Cherry blossoms in April, and pie firmly placed upon faces while children juggle water balloons. Where the hell am I going with this I have no Idea. Iwakuni Japan is not exactly what I would call a place of dreams, but with the right perspective you can drain it for every last drop of insight it may very well possess.
It is a small city consisting mostly of farmers and their modest living spaces (modest when compared to California standards of huge everything). The diligence that they apply to their work, their farms, is for me something to be admired. If you can do that back breaking work all day and still go home with a smile on your face, well, congratulations on a life well lived.
Downtown you can get a slight taste of trendy Japanese culture but, really, everything within twenty miles of this base is less than authentic (in my eyes). But that's life. Located downtown is a train station, which for a mere fourteen dollars will get you to Hiroshima and back. Speaking of Hiroshima, well, I'll get to that some other time. I've been up for nearly 24 hours...Duty...Which isn't saying much but whatever.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Where in the world is Carm-... I mean Barrow?!
Travel = Essential
Note to self, don't let friends drive drunk, or get drunk and enlist in the military. *Smacks self on forehead* Yet thanks to that coerced decision whom I only have myself to thank, I currently find myself in yet another corner of the world, where things are like channel 126 back home (Discovery). Yes Iwakuni Japan, home of the world famous Kintai bridge (shh don't tell the bridge that most of the world has no clue of its' existence).
And no, coming here is nothing like my adventures in Europe but that is more a matter of circumstance than anything. Eighteen, fresh out of high school, on a break with the so called sweetheart, free, and determined to have a good time. Well I wasn't meant to take Europe alone but, when it came down to the wire my best friend didn't get his passport and I ended up going at it alone. Which, as I look back at it now was probably for the best, I mean it forced me to look at the situation with a little more awe than I might have with the teenage influence of a best friend. Smell London, briefly, taste Belgium and Germany, get under Amsterdam's skin, and well in a certain little way taste samples of many other flavors Europe has to offer via the people. Eye opener. At eighteen that is exactly what it was, and, I don't care if I have to break my back to do it I will send my children when they graduate. In shorter words, 'here you go, this is the world'. And in no means should travel lose its luster with age, I think it actually becomes a more informing and enlightening experience as you get older. Japan for example, I'm here on orders, that means I didn't pull my pants down, spin a glob and wherever little man landed I was like "lets go and have some fun there".
I landed in Tokyo on, well, I think it was the evening of Jan 12th. Rain. I am not sure why but every time I travel I always land in pouring rain, I suppose it is just one of those things, a trademark if you will. I felt like I walked into some Nintendo induced dream where if one weren't careful, they might find themselves being swallowed by some giant fire spewing plant. No it wasn't really that bad, but, the constant dings overhead followed by a pleasant yet indiscernible Japanese voice was very enriched with the digital undertones that video games often contain. Beep Beep. So there I was, no Yen (yet), no hotel, and no firm destination other than the airport the following day for my connecting flight. Don't ask me the name of the hotel I ended up in, you won't get a definite answer. When it comes to minor details, I will not remember them unless something blew me away, which nothing other than the obvious little novelties did. Don't get me wrong, a toilet seat that cleans itself is quite the sight, as well as all the other bite size accommodations, they all just didn't strike me as something I needed to remember the name of that hotel for. Ah the bar, peas and fried octopus chips...yummy. Er... Well hell, I'm up for whatever. I did the whole herring thing in Amsterdam, had the Belgium waffle in Belgium, the brat and well pig family jewel shooters in Germany; so I was quite prepared for whatever Japan had to throw my way in all senses, especially culinary (wow I was naive).
So after about say my fourth or fifth Sapporo I was feeling the good spirits and toured the area. I will say this, Japanese are very curious, I like this. Curious people invoke curious actions, meaning I give them reasons to be more curious. Japanese women, well, not so curious (until you are in a appropriate setting that is). Niko. My first experience with a Japanese women, and no, nothing too exciting happened (although I did realize not to mistake the bashfulness for the closed door reality that truly exists here). So a dinner from a vending machine that cooked my fries, hotdogs and supplied me cold Asahi, a latenight of wandering and strange television broadcasts, followed by a cabride with self opening doors and a short flight to Hiroshima. Transport to Japan concluded. Iwakuni, well, i'll get to that some other time.
