For a while now I’ve been trying to get a few things in order so that Sharron and I could attend this years Air Force ball. I’d originally intended to just buy everything I needed, but when I found out I’d be getting out of the Air Force, I decided I didn’t need to own all that stuff. In the end, I did buy more than I wanted to, but less than I’d originally though. The rank boards, which were our last attendance barrier because of their $45 cost, I managed to borrow from a friend. So, Saturday found Sharron and I getting ready for the ball. Of course, since I’d taken so long to get everything I needed together, we didn’t have any tickets. They pre-sold 1,000 tickets for a few weeks before the ball and those were all gone. The ball was scheduled to start at 6:00, so I made sure that I was at the door (out of uniform) to see if I could get tickets. I got a lot of strange looks from people, but, I did get us tickets. Of course, when we arrived (me in uniform this time) an hour later, nobody bothered to check our tickets anyway.
Aside from a lack of seating, the ball was very nice and Sharron and I had a great time. We didn’t do any dancing, but we did have a good time laughing at all the people who were dancing. Ah the forgotten art of people watching.
For your enjoyment, here is a picture of us towards the end of the ball. I’d like to point out that I’m missing 2 medals and should have 8 instead of 6. I don’t know why this is so important to me, but dammit, I earned them.
Yesterday I flew to Kadena Air Base, Japan for a Cameron-Brooks information meeting. They are a recruiting firm that solely deals with junior military officers. My friend Alex was accepted by them and placed into an exciting job in Corporate America; he recommended me. This morning I met with their representative for a personal interview to see if I would be a good fit for them to market. I am proud to say that I was selected to be represented by them. Woo! :-) This is especially outstanding as they only accept 12% of their applicants. After the RIF, this is a huge boost to my self esteem.
2 Mondays ago (Aug 27) I was tasked to go into downtown Tokyo along with a bunch of other personnel for a planning meeting. The Japanese had coordinated with us for a disaster preparedness drill on the 1st and we were headed down to seal the deal. The vice wing commander decided to join us, but he didn’t want to drive down, he instead wanted us to coordinate a helo ride. Thus, Monday morning, I found myself in the back of a UH-1N helicopter on my way into downtown Tokyo.
Honestly, the ride down wasn’t all that great. The visibility was pretty low and we didn’t see much in the way of “the sights.” However, the ride back brought with it an unexpected pleasure. The pilots decided, for whatever reason, to circle Tokyo before heading back to the base. Wow! It was an amazing flight. We got really close to many buildings, flew over the harbor, and flew over the Tokyo tower. I had a great time and will remember the experience for the rest of my life.
Pictures:
A large cemetary
The DoCoMo tower. (It’s supposed to look like the Empire State Building)
Another cemetary, but prettier
Me (Duh)
Funny little amusement park
Rainbow bridge across Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Tower
The base!
This is a 1 minute news clip that I was interviewed for on base here. Yes, that means that I’m in the video.
Enjoy!
OPSEC Video
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