Leaving on a jet plane...........well eventually

I am working on a music theme for titles, and everyone knows about that song, written by John Denver.

I know its a little cheesy but if works so well. I have not decided how sad that is. I am sure some people will voice their opinion of that later on.

so there i am getting up to get on a buss to go to the airport and sit around to fly out and what happens some people overload the plain and we have to take 10 people off the flight. I am one of them and now i am back here waiting for the next plane to leave, talk about a pain in the but. I would go with the prior planning theory but it does not fit as the problem was not on our end but with the other passengers. so eventually i will get on a plane going to my next job. but until then the ............well eventually part is all i can say.

Politics, Religion, and Her

If anyone is guessing from the title yes it is an old country music song sung by Sammy Kershaw.

Now for the reason i use that phrase. Having been in the military for over 10 years it so aptly applies to the soldiers life. Those are the 3 things that every soldier (well the male soldiers) has in common.

Politics, they control our pay and benefits. They control when we deploy where we deploy and for how long we are gone. They do their best to control our doctrine and rules and regulations. They decide our retirement pay and benefits. By the way what we get for 20 years pales in comparison to what they get for just a few years.

Religion, some may ask how do we have this in common. It is very simple when we are scared we pray to God ( or depending on your particular religion whatever you choose to call him). when we are sad we cry to him. and when we are angry we curse him ( sounds like every other person alive doesn't it). At this current time in the world we also fight in his name asking him to keep our brothers safe in battle. We are also fighting against other people who call god by a different name and believe a different way. We don't fight them for this reason we really don't care what they call him or how they pray to him. We fight them because they took a page from the playbook of the 1300's Europe and the Catholic Church. and that was to destroy or convert all non-believers to Christianity. Now they worded it differently but that was the intent. Today these fanatics are doing the same thing attacking people who don't believe the way they do and forcing their beliefs on others. They take it as far as saying that you must believe exactly as they do or you are not true to the faith. Unfortunately this belief never works and eventually turns against those who try and apply it. And we are fighting against that. We are fighting to protect those who cant defend against those fanatics. Most people that ask why forget that little part in the beginning of the Constitution that says all men are created equal. Those people only think that applies to the people that are citizens of the United States. They forget that we are part of something greater, in that I mean the Human Race. They also forget that that belief should apply to all people everywhere. But as you can see as a soldier religion plays a major part in our life even if you say you do not believe any god.

Now for the most important part HER. You may ask how is this the important part. Simple, as a soldier we are always fighting to get back to someone. And that someone is a mother, sister, daughter, wife, girlfriend, or for some the next girlfriend. And thought we do not admit it that is what we look forward to the most upon returning home. It is what we lay awake at night thinking about, and what we talk about with our buddies while on guard, or the long walks to the chow hall. or even those long patrols that take you all over the place. Conversations always drift to women it never fails. There are always pictures coming out of the women in our lives, and there are some that only come out when we are alone.

As i will be leaving for my 4th deployment my thoughts drift to these things a lot of the time. It is interesting to put these thoughts into words but i think it is something other people need to know. especially those who do not know a soldier or have not served in the military.

On all things i write about i am not there to offend anyone person or group it is merely my thoughts and feelings typed out. So if you do take offense to this then maybe you need to step back and think about things and if you are still upset about what i have said you can call your congressman/woman and cry to her cause this is about my thoughts and feelings and i don't care about yours !!!!!!!!! (and you are probably upset because i am right and you don't want to admit it)

Horses

As a kid we had 2 horses on the farm and it was always fun to go riding around and we had the space to do it. so we spent a lot of free time riding. After we got rid of the horses we were still able to rid on and off for years after that. It has always been an enjoyment for me to ride. The last couple days our friend Marisa (who happens to be Tim's girlfriend) has take me out to the stables where she keeps her horses.

I am happy she has invited me along, especially since she knows me sitting in an apartment all by myself is not healthy and i need something to do. Also Yui asked her to check up on me. So after all these years my wife made sure i had a sitter. I am not being a smart ass i think its wonderful my wife asked someone to check up on me. Especially since if you know me all i do is eat and play World of Warcraft. Not the healthiest hobby's but its what i do to kill time.

