Nope. I get that question a lot though. It seems like I have been getting ready to go for a while now. The truth is I was getting ready to go for a while, then I kind of zoned out while the paperwork was dragging on, but I am now getting ready to go again.
I just received an email from Mr. Yawata in Japan who has been ushering my paperwork through the system. He told me that my Certificate of Eligibility has been completed and it is in the mail to me. Once I have the Certificate I can take it to the Japanese Consulate in Houston and they will issue me a Visa for Japan. So, this brings me close to a departure date.
In the morning I will be on the phone with the consulate office and our travel agent and I should have an idea of when I will fly to Japan. This is an exciting break in the story and I wanted to share it here with those who suffer through my droughts of communication and actually check what I have to say.
Last week I spent some time in Tennessee visiting Oree. While I was there she took me kayaking on the Ocoee River, this is the one that she guides rafts down and it is incredibly exciting. I made it all the way down without embarrassing anyone and had a great time. The water was huge! There are somewhere around 25 different rapids on the Ocoee ranging from class 3 to class 4 they have names like Table Saw, Diamond Splitter, Double Suck, and Broken Nose. At the end there is a giant wave called the Hell Hole where we stopped to surf for a little while. I had a great time.
That trip has to be the highlight of my summer. I have spent a lot of time traveling around Texas to visit friends, get shots, and go to weddings. I spent a week in Amarillo working at Happy camp. I went to Ft. Worth for a Japanese Encephalitis Vaccine, College Station for a Wedding, Austin for two more shots. During these travels I have ridden 8 different mountain bike trails across the state, visited with some great friends, gone to the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, TX, and seen Austin at least 6 times. I am about done with a car for a little while it will be nice to use trains and my own two feet.
This is all I have for now. Be looking for more updates more frequently as I move into this next life phase. Peace and Love.
