Alright, let's see where to begin... The first photo was taken from the week before X-mas when my friend Kelli Bullock had a "Deck the Balls" party where everyone had to decorate a X-mas ball and then we competed for the top ball. I won first place with my 'Mele Ball' (get it? MELE Kalikimaka). Anyway, the holidays were a big blur. Planes, trains and automobiles, but I ended up seeing just about everyone that I wanted to and having a damn good time doing it (a little too much at times).
Photo number 2 is of Jan and I the day after X-mas. Kelly (sister), Mike (brother-in law), Jan, Anthony (her squeeze) and I went to a local brewery in PA and had a blast catching up. I have to say - spending time with Jan again was one of the highlights of my vacation. As much as I love Hawaii, I wish I were closer to her. BUT perhaps late in the year 08 will bring a visit from her and Anthony...
I enclosed a picture of me in my dress blues. I made my mom very happy by wearing them to Christmas Eve Mass. I felt very proud wearing them, and it was nice to have people come up to me and express their gratitude for just doing my job. (On a side note - my Group Surgeon heard about all of my 'supposed' accomplishments during the deployment and he informed me that I was nominated for the Flight Surgeon of the Year Award. This award distinguishes one Flight Surgeon around the globe for his or her accomplishments. The winners haven't been selected yet, but it has been an honor just to be nominated.)
The next picture is of my family and I in PA during the holiday. My X-mas present to my mom was a new computer and high speed internet (which she figured out before Christmas despite my careful attempts at keeping it a secret from her). My mother is an extremely clever woman - believe me when I say that NOTHING gets past her! So anyway, my mom should post a reply to this blog for the first time ever after I submit this entry. We'll see if she can remember what I taught her!
Next, my niece Kiera and I the morning of her Christmas pagaent! She was a star and it was another highlight of my vacation. I spent four days with my sister and her family in Virginia. It was relaxing and just what I needed before going home and seeing all of my friends up in the Northeast (or as I called it - the Arctic...it was bite ass cold - but they said it was mild for that time of the year. It's all perspective I guess.)
Finally, New Years! I spent it with my friends at Billy's house. Pictured in the final photo are friends Rocco, Me, Billy, Jacintha and her boyfriend Eneko. It was a great New Years and I couldn't have thought of a better way to ring in the New Year than with my friends.
So here I am, January 8th, settled into my new apartment, new furniture, new life, fresh start. I'm happy, but there are times that I miss the simplicity of Iraq. Does that sound strange? I mean, every decision there was pretty much made for me and I didn't have to worry about the stupid things that cause stress in life. It's a rediculously complicated world we live in. This past weekend I got stressed because: my high definition cable box crapped out, my high definition channels had a slight voice delay which drove me crazy, my garbage disposal got clogged because a random screw fell in it, my newly washed car (whose name is Angelina by the way) got caught in a rainstorm and got dirtied up, I accidentally put '87 octane gas instead of '91 into it, a few ants crept into my apartment and my flawless place is being invaded, I broke one of my Riedel crystal wine glasses, my high speed internet went down for an entire day, my dishwasher left spots on my glasses which caused me to be behind by 10 minutes on my dinner party because I had to hand clean my glasses, one of my magazines arrived bent because it was stuffed the wrong way into the mailbox, my brand new I-phone crashed and I had to return it for a new one, my I-tunes music won't burn properly onto a CD, my dryer takes 3 cycles before it dries my towels and my remote controls, all 5 of them, have a mind of their own. When did this happen? Just 3 months ago, I was content when the AFN Military Television Network broadcasted a show, snowy and skipping every 3 seconds and barely coming in. I was content and grateful, and all of a sudden, life is trying its hardest to make me forget about the important things. My health, the health of my friends and family, the fact that a war is still going on overseas. So tomorrow if my automatic coffee maker is late in finishing its morning cycle, I WILL laugh and not stress. One of my New Years Resolutions is to be more grateful, enjoy life and not get so stressed by everything, being ever mindful of those things which are most important in my life.
I wish you all the best of New Years! It has been a challenge for me to keep in touch with all of my Angels, let alone my friends. Let me just send you these greetings - May 2008 bring you health, wealth and peace of mind! I love and appreciate all of you, every day - my friends, my family, my pen pals, Jan, Victor, Barabara, my family, my sister, Mike, Kiera, Ryan, my Soldiers Angels. God Bless you all!
