MEMORIAL DAY

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

CINCO DE MAYO IN OKINAWA!

Cinco de Mayo in Okinawa. They are obviously not aware of our culture back home in Arizona! Instead of celebrating with Mexican food and Margaritas, they held the Dragon Boat races on Cinco de Mayo! It was fun, though, and a beautiful sunny day. They had a big festival including dozens of foof booths and a few stages with various performances throughout the day. Food was great and the Navy women won their race against the Army and Marines! The men did not fare as well. I also found it bizarre that they had outdoor urinals for the men, and enclosed porta-potti's for the women. I figured the Japanese would be too modest to just "turn around and pee" in public but they did. When in Rome........ (so I did, too! :)

Since it was Cinco de Mayo, we held a food festival at work in the ER that night, and I made 3 salsas and some queso con carne! Someone else brought in rice and chile verde pork and we made burritos and ate chips all night! We even had some "virgin" Margaritas!

I am now officially halfway done. I can't believe it is going so quickly. I am looking forward to seeing Steph, Ben, and Morgan next month when they come out and visit. Hopefully the Space-A travel will go smoothly.........

LCDR Butler

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

To my Mom: thank you for giving me life.

To my Mother-in-Law: thank you for giving me the the love of my life, Steph.

To Steph: thank you for our two wonderful children, Ben and Morgan.

To my sisters-in-law: thank you for my six awesome nephews (I would complain about not having any nieces, but that is your husbands' faults, not yours .............. :)

To all the Mothers in the world: thank you for being a mother, a role model, a shoulder to cry on, someone to wipe away tears, someone to cook and care for all the rest of us, someone to sing us to sleep, and wake us in the morning, someone to put the bandaid on our scraped knees, someone to praise us for our successes, and to pick us up after our failures. Know just how important you are, and how much you mean to us!

For all the Mothers whose sons and daughters are in harm's way, God Bless you and our prayers are with you on this Mother's Day!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY FROM OKINAWA!

LCDR Butler

SCUBA AND PROM!

I finally finished my PRT (Physical Readiness Test) that every service member of the Navy (Reserve and Active Duty) must complete twice a year. It consists of a timed 1.5 mile run (or the optional 450 meter swim that I opted for), 2 minutes of push-ups, and 2 mintues of sit-ups. They also weigh you in to make sure you are within weight standards. I have been training for this for the last month, and harder the last two weeks since I finished my P90X. Unfortunately, I forgot to "train for the test" and did not do push-ups and sit-ups before the swim in my practice sessions. So, I ended up being very disappointed with my time of 45 seconds slower in the swim than my slowest practice time in the last month! Oh well, I averaged out to "outstanding" which is still the highest category but my goal was to get that level in all the events, not just my average of all three. I think I will run in the Fall.

Since I was done with that, I figured I could start enjoying the "island life" again, though, and went diving with my buddy Jason. It was sunny, warm, the water was warm and the visibility was over 120 feet! Awesome! Some folks from the ER are planning a deep sea fishing charter trip soon and a dive trip to the Keramas, a nearby group of islands. Can't wait. I have also been trying to go out and experience some more of the "culinary delights" here and went to a great Thai restaurant last week and we are planning a trip to a "Noodle" restaurant this week. I have also been following "The Pacific" (very violent and realistic) and LOST (still managing to get weirder with every episode). I was able to watch the final episode of ER and it brought back lots of memories of the last 15 years as I truly "grew up" (in my ER career) with the show, as Carter was an intern when I was, too!

While I was busy saving lives and diving, I did miss Benjamin's first Prom:( He and his best friend AJ (looking like "Mutt and Jeff") are getting ready to board their bus (party bus???). Where are their dates, though?

In addition, I missed Ben and Morgan's Confirmation that same day. I did get some pictures sent to me, though, so I could "live vicariously." Also that day Morgan and Steph got to attend a quinceanera of one of her friends. They had a great time.

Benjamin visited UofA last week and had a great time. He and Steph are at NAU on a trip right now. He wore shorts and a t-shirt to the UofA visit and will probably be in his ski gear tomorrow at his NAU visit as it just snowed last week in Flagstaff! I figure that is good for him to experience NAU with snow to see if he likes it.

I have already been here for over 4 months, and will soon reach the halfway point. It is only another six weeks before Steph and the kids get to experience "Space-A" flying on military transports to come over to mainland Japan and visit. We plan on visiting Mount Fuji, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kobe, Osaka, and the Navy base Atsugi where Steph's cousin's taught one summer! I can't wait.

Until the next blog..........

LCDR Butler

90 Days of P90X

My first round of P90X is done! I lost 30lbs since I arrived on island and feel great. I have not been in this great of shape since I wrestled my senior year in high school. I will not share my true "before" and "after" pics, but, needless to say, I really did transform with this program and highly recommend it to all people motivated to start a hard-core exercise program. For those not familiar with P90X, it is a series of workout DVD's that you do over a 90 day period. The daily routine is 60-90 minutes a day of working out, with varying workouts ranging from chest/arms to yoga to kenpo to plyometrics to stretching. It really works, especially when combined with a sprint-distance triathalon 5 days a week!

