Watch our garden grow...

I've just realized that we haven't really shown much of where we spend 95% of our time...home. So here's a little peak:

We basically live in a cement box. Typhoon- and earthquake-proof cement box. Great to withstand natural disasters, not so great to create a "home-y feeling." But we've done our best to make our house a home. One of our priorities was making the most of our outside space/balcony. We don't have a spectacular view, and the expanse of the view is limited from the 3rd floor, but we love enjoying glass of wine or grilled steak outside.

View from the 3rd floor

Another view, slightly to the left. We sure love the construction materials yard right below us...those trucks start early!

So not a particularly riveting, sprawling view of Okinawa. But it's interesting to watch life happen out on the streets. If you can see in the background, the green round-roof building is an elementary school. We can hear the intercom (in Japanese of course), see them coming and going to school, and sometimes see (and hear) the kiddos playing outside for recess or P.E. 

With spring came an itch to spruce up the outdoors. We took a trip to the local hardware store - Makeman. To the Americans, it is referred to as Make-man, maw-kee-man, or the monkey store (the store "mascot" is a  monkey with a tool). It is pretty much a mix between a Home Depot and Walmart. It has tools, hardware, and home improvement tools, but also office supplies, pets and pet supplies, a "100 Yen section" (similar to a dollar store/dollar section), and garden center. We left the store with some flower boxes, seeds, seedlings, soil, etc. And here's a little of what we ended up with:

I couldn't resist these gorgeous hydrangeas. They are my favorite flower to decorate with (usually fake) so these pretty pink ones look great as our spring centerpiece. I'm not really sure how long they'll last, but I'm loving them while they do...

Our miniature herb garden...We got basil and mint seedlings and planted cilantro and parsely seeds(which you can see are sprouting a little bit!) We've already made a from-scratch margherita pizza with the basil, and hopefully we'll get some use out of the mint with some summery mojitos!

Shisa's "yard." We planted some grass seed in these small containers in hope that she would use them as a secondary "yard." 

I was super excited about this Topsy Turvy tomato plant, but it is trying its best to NOT grow upside down and is growing UP. It's not doing well...

View from the inside. Friday night we grilled some blue-cheese burgers, so we decided to light the tiki torches and enjoy the evening outside. 

A little big of the tiki torch glow and the Okinawa "skyline"

Makeman also has some garden flooring, so we may be adding that in the near future to add on to our little garden spot. Hopefully the herbs will supply us through the summer with some delicious fresh dinners! It's nothing fancy, but we sure are enjoying it!

Shisa Dog

 Have you heard? We got a dog! Like a month and a half ago. I decided while Zac was gone that it would be nice to have another warm body in the house. When I went to visit him in Singapore, we discussed it and he agreed that that'd be fine. So I scoured the local "craig's list," OkinawaYardSales. And one day little Shisa popped up (well, her name then was Tootie...do you blame me for changing it?).

It was a great fit. Yorkie for my allergies. Small for the apartment. Still a puppy (she was about 8 months when we got her). Well tempered. Doesn't bark. Very friendly.

The first couple of weeks were a little rough. I was attempting to house break the little thing by myself...Zac still wasn't home. Please note, the only other dog I've ever had was Kippie, our old miniature dachshund. I was less than 1 year old when my family got her. Needless to say, my house-breaking skills were non-existent. Zac came home a week or so later, which was another adjustment combining our "parenting styles."

When we were thinking of names (back in Singapore), we wanted something Japanese, but neither of us really know any Japanese. So we were limited to Sushi, Nigiri, Sashimi...Then we came up with Shisa, which are little dog/lions that sit in front of almost all entrances/buildings here on Okinawa. They are usually two: one with its mouth open to catch the evil spirits and one closed to keep the happy spirits in the building. They are a guardian dog of sorts. So now we have our own little Shisa dog. Guardian of our house to bring us good fortune.

But this little firecracker wouldn't do much against an evil spirit (or bad guy) other than jump on it. Her bite is way worse than her bark...because she doesn't bark. Hardly makes a peep. Sometimes she'll whimper a bit. And she growls like Chewbacca when playing tug of war with her monkey toy.

