Some Pictures of Atsugi!

Finally, from my new camera, come pictures of atsugi! I warn you, base is very much like a mini USA... except they drive on the left...



My view from the BOQ window monday morning.





Our future apartment on the 2nd floor. Go figure, it is a pet approved apartment. I'm toying with the idea of have Mav come over. The concept of being alone completely for 4 months is not appealing. Apparently, the interior paint color of the apartment is a painful beige.





Something blooming...





Chruch!

Base is relatively small - I'm not used to having so many houses on base. In Oceana no one lived on base. The commissary here is about 1/3 the size of Oceana. And of course, I was used to Oceana, which is one of the largest. So the downsizing is different. On base, it's about 50-50 split between people who drive and people who bike. Dave bought a bike two weeks ago; I went to Outdoor Recreation and rented a bike for the next two weeks. Another change here is that there are a lot more other air crafts here - not just jets. It's weird to hear helicopters and large big planes buzzing about.

Tonight, Dave and I are going to sushi restaurant in town with Tyler. It will be my first time off base.

Day One

My flight to Japan was very uneventful, aside from the fact i realized at 545am that i'd forgotten my military ID, at which point I called Katie crying because i can't get through immigration in tokyo without it... But she's a hero and got it to me in 25 minutes, which is an insane feat considering she drove 30 miles and had to wake and strap in a 3 year old.

But after that, there were no delays, no annoying people I got stuck sitting next to, no mechanical failures, no lost baggage, nothing! Smoothing sailing- or flying.

Dave met me at the airport and guided me to the train at 5pm. We took a fast train for about 90 minutes, and then a local train for about 30, and then a cab ride fro about 5 min - and then ended up at the front gate, walked about 10 minutes to the BOQ, whereupon I was snuck in. (The BOQ - Bachelor Office Quarters - is meant for singles, not for married couples or children etc, so I'm not supposed to be there.) Dave kept me up until about 9 and fed me pizza and water and made me shower (I just wanted to sleep).

I didn't get to see much of Tokyo - which we cruised passed in the train - because it was dark by the time we got through it. But this weekend I will see it when we go there for Dave's Dining-Out. (Dining Out is when all the officers from the squadron - usually about 20-30 persons - and their wives/fiance/girlfriends all have a big night out.)On Wednesday, our sponsor's wife, Kristen, is going to take me around town: show me where to buy a car, where to shop for fresh produce and meat, how to get to the train station, etc.

I'll bring my spiffy camera along for your visual stimulation

Virginia to Japan

A review of my trip to Japan in numbers.

1000bazillion - number of hours of stress to get to Japan
13.5 - number of hours on the plan from Dallas to Tokyo
5 - number of hours slept on said plane
1.5 - number of hours it takes to pack Daves belongs in the BOQ
2 - number of hours it takes to move 300lbs+ of luggage form 4th floor of BOQ to 2nd floor of Navy Lodge
60 - number of seconds it takes to get through immigration
60 - number of seconds it takes to get through customs
120 - number of seconds it takes to get both of my bags
150 - number of pounds of luggage I brought myself to Japan
1/2 - number of amount of in-flight meals I ate
1 - number of movies watched on plane
0 - number of movies enjoyed on plane
27 - number of hours traveled before sleeping in a bed
7.5 - number of hours slept last night
12 - number of waking hours today
2 - number of stray cats seen today
100000 - number of crows who's cawwing woke me up this morning
10 - number of minutes until Dave gets home
90 - number of minutes until we eat at Kelly and Glenn's apartment
24 - number of hours I've been in Japan
3 - number of attempts made to answer my cellphone before I finally answered a call
4 - number of trips it took to get all our stuff out of the BOQ
5 - number of trips on a bicycle today
0 - number of trips on a bicycle today that was fitted for me and not too tall
0 - number of naps today
1 - the number of tired Annie's in this room

Still Waiting...

Well, it has officially been 7 weeks since we found out we were moving to Japan. Dave left on week 6. I'm still waiting around for paperwork to be processed. I have *finially* completed the overseas medical screening, with much help from Portsmouth, and very little from Oceana. I dropped the animals off in Arlington last weekend. I've completely vacated our apartment. I'm now crashing at my friend, Katie's, house until I leave. It's hard being someone's house guest for an undetermined amount of time, but Katie is so very gracious. I should find out Friday-ish when I'll be leaving the country...

Until then, I'm just waiting.

Dave has made it over fine; he really likes his new squadron-mates. He will soon find out what his job will be for the squadron (in addition to flying, he will have a specific job to preform and have regular work ours of 730am-5pm, with flying in there somewhere). He has secured us an apartment on base and that will be ready to move in to on March 12. We will attend a squadron Dining-Out on March 14 - think cocktail party. He calls me about twice a day, but only for 5mintues at a time. He has a pay-as-you-go cell phone and calls to the US are $1/minute.

All for now, I'm off to Norfolk to have dinner with some friends before(if?) I ship out!