We Spent - But It Was Worth It!

My scuba buddy from my certification class just got promoted to Chief. Scott is a corpsman here, and their lovely family invited me to the pinning ceremony on Friday at 11am. Friday it was raining. No - that's truly an understatement. It was like a monsoon. And I wasn't really too jazzed about running from the car to the Camp Foster movie theater with my brand new Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens.

But as I sat in the car at 10:40, contemplating my course of action, and really upset about the weather because I REALLY wanted to play with the new lens, the rain let up. Just enough for me to dash inside with the camera bag. The room was full of people - families, men & women in uniform, and lots of those people had cameras. Point and shoot cameras, flashes flickering, and I thought to myself how disappointed they'd all be when they saw their dark shots at home.

I unsheathed my beast of a lens in a seat about halfway back in the theater, behind a railing I could lean on to use as a bit of stability if I needed to.

The Camp Foster movie theater is very dimly lit by ugly fluorescent lights, possibly only out-uglied by the dark mustard-colored curtain. I used my Expo Disc to establish the proper white balance in that - did I mention dimly lit and ugly room? - and snapped a shot or two at 1600 ISO and 2.8f. I looked at them in my viewfinder (which on that 40D is now HUGE compared to the last one) and almost yelled out loud! WOW! What a difference a lens makes!

IT was my first pinning ceremony, and it was very interesting. First a lovely Chief sang the National Anthem. Then a man came up to the podium and started to speak after a brief prayer from the Chaplain. A few minutes in, the Chief who sang came on stage and whispered to the man - who subsequently told us we could take our seats (yes, we were still standing!). Picture # 12 in the album shows the moment following the realization that we could sit down!

34 people were promoted to Chief that day, and they had family and close friends and mentors pin them and put on their new covers. I found myself tearing up watching the first few people who did it - and I didn't know them from Adam. Scott's last name is Cyr, so because they pinned people in alphabetical order by last name, he was pretty early on. Before his turn, I hopped out of my seat and furtively (or not so furtively thanks to heels and a really big lens) dashed up front to capture the moment. It wasn't easy - and I had no idea if the ideas I had were going to turn out well when I got home to look, but it felt great to be up there. And Scott's wife, Michelle, was so appreciative.

Anyway - thanks so much, Michelle and Scott, for inviting me and letting me share in the big day - and thank you for giving me permission to share your pictures with my friends & family and whoever else might stop by my blog. Even though you don't know them, this is a good example of how far I've come with my photography. I'm really proud of these shots.

http://gallery.mac.com/bowmancr#100073
Oh - the kids' names are Austin (the son, 11 years old) and Tyler (the daughter, 13). I edited the shots, and when Michelle saw them her response was:

"All those shots are amazing! I immediately shared the link with our family and friends. Everyone is raving over your talent. Laura is cursing you were not around back in the day when her husband was pinned, and Linda wants you to take their pics." She also lamented that every shot she took was dark, so she was so happy to have these. You're so welcome, Michelle - it was my pleasure!

At the ceremony, one of the men who was pinned came up and the man calling the names said he was with 7th Communications Battalion - that's Craig's unit! I called him when I got home, still yelling and gasping about the quality of the pictures, and he said, "Yeah - that's Chief (so and so), I barbecued with him at the family picnic this summer. Super nice guy."

When he got home, Craig told me that another guy from his unit was the one who came to put on his cover for him during the ceremony - and Craig said that I was taking pictures for our friend there. Apparently, the guy said, "Curly-haired brunette with a really BIG tan and black lens? Yeah - I saw her." Inconspicuous it ain't - but that's ok. I was never the wallflower type anyway.

Bzzzzz....

That's the sound a busy bee makes. I'm busier than that. But I wanted to post a few things, so here we go.

Everything is going great, just crazy - WELCOME HOME, JAKE! First order of business is to welcome home our dear bro-in-law/uncle from Iraq after 15 long hard months. Have a fabulous reunion with Courtney, Jake - we can't wait to talk to you and maybe one day plan a visit.

Another week has passed me by, and it was filled with a couple of lunches out, preparing for the kid's birthday and party, soccer practice, rain rain rain, wind wind wind, and lots of taking pictures! I'm so happy to have found my new job and new team - it's all so fresh and fun. It's still hard to imagine I only got here 3 months ago - so much has happened, and I was just thinking how hard and sad it will be when some of these people I've met, who maybe only have another year here or less, leave to go back to the states. That's probably the thing I dread most (besides hours and hours on a plane + jet lag when we visit home), and that says a lot about the caliber of people I've met so far. But enough about that for now.

