Lovers in Japan

Well, not quite yet...after I left Korea, I did get that facebook friend request, but not much else for about a month or two.  Then, in October 2009, I got a message that started with "You'll never guess where I'm getting stationed next."  Although it wasn't his first choice, Jason was moving to Misawa in March of the following year. He said that he was looking forward to hanging out with some non-pilot friends and a familiar face.  We kept in touch quite a bit better than the previous two years...but in late January, I got a short-notice deployment notice.  I had 3 weeks to get my life together and get to the east coast for training, followed by a six-month deployment to Iraq.  I was so bummed...I let Jason know immediately and e-mailed all my friends asking them to take care of him.  I even went so far as to "suggest" him as a friend to all my Misawa friends on facebook...he still doesn't know who all of them are, since he didn't get much of a chance to meet everyone.   There's two reasons that happened:  1.  I never had to deploy...it got cancelled not even a week before I was supposed to leave, and 2. he left on a "deployment" to Korea just 5 weeks after he arrived at Misawa.   

Single kids (personal photo)

Meeting by Chance

Approximately two years after I saw Jason for the last time (so I thought), I was sent to work in Korea for a few weeks.  In our off time, my friends and I had a blast...

Me, Sharon and Heather post-break dancing show
(all photos personal)

Love locks on the fence at Seoul Tower

Seoul Tower

Happy Buddha!

The Early Years

So, as we established earlier, Beau and I met when we were both stationed in Las Vegas.  Beau was "Awaiting Pilot Training," for a year, which basically means he made popcorn and kept the pilot bar stocked for post-flying shenanigans.  I had been there for almost a year and had a fairly established group of friends.

One of the girls, Sandy, worked in roughly the same part of the base that Jason did, and he started hanging out with us because of her.  One night in June 2005, we were all out at Green Valley Ranch, and Jason showed up a few hours after we did.  He could probably tell you word for word our conversation, but I remember talking to him for a good while...and at the end of the night, he was a perfect gentleman and drove me to my car when everyone was ready to leave.  Even though I had a pretty serious boyfriend at the time, I remember wondering "why didn't he try to hit on me?" I was conceited, yes.  His thoughts after dropping me off ran along the lines of "she's the one."  But, because I was in a relationship, he never did anything about it and we just ended up as friends.  

Hanging out at one of my favorite bars
for my birthday... (all photos personal)

...at a birthday party...

...and various other gatherings...

Apparently once, after I'd broken up with the aforementioned boyfriend, he admitted how he felt about me, but I did the "awww, that's cute" thing and brushed him off.  He even invited me to a really, REALLY nice work dinner hosted by the owner of the Orleans Hotel & Casino (the beginning of our fake-date charade), and I still blew him off and dated other guys.  Vegas might not've been my finest hour...but in my defense, he was going to be a PILOT.  They're typically known as cocky womanizers, and I kinda figured he'd go off to pilot training and I'd never see him again.

The night before he left for pilot training.  
Random fact: I met his dad this night, but don't remember it.

Beau did leave for pilot training in 2006, but I did see him one more time before I left Vegas.  When he was in F-16 training in Phoenix, he and his girlfriend at the time road tripped up to come hang out.  After that, it was about 2 years til I saw/heard from him again...

Meet Us

Meet Bunny.  That's me.

personal photo

My name is Shelley.  I'm a prior military officer turned housewife.  Why?  I have too many hobbies to pursue right now, like learning Japanese and roller derby, snowboarding, and baking!  And everyone needs a break sometimes.  Someday I'll get a job again.  
A long time ago, I went to the University of Kansas, graduated with a Journalism degree, and commissioned into the US Air Force as a Logistics (jack of all trades type) Officer.  Not my first choice, but I did get to live in Las Vegas for a few years, which is where I met my Beau.  I've deployed twice--once to Afghanistan, once to Iraq, but I don't really have any good stories for that...I mostly just sat at a desk and tried (somewhat unsuccessfully) to stay out of trouble.  I moved to Japan in 2008, which was pretty much a dream come true...I've always loved Japan.  In August of 2010 I decided I was going to separate from the Air Force;  a big scary decision but it was the right thing to do.  I had one more assignment before I was done, to Osan Air Base in South Korea.  I was supposed to get my resume together, but met super-awesome people and had a blast hanging out instead.  It ended up alright because I came back to Japan with my love and my dogs.

from the Misawa Air Base website

Meet Beau.  He's the guy in the flightsuit and the blue hat and his name is Jason.  He's showing off an F-16 to the Japanese Minister of Defense...no big deal.  He was born and raised in North Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.   He went to the Milwaukee School of Engineering and is a EE (Electrical Engineer).    We graduated from high school in 2000, but he took an extra year of college to finish up his smart guy degree.  He commissioned into the AF in 2005 and was also assigned to Las Vegas, but only for a year.  He then went to a series of schools for pilot training, and spent a year at Osan before joining me in Misawa.  He loves bartending and tuning his skis/my snowboard, keeping up with tech geekery, listening to music and running marathons.  

Together we spend tons of time in the gym, cooking/enjoying a beverage, and adventuring around Japan.  Oh, and chilling out, because our lives get crazy with his work.  We have two Yorkshire rupps that go with us as much as possible...they're our furkids.

Nozzle...he's a mama's boy (personal photo)

Chiyo...she's just crazypants (personal photo)

Next up:  the story of us, from the beginning.