New Decade

December was so fast I can't believe that it's already over. As I'm writing this, I'm sitting aboard the ship. It's 1234 AM, or in navy talk, it's 0034. It's January 1st, 2010. Happy New Year to all you guys, except for me, it's not so happy because I'm stuck on the ship for duty. Hey, somebody's gotta do it though. Guess it might as well be the new guy. alright let's get this thing going. I got a lot of catching up to do with everyone as to what I've been up to though.

This month has been fun. Being old enough to go bar hopping and roam around the Honch district of Yokosuka has been a blast. I made some friends, my first Japanese friends, Megumi and Hiroko. They are the bartenders at my favorite bar. It's called Perry's. It's always our starting point and our ending point. I walk in, they say, Hi Justin! and it's just a good time, but I think it's about time that I start to spread my wings a little farthur. Being that it was the holiday season and all my money was going into gifts and sending them, I was limited on traveling far and spending large amounts of money at one time. Now that that is all over I can't wait to see the rest of Japan!

Christmas was very interesting. It was my first time being away from home for Christmas and I was a little worried that I would end up doing nothing. That I would be spending my Christmas like I did my Thanksgiving, Taco Bell, beer, and a movie at a buddy's barrack room. At first it appeared that that was going to be the reality, but my friend Ross Carrigan told me to follow him to one of his friends house for Christmas Eve dinner. It was excellent! We had a Japanese dinner. It was called Nabe and I probably had about four bowls. Being that it was Japanese servings though, that's really not saying much. The house was this guy on our ship and his Japanese girlfriend's. It was a blast. They exchanged presents, we watched a Christmas movie, had some cake, and I saw my friend Hiroko there with her boyfriend. It was a great time. Excellent Christmas eve.

The following day I went over to my buddy Swiderski's. When I showed up around noon they already had the feast cooked and halfway eaten. I couldn't believe it. They had vegetable stuffed turkey, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, green beans, stuffing. It was great. I stuffed my face again. This time with American servings! I definitely gained about 10 pounds that whole trip. I'll post those pictures when I get my hands on them.

Overall I'm having a good time kickin it with good friends:


And figuring out Japan a little bit more every day:




***Good news*** I am buying a new camera tomorrow!

Also tomorrow I'm headed over to Ninja Land in Edo. It is going to be so much fun. They dress you up in Ninja Suits, give you swords, theres mazes, shows to watch, and all kinds of fun ninja/samurai stuff. It's supposed to be a whole Feudal age of Japan park. I can't wait. I'll have my new camera along with me for a new adventure.

Looking ahead, I'm very excited about the decade to come. This is a huge decade for me. My life will be taking some very drastic turns over the course of the 2010's. I may get married, I may have kids, I will go to college, visit dozens of countries, see lots of cool things around the world, see lots of pretty girls around the world, (haha i had to throw that one in there). This is a big decade of my life. My 20's. I got to thinking earlier, I wonder which years are more life-changing, the 20's or the 30's. I guess one day I will be able to answer that to myself. But until then, in my current situation... Fair winds and smooth sailing baby.

oh and.... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

I took this picture in Kamakura, can't wait to see more stuff like it.