Life in Oki

I apologize for the lack of updates in the past couple of weeks. There have been a couple of posts that I thought had posted, but the good ole internet must've tuckered out before they did.  So, a little update on our life in Oki (that's Okinawa, not Oklahoma ;)):

Zac had a "96" this past weekend (which means 4-day weekend in military speak). Friday, we ran a lot of errands and did too much shopping. Zac had long awaited the "Veterans Day Sale" at Tsunami Scuba so he/we could stock up on some snorkel gear. And stock up we did. We each got some masks, snorkels, flippers, and slippers (high-top water socks), and Zac got a fish spear to realize his long time "hunting/gathering" instinct. He says he's going to come home with some fresh fish someday. We'll see...but he's been practicing with the spear all around the house since then.

Friday night we had the first of two Marine Corps Balls. The Marines celebrate their birthday with the annual Birthday ball. It was my first ball experience, and we had a great time. I got to meet a lot of Zac's coworkers and even some of our neighbors. (Fortunately, I had the foresight to back my dress in the express shipment.) We have another ball in a couple of weeks, and Zac "gets" to be the narrator! Ha! Maybe I'll take some video...

We stopped by the beach on Saturday, and spent the rest of the weekend hanging out and painting trim. It was nice to have a long weekend and some companionship during the days!

Good news: our household good shipment has arrived in Japan! Zac gave the moving company a call yesterday (paraphrased by me):
Zac: So, do you know when our stuff will be here?
Okinawan moving company lady: Eet shood bee hee....uhh TOODAI! Eet arrives TOODAI!
Zac: Oh, so it's here?!
OMCL: Hai! Hai! ("yes" in Japanese...they say it all the time, can also be substituted with OK, umm, etc.)
Zac: So, when can we have it?
OMCL: Hai, eet must go thruuu cusTOMS, sooo wee can deliver next week?
Zac: (in his head) Yahoo!

We will be so thrilled to have a kitchen table, some couches, and a normal life! Our trusty air mattress has served as couch/table/chaise lounge for the past few weeks, and we're ready for an upgrade!

And, Zac wanted to share some random "Life in Okinawa" tidbits.

 - Construction workers wear Crocs. The parking spaces outside our apartment building are being re-striped (sorry Mark M., they beat you to it), and Zac noticed that their footwear preference is Crocs. Such a versatile shoe.
 - Construction crews "work out" together. Zac noticed a construction crew near his work doing some morning exercises together. Think arm circles and some low-impact/non-jumping jumping jacks. Way to stay fit, Okinawa!

Happy Birthday, Marines (Nov. 10), and Happy Veterans Day (Nov. 11)!!