She's quite spunky and playful and loves to play and cuddle (she's curled up in the nook of my arm as I write). I don't know if it's a puppy thing or a little dog thing, but she's easily distracted. For example, when we're out for a "potty walk," if the wind blows too hard or a car drives by, she'll lose her "bathroom focus." She wouldn't hurt a fly, but does like to chase the pigeons. And she loves to give Zac a high five when he gets home from work.

I was going to wait until she got a haircut to post pics, but it looks like that will never happen. So here she is, shaggy and all!

She's a little poofy after a good bath and brushing.

Playing with her miniature tennis ball

Scratching and squirming on the carpet

Shisa and her favorite toy, the monkey. She loves playing tug of war with it and chewing off the ears.

We love having her around! She's the perfect addition to our little family!

On military life

We live in Japan, which means getting used to a completely new culture. But, over the past few months, I've been dealing with another culture shock: military life.

It's a whole new world. Here's a few tidbits:

• We stand for the National Anthem before movies at the theater on base. Talk about patriotism.
• Everything has an acronym. BAH, DLA, IED, TMO, AMC are part of our daily military dialect.
• I shop for groceries at a commissary. And PX is not some ultra-modern laser gun; it's where I get my toothpaste (it's also referred to as "the exchange" and stands for Post Exchange. Or the BX if you're on an Air Force base for Base Exchange).
• I'm quite used to being saluted every time I enter the "neighborhood"
• Military ID. NEVER leave home without it. You can't get into the grocery store, buy anything on base, GET on base, check out a library book, etc. etc. without it. I would willingly get a radio chip installed in my arm if it meant I didn't have to carry around my ID
• Driving while talking on a cell phone/using a cell phone is not an option
• Your friendly neighborhood policeman is called PMO or MP's. And they LOVE to pull you over for speeding or using your phone on base.
• I regularly drive extremely slowly (see above). The speed limit on our street is 15 kph (9.32 mph), and the normal residential speed limit is 20-25 kph (12-15 mph). I feel like I'm SPEEDING going 50 kph (31.07 mph) You probably don't want to ride with me on I-10 when I come home. [Update: since I originally wrote this, I've been driving on the "expressway" every day to and from work. So I've amped up my speed. I usually don't go over 100 kph (62 mph)...the speed limit is 80 kph (49 mph)]

I'm sure so many of our weird habits have become normal that we don't even notice them anymore. There are many many more and I'll try to update.

Aggie Muster 2010

Like I said in the previous post, we celebrated Muster a little differently this year. I think it has broadened my appreciation for the tradition even more because unlike many other traditions (Silver Taps, Yell Practice, etc...) Muster is celebrated by everyone, around the world! What an example of the thriving Aggie Network and a testament to the bonds Aggies have!

The evening of April 21st, Zac and I had a Mongolian BBQ dinner with a couple of other Ags that are in the same MEU unit as Zac. It was such a departure of the pomp and circumstance of the Muster we know and love, but it was so fantastic. A few other non-Aggies were with us also, and it was so great to tell them about A&M and the traditions. We really did sit and reminisce of our days at Texas A&M, just like we're supposed to. Zac printed out the campus Roll Call and we also called out those names.

I was so excited to come to work on Thursday morning, anxiously waiting to watch the campus Muster on the online stream. All of the committee members on stage were great friends that I got to work with at least last year, including the Chair who was on committee with me all three years I served. I couldn't be more proud of the job they did, and I wish I could express my gratitude to them in person for their service to the Aggie community. I don't think I've missed Aggieland this much since I left. Another thing that just made me swell with Aggie pride is all the Facebook statuses...every single Aggie friend I had on Facebook had something about Muster.

We planned on going to the "real" Okinawa Muster on Saturday afternoon, but after a long and busy week, I was exhausted and Zac had a platoon cookout the same afternoon, so we didn't end up going. Hopefully they took a picture and will send it in to the Texas Aggie! I can't wait to hear, now that so many of my friends are spread out all over the world, all of the Muster stories from this year!

