Getting ready for Leave
For the past 10 months I've been stuck in Korea, as you can attest from the previous entries I've posted, and for the past 10 months I've shut the fuck up and haven't said shit to the people that piss me off or make things more difficult than they have to be. Perhaps at a normal base I would confront my tormentors or perhaps throw some Hellfire on their asses but because Korea is a 12 month remote assignment where your enemy can quickly become your friend and vice-versa, I've decided to sit this one out since often the battles you engage are nothing more than trivial pissing contests that won't solve anything. But enough of that.
Instead I am focusing on something that perhaps should've happened sooner, only the timing was off. Leave, aka Vacation. The way leave works out here is usually on your 6th or 7th month mark here, you're allowed to take 30 days and go back to the States if you like. Bang the wife and then tell her how fat she looks, tell the kids how fucked and spoiled rotten they've become since you've been gone, and tell your goddamned mother-in-law she's still the biggest cunt around. Fun for the whole family, only I don't fit into that category.
So what does a guy like me do when he wants to get away from it all? Do I venture to someplace like Thailand and go fuck multiple prostitutes for only $10? Do I decide to visit some place like Australia and fulfill my life-long ambition of finally getting to bitch-slap a Koala bear? Do I go to Russia and drink vodka like it's water, only to find that once I've recovered from the binge drinking that I've now enlisted in the Russian Navy?
Nope. I do none of the above.
Instead, I return to Misawa, Japan, from whence I came from, to visit old friends and favorite haunts of mine. Misawa is located in Northern Japan, in the Aomori Prefecture, and translates to "Three Swamps" in Japanese. The closest city is Hachinohe (Hatch-i-no-hey), meaning 8th Gate, named after the different areas in Feudal Japan that were renowned for their horses. It is truly out in the "sticks" which makes it charming and revolting at the same time. While I enjoyed the surreal ambience and continual rain the area recieved up there, I absolutely fucking hated the fact there was nothing to do like in Tokyo, and Bullet Train tickets (Shinkansen) cost a fucking arm and a leg. It's easy to drop $500 in a weekend down there, and have done so a few times during my tenure there. After much deliberation about the good versus the bad experiences I had, the good outweighed the negative, and focus on that as being my reason to return and share good times once again with the people I care about.
I am also going to see Zakk Wylde perform live in Shibuya, Tokyo. Zakk Wylde, the lead guitarist for Ozzy Ozbourne, has his own band called Black Label Society and to say they FUCKING ROCK is an understatement. I met Zakk in 2003 after the concert, shook his hand, and thanked him for being such an inspiration. This dude stands 6'2, and has this commanding presence when he's in public. The dude looks like a Viking and is fucking STACKED like a brick shit-house. This dude must bench-press his own weight or something because he's a fucking MONOLITH. A fucking JUGGERNAUT. When he plays on stage, the fucker will swig a beer in between songs, and throw the can into the audience. He just doesn't give a shit.
One of my co-workers there hooked me up with tickets already. Ritsuko, aka "Mom", is this kindly Japanese lady that I had the pleasure of working with while in Japan. She's sweet to a "T" and takes care of you like you're one of her own. Granted I'm 33 fucking years old and don't need to be babied, but the fact she's always going out of her way for you really means alot to me, and as a result I try to return the favor. If I ever return to Japan on a permanent basis, I will definitely return to Misawa and get a GS job at the Post Office on base or something.
The plan is to take a hop out of Osan this weekend, where I fly into Yokota, Japan, which is just outside of Tokyo. Hops are free, but very unreliable at times, which is why it helps to have a few days extra to burn as a buffer. The last thing I want to do is miss the last plane back to Korea and will even go so far to cut my leave short if need be, just to make it back without a hitch. Anycase, I'll spend 2 weeks in Japan, take the Bullet Train to Misawa, visit friends before I head back down to Tokyo to catch the Zakk Wylde performance again. It should really be fucking sweet!
