Well, its Wednesday night. Tomorrow I leave for BB's afterwork and we head off for Korea Friday afternoon. I'm excited. We were talking about a few places we'd like to go see and some things to do while we are there. It sounds like its going to be a lot of fun. This will be the longest amount of time we've spent together and in a foreign land (not that Japan isn't...but we live here, its a bit different). I'm just about finished packing, just have to make sure I've got all my last minute items and figure out how much money I'm going to take with me.

My best friend and another good friend both had birthday's on Sept 15. I know so many Virgos. Its funny though that not all the Virgos I know ACT like Virgos. G does, but Rikca doesn't. She could very well have been a Libra, but just like her own little girl, she couldn't hold on any longer. She was ready to get out! I can't wait to see my Godbaby. I'll be home for 10 short short days in November so I'm looking forward to that big time.

Tonight I pray: for safe travels and a hedge of protection around my travel partner and myself. I pray that all the spirits of discontent stay waway from us this weekend so that we will be able to enjoy each other's company. I also pray that after this long night awake I don't go to sleep at school when I should be working! G'nite. Amen.

My Neck...My Back...Okay. Not my neck, but my $%#@ back is killing me! I was in the tug o'war contest with my kids yesterday and I think they tried to kill me! I have rope burn on my arm and side. I was trying my best to help them out but I think they gave up or thought we had it easy because when I came the first round we won. The second and third. I had to stop pulling slowly but surely because they were trying to hurt me!!!!

Anyway, I had a good day. It was long as hell but good. We got to school at 7:45am and I didn't leave until 8:30. I came home took a shower and took my behind to bed. I was out by 9:30! Seeing as though the events of yesterday plus being on the phone til all hours of the night w/BB this week have been taxing my sleep as well it was a welcome break.

I'm sitting here, in my livingroom at 12:55pm on a Sunday, with the fan blowing on my freshly washed hair, listening to the Brown Sugar and someone singing Time After Time. I feel so relaxed and peaceful.

I have a private today and then I'm supposed to be meeting ppl in Tokyo. Not really sure I feel up to it. We'll see.

Today I pray: that this pain in my back subsides. I know that you are the healer of all and in your word you say that "By my stripes, you are healed" I know you are one who does what your word says so please take this pain away from my lower back. In your name I pray and count it all done. AMEN.

I was sitting at lunch today next to one of my 2nensei kids who isn't very popular and I started to think to myself. "I really am having some impact on shaping the lives of kids" I mean no where near as much as the Japanese teachers do of course, and I have no problem with that but I think that this is the first time that in my mind I thought about that fact. I was looking at this kid and wondering what he'd be like as a man. I know he takes care of his little brother and sister now because his parents work late at their store and he has a lot of responsibility for someone his age. He's in the best class in the school though. By best I mean most well rounded grade of the 3 that are here. They get along really well and aren't lame like their sempai the 3nensei class. Anyway, just an awaking for me that my actions, my lessons may in some way affect how these kids develop along the way.

I had a birthday!!!! I am now 24! Yeah. I guess when most of the men you date are older, the older I get the happier I am that I don't have to worry about them saying how young I am. But honestly, that doesn't stop anything really. Also when you are 24 you start making a lot of "I'm at a point in my life. . ." Statements. I think I may have said that about 23 as well, but I mean it this time. Maybe 24 is an age of enlightenment much like 13 and 17 were for me. Who knows, but I'm 24 and I love it. Didn't get one present, which I guess may be how it goes down when you get older.

Its 2:52 am and I just got off the phone with BB. He's becoming an everyday thing. Okay, well he's been an everyday thing but tonight we talked for about 3 hours!!! I was supposed to call Erica back but I'm just getting off so of course that didn't happen. We talked a little about our Korea trip planned for next week and decided that I should take the day off on Friday and come up to his place Thursday night. Then we'd have an extra day together. He still has to go to work, at least for a while then we'll go to the airport together and be off. I was having an awful day today (see previous post) but somehow on the way home and getting ready to call him, all of that changed. Talking with him really does put me in a better mood sometimes.

