I can't blog tonight, which is a shame since I have stuff I want to say...but the internet isn't working, so I'm typing this in my phone, and I'm way too tired for that noise.
But today was great - I did the Pearl Harbor tour, which was as moving as you might expect for someone who a)had two grandfathers in the Pacific war, and b)was a total nerd for studying WWII and writing and honors thesis about it (although my research was more focused on Germany). Seeing the "tears of the Arizona", which is the oil that the USS Arizona is still leaking seventy-five years after being destroyed, was really moving. Even more moving was remembering that so many of those "men" who died (1100+ within minutes after the Arizona's powder magazine blew up) were seventeen or eighteen, and had no idea when they woke up that morning that we would be at war instead of safely docked in Honolulu.
We also saw the USS Missouri, which was the battleship where the surrender was signed in Tokyo harbor - it's bizarre to me that some of the battleships that were integral to WWII were modernized to serve in Desert Storm, only to be decommissioned again. But between my time at the War of the Pacific / Nimitz museum in Texas in June and my Pearl Harbor experience now, I've had a v. militaristic set of vacations.
I could say more, but I'm so tired and still typing on my phone. I've also hit my introvert wall so hard - I was going to be quiet by the pool this afternoon but instead talked to Nalini for two hours. That was great, actually, since I'm really glad I befriended her - but it didn't make me feel more eager to see people. But tonight we had a dinner reservation at Duke's for ten of us (which is made three weeks ago, so I was a little miffed when it suddenly became eleven, but we dealt with it). So I went to dinner, enjoyed the hell out of my dinner ("seafood luau" = seafood in a coconut ginger curry), and I enjoyed even more hell out of my mai tais (which were delicious but getting stronger).
And now I must leave you - I have a couple of meetings tomorrow, and then I'm done and free. But I'm sure I'll think of something - so get ready for tomorrow :) goodnight!
But today was great - I did the Pearl Harbor tour, which was as moving as you might expect for someone who a)had two grandfathers in the Pacific war, and b)was a total nerd for studying WWII and writing and honors thesis about it (although my research was more focused on Germany). Seeing the "tears of the Arizona", which is the oil that the USS Arizona is still leaking seventy-five years after being destroyed, was really moving. Even more moving was remembering that so many of those "men" who died (1100+ within minutes after the Arizona's powder magazine blew up) were seventeen or eighteen, and had no idea when they woke up that morning that we would be at war instead of safely docked in Honolulu.
We also saw the USS Missouri, which was the battleship where the surrender was signed in Tokyo harbor - it's bizarre to me that some of the battleships that were integral to WWII were modernized to serve in Desert Storm, only to be decommissioned again. But between my time at the War of the Pacific / Nimitz museum in Texas in June and my Pearl Harbor experience now, I've had a v. militaristic set of vacations.
I could say more, but I'm so tired and still typing on my phone. I've also hit my introvert wall so hard - I was going to be quiet by the pool this afternoon but instead talked to Nalini for two hours. That was great, actually, since I'm really glad I befriended her - but it didn't make me feel more eager to see people. But tonight we had a dinner reservation at Duke's for ten of us (which is made three weeks ago, so I was a little miffed when it suddenly became eleven, but we dealt with it). So I went to dinner, enjoyed the hell out of my dinner ("seafood luau" = seafood in a coconut ginger curry), and I enjoyed even more hell out of my mai tais (which were delicious but getting stronger).
And now I must leave you - I have a couple of meetings tomorrow, and then I'm done and free. But I'm sure I'll think of something - so get ready for tomorrow :) goodnight!
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