I find that I not only do I love so many of the funky cars here, but I love the variety of them. A guy who owns a club in American Village here has this classic (shipped here from the states, no doubt) -
And it's funny how many Minis you see out here - I'm quite surprised Craig didn't buy one - I think he might eventually sell his to get one since it's pretty worth it here with his commute.

So this weekend it's Yom Kippur (yes, Jewish High Holidays have been upon us) and it does always render me somewhat reflective. I'm so thankful for all the blessings I've had in the last year - my family's health, my husband returning home in one piece, the opportunity to travel and experience these incredible things, and so much more. Going forward, I hope to enjoy the time we have here in Okinawa and do some traveling in the area. I love taking pictures, and hope that can grow into something fun and fulfilling for me. And I wish happiness, success, and health (not necessarily in that order) to all my loved ones - thank you for your wonderful warm wishes and thoughts!

In the coming weeks - Mia has her 6-year checkup, I finish the training part of things and THE Studio will launch and we'll have REAL clients! YAY! Craig has a very long hump on Mia's actual birthday, so hopefully we can celebrate after that. My dive buddy Scott just made Chief (CONGRATS!) and we can finally make a date to DIVE next week! How I've been jonesing for that. I hope to try more restaurants, make a few more friends, and of course, take more pictures of this fabulous place we get to enjoy for a few more years. Oh - and of course, we'll be watching lots of new fall TV! So far, I'm excited for a few shows, but I'll let you know what's really worth your while. Right now I'm loving Damages, Madmen, and the new episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm (Welcome back, Larry!!).

For winter break we're considering a trip to Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand or Cambodia. (any votes for one or another? Bear in mind, there IS a kid involved here....) I think mainland Japan will have to wait for summertime because we don't have winter clothes for it! And you know the kid will want to do Tokyo Disneyland - must save up for that one.

Ok - off to sleep. Hugs & loveys.

What a neat site...

Off to do a bunch of errands and stuff before the kid is home - suffice it to say things are very busy but fantastic. Loving my photography gig and those I work with, and enjoying my hubby & kid as well of course.

Check THIS out: http://www.pantherhouse.com/newshelton/freeze-frame-screen-the-shadow-hot-heads-under-silent-wigs/

Out Of The Mouths Of Babes

As I sit here lamenting our pathetic Norv Turner-coached Chargers, I remembered I wanted to share the Mia quote of the weekend.

In case this typhoon came over us and was worse than expected, I hit the local grocery store for milk and some other non-perishable items, to include chips & chocolate. Friday morning when Mia got home on the bus at 10:30am, I explained that in case we were stuck inside we had charged up the Nintendo DS, the portable DVD, and I'd gotten some junk food - NOT to be consumed as soon as we got home. (I had an apple and some pretzels for her morning snack!)

We hung around inside the house, keeping tabs on "Nari" to see if she'd come our way, and at one dark & rainy point around 2:30 pm, Mia came into the living room, hand on hip, head cocked to the side and declared,

"I suppose we could eat some junk food...."

Delightful Saturday

Well, the typhoon really sputtered, it veered off away from us and we barely caught the fringe. So no biggie.

Today we went to Kokusai Street - a bustling long street FULL of tchotchkies galore, restaurants, shops, great jewelry and pottery stores, and all that great stuff. Craig insisted I leave the big camera at home for a change, but I snuk the little one in my bag.

A very nice Starbucks among the craziness.

Plastic food. Thank heavens it's in every window. If we had to rely on menus, we'd never know what the heck places served. This display was particularly good- and detailed.

In the center of this display is a dish of Goya Champuru- Champuru is stir fry - Goya is a bitter melon with bumps all over it, it's REALLY bitter. It's used in Okinawan cuisine to stimulate the appetite during the hot summer months. I'm not much for it yet, but maybe that'll change.

Hey cool - the Jamiroquai guy....

A hotel in the middle of it all.

Mia found an Okinawa Ukelele at the market.This t-shirt was one of MILLIONS - wow, it makes some other tourist trap places look lame.

So two stories about our day. Story 1, parking. We hadn't been to Kokusai Street before, and it's a really crazy busy street with no parking. We turned off onto a side street, and I spotted a space. It had a number painted on it, so I figured that the machine nearby would have to be fed, and off we go. I saw another family park there and just walk away, but we are not about to break any rules, so we backed in, and after locking up we walked to the machine. I'm sorry I didn't take a picture of it, but picture a number pad, a few other buttons, a slot for coins and a slot to put paper yen in, and loads of Japanese writing - and a LCD with more flashing Japanese characters. Um.... yeah.

