We Talked Literature and Music
I know how happy (read: indifferent) you guys are when I post new photos, so I'll start this post off with that. I went with a group to Hirosaki Castle a few weeks back to check out the cherry blossom festival and I took lots of photos. As you can see, it was gorgeous. It reminded me of Korea and the road on the Korean base that was lined with cherry blossom trees. Such awesome scenery to see every day. It actually snowed the day after we went to the festival, making me happy we got out there and saw the trees before they were raped by mother nature.

As you can see in the photos, there was a lot of drinking going on. The two non-drivers in the car in front of us were drinking the whole way up. It made for some entertainment. The trip back to Misawa is the interesting part, though. Due to all the horseplay on the way to Hirosaki, the guy who was driving me back thought it would be funny to scare the crap out of April, the driver of the car in front of us, during the next red light. I was in and out of sleep the whole way back and wasn't really paying attention to what he was talking about, though I wonder if I would have actually tried to dissuade him had I actually been fully conscious. The next red light we hit I hear the door open and I look up. Ahern is running up to the next car. He bangs on the window and promptly turns around to return to his own vehicle. Apparently April had the shit scared out of her and had jumped out of her seat (in the process, as we learned later, letting go of the brake). So Ahern is back in his car congratulating himself and the next thing I notice is April's hazards on, pulling over to the side of the road along with the car in front of her. I just look over at Ahern and ask, "Did you just cause an accident?"

"What? No...! I don't know. I... fuck." That's pretty much how it went down. It was a minor fender bender but the Japanese lady was flipping out and called the cops. Ahern felt terrible, of course. In the end, it didn't wind up being a big deal, which is good. I would be a terrible liar if I said I didn't find the whole thing mildly amusing. It didn't take long for the jokes to start flying (I know what you're thinking, but no, I didn't start them): the bad Asian drivers jokes and jokes about Ahern's dumb idea. After arriving back in Misawa that night, April, Ahern, Rubalcava (who was in April's car during the accident), and I went out for drinks and karaoke. Amazingly, I had a really good time. Not just my typical "hey, I'm out of my room" good time but actually fully enjoying myself. I'm no fan of the bars in Misawa. They pretty much suck. My time in Korea was bearable (and now enjoyable in retrospect) because of the good company. I think I may have finally found some people here in Misawa who appreciate many of the same things I do. We mostly talked literature and music, which was a refreshing change of pace. More importantly, our personalities don't clash. This has become a noticeable problem for me and many of my peers here. I'm happy I had the opportunity to hang out with all of them together.

In other news, I've been trying to get out of the navy by August, my original EAOS. I've put in a request to have my one-year extension canceled. As awesome as it would be to get this time back, there are a few problems I have come across with this. One is that no one in my chain of command seems that committed to helping me out. I'm having issues pushing this request up the chain and I don't know where my chit is right now. This is a minor annoyance and fixable. The main issues are that there is little time left to process everything and it is probably too late to get into the fall semester at ASU. I would also be unlikely to be home in time for at least the first week of classes. If I'm not going to school, there is little reason to get out instead of saving up extra cash. Now I'm thinking of keeping my extension and applying for the winter semester, anyway. Once accepted, I can request to get out of the navy early for education. This would result in more money saved, more time to look for a place to stay, and more time to look for a possible job. I'll be sure to keep you all posted for those of you who will still be around and not running off to grad school. Kirsten is going to Berkeley. What the fuck is that shit!? (No, I'm kidding. Congrats to her.)

I've just had a rather stiff drink, so I'm sure I'm not thinking of everything I want to say. I could complain more about work but I'm sure I've done that enough. I've covered the basics. I've made new friends, I'm on my way out of the navy, and many of my friends have just graduated college and are on their ways to bigger and better things. Congrats to all of you. See you on the outside soon.