Happy Muster Day

"If there is an A&M man in one hundred miles of you, you are expected to get together, eat a little, and live over the days you spent at the A&M College of Texas..."

April 21st has been a very different day for us Cooks the past 5 years. For a combined 6 years (Zac for 3 and me for 3) on the Aggie Muster Committee, Muster Day started with an early morning flag raising, always consisted of a BBQ lunch with classic Aggie entertainment, and an evening devoted to our [favorite] sacred Aggie tradition, Muster.

Today, we're celebrating a little differently...it looks like we'll still have some BBQ (this weekend), and perhaps I'll catch a little bit of the ceremony on campus (online), but how awesome is it that halfway around the world, we'll be with Aggies on the day dedicated to celebrate April 21st.

I definitely have to say, for myself at least, that the memories I have from Muster are some of the best from college, if not ever. So in honor of Aggie Muster Day, I've decided to grace you with some (possibly never before seen) pictures from last year's Muster.

AND, you can watch the streaming campus Muster online, get more information at muster.tamu.edu or http://www.aggienetwork.com/muster/ to find your Muster. Or if you want to relive (my) glory days, google "Secretary Gates Muster Speech" and you can get a full video of his pretty amazing speech. I'm SOO looking forward to this years' Muster speaker, Major Ruth!

Meeting Secretary Gates the evening of Muster. I think he was saying something like "Y'all clean up nice." 

Oh, just a little breakfast with the Secretary of Defense. I was probably asking him to write a letter to the Marines to let Zac off for our wedding.

Welcoming Former President Bush (Sr.) to Muster.

Gig 'em Gates!

Muster Execs. Spent at LEAST 3 nights a week with these guys for a year. Love them and miss them.

Praying Muster morning after the flag raising. 

"Softly call the Muster

Let comrade answer here..."

Video: Jena on the Luge

Singapore 2

To wrap up our long-ago trip....

One of our main goals was to do some serious relaxing and catch some equator rays. We succeeded on both. Until the trip in late February, Zac had not had a full day off (weekends or other) since our new year trip to Hong Kong, so he definitely needed some downtime. Let's face it: I was not lacking on sleep or relaxation, but I would never ever pass up an afternoon by the pool/beach. So relax we did.

Our hotel was a fantastic oasis to spend a sunny afternoon. The pool looked over the Singapore River and Clarke Quay, but had its own flourish of palm trees and jungle-y flora. And of course we enjoyed a couple of frozen pina coladas in the pool.

Not to miss out on more sun-time, we headed out to Sentosa for a day, Singapore's resort haven. It had its own light rail with three areas, including theme parks and shopping galore. We headed straight for the beach, which was delightfully uncrowded. 

This picture definitely could qualify Zac to star in Cast Away 2. 

Or perhaps he could be a contestant on Survivor: Sentosa? (Zac is the little swimming head)

Enjoying the view.

The day wouldn't be complete without a Singapore Sling at a beach front restaurant.

Oh, and also at Sentosa, we did the "luge." Cool Runnings, anyone? I have a video of me...I'll try to post it.

Sentosa was certainly a success, though we were a tiny bit disappointed of our view of hundreds of ships in the background. We got our needed dose of sun and then some (SPF 30 was no match for the equator sun.)

One evening we headed out to see the Night Safari. After the two hour long "economical route" (read: cheap way) all the way out to the zoo, we made it. It was pretty neat, although I know that my Jeff-Corwin-wannabe-husband enjoyed it much more than I. I tried to take some pictures, but flashes were not allowed, and it was dark (hence the name Night Safari), so this is all I got:

We had to kinda hurry through so we were sure to catch the bus for our bajillon hour trek back. But some highlights were the giant flying squirrels (more like flying raccoons...they were huge!), and some of the bigger animals like hippos, leopards, lions, etc. I haven't been to a zoo in a while, so it was neat to see them in their natural jungle surroundings. Oh, and we saw some huge bugs on the way out.

Gross.

The days flew by too fast, but we loved every minute of it. Two countries in two months, not bad! I think it will be a while before another big trip, but we plan to spend the spring and summer months exploring the island and enjoying our newly semi-revamped patio and many local beaches.