From Desert to Sky

It seems fitting, reacquainting myself with this space by bringing in a new look.

Solid, dusty browns give way to a vast blue expanse, where much is felt and thought, but refuses to be defined. And so we float, gently drifting along the will of Providence that knows where we're going, even if we do not.

A symbol of our passing into yet another uncertain time in our lives. Questions of what our future holds bob about, unanswered. It's another period of searching. And waiting.

To be honest, I'm not that fond of waiting.

Nevertheless, all we can do is pray.

And wait.

Another Day, Another Box

We've made significant progress regarding our relocation to AZ, not the least of which included making it here in one piece. The 17 hour drive was more beautiful than I'd expected, replacing recollections of the 8 hours of misery experienced driving down to Albuquerque a few years back. I suspect traveling in blackness with heavy rain lashing at the windshield didn't help, although I didn't remember that crucial bit of information until my husband mentioned it.

Way better than Kansas. Red rocks and smoke stacks featured in programs my brother watches beat dusty nothingness any day.

Many thanks to the one and only C of J for his help, both in the unloading of the U-Haul and the astute discovery of the option to hire movers to unload your U-Haul for you. Something worth checking out next time as our belongings, now officially in three places across the country, will no doubt multiply.

The apartment affords more storage than we've ever had (besides parental abodes), and after living in a bread box overseas, it's accommodations are positively HUGE. It's our hope that we'll be completely unpacked by the time Monday dawns... and classes begin.

We're students again! And this time, we're not compelled to take those general education courses that typically round out an undergraduate degree but hold little interest beyond keeping the GPA up. I've even gone and secured my first override of the year.

Here's looking forward to 2008.

It's All a Blur

As usual, there’s so much I’d like to share and so little time to sit down and write any of it out. At least laziness isn’t part of the picture at the moment- Ash & I are ramping up our packing efforts now that we have a firm shipping deadline in place, I’m trying to squeeze the last drops of nourishment from my Japanese studies while still on its native soil, settlement of accounts and paperwork are clamoring for attention, a whirlwind of planned farewell get-togethers is gathering steam, and in order to boost the energy I need for all of the above and everything I haven’t mentioned, I am making a concentrated effort to exercise in the mornings.

Weekends no longer exist for us, which is bad news for things like sleep, but such is the price one pays for planning some last-minute excursions… like the one we just took to Kyoto. I’m definitely planning to expound on this as time permits, but for now…

Go there. Just go. Regret will never enter your mind, especially if you tread the pathways of Arashi-yama (mountain). It ranks right up there with our first foray into Nikko and exploits in Hokkaido.

That said, consider this my disclaimer on the sporadic (or lack thereof) posting, which will hopefully resolve itself into something more orderly once the merry-go-round stops spinning and I can collapse on the soft grass below.

Okinawa 2007

In keeping with the tradition established not so long ago, I've added some 3BT entries written during our time in Okinawa under their respective dates, beginning March 24th and ending March 30th. The easiest ways to view them would be by going to "Journal Archives" on the side panel and choosing March 2007, or by clicking on the 3BT link under "Labels".

Enjoy!

What's in a Name?

Despite what you might think, I was actually quite cheerful when writing this. At the very least, it gave me something else to put in my little bamboo grove, which is definitely a plus! While I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to shake the less-than-flattering first impression school buildings here have imparted, seeing photos of my husband posing with his beaming graduating students helps to bring some warmth that’s otherwise lacking.

In other news, we will soon dare to challenge the status quo once more. Only time will tell whether the forecasts are right and we will see nothing more than a smattering of sun. Happily, predictions of seeing certain family members are overwhelmingly positive and will make up for it... as long as cactus juice doesn't find its way into our glasses.

The Time Has Come

Just an FYI that I finally got around to shaking the dust off of my other space and actually posted something new! Many thanks to those of you who still check it once in a while, I hope you (and any new readers) like what you find.

Tinkering

So… I’ve been busy tinkering with the website lately, spending perhaps far too much time on minute details and placing things “just so”. I’m really liking the new features being offered here on Blogger, but I refused to switch to the newer version until recently for the very reasons that have come to pass… the whole ‘spending too much time tinkering’ and all.

At first, I shuddered to think about the precious morsels of time that would be consumed if I attempted to switch over my other space in the same manner… but I did it anyway. Some features were lost that I may not be able to bring back, but I hardly noticed as something sparked within me upon perusing some of my past postings.

There are many stories yet to be told over there.

Hawaii 2007

For those interested, I’ve added a bunch of 3BT entries that I wrote during our lovely Hawaiian vacation under their respective dates, beginning December 22nd and ending January 1st. The easiest way to see most of them would be by clicking on the December 2006 link on the side panel under “Archives”.

Enjoy!

Blip

Deleted a post. Didn't feel like it successfully communicated what I wanted it to, so I'll try again later.

I Did Think About It...

Here it is, the culmination of a rather long process I prefer not to think too much about. The long and short of it is, I wasn't satisfied with only one blog. Bamboo Forests will be around for as long as we unabashedly run rampant through Japan, but in my eyes it has morphed into a peaceful place for me to flex my creative writing skills. It is there that I can sit back and leisurely weave amusing and (occasionally) thought-provoking tales while thumbing through my beloved thesaurus.

The problem with wanting to write in this manner is that it requires more time than simply jotting down an observation, thought, quip, epiphany, or combination thereof. Before long the pressure to simply update with something, anything, began to erode my enjoyment. I didn't want to use it for mundane trivals like general announcements and the like. It was never meant for that.

And so we come to the birth of this new passage into the heart of star-dom! (Bad joke, but oh it's nice to just write whatever I want on the fly without going over my words a million times to polish them!) This now becomes the area where my freedom is actually in posting with abandon.

I suppose it comes down to this: if you'd like stories on my life in Japan, go trek through the forests. If you'd like to read about news and randomness that deal with me and daily life in general, come here. It's my hope that this journal will follow me for a long time, even after I move out from under the shade of bamboo groves gently swaying in a coastal breeze.