Achieving Your Dreams

Reaching the stars may not be as hard as you think. I managed to reach my stars and it wasn’t even by the path I planned it to be. The main thing you always have to be in order to reach your goals is to remain focused. Without focus your goal will not be as clear and you may stray from your path to achieving your goal.’, ‘When I was 13 years old my dad and I used to go boogie boarding in Lake Michigan. Naturally the main time of the year the waves would get big in Lake Michigan was in the fall when the water was 50 degrees or below. I used to read boogie-boarding magazines to see how people body boarded in California and Hawaii. One main person whom I mainly read about was Mike Stewart and how he boogie boarded in Hawaii. This became my dream to go out to Hawaii and boogie board the same waves as Mike Stewart.

After I graduated high school I joined the United States Air Force. During basic training the Air Force gives everybody a choice of bases in which they want to go to. Then the Air Force will try to put you in one of the bases you choose or as close as they can to it. I put down every base I could find as close to Michigan as I could get and I put 1 overseas base in Hawaii. (Hawaii is considered an overseas base because it is not part of the continental US) Well I did not get Hawaii, but I did get a tropical island in the Pacific being Okinawa, Japan.

At first I wasn’t excited about being sent to Okinawa, but after I started to think about it more I thought that since Hawaii was in the Pacific and they get good waves, that Okinawa must get good waves too. Wrong! When I got to Okinawa and saw the ocean for the first time there were no waves. The only waves Okinawa really gets are big ones during typhoons. Anyway, I enjoyed Okinawa so much I ended up spending 6 years there, when the Air Force told me I had to move to another base and since I was enjoying Japan so much I decided I wanted to try to go to Tokyo. I waited for an assignment in Tokyo for a year and a half and I never got it. So I decided to try to put Hawaii down again. Low and behold the very next assignment cycle I got it. I was on my way to Hawaii.

I did it! I finally achieved my dream of going to Hawaii and body boarding the same waves as Mike Stewart. I body boarded at Bellows, North Shore, out west towards Wainae, and all over. I spent 3 years in Hawaii in the Air Force when I decided that I was going to separate from the Air Force. A company based out of Knoxville, Tennessee contacted me saying they had a position open in Hawaii. I applied for this position as a computer systems administrator and got the job. Now I managed to transition out of the Air Force and purchased a place to live where I am now living my dream of living in Hawaii and boogie boarding, working a an all right job, with owning my own place to live. Even though this was not the way I had imagined it I managed to achieve my dream and am enjoying every day of it, making sure I don’t take anything for granted.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Friends is Now Over

The t.v. show Friends had its season finale tonight and it was a sad day for many of the shows followers. Friends initially started in 1994 and ran til 2004, it was a good decade for all the friends fans. Have no fear though because now we have Friends reruns to look forward to for the next 20 years. Yeah!

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Roadside Incident in Afghanistan


When one of those things you never want to happen actually happens you just hope it isn’t one of your brothers in arms. This incident happened near Bagram airfield in Afghanistan.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Company Functions Are Not Too Exciting

Last Thursday April 29th, 2004 our office had an outing because different people from the company came to Hawaii for business. Although this was not mandatory it was highly encouraged to attend. I figured that meant you don’t have to go, but we”ll all be pissed off at you later. Since I don’t have a life I decided I would go and try to work on my nonexsistant social skills.

To give you some insite on how I resolve issues, suggest ideas, or criticize something I don’t like with others I work with, I usually do it after we’ve been drinking for a while. That is my way of dealing with sometimes uncomfortable situations. I figure if we’re all drinking and talking about it we are more relaxed and more open to suggestions. Plus everybody is more willing to bullshit, share stories, and talk smack after they have been drinking.

Now that you understand how I like to deal with these kind of situations I’ll move onto how this night went. The night started out with everybody arriving at an over crowded Chuck’s Steakhouse in Waikiki. This place didn’t have much seating, was dark, and over priced. Since for the past couple of days I didn’t have much time to do anything, but sleep on my time and nobody was talking with me. I decided to make a phone call. I kid you not, as soon as I started talking with somebody on the phone then people I worked with started trying to talk with me. Which I nicely shugged them off and identified I was on the phone to them. After I had gotten off the phone I decided to talk with the other guys I work with. During our conversations the staff of Chuck’s Steakhouse kept interrupting us so they could squeeze by.

The time had arrived for us to get to our 50 foot long table. Everybody went to sit down. I ended up sitting in the smack dab middle of the table. I must have figured I wouldn’t be noticed sitting there. The little waiters and waitresses came around asking everybody what they wanted to drink. Since I had already drank about 4 Budweisers, why change? I ordered another. Then the waiters came around telling everybody the specials, I ended up interrupting the guy because I needed another beer. The guy then left and didn’t want to come back. So I decided to call him back over to finish saying the specials. Once he completed his little speal he asked me what I wanted to order. Since I don’t like eating at these types of events I decided to maintain my liquid diet. I ordered another beer. Everybody had noticed that I didn’t want to eat and asked me, “You’re not eating”? I told them I had to watch my figure. The night went on with everybody eating while I drank my beer.

I sat next to a cool guy that I enjoy talking with because he knows the company and he tends to give me some insight and points me in the right direction. We sat there talking trying to keep our conversation private, but I notice others eyes kept peering over to see what we were talking about. Then the waitresses showed up with the bill. Since this is Hawaii and the education level is low here. The waitresses like to put everybody”s bill on just one big check. I didn’t have any cash on me so I ran downstairs to pull money out of the ATM. When I came back like everybody else had left except for a few people. It seemed as though they were all waiting for the first person to leave so they could follow. Since they didn’t know I was only going to the ATM they thought I was leaving and decided to follow.

By this time I was feeling pretty good and was willing to open up and talk with others. Since the only other person staying around with me was the Director of Operations. I decided to open up and talk with him. Prior to this event the only thing I know about this guy is that we retired from the Marine Corps as an officer and he was a private type of guy. So I decided to try to get him to open up. I started out by letting him know my position of wanting to learn from his experiences. I also identified that others find him to be a rather private person and I informed him that since he has been with the company for a while and has retired from the Marines. I feel he has a lot of experiences I could learn from. We all know I can”t really learn from my current supervisor (If you want to know more about why, read the previous article entitled, “Do unprofessional bosses make good managers/leaders?“. I also told him it would be cool to hear about some of his stories, then the Director of Operations basically told me, “What you’re saying is good, but don’t expect to learn everything about me tonight”. I understood this as me making progress. I took this as him saying he may open up with time, but for now he’ll maintain the current level. I respect that and am willing to learn from his experiences when he is ready to open up, for now I’m happy with what I have achieved.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

A Difference Between Working Overseas and Working in America

After living overseas for some years it is a shock to see how different people act in America. For example: Americans working overseas, at the end of the day overseas people would usually hang out with the people they worked with. It made an easy atmosphere for resolving work issues. Here in America once the end of the day rolls around. You should see everybody shoot their own direction, like buckshot. This means if you have work issues you better either get over them or make an appointment because people just don’t want to deal with it on their time.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

A Little Piece of Loneliness

When you go to another place or country to visit or even live for a while, the people and culture immediately begin to grow on you. Your heart begins to open regardless of the language or cultural barrier. You begin to go out and absorb as much as you can. Even though you may not always understand what people are saying, you tend to feel a comfort in the whole experience. This may go on for the duration of your time in foreign land, but then you’ll eventually have to return home.

When you’re home people get caught up in their day to day activities, but it is when that special song plays or you hear the language or that little hint that helps you remember the time you spent there. You may even begin to miss it and want to go back.

The funny thing is that no matter how passionate or how emotional you are, when you try to tell somebody about how you feel when you miss the experience you had in the strange world. They just don’t understand. Most of the time, you’ll just get a blank stare. Then when you try to explain the things you miss, the person you’re trying to make your point to usually find error or something to poke fun at. It is then you begin to feel alone for nobody else seems to understand your experience and there is nobody else you can talk to who will understand. This is the little piece of loneliness that aches inside me driving me to want to go back.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Issues With Dell

On March 5th, 2004 I decided I had been waiting around long enough to get a new computer. The predicament I kept running into though was that every time I tried customizing a computer on Dell’s website the price would jump up drastically. So I decided to call their phone support to help me with purchasing a computer.

I spoke with a polite sales representative Morgan Owens who informed me that if I ever needed to contact her again about the order I need to call 1-800-WWW-DELL, then press 1, then her number 70510. She informed that I could also contact her via e-mail at the following address: morgan_owens@dell.com I explained to her what I was trying to do and she informed me that Dell has some great deals going on and she can be the one to really help me out. So we went through the ordering process and I had a great computer picked out for only $2,400. After I hung up the phone with her I started to get ready for work as I was thinking about what I had just purchased. Then I started getting second thoughts about the computer. For some reason I just didn’t feel confident that the computer I had just purchased was the type of computer I was looking for.

So I decided to call back to cancel my order. I tried reaching Morgan, but her phone was busy so I had to wait to get another representative. Once I reached the new sales rep. I told her the situation and how I would like to cancel the order. So she walked me through the process of canceling this order, but she informed me the monitor had already been shipped. I told her that it was only 5 minutes since I had placed the order and she told me that they work real fast. This made me begin to laugh. This nice representative informed me that if I don’t want the monitor to just don’t accept it once it arrive to “return to sender” and once Dell received it back my money will be deposited into my account.

Less than a couple weeks later I had received a notification that I had a package. So I went to FedEx to tell them to return the product to the sender. FedEx assured me it would be sent back to Dell.

This is now April 24th, 2004 and I still do not have the money for this monitor back in my account. From this impression, Dell is telling me they are happy to take your money, but they don’t want to give it back. Yesterday I decided to call Dell back and try to figure out what’s going on. This new representative informed me she would have to submit some paperwork for me to get my money back and they still haven’t received the monitor. I’m getting the feeling that this monitor is sitting in Dell’s warehouse somewhere and they haven’t re-inventoried it or something, either way this is truly becoming unacceptable customer service.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

American T.V. Channels Suck

I was flipping through channels the other day and realized MTV really sucks. I thought the point of MTV was to play music. Hence the Music Television name. Anyway, MTV would be better off changing their name to “stupid programming and utterly retarded game shows?”.

I base this opinion from numerous things. For example what the hell does “Pimp my ride” have anything to do with music? Although it sometimes is funny, what does Viva la Bam have to do with music? The list can go on and on, but the point being if you’re going to say you are for music you should at least play some.

Don’t worry though, MTV is not the only channel on TV that sucks. VH1 joins the channel ban list. They used to be an acceptable alternative to MTV, but they recently have become boring to. Although some of the programming for VH1 actually has to deal with music or artists for example “I love the 80’s.” Even though it’s not the 80’s anymore this still has some credibility for at least going over artists and songs from the 80’s.

A few channels that actually support their name are the National Geographic channel, History channel, and the Discovery channel. These channels have great programming that uphold their ideals and their name.

The point I’m trying to get at is if you’re going to call yourself something you should at least stick to it and not be a rating whore. It’s because of too many rating whores out there that make TV crappy for you and me.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Chatting on Internet Relay Chat (IRC)

I used to chat on #worldchat on efnet, but it seems the politics of who controls a room really made this room go downhill. I would basically use IRC as a reference tool and I met some real cool people on there who taught me lots of things. It’s always hard to see a change for the worse, but it’s harder when you lose contact with the people who taught you so much. I once heard a saying that later was added to words of a Megadeth song. The quote was, “Moving on is a simple thing, but what it leaves behind is hard?”. I guess that is the case here. This quote seems to apply to a lot of things in life. Sometimes it makes you take a step back and think if the decisions you make are the right ones. Anyway if anybody in which I used to chat with gets this message, don’t be shy shoot a message sometime.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Cell Phone Plus Washing Machine Equals No Worky, Worky

