Okay, so I forgot to mention one thing. Brad and I went to Hachinohe to see "Dogville" today, and it was pretty amazing. A great story about man's inhumanity to man and about the conditions of friendship. The entire cast was spectacular. I'm not going to get into the minimalist set or anything. It's just something you all have to see for yourself. Anyway, that's all. Now back to packing, etc.

So, as promised, here's a list of the books I'm taking to the desert:

"The Politics of Jesus" by John Howard Yoder
"The Pleasure of My Company" by Steve Martin
"The Challenge of Jesus" by N.T. Wright
"The Peaceable Kingdom" by Stanley Hauerwas
"Choke" by Chuck Palahniuk
"The Story We Find Ourselves In" by Brian McLaren
"Glamorama" by Bret Easton Ellis
and, of course,
"Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis

Hopefully, these will keep me occupied for the next three months. There's gonna be a lot of plane time, so I think I'll be okay.
Anyway, I still have tons of packing to do, plus people to see and a house to finish cleaning. The next entry I make will probably be from on the opposite side of the world. Take care. No worries. God Bless.

I think we have a definite line between our private and our public lives. And not just what we do, but there's a difference in personality, as well. I've always thought I could tell how good a friend was by how much I told him and how much of my private personality I let him see. But now, that seems so fake to me. Why can't I just let everyone know all of me? I'm going to start breaking down that wall between public and private. I've told people before that my life is an open book, and now, I'm going to start following through with it.
Brad and I just got back from the onsen at Komaki's. After we onsened, we got foot massages, and it was great. We were reluctant to put our shoes back on because our feet were all tingling and stuff.
I'm starting to get those last minute jitters about deploying. And again, it's not really about the deployment itself. It's more about the trip over there and all the crap we're going to have to endure with carrying weapons and airport security and hauling bags to and from hotels. Ugh. I get exhausted just thinking about it. I just wish we were already in country and I had all my stuff in my tent and I was working. I'm still in the midst of packing. I was going to list all the books I'm taking with me on here, but they're all upstairs, and I'm down here on my couch getting ready to go to sleep, so I'll just have to list them some other time. Today was totally crazy with appointments and tying up loose ends at work and stuff. Tomorrow is going to be just as bad; however, I'm going to force myself to find time to go to Hachinohe and watch a movie. It's called "Dogville" and it was directed by Lars von Trier, and I'm really looking forward to watching it. After that, though, I'm going to be running around like a headless chicken, which is a rather disgusting metaphor. How about, running around like one of those little wind-up toys that keeps going until it runs into a wall and then turns around and goes the other way until it hits another wall, etc.? Maybe not as chaotic, but definitely more tame.
And one final thought: liberation in mind is a good thing. Take care. No worries. God Bless.

I've been feeling old a lot lately. Not like, "my body is falling apart and I have gray hair" old. More like, "gee, I'm hanging out with people who were born a decade after me" old. I don't think I look or act old, but it's just when I think about dates, I realize how fast time is moving. I'm almost 30, I'm not married, I don't have any major financial assets, and I still haven't really learned how to accept responsibility. I guess all things will come in time. It's so ridiculous to worry about it.
In other news, Jean-Marie broke her leg snowboarding yesterday. Things are going to be way tough on Don for a while. I kinda wish I weren't deploying so I could be around to help. I'm sure people will step up, though, and hopefully, Jean-Marie will be back on her feet by the time I get back.
Anyway, I have this week off work to do last minute stuff in preparation for deploying. We take off on Friday. I haven't even started packing yet. I'm going to take it easy, though. I'll pack a little, take a nap, pack some more, eat, pack, watch a movie, hang out, sleep, etc. I can't really think of anything else to write. Take care. No worries. God Bless.

