First day back in FL... And I spend it at the DMV

So Jennifer, Gabe, Baron and myself got to Florida on Tuesday evening, looking a little something like this

Top to Bottom, Left to Right: Jennifer, Baron, that lady we picked up hitchhiking outside the GA State Penitentiary, Evan, Gabe

Anyways, it was late so we got checked into our hotel

They had 12 cabins, 12 vacancies.

And looked forward to a new day finding homes and taking car of business. A bright future seemed to lay before us.

Unfortunately it didn't.

At 2 AM I got to relearn why you don't give the dog another bowl of water before going to bed.

Then, after a night of Gabe's never ending stream of crying (he must've figured out we were in Florida), I got to get up at 6 AM to enjoy our hotel's free breakfast.

Let's just say it left something to be desired. The knife in the head was a mercy killing.

Well after eating some tums and pepto, I got my first task of the day- drive to the DMV and register Jennifer's car in Florida. Oh boy.

So I got to drive Jennifer's new car that I bought to the DMV

And when I get there the building says in big bold letters on the front: TAX COLLECTOR

I go inside and wait my turn. Sense it is both a DMV and a Tax Collector, I imagine people avoid it like the plague and so I actually don't have to wait too long. Unfortunately I am promptly told that my trip was all for naught, because the delearship put both Jennifer and I on the title, even though I was the only one on the financing. SO I get the joy of driving back to the hotel, picking up Jennifer and Gabe and returning to the DMV. Exciting.

Once I pick up Jennifer, it is determined that we require lunch because we are hungry. Or rather I am hungry and could do lunch before or after the DMV. Jennifer on the other hand...

Ravenous is probably a better word.

We then got to go back to the DMV and fork over a large sum of money for sales tax and registration and get a license plate.

Then we spent the rest of the day finding out a whole bunch of the listings we had been looking at were already gone and having to do our research all over again.

Wish us better luck tomorrow.

Florida or Bust

So this week I finally wrap up my school and head down to Florida. Some 2 months after leaving Japan we will finally reach the end of our journey (so long as eagles don't carry me away too).

Now I am not the biggest fan of Florida.

Though I am sure that Jacksonville/Mayport is alot nicer than Central Florida, which I think had Dante Alighieri know about in the 1200's, one of the levels of Hell would have been located somewhere around there.

 Charon ferries you across the St. John's River

I have heard good things from alot of people, and it seems to be regarded as one of the hidden treasures of the Navy, with good neighborhoods and just a nice place to live.

The only thing is that we still need to find a place to live. Been kinda browsing online, but I was hoping for something like this for Jennifer and I:

And this for Gabe:

Seems Legit

I am looking forward to getting all of our stuff back, though not unpacking. I am afraid the contents of the house will just explode everywhere. And then I have to go back to work for real.

I'll try to keep everyone updated a little more and keep bringing the laughs.

The movers are coming, the movers are coming!

One if by land... they aren't coming by sea, so it will just be one by land. As well, for some reason, Paul Revere's ride seems more heroic than if I did it.

Probably because the movers aren't Redcoats.

Anyway today was spent (and is ongoing) getting ready for the movers to come TOMORROW. A lot of last minute packing and cleaning. Fortunately we have Japanese movers who I imagine are extremely efficient at packing.

Tomorrow is going to be crappy and hectic I imagine. Jennifer will likely be like this (graphic) and I will likely be like this (not so graphic).

I probably shouldn't even blogging right now, and should be actively cleaning/packing, but I am a world renowned expert on procrastination.

I guess I kinda found a picture for it now... oops

While tomorrow is going to stink, unpacking on the other end is always just as bad. Houses end up exploding.

Well I am going to keep this short and to the point. Likely when Jennifer learns I wasted time doing this, I can be found in a position such as the ostrich.

Holy Crap, we still have this thing!

This is still here? Well, might as well post, who knows, maybe this will one day be the last written record of man's existence. In which case, may as well give those alien archaeologists a better image of man:

The Nuge shall live forever.

So my last post was Oct 2011. And I think that the last post on here was Mar 2012. We really haven't been trying. We should have at least done one 12:01 AM December 22st, 2012 to announce we had survived the apocalypse just fine over here in Japan for all you statesiders (way to go on that one Mayans).

FYI Next apocalypse is scheduled for 2016

ANYWHO speaking of statesiders, Jennifer and I will once again be amongst... well usually this sentence ends with "The Living", but in this case I am referring to continental Americans. Although maybe that is the living since the average Asian looks like this:

YAY HONG KONG!

By the end of April I will back in the... well usually that sentence ends with USSR, but in this case I am referring to the USA. We will be coming back plus one: Gabriel Constantine Valdyke (named thus so that it makes sense that he has a life long ambition of conquering nations or leading empires). In the meantime I just need to make sure we get him a seat on the airplane I guess. I believe out flight back will be like this. Or maybe we will travel by line like Indiana Jones.

I am going to miss Japan. Jennifer is going to be more like this. Never again will I ride Godzilla or go whaling. I will miss the vending machines, clown cars and convenient stores. I am now a big proponent of NOT TIPPING. And everywhere I go I am surrounded by beautiful mountains and can likely find an awesome ocean view or a hidden temple.

For those of you don't, we are going to be in Mayport, Florida. I am going to be the Damage Control Assistant onboard the USS Gettysburg (CG 64). I imagine this is my next CO and XO:

The reason they will be Confederates is because we are stationed in the South.

Well, hopefully I update this a little more regularly in the future. If you really just want to read a blog by me, check out this one. It is updated much more often. Yeah, so I am self promoting, and probably in a bleh place to do it, but any publicity is good publicity right? Let me just ask my panel of experts: Amanda Bynes, Lindsay Lohan and Mel Gibson...

Nagasaki Lantern Festival

It's been a while, but I'll catch up you.

Evan's ship was supposed to leave in January, but do to some mechanical problems, it was better to fix the issue instead of get underway. So, Evan stayed around for another month. Yay! Right before he was supposed to leave, we went to the Nagasaki Lantern Festival with a couple friends of ours. We went on a weekday which meant that Nagasaki was far less crowded. We waited until the boys got of work before we left. So we didn't get to Nagasaki until about 6:30. We walked down Chinatown and to the main arena seeing several lanterns and light displays. Since Evan's ship was supposed to leave, I chanced going to Nagasaki again without him with an MWR trip. He stayed home, slept in, and played games all day while I got some amazing shots I didn't get to before. I was able to travel a lot more given that we had several hours instead of a few. I broke away from the large group to see as many places as I could.

They even had dinosaurs!

A Chinese violinist. I don't know how she was able to ply because it was so cold out. My fingers were freezing in my pockets.

Dancing dragons put on by a team of high school girls.

All in all, it was good fun. I was really, really cold and our shipment hadn't gotten in yet with all of our stuff, including my winter clothes, so I wore Evan's jacket. It was super crowded and I didn't get to see some of the shows the put on because I couldn't see over other people and then I had to leave.

If you'd like to learn more about the Nagasaki Lantern Festival, look here for about it's origins and traditions.