Perceive beyond the seam

Today I’m on my most important mission of my three years in the air force. A pizza mission.

work was cake (i really think i’m getting the hang of it all)

i feel more comfortable and confident working the flightline, then again i probably won’t be saying that when the sun goes away

took a long lunch and i came back in civilian clothes to only do about 5 minutes worth of work then go home

actually i took a drive to tacoma. idk why. i just did. and i enjoyed every second of it

i found a couple places that seem pretty cool to get a drink. of course i didn’t walk in since i was driving

driving along the water was also really nice. seeing the boats and houses along the water kinda inspired me to strive for something more

singing both passion pit albums at the top of my lungs put me in the best mood

my intention was to get lost but somehow i made it back on the 5-freeway

and now i’m back in the room.. this is when the night goes down hill

Got the clothes, hookah, and () all packed. Now I just wait. 

I’m actually coming home again!

For the third year in a row I spent the winter holidays away from home, and this time in a place I’ve only known for a couple weeks. I make it sound bad but it was one of the best times I’ve had because my girlfriend came to visit me! No one has ever come to see me before let alone during a holiday. This was our first time spending New Years together. It was also her first time flying, EVER.

We celebrated our late Christmas and exchanged gifts. I loved everything she got me and I’m glad she really liked the things I got her. Even her mom got me something; an ice scraper, which was very useful today since it was 25 degrees outside and ice build up can get pretty crazy here.

Our time together consisted of coffee, sushi, SOA, and getting lost driving. We mainly ventured around Tacoma and Seattle to do touristy things, but we mostly stayed in bed. 

We counted down the new year at the Space Needle and started the year with an awesome firework display, and kiss. Definitely my most memorable New Years yet.

She stayed for 5 nights and left the night of New Years day. Even though it was brief, I enjoyed every minute and second with her all the way till she made it through the airport security checkpoint. I’m already anticipating the next time I get to see her and I know it will be soon. I will never forget this past long weekend.

So I finally got off that stupid island of japanland. It seemed like I was never going to leave that place, and getting on that plane was one of the greatest feelings in world. The 12 hour flight not so much.

I went home for 23 days and spent everyday with Alyssa. Definitely made my time count, unlike my last visit. I didn’t tell any of my friends that I was coming back, but Alyssa did. She planned a “date night” for us but wouldn’t tell me where we were going when I’d ask. We wound up at BJ’s and apparently she already had a table for us in the back corner. I was already really excited to begin with because I really like their pizzas and micro brews. But I was completely surprised when I saw my fwends and brothers all sitting there. There were even friends that I hadn’t seen since I joined the AF. Just to make sure people didn’t have a reason not to show, Alyssa offered to pay for the whole thing. Seriously one of the best things anyone has ever done for me. It definitely was an awesome night, even with that dumb cosmo Matt/Elan/someone got me.

One of the many big highlights of my stay was the day we went to the California Science Center and saw the Endeavor. I took a bunch of pictures while we were there. Mostly of Alyssa, but she didn’t mind too much haha. I wish we bought more astronaut ice cream… We stopped in downtown for some ramen at Daikokuya, then got some crepes for dessert. My crepe was kinda weird at first but it grew on me, and it was delicious. And for our last stop we went to the Griffith Observatory at nearly closing. I’ve never been to the bottom floor but Alyssa already knew I’d like it. I took a lot of pictures there too. I’ll upload a couple when I’m not so lazy. Overall that day was probably my favorite.

It has almost been two weeks since I got to Washington, and so far I’m really loving this place. People here seemed to be more relaxed than my last base, and it’s also nice to be able to understand people off base. Work is cake since I have prior experience, but I have a feeling it’s going to get repetitive really fast.

Yesterday I visited some of the big tourist attractions in Seattle, but I really didn’t feel like a tourist since I had done a lot of research prior to even coming here. Pike Place Market was definitely my favorite. There’s so much to see and do there! I found this awesome map store that I know Alyssa will love. Btw she’s coming to see me for the New Years weekend! I can’t wait to see the firework show with her down by the Space Needle as soon as the new year hits. Ghey feelings for sure.

It took to finally getting off this island. Hope to never see you again, Okinawa.

Yup I’m back for the 5th time. At first I really didn’t want to come here because i just wanted to have a weekend of nothing but relaxation. Also, there is nothing to do here. Or so I thought. Things haven’t changed since my last visit, but then again I never really explored since I’ve been here, until today. I woke up early to go for a run since I’m “obligated” to run for failing my PT test (long story). As I was walking downstairs from my room I promised to myself that I was going to run mainly to explore. It was raining when I got outside but that didn’t stop me. I got totally drenched in sweat but mostly from rain and mud from cars driving over nearby puddles for 40 minutes before it was time for me to go back. It would have been lame if I just ran the same way I came from so I decided to find my way back to the hotel using a completely different route. For 20 minutes I had no clue where I was before I decided to cheat by pulling up google maps on my phone. But before I found out where i was my phone stopped responding because along with the rest of my body it was drenched too. I was completely lost until I started to hear planes take off so I knew I was at least close to the base. After another 35 minutes of navigating through probably some of the most confusing streets of Japan, I finally made it on the main road and back to the hotel. I looked at my reflection off the doors to the main entrance and noticed how skinny I look now. Reminded me of how a dog looks after you give it a bath or throw it in the pool. I’ve always fluctuated between 170-185 lbs but now I’m 158 lbs. I mean I kinda like it but I feel like shit everyday… I don’t know why I wrote this and I probably should talk about what I saw on my run, but ehh. I’ll rather just call Alyssa or my parents and give them the details.

Banana pepper in everything
Supah spicy
Cheesy, none
If cheesy, pepper jack all da way
Tomatoes make cold sandwiches better
No mayo/miracle whip
Roast beef is fav
Bologna, no way!
Ham and cheese, disgusting 
Never ever use the butt end of bread.. Never.
 
I was going through old notes and came across this. I completely forgot that I wrote this down but I’m glad that I did or then I’d probably be in trouble hahaha

How did that happen?

New base, new air frame, new people, and most importantly my new home not far away from home (: