I Have Returned

I have returned to Japan! It was a nice visit with Mother and Father and Jiao. To my surprise, my brother and his wife were there also. It was a nice visit with my brother also but not so much his wife. She was her usual snarky self (I recently learned that word!). I often wonder how my brother lives with her. The trip otherwise was as expected. There was shopping, shopping, then more shopping!

The shopping district has so many stores! It is good that we set aside so many days else we would have missed one!

There were so many people from around the world! I met Germans, Italians, and even a few Americans!

But this was my favorite shop. I bought a few qi pao that, while not of traditional length, might attract Lt's attention. They are.... shorter... than usual. ;)

As you can see, American malls have nothing on Hong Kong malls! I thought this trip would last until Lt returned. I was not gone long enough. It seems it will be a few more days until he returns. I believe this is what I have been warned of.

Traveling

I will travel to Hong Kong to meet Mother and Father. We will spend the week end together shopping and eating and shopping and... well... you get the idea of it! Father is sure to be disturbed by the shopping but he will enjoy the eating.

I will write on my return. Enjoy your weekend!

Today is...

... a very strange day.

I have an overpowering urge to get "dolled up." I do not know why. It would be most impractical. There is nowhere to go. There is no one to impress. Lt is... well.. not here at the moment.

I have made an appointment at the salon for a mani/pedi, hair, and makeup. What I will do afterward I do not know. Perhaps I can convince Dorothy to join me at the salon and after we will have a girls night out.

Am I unique in this or have other women experienced this urge?

Pause/Decision

Advice I have received from other women here concerning living on base vs. off base has included something that gives me pause.

When discussing the best choice of housing offered, I was told in one of them I would be required to "share space with enlisted families." This was said as a warning to me as if it were something wrong.

I understand the necessity of separation between Lt and enlisted sailors. It is difficult to command when those you command are friends. One can be prone to favoritism while another may fail to command fearing damage to the friendship. Given this is the military, how difficult would it be to order your friend to risk their life? The Navy calls this separation "maintaining good order and discipline."

Now I ask, what has that to do with me? I am not an officer nor am I in a position to command. I pass other spouses daily. None of us wear anything that identifies our spouses rank (There are some who behave as though they have power because of their spouses rank. I have noticed most tend to avoid them for it). We smile and chat with each other never asking of spousal rank.

Admittedly, some conclusions may be made based upon appearance or manners. If I see a woman dressed in expensive clothes one could be inclined to believe she is an officer's spouse just as seeing a woman covered in tattoos is an enlisted's spouse. The problem is they could be wrong.

One of the best dressed women I have met is married to a Petty Officer. She orders most of her clothes because the NEX clothing is not to her taste. Armani is not uncommon for her. She is not snobbish. She only prefers finer clothing than is available here and will not think less of someone who buys here.

I also know of a woman who has many tattoos. Her husband is a Commander. She is a kind and gracious woman and is first in line when help is called for.

I do not care what you are. When choosing whom I will live among, only character matters. For much of my life I have been judged for my appearance, nationality, or gender. I have felt the pain of being seen for less because of what you are. I refuse to do this to another.

For this reason I have decided. I will leave my pretty house (*sigh*) and I will choose the tower. I will tell myself this house is not truly MY house. MY house remains in Oregon. I will make the inside of my new home pretty. It will reflect me.

I will move in spite of their "warnings" if for no other reason than to keep judgmental people away. If another officer's wife wishes to visit my home she will find it necessary to pass through all those enlisted families.

Who can tell? I may have an enlisted wife as a guest when they come.

Changes?

I have been notified of our name rising on the housing list. If we choose, we would relocate to base housing in June.

Upon arrival we entered our name on the list for "just in case" reasons... would I be lonely off base... would we find it a financial hardship off base... would something unexpected arise. Simple things that you can not plan for.

Lt has said it is my choice(thank you dear for no pressure.. :P). I have retrieved my calculator, which was no easy task as I had to find the box it was in, and begun looking to what is financially best. I am surprised at the results.