The first pic is my first shift on Okinawa. The ER is a really relaxed place, as you can tell by my posture. The next pictures are "post " P90X where I am 30 lbs lighter and still able to eat what I want now (occasionally, not EVERY meal as I would like). One shows me at my favorite curry place (Fab Curry) which has 5 varieties of curry and is "all you can eat" for 790 yen (about $8). I usually eat 3-4 plates! Rob and I go there at least once every two weeks and I will have to find a new "Fab Curry partner" as he is going on leave for almost a month to take his ER Oral Board Exam and then vacation with his family back in Virginia. The night time pic is on the Sunabe Seawall outside of Fab Curry which has a beautiful ocean view and reminds me somewhat of the boardwalk on Mission Beach in San Diego but much closer to the ocean! The last picture is a sushi night we had recently at a "sushi-go-round" where they continuously make the sushi and you just grab the plate as it goes by if you like it. Obviously, I liked a LOT of plates! Although this would not be considered a very good sushi style place in the US, they are actually very popular and quite good in Okinawa as long as you aren't ordering custom rolls.

I am still doing well here and keeping busy with work and workouts. I recently attended a disaster medicine dinner conference with both the Japanese and American leaders. I am also trying to keep up with my movie watching and have recently seen The Green Zone, Alice in Wonderland, The Lovely Bones, The Clash of the Titans, and The Wolfman. I am also trying to keep up with LOST on TV and The Pacific (the HBO miniseries). I am keeping my "culture" up by reading, as well, and am slowly working my way through "Atlas Shrugged" on my Kindle (a very welcome going away present from an ER colleague and friend).

I look forward to Steph, Ben, and Morgan coming out this summer and look forward to my return in the Fall. It is still a pleasure and an honor, though, to be taking care of our warriors and their families here in Okinawa. Keep our deployed members in your thoughts and prayers and if you see a member in uniform, please thank them for their service to our country. They deserve it.

LCDR Butler

THE BUS "UNLOADED"

To all my friends in the ER that often comment or joke about the bus "unloading," I actually saw it happen. In fact, on Okinawa the US Air Force actually HAS such a bus (an "abulance bus") and really sent it to our ER carrying patients. We took a picture just to prove it! I almost fell down laughing as I went outside to see it for myself and we just HAD to take a picture! St. Patrick's Day was fun on island and they actually have an Irish pub that we went to that night to celebrate with a Guinness and some green beer! Although my friend Mike (a GMO who works in the ER with us and is planning on doing an ER residency when he finishes his 4 years as a GMO in payback for medical school) had a great Irish rugby shirt, the closest I could come was a black shirt with "slightly greenISH" colors on a design on the front of it (that people have told me looks like a marijuana plant!). We did have a good time, though (and after seeing some of the really drunk people I understand better just how we get many of them as patients). I missed a party last weekend (SOMEONE has to work nights) at another ER doc's apartment that was celebrating her return from Iraq and making care packages for those still deployed. I had to send a snack, though, and what better than "SPUSHI" and "SPASHIMI???" (They love SPAM here, and even make sushi out of it so I figured I would try my hand at a local dish:)! I am still doing well despite missing everyone back home a lot. I try to keep busy by working out and working (a ton) which keeps my mind off family, friends, and home. I only have a wee bit over 6 months to go, although I really am enjoying the Navy and working in the ER here. I just finished reading "With the Old Breed" by EB Sledge, which is about the battle for Okinawa and Peleliu in the Pacific during WWII. It is a great book and made me very excited about seeing the Speilberg epic "The Pacific" currently playing on HBO. Although I don't have HBO, I highly recommend the series for everyone who does. It is partially based on EB Sledge and two other Marines in the Pacific during WWII. I am, however, still able to follow LOST on Hulu and occasionally on AFN (the military channel here). Until I blog again.......... LCDR Butler

HAWAII

I just got back from a fabulous trip to see Steph, Ben, and Morgan in Hawaii for Spring Break! I had not seen them for over 10 weeks. It was awesome! Although I did not get the opportunity to utilize Space-A military flights over and back (read: FREE), it was a great trip. Steph and I had not been there for 20 years since our honeymoon and it was the first time for Ben and Morgan.

The first picture is me experiencing my "Navy roots" at the USS Arizona Memorial. It is always a moving experience, all the more so now that I joined the Navy. I also got to tour a submarine and a battleship before boarding the cruise ship. Our family "reunion" poolside was fantastic! The perfect rainbow in the picture really typifies the whole trip!

On Maui, we went up Haleakala Crater and rode down on bikes! What a fun time going 30 mph downhill on a bicycle with a van behind you so you don't have to worry about cars. The next day we snorkeled on Maui and saw some whales. We are sporting our UofA colors on the boat, as usual.

On the Big Island of Hawaii, we rode bikes through Volcano National Park one day and went snorkeling and touring the Kona coast on a Zodiac boat the next. Both were outstanding tours. At night, we all got involved in the cruise entertainment with Ben and Steph getting dragged up on stage to hula dance and I got picked one night to assist (read: "guinea pig") for a magic trick. The magician was even from Phoenix. Another night the comedian worked Ben and Morgan both into his act the whole night.

On Kauai, we got to take a helicopter ride, went to a luau, and hiked a little ways along the Na' Pali Coast which is beautiful as you can see from the picture of us. Overall, a fantastic trip but very hard to say goodbye again at the end........ :(

LCDR Butler