AND NOW
for the much awaited update!!

first, an apology to all you avid reader out there for being as bad at updating as my sister (HA! zing! take that ro!!) speaking of dating, me and yvette are now official, which i'm sure is a real big surprise to anyone who heard i was around, but was unable to locate me due to our frequent private getaways. i submit that you are all just jealous. actually, we've been dating for exactly one week as of today. we were flying over (more on that later) and we crossed the international date line, which gave me this great idea: "how about me and yvette start dating??" so, approaching her, we struck up a casual conversation about the date line, and dating in general, then dating in specifics. when all was said and done, the official begin of our official relationship was behind us, and we traded high-fives in the midst of all them rich business-class passengers.

whenever i fly, something always has to go wrong. it's a rule, and a warning for all of you whose dream it is to travel with me. this time was no exception. flying standby, we were printed fake boarding passes to get us through security and to our gate, where they would ultimately print us real ones. however, since standby travelers are clearly of only the most dangerous ilk, we are herded through to the EXTREME!! Security check. Having narrowly escaped with my life from the EXTREME!! Check i received, i was more than happy to take my ticket when offered to me and proceed post-haste to SeaTac's beloved if not completely outdated subway train, never realizing the stamp on my colleagues tickets was missing on my own. Fortunately for me, the gate agent at the airport did notice this, and refused to allow me to make my presence known on my beloved Boeing Overwater 777 until security had sent an emissary to beg forgiveness, offer a feast in supplication, shine the shoes of everyone on the room, and provide my ticket with the stamp that would allow me passage on the jetway to me awaiting seat. Needless to say, it took a while. in fact, i was held in the terminal until the exact moment of 12:43, a mere 2 minutes before my plane was supposed to be pushing back from the terminal and begin it's taxi to the runway. my relief was completed by falling asleep while waiting for takeoff and waking up when the help had begun to serve the first meal. all this goes to show, you can make me wait to get on the plane, but you can't make me wait to sleep. Stick it to the man!!

well, i'm on my way to the doctor to get some forms that allow me to do some other forms that may or may not prevent my imminent deportation. then i'm off to the non-internet-wired beach cabin until the 14th of august, until which time i will be unable, and also perhaps unwilling, to update this little fact sheet here. i will try to have a good time.

i'm leaving for japan in something in the vicinity of 30 hours, which is not something that is really that strange for me.  what IS strange is that i won't be coming back.  i love my friends, but i have to be constantly reminding myself what this means for our friendship- i'm leaving, and for many of them, we will never know eachother as well as we do now.  as time passes, and i visit now and again when i get deported, i will change, people will change, and we will lose that connection that made us such good friends for a short while.  i know it's the way of life, and i had to learn this as a young'un, barely knee-high to a row of potatoes, but it's sad to me to be the one that will teach all my younger friends about this fact of life through my relationship, or lack thereof, with them. 
   not that i don't want to hang with everyone, but if there were ever a limit on how many friends a person could have, i'm definitely pushing the limit.  or "jumping the shark" as dusty taught me.  you crazy americans and your "culture".    i made a "to do" list so i wouldn't forget important things, and i had to also make a "to see" list, so i wouldn't forget to say goodbye or hang out with important people before i go.  funny to have "get motorcycle license" up there with "andrew".  makes it seems like friends are chores.  not the case, but i know i will offend you people if you think i forgot about you.  which is clearly not the case, as i'm sitting here typing something for you to read instead of packing.
   oh yeah....packing......