Highlights: trip report all day long, breakfast at WarTeg again, successfully rented out my 4th room at the house in San Diego!

(insert video of adzan call to prayer)

Highlights: Muslim calls to prayer, hot by 6am!, breakfast at Warteg, working on trip reports, birthday shopping spree at Blok M for Vita

I was awake to hear how loud Muslim calls to prayer (adzan) can be. I forgot all about that,,, and probably had myself conditioned to block it out at 4:30 in the morning before. There was no rolling over enough times, or stuffing pillows over my head to block out the megaphone sound blasting in from the mosque behind my house though,, a mere 30 meters away. Whew! that guy has some pipes! Welcome back to Muslim country ;) ahh,, tis but another spice sprinkled upon the taste of life here.

Hungry by 7, I walked down the street to a Warteg (Warung Tegal, or specialty food from the north coast of Central Java). It was entertaining getting through the surprised looks on their faces to see an American breeze into their restaurant, order & eat a plate of rice with fried potatoe balls, eggplant cubes, greasy greenbeans and fried tofu, served up with a glass of sweet tea (ice cubes hacked off a chunk of ice deliverd by bicycle this morning,, and a solid layer of sugar sitting at the bottom of my glass) (= Breakfast of champs (= ha ha. This is how Indonesians do breakfast. Ahh,, it’s fun being here again.
(insert pics of WarTeg) [3]

If I didn’t mention it yet,, it’s hot here. I don’t have a thermometer, but I’m guessing it was in the 90s before 6am. The humidity is what’s kicking my butt at the moment though. whew.

Highlights: Arrived in Jakarta & back on familiar ground, saw Lydia & visited Eli, played on-line until jet lag knocked me over the head & dragged me to bed.

My Garuda flight touched down smoothly, and I was back on home turf. Coming back to Jakarta is like re-entering a familiar scene in a movie you once saw. I’ve only been gone 2 months,, but, it seems both long ago & like yesterday.

Tell you what though,,, I forgot how hot it gets here! Whew! it’s humid & 95 degrees! I thought San Diego was pretty warm, as Uncle T regailed me with stories of the inches of snow falling on Boston as he left. Yeah- doesn’t compare to a city within spitball distance of the equator apparently. Sweat was breaking out on my forehead before I got out of the airport!

Another thing I forgot about was how casually direct Indonesians can be with their questions. It’s like there’s no inner monologue (as Austin Powers might put it) sifting through which questions to ask out loud, and which ones to silently wonder about on their own. Today’s example: A group of security guards at the baggage claim exit were tickled that I could speak Indonesian. “Where are you from? Where are you going? How long have you been in Indonesia? How do you speak Indonesian? How old are you? Have kids? Already married?”

In turn I gave them 2 word answers, until the last one… where I explained,,,, “no, not married, but dating a Javanese girl I met in Yogya.”

“ah… udah pukuli?” were the next words out of his mouth, which translates to,,,, “so, have you tagged that booty yet?”
I’m sorry, did you just say that? (my inner monologue)
“um,,, no pak… I’m being respectful to her & her religion, and have not ‘hit that’ yet.”
Nods of approval followed around the group.

So,,,, I haven’t been out of America that long, and can’t imagine a similar scene in an American setting, with head on questions about a persons sex life. As funny as that is, it’s not uncommon here.

After coming back to the house, It was fun catching up with Lydia & hearing some of her stories. Seems her social life picked-up quite a bit. (= She was proposed to on a first date with an Italian guy,,, and despite that, actually dated him for a few weeks until his desperate attachment issues got a bit too much. Ha ha. She was interviewed in a Jakarta magazine (Pasadena: your guide for fashion, beauty & lifestyle magazine; edisi 15, Feb 2007) with a nicely done 2-page foto shot situated next to an article about Desperate Housewife, Eva Longoria! Huh! not bad! She should feel pretty good about that. Ha ha.

After that I walked over to Eli’s house to check on her & her family. They were happy to welcome me back. Eli’s dad passed away a few weeks ago. He was 52. I didn’t know Eli is the oldest of 11 kids, and 1 of 3 by her mom. Her dad had 4 wives. Polygamy is still alive & well in the countryside, despite being a controversial subject among Indonesian Muslims today. It was sad for her to lose him. He used herbal medicines to treat pain associated with a kidney problem, and by the time he was admitted into the hospital, there was little that could be done.

On a more positive note, Vita’s 13th birthday was last Wednesday! (= I asked if she did anything special,,, and the response was so casually “no”, it made me think how their financial circumstances put extravagances like birthday parties out of reach for many families here. She’s funny though. I asked her what she’d like for her birthday, and her eyes lit up. Pizza! (= ha ha. It’s her favorite food, and at $7, it’s a luxury she usually only gets once a year. The whole family (of 5) usually eats for about $2 a day. I think we can make that happen here.
For her real present though,, I’m taking her shopping tomorrow at Blok M. Jakarta’s newest official teenager gets to pick 3 things (= I’m excited about taking her shopping myself! Should be fun.

In San Diego I figured out how to set up Yahoo instant messenger, and finally downloaded it to my laptop. I got tagged by 5 different Indonesian friends within minutes of getting home, and spent the next few hours keeping in touch, until jet-lag caught up to me around 8pm. (=

Highlights: Arrived in Jakarta & back on familiar ground, saw Lydia & visited Eli, played on-line until jet lag knocked me over the head & dragged me to bed.

My Garuda flight touched down smoothly, and I was back on home turf. Coming back to Jakarta is like re-entering a familiar scene in a movie you once saw. I’ve only been gone 2 months,, but, it seems both long ago & like yesterday.

Tell you what though,,, I forgot how hot it gets here! Whew! it’s humid & 95 degrees! I thought San Diego was pretty warm, as Uncle T regailed me with stories of the inches of snow falling on Boston as he left. Yeah- doesn’t compare to a city within spitball distance of the equator apparently. Sweat was breaking out on my forehead before I got out of the airport!

After coming back to the house, It was fun catching up with Lydia & hearing some of her stories. Seems her social life picked-up quite a bit. (= She was proposed to on a first date with an Italian guy,,, and despite that, actually dated him for a few weeks until his desperate attachment issues got a bit too much. Ha ha. She was interviewed in a Jakarta magazine (Pasadena: your guide for fashion, beauty & lifestyle magazine; edisi 15, Feb 2007) with a nicely done 2-page foto shot situated next to an article about Desperate Housewife, Eva Longoria! Huh, not bad! She should feel pretty good about that. Ha ha.

After that I walked over to Eli’s house to check on her & her family. They were happy to welcome me back. Eli’s dad passed away a few weeks ago. He was 52. I didn’t know Eli is the oldest of 11 kids. Her dad had 4 wives. Huh. It was sad for her to lose him though. He used herbal medicines to treat pain associated with a kidney problem, and by the time he was admitted into the hospital, there was little that could be done. He was 52.

