August 26, 2004
August 25, 2004
BLAM! i'm a blog!!
well, well, well. what have we here.
Few things in life are better than takayama. that old beach cabin is where i want to be buried. that, or shot off into space on a shuttle driven by space monkeys. takayama, or tak (pronunciation: tAHk)is one of those places you almost expect to get over as time goes on, but instead you find new things to do, or old things that are still fun. there's this atmosphere about the place. not like "78% nitrogen, 20% oxygen, .93% argon, i'm a huge science nerd" type of atmosphere, but the "i'm gonna sit here in a wet swimsuit reading calvin and hobbes and listening to jack johnson" kinda atmosphere. not really as vital to life as the other one, but it sorta is at the same time. it's very "chill", as all the cool kids on glisan st. would say.
The weather at said beach cabin was perfect. we left just in time to avoid all them pesky typhoons that are coming through this time of year, although they do make for some pretty killer waves. nights were filled with various forms of debauchery, fire jumping, sword-fighting, and the like. one highlight was driving cami around on the back of a jetski. due to his deathgrip on my waist, he succeeded in pulling me off a total of 3 times. we topped 80kmh (49.711999999999996 mph for all you stinking americans out there). the thing was amazing. it's like driving a motorcycle, only there's none of them silly roads. or helmets, for that matter. the third time we fell off, we both actually skipped on the water. but, no blood, no foul.
Now that i'm back from tak, however, i am reminded that life must go on. my life, specifically. i never really realized just how impossibly difficult it is to get all the papers one needs to be a normal, contributing member of society. nothing can happen until i get my religious visa, which i can't get until the missions organization (OMF Int'l) officially approves of every single aspect of my person and sends some other office of OMF an officially written and signed letter on official registered paper which they can then give to some all-knowing, all-powerful japanese potentate, who holds in his (or her) hand the ability to single-handedly approve or deny my pathetic attempts to obtain a religious visa in spite of the horrible oppressive regulations. that done, i can get the paperwork that will allow me to do the other paperwork, that will allow me to get the stamp of my name registered, which i can then use to rent a house, the proof of which is necessary for me to get insured, after which, i may be allowed to walk around on the streets in broad daylight, without people stopping to openly gawk at my obvious lack of the right to filthy their native soil with my very presence.
i may have exaggerated one fact in that last paragraph.
The youth ministry is not going well. in fact, i have not yet intentionally "ministered" to a single youth. which would be bad, if i had started a youth group yet. i'm having my first meeting with some kids tomorrow at a little restaurant named "BLDY'S", which the little american circle of people i hang out with call "Bloodies". really piques your appetite, doesn't it? the 3 kids and i (one of which happens to be my brother brent) will be talking about what the youth groups should do, and when they should do it, and what we would like to see happen at them and through them, and whether or not we should start a high school group right away or not, what color the effigy of cami in the church atrium should be...just to name a few. then on sunday there will be an announcement in the brand-new, redesigned bulletin (the one that includes my name on the front after the colon that follows the words "youth pastor")about a parents meeting, then on the 12th of september, a day that will live on in entropy, i will be leading my very first youth group of my thus-far short lived career. hopefully it will go well.
well, well, well. what have we here.
Few things in life are better than takayama. that old beach cabin is where i want to be buried. that, or shot off into space on a shuttle driven by space monkeys. takayama, or tak (pronunciation: tAHk)is one of those places you almost expect to get over as time goes on, but instead you find new things to do, or old things that are still fun. there's this atmosphere about the place. not like "78% nitrogen, 20% oxygen, .93% argon, i'm a huge science nerd" type of atmosphere, but the "i'm gonna sit here in a wet swimsuit reading calvin and hobbes and listening to jack johnson" kinda atmosphere. not really as vital to life as the other one, but it sorta is at the same time. it's very "chill", as all the cool kids on glisan st. would say.
The weather at said beach cabin was perfect. we left just in time to avoid all them pesky typhoons that are coming through this time of year, although they do make for some pretty killer waves. nights were filled with various forms of debauchery, fire jumping, sword-fighting, and the like. one highlight was driving cami around on the back of a jetski. due to his deathgrip on my waist, he succeeded in pulling me off a total of 3 times. we topped 80kmh (49.711999999999996 mph for all you stinking americans out there). the thing was amazing. it's like driving a motorcycle, only there's none of them silly roads. or helmets, for that matter. the third time we fell off, we both actually skipped on the water. but, no blood, no foul.
Now that i'm back from tak, however, i am reminded that life must go on. my life, specifically. i never really realized just how impossibly difficult it is to get all the papers one needs to be a normal, contributing member of society. nothing can happen until i get my religious visa, which i can't get until the missions organization (OMF Int'l) officially approves of every single aspect of my person and sends some other office of OMF an officially written and signed letter on official registered paper which they can then give to some all-knowing, all-powerful japanese potentate, who holds in his (or her) hand the ability to single-handedly approve or deny my pathetic attempts to obtain a religious visa in spite of the horrible oppressive regulations. that done, i can get the paperwork that will allow me to do the other paperwork, that will allow me to get the stamp of my name registered, which i can then use to rent a house, the proof of which is necessary for me to get insured, after which, i may be allowed to walk around on the streets in broad daylight, without people stopping to openly gawk at my obvious lack of the right to filthy their native soil with my very presence.
i may have exaggerated one fact in that last paragraph.
The youth ministry is not going well. in fact, i have not yet intentionally "ministered" to a single youth. which would be bad, if i had started a youth group yet. i'm having my first meeting with some kids tomorrow at a little restaurant named "BLDY'S", which the little american circle of people i hang out with call "Bloodies". really piques your appetite, doesn't it? the 3 kids and i (one of which happens to be my brother brent) will be talking about what the youth groups should do, and when they should do it, and what we would like to see happen at them and through them, and whether or not we should start a high school group right away or not, what color the effigy of cami in the church atrium should be...just to name a few. then on sunday there will be an announcement in the brand-new, redesigned bulletin (the one that includes my name on the front after the colon that follows the words "youth pastor")about a parents meeting, then on the 12th of september, a day that will live on in entropy, i will be leading my very first youth group of my thus-far short lived career. hopefully it will go well.
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