was stationed with in Okinawa and it occurred to me that I have not blogged about the place I consider home. I recall a post just over a year ago that I called Cuz you Gotta have Friends that explained that I was a military brat and that I have been fortunate to live in and visit several countries and states. As a military brat it's difficult to answer the very common question that is often asked when I meet someone new: "where are you from?" My usual answer is Florida because I have spent a total of 11 years here in the panhandle. It's much easier then trying to explain that I don't really have a home or that I call Okinawa my home and explaining why I don't look Japanese. I moved to Okinawa, Japan from Panama City, Florida during my freshman year of high school (1991). My father was stationed at Kadena AB for 4 years and I went to Kadena High School until the beginning of my senior year when I moved to Michigan until I graduated then moved back to Kadena. My father retired later that same year and we moved back to the states. I joined the Air Force only a few months afterwards and got my first assignment back to Kadena. I spent another 6 years there before coming back to Florida. I had a difficult time adjusting to state-side life after spending most of my adult life on "the Rock". Only 4 years ago I owned my first car in the states, with a steering wheel on the left side of the car and I had to learn to drive on the right side of the road. I lived on my own for the first time in the states (well, I was married at the time but I mean without parents or grandparents). I also had to get used to not having my high tech, compact cell phone until recently when the U.S. finally caught up.
Since creating my myspace account I have discovered that I'm not the only one who calls Okinawa home and I'm not the only one who misses it terribly. Nearly every one of the profiles for my former classmates lists Okinawa as his/her hometown. Most of them are military now as well and are trying to get stationed back home. I listed it as my first choice for my follow-on although I'm still waiting for the Air Force's decision I'm not worried at all that I'll make it back there eventually even if it's only for a visit.

March Madness

March turned out to be a pretty exciting month...

My Grandmother celebrated her 76th Birthday last month and in observation all seven of her children and a few of us grandchildren and even great grandchildren traveled from all over the U.S. to share it with her.
As always, the reunion was full of joy and laughter (mostly at the poker table), sadness and tears (also at the poker table), and the comfort of just knowing that the bond that our family has is unlike any others.
Happy Birthday, Grandma!

After Mississippi I traveled up to Atlanta to spend some extra time with my parents and my sister (and her family). As is tradition whenever I visit, the girls did some shopping…maybe a little too much shopping and my credit card will be tucked away in my locked safe for the remainder of the year. I love Atlanta!

I celebrated my 30th birthday on 25 March (see pics in previous post)! My closest friends took me out to a really fancy dinner out in Graton Beach. I enjoyed a fabulous meal consisting of seared tuna with bamboo rice for course #1, filet mignon with slightly breaded oysters and a sweet potato creation of some sort for course #2, and a chocolate key lime pie for desert, which I really wasn't too crazy about. After dinner we drove back to Destin to a martini bar for a few drinks before calling it a night. It was a nice and very relaxing evening and I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the big 3-0.