On a more positive note, Vita’s 13th birthday was last Wednesday! (= I asked if she did anything special,,, and the response was so casually “no”, it made me think how their financial circumstances put extravagances like birthday parties out of reach for many families here. She’s funny though. I asked her what she’d like for her birthday, and her eyes lit up. She wants pizza! (= ha ha. It’s her favorite food, and at $7, it’s a luxury she usually only gets once a year. I think we can make that happen here.
For her real present though,, I’m taking her shopping tomorrow at Blok M. Jakarta’s newest official teenager gets to pick 2 things (=

I’m excited about taking her shopping myself! Should be fun.

In San Diego I figured out how to set up Yahoo instant messenger, and finally downloaded it to my laptop. I got tagged by 5 different Indonesian friends within minutes, and spent the next few hours keeping in touch, until jet-lag caught up to me around 8pm. (=

(insert Singapore airport pics)

(insert Singapore airport pics)

Highlights: I’m not sure what day it was, but at some point I was awake long enough to get off one plane & onto another in Tokyo for the 2nd leg of the trip (9 hours) to Singapore.

Have I mentioned yet how Singapore’s Cangi airport is the greatest ever? Ha ha. We landed around midnight, local time, and I had 6 hours to wait until my flight to Jakarta. Northwest gave me a pass to the Rainforest Lounge again. bless those guys.

It’s cool speaking bahasa Indonesia again (= I missed those moments of joyful surprise when Asians see an American speak their language (= it’s a gift I get several times a day when living overseas. It’s great. Add a double layer of shock when I greet Javanese people in basa Jawa (Javanese). Priceless (=

Highlights: I was a zombie for pretty much the whole flight. I did get up to stretch my legs a few times & looked out the window in time to see this amazing sight as we flew over Alaska & the Aleutian islands
(insert pics of glaciers)

I was somewhere between awake & asleep the rest of the way to Tokyo, where I jumped from one plane to another & departed for Singapore within the hour. Did I mention how Cangi airport in Singapore is the greatest ever? It’s cool speaking bahasa Indonesia again (= I miss the moment of joyful surprise when Asians see an American speak their language (= it’s a gift I get several times a day when living overseas. It’s great. You should see their face when I greet them in basa Jawa (Javanese). Priceless (=
(insert Singapore airport pics) [2]

(insert glacier pics)

Highlights: Flight back to Jakarta

Funny thing I discovered in my pocket at airport security: my truck keys! Ooooops! /=
Gonna be hard for Uncle T to drive my truck back to Boston without these! Thankfully there’s a spare set in my room.

The 11 hour leg to Tokyo came first. Northwest flies the long haul routes with Boeing 747s & Airbus A300s (the big planes). It was nice. Going on no sleep from a seat in an emergency waiting room to a much more comfortable seat on a 747, I passed out on contact with the recline mechanism after take-off.

Our flight vectored us straight up the US coast on a great circle path, taking into consideration the spinning of the globe over 11 hours. I woke up to stretch my legs & empty the glass of water I drank earlier… just in time to look out the window & catch this picture of glaciers below as we flew over Alaska, and along the Aleutian islands.

Highlights: my roommate Emily gave me a lift to the train station in Solana Beach & I rode the Amtrak Surfliner to LA & took the shuttle to LAX airport. Right on time for my flight back to Jakarta! 11 hour leg to Tokyo comes first on a Northwest 747.
Funny thing I discovered in my pocket at airport security: my truck keys! Ooooops! (=
Gonna be hard for Uncle T to drive my truck back to Boston without these! Thankfully there’s a spare set in my room in San Diego.

(insert pic of me & Becc at lunch) [1]

(insert pics of me & Hillary, truck in parking) [1]

Highlights: check-out of squadron, next orders, afternoon with Becc, Uncle T not feeling well, new roommate, last night in San Diego

I finished checking-out of HMMT-164 today. Everyone is busy with 20 different schedules humming along quietly behind the scenes, so it’s near impossible to find all the people you’d like to say goodbye to before running out the door… but it’s worth a try. I brought Uncle T up to the squadron. For all of his 3 years in the Air Force, that experience generates far more nostalgic conversation out of him than his 40 years working as a staff artist at the Christian Science Monitor (newspaper). Funny (= so I knew he would appreciate visiting Camp Pendleton for his first time and seeing the inside of a squadron (not that it’s particularly fancy). He enjoyed it.

As we drove home, I called my boss in DC to get any official word on my next destination after finishing my time in Indonesia. Indeed the results are in. My next set of orders will be to a fleet squadron in Okinawa, Japan! It’s exciting and a touch of a letdown at the same time. The letdown part could be compared to getting a date with the runner-up instead of Miss America,,, so there’s really not much room to complain.

The big plus is that I’m going back to a fleet squadron to fly again. that’s what’s important really. Getting orders to a squadron in Miramar or Camp Pendleton (San Diego) would have been nice- since I have a house here that I just put some effort into, and I was hoping to live in it… but, can a guy really complain about dating the runner-up? I’ll stop wasting oxygen now.

I’ve never been to Okinawa, but I’ve heard from a lot of friends who loved it. I’m positive plenty of opportunities to visit mainland Japan, Korea, and hopefully China will present themselves. Who knows- maybe I’ll get to China during the 2008 Olympics. And of course, it would be great to get back to Indonesia and visit friends.

Uncle T & I tried picking up washer-dryer without success. It’s still on the delivery truck. One loose-end I’m afraid I won’t be able to tie up before I leave. Well, at least I got the delivery company to put us back on their schedule for tomorrow, and Emily can get home to receive the delivery & install.

We took Becca to lunch & shopping at the Miramar exchange. Small favors for good friends. (= She almost talked me out of my pool project; arguing that it would be much better if I could be here personally to monitor progress, and make sure the contractors aren’t jerking me around (a skill many contractors seem to have an unofficial masters degree in…). were it not for my stubborn streak, and my enthusiasm for making the house as good as I can, despite the recent awareness that I won’t be coming back to live here this summer,,, I would have picked up on her advice. She’s a tough debater.

In the meantime, Uncle T wasn’t feeling too well, so he went upstairs to try & sleep it off.

Around 5pm, a prospective new roommate – Catherine – came by. It’s great to get responses so quickly from people looking to rent a room. Fresh from experiencing internet scam season though, I’m amazed how many responses to my Craigslist & Roomates.com ad became instantly recognizeable as obvious scams:

1) I’m a veterinarian working in Nigeria. My dad just died, and I’m moving back to the states.
2) I’m a diplomat with a West African embassy, and I’m moving to San Diego.
3) I’m a doctor / PhD student / NGO volunteer / relief worker… from either West Africa or the UK.

An unbelievable number of them threw in a recently deceased family member for good measure. And they’re all ready to move-in without coming by to see the house first. I got at least 15 responses like that. Pisses me off.

