Looking hard core...
Well, New Jersey is everything I expected it to be --- cold, icy, nothingness 
... do people really live here? are FROM here? Of course, my vantage point is from inside Army barracks. And I'm all armored up now. Looking pretty tough, no? Just wait until I have the weapons....scary, very scary! I know you are!
More to come about Ft dix, but needless to say, it's supposed to snow AGAIN tomorrow -- allows for some "snow ops" but not much else. Does this state operate in February?
I love San Diego!
Arrived in a rain-soaked San Diego on Friday 1/22, had a yummy Mexican dinner w/ Dave Picken (another doc from yoko who also was deploying), and got tucked in at Ford Hall on the 32nd street base in San Diego.
the weekend was mine - so I was able to do some reconnecting with my Southern Californian roots...soaking up the sunshine on Saturday and Sunday with days out and about.
Natalie, my college roommate and good friend for, uh-HEM, over 10 years now, drove down for a gorgeous day out. We tootled around Balboa Park and decided to go to the ZOo! What a great Zoo! -- you can click on the Panda to see more pictures -- seeing the gorillas (family, you know), elephants, pandas, koalas up close -- and all in the heart of the city. It always amazes me!
We had dinner in the Gaslamp district. I was so thankful for a day with a woman I have known so well for so long ... walking around and talking was just what the DR. ordered!
Sunday I spent running along Mission Bay. Did a few errands and then went to visit more old friends in the area- - some med school (love little Isla Chen) and Navy. It has been nice to have some downtime for reflection and reconnecting. Sometimes Japan is more than just an ocean away.
I remember why I liked southern Cal so much. Bright, sunny. the freeway system is great. Wide roads. Green hills. And ocean...lots of ocean.
Started the check in process this morning at 0500. Fitted for the ACUs that i'll be wearing for the next 8 months. Then "death by powerpoint" introduction to our time here and beyond -- but all good information. Recognize a few souls going with me and that's always nice! More info to come...Tomorrow is "medical day" -- ugh - Anthrax AND smallpox. My arm already hurts!
Spent some very special time tonight with my friends Kelly and Bryan - I met her in JAX when she was a friend of a friend of mine from Pasadena and we both were swimming together and she was in nursing school, and as fate has it , her husband - whom she met in JAX - is in the Navy! Met their darling daughter Dylan and had a fantastic "Bistro AIX" meal of salmon and salad and chocolate cake...and was so blessed to be able to spend time catching up with them. It made me miss my friends in yokosuka, and made me miss not being closer to those who are here in the States.
There are many things that make the military annoying - (the smallpox vaccine is one of them) -- but one of the things that makes it special is the way it bonds people across state lines, across oceans, and across life situations. Neat.
And the adventure begins....
After 2 blissful - slightly wet/snowy - weeks with my mom and dad, I said sayonara to them at the airport in Reno ... my poor mom and her 2 military kids had to say goodbye again. I'm not sure that gets any easier for her and if you know my mom, you know how much she just loves it when we're home. We had such a great time shopping, and talking, and working out, and eatng out and doing nothing at all!
But I told her she's fired b/c I spent WAy too much money on cute clothes when I was there. I re-familiarized myself w/ clothes that aren't too short-sleeved or too short in the leg. And I remembered that I LOVE shopping.
Note the shirt -- I thought it was appropriate and mom and I cracked up!
Off to start the grand Narmy (yes, that's the Navy-Army) adventure. Of course, that started with packing the legendary "Seabag". Now, just realize that I came to the US w/ a full suitcase (medium size) and a half-full seabag w/ a backpack and a computer bag. I was SO GOOD and really, after we vacuum bagged a few items and Dad stuffed and shook and stuffed and slammed my bag against the floor, we got all that was coming with me into the bag!! (Uh, minus the computer...oh and the toiletries....but it all worked out!) It was a hilarious scene...but i didn't feel that bad b/c at least one other woman arrived with the thought that she had to pack for the 6 months and had 2 full suitcases, a bag for the hair stuff, and 2 carry-ons. See, I'm so much better right now!
Welcome to 2010!!
