Here's that link:
Thursday, March 24, 2011
It's Been Real, It's Been Fun, But it Hasn't Been Real Fun
I've been thinking. I've been asked if I will keep up the blog now that I'm home and I've decided that I will. However, I'm going to start a new one. I thought that perhaps I should move on from the Japan thing and the title doesn't really fit anymore. I know that I could have just changed the title and perhaps the background, but the older posts will always be there, and it feels better to just close that chapter and start a new one. Each new day is fresh, with no mistakes, and a new start just seems right. As of this posting, I haven't written on the new blog, but I will include a link at the bottom, so that you can get to it easily. I hope that you will continue to follow me, even though now I'm a lot easier to get a hold of in person. Thanks for all your support while I was away, but now the real support begins, because you actually have to be there and do stuff for me. Don't worry, it goes both ways, and I promise to get back to baking as soon as I can get my house in a little better order, and re-fill the cupboards.
Monday, March 21, 2011
I'm On My Way
It's been a while since I last posted and to say that a lot has happened since then is sort of an understatement. For those who aren't aware, Evan and I returned home, home on Friday, the 18th. It was necessary for Scott to remain and work, but I know he's being taken care of and that he will be on his way out of there soon. Let me start from the beginning and try to explain some of the events that lead to early return.
On March 11th at about 2:45pm, there was a 9.0 earthquake off the coast of Sendai, Japan. This is about 270 miles north of Yokosuka where we were staying. That's about the distance from Tacoma to Cheney, WA, which is just outside of Spokane. So not super close, yet we felt the earthquake in our apartment. Evan and I were enjoying nap at the time. I woke up to the bed shaking some and couldn't quite figure it out at first, once I did, I thought that it would pass quickly and didn't feel that strong at first, so didn't really see a reason to wake up Evan and possibly freak him out. However, the shaking kept going and started to get stronger, so I got up and carried Evan to the doorway, fully expecting it to stop at any second. It didn't and Evan wanted to know what was going on and why the building was shaking. We had a whole conversation about it, while it was happening, while I contemplated moving us under the kitchen table. When it did stop, we had no damage, nothing even fell over and we had power the whole time. Scott, who was on a boat the whole time, didn't even really feel it.
Minutes after that, the coast that was hit by the earthquake, was then hit by a 33 ft. tsunami. As a result of these events a nuclear power plant had a meltdown because they weren't able to cool the nuclear reactors. The meltdown has recently been upgraded from a 4 to a 5 in severity on a scale of 7. Initially, we were not aware that the damage to the plant was going to affect us in such a major way. We were downwind of any of the radioactive material that may have been in the air, and also it seemed as though it was being downplayed. We spent the weekend out around town and even went to a movie.
On Tuesday the wind shifted and the navy began to be concerned. Scott and I discussed Evan and I leaving the island, but nothing was decided then. I was no longer worried about quitting, although, somehow it still felt like that. I was now worried about leaving Scott behind. It wasn't clear when or if he would be able to leave. On Wednesday I started packing, in the event that I needed to leave, even though it wasn't what I wanted to do. None of our plans were shared with family. It was still unclear if Evan and I would leave and where we would go if we did leave. That afternoon Scott was able to change our tickets so that we could fly out on Friday. I let everyone know we were coming back home and continued to pack like a fiend. In two days I managed to get all our stuff packed, with most of it in the suitcases we would be taking with us.
Our area was beginning to be hit by food shortages and there were threats of rolling blackouts to conserve energy, since they were down a plant. Many stores and restaurants were closed. On Thursday, we experienced our first blackout.
Friday morning we left. The airport was totally packed and the lines took forever to get through, luckily I arrived there shortly after ten for my 3:40 flight. In the end I only had about 2 hours to kill before we started boarding.
Were our family and friends somewhat in the dark about what was happening, yes. Part of that was that we didn't really know the severity of the disasters. Yes some of it was deliberate with holding, but it's hard to keep people calm when you are over 4,000 miles away. Besides, y'all would have freaked out regardless, did you really need to know all the details and make it worse on yourselves? We can try to put this all behind us now, and we will always have a personal connection to this disaster. Evan and I are home safe, and I have been told that Scott is out of Yokosuka. No idea where he is headed but I assume that it will be safer than where he was.
Not sure if I will continue posting or not. I haven't decided. If I do keep it up, it probably won't be as frequent, and not for a while, since I have the daunting task of getting my house back in order. Till then take care and I will leave you with a song.