For a second, Catherine started to sound like a scam herself: recently returned from living in Japan, works as a software engineer… and just as I was about to roll my eyes & exercise the delete button, her e-mail continued… “am interested in coming by & seeing your place next week sometime”

Oh! Allright then. At least it won’t be a face to face scam. (=
She came by this evening, got to meet Violet (just missed Emily), and we gave her the grand tour. The master bedroom is the one I was advertising originally, but as of this afternoon, “my” room just became available too. She seems nice, which is a much more important quality to me now, after our experience with Ben. And it’s Violet & Emily she would be living with, so their opinion & compatability are what really matter.

We’ll find out tomorrow if she decides to become our 3rd roommate. (=

Catherine had just left, I finished my last few e-mails and was just thinking about packing,,, when Uncle T’s condition started feeling worse. Time for plan C… a trip to the hospital to see what’s going on. “Resting” wasn’t making the stomach pain or vomiting get any better.

We got to Sharp’s emergency room around 8:30pm. By 5am we learned the problem: gall stones. An ugly thing to experience right before a planned cross-country drive (3,000 miles). But on the plus side,,, he’s at my home. There’s no rush to leave. He can stay as long as he wants, take his time recovering in 80 degree San Diego, instead of rushing back to the cold & snow of Boston…

I, on the other hand, didn’t have that luxury, as I had a plane to catch in LA in a matter of 7 hours, and I hadn’t packed yet. (= niiiiice!

I had everything I needed stuffed into 2 suitcases & a bag within 20 minutes. Grabbing a quick ride to the train station with Emily, I jumped on the Amtrak (Surfliner) to Los Angeles, took the shuttle to LAX airport, checked-in, and was sitting on the plane… like clockwork. It was a good thing I planned to be 2 hours early- because even the train had a ½ hour “traffic” situation,, and I showed up with only 50 minutes to spare.

Uncle T was curled up in bed recovering when I last saw him.

Highlights: finish checking-out of HMMT-164. Got the first official word on my next destination after finishing my time in Indonesia: I’ll be joining a fleet squadron in Okinawa, Japan! Tried picking up washer-dryer without success, lunch & afternoon with Becca, prospective new roommate – Catherine – comes by. Uncle T suddenly feeling ill, tried to rest through it this afternoon, but I took him to the hospital at 9pm. By 5am we learned the problem: gall stones. We got home ½ hour later & I quickly packed my bags. At least Uncle T is home. He can stay as long as he likes before driving across country back to Boston. Mi casa su casa. He was curled up in bed recovering when I last saw him.

Highlights: more painting, overhead storage rack in garage, new Ikea wall shelf, Tim & Stacy Reazor, Uncle T

Going down my list of projects to wrap up, painting the master bedroom & getting it ready to rent out was at the top of the list today. Finishing the installation of overhead storage shelves in the garage, and hanging a floating wall shelf in my room were the next on the list.

It was a treat to get a visit from an old squadron-mate of mine today: Tim & Stacy Reazor. They’re a colorful couple. Tim is still flying with HMM-163, and just finished the final phase of deployment workups. The squadron leaves soon. Stacy is a realtor, and worked with me to buy both properties. It’s good keeping in touch with them. Apparently there’s a way of having my mortgages reduced to 6% via the Soldiers & Sailors Relief Act, because I’m deployed overseas. Getting the banks to honor that, according to Tim, is a long and arduous exercise of grit and endurance; but well worth it. I’m afraid I won’t be able to tackle that one once I leave the country. Making international phone calls from 12 time zones away is too much of a pain in the butt. Calling from Indonesia is expensive too, and I don’t want to pay to sit on hold for the next available representative who is currently assisting other customers.

pick up Uncle T from airport, dinner in the gaslamp district downtown.

Highlights: Doug & Meg’s wedding, house projects, movie with Emily

The Marine Foreign Area Officer (FAO) who is coming to Indonesia this summer to continue the same program I’m doing is Capt Doug Krugman. We’ve been keeping in touch lately, and it so happens that he is getting married in San Diego this weekend! They were gracious to invite me to their special day, and it was great to go.

I met Doug once in person, about a year ago. It’s always good to put faces to names, and remember people through shared experiences or events. I’ve been happy sharing tips & recommendations about Indonesia with him, before he goes to Indonesia later in the summer- so this was an opportunity to see him again, share a few more insights, and meet his beautiful new bride, Megan, who will be experiencing Indonesia with him next year!
I’m excited for them both & know they’ll have a great time next year.

My hat goes off to Megan too. She was happy with a small wedding of 36 people (= ha ha! That’s awesome. It was very well put together. The minimalist bar of excellence for me was set by my parents, with 17 guests. I hope to emulate them someday. But the wedding here this afternoon was really beautiful.

In Marine tradition, there was a sword arch, manned by fellow CH-46E pilots from HMM-268 (= good guys! They had a woman pastor officiate the ceremony, which I think is great. I can’t wait to show my Indonesian friends another sample of American tradition. (=

Doug looked sharp his dress blue-whites, but Megan was a tough act to follow in her beautiful wedding dress (= ha ha. She looked fantastic.
(insert wedding video + pics) [5]

The wedding was 10 miles from my house, and I was waiting for a phone call from the Home Depot delivery service, who was scheduled to bring the washer & dryer today. Some strange phenomenon happened with Sprint cell-phone waves, and my phone failed to ring until two hours after the delivery truck had come & gone from the house. There was no way to get them back by 4:30. =/ Damn! Oh well.

I got busy finishing up last minute home projects for a couple hours, then realized this may be my last chance to watch a movie & hang out with my new roommate Emily. She’s stuck in professional mode all day long, managing people; and is still relatively new to the area- so I figured it would be fun to relax and shift the brain into vegetable mode for a few hours (= We watched Shooter. Mark Wahlberg did allright. I guess if you consider the take-away moral of the story, “don’t piss off a Marine Gunnery Sergeant with a rifle”,,, then I can’t be too upset with the plot stretches, or super-human wit which our hero employs to regularly outsmart the bad guys.

In the process of hanging out, I got to teach her how to drive her stick-shift car, without shaking through the first 3 gears. (=

Highlights: PFT, checking-out, toilet installation, Adoption Project

The squadron ran a physical fitness test (PFT) this morning at 7. For Marine PFTs, there are 3 events + the weigh in. Height-weight measurements are to verify Marines aren’t out of weight limits. Then there’s the pull-ups, stomach crunches & 3 mile run.

The 3 events are scored, with 100 points being the max for each. To “max” our pull-ups, guys have to do 20 dead-hang pull-ups. (Each pull-up is worth 5 points). Female Marines do a timed flexed arm hang. To “max” out stomach crunches, we have to do 100 inside of 2 minutes. (Each crunch is worth 1 point). To “max” the run, we have to finish 3 miles in 18 minutes or less. There once was a time… but that’s 10 years gone (=

I got through my run in 19:17 though. Not too bad! (Every 10 seconds is worth 1 point after 18 minutes, so I only got 92 points for the run). So my total score was 292. (=

I started checking-out of the squadron after that, until my phone rang, letting me know the plumber was on his way to the house to install my new toilet,,, I had to run home to let him in.