A few weeks ago I had gotten home from work and realized I needed to wash laundry. Since I was washing laundry anyway I decided to wash the shorts I was wearing. So I loaded the washing machine and started the load of laundry. While I was waiting for the laundry to get done I had to make a phone call. After searching all over for about 15 minutes I couldn’t remember where I had my phone last. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, in some attempt that I may rescue the phone I ran to the washing machine and looked inside. There it was. I managed to wash my cell phone. After contemplating the cell phone may not be a complete loss I tried disassembling it and leaving it out to dry.
The next morning I put the phone together to see if it would work. Needless to say it didn’t. I took the phone to the nearest T-mobile store to see what options I had. The clerk told me to leave it out to dry. I told him I did and it still doesn’t work. Then he advised me I need to buy another. After looking around the store I decided to go with the cheapest phone they had the Samsung X105 model. After having this phone for a few weeks I realized why it was the cheapest they had. This phone sucks! I tried adjusting the settings and it doesn’t keep the settings. I’ll be in the middle of a phone call and the phone will disconnect for no reason. I try turning off the password for my voice mail then the phone puts it right back on. I’ve tried everything with stupid phone. This phone does have one feature that works, the alarm works great. Basically this is a high priced alarm clock. The next thing I’m going to do with it is take it back. Maybe it’s just my experience, but I recommend staying away from this phone.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

My First Bad Experience on eBay

I recently was looking online for a movie I hadn’t seen for about 12 years, ?If looks could kill?”. While searching around on the internet I wasn’t having much luck. Then I decided to check on eBay. There it was, I managed to find the DVD and starwars9111 was the user selling it. So I decided to check out the description to make sure it wasn’t a scam. The description showed the following, as excact:

Region Code: —
Genre: Comedy
Sub-Genre: Action
Display Format: Full Screen
Condition: Used

THIS AUCTION IS FOR THE DVD OF IF LOOKS COULD KILL STARING RICHARD GRIECO. THIS IS A DVD, NOT VCD. COMES WITH CASE, COVER AND ART ON DISC. ALL MY DVD”S ARE NTSC REGION 0. THEY WILL PLAY IN 95% OF ALL U.S. AND CANADIAN DVD PLAYERS. ALL DVD”S HAVE MENUS AND CHAPTER SEARCH. WINNER TO PAY $5 FOR S/H IN THE U.S. AND $7 WORLDWIDE. WILL ONLY ACCEPT U.S. MONEY ORDERS, CASH OR ONLINE CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS ONLINE THROUGH BIDPAY.COM – NO PAYPAL. RETURN POLICY – EXCHANGE ONLY, NO REFUNDS. PAYMENT MUST BE RECIVED IN 7 DAYS OR NEGATIVE FEEDBACK WILL BE LEFT FOR BUYER. THANKS FOR LOOKING AND PLEASE CHECK OUT THE OTHER DVD”S I HAVE UP FOR AUCTION. EMAIL ME IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.

Since this user does not accept Paypal payments I mailed off a money order. After 3 weeks I still had not received the DVD so I shot the user a message, then low and behold the next day the DVD arrived. Once I received the DVD I opened the package to find out this DVD was a pirated copy. It was not used as said in the description. The quality of this pirated DVD was worse than VCD quality.

Since this was my first bad experience I decided to post it as a warning to all other eBay users. I strongly recommend to never do business with this person and to report them for pirating DVD’s for profit. Stay away from the following person:

eBay username: starwars9111
Name as listed on package: A. Andrews
Address as listed on package: 1101 E Tropicana Street Las Vegas, Nevada 89119

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Which is Worse, Sitting at Home Alone or Hanging Out With Lamers?

Last night I was bored so I decided to walk over to a friend’s house nearby. While there some other people showed up. Then they start prank calling people who they had in their cell phone address book. I felt like I was back in middle school again so I decided to go back home and take my dog for a walk.

After I had finished the walk I decided to call them up and let them know that if they were going out to give me a call. They said they were going to just hand out at home and for me to come back over. So I decided it was much better to hang out with them than it was to stay at home. While over there people had been drinking for a while and I was behind the power curve so I decided I did not want to drink.

We played a game of euchre and then moved onto spades. During the game of spades this one punk was making up rules as he went along. This proved to me that he had no idea how to play spades, but because nobody wanted to argue we all decided to go along with him. While we were playing spades the husband and wife of that address decided they were going to get into a fight. Imagine this 4 players sitting around playing spades outside your door and you decide to go inside and have a fight where everybody can hear. It was kind of an embarrassing situation for everybody.

