TSUNAMI!

WOW! Yesterday I was awakened to an earthquake, today it was to a Tsunami siren and warning! I guess I might as well get the full experience here. Now I just need a typhoon to complete the hat trick! Actually, it looks like the tsunami will not affect us much. It was supposed to hit a couple of hours ago but nothing other than a couple of waves on the Pacific side (other side of the island from us). They did evacuate coastal areas and even some areas on base. They also evacuated the ER from the ground floor to the 3rd. Should make it interesting as I go to work in an hour (although the tsunami warning just got lifted for Okinawa).

The pictures are from my tours so far. I was hoping to add whale watching pics from my tour today but it was cancelled:( Steph actually expected me to go anyway, and I guess I would have, but it was cancelled.

The first pics are from my "Tunnel Rats Tour." I expected to just see some shallow caves that were used by the locals to hide out from the US Marines only to find out we were truly going spelunking. My little AA Flashlight with LED bulbs did not quite do it justice. It did make it challenging, however. It was like going to Carlsbad Caverns or Kartchner and having the guide look as his watch and say "OK, you've got until 1300 to explore and be back here" and just turn us loose on this massive cave. Fun, but kind of crazy and certainly could not happen in the states. At one point I was crawling like a beetle with my flashlight in my teeth through a shallow stream with about 18 inches of cave height to get to the next area! I also met 2 new fellow Wildcats on the tour (pictured with me: 1st LT Paul Pintek of the US Marine Corps and his wife Trisha. They both went to UofA and graduated about 5 years ago. They were awesome and hopefully we can get together to watch the Cats play either hoops or football). Our guide, an ex-Marine by the name of Chris, was amazing! His knowledge of the caves and military history of Okinawa is astounding! He has even been featured on the discovery channel for his Battle Sites tour (google or U Tube it).

The next pictures were from my Shuri Castle tour. The Shuri Castle was the castle for the Ryukyuan rulers of Okinawa from the 1500's until Okinawa became a prefecture of Japan in the 1800's. It was destroyed completely in the Battle of Okinawa during WWII but was rebuilt in the 1990's and opened as a international historical site. Again, we had Chris as a tour guide and he is fabulous! We were lucky to have him on the tour. My first picture is Chris next to the Shisha outside the gate to Shuri and the next is a picture of part of the castle itself and then one of the throne. We then went to the city of Naha and went shopping on Kokusai Street and then visited Fukushu-en Garden and the Naminoue Shinto Shrine, where a wedding was going on. I said a couple of prayers at the shrine, then got an "oracle" with a good fortune on it and tied it to a tree as instructed by Chris. Hopefully it will all come true.

Keep the Chileans and Japanese in your prayers for the latest disasters today. I certainly will, as well as our service men and women abroad.

LCDR Butler

EARTHQUAKE!

SO........ my alarm clock today consisted of a level 6.9 earthquake centered 50 miles off the coast of Okinawa! Boy was that a cool way to wake up- rockin'and a rollin'! I was debating whether or not to just lay in bed and enjoy the ride, or get up and get in my doorway, or at least to put on some clothes. I was just imagining the building collapsing and me being trapped in my underwear! How embarrassing would that be? It was actually a very interesting experience and I am fine for those wondering after watching CNN.

For those out there who just think of Arizona as a desert, the above picture proves that we actually do have snow and skiing. While I was working 12 hour shifts all weekend and having meetings over President's Weekend, Steph, Ben, and Morgan were enjoying the snow and slopes and jacuzzi up in Greer! I think they got the best deal there.

I will finally get to see them soon in Hawaii! YEA! It has been over 8 weeks since I have seen them. I can't wait!

Wish us well and safe travels.

LCDR Butler

A Taste of Asia

I recently got the opportunity to attend "A Taste of Asia," which was an awesome dinner/theater event held at the Butler O Club (yes, the official name of the Marine bases on Okinawa is actually Camp Butler!).