-RJ
Aloha everyone! Well, I'm happy to report that my life has slowed down some since the holidays. In fact, I've actually taken time to do things like go to the beach, go to the movies (saw that King Kong-ish movie Cloverfield and loved it, despite its mixed reviews), host a few dinner parties (last night I had a great 'pau hana pupus and cocktails' get together) and even had time to dip into my cook books that I got for Christmas. I resolved that every month I'm going to select a different cuisine (Thai, Asian, Italian, Indian, etc.) and learn a bunch of dishes from that style (via cookbooks or Food Network). What a great way for me to practice my cooking and do something I really enjoy, in addition to hosting dinner parties where my friends can sample the cuisine, without having to go to culinary school - which is just not a possibility right now. Last night I made Chicken Curry Satay with Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce (Thai is the featured cuisine this month) and my Green Curry with Chicken and Basil is fantastic I have to say! So outside of that, I was entertaining the idea of having a roomate back in November and since then one of my friends that I've met since my return told me he needed a place to stay and since he's a great guy (and cooks), we seem to have a lot in common and he can pay me what I'm looking for, he's going to move in Feb 1st! Part of me doesn't want to give up my freedom, but I think the greater part realizes that there is an opportunity here to make a great friend, save a ton of money (which I have been blowing like its my job since I returned from Iraq) and live with someone who cooks like me. So his name is Tim and I'll keep you posted if it turns out to be a complete disaster or an amazing experience. I'm confident in the latter. So get this - last week I had a few people over for cocktails on a Saturday night and we were playing music and chatting. Mind you, it was late (about midnight or so), but the volume wasn't exceptionally loud. Anyway, I get a ring at my doorbell, and my neighbor, this crusty 70ish year old drunk, starts pointing his finger in my face and yelling, "If you don't keep the noise down I'm going to call the cops!! There's no reason for you to be making this much racket at 1 am!" Can you believe that this was our first meeting? So I was thinking to myself, "Oh hell no!" (Mind you I had a few cocktails). So I raised a finger in the air and said, "First of all...I do NOT appreciate being yelled at in your tone. SECOND, if you ask me politely like a normal human being, I would be more than happy to turn the music down and ask my guests to keep quiet, BUT I DO NOT respond well to people yelling in my face!" So he turned around and shut the door. Well, as it turns out, he e-mails one of the building managers about me without my knowledge. So last week I was leaving for work one sunny Waikiki morning, when as I'm waiting for the elevator, his door opens... Out comes this adorable little Asian woman of about 50 years. She greets me with a "Hello, Good Morning!" and a smile. I struck up a chat with her and discovered that she owns the apartment, and he husband passed away last year and the old crusty guy was one of her husband's friends who helped with the funeral. Since then he hasn't left and she gave me the distinct impression that she felt it was long overdue for him to say Adieu. So as the elevator reaches the bottom, the doors open and this 72 year old Scottish guy says with a heavy accent to me "Don't I know you?" I replied "I don't think so." Then he turns to the Asian woman and says "Hey - did you ever get that situation straightened out with the noisy neighbor of yours?" I was like "I'm the neighbor!" lol. He replied "You're in trouble." But I followed up by stating that the man she was living with was downright rude, yelling at me, and he handled the situation very poorly. The Scott then said "I think he drinks a lot. Don't take it personally." (One of the Four Agreements if you've read that book). So I gave the Asian woman my phone number and said that if she ever has a problem in the future, please call me and I'd be happy to do what I can to resolve it. Just then the Scott asked me what I do for a living (he saw me in uniform with a stethoscope in hand). When I told him I was a Doctor and that I liked Star Trek (it just kind of came up - don't ask me how), I became his new best friend. So bottom line is - my drunken neighbor can (as my Grandmother would say) - pound sand up his ass for all I care! Angelina has a cold! In case you don't know, Angelina is the name I gave my beautiful car, the Acura TL Type S. She's been coughing and running at less than peak efficiency because I accidentally put low Octane Gasoline in her last week instead of Premium (91) as I was instructed. So she's a little sick. Sorry Angelina. First Do No Harm is my motto and I got her sick, but she's almost cleared the infection and I'll soon fill her empty tank up with a full tank of the good stuff. And finally, as for my relationship issues. Well, I'll sum it up Horoscope Style, how about that: Ok, Dear Sagitarius, you've realized that you still care very very much for your ex, but is it too soon to forgive and forget? Heed the advice of your friends and proceed with extreme caution - don't forget you've been in this honeymoon phase before. Are things truly different this time? Be smart, take it slow. Its okay to enjoy the wonderful feelings you're having, just don't fall head over heels - keep both feet on the ground! (That about sums it up) That's it for now gang. I can't believe my mom actually posted a comment - after all this time! You never cease to amaze me mom!!! HERE IS A GUIDE TO THE PHOTOS: Friends Billy and Jacintha followed by shots of my hike up to Diamond Head last weekend!