Anyway enough about that. I got a little inspiration for my article on the way home today from my privates, which also contributed to my change in mood. I popped in this old tape Erica's friend Seth made for me just before I left to come to Japan last year. It was like one of the only tapes I listened to for a few months here until I got the CD adapter in my car. On it there is a song by Talib Kwali called "Knowledge of Self" and it talks about uniting the African Diaspora and how strong we could be if we connected. It just gave me hope and a few ideas on what to write about. So, that's what I'm going to build off tomorrow when I go to work. I really REALLY need to finish this tomorrow because it has to be to them on Friday and I still haven't gotten a translation done.

I talked w/my ls A today. She is hilarious!!! She was having an "I need to call E" moment but then realized I was in Japan. I don't understand why my friends think they CAN'T call Japan? But anyway her story was great and talking on IM was great and it just really made me miss her so so much. She is really talking about coming here and that will be a lot of fun too. And now that she is working like a slave for Walgreens and making that big dough she can afford to come. So this isn't about her just talking.

I bought Rikca a phone for her birthday. The last phone she has is also one I bought for her birthday a bunch of years ago, but of course she doesn't change the batteries so the shit doesn't work well. Anyway, this is a good phone and I won it on an E-bay Auction so she should like it. She's moving to NY in December. It will be a big change for her but I think she is ready for something big.

Anyway I'm sleepy. So I'm turning in.

Tonite I pray: with thankfulness in my heart as usual for all the awesome things you do in my life everyday. Thanks for turning a day that seemed so dreary into one that made me smile a lot towards the end. Thank you for BB, Erica, A and Rikca who are all very special people in my life and keep your loving arms around them as you do for me. Thanks Big Man!

My brain is absolutely officially dead. I can't concentrate. I keep trying to write this Article for the Kokusai Forum and I just can't get my brain to think about that. It wants to think about everything else! I want to read my book. ( I just bought a few new ones from Towers Books yesterday). I want to look up art on the internet. (I went to a wonderful exhibit of 7 Mexican Female Surrealist Artists and am highly intrigued in their lives now) I want to go to sleep. (I had a helluva great time this weekend but my daily aging you verile body is tired) I wanna call BB and chat (but phone bills are too fuckin' expensive on Japanese phones). All these things I wanna do but, what am I going to do? Sit at my computer. Keep checkin' my email every fuckin' three minutes and pray that these last 10 mins I have to be here fly by.

I have a private class tonight with this adult class I'm going to be teaching at Mie's but I'm really thinking about asking her if I could stop the class. I really don't have time for it. The money is wonderful and I will probably not quite for that reason. I like having the extra income but I still miss my evenings. Aiight I'm suckin' it up. I'm going and I'm going to talk about my new book in class tonight. Its called "Underground" and is about the Serin Gasing in Tokyo back in 1995 by the religious sect Aum. I'm intrigued in this topic for a bunch of different reasons but one of the main reasons is this cult lived in the village I currently live in back when they were planning the attacks. Just about anyone in Japan knows my village of only 1,600 people and its this book that will explain to me in more depth what the whole case is all about.

At this particular moment: I send up shouts of joy b/c ist 4:30 and I'm getting out of here!

The deal is done! I paid for the tickets and got my confirmation today. Korea is going to be GREAT!!! BB seems excited too. Its going to be an interesting thing for us to be traveling in a place where neither of us speak the native tongue and from what I heard Korea is not a very bilingual friendly country. I'm going to keep looking for hotels and stuff and try to book something there soon.

I was just trying to talk with RR and I felt almost like I couldn't breathe because there is so much I want to say to him that we just don't have time to talk about. I really had to say bye because he was expecting a customer at 11 and I couldn't stand to keep talking about NOTHING while I was waiting to talk with him. I don't want to be interrupted when we speak by a customer another phone ringing NOTHING. I got some shit to say and when its said, I'll feel better.