After the game of spades was over the drunk spade player who kept changing the rules decided we should go to a party. Since I was the only sober one of the group I volunteered to drive. After driving around for 45 minutes we finally found this party and went inside. There were some hot chicks there, but soon after we arrived the police also decided to show up. We hung out at this party for a while then the cops decided to show up again and the person who was throwing this party had to break it up.

After that I ended up just taking everybody home. The point being that no matter how bad a night is or how juvenile people act, it sure beats sitting at home alone.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Put Your Foot in Your Mouth

On Friday I went out with some coworkers at first we talked some work and then later after we had been drinking for a while we started shooting the shit for a while. Everything was great except for the stupid things that kept coming out of my mouth. It seemed that every point I was trying to make, I kept screwing up. We all know alcohol doesn”t make you smarter, but this was the first time I was being a complete idiot. The next morning I ended up calling one of my coworkers to see that I didn’t piss anybody off or say something completely retarded, but he said everything went fine. I think for the moral of the story I will use a quote from Ernest Hemingway, “Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Iraqi Things


Here are some photos of different Iraqi things.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

2004 Daytona 500

Today I watched the Daytona 500, this is unusual for me because this is the first stock car race I have ever seen. Before the start of the race they had Leanne Rimes sing R.O.C.K. in the USA and then she went on to sing the National Anthem. Also they had President George W. Bush start the race. Then Whoopi Goldberg wave the green flag. There were a few accidents in this race. Then about 19 laps to go Dale Earnheart Jr. moved into first place. He held off the rest of the pack and took the checkered flag. Overall the race was pretty exciting especially to see all that goes into the race. Also to see all the history behind the race it makes it the Superbowl of car racing. All in all I was glad I was able to watch the race.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

2004 NFL Pro Bowl – 25 years in Hawaii

At the start of the game the NFC had the ball first and didn”t do anything with it. The very first play for the AFC they threw a touch down pass. Then the NFC got the ball back and then the AFC blocked a punt for an AFC touchdown.

At the end of the 3rd quarter the score was the AFC 38 to NFC 27. Surprisingly this years Pro Bowl is better than last years due to the level of competition. I think that is resulted from this years youthful selectees to the Pro Bowl. At the beginning of the 4th quarter the AFC fumbled the football and the NFC (Lavarre Arrington) recovered the ball, but the NFC got a unsportsmanlike penalty resulting in an AFC 1st down and eventually at touchdown. The NFC came back with a 58 yard kickoff return then the very next play was a touchdown pass to left tight end (Crumpler). Late in the 4th quarter Payton Manning threw 2 interceptions resulting in 2 NFC touchdowns. The NFC took the lead 55 – 45 with 3:32 left in the game. The AFC went down to score again then they kicked an onside kick. The NFC (waved a fair kick) and the AFC hit him resulting a penalty. The NFC (Mark Bulger) threw and interception in the end zone and Brock Marion ran the ball out to the 22 yard line. The AFC drove the ball all the way down the field to the 23 yard line where Payton Manning was sacked. The clock wound down the 4 seconds then the AFC kicked a 51 yard field goal and missed it wide right. The NFC came back to win the game 55 – 52.’, ‘During the pregame ESPN showed a story about Priest Holmes (running back for the Kansas City Chiefs) going to the USS Arizona Memorial. While he was at the memorial he was wearing a snot rag on his head the whole time showing complete disregard to the rules. Prior to departing to the USS Arizona everybody receives a briefing of the Arizona being a national monument and everybody should show respect while at the monument by removing all headgear. This is not an outrageous rule. It is no different than remaining quiet at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington DC. Is this an example that children should look up to when they look at these role models?

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Convoy to Iraq


Some sights that are seen during the convoy to Iraq.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

New England Patriots – 2004 Superbowl Champs

Previously to the start of this game I though the Patriots were going to blow out the Panthers. This was by far a defensive game. Carolina did a fine job of moving the ball and their defense came up with some big plays. New England weren’t flawless, but it was Adam Vinatieri who ended up winning the game once again despite two previous missed kicks this game.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Pro Bowl


Attended my first Pro Bowl in Hawaii. This was a real fun experience with tailgating, football, Navy Seals, cheerleaders, and an all around enjoyable day watching some football.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