So rather than playing WOW for 18 hours a day i get to go riding for a couple hours here are a couple pics of me on the horse.

Reception

Our original plan for going to Japan was to spend some time with her family. That plan was still there but after we found out i will have to deploy we had to change it up a bit. We also wanted to do a reception for her family as my family was able to attend the wedding in Minnesota. But to be honest i did not think that it would be the way it was. I was hoping for a small dinner with her family just a casual setting. Yui said that was part of it, and that they wanted to do traditional pictures. My first thought was COOL that would be interesting (and it was). To explain a little more both Yui and i dislike ceremony its not that we don't like seeing it its more that we don't like being in them. Even more we dislike being the center of attention.

Now i am not saying that we were upset about the reception we did not have a good time and enjoyed spending that time with family. It was also a wonderful expierience. But we were hoping for something queiter. Her sister planned the entire event and I am so happy she did it was wonderful. She did a great job and it was a beautiful ceremony as you will see in the pictures that i will post with this. Yui was so happy that i played along with it. Truth be told i did enjoy it and being the center of attention was not to bad. I know she was very happy to share that with day with everyone.

After the ceremony we went back to her parents house for a small dinner with the family (no this is what i thought it would be origionally( it was a good time except her mom was not feeling well, and both her and i had a really bad cold and were feeling under the weather) so we were kind of quiet. One of her cousins stayed at the house with his wife and 2 sons. They brought a Wii so after a little bit of socializing they hooked it up and Yui and i moved into the living room with the 2 boys and started playing video games.

A little back story to this. During the reception Yui and I had to make some promises to eachother and one of mine was to play less video games when she was around. So her cousin pointed that promise out while we were playing. But since Yui was plaing the game with me i said i was good and had not broken the promise. It was a good laugh for him and I.

Here are some pics from the reception. Some of you are probably wondering about why the faces are blacked out, Yui is a little worried about crazy people on the internet, I cant fault her on that one especially since if you know me i am a little paranoid about something.

Japan part 3

One of the last places we visited was not planned ( my personal way to travel wander around till you find something interesting and check it out) we were walking back from Tokyo Tower to the subway and happened to pass by this temple i just saw the entrance and decided we should check it out. it looked really cool i took a few pictures. i really liked this building that was built behind it. That seemed to add something to the temple.


The next day i was supposed to fly so we didn't do any sight seeing instead we had lunch with two of Yui's cousins. It was a great time i really enjoyed the sight seeing and meeting her family.

Tokyo part 2

The Next stop on our trip was Akihabara that is the electronics part of Tokyo anything electronic can be found there. I have never seen so many electronics stores in one place. No matter what you are looking it can be found there. TV's, DVD's, video games, computers, and that is just the basic stuff.

They have restaurants where the staff dress like Anime characters and people on the street dressed like that too. It was a crazy expeirience.

We left there and went to Tokyo Tower. That is the second tower like that i have seen and it still amazes me. The first was the Eifel Tower in Paris France, I saw that in Dec of 2000. 8 years later i see the second one in Tokyo and it is still impressive to see here are a couple pics from there ( and i would pst a pic from Paris but the desk top is not working so i cant scan in that picture yet)

Tokyo part 1

Growing up in a town of 700 people like i did in Minnesota gives you an interesting perspective on things. After i joined the army I have traveled all over the world. Thankfully i got used to being in major cities and you will need that when you go to Tokyo. I was awesome spending a couple days traveling the city with my wife and seeing a lot of the sites.

We saw the major shopping district of Shibuya this also has the busiest crosswalk in the world.

The next place we saw was Asakusa or the old temple. i thought this was a little more interesting to see and walk around at than the shopping areas. If you know me you know i am not the shopping type, what can i say i am a guy. But the temple had all these shops and stands to look at, and as a 6ft 1in white guy it was one of the few places i fit in. there were tourists everywhere just take a look.