This guy was a colorful personality, if not a touch evangelical. There’s a new Christian church, or movement or something called “the Rock”. According to Bill the plumber, the appeal is, it’s led by a former pro football player who experienced some struggles, and pulled himself back up… discovering a calling to religion along the way. He’s rough around the edges, but wears his heart on his sleeve- much like Bill describes himself. (=
Ha ha. It’s funny how much you learn about people from just listening a while.
(insert pic of toilet installation) [1]

After that I had lunch with Becca & helped her develop new business cards.

Becc is Korean. She’s an American now, but she & her older sister were adopted when they were little (3 & 5 I think). In the past year they just came into contact with their birth parents for the first time in memory. It’s been a strange mix of feelings… Adoption is one of those subjects that seems to jump into public awareness when Angelina Jolie brings home a new kid from Cambodia, but other than that,, seems to dart back into the social shadows of ugly step-child world.

On the radio today, I heard of an off-broadway play that’s going on right now in Balboa Park, called “The Adoption Project”. So I invited Becc & her boyfriend John, and we saw the 7:30 show.

Very interesting take on adoption and how it affects the women in this equation; specifically the daughter, birth mother & adoptive mother. It’s hard to stage inherent connections between people,,, but the show focused on that search that many adoptees experience… wanting to find & know who gave birth to them, and why they were given up; perhaps finding new ways to appreciate the ones who picked them up & brought them into their homes, raising them as their own. It also touches on regrets of mothers who gave their children up, once upon a time, for whatever reasons. It was a good show. Though provoking (=

Earlier in the afternoon, as I was looking for tickets, I walked around Balboa Park.
(insert pics of Balboa Park) [2]

Highlights: donations to Father Joe’s, confirmed the roommate scam, and started looking for new roommates all over again.

I donated the old washer & dryer to Father Joe’s today. They still work fine, but they’re 8 years old, and the dryer timer gets stuck. Several times I’ve put a load in the dryer, set it to permanent press, and then 6 hours later it’s still going full steam: timer stuck in the original position. That’s the other reason I was excited about getting a new dryer. At least someone else can get some use out of these old appliances now. And it’s a tax write-off.
(insert pics of old washer dryer + father Joes truck) [1]

It’s become clearer over the past few days, but today I confirmed the “scam” status of the mystery roommate. Her check arrived via UPS today. First of all, the check had the wrong name on there: Jane Smith, instead of Kelly Brown. When I told my bank I was suspicious of this cashiers check from Bank of America, they verified it was a fraud within 10 minutes. It was a copy of a check that had long since been used. The scammers were hoping I’d set up a wire transfer from my account before figuring out the scam.

At least no-one got hurt or robbed in this little adventure. Now I have to look for a new roommate again. =/

Highlights: registered my truck, got the new toilet, set up my new storage shed, and organized all my files

Today was a busy day. 6 days left in country are gonna disappear quickly if I don’t wrap up all my projects!
My truck registration is due to expire in April, so I got that renewed now before I leave the country again next week.

I finally got the voucher deal straightened out between Home Depot & the Water Department, and took my new toilet home. And tonight, I assembled the outdoor storage shed that I bought on Monday. Storage space is always a premium commodity; there’s never enough of it.

Highlights: cleaning air ducts, Home Depot again, Dateline & internet scams

I hired a guy to come clean the heating & air ducts in the house today. I figure it’s never been done in the 20 years this house has been standing. Sure as shootin, the guy somehow extracted 2 full vacuum cleaner bags worth of dust & stuff that has no business being in the vents. At $380 it’s a pricey service- but considering what just came out of the air vents- worth the cost.
(insert air duct video + pics) [4]

After that it was back to Home Depot for round 2. Today’s goal: get the high efficiency new toilet & capitalize on the $75 water voucher the city of San Diego is giving out for qualified toilets. I couldn’t pick up the toilet yesterday, because the water voucher I had in hand for the washing machine wasn’t enough to prove I rate an in-store rebate (voucher) for the toilet. Had to get a separate voucher from the Water Department for that.

Few things make a bathroom experience less pleasant than a bad toilet. Most of my Indonesian friends have no idea what I’m talking about,, as I have yet to hear of a hole in the floor clogging up or not flushing right.. but anyways- my American friends know of what I speak. After shifting rooms in my house, I’ve discovered an old clunker toilet upstairs, which has clogged twice on me in the last week. It’s got to go. Two strikes in this case,,, and it’s gone! (=

I didn’t get out the door fast enough though: one store didn’t have all the toilet parts in stock anymore, but the 2nd store couldn’t accept the voucher in my hand, with the 1st store’s info printed on it, and by the time we figured all this out, the Water Department had closed, again. So I would have to wait until tomorrow, void the old voucher, have a new one faxed, and finish this little song & dance. Whew. If you’re confused now,, this took entirely too many hours out of my day to get sorted straight.

Becca called & prompted me to watch a Dateline TV special on internet scams… I’m facing the eerie possibility that roommate #3 may in fact be one of those scams coming out of Lagos, Nigeria.

This particular scam would have me believe that a fictitious girl named Kelly Brown is ready to move in, and sent a check, which she needs some portion of cashed & wired back to the shipping agent who is sending her stuff to my address. The trick is,,, it would normally take my bank a day or two to figure out if the check is a fake. If I wired money out the same day I deposited the check, that money comes out of my account, the fake check bounces, and I’ll never see or hear from mystery roommate again. Slimy bastards.

Well, a small part of me hopes that there really is a roommate coming, but the signs are pointing more & more towards the glowing neon sign that reads “scam-in-progress”. I’ll just be sure not to send any of my own money before checks clear.

Highlights: last flight, Home Depot shopping spree

Today was my last flight in the refresher syllabus at HMMT-164: my check-ride. I flew with Maj “pom pom” Bergeman, whom I deployed with in my last squadron 4 years ago. It’s probably risky admitting that a check flight was fun, but this was a great last flight in the squadron. (= After going over systems limitations, EPs, etc… I planned our flight to go through the scenic parts of downtown San Diego.

Apparently this is the season a lot of whales are swimming north along the coast. We flew over one & did our best to snap a picture. Continuing South past Pacific Beach & rounding the corner of Point Loma, we flew the Bay transition. This is one of the most picturesque routes through beautiful San Diego. Well… I’ll let you be the judge.

Working our way back to Miramar (where my old squadron is based), we practiced some landings, Emergency procedures & steep, no-hover approaches to the helo spots. then finished out the flight at Camp Pen.
(insert last flight video + pics) [7]

When I got home & changed into regular clothes, the Home Depot shopping marathon started. I got there just before 6, to cash in on the water voucher for getting an energy saver washing machine,,, and somehow, nearly 5 hours later- I was still in the store. It took 40 minutes to get through my check-out.

The shopping list I made last Friday grew over the weekend: LG washer & dryer, overhead light for the kitchen, floor lamp, new window blind system for Violet’s room, outdoor storage shed, overhead storage rack for the garage, water efficient toilet, etc.

