Flashback: Lebanon vs Israel

View of Beirut, Lebanon from the ship.

The 2006 Lebanon War, known as the July War, was my first exposure physical warfare.  Hizballah paramilitary and Israeli military had engaged over their border and the bombing in the area had become a great threat to Americans living/traveling in the region.  The USS Iwo Jima was pulled away from training with the Jordanians to be the American presence off of the coast of Beirut, Lebanon as the U.S. citizens were evacuated to safety.

What surprised me was that you could tell what a beautiful, Mediterranean city Beirut was.  Thousands of beautiful little houses covered the nearby mountain and continued off into the distance.  The classic look became a memory, however, as building after building was bombed.  Soon a cloud of dust had engulfed the city, leaving it with a bleak look.

Although I was unable to capture the bombing on film, watching the conflict from the hanger bay of the ship just boggled my mind.  In the past, I had only seen this kind of situation on the news.  I could not believe that I was again able to be a part of something historical and meaningful.  We were assigned to the area for a little over a month before departing and heading back through the Suez Canal toward Kuwait.

Check out my Deployment 2006 gallery!

Flashback: Hurricane Katrina Relief

Flooding Three Weeks after Hurricane Katrina

One of the greatest experiences of my life was the opportunity to be a part of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort in 2005.

The Category 5 storm struck the coast in late August and it was quickly decided that the USS Iwo Jima would be heading up the military efforts.  We all went home, packed our gear and reported in first thing in the morning.  We had no idea what was in store…and no idea when we were coming back.

We headed to pick up 2,000 marines from the 24th MEU and thousands of pounds of food and supplies.  The Iwo was originally assigned to go to the Biloxi, Mississippi and start up the efforts down there.  Biloxi was devastated.  Although not affected by the floods, the entire city was in shambles.  I volunteered to be in the first unit to deploy ashore.  For the first time in my life, I was a part of something that was really making a difference.  Something that was actually changing lives.  But our presence in Mississippi didn’t last long, they needed us to redirect to New Orleans immediately.

The scene in New Orleans was critical.  Our ship served as the only working airport, hotel and hospital for the area.  Injured civilians were continuously being brought onboard…one man with a knife sticking out of his chest.  Flight Ops were being conducted 24 hours a day.  We were housing DoD staff, aid organizations and basically anyone else you could think of.  I was given the opportunity to meet Vice President Dick Cheney and his family.  President Bush came a few times and stayed aboard.  I did have the option of meeting him or taking a helicopter ride of the city…so I took the helo ride .

In the time we were stationed in Louisiana, I helped restore a church and promenade area and was able to provide meals and relief to workers who had come from all around the world to do their part.  It was the longest month of my life, but the most rewarding.  I would do it again in a second.

Check out my Hurricane Katrina Relief gallery!

Beginning of a New Era…Again

To the surprise of many, and dismay of a few, I decided to go back into the U.S. Navy.  It is not a decision that I came to lightly, or without many hours of thought and consideration.  And the desire started slowly…just a small fire lit after I had been out for about a year.  That fire grew so rapidly, that I have dedicated the last nine months of my life to getting back in.  Now I’ve finally done it.

A lot of people didn’t understand at first.  Perhaps they still don’t.  It took some time as a civilian to realize what a part of me the military had really become.  Although I was happy to be out at the time,  I was constantly thinking about the Navy and talking about it.  I would dream about it even.  I also began to notice that I couldn’t connect to people like I used to.  Don’t get me wrong, I have met and am friends with many wonderful people…but something is missing.  That bond that I used to have with other military members.  That we were experiencing and fighting for the same things.  I missed being myself and knowing that they would never judge me and would keep me safe.  They would hug me and hold me without knowing why, but in complete comfort.

And then the stir-craziness began.  Sitting in my cubicle knowing that I would be there the day after, and the day after that, and the day after that would kill me.  My job has been great and I have worked with wonderful people, yet I felt I was dying on the inside.  This is not the kind of life that I needed.  Where is the “X” factor?  The crisis that might happen where I might be called to leave at any second.  Maybe I’m the kind of person who needs a cause.  One thing I do know is that I need to help people.  I help people, but I don’t feel like I’ve had that opportunity in a long time.  That’s going to change shortly.

There are a couple people who understand where I’m coming from though.  My Navy friends who got out around the same time I did, and several who have gotten out since.  Because they are going through the same thing and I hope that they follow the paths that will make them happy with their lives.