Holy moly! Where did 2009 go? 2009 was an amazing year - full of travel and races and lots of time spent together AND lots of work. In brief: in January, I was in Diego Garcia and Justin was skiing in Hokkaido. in February, we were split between work and home. In March, we ran the Tokyo marathon. in April, we ran a 1/2 marathon - and justin BEAT me. (That won't happen again!) We also had my aunt and uncle visit and we took a trip to Kyoto and Hiroshima. In May, we did another long race (triathlon kind). in June we went to Hong Kong, where i presented at an international family medicine conference. In July, we kicked off the month w/ a great big birthday dinner for Justin, who turned 35, and my brother came to visit for 2 weeks. We climbed Fuji and did lots of exploring around Tokyo. August brought mostly a LOT of work, but I also went canyoning (rappelling down waterfalls, etc). in September, I turned 30 -- took a solo trip to Okinawa while Justin was traveling with the Boy Scouts in Taipei. We spent my birthday in Tokyo and saw a Cirque de Soleil show...October and November FLEW by. Justin did a 3-day 70mi/day bike ride with friends AND was offered a full time job as a District Executive for the boy scouts! November was pretty quiet UNTIL I got word just before Thanksgiving that I was chosen to deploy to Afghanistan.
Hence, December was a blur of getting ready to go, spending quality time with friends, figuring out how the next several months were going to go, and buying the appropriate electronics to endure it!!
2010 promises to be VERY engaging -- i'm in California for 2 weeks, then New Jersey for training and then off to the middle east for 6-7 months. Justin is working full time for the boy scouts and will undoubtedly keep himself very busy. our friends have promised to pull him out every now and then and keep him in touch
God bless you all. We will have more interesting things to share, no doubt. I'm going to blog from this site while i'm away and hopefully post some pictures! Justin is learning to do the same from his corner of the planet.
The Cimino-Davis clan will be apart this year but with you all in spirit. Keep in touch with us!
my cute cyclist!
this is justin at the end of a very long 3 days of cycling -- almost 110km (70mi) per day. Went w/ some of our other friends from the base - had great weather, great scenery, great support, great food...jsut a few snafus - like 3 busted tires and a crash at 41km/hr...but you know Justin, he just bounces. I'll have him write more about the race but if you click on the picture you can see more of where they stayed (traditional Japanese hotels) and what they ate and how many people were there!!!
we might do it together next year. we'll see!!
A big race ahead. TOUR DE CHIBA
okay, so we need to catch up. ONE YEAR in Japan. it's crazy how time flies. As we enter the fall and the air gets chilly again (okay, SO not ready for that again), we have been once again, going at full speed.
September FLEW by - with new people arriving at the hospital, and good friends leaving. Justin has been doing personal training at a crazy pace (sometimes getting to the gym at 0430 for some REALLY motivated clients - that's TOO early, even for me!)....and coaching swimming...and doing boy scouts...and running membership for the Oakleaf spouse club and pretty much being the favorite husband of mine . It's a big job.
After a busted girls trip to Bali for me, i diverted my trip to Okinawa - and had a great time catching up with my friends from JAX who live there, doing a little shopping and seeing the sights. Justin was on a trip to Taipei (already planned) for a Boy Scout thing....we both had a great time (although it would havebeen nicer to be together!).
We spent my 30th in tokyo at the New Sanno hotel...had an EXCELLENT Japanese feast the night before and then my friend Sara and I went to Zed, Cirque de Soleil - here in Tokyo. Freakin' AWESOME. Would recommend it again and again. THen we went out to a fantastic garlic italian place near the hotel that night....good friends, good food, good times! Good Way to ring in the 30s.
holy smokes, i'm old.
Anyway, we aren't going anywhere exciting any time in the next few months but have little excursions around town. Work is really busy for me so i spend the "spare" weekends doing catch up and working on projects sometimes and Justin if off doing Boy SCout stuff quite a bit.
after a year here, we've learned several things:
we love the food.
We love the structure (mostly) and the extreme politenes and accomodation of the Japanese - their entire culture believes in customer service and this is something Americans should really consider.
We love the nuances we are always discovering.
We love the public transport, although it is still fun to drive.
We love the travel.
we love the sake.
We have also learned this: it's WAY expensive to shop here, so we generally don't (except for veggies). People stop on the side of the road randomly, so this is a little dangerous too. We still can't speak very well (our fault entirely) and this definitely makes us feel more like foreigners. We are still often the only blonds wherever we're going. We still can't identify all the food.
But ce la vie...we have more planned for this year. Might be travelling to Sapporo, Australia, or Thailand (or all three). have races to do. More time w/ friends. POssibly a job for Justin. Possibly an acupuncture course for me. All very cool.
More to come.
Touch and go
Touch and go from Francesca Cimino on Vimeo.