What a great weekend! Friday night, the Japanese in my shop put on a little party for those of us deploying, and it was really fun. We drank beers and smoked cigars and sang lots of karaoke. Saturday, I went snowboarding at Hakkoda, and, despite a few icy patches, it was good stuff. It was the first time I'd been in over a month, and I was a little concerned my ankle would bother me, but I had no problems at all. Sunday, I worked on my house a little more. I'm pretty much done with all the major cleaning and moving stuff around and such. Now, I'll just go over everything with the vacuum cleaner before I take off.
This week is going to be way slow. I'll take care of some out-processing and stare at the walls and stuff. Matt and Danielle are getting married on Wednesday, so I'll definitely go to that. The National Prayer Luncheon is Thursday, and Chaplain Oberheid is speaking, and that is always good to hear. Anyway, I'm babbling on and on, so I'm gonna pretend to work or something. Take care. No worries. God Bless.

Things are going well...a little too well, maybe. All the drama and pain that I had been going through for the past few months is pretty much over, and now I just seem to be happily floating along. But in the back of my mind, I feel cautious, like something could happen at any time. I guess, in a way, I kind of miss that pain. (Does that make me a drama queen?) It occupied so much of my time and thoughts for so long, and now that it's not there, I have little else about which to think.
I found out yesterday that my departure date has been pushed back a week, so now, instead of the 19th, we're leaving on the 26th. I don't really care either way. I mean, I want to go, and get out of Misawa, and just start working. However, it will be nice to hang out here for another week, too. There will be a few of my friends PCSing while I'm gone, and any extra time I get to spend with them is appreciated. Also, the group deploying will be getting split up as we're going through the States, and we still don't know if we'll be staying over in Baltimore or Atlanta. I'm hoping for two things: 1) that I don't get separated from Brad, and 2) that I go through Baltimore. Brad and I have plans to see lots of movies while we're in the States, and both Dan and Ben live close to Baltimore. I don't really know anyone in Atlanta. But, regardless of where I go and who I'm with, I'm sure I'll be able to make my own fun during those few days in the States.
Anyway, work is really slow this week. I've been taking care of a few minor out-processing needs. I don't expect it to pick up before we leave. I'm just gonna go with the flow. Take care. No worries. God Bless.

I'm trying to get my house clean. My house is always clean, in a way, but this time it's more than just keeping it neat and vacuuming and stuff. This time, I'm going through all the crap in my back bedroom and dusting behind bookshelves and getting rid of everything that has no real purpose. Jeff is going to house sit for me while I'm deployed, and I'd hate for him to move in and discover giant dust bunnies hiding behind my bed. That's pretty much what I did all weekend. Well, besides the CE Ball on Friday, and Bible study (read: wallyball) on Saturday and Church / HH on Sunday. The weekend was both relaxing and productive. Only 11 more days till I deploy. I should probably start packing pretty soon.
Anyway, this week is probably going to be pretty dull at work. There's not much work for me to do, just a few outprocessing appointments and some training. I'll write more later this week. Take care. No worries. God Bless.

Last night, I went to the CE Ball, which is like a miniature, stupider version of the Air Force Ball for only CE people. I felt like I was kind of guilted into going, and I really didn't want to be there. But you know what? It wasn't really that bad. Of course, I had to get a couple drinks in me before I got into the swing of things. But the best part was really afterward. I ran into a friend I haven't talked to in about 4 months. We hung out and caught up and had a really nice talk. Then I went home and changed and went back to the E-Club and saw more friends. It was just a really nice, fun, social time. Anyway, I could keep trying to describe it and dwell on it, but I'm just going to accept it. Take care. No worries. God Bless.

I'm not going to the airport today. I've already said my good-byes, and it's given me some closure, and I'm hoping that it will be one of those "out of sight / out of mind" type things. My time in the desert is going to be a time of healing.
So I went to Tokyo over the weekend with Jean-Marie, Trish, and Paul, and it was a blast. We did lots of walking and shopping and eating (at cool American restaurants like T.G.I. Friday's and Red Lobster) and drank quite a few frappucinos. We went to Tokyo Disney, which was really fun. I'm just really starting to appreciate Tokyo.
Anyway, I can't really thing of anything else to write, so instead of just babbling on and on, I'm going to stop. Take care. No worries. God Bless.