North Shore Oahu


I heard the surf is still up on the north shore so I took a drive out to the country to check it out again. I just can’t get enough of the big surf.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Banzai Pipeline Surf


I heard there was going to be some nice waves up on the north shore of Oahu, so I decided to take a drive and snap some photos of the surf at the Banzai Pipeline.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Drive Around Oahu


Took a drive around Oahu to see what things are going on. Along the way I stopped at the North Shore to see the surfing competition. I also stopped along the Pali lookout to soak in that great view. Then I stopped at the Kahala Hotel and Resort to check out the dolphins they have.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Halloween 2002


Typically I’m not very good at carving pumpkins, but this year I decided to give it a try. As you can see I am clearly no artist, but I think it came out decent.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Lake Tahoe


I was in Reno, Nevada for an event and since I’ve never been here I figure it would be nice to take a drive up to Lake Tahoe to see what it was like. Here are some of the photos I took along the way. As you can see there wasn’t much to look at until I got to the lake.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Video Games Don’t Affect Kids

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana


I went to visit a friend who was stationed at Barksdale Air Force base in Louisiana, here are the photos from that visit.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Thailand Stop Sign

Photo of a Thai stop sign, so if you were ever curious as to what they looked like, well here it is.
thekumachan_korat-1

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Korat, Thailand – Wing 1 Military Exercise Complex


Today I went by the Korat Royal Thai Air Force military exercise complex. Here are a couple photos from that.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Thailand Countryside Between Korat and Bangkok

I took a bus from Nakhonratsima, otherwise known as Korat, to Bangkok, Thailand. Here are some photos I took of the countryside while I was riding the bus.

thekumachan_thailand-1thekumachan_thailand-2thekumachan_thailand-3thekumachan_thailand-4thekumachan_thailand-5thekumachan_thailand-6thekumachan_thailand-7thekumachan_thailand-8thekumachan_thailand-9thekumachan_thailand-10thekumachan_thailand-11thekumachan_thailand-12

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Ratchapruk Hotel in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand


In Nakhon Ratchasima Thailand, or Korat for short, there is the Ratchapruk hotel.  You can see the Main Street the hotel is on and the front of the hotel.  Below are photos of the view out of the back of the hotel.  It shows the what the surrounding area looks like in this spread out city in the north eastern province of Thailand.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Fishing Charter Boat – Oahu, Hawaii

Took a fishing charter boat out and when I wasn’t fishing I took some photos. Here are those photos. One neat thing about this fishing trip was that there was a mother whale and 2 calves. The mother showed the calves how to breach 1 time and then after that those calves kept breaching. It was really neat to see.

thekumachan_oahu_hawaii_charter_boat-1thekumachan_oahu_hawaii_charter_boat-2thekumachan_oahu_hawaii_charter_boat-3thekumachan_oahu_hawaii_charter_boat-4thekumachan_oahu_hawaii_charter_boat-5thekumachan_oahu_hawaii_charter_boat-6thekumachan_oahu_hawaii_charter_boat-7thekumachan_oahu_hawaii_charter_boat-8thekumachan_oahu_hawaii_charter_boat-9thekumachan_oahu_hawaii_charter_boat-10thekumachan_oahu_hawaii_charter_boat-11thekumachan_oahu_hawaii_charter_boat-12thekumachan_oahu_hawaii_charter_boat-13thekumachan_oahu_hawaii_charter_boat-14

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Shark’s Cove Oahu, Hawaii

I went to Shark’s cove on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii and did some fishing. Here are some photos I took.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Eskan Village Bazaar


Periodically there would be a bazaar at Eskan Village in Saudi Arabia where some local vendors would be able to come onto the military installation and sell their products. Here are some photos from one of those events.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Thanksgiving at Eskan Village


Have you ever wondered what it is like for US service members serving overseas during the holidays? This is how Thanksgiving was celebrated, after the September 11th terrorist attacks, at Eskan Village which is 22 miles outside of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The funny thing was that the only real turkey was the one on display. The rest was typical processed turkey that is given to the military. Considering the events that took place two months earlier it is no wonder everything looked so serious.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Sights Around Eskan Village


Here are some different things that can be seen around Eskan Village, Saudi Arabia.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Welcome to Eskan Village Saudi Arabia


