Saturday, August 30, 2008

Fishbone!

Last night was my first night of weekend call. So I got drunk. JUST KIDDING!!! I went home and surfed frivolous sites on the internet, mostly focusing on celebrity gossip. I figured I had "earned" a brain drain night so why not read about Dancing With the Stars "stars" whom I don't even know? Heaven forbid I call my DAD whose birthday I missed a few days ago. I was reminding myself all day and guess what happened? Full birdbrain mode. But the West Coast thing is a little hard in terms of calling back East but I am expecting a huge phone call with lots of family members on the other end later today. Because they are at the Saratoga race track. Lucky!

I got a few calls last night. My main adventure was getting a fishbone out of a woman's throat. Or rather, missing the grab so many times that she ended up swallowing it just to stop the midnight madness. Well, not on purpose but I was kind of hoping to fish it out like a big hometown hero rather than helping her swallow it. Watch out for that red snapper- it'll getcha!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Back to Work!

The Kitty Hawk is gone and I am very sad. My vicarious mini-vacation is over and now I have to buckle down and be a real!life!resident! I have had so much fun over the last few weeks. I've hit all my favorite restaurants, gone out and seen a bunch of sights, and really had a nice transition into SD life.

And you know what? There's still so much to do. I want to go to the beach more, go boogie-boarding, swim La Jolla cove, go to the zoo and Sea World, explore more California coastal towns, find exciting new places and realize that I've picked a very cool place to be over the next five years. Five years! Yikes! What have I done? (<-- please note crazy vacillating emotional state. Very par for course over the last few days)

Kelly (roomie) invited me to go to the zoo tonight and I was all set to go except 1) I realized I be a total Debbie Downer since I'm so bummed out and 2) even if I could, I have too much work. This blog post is a break!

Oh, and at some point, I'm going to learn how to surf. So that when I go back to Chiba (someday?), I will totally dominate. As opposed to causing my freckles on my stomach to get total surf board rash from only paddling all day long.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

My nostrils are crooked!

Have you ever thought that people notice the weirdest things? I was thinking about facial symmetry the other day. Although you would think one side of the face should be a mirror image of the other, it's often not. Sometimes it's due to acquired life experiences- a scar here or there, for example. But a lot of the times, it's just the way a person's face is. I've seen pictures before where true mirror images of a person's side of the face is copied to the other and it is really interesting. Some people look way different, usually in terms of how their countenance appears.

This thought comes up every so often because I frequently think of a plastic surgery patient who came to follow-up and was very upset that her nostils were asymmetrical. Qu-est que c'est? Who thinks about that? Well, my sister for one. Ask her about what she thinks about Rosario Dawson's nostrils. Something vaguely bothered my sister while she was watching a movie featuring R.D. and at the end, thanks to an illuminating camera angle, my sis realized that it was RD's freakishly large nostrils.

Discuss amongst yourselves. Next up in vague Mike Myer's line references: "Head" in So I Married an Axe Murderer.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

My Summer Vacation

With a subject like that, I feel I should be writing this in a bound composition book. Which, BTW, did you know the covers for the black and white marble composition books have totally changed? They still have the same pattern but the firm cardboard is gone! It is now a very flimsy thin cardboard cover. Way disappointing.

So, this summer has ended up being totally awesome. Apart from my entries bemoaning my complete lack of Kanji knowledge, it looks like I left off somewhere in Guam. Oh and the language fix. EMBARRASSINGLY simple. Less whining, more doing is the takeaway point o’ the day.

Guam was awesome. I stayed in a hotel right on Tamuning Bay, away from the main strip in Tumon Bay. I went there several times for dinners, movies, and hanging out but there were so many KH people around that it was nice to be removed from the action for the majority of the time.

There was an awesome restaurant near the Marriott that I totally cannot remember the name of but it was a combo coffee shop with fresh out of the oven baked goods and a great restaurant. I had an ahi tuna/mashed avocado tower that was incredibly good. The presentation was beautiful- perfectly layered circles of the dish components.

My favorite place in Guam is definitely Ritidian Point. It’s a nature preserve with beautiful beaches that feel like they are private. Each beach site has its own parking spot and it’s really nice to go on a weekday. I could look in either direction and for a good part of the time I was there, I was unable to see anyone else. It was so beautiful and peaceful.

