I was tagged by Will, and now I need to put up eight random facts about myself on this here website.

1 - When I set my alarm, I always wake up natually 5 minutes before it goes off.  I don’t know how this is possible, but it happens.

2 - I’m a LOCD: lazy obsessive compulisve disorder.  This means that it really drives me nuts when things aren’t just so, but most of the time I’m too lazy to do anythign about.

3 - I really love living in Japan, but I’m not really dreading going back to the states either.

4 - I hate all McDonald’s food with the exception of the McGriddle, which I think is the most awesome invention ever.

5 - For all the broadcast announcing training I’ve had, there are still certain times that I stutter when I speak.  There’s aren’t certain words or situations that bring this on, which makes it’s very irritating to know how to curb it.

6 - I love playing guitar and singing, photography, videography and writing, but I feel I’m too unoriginal in doing any of these things to ever matter in those trades.

7 - I’m extremely sentimental.  When I was in elementary school, I loved it when the wall caldendar changed to either October or December because all the cheesy decorations let me know that Halloween or Christmas was right around the corner.  Nowadays songs, movies, photos, weather and any other number of stimuli bring me back to other moments in time.

8 - Before joining the Navy, I hadn’t met anyone with severe personal problems and lived in a little protective bubble.  Now I’ve met more than my fair share of disturbed people and sometimes doubt the general goodness of all people.

 That turned out a little more somber than I had hoped.  I guess I’ll tag Ken and Ken-san.  Go gett’em guys!

I’m already back out to sea after a three day port visit in Qingdao, China.  Visiting mainland China was always something I wanted to do, and now I can say I have.

The first two days were spent filming official functions - pulling-in ceremonies, receptions, community relations basketball games - but on the third day I had a little time to explore.

What started out as a rainy day turned out to be a nice humid day, much like Oklahoma would feel like this time of year.  First stop was food.  My liberty buddies and I enjoyed a nice meal of mystery Chinese soup with chicken feet topping it off.  Anyone who knows me, knows that I’ll eat almost anything.  After that we decided to head to the downtown district for shopping and sightseeing.  After about 10 minutes we found a vendor on the side of the road selling roasted scorpions.  It’s not very often that you get to try roasted scorpions, so we ate those too.

We made it a point to visit the city’s Walmart.  Yes, they have Walmart in China.  It’s not too different from the states, although some of the food was a little odd.

I tried to learn a little bit of the language while there, although it’s extremely difficult.  I learned “cold water” (which sounds like “bing swey”) after I was given watermelon instead of an icy cool beverage.  The city itself was a big contradiction.  Some places had really nice high-rise shopping malls, like any number of places you’d find in Japan, but other sections of the city looked like a bomb had gone off.  The closest place to it that I’ve been is Thailand.  Nice in the touristy places, not much else everywhere else.

Besides that, there wasn’t much that pictures couldn’t say more than I ever could.  I took quite a few and I’ll be sure and upload them while I’m in Guam.

Yesterday we had a refueling pit-stop in Okinawa.  I thought we’d be stuck on the boat, as it was only a couple of hours, but we were allowed to leave the ship and hang around.  We changed into our swim trucks and took off for nice sandy beaches.  It was one of those perfect little scenes that would have been impossible to make any more pristine.  I remember thinking as I walked out to a small island a couple hundred feet offshore, that this experience is something I need to really remember, because it’s not every day someone gets to visit somewhere so nice. 

I’m actually getting used to life on a destoyer.  It’s still very different from life on a carrier, but it’s not bad at all.  I love hitting 3 ports in two weeks.  The crew here said it’s not normal, though. 

Another “oh, by the way” - today I was getting my hair cut and happened to sit next to a very large map of the US posted on a wall.  Right at eye level was Oklahoma, and to my surprise I could make out several places I thought were too small for a map.  Keystone Lake was visible, so was Sand Springs, and barely there was Mannford.  It’s funny how something like a map can be a huge reminder that your life is going to change drastically and soon.  I have the tendency not think about being a civilian in a little over half a year, but it’s close.  Soon I’ll be living in a quiet city, far from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo and Asia.  That’s life, I guess.

I am now floating aimlessly in the ocean again, but not with Kitty Hawk.  On the second temporary assignment of the past two years, I am on USS Stethem (a guided missile destoyer or DDG), covering video and print stories. 

 Since reporting on USS Cowpens last year, I’d forgetted the small things that make life on a small ship irritating.  The biggest being the constant motion.  I usually get over it in the first couple of days, but until then I’m a mess of stomach and headaches.  Add to that sinus problems and I’m a walking disaster area.  Like so many other adversities in life, I’ll walk this off and be alright.  Just keep me in your prayers.

Side quip:  I went to the Protestant Worship Service this morning, and to my surprise there was no one there.  200 people and not a one makes spirituality a priority.  After waiting another 10 minutes, one Ensign popped his head in.  He was equally astonished to see no one present, but explained it’s common after coming on an inport period.  We chatted for a bit and shared favorite bible verses - mine being Ephesians 6 - talking about slaves and masters.  It’s easy to lose focus why you should work hard for someone you don’t like. 

Besides that I’m doing just fine.  I’ll be catching up with Kitty Hawk somewhere around Guam, until then, that’s the reason I’m not responding to your emails.  If you really want to get in touch with me, leave a comment with your email address and I’ll get in contact with you. 

Thanks for everyone’s support!

Well Mom, you knew that I’d have to post this one.

Happy Mother’s Day Mom!  You’ve the best mom for as long as I can remember.  From putting up with all my weird obsessions when I was a kid, fighting for me when I was sick in 8th grade, to wishing me well on my travels around the world, you’ve always been there.  Not only have you been there, you’ve full supported me in everything, and that’s the best thing a kid could ask for.

I remember in high school everyone wished their mom was as cool as mine, and I was never ashamed of you for being a cool mom - I loved it!  I remember you taking me and some buddies to our first Edgefest.  How many moms do that?

You’ve still got my back, and I’ll confess that I haven’t been the best son by making you wait two years to see me, but I look forward to catching up on quality time and hugs when I get back to the states this winter.

Sorry if this picture really embarrasses you, but I thought everyone should see the mom I know and love.

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The ship is (supposedly) fixed, and we head back out to sea very soon.  I was really looking forward to a summer in Japan, but it looks like I’ll have to settle for some pretty cool port visits instead.  This website’s proxy hasn’t been blocked from the ship’s LAN yet, so I’ll try and update as much as possible.  However, the ship has blocked uploading to flickr, so you’ll have to wait until I have a shore connection for photo updates.

Everyone hug your mom and say thanks.

Looks like my prayer to spend more time in Japan before leaving this winter was answered.  While underway for Sea Trials last weekend, the ship ran into some engine trouble and we’ve come back in to port.  There’s no word on how long we’ll be back, although rumors are rampant.  I’ve heard as little as a week and as much as a year.  Who knows.

It’s put me in an interesting place.  I’d already started saying goodbye to Japan because of the length of our upcoming deployment, but now I’m stuck in limbo.  We could go to tomorrow, a week from now, a month, a year, and so how many goodbyes should I say?  Should I even saw goodbye at all?  Maybe instead I should just enjoy the time that God has given me in this fantastic country as long as I can.