Tonight I pray: that the words of my heart and the mediation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight. I have a lot to say to RR and sometimes the thoughts clog my brain and speaking clearly is very difficult. Please, order my words so that they won't be hurtful but hopefully help us bother. Amen.

Kyo wa ii ichinichi deshita! (Today was a good day!) School was cool (as usual). I went to my first Japanese funeral. (that's not the good part). My VP's mom passed away over the weekend and they were very happy to see me come pay my condelences to the family. The only problem was, they are buddist, and I'm not sure how their whole goodbye ceremony thing goes, so I kinda stood in line and watched as the people in front of me did it and then I tried to copy. It was a little nerve racking and I probably screwed it all up, but its over and done with and my VPs family was appreciative that I could come by. After that, I went back to school and finalized my plans for my Korea trip.

BB and I are going together. That should be interesting/fun. We had a good time this weekend. We had a little glitch in the Matrix but it really brought things "back to life, back to reality" as soul 2 soul would say. I really enjoy this guy but I have a lot of other things going on and its almost like having cake and eating it too. It feels so right that its gotta be wrong. Okay I'm done with the cliche's but we came to the agreement that the moment one of us feels like it has to end, then we'll end it and hopefully go on being friends. Its going to be hard when that time comes, but we both agree that it will come sooner or later.

I got an email from DK yesterday saying he was just thinking about me and hoping all was well. He'll be back in Japan the weekend of my birthday. I'll be happy to see him. I have a school festival the day he arrives but maybe one of the next few days during that week we'll be able to get together. His ending of the email was "I miss you. A little bit anyway." So I replied to his email and said the same thing at the end. Men are so funny. I seem to always have men in my life who say exactly what they feel no matter what! The thing is, I give them that same shit they give me RIGHT BACK. I don't think he was trying to give me shit, but I respond in kind (most times). Gosh has it really been only 2 months since we've seen each other last? It seems like so much longer! Oh well. It won't be long now.

I have this article to write for CLAIR that is due Sept 12, NEXT FRIDAY and have I BEGUN it . . .NO!!! I decided I wanted to write about JETs of African Descent or some issue related to JETs_AD but I need to get the ball rolling. My writing style is so awful that I'll need to check, check and re-check it many times before I send it to be translated. Then from there I'll send it in. Wish me luck on this.

Oh, about the very good day..(gosh I do get off track sometimes) well this evening we had football practice. I really wish I could play more but honestly today was great! I learned a stronger way of kicking that hopefully will help along the way. Also running around playing a little, I could definitely see the improvement that my jogs in the park have been helping me make. My endurance is no where near where I want it to be, but I'm not coughing and wheezing after running around for 5 minutes. Its more like 15, which is great!!! The only problem is practice is going to be on Monday's and I have this new private class on Monday. . .darn it. My life consists of Privates, soccer and Japanese Proficiency test (not in that specific order) from now until December. Ganbaro! (I will fight)

Erica lost her cell phone this weekend. She called me about 3 times around 5am Saturday but I was too sleep to go pick up the phone. When I finally got up and checked it, she told me that she'd given it to someone in the club when this Lil John and the Eastside Boys song came on "to the window....to the wall". I guess she called herself tearing the club up and not wanting to break her phone by dropping it but ending up losing it instead. I guess she'll get a new one soon, and she needs to because my bday celebration is Saturday night. And I dont want "PAY PHONE" showing up on my phone all night when we are trying to get shit together.

Tonight I pray: for a restful nights sleep. I'm thankful that I was able to see yet another productive day. I am thankful for the opportunity to go to Korea and being able to spend time with good people. Lord, you're so good to me sometimes I just don't understand why. Thanks for another great blessed day. G-nite! Amen.