I was sent on temporary duty to Eskan Village in Saudi Arabia. Eskan is located 22 miles southeast of Riyadh and it was originally built for the bedouin in 1983, however when the Saudi government built the village they did not accommodate the livestock so the bedouin’s turned down the use of the buildings. In 1990 where Iraq invaded Kuwait General Norman Schwarzkopf commanded Operation Desert Storm from Eskan Village. Here are some photos of the accommodations and where I lived during my stay here. You will notice that to stay busy and make the accommodations a little nicer people built a fishpond at the entrance to the building. Quite the nice touch.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Hale’iwa Beach North Shore Hawaii


Hanging out on the north shore of Oahu at the Hale’iwa beach park. This photo is taken looking back at the harbor.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Waimea Bay Beach Park


Driving around the north shore of Oahu in Hawaii I drove past the Waimea Bay beach park. This is where they have the Eddie Aikao surfing competition when the waves are consistently over 50 feet tall.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

View from Aloha Tower in Honolulu, Hawaii

Went over to the Aloha Tower in Honolulu, Hawaii today. I decided to take some directional photos from the top of the tower. Here is what the views look like from that point of view.

thekumachan_East_from_Aloha_Tower_5-27-01thekumachan_Picture_North_from_Aloha_tower_5-27-01thekumachan_Picture_on_Northside_looking_down_from_Aloha_tower_5-27-01thekumachan_View_North_from_Aloha_tower_5-27-0

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Ten Simple Rules for Dating My Daughter

Some thoughtful information for those who are daughters, were daughters, have daughters, intend to have daughters, or intend to date a daughter.

Rule One: If you pull into my driveway and honk you’d better be delivering a package, because you’re sure not picking anything up.

Rule Two: You do not touch my daughter in front of me. You may glance at her, so long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off of my daughter’s body, I will remove them.

Rule Three: I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. Please don’t take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose this compromise: You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes too big, and I will not object. However, In order to ensure that your clothes do not, in fact, come off during the course of your date with my daughter, I will take my electric nail gun and fasten your trousers securely in place to your waist.

Rule Four: I’m sure you’ve been told that in today’s world, sex without utilizing a “barrier method” of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate: when it comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I will kill you.

Rule Five: In order for us to get to know each other, we should talk about sports, politics, and other issues of the day. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my daughter safely back at my house, and the only word I need from you on this subject is “early.”

Rule Six: I have no doubt you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my daughter. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If you make her cry, I will make you cry.

Rule Seven: As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my daughter to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My daughter is putting on her makeup, a process that can take longer than painting the Golden Gate Bridge. Instead of just standing there, why don’t you do something useful, like change the oil in my car?

Rule Eight: The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter: Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool. Places where there are no parents, policemen, or nuns within eyesight. Places where there is darkness. Places where there is dancing, holding hands, or happiness. Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to induce my daughter to wear shorts, tank tops, midriff T-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater, and a goose down parka zipped up to her throat. Movies with a strong romantic or sexual theme are to be avoided; movies which feature chainsaws are okay. Hockey games are okay. Old folks homes are better.

Rule Nine: Do not lie to me. I may appear to be a pot-bellied, balding, middle-aged, dim-witted has-been. But on issues relating to my daughter, I am the all-knowing, merciless god of your universe. If I ask you where you are going and with whom, you have one chance to tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I have a shotgun, a shovel, and five acres behind the house. Do not trifle with me.

Rule Ten: Be afraid. Be very afraid. It takes very little for me to mistake the sound of your car in the driveway for a chopper coming in over a sand dune outside of Iraq. When my Anthrax starts acting up, the voices in my head frequently tell me to clean the guns as I wait for you to bring my daughter home. As soon as you pull into the driveway you should exit your car with both hands in plain sight. speak the perimeter password, announce in a clear voice that you have brought my daughter home safely and early, then return to your car. There is no need for you to come inside. The camouflaged face at the window is mine.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Good to be a Man

