Starting over with everything..: September 2006

Una maravilla

Okinawa

I went to Okinawa a few days after my birthday as a present to myself. I have been waiting probably about 19 years to go to Okinawa. Why, I'm not sure, but I blame this partly:

I spent most of my time staring at the beautiful ocean, hyperventilating about going in the water and once I got over that, I was wishing I could stay calmer so my air wouldn't run out too fast and I could stay underwater longer. I've never had a closer to God experience than being underwater. I wanted to cry, I wanted to freak out (I only did a few times, eels are scary breathers), I wanted to laugh and wished everyone could see what I was seeing, especially my momma who loves the fishes. It's a whole other world that is so beautiful, it's simply indescribable. Pictures don't do it justice. I saw octopus, eel, lobster, sea snake, barracuda, clown fish, starfish, and so many other things. Am having problems posting the underwater pictures, so I hopefully will sort that out soon.

In the meanwhile, here are the pics from the rest of my trip. I traveled with my Canadian friend Jayne and despite typhoon we had a great time scuba-ing and even met up with another teacher in Japan. If I figure out how to download video, I'll show you a bit more. I really want to go back and go diving again and see more of the island I didn't get a chance to see. I wish you all could've been there.

Fukushuen Gardens, Naha

Rarrr...

Pictures at Shuri-jo

Shuri-jo, Okinawa

Kokusai-Dori, Naha

I'm convinced part of Karate Kid II was filmed here.

I looked for the scene, but didn't find it.

Next time...

My friend Jayne and me. Me in the typhoon.

Progression of the typhoon from the day we

arrived until the day we left.

We dove in between the second and third pic.

A 27 year lesson

Forgive. There is very little that is unforgivable; though many things which are unforgettable.

Grudges cause stress, pain, ulcers and take excessive energy. See above for how to let go of them.

Tell people you love them, either with actions or words, but tell them when you can.

Old people are cool, cherish them, ask for stories, visit with them, leave them alone when they need to be.

Never lose hope in your darkest hour.

Seek help when you need it.

Help when you can.

Rinse your dishes when you're done using them, mold grows quickly.

Mexican food is good.

Life is too short to diet constantly. But try to eat healthy.

Learn from your mistakes, failures, horrible things in your life.

Breathe deeply sometimes.

cigarettes, alcohol and things with are "bad" for you, are sometimes a necessary evil.

I love my family, even the crazy ones and the ones I sometimes can't stand.

I love my friends, even if I wish bad things to happen to them sometimes.

Ask for forgiveness when you yell at someone, even if they deserved it.

Things can always get worse and probably will, enjoy the good stuff when it happens.

Be it allah, darwin, mother nature, god or some other entity you believe in, something is watching out for you.

Confront your fears when you can. It may not help you cure your fear, but then you will learn that your fear is substantiated.

Aprenda otra lengua.

Remember to say thank you and I'm sorry when appropriate.

Trees are beautiful.

Write letters by hand sometimes.

Dance in your undies.

You can find beauty in so many things around you.

Bounce and Snuggle make laundry wonderful feeling and smelling.

Hugs are good, but done incorrectly can be creepy.

Mom's are the cure for the common cold.

Little kids smell funny sometimes, but are pretty cool for the most part.

It's important to inflate your tires to their recommended psi.

Midgets are slutty. (At least the one's I've met.)

Generalizations are bad (but sometimes true.) You should avoid them when you can.

Be nice to crazy people who talk to you. Maybe they won't shoot you on their rampage.

Read a book once in a while.

Ice cream comes from heaven.

Crying washes your eyes and the soul.

If you wanna hit something, take up a martial art or boxing, or do Tae bo.

I'm grateful for my life, even the crappy moments because they make the good ones that much better.

Anxiety

Exhausted.. busy... wired... am beyond sleep. I have been in the strangest place lately. I'm so tired I'm sure that if I stood still for more than a minute, I'd fall into a deep sleep and not walk up for days. However, I don't have that luxury right now and won't have that until Wednesday. Ah Wednesday, the most beautiful day of the week. How I love Wednesday.

Why is Wednesday so special to me, you may be wondering. It's because this lovely Wednesday, I go to a magical place called OKINAWA! Okinawa, known as the "Hawaii of Japan" is the birthplace of karate; Mr. Miyagi; the whole reason why I studied Japanese and came to Japan in the first place; wonderful pork and goya recipes, etc... And I'm going to go on Wednesday!!!! I'm thinking this is subconciously one of the reasons I can't sleep. When I feel tired I think about going. I'm slightly freaked out a little bit cause I'm gonna go diving for the first time and the whole idea of drowning or being eaten alive by a sea animal scares the living bejeezus out of me, but I figure it's a fear I hafta get over sooner or later. I'm not getting any younger. Good lordy, I'll be thirty in three years . I know that's no biggie, to some people, and normally I would say I don't care either, but the more and more I think about it, the more it's starting to freak me out a bit.

I don't feel too old. I look alright, I think. Brain's not completely shot, yet. But so many people have those, 'before I'm 30 goals'. I never had those. I've been kinda comparing my life to my brother's lives. All were married by 26 or before. They had all started their careers around the same time or before. I have lots of neices and nephews, two that are teenagers. What have I done? University degree and work in Japan. I have no desire to have kids and am pretty damn sure I don't want kids, yes even if I found the "one" before I'm 30. When people ask me about my life, I give a vauge answer when really I think I have a plan in my head but I don't want to share it cause people are gonna say, that's all fine and dandy but what about settling down? I think in terms of years, where I'll be next year, the year after that, and so on, but I never think in terms of my age. Is that strange? Ah fuck it, I'm to tired and young to think about this crap.

Okinawa, okinawa, okinawa, okinawa....