Water vouchers:
The San Diego water department is issuing vouchers to anyone who buys energy efficient appliances like washing machines & toilets. A front-loading washer uses 15 gallons of water per load instead of 45-60, because it doesn’t have to fill the entire basin at the beginning & end of every cycle. The new water-efficient toilet is timely too, because I don’t like the toilet I have upstairs. It clogs easily, and the flushing mechanism is crap.

All this is energy saving technology, and replacing old, out of date stuff at the house. The LG dryer machine has moisture sensors which shut the machine off when it senses the clothes are dry.

The in-store voucher rebate for the washing machine was $175; the toilet voucher was $75. LG was having an appliance sale, giving $75 off the washer price and $50 off the dryer. Add to all of this the 10% discount I’m getting with the card, and I saved around $900. not bad! All tax deductable again (next year).

Getting through check-out, after spending 5 hours in the store,,, took a while. It was almost 11pm by the time I got out of the store.

Highlights: Emily moving in, musical rooms

He with a pick-up truck becomes everyone’s friend at moving time. Ha ha.

I was happy to help my new roommate Emily move her stuff from storage in LA. We used my truck to haul boxes & furniture down to San Diego, and get it in the house. Met Emily’s mom in the process, who invited us to brunch at Claim Jumper. Emily’s an assistant General Manager at a corporate hotel here in San Diego. Low key & easy going, she’s cool to hang out with. I’m excited the roommate situation is already a lot more positive.
(insert pic of Emily moving in) [1]

Since Violet is shifting out of the master bedroom, I told her she could have any of the smaller rooms she wanted. She picked the downstairs room, so she’d still have her own bathroom,,, which is where I was living- so we’re all playing musical rooms today. I leave for Indonesia in 9 days, so I could stay on the couch, for what it’s worth to me. (=

Breaking down my own furniture & hauling it up the stairs was a feat. One of the Iraqi guys helped me lug my California king size mattress up the stairs. Now I had to take apart & re-assemble the frame in my new room. That made the rest of the day disappear, but a lot of progress is being made, so I can’t complain.

Our 3rd roommate (Kelly) is coming next week.

Highlights: new heater & a/c unit, Viejas casino

Happy St. Patty’s Day! I wore a green shirt, which was about the extent of my celebration for Ireland’s patron saint of Catholicism. (=

Pretty much the whole day was taken up by having a new home heater & a/c unit installed in my house. Another corner that was cut when the house was built in 1986… they put a 3 ton heater in; too small for the size of this house. It’s a gas heater too, which runs a pilot light 24 hours a day. It’s a major pull on the house energy bill. Aside from that, I have a 20 year old air conditioning unit which is not efficient at all.

With the new energy efficient & properly sized heater & a/c for the house, the energy bills should drop by over a third. We may be getting a hot summer this year, so the new air conditioning will be good. With the cost of energy in California jumping all over the place, energy efficient appliances will probably pay for themselves within 4 years. In the meantime, my flight bonus just flew out the window- but again… it’s all investment in my home, and it’s tax deductable next year. Thank god for that!

Two more Iraqi guys came from Citiwide electric & heating to do the work. They did good work! Interesting conversation too. Mike & his cousin are also from Christian parts of Northern Iraq, near Tikrit, and fled their country 11 years ago. They still have family in Iraq. In their eyes, Mike is now the wealthy cousin, by virtue of him living here. As he puts it, Iraqis think money grows on trees here. I know plenty of Indonesian’s with that idea stuck in their head. I’m not rich, but I’m sure pictures of this house don’t help convince anyone of that. (=

When compared to my Indonesian friends, I am financially a lot closer to Donald Trump & Bill Gates than I ever imagined before. Just don’t tell the IRS. (= ha ha.
(insert video of heater install + pics) [6]

My house has been the whole of my social life this week, and there was no-one around to go out or hang around with…. Felt the need to get out of the house & do “something”,, so I drove out to Viejas casino on an impulse to try my hand at the blackjack table. I won some & lost more =/ ehh,, we can’t be winners everytime. home by 3 am.

Flying my helicopter:

I know i've gotten waaaaaay behind the ball with updating the blog. sorry guys! i've been amazingly busy focusing on the immediate task at hand... flying.

I did manage to get a bunch of videos & pictures put together since coming back to the states & having access to high speed internet again!
i figured i would take advantage of this opportunity to put a few here in one place, and show you some things i've been meaning to add for a long time... but just haven't found the time or means to before now.

These videos go back from today through New Years in Cepu. i tried to keep them along the same time-line. so... enjoy. in the meantime- i'm almost done with my training, so i'll focus on getting caught up in the next few days (=

This is a video of my helicopter, the CH-46E. it's a troop transport helicopter.
it's been almost 3 years since i left my last squadron, so i have to go through refresher training to re-learn to fly. So far it's been a lot like the old saying, "getting back on a bicycle"... you never really forget. it's been great flying again. (=

CH-46 simulator:
The purpose for me coming back to the states in the middle of my year abroad was to get through helicopter refresher training as expeditiously as possible. It's faster to get through in Feb-Mar than July-Aug.
I know many of my Indonesian friends didn't believe me when i told them i'm a helicopter pilot. "Sure,,, spy" ha ha.
well this is what i do for a living... and what a part of my training looks like! my other day job.

Homes in America:
another difference between American homes & Indonesian homes are the material with which they are made from. most homes in the states are made of wood. The ply-wood & 2x4 beams we use are very different from anything you'll see in Indonesia. I just wanted to show my Indonesian friends the difference. also- we tend to have professionals build our homes; instead of the people living there putting up brick walls & a roof themselves. It's just interesting to see the differences.

Driving in San Diego:
i explain to my Indonesian friends why scooters just won't work here in America. can't keep up! there's a lot of open space in the Western states, so we tend to drive a touch quicker than others on the East coast- but you rarely get over 40 mph in Indonesia,,, so... it's just a part of the different "norms" that makes each place different and unique.

My house: San Diego.

ah man! it's good to be home! there are a lot of things to miss about being in America... my house & my car are among them! it's been almost a year since i've driven my truck! missed it! ha ha

here's a quick tour through my house in San Diego.

Pacific Beach, San Diego.

i took my Uncle down Crystal Pier and along the boardwalk in PB when i got home to San Diego last month.

Jakarta: Dufan. For my birthday this year, i invited my house helper (Eli), her family & all her neighbors to Dunia Fantasi (Indonesia's version of Disneyland). All of them make about $100 a month in combined family income. Poor is the word in finances, but they're the most heart felt & gracious people when you spend a little time with them. Most of them had never been to an amusement park, and at $10 per ticket, they probably never would. This was my way of giving them a memory they'll appreciate for a lifetime. And that was my gift to myself this year. You'll see the value in the smiles on their faces (= it was worth every penny.