On March 11th at about 2:45pm, there was a 9.0 earthquake off the coast of Sendai, Japan. This is about 270 miles north of Yokosuka where we were staying. That's about the distance from Tacoma to Cheney, WA, which is just outside of Spokane. So not super close, yet we felt the earthquake in our apartment. Evan and I were enjoying nap at the time. I woke up to the bed shaking some and couldn't quite figure it out at first, once I did, I thought that it would pass quickly and didn't feel that strong at first, so didn't really see a reason to wake up Evan and possibly freak him out. However, the shaking kept going and started to get stronger, so I got up and carried Evan to the doorway, fully expecting it to stop at any second. It didn't and Evan wanted to know what was going on and why the building was shaking. We had a whole conversation about it, while it was happening, while I contemplated moving us under the kitchen table. When it did stop, we had no damage, nothing even fell over and we had power the whole time. Scott, who was on a boat the whole time, didn't even really feel it.
Minutes after that, the coast that was hit by the earthquake, was then hit by a 33 ft. tsunami. As a result of these events a nuclear power plant had a meltdown because they weren't able to cool the nuclear reactors. The meltdown has recently been upgraded from a 4 to a 5 in severity on a scale of 7. Initially, we were not aware that the damage to the plant was going to affect us in such a major way. We were downwind of any of the radioactive material that may have been in the air, and also it seemed as though it was being downplayed. We spent the weekend out around town and even went to a movie.
On Tuesday the wind shifted and the navy began to be concerned. Scott and I discussed Evan and I leaving the island, but nothing was decided then. I was no longer worried about quitting, although, somehow it still felt like that. I was now worried about leaving Scott behind. It wasn't clear when or if he would be able to leave. On Wednesday I started packing, in the event that I needed to leave, even though it wasn't what I wanted to do. None of our plans were shared with family. It was still unclear if Evan and I would leave and where we would go if we did leave. That afternoon Scott was able to change our tickets so that we could fly out on Friday. I let everyone know we were coming back home and continued to pack like a fiend. In two days I managed to get all our stuff packed, with most of it in the suitcases we would be taking with us.
Our area was beginning to be hit by food shortages and there were threats of rolling blackouts to conserve energy, since they were down a plant. Many stores and restaurants were closed. On Thursday, we experienced our first blackout.
Friday morning we left. The airport was totally packed and the lines took forever to get through, luckily I arrived there shortly after ten for my 3:40 flight. In the end I only had about 2 hours to kill before we started boarding.
Were our family and friends somewhat in the dark about what was happening, yes. Part of that was that we didn't really know the severity of the disasters. Yes some of it was deliberate with holding, but it's hard to keep people calm when you are over 4,000 miles away. Besides, y'all would have freaked out regardless, did you really need to know all the details and make it worse on yourselves? We can try to put this all behind us now, and we will always have a personal connection to this disaster. Evan and I are home safe, and I have been told that Scott is out of Yokosuka. No idea where he is headed but I assume that it will be safer than where he was.
Not sure if I will continue posting or not. I haven't decided. If I do keep it up, it probably won't be as frequent, and not for a while, since I have the daunting task of getting my house back in order. Till then take care and I will leave you with a song.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Okay Seriously, I Am Not Depressed (it's a long one, just deal with it)
I should just leave it at that, but I'll go on. It has come to my attention that my previous post has some of you concerned about my emotional well being. I would just like to reiterate, I am not depressed. While I appreciate your concern, in this instance it's not necessary. I may have chosen to write on the wrong day. We all have ups and downs. I'm sure on occasion you all wake up and dread going to work, the grocery store, cleaning the kitchen, etc. I'd be more worried if you didn't, it might indicate that you have a brain tumor. No one is super happy, all the time. Am I looking forward to being home at the end of May? Yes. Anyone else looking forward to us being home at the end of May? That's what I thought.
Yes, I'm a little down about the hardships in my current living situation, but I'm sure that you have also committed to things that turn out not to be what you were hoping for too. I'm not about to quit. Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I don't give up. I might not even try in the first place, but once committed, I don't give in. Scott told me someone he works with told him the other day, 'My wife's only called twice, crying, and insisting that they go home.' I will not be that wife. Lots of things make me cry these days, it's probably due to the hormones, but I'm not crying over being here. Again, I will not quit. As my mother will tell you, and anyone else who will listen, I was a whiner as a child. But I'm a grown up now, and I'm going to 'put on my big girl panties and deal with it'.
I used to journal a lot as a teenager. You know, all that lower middle class angst. It was helpful to get my thoughts out, I process well on paper. I still write out my lists on paper and prefer to write things down before going to the computer. Perhaps that is why some of my posts don't come across as well as I intend. I tend to use this blog as a way of getting things out there, the only difference is that apparently all my thoughts and feelings are being highly scrutinized. Try not to read so much into what I write. I'm usually not being any more guarded than usual. If it's being said, just take it as that and nothing more. I think that if you put all your thoughts down for everyone to see, you also couldn't stand up to such an extensive critique.
