I’ve had a lot of people wondering about how I proposed to my amazing girlfriend Kanako, so I thought I’d write a post and share it with everyone all at once.

I proposed on Christmas Eve at her favorite sushi restaurant about two blocks from Yokosuka-chuo train station. We had a nice romantic Christmas Even meal, and as it came to a close I asked for crab salad, which was the signal that one of sushi chefs was to put the ring I’d previously given him on the conveyer belt going around the restaurant. If you haven’t been to a conveyer belt sushi joint, the chef makes a selection of sushi and puts it on a conveyer belt that goes in front of every table so customers can choose what they want. Of course I had him put it close enough to us that no one else could grab it

Before it got to our table I said, “I think I’m done ordering off the menu, but if something I like comes on the belt I think I’ll grab it.” Just then the ring came by on a plate by itself. I asked her, “Do you think you can get that for me?” She was in shock and didn’t know what to think. Eventually she grabbed the plate with the ring on it, I took the ring, got down on one knee and proposed to her. All the lights in the restaurant went dark except for the light right above our table. She kept asking, “Really? This isn’t a joke?” and finally she said yes. The people at the tables around ours (I didn’t know this until later) were staged friend of the sushi chef and they were all armed with party poppers. As soon as she said yes and started hugging me they all cracked their poppers, clapped, and started shouting “Omedetou gozaimasu!” which means “Congratulations!” A waiter brought out a strawberry cake with candles on top and we blew them out to another round of clapping and congratulatory shouts.

Needless to say, she was completely blown away. She kept giving me her big surprised expression, so I think my mission of catching her off guard was accomplished.

Anyway, I’m really happy that now I can spend my life with such an amazing girl. Those of you who live here in Japan know how great she is, and for those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Kanako, she’ll be coming for a visit in late February - early March. As for now, our plans are to get legally married this summer, and start her immigration paperwork. Once she’s cleared to live in the states with me (takes between 3 to 6 months), we’ll have a wedding sometime around this time next year. Thanks for all of your kind words and support in this very big step in my life!

Here’s a video of Kanako’s reaction

Last week I washed my trusty ipod shuffle and the poor thing didn’t feel like turning on again.  Without a workout ipod I was slowly but surely going the way of lethargic.  I decided to check out the Nike + website, after hearing about it on a commercial.  I already bought compatible shoes without meaning to, so I went the rest of the way and bought an ipod nano and the little sensor that goes in your shoe.

Now I’m not trying to sell anyone anything, I’m just very impressed at how well this little thing worked.  I just got back from my first run with the device, and let me tell you how nice it was.  Not only could I listen to my own high-energy music, but a soothing female voice politely turned down the music and gave me updates on my progress every five minutes.  Getting closer to my goal of 45 minutes, of course the updates get a little more frequent.  One of my biggest problems here is there’s no set courses near where I live and I don’t always remember when I’m half-way done so I can turn back around.  Of course with this nifty gizmo I got a very friendly reminder that I was halfway there.

I think one of the nicest things is it also interfaces with a personalized website so you can track your progress, see where you tend to tire out, that sort of thing.  If you want to take a peek at my first attempt click here.

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‘Tis the season for fun themed Christmas parties!  So far I’ve been to a “Cereal Party” and a “Ugly Christmas Sweater Party.”  The cereal party was my friend Gus’ attempt to get rid of cereal he had bought in bulk by inviting a bunch of friends over.  I’m not going to lie, I went through a box of KIX all by myself.  The second party was the brainchild of my friend Stefen and my lovely girlfriend Kanako.  Only 4 people participated, but it was good fun anyway.  Note to the wise: if you’re looking for an ugly Christmas sweater, don’t waste your time in the men’s department.  You can see photos of both shindigs by clicking the flickr link on the right side of the page.

My dad wrote me an email the other day informing me that Nan (short for “Nanny,” my awesome grandmother!) wanted to see some updates, so here’s a little bit of what’s going on in my life.

One of the biggest changes is my relationship rollercoaster. You may remember me posting about Sara and I calling it quits shortly after I pulled back in from summer cruise. About three weeks later, in true “I wasn’t looking for love” fashion, I started dating my long-time friend Kanako. Now, I know what you’re thinking, and I was really searching for a way to poetically word this so it would seem less impulsive and heartless to those not privy to all the details, but I really felt like Kana was put in my life by God, and that we should pursue a relationship despite the obvious difficulties. Of course I’m extremely aware of how this all seems, and I feel extremely bad for how hurtful this must be for Sara, but after examining everything in my heart, my head and in prayer I know that this is exactly what I should be doing. Still, if you need more clarification, shoot me an email and I’ll see if I can’t enlighten you.
For here on out I’m sure you’ll be hearing a lot more about Kanako and the amazing effect she’s had on my life, but for now I just thought I’d better spell things for those who hadn’t heard.

So, with that out of the way, the rest of my life pretty much consists of packing up and getting all the paperwork arranged for transition to civilian life. I spent last week week in Transition Assistance class learning how to write resumes and make the most of my G.I. Bill, and this week I’ve been scheduling appointments for my pack-out and housing inspection. Of course, being me, I also swung by Outdoor Recreation and signed up for three snowboarding trips. As for official dates - I’ll be back on American soil (for the first time in two years!) on January 12th. I’ll have to go through some out processing in Washington and then I’ll be a free man on the 22nd. I don’t have much planned after that so if you’d like to hang out, offer me a job, give me cash, anything really, I’ll be completely open to suggestion.