Being a civilian just isn’t enough.  I am military and want to feel my purpose again.

Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

The Olympic Games have been the most anticipated sporting events since they were inaugurated in Athens in 1896. This year, the Beijing Games will consist of 302 events in 28 different sports. In honor of the event, I wanted to mention a few interesting facts:

The five intertwined rings of the Olympic symbol represent the unity of the five inhabited continents. The colors, white, red, blue, green, yellow, and black were chosen such that each nation had one of these colors on their national flag. (Click here to see Olympic Symbols from the past, present, and future.)

During the opening ceremony, the “Parade of Nations” captures the excitement of the event as the competitors of the Olympic Games walk by in country. Traditionally, Greece enters first due to its historical Olympic origins and the host enters last. The rest of the countries enter alphabetically.

The closing ceremonies, however, take a completely different approach. One by one, the flag bearers enter the stadium first followed by the thousands of Olympic competitors, without any distinction of group or nationality. This method, suggested by a schoolboy in 1956, brings together the athletes of the world as “one nation”.

Many successful Olympic athletes become heroes or celebrities in their own countries.

I’d like to close with the Olympic Creed, which in so many ways applies to life. “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.” Well said.

Click here for MORE STORIES!

Body Worlds 3

Yesterday, my mom and sister came down to spend the day with me. We had always been curious to check out Body Worlds, so we decided that this was the perfect time to do it. I had no idea what to expect or how I would react to was about to see.

Body Worlds 3 is one of the largest exhibits that the California Science Center has ever displayed. Bodies have been preserved using Plastination and have been dissected and arranged in ways that allow us to observe things about the human body that we may not have been able to imagine before.

I’ve aways been a little unsure about how to handle dead bodies. I’m never sure what is or isn’t disrespectful in graveyards…so I really didn’t know how to approach this situation. However, it turned out to be extremely interesting. The bodies didn’t look like they had just come out of a horror film or anything. They had a plastic look that made them easy to look at. There were many children at the exhibit and they were all interested in what they were seeing and asking questions so that they could learn more about it.

I feel like I learned a lot more about the different systems that were covered: locomotive system, nervous system, reproductive system, digestive system and cardiovascular system.  I think the best way to learn something is to get close and involved.  This exhibit allows you to do just that.

Click to see photos from Body Worlds 3 at the California Science Center.

I Eat Bugs…That’s Right, I Said it!

Okay, well maybe I don’t eat insects on a regular basis…but tonight I made an exception. I won’t lie, I’ve always been curious.

I have a friend who writes avidly about food on her own blog. Somehow we got onto the topic of bugs and soon a new mission developed. The mission? Find a decent restaurant that serves insect dishes and experiment review the experience.

Now when I say decent restaurant, I mean one where they don’t harvest the food from the bushes in the backyard. So we found this very nice gourmet restaurant called Typhoon in Santa Monica with a variety of dishes.

We selected the Singapore-Style Scorpions and the Taiwanese Crickets. The scorpions were way smaller than you would fear imagine and were served on this very tasty shrimp toast. All in all, pretty harmless experience. The taste of the scorpion was blended with the deliciousness. One down, one to go.

The crickets were regular “cricket size”…wings and all. They were stir fried with various other things until the whole meal was crunchy. The result was not that bad. I ate the majority of the plate. Didn’t feel grossed out once. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite the same with my partner in that aspect, but we both came out of the experience with a sense of accomplishment.

My curiosity was satisfied. I’m Fear Factor ready. At least, I feel like I could survive on a few episodes of Lost…

Mars Just Got a Little Chillier

For those of us with an interest in space, there has been a HUGE discovery. NASA’s 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft instruments have discovered enough water ice under the surface of Mars to fill Lake Michigan twice over. That’s a lot of water. And it brings us one enormous step closer to finding out whether or not life ever existed/could ever exist there.

With this new information, NASA may now commit to a manned landing within 20 years. Imagine the possibilities…

A Universal First

I wanted to share an awesome experience that I was able to have this weekend. I am currently going to film school at the New York Film Academy (don’t be fooled, it’s also in LA) in the evenings. Last Saturday I had the opportunity to shoot short films with my class on the Universal Studios backlot. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been on the Studio Tour, wishing that I could venture around. And now I finally did! We had a great time working with each other and actors from the school. I can’t wait till my next opportunity to do something like this. I may not be ready for the Oscars yet…but sometimes you have to start small to get a grasp on something big.

Click here to see Behind the Scenes Photos.