I've already started packing and will make sure to bring all my Black Label Society CD covers for Zakk to sign. Of course I'll bring my laptop so the 2 people that frequent this blog won't feel abandoned, as I will continue to update from the road. Although it's going to be a short leave, I plan on really enjoying my time AWAY from Korea. I need a break from all this shit.
Instead I am focusing on something that perhaps should've happened sooner, only the timing was off. Leave, aka Vacation. The way leave works out here is usually on your 6th or 7th month mark here, you're allowed to take 30 days and go back to the States if you like. Bang the wife and then tell her how fat she looks, tell the kids how fucked and spoiled rotten they've become since you've been gone, and tell your goddamned mother-in-law she's still the biggest cunt around. Fun for the whole family, only I don't fit into that category.
So what does a guy like me do when he wants to get away from it all? Do I venture to someplace like Thailand and go fuck multiple prostitutes for only $10? Do I decide to visit some place like Australia and fulfill my life-long ambition of finally getting to bitch-slap a Koala bear? Do I go to Russia and drink vodka like it's water, only to find that once I've recovered from the binge drinking that I've now enlisted in the Russian Navy?
Nope. I do none of the above.
Instead, I return to Misawa, Japan, from whence I came from, to visit old friends and favorite haunts of mine. Misawa is located in Northern Japan, in the Aomori Prefecture, and translates to "Three Swamps" in Japanese. The closest city is Hachinohe (Hatch-i-no-hey), meaning 8th Gate, named after the different areas in Feudal Japan that were renowned for their horses. It is truly out in the "sticks" which makes it charming and revolting at the same time. While I enjoyed the surreal ambience and continual rain the area recieved up there, I absolutely fucking hated the fact there was nothing to do like in Tokyo, and Bullet Train tickets (Shinkansen) cost a fucking arm and a leg. It's easy to drop $500 in a weekend down there, and have done so a few times during my tenure there. After much deliberation about the good versus the bad experiences I had, the good outweighed the negative, and focus on that as being my reason to return and share good times once again with the people I care about.
I am also going to see Zakk Wylde perform live in Shibuya, Tokyo. Zakk Wylde, the lead guitarist for Ozzy Ozbourne, has his own band called Black Label Society and to say they FUCKING ROCK is an understatement. I met Zakk in 2003 after the concert, shook his hand, and thanked him for being such an inspiration. This dude stands 6'2, and has this commanding presence when he's in public. The dude looks like a Viking and is fucking STACKED like a brick shit-house. This dude must bench-press his own weight or something because he's a fucking MONOLITH. A fucking JUGGERNAUT. When he plays on stage, the fucker will swig a beer in between songs, and throw the can into the audience. He just doesn't give a shit.
One of my co-workers there hooked me up with tickets already. Ritsuko, aka "Mom", is this kindly Japanese lady that I had the pleasure of working with while in Japan. She's sweet to a "T" and takes care of you like you're one of her own. Granted I'm 33 fucking years old and don't need to be babied, but the fact she's always going out of her way for you really means alot to me, and as a result I try to return the favor. If I ever return to Japan on a permanent basis, I will definitely return to Misawa and get a GS job at the Post Office on base or something.
The plan is to take a hop out of Osan this weekend, where I fly into Yokota, Japan, which is just outside of Tokyo. Hops are free, but very unreliable at times, which is why it helps to have a few days extra to burn as a buffer. The last thing I want to do is miss the last plane back to Korea and will even go so far to cut my leave short if need be, just to make it back without a hitch. Anycase, I'll spend 2 weeks in Japan, take the Bullet Train to Misawa, visit friends before I head back down to Tokyo to catch the Zakk Wylde performance again. It should really be fucking sweet!
I've already started packing and will make sure to bring all my Black Label Society CD covers for Zakk to sign. Of course I'll bring my laptop so the 2 people that frequent this blog won't feel abandoned, as I will continue to update from the road. Although it's going to be a short leave, I plan on really enjoying my time AWAY from Korea. I need a break from all this shit.
posted by Machine at 12:43 PM
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