lovely day in galveston, after bagels. we packed a picnic, played on the beach and in the water, ate the picnic. i took a nap on the sand while J, A, and F played in the water some more. i am told dolphins were playing and breaching about 10 or 15 feet from where they were, in the water ( Read more... )

I've created a community called lucky_mountain , where i will chronicle my adventure in Japan. Lucky Mountain is the English translation of my town, Fukuyama. Please watch the community or bookmark it if you're interested.

Edit: Thanks, bibulb , for posting the link in the comments. It's up here too now for easier viewing.

Thanks to the folks at IThinkImLost.com

http://tamagazou.machinami.net/fukuyamashigaichi.htm

Fukuyama City in Hiroshima Prefecture! am very excited!
you can learn about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukuyama,_Hiroshima

first pics from art car

i'll post more when i get time or figure out an easier way to do this.

Today is Showa Day, the start of Golden Week.

 Got up at 6:15 this morning, had a couple of muffins, played on the internet, and got dressed and went off to run a 5K.

i was pretty well convinced that training had been a flop, and i was only going to be able to run the first mile, and i'd have to walk the other two... but i got out there, and the morning was cool, and i walked around and ( Read more... )

 I went to the doctor to get my TB test read. On my way, i got tapped/rear-ended, but there was no damage, and we were both ok, so we went on our respective ways. I got to the dr's office, and the nurse looked at my TB test, had another nurse come look at it, and they measured it. The head nurse asked me if i'd ever tested positive, and i said no. ( Read more... )

 I have today, tomorrow, and friday off, and my apartment complex decided this week was the appropriate week to redo my building's roof.  So i can't park near my door, there is constant pounding and shaking of the building, and everything stinks.  So i don't REALLY want to be at home during the day, but that's ok, because i have lots to get done ( Read more... )

At 4:38 PM central time today, I got an email saying i was shortlisted (meaning i'm in pending submission of one more round of paperwork) for JET. Won't know city placement until i submit said paperwork. I am both really excited and a little bit freaked. Thanks to all the people who offered support and encouragement, especially quantumduck  and rorawillow