Wireless and Excited

I've finally gone wireless! I'm sitting now at my sofa and writing this from my laptop. So cool. I got it hooked up and working and it took me a few hours to realize that now I can move my desk/PC anywhere I want. Not that there are a lot of choices. But at least I have some choices now. That's a thought for another day. For now I can blog at the kitchen table or on the porch or in bed if I want. Haven't tried sitting in the backyard yet but that's only because I'm still suffering from the bug bites I got last weekend (think they were very bad ants - more painful and swollen than itchy).

I've written previously about Harvey. Harvey is my Japan internet friend. He's American and has been living and studying in Japan for a long time. He just married a Japanese girl and is coming back to the US to take an exam and have an interview for a scholarship to continue his studies. I started reading Harvey's blog while I was in Japan and, well, he will be staying on my futon sofa while he's in Atlanta. He's just a really sweet, scary smart "kid" and I'm thrilled to be able to give him a place to stay. He'll get in next Sunday morning and I'm so excited to finally meet him. http://www.japannewbie.com/ if you want to read his very interesting blog. Warning - a lot of J-language posts. Still, I find it so interesting.

Pay it forward! I think I never did. In Japan so many people, both Japanese and ex-pats, went out of their way to make me feel at home. A wonderful Iranian man, Paul Rhoumadi, who had lived in Japan for 17 years, even brought me a van load of furnishings (dishes, cooking pots, storage drawers, rice cooker, a small TV) when I moved to a new apartment when the cats came over and I moved from the furnished place to the empty place. I never asked. He just called one day and told me he was coming over with things to help me. Now if there is anything I can ever do I try to do it and so I am happy Harvey will be staying here for a few days. Harvey speaks fluent Japanese and so I do hope this will catapult me into resuming my self-study. My language skills have made no progress, I only just do enough to not forget the little bit I learned. I am a slacker.

On another note we're still having a little rain tonight. Just a little. Just enough that it sounds nice on the tin roof over the porch. It would have to monsoon for a week to make up for the deficit but any moisture is so very welcome at this point. At one point today I broke down and went out and shook my rainstick so I like to think my efforts brought this bit of moisture. I love my rainstick. You turn it and little things inside sound like rain falling. I kind of got mesmerized by the sound.

OK. Time for bed now.