After the Guam trip, the KH sailed around for almost three weeks until we got to Hawaii. Hawaii was amazing. I stayed in a condo near Kailua (East/windward side) 1-3 July, worked on the 4th and during the day on the 5th, then stayed in Waikiki 5-7 July. The absolute culinary highlight was brunch at the Halekulani. I have been to some amazing brunches in my life (Army-Navy, Shangri-La in Malaysia) but this was so far beyond those places it’s hard to describe. My favorite dish was the Eggs Benedict with the egg on crab hash as opposed to Canadian bacon. It was delicious. Other highlights were the Kailua pork right off of a whole roasted pig, crème fraiche with the ripest berries, fresh sashimi, cheese blintz, and awesome pecan rolls. I got to wash it down with a spicy Bloody Mary that was totally delicious since the waiter seemed to take it as a personal challenge to deliver a truly spicy one. The horseradish was minced to a wasabi-level of fineness and definitely delivered a punch. Although I still prefer the diced horseradish since it adds a little more texture to the drink.

I also went to the beach. I went sea kayaking once. I have still yet to climb Diamond Head and I didn’t go back to Waimea Bay and jump off the rock so I guess I’ll have to go back again at some point.

Although I did go back later in the month. Yes, after 3 weeks of RIMPAC (oh the jokes made with that name, oh ho ho!), the KH went back to Hawaii for three days. Although I had a few work related errands to do, I still managed to get to the beach, eat, drink and sleep. It was very relaxing.

Then came the time I had been waiting for all summer- getting my iPhone! No, just kidding. It was time to get ready to leave! I cleaned out my desk and stateroom, packed things in bags, completed my check-out list, and was ready to go when we pulled into San Diego on the 7th. I picked up my car that day, filled it to the brim, and moved all of my stuff into my new digs in Hillcrest which is an AWESOME place to live. My run to work is just under 2 miles. There’s a great wine bar right around the corner with a great cheese/meat/bread/olive platter that I found on my first night (priorities!). I ordered the large platter because I was hungry and my only other wine bar “platter” experience was at Bitsy’s in Ometasando where the $12 plate had maybe an ounce and a half of cheese on it. And a cracker. But oh my, I am back in the USA where restaurants are communist establishments if they do not take it upon themselves to expand your waistline for you each and every time you visit. The plate came with four forks and was enormous. But it was very good so next time I’ll go the half-size mini route. Gooooooooo, self-restraint!

The next day I did, in fact, get my iPhone. I had been planning on going to the hospital to check-in but I was told to not even bother, that a Monday start was just fine. Although I wrote back and essentially said, “No really, I already feel like a big dummy starting so late,” I was told not to worry. So, if I’m told twice to take a day off , well, that’s what I do! So I got my black 16G iPhone and I love it. It is still outfoxes me on a daily basis with its sheer amazingness but someday, I'll be able to stop making one-touch phone calls that I don't mean to make.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

I *heart* San Diego!

Argh, I have totally be trapped in my "I have so much to update and I don't know how to start" paralysis. Exhibit A? I don't even have any summer pictures on my FLICKR account. I will work on it- promise! I have to finish up Guam, Hawaii I & II as well as various other topics o' the summer.

BUT, things that I already love about San Diego-

1. MY IPHONE! I finally got it. And it is the kewlest. I love it. I'm trying to think of a name, but it can't be forced, you know?

2. I live 2 miles from work. And I ran my future commuting route tonight. One or two slight inclines but nothing bad in either direction!

3. My new roomie is great. Phew! Normal in email translated to normal in life. And her dog is even cuter than the pics!

4. I made mussels for the first time ever. Tomato-garlic broth, only 4 unopened mussels, no food poisoning- awesome!

5. I love Cabrillo Monument National Park. I think it's tied with Torrey Pines for prettiest views in SD.

6. I am completely moved off the Kitty Hawk. It was slightly hellacious moving all my stuff off (heavy!) but it's done.

7. Checking into the hospital is working out well. But that's another entry.

Ok, I'll write real, essay-like entries v. soon. No more cop-out lists!

Friday, August 8, 2008

Kanji still haunts me!

Ok, so I really want to continue my blog (BTW, Hello! It's been awhile, no?) but my profile is still in Japanese when I try to edit posts, settings, etc. This is very problematic since I can't read Japanese! So I'm going to try and figure out how to change the language setting.

But for now...I'm in San Diego! I arrived yesterday, picked up my car Bluey, moved off the ship (heinous), moved into my new place. I will write more later but I'm just trying to figure out if I should pack it in and just start a new blog or call a help line. Does Blogger have a help line? I will let you know!