This was a culinary and visual feast, I assure you. I did not realize, when my boss, CDR Dyer, left our meeting early for a "prior engagement," that he was referring to the same event that I would also be attending later that night. I actually still beat him there, so while in line getting food (and eating some at the same time to allow more room on my plate), he came up to me and invited me to sit with him and his wife, Linda. The event was fabulous (as you can see from the pictures) and included awesome food, great costumes, great music, and great traditional Ryukyuan drums and dances. It was also entertaining watching the Air Force medical guys at the table next to us pound the tequila shots! Reminded me of some good ol' Butler parties! The guitar they played is covered with snakeskin from the local Habu snake (the Okinawan version of our rattlesnake). I am also pictured with a shisa dog! Cute, huh?

I am still keeping very busy. Still doing my ER shifts, still having meetings, and still working out a lot. I am in my 5th week (of 13) for P90X. I am down almost 20 lbs. since I arrived on island and am now as light as I have been since college. I hope I don't quite make it to my wrestling weight of 138, though. I am not sure if I am getting stronger or if it is just easier to do chin ups without a 20 lb weight around my ankles!

It was very interesting enjoying "Superbowl Monday" here. Kickoff was at 0830 monday morning. It is such an event that everyone gets the day off on the bases (everyone but the hospital workers, that is). I did get to watch most of it but had to work later that night after it was over. I expected it to be crazy in the ER that night but it wasn't.

I also finally got to go scuba diving with my fellow ER doc Jason. Wow was it cheap. $15 to rent a BC, regulator, weights, and a full tank! We dove off the "seawall" about 1/2 mile from the base. It was great. Incredible coral and clear water. Not too cold, either.

Keep all our service men and women in your prayers to keep them safe while they are keeping you all safe.

LCDR Butler

Cherry Blossoms

It is now Cherry Blossom Festival time in Okinawa. It finally warmed up (at least for now). It has rained almost every day, though. The cherry blossoms are beautiful here and should be blooming for the next few weeks, according to the local information. I have finally signed up to do some cultural/historical tours this month, including a Ryukyuan Dance/Drum show with traditional Okinawan cuisine, a Shuri Castle tour (the royal residence for the Ryukyu kings from the early 15th century until 1879), and "Tunnel Rats/Battle Sites" that tour the various battle sites and cave fortresses from WWII.

Work has been busy, between doing ER shifts and all six of my orientations. Yes, six! My check-off lasted most of two days, two of the orientations were half days, two were full days, and I still have to meet/orient with the CO and XO. In addition, I have been put in charge of peer review as well as QI/QA (quality improvement/quality assurance). I guess they take the gray hairs seriously!

I have kept up with my goals of working out and reading though, too. I have read three books (almost one a week) and have done P90x every day (in addition to swimming/running/cycling). For those that don't know what P90X is, it is a work out video with various exercises that you do daily for 90 days. I have lost over 10 lbs, and am probably in the best shape of my life since wrestling my senior year in high school!

I might have to slow down on the reading, though, as I am considering taking a class in Japanese language and/or history. I think this might be interesting, useful, and my reserve unit will pay a bonus for taking the courses! A win-win!

The ER here is busy at times, but relatively low acuity. The staff of nurses and corpsmen is fantastic! They are hard working and very self-motivated. The corpsmen are eager to learn new knowledge and skills, including sewing my lacerations! For those that have worked with me, you know I hate to sew lacs so that is HUGE! We also had someone bring in a dying (probably actually dead) dog that got hit by a car into the ER. In 12 years of practice, 4 years of residency, and 4 years of medschool, I can say I have never seen that. We called the vet ER and sent them there. I am not sure what they actually expected us to do. Weird.

I drove for the first time since I got here. It had been almost 6 weeks since I had driven period. Then, it was night time, raining, and you drive on the left side of the road. Scary! I felt like I was 16 and a brand new driver again. Thank God I didn't crash, especially since I was borrowing Rob's car.

I miss Steph, Ben, and Morgan tons, but do get to Skype them on a regular basis. I also missed the trip up to the cabin in Greer over MLK weekend, but did get to "Skype" them and watch Steph, Ben (my brother, not son :), and Kelli drink beers and talk about going in the jacuzzi and skiing. Sometimes, you just have to live vicariously, in this case through Skype.

Until the next blog, sayonara..........