Brain Dump

*Gulp*

Tomorrow I'm going under the knife. I'm going to be invaded and slashed open and have chunks of my body removed.

Ok, I'm being dramatic. I'm just having my wisdom teeth taken out. However, given the level of nerves I'm feeling about the whole thing, you'd think my life hung in the balance. I've prepared a stash of mush to consume for the days following the surgery:

I have to laugh at the differences between the military dental clinic I'm using here in Japan and the nice civilian office my sister had the same procedure done in while I was visiting this summer. She got a group of super friendly, attentive and reassuring doctors and nurses telling her exactly what to expect and a whole packet full of detailed pre and post-op instructions. She got the happy happy valium to take before the whole ordeal so she'd be relaxed and carefree. It was as comfortable an experience as you can get with this kind of surgery- kinda like a dental vacation resort.

Here, on the other hand, so far I've gotten one cold surgeon who speed-ran through a memorized script of basic explanations, a one page printout of instructions (half of which was devoted to things like "Do not work with weapons or classified materials for 24 hours after surgery"... darn, ruins my plans for recovery), a staunch "no" to my inquiry about anti-nerve drugs, and a kick out the door.

Sounds like a bum deal, but I'm not necessarily knocking it; my sis' surgery cost thousands out of pocket, and I don't have to pay a dime. In the end, we both will have our wisdom teeth out. So I'm not sure who's getting the better deal.

Wish me luck! I plan to spend the rest of today eating all the crunchy foods I can and pacing the living room trying to calm my fears.

Shipwreck Beach

The first time we tried to get to Shipwreck Beach, we got directions (which doesn't always mean much here since there are no street names and "turn at the rice paddy on the left" doesn't always get you where you need to go in a land full of rice paddies on the left) and attempted to make our way. We had poor results. We did not find the elusive beach that day.

This weekend we had better luck. It's a cool place to visit, with lots of treasures, sea glass and other neat stuff to see and find among the shipwrecks if you spend some time walking the beach.

The big negative about this place is the unimaginable amount of garbage washed up on the shore. I'm pretty sure this is where all refuse in Japan comes to die. We brought books and sandwiches and thought we might hang out and enjoy the shore for a while, but it wasn't that kind of beach. Fun to see, not that fun to stay.

Here's a bonus: Shipwreck Corey (and a couple more pics HERE if you're interested).

Surreal

For some reason, I popped awake at 3:40am this morning. After sitting around in the dark for 45 minutes, I decided I would take advantage of the opportunity and head out with my camera in attempts to catch the sunrise.

A 20 minute drive later, I was nestling myself onto a completely deserted stretch of shoreline as the first morning light illuminated the pink clouds over the Pacific. Aside from the seabirds picking through the sand, I was the only living thing out there and it felt like this sunrise was all mine.

I realize how stupid this next statement is, but I think it anyway: I can't believe this happens every day. It's such a magical, beautiful scene that felt so rare and special in the moment, and yet tomorrow and the day after the same thing will happen again. You've gotta just awe at nature some days. For more of today's sunrise pics, CLICK HERE.

Add another great forever-memory to the Japan list...

Asamushi Aquarium

Today we went to the Asamushi Aquarium in Aomori (an hour/hour and a half drive from Misawa). It was no Monterey Bay Aquarium, but it was pretty cool nonetheless. It makes for a decent little day trip destination and is definitely something worth seeing.

I spent basically the entire time playing with my camera and taking pictures. It was good practice, and I think I used all of my lenses at various points throughout the day. They all come in pretty handy in different situations.

We saw all kinds of fish and other sea life including otters, sea lions, and penguins. Cuties!

They had the most gigantic sting rays I've ever seen. These things were serious jumbos!

They put on a dolphin show that is pretty cool too. They do a lot more specialized tricks than I have seen at these types of shows in the U.S... dolphins playing fetch and carrying balls, blowing bubbles in unison on command, throwing balls to the audience, and more. They were so cute!

There are so many pictures that I'm in love with, so if you want to see more pretty sea critters, click here!