TYPHOON BIRTHDAY!

Thanks to my sister-in-law Jen for giving me my favorite birthday present: a TYPHOON! While in Okinawa, I have experienced an earthquake, a tsunami, climbed Mt Fuji, almost stepped on a Habu snake, but I had yet to experience a Typhoon. So, she wished a typhoon for me in my birthday card that she sent almost 2 weeks ago. Sure enough, here it is today, right on time!

Thanks also to all who sent me the well wishes and cards. Although I am spending my 42nd birthday on the other side of the planet away from family and friends, it was made very special with all the support from back home.

Also thanks to my night crew in the ER that got me a birthday cake to celebrate (the night before my birthday as they would not be working on my actual birthday). That really meant a lot to me and I will miss you all when I leave.

The only bad part of the typhoon is that I missed my birthday dinner at Fab Curry. We were actually 45 minutes away from going when they changed the typhoon status which prevented us from leaving the base. Damn! So close!

Happy Typhoon Day!

LCDR Butler

THUMB'S DOWN (or "TOES DOWN") TO VIBRAMS!

Not good news this week. Just found out that the second reading on the MRI of my foot did, indeed, reveal a stress fracture. Bummer. All because of those Vibram Five Finger shoes! Not a fan of them anymore! Called Ben and Kelli and found out my nephew Cameron has a stress fracture as well from them! Called Benjamin immediately and told him to stop running on them. Went online and I guess a LOT of people are having stress fractures with them! Oh well, they will make nice water shoes. Called my friend Pete Mitchell (a foot/ankle ortho specialist) and discussed my situation. Final decision is that I can continue to try to do eliptical, spin, swim, and P90X as tolerated! Whew. I did not just want to try to swim for 2-3 hours a day for my last month!

Starting to get ready to come back home. Sold my car this week to one of the new docs. We had our Hail and Farewell party to welcome the new officers and say farewell to the ones leaving. The picture shows four of our five new docs and our ER department head. Our DH as well as the head of all medical specialites had very kind words to say about me when they said farewell. It made me feel that my time here was truly important, worthwhile, and appreciated!

We started collecting weird car names when the kids were here this summer. I am not sure why the cars here and in Japan in general don't have "traditional" Japanese names (like my Suzuki "Kei" car) but they just don't. In fact, they have quite unusual names so I figured I would share some of the more interesting with all of you back in the US.

I found that some names are religious (the Toyota "Noah" for example), some describe what the owners like to drink (the Daihatsu "Cocoa"), some describe what the owners like to do (the Toyota HiLux "Surf"), and others what the owner might be carrying in the vehicle (the Toyota "FunCargo"). Others have directions for tailgaters behind them [Daihatsu "Move," the Daihatsu "Mira" (spanish for "look"), and the Suzuki "Alto" ("stop" in spanish)]. Still others are either overtly (the Daihatsu "Naked") or covertly sexual in nature (the Mitsubishi "Pajero"- I will let you look up that one in Spanish as it is not really appropriate to publish). They also like to secretly curse in spanish as well (the Mazda "La Puta"). Finally, they just have some bizarre ones such as the Mazda "Scrum," the Suzuki "Every" and the Honda "That's". I think the "That's" has got to be my favorite!

Only 8 shifts and less than a month to go! Football season is coming up. GO CATS!

LCDR Butler

NEW ARRIVALS!

Finally, after being on island almost eight months, watching her grow inside of Jennifer, the newest member of the Tanguay family arrived on August 20th, weighing in at 6 lbs, 3 ounces! Sylvie Isabelle Tanguay arrived in the afternoon, a week earlier than scheduled, but happy and healthy. As you can see from Jason's face, he is just slightly happy! I had another picture of both new proud parents, but after just having a c-section, I figured Jen did not want me to post that picture (it reminded me of the one of Steph and I after Ben was born. Needless to say, it is not one of Steph's favorite pics:). Congratulations!

All of our new docs have finally arrived as well. We had a "pizza picnic" to get to know them, then some of us went out afterwards to the Kadena O Club. We had to show the new docs (Michael and Jim are pictured with Rob and I) both the hilarity of the flight suits as well as try the game "crud" that they play there out for ourselves (it is sort of a "full contact" version of pool played by hand instead of with sticks). Michael's wife Jill was hanging at our table and was too intimidated to come into the testoserone-filled pool room to try "crud." I am sure the AF guys got a kick out of watching us as the "crud" room is played throughout the bar on closed circuit TV!

