Weird Japanese Car Names

To be fair, car names are universally bizarre.  (Honda Civic?  Jeep Grand Cherokee? Chevy Impala?  All weird once you actually start thinking about them.)  

But you've got to love the Japanese for creating the Daihatsu Naked.

Best car name ever

Loren and I have made a game out of spotting the most ridiculous car names here on the island.  After all, where else can you find ...

The Terios Kid

The Daihatsu Move (At least you know what to yell at it when it's moving too slowly)

Or the Vamos, if you're feeling bilingual ...

In Japan, cars with little engines have yellow license plates.  It's kind of a warning to other drivers.  ("Hey, this car isn't going to accelerate very quickly when it pulls out in front of you.  Watch out.")

Most of the oddly-named cars have yellow license plates.  Coincidence?  I think not.

The Joy Pop

The Suzuki Every

Okay, this one's name isn't that weird.  But the color reminds me of a Mary Kay dealer's vehicle

Here's just a smattering of the cars parked at the Commissary this afternoon:

The Toyota Fun Cargo

Having driven behind a Suzuki Swift, I can most assuredly say that it does not live up to its name

I've seen a Cube, but never a Cube Cubed before.  Also, is that a Hello Kitty Transformers sticker?

The Honda Spike

Zest!

Wit!

Boon!

Mr Wagon!

Wizard!

Okay, this one doesn't have a bizarre name, but I had to add it because it's my favorite car of all time.  

Someday I will own a Bolero.  This is a guarantee.

And the best car name ever ...

The ladies love the Scrum

Hiking to Tadake

I knew hiking in Okinawa would be somewhat different than, say, taking a day trip up to the Sierras.  What I didn't expect was for our first trail to actually be a stream.

At the trailhead

Today we hiked up to Tadake.  (I think it translates into "Ta Falls.")  It's located about eight kilometers past Nago and an hour-long drive from Kadena Air Base.

Driving along Highway 58

Along the way, we passed an awful-looking car accident.  We think the person was texting and hit the curb.  Yikes.

Someone's day just got ruined

After we reached the turn-off for the falls, we drove down a windy road for a few kilometers.

Heading into the jungle

We passed a fish hatchery and took a few wrong turns before we finally reached the parking area.  

Ready to start!

I was a little surprised by how many people were on the trail.  The place is a little remote and relatively hard to find, but there were at least 40 cars parked along the road.  Most of them were native Japanese -- we only saw a handful of Americans.

I love the floaty toys and bug nets ...

Okay, here's where the photos end.  Unfortunately, I was too nervous to take my camera or phone along on the hike.  I wasn't sure how deep the creek became, and I'm kind of a klutz when it comes to slippery rocks.  So I can't offer you photos of us sloshing around and rock-climbing to the falls or photos of the gorgeous waterfalls themselves. 

I also don't have photos of us climbing the slippery ropes up the top of the falls or bushwhacking through the jungle.  Sorry.  There are photos online that another American group took several months ago.  I'm definitely going to invest in a cheap waterproof camera or carrying case before I go back to Tadake. 

We took the toll road back to Kadena beause it's so much quicker.  They also have awesome signs along the side of the road.

I love these signs along the expressway.  I haven't actually seen this animal, but I'm sure they wouldn't put it up if  this beast didn't exist.

Overall, a great trip!  We didn't run into any nasty bugs or snakes, so I'm grateful.  :)

Upper Body Workout

Just signed up my second triathlon in less than two months!  (I think I'm having delusions of athletic grandeur.)  The TriChicks mini-triathlon is next weekend and only about half of the length of my sprint triathlon in September.  It should be a nice introduction and teach me a bit about transitions and what to expect during a tri.

Oh baby, I need a lot of training.  I ran an Olympics Kick-Off 5K at 6:30 this morning with about 250 other early-risers.  I finished solid middle-of-the-pack.  Not with the stragglers at the end, but I was definitely not one of the hot-shots who finished in 15 minutes.  

As I was standing in line, waiting for water and dripping sweat, I overheard a girl talking to another guy.  He asked her how she did, and she said, "Eh, okay.  Not fast, but I beat all of these suckers," and motioned towards the water line.  

I wanted to punch her in the face.  And run laps around her.  And challenge her to a push-up contest.  Right HERE, right NOW!  You think you're better than me?  PROVE IT.

But in all seriousness, she was right.  She didn't need to prove anything -- she already finished before me.  

