I'll take you in my backpack

12/24/11 So I've avoided this post for a couple of weeks, mainly because I've been in denial about the whole thing. I went from being pretty excited about going to Hawaii for 5 months, to being much less excited about losing that and ending up in Killeen TX for 6 months (with a week/two week break in the middle). So, rather than focusing on the fact that it's Killeeen TX, I'm going with the glass half full approach, it's 70 miles from Austin. The only acceptable city in Texas Although this is not a foreign country like I'm used to, I'm not fully convinced that you don't need a passport to enter TX. I'm also not fully convinced that some of the experiences that I'm about to embark on will be more foreign than anything I've seen in Asia. So with a tip of my hat (no cowboy hat) and a kick of my boots, I bit you all farewell, or yeehaw, however they do things in this part of the world!

12/15/11 Of course I had to go to one of my favorite places here in Okinawa before boarding the plane and heading back to the land of horrible pedicures...Cocok's provided the pampering that I needed, and left me with the most perfect strawberry toes. I love them! As I prepare to leave Okinawa, for a second time, I'm reminded of all of the things that I love about this wonderful place, the things that I will take with me forever, and the things that I will miss terribly. The latter are as follows: 1. The 5:30 music that plays indicating the end of the work day, dismissing people to go be with their families (and what happy music it is) 2. The most amazing park, merely a mile from my "home" 3. By far the world's best pedicures. Find a better one, I dare you! 4. My crossfit family. SCF will forever hold a very special place in my heart. I hope to see you all again soon! 5. The food. How is this #5, especially with how much I ate, and how often I thou...

12/4/11 Today was an adventure of epic proportions! Fantastic weather, great company, and a hell of a hike. Things don't get much better! Let's start with the hike, I (and all parties involved) were slightly misled about the intensity of the hike. Leisurely stroll this was not. We started our hike from the parking lot, which we later realized was probably a mile from where we could have started, at an upper level parking area. From there there were several options, we just continued following signs in Kanji, hoping for the best! We eventually found the hiking path, and about a mile into it, there was an option to go "off roading" onto a much more rugged looking trail. Yes we selected this option and lucky me, I was the leader (aka: spider web destroyer and habu lookout person). Perhaps long pants would have been a good option, even a machete would have been nice in those conditions! Finally we reunited with a more traditional hiking trail until the summit. T...