Yo

Don't you just wish you could stay up all the time and never sleep? I do. Think how much you could get done. Think about all the cool stuff you could do all night long and never have to think about how you're missing out on the slipping-into-unconsciousness-for-several-hours state, and that you'll be paying for it the next day at work.

Why do I have to be tempted with a second wind at 10 pm? This is the time I have to be in bed if I want 8 hours...

As it is, it's 10:01 and I'm just logging on. I spent around 45 min. dabbling in one of the books I bought today- one of the 6 random books I bought on a whim at a book store in Shiz City. Shizuoka-shi really is the "shiz." I love it. I am enamored every time I step off the train. I think it's the people, and the style. Here people aren't afraid to break the conformity spell, at least on the surface. I see girls with tattoos and boys with earrings. I see shades of the rainbow and blonde hair. It fills me with satisfaction that people are choosing a life on the fringe.

I met some of Ruth's friends from last summer today outside of a Starbucks. I couldn't tell you their names (except the one girl, her name was "ai" which means love, but it could have been different kanji) but I can describe their clothing. One girl was wearing a green and black striped dress with a thin sweater jacket, another was wearing a spaghetti strap baggy summer shirt over a body-hugging, black long-sleeved T. Japanese fashion is totally cool; it makes American college co-eds look base.

I have so much I want to write, and so much I want to read. I truly feel that reading is fuel for writing. It's fuel for my thinking too. I have a lot I want to write here about my reactions to The God Delusion. I think I'll start a multi-part series of posts about my reactions.

For now I want to leave you with something I wrote down that was the result of some reflection on this past year's thoughts about love and relationships:

"Dating and courting - it's not a game. It's not a formula. She's a human being in all her glorious humanness and uniqueness and you cannot put that in a box or in a 5 page handout. There are obviously guidelines for Godly behavior and correct action - but in the end it's her you should be responding to, it's her you should be cherishing. The Lord will be your center and you will be a reflection of his incredible love for and pursuit of the church. Remember this as you love."