If we were to move on base we would cease paying rent of ¥300,000($3,500.00 depending on the exchange rate). We would also cease paying utilities of approximately $1,100.00. We would also cease receiving $3,900 housing and utility allowance. As a result we would have an increase of spendable money of $700.00. Seven hundred more per month sounds good.

But to receive that $700.00 I must give up my house. I love my house. If I give up my house, these are my choices;

This choice is an apartment on the 6th floor with a view of the ocean and port. I would enjoy this. But I have been told that during earthquakes the building sways. It is said you will feel every quake twice. Once as it travels up the building and again as it travels down. I would not enjoy this. These towers are built on rollers so they say they will resist earthquakes to 8.5.

I have also been told I will share space with enlisted families. o_O Really? The point of telling me this was??? Why would someone believe this would influence my decision? I share space with enlisted families every day! We shop together, we are entertained together, we eat together. Perhaps it is my newness to the Navy why I do not understand this "warning." I do know I do not wish to adopt this idea that I am somehow different or better than enlisted families. I have experienced enough of that simply being female and Chinese. I refuse to adopt it.

This is my other choice. It is not as nice as my current house nor is it as large. It is also farther from the base than I am now. It is only officer's families. My view would be of other houses. I know that is what I see now but at the least my current house is pretty. I do not believe I would not give up my current house for this one.

I have little time to make my decision. I do not wish to leave my pretty house to go to an ugly house. But there are advantages to moving on base. I DO know the second house is out of the question so the only decision is stay in my house or move to the tower.

I will tell you of my final choice.

Closer yet...

Lt is closer to leaving for extended periods of time. The ship has returned from sea where they received their flight deck qualifications. Whatever that is.

I would have thought no special training would be required. After all, the ship need only be steaming at a constant speed and, I would assume, traveling in a straight line. I have discovered I am wrong. There is much to receiving qualification.

I do not pretend to understand all of the terminology used to describe what happened. It is enough to know they were qualified and are closer to deployment.

Again the return to port was not an event. It was much as picking up Lt from a day in an office ashore except this was no 8 hour day. The difference is I awake alone for a day... or days.

In any case, the return was better than the last.

It was a much nicer day.

That is the captain standing in the doorway.

Only a short while and the ship will be ready to deploy. I am becoming accustomed to Lt's absences. I will never enjoy them but I will survive them.

News of Yuki

She decided to go away for a few days. It seems the one morning when Lt was a little late she darted through the doorway and he did not have time to chase her. I was not home to chase her so out she stayed.

When she finally returned she was wet, hungry, and tired. After much protest from her of her bath, she ate and then slept until this morning. Hopefully, she has learned she is not an outside kitty. One can dream!

Spring is here!

The return of the cherry blossoms signals spring has arrived! Soon I will be warm!

Does your McDonald's have a few such as this?

It is beautiful here.

Simply beautiful.

I hope your spring is a beautiful as mine.

Another day

Life these last few days have been... meh.

Nothing unusual,exciting, or otherwise noteworthy has happened.

We did experience an earthquake. It was a 6. something. It was unnerving for me but did not disturb me as much as it seemed to disturb the local people. I would assume this is due to the quake and tsunami of last year. Given the frequency of earth quakes here I would have believed the anxiety of them would not be so high though.

The question I ask myself is not IF my house will shake, but WHEN and how hard. I have become accustomed to small quakes nearly every day. Many times I question if it is a truck driving past they are so light and short.

I do not fault the Japanese. It is natural to fear a repeat of the devastation so soon. It was not easy to overcome it after the quake in Xian in 2008. Mother told me of her fears with each aftershock. It is why she returned home so soon after arriving in Japan. The earthquakes, though very minor, disturbed her.

The ground shaking is part of my life. I take note of it when it is worthy of noting. I will keep my dishes far enough apart to prevent their rattling during small quakes. If I hear them, I will know this one is worth noting.