Today I took Rob to the airport to go back to the states. We had Fab Curry for the last dinner on island last night. I will miss my "Fab Curry buddy" but know I will see him again. Stay safe Rob and good luck. I really hope you get the new job you want and deserve. You know I am always in Phoenix if you need some contacts there.

Twelve shifts to go!

LCDR Butler

HABU HAVEN!

Finally, I got to see a Habu snake! They are similar to our rattlesnakes, but without the rattle. Supposedly they are all over the island, but it took me over 7 months to finally see one. While returning from the Corpsmen Cove, where my friend Rob, Matt, and I reminisced about growing up in the 80's, video games and also about working in the private world, we almost stepped on a Habu hanging out on the sidewalk hissing at us! I guess he figured there were three of us and only one of him, so he slithered off into the tall grass (where we had walked down to the Cove from our barracks only an hour before!). Only 6 weeks left to see a banana spider and witness a typhoon to truly experience Okinawa!

The nights in the ER can get a little slow towards the end of a shift, as you can see by us all hanging out in the staff lounge, eating and joking around. Later that night, while watching a guy check his drunk friend in to the ER on our closed circuit camera in the waiting room, we observed his friend proceed to pass out on the tile floor of our waiting room while a few other patients were sitting patiently nearby. Then, the friend checking him in turned around, and began taking camera phone pictures of his drunk buddy on the floor of our waiting room. It was better than America's Funniest Videos! Sometimes I have to just pinch myself to remind me just how fun working in the ER can be, and that we actually get paid to do it!

We already miss Dr. Tanen and Dr. Carstairs, two toxicologists from USNH San Diego at Balboa who spent a month out here helping us out while waiting for our new docs to arrive. CAPT Tanen is pictured with some of the Japanese Interns and I outside of our ambulance entrance to the ER. I look forward to working with both of them again in San Diego during my two weeks of AT with the Reserves next summer!

Some of our new docs have arrived, so we went out to my favorite curry restaurant (FAB CURRY) on the Sunabe Seawall for a dinner to get to know everyone. A few of the Japanese Interns joined us as well. We finished the night off by going to one of the Karaoke bars in Okinawa to sing the night away!

Only a little over 5 weeks before I leave back to San Diego for my demobilization and return to Phoenix. Time is definitely flying!

LCDR Butler

MISSING HOME

Only 8 weeks to go! I can't believe it has been a month since Steph, Ben, and Morgan left. Even seeing a McDonald's with Japanese writing just makes me more homesick. I have definitely enjoyed my time here but am ready to return to Phoenix. By the way, I have not had McDonalds, Jack in the Box, Burger King, or any other fast food (other than Taco Bell once) in the last 8 months!

Since they left, I have absorbed myself back in to work (9 12-hour ER shifts in a 12 day stretch), workouts (back to 4-5 hours a day of P90X, running, swimming, spinning, lifting, and doing the elliptical), and seeing movies (6 since they left, including "Inception" which was great but "mentally taxing!"). I occasionally get some sleep in as well:)

I also finally made it to the Kadena Officer's Club (more affectionately known by its initials). I am glad I went as it was truly something to behold. Words cannot truly describe the surreal experience. It was like a cartoonishly over-the-top version of Top Gun, with pilots all over the place in their well-pressed green flight suits at 11pm on a Friday night, drinking beer and chatting it up with the ladies. Then there were a few that had on black "party" flight suits, too! (did not really understand that one). It truly had to be seen to be fully appreciated (sorry I did not get a picture- did not have my camera with me). Matt (another ER doc out here from San Diego who will deploy with my friend Rob) invited me out with himself and a few others getting ready to deploy as well as some GMO's. It was a fun time and I am glad I finally got to experience it. We were thinking maybe we would show up some night with a big group from the hospital in scrubs, white coats, and stethoscopes to see their reactions! Probably would start a bar fight or something.

We are getting five new doctors this month in the ER. It will be fun meeting them and getting them started out on the right track before I leave. They are all right out of residency. The time will go by fast (it already has)......

LCDR Butler