March

This is a small world. I met a guy I went to high school with last weekend in Nagoya. I think this weekend I might hang out with a guy I went to grad school with. The world is flat after all.
The weather is sunny today but it’s still pretty chilly outside. I am still ready for spring to hurry up and get here, no doubt. I am also ready for UK to start winning and be on top again.
I am 95% sure I will be staying in Japan for another year, unless something big happens that I’m not expecting. I still haven’t signed my contract yet, but I hope to do that soon. I do have a little time off at the end of this month, and much to the dismay of my mother I am sure, I don't think I will be coming home for a short visit. I will be coming home this summer though! I am planning on coming home for good in the summer of 2010, but we will see how it goes. I told Michi that I have to be back for the horse games, to see what all the fuss is about.
Things in Japan are going well, sometimes time flies and sometimes it seems to slow down. I can say that it still seems like I just got back in the country. I think the trip home in December made it feel like that! Of course I miss everyone at home and can’t wait until I am back there full time again, but I’m trying to do as much and learn as much as I can while I am here. I have been trying to study more Japanese and pick up as much as I can while I am here. I know that the job market isn’t likely to be the most open when I come back home, not that it was before I left!
I have been listening to a ton of podcasts these days, and I must say that I really like Bow at Crosspointe in North Carolina and Perry Noble at New Spring. I look forward to my Friday trip into Toyohashi because I get to listen to their podcasts and what they have to say. I recommend that you check them out.
I’ve been thinking about my neighbor Joe a lot these days. It seems like I dream about him several times a week. One of the hardest parts about being away from home right now is knowing that I am far away and can’t help him if he needs me. Last summer he called me when he got stuck in a hole on the back of his farm. I can’t tell you what it was like to know that Joe, one of the manliest man I will ever know, called me to help him get unstuck. I know that many of his other friends are gone, but knowing that I made the transition from boy to friend was one of the greatest days of my life. I miss him.