Christopher's Blog

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The fall weather has arrived in Alberta. The yellow leaves are beautiful. Terri Lynn and I have been taking advantage of the beautiful scenery by going on jogs. It is very nice taking a liesurly jog through the trees and not have to worry about a marathon training schedule.

You may be able to tell in one of the pictures that Terri Lynn is pregnant. She is about four months along. And yup, she is still out jogging at least five times a week. There is no doubt that jogging is her passion. I guess that is how she qualified for the Boston marathon with plenty of time to spare during the Tokyo marathon.

Anyway, mainly I wanted to post these pictures because I liked them so much. I'll eventually submit them to iStockphoto but I can still only upload 15 images per week.

Please feel free to critique my photos in the comments below. I really like it when people comment.

For as unprepared I was, my time in the Boston Marathon was pretty good, I think. I wanted a better time, but with only an average of 10 to 15 miles per week vice 50+ miles per week for the six weeks prior to the marathon, a 3:31:34 is acceptable. That put me 7089 out of 25,000. Next time I'll do better.

To see the pictures visit here.

Monday is the Boston Marathon. If you would like to track my running go to http://www.bostonmarathon.com/ and input my number - 19821.

Disclaimer: After the Shonan 30 km race I had a knee injury that forced me to cut my running down to about 1/4 of what it should have been. I'm not going for speed, just for fun.

A few hours ago I arrived at my final duty station. If everything goes as planned I will be here for 10 days or less.

I have many mixed feelings about leaving Japan. Atsugi has become a huge part of my life. I've lived there for four years. Chances are I'll never return.

Originally I was supposed to catch a military flight out of Yokota Air Force Base but it was cancelled on Friday. The Costomer Service Desk (CSD) reserved me a ticket with United. I caught the Narita bus from Atsugi at 10 a.m. and said bye to Terri Lynn and Monsignor Walsh.

At about 1:00 p.m. I arrived at Narita and checked in to my flight. Since I had so much time to spare, I went up to the viewing deck and took a few pictures of airplanes. My flight left at 4:40 p.m. and arrived in Seattle at about 9:30 a.m. the same day. After collecting my luggage and going through costoms, I went up to the USO lounge to find out how to get to Bangor Submarine Base. They said I could catch the Bremmerton/Kitsap shuttle bus that leaves every hour, 20 minutes after the hour. At 11:20 a.m. I got on the $19.75 shuttle to Bangor and arrive around 1:00 p.m. right at the door of the TPU. I checked in, got a room with one room mate, locked up my things, and went for a five mile jog around base.

I miss the Pacific Northwest. It is beautiful here. There is no place like it. The air is so cool and crisp this time of year. The trees are tall and forests are lush. If I was staying in the Navy, I wouldn't mind being stationed here.

You know, it is quite a feeling to know that I served the country for almost six years, four years overseas. It's a good feeling. I still think I am ready to move on, though. I know that God has a plan for Terri Lynn and I.

Tomorrow is a day off and Monday I have to muster at 9:00 a.m. in uniform. I hope everything contiues to go smoothly.

The Japanese Compulsorily Insurance (JCI) on my $1 car expired. To get it renewed my car needs to pass an inspection first then it would cost about $400. When I took my car in for the inspection, it failed. It's a 1991 Toyota Carina with only about 35,000 miles. Even though the engine runs great, they said it will cost me over $300 to fix all the other problems bald tires and broken light covers. That means if I want a car for the last month I'm in Japan it would cost me about $700. I don't think it's worth it. Even if I could sell it for $500, I still don't think it is worth it. So for my last month in Japan, I'll be riding my bike and running the five miles to work. It will be good training for the Boston Marathon anyway.