Note to self, don't let friends drive drunk, or get drunk and enlist in the military. *Smacks self on forehead* Yet thanks to that coerced decision whom I only have myself to thank, I currently find myself in yet another corner of the world, where things are like channel 126 back home (Discovery). Yes Iwakuni Japan, home of the world famous Kintai bridge (shh don't tell the bridge that most of the world has no clue of its' existence).
And no, coming here is nothing like my adventures in Europe but that is more a matter of circumstance than anything. Eighteen, fresh out of high school, on a break with the so called sweetheart, free, and determined to have a good time. Well I wasn't meant to take Europe alone but, when it came down to the wire my best friend didn't get his passport and I ended up going at it alone. Which, as I look back at it now was probably for the best, I mean it forced me to look at the situation with a little more awe than I might have with the teenage influence of a best friend. Smell London, briefly, taste Belgium and Germany, get under Amsterdam's skin, and well in a certain little way taste samples of many other flavors Europe has to offer via the people. Eye opener. At eighteen that is exactly what it was, and, I don't care if I have to break my back to do it I will send my children when they graduate. In shorter words, 'here you go, this is the world'. And in no means should travel lose its luster with age, I think it actually becomes a more informing and enlightening experience as you get older. Japan for example, I'm here on orders, that means I didn't pull my pants down, spin a glob and wherever little man landed I was like "lets go and have some fun there".
I landed in Tokyo on, well, I think it was the evening of Jan 12th. Rain. I am not sure why but every time I travel I always land in pouring rain, I suppose it is just one of those things, a trademark if you will. I felt like I walked into some Nintendo induced dream where if one weren't careful, they might find themselves being swallowed by some giant fire spewing plant. No it wasn't really that bad, but, the constant dings overhead followed by a pleasant yet indiscernible Japanese voice was very enriched with the digital undertones that video games often contain. Beep Beep. So there I was, no Yen (yet), no hotel, and no firm destination other than the airport the following day for my connecting flight. Don't ask me the name of the hotel I ended up in, you won't get a definite answer. When it comes to minor details, I will not remember them unless something blew me away, which nothing other than the obvious little novelties did. Don't get me wrong, a toilet seat that cleans itself is quite the sight, as well as all the other bite size accommodations, they all just didn't strike me as something I needed to remember the name of that hotel for. Ah the bar, peas and fried octopus chips...yummy. Er... Well hell, I'm up for whatever. I did the whole herring thing in Amsterdam, had the Belgium waffle in Belgium, the brat and well pig family jewel shooters in Germany; so I was quite prepared for whatever Japan had to throw my way in all senses, especially culinary (wow I was naive).
So after about say my fourth or fifth Sapporo I was feeling the good spirits and toured the area. I will say this, Japanese are very curious, I like this. Curious people invoke curious actions, meaning I give them reasons to be more curious. Japanese women, well, not so curious (until you are in a appropriate setting that is). Niko. My first experience with a Japanese women, and no, nothing too exciting happened (although I did realize not to mistake the bashfulness for the closed door reality that truly exists here). So a dinner from a vending machine that cooked my fries, hotdogs and supplied me cold Asahi, a latenight of wandering and strange television broadcasts, followed by a cabride with self opening doors and a short flight to Hiroshima. Transport to Japan concluded. Iwakuni, well, i'll get to that some other time.
Relationships
Relationships! Well well. Has to start somewhere, right?
---
*a relation between people; (`relationship' is often used where `relation' would serve, as in `the relationship between inflation and unemployment ...
*a state of connectedness between people (especially an emotional connection); "he didn't want his wife to know of the relationship"
*a state involving mutual dealings between people or parties or countries
*kinship: (anthropology) relatedness or connection by blood or marriage or adoption
Well now that we've cleared that up... Relationships to me are really either the most simple or complex damn thing about this little existence we lead. And I know what you are thinking, "Dudes in his early twenties what the hell does he know!" Well shun that thought you arrogant prick! I don't claim to know more than that in which my mind lets me, which of course is going to differ from your point of view (why life is so marvelous c'mon now). Me, I wish I could meet every single person in the world (not going to happen).
Negative. Positive. Ying and yang. Black and white. Men and women. That simple. That complex. (And men and men etc... 2008 here no offense God is pissed you found the loophole and that is awesome, more power to 'ya).
When I meet someone I am not immediately saying "hey is this person compatable with my personality", regardless of gender, well in terms of like just knowing you (I like women, again no offense). But, when I meet a female it is completely different, which may be the very reason us Barrows have such a reputation. Immediately upon meeting a female regardless of situation she is immediatley getting like the Barrow x-ray scan. Just looking for the knife under your work vest, no worries. What I mean by this is, when you are curious about something there really is no denying it. And well, women as a whole strike my curiosity (a shared feeling I am sure). And seriously gentlemen if your woman senses a loss in curiosity well you are certainly doing something wrong.
In my experience, if you want something, just say so! I've seen alot of divorce, maybe because I am from California, or maybe because well it is just so common these days. That being said, the main reason for most of their downfall (those I witnessed) is a lack of communication. Not the typical communication like "hey, I really wish we talked more" wtf is that. No communication in the sense of, "hey when you say you will do this and don't it really pisses me off", or "hey I would really like it if we could blah blah do this activity." If you want something you have to say so. It is a misconception to think that hey I want this therefore this thing I want I should expect from my relationship. Negative. If you want something then you should only expect it from yourself, in the sense that, if "I want this bad enough I will get it". Be yourself, if that doesnt work then you should probably find someone else. Good rule of thumb. Dont force it.
The most important relationship is the one with yourself. Conquer that. If you two can get along there is no limit to the things you could do.
---
*a relation between people; (`relationship' is often used where `relation' would serve, as in `the relationship between inflation and unemployment ...
*a state of connectedness between people (especially an emotional connection); "he didn't want his wife to know of the relationship"
*a state involving mutual dealings between people or parties or countries
*kinship: (anthropology) relatedness or connection by blood or marriage or adoption
Well now that we've cleared that up... Relationships to me are really either the most simple or complex damn thing about this little existence we lead. And I know what you are thinking, "Dudes in his early twenties what the hell does he know!" Well shun that thought you arrogant prick! I don't claim to know more than that in which my mind lets me, which of course is going to differ from your point of view (why life is so marvelous c'mon now). Me, I wish I could meet every single person in the world (not going to happen).
Negative. Positive. Ying and yang. Black and white. Men and women. That simple. That complex. (And men and men etc... 2008 here no offense God is pissed you found the loophole and that is awesome, more power to 'ya).
When I meet someone I am not immediately saying "hey is this person compatable with my personality", regardless of gender, well in terms of like just knowing you (I like women, again no offense). But, when I meet a female it is completely different, which may be the very reason us Barrows have such a reputation. Immediately upon meeting a female regardless of situation she is immediatley getting like the Barrow x-ray scan. Just looking for the knife under your work vest, no worries. What I mean by this is, when you are curious about something there really is no denying it. And well, women as a whole strike my curiosity (a shared feeling I am sure). And seriously gentlemen if your woman senses a loss in curiosity well you are certainly doing something wrong.
In my experience, if you want something, just say so! I've seen alot of divorce, maybe because I am from California, or maybe because well it is just so common these days. That being said, the main reason for most of their downfall (those I witnessed) is a lack of communication. Not the typical communication like "hey, I really wish we talked more" wtf is that. No communication in the sense of, "hey when you say you will do this and don't it really pisses me off", or "hey I would really like it if we could blah blah do this activity." If you want something you have to say so. It is a misconception to think that hey I want this therefore this thing I want I should expect from my relationship. Negative. If you want something then you should only expect it from yourself, in the sense that, if "I want this bad enough I will get it". Be yourself, if that doesnt work then you should probably find someone else. Good rule of thumb. Dont force it.
The most important relationship is the one with yourself. Conquer that. If you two can get along there is no limit to the things you could do.
Well well... First impressions always important.
You have to love toady's day and age. Ah, you smell that, technology! Actually I cant stand the smell, but I'm color blind, obnoxious and very prone to the more obscure of activities so who knows what else is wrong with me. My name, well, in the NAVY I am simply Barrow. Yes, so call me The Barrow, because at this moment in time I apparently stand on the front lines of showing the world (Iwakuni Japan) who the Barrows are. You know, in my personal experience alot of people have this conception about themselves, that "Oh my, every action that precedes every little decision I make is going to define both me and my name". Sorry. That is not how I feel. I want the world to prove something to me. Think about it, it will make more sense later I'm sure. Just some advice i've gotten along the way. Would read: "Go your whole life trying to impress the world you'll find the world to be quite unimpressive. Just live Cory." Damn. So much for going by The Barrow. Hi. My name is Cory Alan Barrow. And thanks to technology you get the privelage to dive into some of my thoughts. Exciting ay? Well I suppose that is just a question of how bored you are!
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