Washington

Well, I made it. I am finally here in Washington ready to process out of the Navy. Hard to believe it's been 4 years already but, at the same time, I almost felt like this day would never come. It has been a challenging experience. The first year wasn't too difficult but my three years in VFA-102 in Japan were very difficult.

Still, I faced and overcame the challenges I was presented with and in about a week will be officially separated and on a plane back to LA.

I am leaving here with an Honorable Discharge, an MP (Must Promote) Eval (Evalutation) and full benefits which include the GI Bill.

I have a job offer for a middle school or high school in Xi'an and I am thinking of taking it and returning to China for a year or two to resume my study of Mandarin and devote more time to photography.

Speaking of photography, I went to Seattle 2 days ago and took several pics of the area.

It's my understanding that it is usually rainy and cloudy here so the fact that the weather has been nice since I got here is remarkable and also funny. Funny because several of the ports I visited when deployed (I've participated in three 6 month deployments) were rainy and cloudy on the days we were there and I prefer taking pics when it is bright and sunny out.

It's almost symbolic somehow. Cold and rainy while serving in the military and bright and sunny while transitioning out.

I am really excited to spend the summer with my family and have the opportunity to take photos of Hollywood, Los Angeles and Malibu. I think that will improve my portfolio tremendously since the majority of photos I have taken over the last three years have been in Asian countries. I also visited Guam and Australia and took photos in both locations but to be able to add images from Seattle and Los Angeles will really diversify and strengthen my portfolio.

Of course, China is located in Asia so I'm not quite finished taking pics of Asia to add to my portfolio but having pics of America in my portfolio is something I really want. I might even take a trip to Tombstone, Arizona with my father this summer if he has time.

It's Sunday here, May 10th and I could be leaving in 7 days or less and this excites me.