– Your last name stays put.
– The garage is all yours.
– Wedding plans take care of themselves.
– Chocolate is just another snack.
– You can be president.
– You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park.
– Car mechanics tell you the truth.
– You don’t give a rat’s ass if someone notices your new haircut.
– The world is your urinal.
– You never have to drive to another gas station because this one’s just too icky.
– Same work… more pay.
– Wrinkles add character.
– Wedding Dress $5000; Tux rental $100.
– People never stare at your chest when you’re talking to them.
– The occasional well-rendered belch is practically expected.
– New shoes don’t cut, blister, or mangle your feet.
– Your pals can be trusted never to trap you with: “So, notice anything different?”
– One mood, ALL the damn time.
– Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.
– You know stuff about tanks.
– A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.
– You can open all your own jars
– Dry cleaners and hair stylists don’t rob you blind.
– You can leave the motel bed unmade.
– You can kill your own food.
– You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.
– If someone forgets to invite you to something, he or she can still be your friend.
– Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack.
– If you are 34 and single, nobody notices.
– Everything on your face stays its original color.
– You can quietly enjoy a car ride from the passenger’s seat.
– Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.
– You don’t have to clean your apartment if the maid is coming.
– You can quietly watch a game with a buddy for hours without thinking: “He must be mad at me.”
– You don’t mooch off other’s desserts.
– You can drop by to see a friend without having to bring a little gift.
– You are not expected to know the names of more than five colors.
– You don’t have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.
– You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes.
– The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades.
– You don’t have to shave below your neck.
– Your belly usually hides your big hips.
– One wallet and one pair of shoes, one color, all seasons.
– You can “do” your nails with a pocketknife.
– You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustac-he.
– You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives, on December 24th, in 45 minutes.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Typhoon Saomoi


While stationed in Okinawa I had the privilege to sit through a many of typhoons. Here was one of the typhoons that I got to endure. These images were downloaded from the Japanese national weather service.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Sunset View From Kadena-cho Seawall


Walked down to the seawall in Kadena-cho to watch the sunset. It was quite a beautiful evening.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Okinawa, Japan – Kadena-cho Seawall After Typhoon Jelawat

Walked down to the seawall in Kadena-cho in Okinawa, Japan today after Typhoon Jelawat. Here are a few photos I took.

thekumachan_Kadena-cho_seawall_after_typhoon_jelawat_9-8-2000_Okinawa-1thekumachan_Kadena-cho_seawall_after_typhoon_jelawat_9-8-2000_Okinawa-2thekumachan_Kadena-cho_seawall_after_typhoon_jelawat_9-8-2000_Okinawa-3

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Waiting Out a Typhoon in Okinawa


Typhoons are a rather common occurrence in Okinawa, Japan during the months of April through November. Usually when there are typhoons you just wait it out by staying indoors as most businesses will be closed. This can be a very long and boring time. Sometimes the typhoons can even last up to a week or more. This is where people start to feel like they get cabin fever. Here are a couple of photos to show what it looks like when it is very windy and sheets of rain come through.


After this typhoon I happened to catch a couple of photos of the sunset.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Cook Your Own Food Restaurant


I went to a “Yakiniku” restaurant in Yomitan city in Okinawa, Japan where you literally grill your own food. “Yaki” means to grill and “niku” means meat. So you go to this restaurant and choose which kinds of meat and vegetables you want and then they put some coals in the grill and bring you what you’ve ordered. Typically they will bring a bowl of rice too. Then you cook your food and enjoy your dinner. These are great restaurants to have a beer while you cook. What man doesn’t like to grill and drink a beer?

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Okinawa Route 58


Driving up route 58 in Okinawa near the East China Sea and Kadena marina.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Kadena Circuit Actions


Kadena circuit actions airman hard at work.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

Pallet Building


During Joint military exercise Cobra Gold here are some United States Airmen building a pallet at the Wing 1 exercise complex in Korat, Thailand.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail

First Thai Kickboxing Experience


While in Thailand for joint military exercise Cobra Gold I took the opportunity to see a live Muay Thai kickboxing event. During the event they started out with the lower weight classes and worked their way up to the main event fight. From my observations the lower age and weight class fighters were primarily just trying to get points, but as the skill level got higher you could clearly see the fighters were trying to knock each other out. It was a really neat experience to take in the Thai culture through this sporting event. Unfortunately at the time I did not have a high quality digital camera, so these are the best photos I was able to take.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail