Yes, my life in Japan continues. Highlights include:

Figuring out that not only does my cell phone know the weather, i can detailed weather reports, complete with those nifty rain-radar (raindar?) things, and the hour-by-hour forcast. I'm reminded of the simpsons episode in which they vacation in japan- they are discussing where to eat supper and homer comes out of the bathroom and says "the toilet recommended a place called americatown". not only does my toilet not recommend anything, it lacks the ability to provide me with even the most basic, inalienable right of sitting on a pre-warmed seat. clearly the management has dropped the ball.

I now live in a home. my home, to be precise. it may not be that big, or that warm, of have much food in the fridge, but it's home. quite exciting, actually. i have a fridge, a toaster, a microwave/oven, a washing machine, a bed, a couch, and a stereo that were given to me. in fact, the only appliancy type thing i had to buy was a stove, and that was only about $40 used, instead of the $100 they are new. but, hey, it makes fire, and fire makes coffee, so what do i care? it does feel a little strange to have all these things where i once owned pretty much only what i could carry on my back. if i were to leave the country next week, i would have to spend hundreds of dollars to throw away all my furniture, i'd have to give away my car and motorcycle, and computers...the more i think about it, the more things i realize i have. it's a little burdensome, actually. in some ways i envy brent, who is currently living the minimalist life, but i guess i'm content knowing that i lived that way, and i have the capacity to do so again, if i so wish. it is somewhat comforting to be in charge of my own destiny, as much as any Christian is, i suppose...

I went snowboarding about a week ago, and, i must say, i was awesome. i mean IT was awesome... this was my second experience trying to board instead of skiing, which i have done far more times. my first shot at boarding was some years ago, and it was pretty much the worst experience of my life. i went with my siblings doug and ro, and they were gracious enough, although i eventually told them to pursure their own pleasures rather than follow my excruciatingly slow progress. we were somewhere around mt. hood, and it hadn't snowed in probably about a week. the sun had done it's insidious work, and there was probably close to an inch of solid ice over the snow. the overall result was that the entire mountain was about as soft as a parking lot. there was no "carving", in fact, there was no turning or control of any sort. i was not about to let rock-solid "snow" and complete lack of experience stop me from trying some of the most daunting courses the mountian had to offer, however. as the day wore on, my world became more and more consumed with burning pain. i'm fairly certain that during my worst fall, on what was to be my last run, and which took place over the span of about a hundred meters, i dislocated my hip, relocating it at some point before my body came to a stop. there is no way to prove this, of course, but there was definately a grinding pop from where i assume my hip-joint to be. i paid for my overzealousness for the next three weeks, limping about like i had been trampled by a bull. a bull elephant, that is...

But, i digress. this experience was much much better. the snow was not exactly fresh, and falling at high speeds definately caused pain, but it was still fairly good, and during lunch it started to snow big ol' fat flakes, and by the end of the day there wasa good coupla inches of the really soft stuff. i fell only a few times, and only one or two of those were spectacular. the cost of the day, with freeway tolls, gas, boot rentals, lift ticket, and lunch, came to about $55, which i would consider to be resonable even for american standards. i may even go again before the season is up. the board that i was using now belongs to me, and i can't help but feel that it is now somehow my responsibility to go snowboarding with it.

In other news, this weekend will see the culmination of a few months of increasingly panicked work- the JAM retreat. There are 24 or 25 MS kids signed up, which is pretty much excatly how many i predicted there would be (someone, quick, pat me on the back!), however, there are only 4 leaders, not including myself, to lead them- 2 guys and 2 gals. last year i had 6 leaders going, and we had 18 kids come, and even at that ratio things would get crazy pretty easily. that said, however, last years JAm retreat was one of the best experiences i ever had- matched only y stress camp. looking back at my career as a youth pastor, those 2 events are the ones that hold the most meaning and joy for me. needless to say, i am excited. nervous too, of course- so much can and probably will go wrong; it did last year- but i really love these kids, and i can't wait to spend 3 days with them.

And, to answer your unspoken question, me and nelle are doing great. she really is a fantastic person, and we are remarkably similar in rediculous ways. this valentines day was only the second i've ever had as a dating man, and i admit, i was at a loss as to what to do. then i started thinking about it, and came to the conclusion that culture has no right to tell me how and when to like the one that i like. so, i boycotted valentines day. i'll display my affection to my girlifriend when and how i like, thank you. i confessed these thoughts to nelle the day before, and discovered that we were of one opinion on the matter. it was quite fun to answer "nothing" when people asked with a glint in their eye what i did for valentines day, or what i recieved from my "special someone" (to quote parents as a whole). spite, my friend!

No pic with this post; my desktop is acting up- i'm actually staring at the blue screen of death right now- and all my photos are on there. not to mention all my youth ministry stuff, including stuff for the JAM retreat...crap.