Outside

Growing up on a farm in Minnesota you come to love the outdoors. As far back as i can remember i have always been an outside person. I love spending the day under the sun doing anything i can think of. When i was a kid i was constantly outside playing in the grove, or the barns or in the yard. I would ride my bike all over the farm, run around, build forts, play games, i was always happiest being outdoors. I love to go camping, fishing, and hunting. For me the army in general was a natural choice the infantry specifically was the place for me to be.


As we toured Japan the different landscape amazed me. There is a natural beauty with the mountains and all the green forests and fields. They run almost right up to the coastline here are some pictures that i took along the beach. Now December and January are not exactly relaxing on the beach time. Even with the cold it was still a great place to go just look and see.

Singing a song

They asked me what i wanted to do one day and my origional plan was Bowling, but my wife and her sister had their nails done for the wedding so that idea was out. kind of hard to bowl with fake nails. but at the Bowling alley there is a whole ton of other things to do, so we played some games and had a snack and they sang some Karaoke.

Now in the states when you go do karaoke its in a bar and almost everyone there is drunk. especially those of us that know we cant sing and need a little liquid courage to get up there.

In Japan its a little different you and a few friends get a soundproof room and order some food and drinks and sing. They did have some American songs but nothing i new so i listened to them singing and used the massage chair they have in the room. This is what one of the rooms looks like

Chiran Japan

We did some traveling and one of the Places we went to was Chiran Japan. It is know for 2 reasons the first are the traditional houses that date back to the Tokugawa era 1603-1868. the following are some of the pics from the houses and the yards. I thought that they were very
interesting.


The second thing we saw there was the Kamikaze Peace Museum. During WWII there was an army base in Chiran where the Kamikaze pilots trained and lived until they left for their mission. I is a very interesting place to see. As a soldier who has seen combat i am happy to see that they are honored and remembered. It is good to see that soldiers that made the ultimate sacrifice for their country and way of life are honored and remembered.

Some may ask what about the suicide bombers that have been widely used by the terrorist organizations lately. I hope no one does because there is a huge difference between the two. The suicide bombers are not soldiers targeting military. they are civilians that are used and forgotten by the terrorist organizations. These organizations use these people and forget them as soon as they find someone else to take their place. These people do not target soldiers, they target civilians which is completely wrong.

I respect soldiers who give their life in combat no matter what side of the line they are on. So i truly enjoyed going there and seeing it. I am happy that they are remembered for their sacrifice.

Japan

We took a vacation to Japan over the New Year. We left on the 25th of Dec and I flew back on the 9th of Jan. It was my first time there and i loved it. We had a great time, she got to see her family some of whom she has not seen in almost 7 years. I got to meet them all for the first time, try all the different food, and do some sight seeing.

It was wonderful, I enjoyed every minute. I love to travel and see new things, and eat new food (especially new food) my theory for the best way to travel is on my stomach.
This is the aftermath of a cold noodle restaurant near Kagoshima. It was wonderful and here are a couple more pics from the same restaurant
The fish you might be able to see in the river here are the ones they catch and serve you.

The food was amazing I didn't know you could do as much as they did with fish, pork, chicken, steak. They kept asking what i wanted for dinner and i wanted to try everything but i had no idea what they could make so i just kept saying surprise me, and they did it was all so good. I have been in Germany almost a full day and already miss it.

I love to do the sight seeing especially since i am interested in history and Japanese history has always fascinated me. they have a very interesting history and culture.

But by far the most important part of the entire time was to spend time with her and relax. The simple reason for that is I will be deploying to Afghanistan soon and i will be there till after our baby is born. I came back to Germany by myself and she stayed in Japan.

They had all these 24 hour convenience all over. no matter where you were there was one not far away. it was so easy to run and get whatever you needed whenever. The only thing that was not convenient was the bank. Everything else had great hours most stores were open till 8-9 pm every day.

this is a long post already so i will break the rest of the things down to smaller posts over the next few days.