Posts

Showing posts from April 13, 2008

Honshu and Okinawa

Image
I am back. I spent 10 days in Japan, 5 days for work on the main island of Honshu and 5 days of solo adventure in Okinawa. Travel is so invigorating dispite the uncomfortableness. Jetlag, anxiety, crowds, and other discomforts aside, it is mind-expanding and rewarding. Work went well. I flew a new airline (Skymark) from Tokyo to Naha. I am always wary of strange discount airlines and all the traps they set. However, I had a great expereince with "Sky". I was actually shocked. Super easy checkin at the airport, no extra fees even with extra luggage. The primary mission in Okinawa was to visit the Peace Park and the suicide cliffs of Okinawa. From what I understand, at the end of WW2 the inhabitants were encouraged to commit suicide rather than surrender to the Americans and get tortured and eaten. Besides other types of suicide, they jumped off the cliffs at the Southern end of the main island. If you have seen the original color footage taken at the time, I am sure you ...
Image
The weather is great today and we are expecting it to get better and better over the next two days. I went up with my aviation mentor the other day. We went over to Sidney NY and got gas for the plane. My instructor has been out of town. I am still working on my Chinese. It is clear that it gets harder as you learn more characters. I need to practice more with Google in Chinese. These are pictures of downtown Coventry NY and the Silo Restaurant in Greene NY. The video is final approach at Greene NY 4N7 runway 25. This is the runway I practice on.
There is a lot going on. I have been hiking and running. I shoot for at least five miles either running and hiking. They are different exercises for sure. The hiking is therapeutic for contemplation. The running is good for the stress of "gotta do something now!" In the past few weeks, a cat has been put down, a llama was put down and five chickens were killed by a weasel that got into the chicken pen. Spring has sprung in Upstate NY. What you do is all a matter of priorities. Make time for creative stuff, plan for the necessary work stuff. Get lots of sleep and don't drink.