Jakarta: Dufan 2.
This is the roller-coaster & some of the fun rides we did in the 2nd half of the day (= i guarantee some will never forget these rides! ha ha. a couple of moms had to suffer all their friends laughing at the tears coming from their eyes after the corkscrew roller-coaster (= ha ha. good times

Jakarta: Dufan.
This is the drive home, after about 12 hours of playing at Dunia Fantasi (Jakarta's Disneyland) with my maid Eli and all her neighbors. I asked everyone what their favorite rides or part of the day was. The moms liked the bumper cars, many just liked being there with all their family & friends. A few guys in the back were brave enough to say they liked looking around at the other girls in the park the most. ha ha. something for everyone i guess!
the best part of my day was the smiles & contented, sleepy eyes of everyone who came along,,, as we made our way home.

Hoi An, Vietnam. just walking around the markets & outskirts of town, taking in the people & scenery along the perfume river.

Da Nang, Vietnam: this is Marble Mountain. amazing caves wind around in this rock formation jutting straight out of the ground. Vietnamese Buddhists have taken every opportunity to make a shrine of each cave. quite impressive.

Jakarta: just before leaving on my Vietnam trip, i took a quick video of a rainstorm from the front door of my house.

Pleret, Bantul: Yogya.
This is Ena's home, and the progress being made 10 months after the devastating earthquake from last year.
Yogya has long since disappeared from international headlines, and public conscience- but i'll never forget Yogya.

Nina and i came to visit and see the new home going up. They too sleep cold at night on this mattresses. a pair of blankets can go a long way towards improving their quality of life. so i got it for them.

Bantul, Yogya: on my last stop through Yogya i went to check-up on two of the families i helped after last year's earthquake, to see how progress is coming on putting their lives and their home together.

This is the Bari family. They live near Parangtritis, in the southern part of Bantul.
I heard how cold it gets at night with the bamboo walls. Wind comes right through the holes,,, and with 15 people living in this house on 3 beds- there's no reason they should have to huddle to keep warm at night under thin sheets like they've been doing. That's something i can help with. so i did. 2 blankets & a little time sitting talking with them later...

Bali: tending the rice fields with the preferred method... a 6 ton buffalo! simple lifestyles look beautiful here.

Bali, danau Batur. I travelled around the eastern side of the island with my 2nd family (= Pak Putuswamana, Ibu, Agus and his wife. Kadek Ayu had to work that day. it was a beautiful (if not long) trek around the heart of the island

Bali hotsprings! this place is awesome (= but,,, it's a very functional public shower spot. hard to believe that in one country you can have such a conservative Muslim majority, where nudity is suuuuuuch a taboo, and then one island over, people are bathing naked together in rivers, streams & hot springs... and that's natural. Bali is mostly Hindu, and retains many of its traditions, allthough faraway Jakarta has been imposing it's Muslim morals more aggressively in the past 2 decades. it's too bad.

Bali, Kedaton monkey forest,,, and its mischievous residents

Bali: the closest i've ever been to bats with teeth the size of small dogs. whew! i thought that was just in comic books!

Bali Tanah Lot: one of the more famous Hindu temples on Bali's southern coast,,, perched atop a clif cut by the waves from the mainland.
I visited with Pak Putu Swamana and Kadek Ayu Henni

New Years Eve in Cepu:

Cepu Idul Adha, mom's school. Idul Adha is the Muslim holiday celebrated on New Years Day. The focus is on giving meat to the poor, through the context of the story of Abraham, who was instructed by God to sacrafice his son Isaac as a test of his faith and loyalty to God. Upon seeing Abraham ready to carry out this order, the Lord stayed his hand, and a goat was sacraficed in his place.
So,, every year, Muslims sacrafice cows & goats, and give the meat to local poor; many of whom can't afford to eat meat most of the year.

Nina's mom is a school teacher, and these goats were "sacraficed" on school grounds.

Cepu Idul Adha 1 at the mosque: now the cow gets it.

Cepu Idul Adha at the mosque 2: getting the cow in position for the "sacrafice"... not the highlight of his day. but he's taking one for the team though.

Cepu Idul Adha at the mosque 3: warning guys- if you've never seen how a cow becomes a hamburger, this might be a touch dramatic. It was certainly my first time. eeeeeeehh. no aspirations to become a butcher here. but it's a very open part of the celebration here... so i recorded it to show you. interesting,, but graphic.

ok, you can look again. Idul Adha, animal sacrafice 4: divvying up the beef

again, entertainment options being what they were in Cepu, we made the most of what we had. My deployment roomates would be proud to see me actually pick up a playstation controller. i guess it's fitting i took my first swings against a 10 year old (= ha ha Tenty was a good sport ;)

Blora warung. lunch

in Blora, Nina's younger brother (Panji) was playing high school division leage soccer finals. I think i was the first American to ever attend & root on one of the teams. ha ha. here's some of the action, with my best play-by-play

fine dining on the sidewalks of Cepu (= "Warung", as my dictionary puts it, means "food stall"... and that just about sums it up. Seafood is popular everywhere on Java. here's dinner out at a seafood warung in late December.

not much to do in Cepu one afternoon, so Nina and i walked out to the rice fields & met the farmers.

a funny expose on the common uses of "toilet paper" in Indonesia. not quite what an American might expect (=

Taking the train from Jakarta to Cepu the day before Christmas.

a gas station i visited in Aceh (10Dec06) i couldn't believe this... and couldn't get my camera out fast enough. the guy just put the hose back, like nothing out of the ordinary just happened. we were out of there!

Highlights: Pool decision, PME, Home Depot card

I called the pool resurfacing company back. After checking with 2 other companies, I decided to go with Gardner Pool Plastering to overhaul the pool. I thought about waiting, but with the tax refund I have coming, summer approaching, and the holding time to consider when these companies get busy,,, I decided to press ahead with this project now.

Sure, it’ll increase the value of the house (if I take advantage of refinancing opportunities later). Most important to me, everyone at the house will really enjoy using the pool after the old, cracked plaster is taken out, and the new pebble tech surface is installed. It’ll look awesome. It’s a home improvement project on a rental property, so it’s tax deductable next year too. Costly- but worth it. The work will start in 3-4 weeks, and be done by early May.

Professional Military Education (PME) is an opportunity to learn in better detail how the system works. Today we had a guest speaker, Col Smith, who just sat on a career management & promotion board in Washington DC. He gave us a few hours of his time to shed some light on the Marine Corps promotion system & explain how it works, from his recent experience.

There are a lot of moving pieces in this puzzle, and our military is complex enough that a lot of junior Marines (myself included) couldn’t tell you how some Marines get promoted and some don’t. There are some obvious guidelines to follow, but managing our career well is a big part of it.

Later tonight I got a Home Depot card, which gets me a 10% discount on my first purchase with 12 months no interest or payments. I had a list of things for the house. It was long. the cincher that pushed me over the edge was an opportunity to capitalize on generous water vouchers the city of San Diego is offering through the end of the month. I’ll explain that later. The city offices had already closed though, by the time I got to the store, so I would have to come back Monday. No worries.

At home, I finished installing the Elfa closet systems in two rooms until 2 am. I only found 2 studs in the wall that matched up with the holes in the rack,,, so for the rest I drilled holes in the closet wall & hammered in wall anchors to reinforce the drywall. Spread over 9 anchors and 2 studs, the closet shelves can support a lot of weight.

Highlights: IGS, sim, closets

This morning was eaten up by a painfully long instrument ground school (IGS) class, followed by 2 hours in the sim with Maj Greg “Moses” Lovett. IGS is an annual requirement to refresh us on all the rules of instrument flying. There is a laundry list of acceptable flight requirements about things such as: weather and visibility, fuel on board, alternate airfield plans, airspace use and coordinating agencies, international flight rules and how to find out if military aircraft are allowed to land somewhere before you get there… etc. All this, followed by a test.

Getting out of the classroom & back into the sim was good. Whew. my head was hurting. Big picture stuff, I remember; but the details are like cuts from a thousand knives. You have to look up exact wording in 9 different publications.

Came home & painted 2 closets (getting ready to install the new shelves)

Highlights: helping RACs & practicing nomenclature drills, working on installing new closets, Keita’s birthday party

With a little time to kill around the squadron, I was able to help a couple more Lieutenants practice pre-flighting the aircraft. It’s a good time to practice nomenclature drills & systems limitations too. There are hundreds of little gadgets, boxes, levers, signal conditioners, etc throughout the aircraft; they all have different names. Whew! knowing what they do is most important, but you have to remember what to call them.

At home, i took apart the remaining old closets in 2 bedrooms. Getting the old out, so I can sand & smooth the walls, paint them, and then install the new closets… is a project that takes some time. The closet system I bought yesterday is laying on the floor downstairs until I get the wall surfaces ready.

Another old roommate & friend, Keita, was celebrating her birthday with a house party in Solana Beach. I got to meet her cool new roomies & friends as well. Their house is gorgeous! Mere blocks from the ocean, you can see the water from their balcony. The kitchen was the most impressive room in the house. It’s feeding me a lot of ideas about how to change my kitchen around! Ha ha (= dreaming out loud. Anyways- happy birthday Keita!

Highlights: 151x with Maj Slack, closet shopping at Container Store

I flew my formation syllabus even today (151x) with Maj “squatch” Slack. Ha ha. We all have call-signs. Flying together with other aircraft is one of the basics we all have to learn & practice. There are various formation positons we can fly in, depending on the tactics we’re using. Flying close to another aircraft on purpose always throws some new considerations into your plan as you’re flying around: not hitting the other guy, being at the top of that list.

It’s fun flying though, in addition to being an important skill to develop. We practiced coordinated turns over the water, break-up & rendez-vous, and section landings to a grassy field.
(insert video of form + pics) [7]

Later tonight I took Violet closet shopping at the Container Store, so she could pick-out & design her own closet system. She’s moving from the master bedroom (with walk-in closet) to one of the smaller rooms, so I can rent out the biggest room for a little more rent. She’s a team player- so I want to give her as much flexibility as possible over her new closet. Using limited closet space well makes a big difference. It’s an investment in the house, as well as my roomate. Happy roommates are good roommates.
(insert pics of closet system) [1]

Highlights: electric outlet project, more paint, getting rid of 30 cut palm leaves

The electric guys came to replace all 47 outlets in my house this morning. The entire circuit breaker panel is getting replaced & a few wiring issues that are not to code (the previous owner left hidden in the walls & garage)... all that is getting fixed today. The work is being done by a friendly Iraqi named Wally from Christian parts of north Iraq. He fled his country 18 years ago. Two workers from Mexico City came also, who are thrilled to be living in San Diego now. They were all interesting to talk to. $4,100 just walked out the door, but the house is in better condition now. Solid electrical standing anyways.

I got 2 American flags as gifts for Indonesian friends, and got one for myself to put up in front of the house.
(insert pics of new outlets going in the house + flag) [5]

Then picked up 3 more gallons of paint to finish the walls of the bedrooms & closets, after having installed new closet systems (i ripped out the old wood shelf & clothes rack).
(insert pics of painting walls) [1]

Tomorrow is trash day, and I have a 4’ x 6’ pile of cut palm leaves in my driveway. At 10:30pm i spread the wealth a bit,, running from home to home, finding garbage cans with spare space, and stuffing them them in. Being careful to tuck the straggler leaves under the lid before the trash-man comes… i enlisted the help of about 20 neighbors- going clear down the street! (= sometimes it’s better to beg forgiveness than ask permission.

Highights: visited Cathy, Ikea, paint, futon

I visited Cathy & her parents before they drive home to Michigan. Just wanted to wish them safe travels before I leave again myself, and ask Cathy’s opinion about a webcam.

Next, I ventured around Ikea for 3 hours, getting ideas for kitchen & closet projects. Ikea is designed in such a way, that there really is no way to spend less than ½ hour in there. Quite savvy on their part. Becca is in love with Ikea, ha ha… and it’s been a while since I’ve been here- so I figured I’d look around & see what there is. Two things are sitting on my mental wish list: an L-shaped desk & kitchen cabinets/countertop designs.

Ikea doesn’t disappoint! I like the model home interiors they have set up inside, so you can easily imagine bringing a complete room home with you. Friends tell me it’s actually cheaper to buy countertops etc from here than Home Depot or Lowes! Huh!
(insert Ikea pics) [4]

Touching up the house with some paint was my next project. Just trying to make the house as presentable as possible: no nail holes or dirty walls, clean window ledges, finished closets, clean bathroom… etc. It took some time, effort & a few supplies from Home Depot- but it’s worth it. That’s how I would want to move into a place

Getting Ben’s old futon disassembled & down to the garage was the task after that. That guy… what a pain in the butt. That’s ok though, because I called Father Joe’s, which is like Goodwill, and they said they would be happy to come pick it up as a donation. That way it’s tax deductable, and they come to the house to pick it up! Perfect!

Organizing all my receipts, files, getting my lengthy to-do list written down… that somehow sucked up the rest of the day.

Monday, 12Feb07

Highlights: Checking-in at HMMT-164, new phone, asleep in the movies, Violet

The reason I’m here is to set myself up for success later this summer in getting back into helicopter-land as quickly as possible.
After 3 years out of the cockpit, I have to do refresher training & re-learn the systems and limitations, and practice flying procedures to be prepared for all things that could happen in flight. (to include emergencies). The training squadron gets busy later in the year, so I’m doing myself a favor by getting here now.

And that all got started this morning by checking-into HMMT-164, the Knightriders.

checking-in at the training squadron HMMT (164)... Helicopter Marine Medium-lift Training squadron 164. Every squadron has a call-sign. Ours is "Knightriders"

It’s been a pain not having my own cell phone; my link to the outside world. Some unresolved bill from Verizon, I’m just now hearing about, prevented me from getting that done on Saturday. When phone companies tell you you’re all set, as you’re closing your account with them,,, never believe it. =/

Sprint got my business this time. Ahhhh! I am connected to the world again!

