I wanted to wish all of you a great Memorial Day! I wish two things for you all on this day. Number one, please enjoy your time with family and friends today! They are the most important things in your life, and cherish every moment spent together. Two, please remember those who are serving away from their family and especially those who have given the ultimate sacrifice so we can all enjoy a day like today and the country we call home.
I started off this weekend by buying a car here in Okinawa! I have waited for almost 5 months to get one, and now I finally have freedom to move around, and to be able to escort my family around the island. I bought it from one of our ER nurses who left to move back to Texas. My car is TINY! It is a Suzuki Kei car. The Kei cars in Japan have to meet certain criteria for both dimensions as well as engine size. The car makes my Honda Civic look like a limousine! It's engine is smaller than our Yamaha Rhino quad. However, it only cost me $1,000 and the insurance is only $25/month! I am sure I will sell it for at least that much in 3-4 months before I leave. It is nice to finally have one and I feel confident driving on the left hand side now (although it will be weird to go back to Arizona and drive on the the right I think!)
I worked Friday and Saturday, then enjoyed a relaxing Sunday, followed by a great snorkeling trip to the nearby Kerama Islands with my fellow ER doc Jason, his wife, their friends, and our PA and her husband. It rained most of the day, but we still had a great time and saw lots of fish, a sea turtle, some sea snakes, and a shark!
The day was capped off with a great dinner at one of our Japanese Intern's place. She prepared a Japanese summer tradition of catching noodles as they slide down a water slide of bamboo (we did not have the traditional real bamboo one, but had the kids version that looked more like the old "Mousetrap" game! It was a lot of fun and the meal was awesome!
I also bought the new "trendy" Fivefinger Vibram shoes to run in. They are more like glove/slippers, but supposedly let you run like you are running barefoot. This gives your calves a great workout and allow you to run in a more natural position. But they look goofy as hell.........:)
I miss you all, and will see you soon!
LCDR Butler