Her casual remark made me start rethinking my training strategy.  So far, I've just been content to coast along.  When I go for a run, my goal is usually: keep running.  It doesn't matter whether I'm crawling along at a snail's pace, as long as I'm still moving.  But you know what?  Sometimes that isn't good enough.  I don't want to just finish a race -- I want to own it. 

Has anyone else out there felt the same way?  How do you go from "just finishing" to actually competing?  I'm going to start running intervals at the track, but are there any other ways to boost my speed?  

On a semi-unrelated note, I'm posting a new workout.  It mainly focuses on the upper body, but there are a few sneaky leg exercises thrown into the mix.  I did it yesterday morning, and my muscles are still randomly twitching.  

I've linked most of the exercises with videos or descriptions.  A lot of the moves come from the Nike Training app.  If you don't have it, I highly recommend downloading it.  

Upper-Body Workout (Do 12 reps of each exercise, unless otherwise stated.  Repeat each group three times, with as few breaks as possible)

-5 minute warm-up on the treadmill

Group One

-Alternating step-back lunge row

-Single leg deadlift reverse fly

-Plank to row rotation

Group Two

-Sumo squat with lateral raise

-Alternating plank front raises

-Side plank with reverse fly

Group Three

-Bicep curl

-Concentration curl

-Alternating hammer curl

Group Four

-Alternating medicine ball push-up

-Dip on stability ball

-Medicine ball skull-crusher

Group Five

-Suitcases (15 reps)

-Plank on medicine ball  (60 seconds)

-Crazy Ivans (15 reps)

Asian Chicken Salad

I have a new recipe to share!  But first .. some dog park photos.

Chibana Dog Park

Levitating dog!

The little guy's legs just aren't long enough to keep up with the big dog

Chomp

Okay, on to the recipe!

The summer heat has been making me crave salads.  The only issue, of course, is that produce at the commissary is insanely expensive. ($4 for a pound of apples?  You've got to be kidding me!)  It's also usually less-than-fresh.  (Buy 6 oranges, and about 2 of them are guaranteed to be inedible.)

Luckily, Napa cabbage is abundant here and relatively inexpensive.  Which leads us to today's recipe: Asian Chicken Salad.

Asian Chicken Salad -Serves 4 - Adapted from Natural Health Magazine


-2 chicken breasts (or the equivalent amount of meat in thighs, tenderloins, etc.)
-1 tsp olive oil
-6 cups of Napa cabbage, shredded
-1 carrot, julienned
-1 red bell pepper, julienned
-1 bunch cilantro, chopped
-1/4 cup cashews, chopped

-1/2 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
-1/3 cup orange juice
-1/4 cup tamari or low-sodium soy sauce
-2 T honey
-1/8 cup sesame oil
1/2 T freshly grated ginger
-1/2 t red pepper flakes

Cook your chicken.  I brushed my chicken tenderloins with olive oil, tossed some salt and pepper on them and roasted them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.  You could also saute the chicken or poach it.  (Or heck, buy a rotisserie chicken if you want to go the REALLY lazy route.  I won't judge.)

Yes, it does make me feel better eating chicken that was "raised in a wonderful environment."

Make the dressing.  Whisk together the rice wine vinegar, orange juice, tamari and honey.  Once it's combined, add the sesame oil in a thin stream.  Mix in the grated ginger and red pepper flakes.

Salad dressing ingredients

After the chicken has cooked, allow it to cool for about 15 minutes.  Shred the chicken.

Yep, definitely using the lid to my tupperware cake container as a salad bowl. 

Place the chicken, cabbage, green onions, carrot, bell pepper, cilantro and cashews in a large bowl.  Add the dressing and mix until everything is evenly coated.

I served the salad with pot-stickers to round out the meal.  It was delicious!

I also discovered why they're called "pot-stickers."  I'm still scrubbing the noodley bits off my skillet  

*A word of warning: the dressing is pretty spicy.  A little bit of it goes a long way, so don't just dump the whole bowl of dressing onto your salad.  If you'd like to tone down the heat a bit, add fewer red pepper flakes.

Enjoy!

Full-body Weights Workout

As a member of the military, Loren's required to attend physical training every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings.  Rather than sleep in and enjoy having the bed to myself, I've started going with him to the fitness complex.  He works out with his squadron, and I head to the weight room.

Here's a sample of what I've been doing.  It's a good little workout -- I usually end up drenched in sweat.  (Although the heat and humidity in the gym probably add to my perspiration.  Some mornings, I think it's cooler outside the building.)

I've included links with videos for each exercise

Unless otherwise indicated, do 12 reps of each.