I'm emotional, a worrier, and quite dramatic. Often little, seemingly inconsequential things become the most insurmountable, disastrous, panic inducing trauma ever (see what I mean). So, on occasion, things might sound worse than they really are. They might even sound worse than what I really feel about them. Am I super happy to be here? Probably not, but is it the worst place I've ever lived? Not. Even. Close. Those who remember the dungeon apartment in U.P. will know that those were some dark days, quite literally.
So, I hate to say it, but if you are going to read too much into everything that I write, put more feeling and emotion into it than I ever intended, than you probably shouldn't read what I write anymore. If I have to consider every word that I post, and wonder how it's going to be perceived, I'm not going to write anymore. That will make it too hard and certainly not worth sharing. Again, I appreciate your concern. For reasons I would rather not explain, I feel as though I am quite aware of my emotional/mental state, and I'm fairly confident that I would know if what I was feeling was severe enough to be concerned about. It's okay to feel elated, pensive, defeated, optimistic, excited, dejected, enraged, and a million other emotions. It's what you do with those feelings and how you choose to react that is important.
Again, try not to read too much into this, but I love this song and I'm going to take a cue from my friend Jaime and end with some lyrics.
Stand, by Rascal Flatts
Yes, I'm a little down about the hardships in my current living situation, but I'm sure that you have also committed to things that turn out not to be what you were hoping for too. I'm not about to quit. Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I don't give up. I might not even try in the first place, but once committed, I don't give in. Scott told me someone he works with told him the other day, 'My wife's only called twice, crying, and insisting that they go home.' I will not be that wife. Lots of things make me cry these days, it's probably due to the hormones, but I'm not crying over being here. Again, I will not quit. As my mother will tell you, and anyone else who will listen, I was a whiner as a child. But I'm a grown up now, and I'm going to 'put on my big girl panties and deal with it'.
I used to journal a lot as a teenager. You know, all that lower middle class angst. It was helpful to get my thoughts out, I process well on paper. I still write out my lists on paper and prefer to write things down before going to the computer. Perhaps that is why some of my posts don't come across as well as I intend. I tend to use this blog as a way of getting things out there, the only difference is that apparently all my thoughts and feelings are being highly scrutinized. Try not to read so much into what I write. I'm usually not being any more guarded than usual. If it's being said, just take it as that and nothing more. I think that if you put all your thoughts down for everyone to see, you also couldn't stand up to such an extensive critique.
I'm emotional, a worrier, and quite dramatic. Often little, seemingly inconsequential things become the most insurmountable, disastrous, panic inducing trauma ever (see what I mean). So, on occasion, things might sound worse than they really are. They might even sound worse than what I really feel about them. Am I super happy to be here? Probably not, but is it the worst place I've ever lived? Not. Even. Close. Those who remember the dungeon apartment in U.P. will know that those were some dark days, quite literally.
So, I hate to say it, but if you are going to read too much into everything that I write, put more feeling and emotion into it than I ever intended, than you probably shouldn't read what I write anymore. If I have to consider every word that I post, and wonder how it's going to be perceived, I'm not going to write anymore. That will make it too hard and certainly not worth sharing. Again, I appreciate your concern. For reasons I would rather not explain, I feel as though I am quite aware of my emotional/mental state, and I'm fairly confident that I would know if what I was feeling was severe enough to be concerned about. It's okay to feel elated, pensive, defeated, optimistic, excited, dejected, enraged, and a million other emotions. It's what you do with those feelings and how you choose to react that is important.
Again, try not to read too much into this, but I love this song and I'm going to take a cue from my friend Jaime and end with some lyrics.