So we were parked in space #4, we pressed "4". Something started flashing and we matched it to a button. Nothing was happening. We were prepared to just park elsewhere, and then a man came over and paused, noticing the Americans who were clueless. He started pushing the same red button we were, and then as we were going to give up and move, he said, "Ah! Look!" and it said "100¥". Sweet! We put in a coin, and just as we were about to leave, Craig noticed this on a nearby car:
Ok, wait a minute - 100¥ seems cheap for parking, something isn't right. When Craig looked at our car, the thing underneath had come down, allowing us to move. Then it clicked for me - you park, and the sensor sees your car, and puts up this barrier underneath it. You go, have your fun, and when you come BACK, you push the button for your spot number and it calculates what you owe based upon how long you've been parked there. BRILLIANT! You're not getting away with a thing, and I bet they sure save on meter maids. This is the kind of technology that just impresses me.

Another thing that impressed me was our lunch! YUM!

We went to Bambohe for lunch today on Kokusai. (Apparently there's a Bambohe over near Futenma too.)

Their deal is that they have a buffet - it's all you can eat for 1 1/2 hours from when you arrive. Lunch is 1300¥ per adult, 370¥ for Mia (weekends is a bit more expensive, weekdays it's like 1080. Dinner would be 1860¥ per adult and 550¥ for the kid.

You're given a booth, and told to go for it. There's a big round grill in the middle of the table. Maybe I'm a novice, but I haven't been to any restaurants like that yet and it was super cool. Then you walk to the buffet line and get a set of tongs to cook with, a tray and some plates, there are smaller plastic ones for the kids too.

The array of raw marinated beef, pork and chicken was fantastic (and the meat was all so tender and tasty), and they also had some squid to cook. There were onions, mushrooms, cabbage, squash, hot dogs, some kind of small burger patties (I think they might've been veggie burgers) and at the end of that line some soy, horseradish and hot sauce. There were a few kinds of soup (Okinawa soba, miso and squid ink something-or-other), fried rice, some kind of fried chicken, kim chi, tempura, steamed rice, mixed veggies, and a full salad bar with 3 kinds of dressing. Also there was jell-o, nice cold fruit, and azuki beans with those little white rice cake ball thingies. There was soft serve ice cream, plain yogurt, and a soda/juice bar with which to fill your cups as often as you liked.

On the table there was a delicious miso-based dipping sauce, so after you grilled your meat you could dip it in there and eat it over your rice to make it all so tasty.



EVEN Mia got into it! Next time she wants to cook!



So yeah - YUM on the cheap! It was a good day.

Here We Go Again

It's unbelievable how this always happens on a weekend, and by the locals' accounts, it's always that way. We're hunkerin' down for Typhoon Nari. Though after Man-Yi, this one's looking rather lame. (that long island to the northwest of the cloud blob would be us) 75mph winds? PSHAW, I say... after enduring 100mph winds, that just doesn't seem eventful.
Of course, it won't hit until about 9 or 10 tonight - it's only 12:30pm now. Craig & Mia are both home. Mia actually went to school on the bus and was brought back at 10:30. I don't know what category this sucker is, but since I didn't even know about it until this morning, I figure it can't be that horrible. I just hope we don't get our power knocked out overnight. It's going to be hard to sleep through the winds anyway.

I'm thinking of my poor neighbors, Anne & Derek - she's due with kid #4, boy #3 in the next 2 weeks and so tired of being pregnant. She hoped for a typhoon because she figured it meant she'd go into labor. Unfortunately, the doctors are making her come in to the hospital to stay there for the night. And Derek (hubby) isn't allowed to sleep there, so if she delivers overnight he won't be with her. THAT sucks. So Anne have that little boy, but just hold him in until we're back to TC-Recovery status, ok?

Movies and pictures of Nari to come...

Oh How I've Neglected You!

So much happening in our lives! Where to begin....

Alphabetically this time.

Aviva:
- 40D firmly in place with me on many trips - a bit addicted to photo blogs - particularly ones that include tricks & tips.
- in training for the new photography gig, so far so good; hoping to avoid another rainy shoot day. Very very happy with my team of peeps.
- going to the GYM for the first time in I don't want to tell you how long - yoga is amazing, cycle burn - not so much - that seat just isn't kind.
- also going to adventurous food places with Casey after the said gym visits. Had a stellar sushi/sashimi lunch today at Ishigaki Genki. 980¥!
- somewhat successfully carting the kid around to where she needs to be.
- wishing everyone a very happy and healthy Rosh Hashanah - our family is attending a Rosh Hashanah dinner tomorrow night at the Kadena O-club, should be fun to be in a room full of MOTs.
- successfully planned a bowling birthday party for the kid to take place on October 7th. Now we just need guests.
- SUPREMELY excited to tell you all that Jake (our brother-in-law and Army Officer extraordinaire) is coming home from 15 months in Iraq in a mere matter of days! Let's all hope he stays here for a good long while. And maybe even visits us here (with Courtney, of COURSE!)

