JAWing On – Life on Okinawa

Although the Ryukyu Islands were returned to Japan in 1972, there are still some basics that provide a contrast in the two main islands. When I was in the Fussa area outside Tokyo in 1981, I saw my first Japanese 7-Eleven. Having lived only in the Okinawan Prefecture of Japan, I was very surprised to see the store. Here it is almost 25 years later and below is a listing of the addresses of the current 7-Elevens we have on island (that I know of):

You got it, a big fat zero!!! There has been an influx of large mainland Japanese companies on island over the past 5 to 10 years, but not one 7-Eleven! So it came quite the surprise to see this article in the news today.

Saturday October 22, 2005 [PC (16/365) W (9/365)]

October 2005 Total:
S-sunny (3/365) C-cloudy (3/365) PC-partly cloudy (16/365)
D-drizzle (2/365) SR-scattered rain showers (1/365)
W-windy (9/365) LW-light winds (11/365)
H-humid (8/365) SH-slightly humid (10/365)

This Year�s (June 3, 2005 – June 2, 2006) Total:
S-sunny (27/365) C-cloudy (34/365) PC-partly cloudy (81/365)
D-drizzle (8/365) R-rainy (4/365) SR-scattered rain showers (13/365)
W-windy (42/365) LW-light winds (76/365) VW-very windy (5/365)
H-humid (65/365) SH-slightly humid (71/365)

If you were to choose the top entertainment icon of the century who would it be? Variety has made their choice for their 100th anniversary edition.

Friday October 21, 2005 [S (3/365) LW (11/365) SH (10/365) ]

October 2005 Total:
S-sunny (3/365) C-cloudy (3/365) PC-partly cloudy (15/365)
D-drizzle (2/365) SR-scattered rain showers (1/365)
W-windy (8/365) LW-light winds (11/365)
H-humid (8/365) SH-slightly humid (10/365)

This Year�s (June 3, 2005 – June 2, 2006) Total:
S-sunny (27/365) C-cloudy (34/365) PC-partly cloudy (80/365)
D-drizzle (8/365) R-rainy (4/365) SR-scattered rain showers (13/365)
W-windy (41/365) LW-light winds (76/365) VW-very windy (5/365)
H-humid (65/365) SH-slightly humid (71/365)

These days so much seems to be going on all at once. And if a person only has time for a brief rundown of the news, one might think there’s nothing but negative events in our daily lives. Of all the online major news sources, I choose Yahoo News for having the easiest and most complete site. And even though the site is extremely thorough in providing a wide range of general topics and sources, what is lacking on that and other main sites is a category for the positive daily events. I ran across this smaller, somewhat biased (I think I would change the title of the “Unhappy News” category to “Standard News”), site that seems to understand the need for a balance in the human psyche.

Almost every weekend someone new comes to the club and I inevitably get asked the same question, “What is it like living in a foreign place, specifically Okinawa, for so many years?”

Since this is the only place I have resided at for a lengthy amount of time, I can only surmise that it’s the same as any other place that a person lives for over twenty-five years. It has good points and bad points. Of course, having lived in other places tends to place more emphasis on the island’s strengths and weaknesses.

Seems that not everything in Japan is as black and white as the image held by many people. No longer do the simple terms conservative, liberal, and radical depict the typical politician. In these times terms that could be included are is one a radical conservative, a conservative radical, an authoritative liberal, or a liberal authoritarian.

I was reading about Starbucks’ quotes. I think the quotes have achieved what was initially intended. People are discussing differing points of view. What’s wrong with that as long as the list of quotes is diverse?

Thursday October 20, 2005 [S (2/365) LW (10/365) ]

October 2005 Total:
S-sunny (2/365) C-cloudy (3/365) PC-partly cloudy (15/365)
D-drizzle (2/365) SR-scattered rain showers (1/365)
W-windy (8/365) LW-light winds (10/365)
H-humid (8/365) SH-slightly humid (9/365)

This Year�s (June 3, 2005 – June 2, 2006) Total:
S-sunny (26/365) C-cloudy (34/365) PC-partly cloudy (80/365)
D-drizzle (8/365) R-rainy (4/365) SR-scattered rain showers (13/365)
W-windy (41/365) LW-light winds (75/365) VW-very windy (5/365)
H-humid (65/365) SH-slightly humid (70/365)