Stand, by Rascal Flatts
You feel like a candle in a hurricane
Just like a picture with a broken frame
Alone and helpless, like you’ve lost your fight
But you’ll be alright, you’ll be alright
Just like a picture with a broken frame
Alone and helpless, like you’ve lost your fight
But you’ll be alright, you’ll be alright
Chorus
‘Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you’re made of
You might bend ‘til you break
‘Cause it’s all you can take
On your knees you look up
Decide you’ve had enough
You get mad, you get strong
Wipe your hands, shake it off
Then you stand, then you stand
You taste what you’re made of
You might bend ‘til you break
‘Cause it’s all you can take
On your knees you look up
Decide you’ve had enough
You get mad, you get strong
Wipe your hands, shake it off
Then you stand, then you stand
Life’s like a novel with the end ripped out
The edge of a canyon with only one way down
Take what you’re given before it’s gone
And start holdin’ on, keep holdin’ on
The edge of a canyon with only one way down
Take what you’re given before it’s gone
And start holdin’ on, keep holdin’ on
Chorus
‘Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you’re made of
You might bend ‘til you break
‘Cause it’s all you can take
On your knees you look up
Decide you’ve had enough
You get mad, you get strong
Wipe your hands, shake it off
Then you stand, then you stand
You taste what you’re made of
You might bend ‘til you break
‘Cause it’s all you can take
On your knees you look up
Decide you’ve had enough
You get mad, you get strong
Wipe your hands, shake it off
Then you stand, then you stand
Every time you get up and get back in the race
One more small piece of you starts to fall into place – yeah
One more small piece of you starts to fall into place – yeah
Chorus
‘Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you’re made of
You might bend ‘til you break
‘Cause it’s all you can take
On your knees you look up
Decide you’ve had enough
You get mad, you get strong
Wipe your hands, shake it off
Then you stand, then you stand
You taste what you’re made of
You might bend ‘til you break
‘Cause it’s all you can take
On your knees you look up
Decide you’ve had enough
You get mad, you get strong
Wipe your hands, shake it off
Then you stand, then you stand
Yeah then you stand – yeah
Yeah, baby
Woo hoo, Woo hoo, Woo hoo
Then you stand – yeah, yeah
Yeah, baby
Woo hoo, Woo hoo, Woo hoo
Then you stand – yeah, yeah
Sunday, March 6, 2011
A Life Just Ordinary
I've really wanted to make a post, for about a week now, but for whatever reason, I just can't find the motivation to do so. Part of it is because I am growing tired of everything being so hard over here, and I was going to make a whinny post about hardships of my present life. But then I decided that I didn't want to complain anymore. I chose to be here, so regardless of whatever else is going on, I'm not going to complain about it, no one needs to listen to that and it's not going to make me feel any better.
I also thought about posting about the pregnancy, but that's pretty boring, at least to me, so that was really just a fleeting thought. Honestly, my life is pretty boring. I know that the intention of this blog was to keep all those that I am far away from up to date on what's going on in my life, but really there's nothing. I mean, not so much nothing, as nothing out of the ordinary. Which really is fine. I don't like a lot of drama, and I'm generally okay with ordinary. That just means that nothing is going terribly wrong.
So here it is, what life looks like on a regular basis: Scott works, a lot, 5-6 days a week. He's gone before we get up and if it's a good night he's home around six, although usually it is closer to seven. Evan and I run errands during the day. We have to pick up groceries about 3 times a week. The fridge is small, the freezer is even smaller, and mommy can only carry about two bags of groceries at a time. When it's not raining, we go to the park or on base to the library or to have lunch. I've been watching a lot of Grey's Anatomy, which totally sucks, I'm into the 6th season and it fulfills my need for drama that doesn't affect my life. About once a week we go out to dinner with daddy, sometimes it's good and sometimes it's not. It's all part of the adventure. On the weekends, when Scott isn't working, we try to find things to do, like go to the movies (super cheap on base, cost about 18 dollars last time and we had snacks.), the science museum as well as a cool science center.
There you have it. A life just ordinary. Which is okay, just looking forward to living my ordinary life back in Tacoma.
I also thought about posting about the pregnancy, but that's pretty boring, at least to me, so that was really just a fleeting thought. Honestly, my life is pretty boring. I know that the intention of this blog was to keep all those that I am far away from up to date on what's going on in my life, but really there's nothing. I mean, not so much nothing, as nothing out of the ordinary. Which really is fine. I don't like a lot of drama, and I'm generally okay with ordinary. That just means that nothing is going terribly wrong.
So here it is, what life looks like on a regular basis: Scott works, a lot, 5-6 days a week. He's gone before we get up and if it's a good night he's home around six, although usually it is closer to seven. Evan and I run errands during the day. We have to pick up groceries about 3 times a week. The fridge is small, the freezer is even smaller, and mommy can only carry about two bags of groceries at a time. When it's not raining, we go to the park or on base to the library or to have lunch. I've been watching a lot of Grey's Anatomy, which totally sucks, I'm into the 6th season and it fulfills my need for drama that doesn't affect my life. About once a week we go out to dinner with daddy, sometimes it's good and sometimes it's not. It's all part of the adventure. On the weekends, when Scott isn't working, we try to find things to do, like go to the movies (super cheap on base, cost about 18 dollars last time and we had snacks.), the science museum as well as a cool science center.
There you have it. A life just ordinary. Which is okay, just looking forward to living my ordinary life back in Tacoma.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)