TUESDAY MORNING WORKOUT

5 minute warm-up (running on treadmill)

Round 1 (Repeat 3x)
-Sumo squat with press
-Side lunge with dumbbells
-Dumbbell woodchops

Round 2 (Repeat 3x)
-One-legged dead lift
-Burpee with shoulder press
-Squat with arm curls

Round 3 (Repeat 3x)
-Plank row
-Bench dips
-Isolated dumbbell bench press

Round 4 (Repeat 3x)
-V-ups (do 15 reps)
-Plank on medicine ball (60 seconds)
-Side plank (60 seconds each side)

Round 5 (Repeat 3x)
-Russian twist with medicine ball (do 15 reps)
-Toe touches (do 15 reps)
-One-armed plank (60 seconds each side)

The House Guest

We have a temporary addition to the Morrall-Russell household.

Meet AJ.  He weighs about ten pounds and looks like a miniature ewok.

All that's missing is a little orange hood

AJ will be staying with us while his owners find permanent housing at Kadena.  They just arrived on Okinawa last Friday, and the kennel was packed with dogs.  Temporary lodging doesn't allow pets, so he's staying with us for the next week or so.

Let me preface this post by saying that I'm not a big fan of little dogs.  My ideal pet is a scruffy outdoor companion -- the kind who runs by your side and climbs mountains with you.  (Preferably carrying a miniature barrel of brandy around its neck.)

AJ does neither of those things.

To be fair, the itty-bitty legs and pug-nose don't help him much in the athletic department

So while I don't usually like little dogs, this Shi-Tzu has worn me over with his sheer .... tenacity.  Take this incident, which was taken early this morning on my iPhone:

Of course, the moment I got out my good camera to take non-blurry action shots, this happened:

"Oh hey, now we're going to pretend to be tired."

Go figure ...

Weekend Trip to Naha

After exploring a little of the less-populated northern part of Okinawa, Loren and I decided to visit the prefecture's cultural, economic and political capital -- Naha.

Because Japan (and Okinawa in particular) has so little land, it's hard to describe what's considered "city" and "country" here.  Everything is so compact.  Even the smaller villages have people stacked on top of each other.  So I wasn't quite sure what to expect with a big city like Naha.  Massive skyscrapers reaching up toward the sky?

As it turns out, Naha looks a lot like the other cities around Okinawa, except .... tighter.  Buildings are crammed next to each other, and the sprawl seems to go on forever.

Driving into Naha

We didn't really have a plan, so we just drove around the city for a while.  (In retrospect, I've found a billion things online that I would have liked to visit.  Naha has an enormous public market, historical sites, a mile-long avenue filled with shopping, etc.  Oh well, some other time.)

When we were sick of driving, Loren and I stopped at a park on the outskirts of Naha.

Ocean view

East China Sea

Holy crap, I live on a beautiful tropical island!

I love the various shades of blue in the ocean

Not the best shoes to wear to the beach

Coral fragments along the beach

The park was located near the Naha Airport, so we watched the planes take off and land.

I also oogled the massive selection of soft drinks available.  There are vending machines on literally every block in Okinawa.  Canned coffee is a really big thing here.  Some machines even have drinks available hot or cold.  

I bought one of the drinks the other day.  I wish I could read the labels, because I'm pretty sure its name was "Sugar-Water Death Drink."  I could practically feel my teeth rotting as I drank it.  I'm sure there are much better choices available.

We also watched a game of baseball at the park.

I know that baseball is considered the all-American sport, but the Japanese have really got it down.

Little league is HUGE over here.  There are baseball fields everywhere, and there's almost always a game being played.  After school, you'll see kids running around in their uniforms.  On my evening walks, I usually see at least one dad outside playing catch with his son (and sometimes daughter).

A few days ago, I took Lucky to the dog park.  Two young Japanese men -- probably in their late teens or early twenties -- were playing catch in the middle of the field.  (It's only recently been turned into a dog park, and I'm not sure some of the locals know this, because the sign is in English.)

Lucky, of course, immediately snagged their ball and took off with it.  I thought they'd be annoyed, but the guys laughed like crazy and started a game of monkey-in-the-middle with Lucky and the baseball.  I was grateful, because it wore Lucky out and meant that I didn't have to chase him around the field.

It's funny how dogs can kind of bridge that culture gap.  Whenever I take Lucky anywhere off-base, people automatically gravitate toward him.  (Which, in turn, opens the door for me to try to communicate with people.)

Yet another reason why dogs are so much better than cats ...