Craig:
- working hard, but doing fine.
- purchased and installed a new audio receiver in our living room. (it's enormous, but seems to have improved all things audio/visual)
- consistently running into military people he has worked with in Iraq or known from previous duty stations. I swear, if he plays the name game long enough, he finds connections to everyone he knows. I'm waiting - someone will know Jake one day.
- bought us a new grill, YAY! We pick that up on Saturday, hopefully it fits in the Cube.
- will be on a 35 mile hump on Mia's birthday - talk about crappy timing. Oh well. At least he's here!

Mia:
- enjoying kindergarten immensely. Particularly the bus rides, a friend named Kirsten, and doing "kid pics" on the computer in the classroom.
- had her first day of soccer on Wednesday. You have never seen such a happy kid in your life:
We really like her coaches, and the kids are very nice. She is going to LOVE soccer. (Practice on Monday and Wednesday nights, games starting at the end of September, will be on Friday evenings or Saturday mornings.) We get her uniform (her team is called The Impact), which is maroon & black, in another week or so - they're embroidering her name on it. Between that and cleats & shin guards, this kid is so set - she's exploding with excitement. Mia Hamm - look out.
- has definitely been developing a bit of an attitude. We're doing our best to keep her in line. However, given her broadened food horizons and general niceness, it's going to be ok. She's very happy here.
- has a 6th birthday coming up - Craig and I still have no clue what we're getting her. Possibly a couple of horseback riding lessons, definitely something with Tweety Bird on it (Craig has taken to calling her fingers "Tweety Bird fingers" and her legs, well, you get the point).
- is making friends, definitely reading, and keeping us laughing. Constantly.

Since it's been a while, 2 quick stories.

One of my favorite blogs I've been reading (thank you, Jeff) has been Jessica Claire's - she's a wedding photographer, for the most part, and I just think she's supremely talented and offers great info on her blog. On her list of links, is one to her fine art photographs available for purchase. One of her "things" is taking pictures of locks. Craig and I both agree, this is an interesting thing to photograph. The textures and colors of the rust, the doors or fences they're protecting, the types of locks - all of it makes for a cool idea, and if done right, pretty neat photographs (as you can see on her site).

So our mission, which we've been bringing up a lot here, is to find our "lock". What can we shoot here in Okinawa that is interesting, colorful, and would make for a cool collection? (Too bad we don't have pigs all over like in Seattle!) Well - I thought of this right away, but Craig dismissed it, but he finally came around. I think Shisa will be our lock. It's impossible to go five minutes here without seeing them, but I think we can pick and choose some good ones. Here's one I shot next door to our hotel this morning, I think he's a good start. I also shot one on the way to the bus stop the other day and I think it came out pretty cool. I realize the emphasis isn't on the Shisa... but a little creative license is in order.


Lastly, as I waited for Erin to come get me for our recon mission to Toguchi beach (pictures to come), I was standing in front of my building and a bunch of Japanese dudes came outside with their suitcases - apparently checking out of the hotel. After putting their stuff in a van, they handed the front desk girl their little cameras. I watched as they said, "Ichi, ni, san, shiiiiisa!" and posed for pictures. By the 2nd or 3rd time, I finally got it! They were posing like shisa and playing it into the count to take the picture. (ichi, ni, san, shi = 1, 2, 3, 4) I started to laugh and they all turned around and laughed with me - the American GOT it! I was holding my camera (shooting the shisa you see above, as a matter of fact) and after the girl was done with their cameras, I asked if I could take one with mine. They all grinned and agreed, and even liked the fact that I knelt down on the pavement in the middle of the street to get a cool angle of their funky pose. After I snapped the picture, three of the guys asked me to pose with them for their cameras - and every time, we counted off the same way.
Arigato gozai mashta, Japanese dudes!

I promise, more photos soon, I just feel like shooting is all I do lately!

Quick side note - Ryan, I sent you a package. I emailed you to see if you got the package (to your Yahoo! account). And I still don't know if you got the package. If you're still reading - just email me and let me know what went down in the Vener home!