Later, we grabbed dinner & a movie. The new Clint Eastwood, World War II movie about Iwo Jima, told from the perspective of the Japanese fighters. I watched through half closed eyes, as jet lag, once again, was kicking my butt.

As soon as the end credits rolled, I was happy to get on home & proceed directly to the pillow.
My roommate Violet came back from a weekend trip with her boyfriend, so my uncle finally got to meet her. It’s good to see old friends again.

Sunday, 11Feb07

Highlights: Eggery, USS Midway tour & downtown SanDiego, Coronado, in bed by 4:30 (canx movie plans), up by 10pm

Up at 2am, I got to work on 2 major projects, backing-up all the files on my laptop (78GB worth), and ironing all my clothes. My laptop was moving like an arthritic 80 year old man,,, frequently freezing or not-responding, taking forever to open files and documents! Ahhhh!

Computers do strange things when their memory is just about tapped out (like crash). I experienced that once before, filling my first glorious 4 gigabyte hard-drive with 1,000 Napster songs. ha ha. Good times. A feat I accomplished over a dial-up connection too. Whew.

Anyways, worried that my lappie was about to have an electrical heart-attack, I was happy to back-up EVERYTHING. Which involved buying an external hard-drive yesterday. The pics & videos I’ve taken over the last year filled up over half the memory. After backing it up, I axed it from the laptop and freed up all that essential memory… like a high speed diet, taking a bulky, overweight 790 lb memory board down to a fit 200 lbs!

Well, it didn’t exactly work as smooth as planned. So a quick phone call later to my friend Cathy, the computer guru, I had an appointment to bring both of my computers in for a look.

In the meantime, Uncle T woke up & we headed off to breakfast again at the Eggery.
Uncle T, after being good-enough to drive my truck across the country, (Boston to San Diego) in the middle of winter… is with me until Wednesday night.

It’s fun hanging around my uncle. He’s a colorful personality, and one who is very interested in history & technical gadgets. For having spent 3 years in the Air Force, he is a bottomless well of stories about those years (= The USS Midway was a great next stop on our San Diego tour. This is the 2nd time my uncle has ever been to San Diego… he was loving it.

USS Midway is an aircraft carrier that served from 1945-199… something. It wasn’t here when I left San Diego in 2004, but after decommissioning, it was brought back here as a living museum. In my opinion it’s a great way to show people a slice of what life is like for military guys on a ship the size of an aircraft carrier.

I’ve done 2 deployments on amphibious ships, and have experienced much of the lifestyle they’re talking about, twice. It’s impressive, but like Pensacola in August, it’s better to visit than live there. Uncle T loved it.

The aircraft carrier USS Midway back in 1945, when she was put together

Uncle T & i about to board

Uncle T & i by an A-4 skyhawk
in case anyone thought ship-life was luxurious,,, here is a glimpse of the cold breeze of reality. ha ha. space is slim pickins. and privacy just doesn't exist.
and yes,, these beds are stacked 3 high. on many ships, they get stacked 4 high. yeah- nobody sits up in bed here.

the flight deck & the "island",,, the most dangerous square mile of workspace on earth by many accounts. an old H-34,,, the helicopter that preceeded my own in the 1950s & early 60s
an F-4 phantom, with a cloudy San Diego skyline backing her up!

F-14 Tomcat & the Cod a better look at the formidable "Tomcat"
Uncle T taking it all in (=
no tour is complete without a run through the chow line! feeding 4-5,000 guys is a tough job. the options aren't always pretty,, but it gets stuff in your gut to keep you going.

speaking of sustenance! it's sooooooooo good to be back in America again, where i can find proper junk food =) ha ha ohhh! Chocolate chip cookies! i've missed you!
can you imagine working in a room like this? these guys drive the engines to power this huge thing through the water... they need degrees for this kind of stuff. i'm out.
here lie the anchors... and the massive chains used to hold them up. the Forcastle

We drove around downtown San Diego & Coronado after that.
There was an idea about going to see a movie later, but by 4:30 I was done for the day. My head hit the pillow and the day stopped. I was done.

Funny thing about jet lag, I was up again by 10:30pm, and worked all night on projects around the house. Trying to get the computer working right. No joy there. The laptop freezes for 10 minutes at a time if you try to work 2 things at once. Sucks!

Saturday, 10Feb07

Highlights: garage, Eggery, shopping list & getting established, dinner with Becca & John at Uno’s, Gaslamp district by night & straight to bed

The cool thing about jet lag is waking up at 2:30,,, wide awake & ready to get up & do things. I don’t normally skip the morning drudgery phase that quickly,,, but with jet lag going… my eyes pop open & I’m industrious 1st thing. It’s cool. I wish I could do that on purpose on workdays.

It’s great being in the house I bought 1 ½ years ago. Yvette, my girlfriend at the time, is gone but her best friend Violet is still here holding down the fort.
I’m rediscovering a house I spent a week in before. At 2:30am, there wasn’t much to do but check e-mail, do laundry & clean up the garage. Moving from one project to another. It’s good to be home.

After my uncle woke up, I took him down to Pacific Beach (PB) for breakfast at one of my old favorite haunts: The Eggery.
Ahhhhhh! Breakfast food! I missed this!
For all my Indonesian friends… this is what American breakfast food looks like!

My favorite breakfast place in PB... The Eggery
ahhhhhhh... almost as good as grandma used to make it. does it get any better? ha ha
note: breakfast here doesn't consist of rice, crispy tofu, or last night's left-overs (in most cases). Cold pizza is a suitable exception

Uncle T and i at the Eggery in Pacific Beach, San Diego
Aaaaaaahhhh! now THIS is what i'm talking about when "breakfast food" conversation comes up. how i've missed this! (=
note the greasy fingers! that's the good ol' American touch right there! ha ha

Moving always seems to entail an unfurling shopping list of things you need to buy. Light bulbs, food, tp…
Oh yeah! I forgot all about spending $40 to fill up my gas tank every couple of days! Whew! that’s what I pay Eli each month to clean our house 3 times a week in Jakarta! (well, we just gave her a raise to $50) I can just imagine her jaw dropping at the “cost of living” here. Filling up my truck twice would crush her & Rusli’s combined monthly income!

I had juuust enough energy in me to take Uncle T to meet my friend Becca & her boyfriend John out at Pizza Uno for dinner. It’s great meeting up with old friends again. Not to mention I’m happy getting my fill of great tasting, greasy American food (= in servings which fill me up by the end of the appetizer.

Uncle T, having come through ice storms & 8 foot snow banks in New England & Ohio,, was still in amazement that people are walking around in shorts & t-shirts here in February. (= I took him through the historical Gaslamp district on our way home,,, just to glimpse a bit of San Diego’s night life. San Diego is a great place to live.

downtown San Diego, tree-lined steets quick view of Petco Park, the new baseball stadium downtown

Gaslamp District

Welcome to San Diego in February! staring you in the face is the new baseball stadium, Petco Park... middle of downtown! great place

the famous sign... San Diego nightlife ahead