Promotion!!

Well, I have been waiting all week to find out the results of my promotion test to E-6 (TSgt), and today I finally found out!  I got promoted!!  Needless to say I am pretty flabbergasted!  I honestly didn't think I made it, but I guess all that studying I did the few days before really paid off!  I only made it by 2 pts, but it doesn't matter because I passed!  This was only my 2nd time testing for Tech so I feel great!  The average is much higher.  The average to make TSgt is about 11-12 years...but I made it at the end of my 8th!  So, even though I was slow to pick up SSgt (mainly due to apathy) looks like I made up for it here and I am still ahead of the curve!!

Unfortunately, I won't sew on till next year around this time.  My line number is 6811, which has nothing to do with my score, but just my time in service/time in grade.  The way I am looking at it though, the hard part is out of the way!  Now I just have to sit back, and wait for my line number to come up! 

A bunch of us are going out to dinner to celebrate at this amazing Korean restaurant in Hachinohe.  Patty and I are both wicked excited!  Some of the best food ever.  And there will probably be much drinking to go along with the food aswell...hey..it's a celebration!

Anyways, I got promoted.  I am happy.  That is all! 

College Bound

As you may or may not know, I have been trying to make some headway on my higher education for awhile now.  So, a few weeks ago I signed up for a few classes, and today marks the start of the term.   Unfortunately the "military lifestyle" is sometimes none too conducive to taking classes.  Luckily, it seems that I will all together avoid shift work here at Misawa, and beable to be on a day shift indefinitely.  I am absolutely thrilled at this...not because I really love day hours, but just to beable to have a steady shift that I know I can take classes is a huge load off my shoulders. To be honest, I feel quite behind the curve education wise at this point in my life.  I always imagined I would have finished my schooling way before now.  I am a bit embarrassed truth be told.  That's not to say that I haven't had alot of school since joining the military, because hell...I'm a linguist...but it doesn't equate to a degree.  Pretty  much everyone in my family has a degree of Bachelors or higher, and I want to join the club!  

I'm pretty close to finishing my CCAF degree in Communications Technology, and I am also very close to completing the course work for my Associates in Chinese from DLI.  I will feel much happier at least when those are done.  However, I am still quite a ways away from finishing my BS, which I am proud to say I am majoring in Psychology!  I'm really excited to take these classes and soak up as much knowledge as I can.  I have alot of ideas on what I could do with this, or down which paths in the future this could lead me when I get out, but for now I know I need to learn to walk before I can run.  As the Chinese say, "一步一步!"

Anyways, wish me luck in this new(ish) endeavor!  

Swine Flu

Speaking of being sick, here is a picture of the Swine Flu.  Let's hope I don't have it!!

I couldn't stave off the sickness

So, after about 1 1/2 weeks of staving off Patty's illness, I have finally contracted this silly bug.  What's worse, is that my voice still hasn't recovered from karaoke on Friday night, so I kind of sound like my vocal cords have leprosy.  It is unfortunate.  I hope I am better soon.  

Curious Cuisine

On Sunday Patty and I decided to go up to the Shimoda Mall for fun...ok, actually I really wanted to see the new Star Trek movie, and we haven't been to a Japanese movie theater before. They really are a bit different from American theaters for 2 main reasons. One, the price is about $20 per person, and second, there is actually reserved seating that you choose when you purchase your ticket. Pretty crazy, right?
Now, what I really wanted to mention here though is there is this great shop that sells all manner of wonderfully delicious breads/desserts. We have been by that place several times, and infact one of the first places that we were taken when we came to Misawa was the mall, and this little bread shop. They have just about everything you could imagine...cheese bread, scones, nan filled with indian curry (delicious btw), cold pizza slices, and the oddest one, a breaded and fried ham and cheese sandwich. Yes...that is right. They bread and then fry 2 slices of ham and a slice of cheese between two pieces of white bread. Maybe your not that suprised by it, but I sure was. I suppose Americans tend to fry some pretty weird stuff too, but I just had never heard of breading and frying a sandwich!
We ended up getting one, and to tell the truth, I liked it! It was pretty much just how you would think it should taste...crunchy on the outside, and ham sandwichy on the inside. My only critisizim would be that it was cold. I think it would have tasted way better had it been hot or even warm. I wish I had a picture of it, but sadly we didn't think of taking one...oh well..maybe next time.