My birthday, then. It was yesterday. I had a good time. I spent time with D, I relaxed, we listened to Odyssey, I played video games, then we went out to eat and had probably our most successful date ever. D had one of our friends do up her hair really amazingly, which was a plus.
So, life here coasts along. I really need to strive for excellence in everything that I do, rather than just let it coast.
Oh, and the Cavs over the Lakers in 6.
D and I played a fun game the other night. It was called, "D guesses what song iTunes DJ is playing." She can do some of the songs with artist, song title, and album name in two seconds or less. I can do that with one or two. She did it with a lot. She's pretty talented.
Welp, I haven't been getting work done well, and I've been struggling to get along with some of my co-workers. I guess that's the way it goes when you live together and work together with people whose personalities don't line up with yours.
In other news....
We had a day off yesterday, celebrating yet another national holiday. We were on lockdown, and so couldn't go anywhere.
Still, it managed to be a good day.
I slept in a little, helped D do some work, had pizza, goofed off, played volleyball for a while, went to a cook out, did some more work, and then sat and held my pretty girlfriend's hands. It was a good day.
I'm really struggling to get work that I need to get done done of late, so I'm hoping I can start reversing the trend today.
There is nothing left to say of consequence.
I woke up early this morning, and stood in front of the rising sun for half an hour. I've changed my mind and made up my mind so many times over the last two years or so, but some things never change, despite the things that we do or say. As I stood, I thought about the Rising Son. When I Read this morning, I read about the sorrow that had to come before the Rising. And I thought about a lot of the things that have happened over the last two months.
I never imagined myself in a position like this, and some times I have a heartache that I feel I can't really explain to anyone. It's the sorrow shared by a dear friend. It's sympathy wrapped up in mystery. It's despair over my inability to be meaningful at this time. It's disappointment in a friendship missed. It's struggle with wonder. It's comfort coming through, instead of despite, pain. It's like learning how to drive a stick shift. It's grief from the outside, as though through a rain-sheeted window pane. It's nothing as harsh or as hard as it could be, and I'm glad for it because it's the only thing that even gives me a chance to be able to understand or help D while all this is going on, but that doesn't mean I like it. It's growing, but that still isn't fun.
At the end of it all, the matter is that I have one purpose here on this earth, one purpose in this place. Now I just work to carry that out, as I am able, as I have been given Strength.
The greatest of these is.
So, the beach was really pretty.
Today was up and down. I got to play some basketball, go to a cool garden and photo exhibit, listen to Adventures in Odyssey with D, watch the NCAA men's championship game... but also had issues with the new internet gateway I installed yesterday. Oh well.
Things are good.
So, last night, after walking and talking with D about how I spend money on plane tickets and her (mostly food for her. And yes, I know you like it. :D), I decided I should spend some other money. So I hopped on iTunes and started looking at my favorite bands to see if anyone had any new stuff. And discovered that Starflyer59 put out an album last October! How come no one told me? So I bought it and downloaded it last night. Am just listening to it now, and it's pretty good. What I've heard is most like Talking Voice vs Singing Voice, but there's a little of My Island thrown in there too. If you like either of those albums, it's worth checking out at least.
This is a picture of me, Lemur (mine) and Tiger (D's) in Coptic Cairo. It's a little warren of Cairo that has a lot of old Coptic Churches. There's something oddly incongruous about flat screen TVs bolted onto the rough wooden rafters. It was really interesting. It was also where I told the tourist policeman that I would not give him bakshish (a bribe) for showing us where the tombs were. Yeah.
I played Ultimate Frisbee tonight for the first time in almost two months. My throwing has declined, but I've still almost got it. It was a lot of fun. Combine that with the two times we played basketball this week, and I feel like I'm starting to make a comeback towards working out and getting in shape.
We had a team Meeting tonight, and listened to a recording of a man talk about balancing growing up in the U.S. with an American mother and an Iranian father. It was really interesting, and had a good amount of food for thought. D and I talked a good amount while we were walking. It was good.
I struggle to find the Purpose I was sent to this place sometimes. Then when I'm not really looking, it comes at me in an odd way. I'm still kind of trying to figure it all out, but isn't everyone who is really Searching?
D and I bought two plates about a month an a half about. They're nice ceramic plates with pretty designs on them. She picked them out, I bought them. Due to our living arrangements here, we have a weird situation with the plates... because they're clearly our plates, but they reside at my house. So tonight, we ordered indian food and then took the food and the plates down and ate on the picnic tables outside the dining room.
One of our co-workers walked by and said, "Oh, nice plates! Whose are they?"
I responded, "Mine. Hers. Ours..."
Yeah. Life here can be interesting.
I keep meaning to post an update that describes the trip, and include pictures.
I can't bring myself to write about it. Not that it was bad or anything, I just can't write anything.
But here's a picture of the beach.
The other day, I heard a talk about the Indescribable nature of our universe. It makes me glad that I am not judged by my small size.
The trip back from Nuweiba to the 'Stan was pretty bad, and I won't recount it all, save that we had a bad bus ride, a rough airport experience in Cairo, and a canceled flight in Dubai.
It's good and rough and hard to be back.
Please Remember D. She's having a stressful time, and would like some rest and calmness.
For the last few days, I've been in Nuweiba, a little town on the Gulf of Aqaba. It's before tourist season, so we've had the resort/hostel/village to ourselves, mostly. We've been the only customers in the restaurants when we've gone. We went and hiked up Mt. Moses, where it is said that the Ten Commandments were given to Moses, for the sunrise. It was a 7km hike/climb up 2200 feet to the summit, and it was cold, cold, cold, but we made it. Had to wake up and leave at 12:00A.M. and it really threw off our sleep patterns, but it was good.
D and I have eaten supper right on the gulf, as the place we are staying has a restaurant that the tide laps against. We've had some really nice dates this trip, eating on the Nile River, up by the gulf. It's been a good, relaxing vacation. We start back tomorrow, have to take a 6 or 7 hour bus ride to Cairo, a plane to Dubai, then back to the 'Stan later on the 12th. Back to work right away on the 13th.
I'll post more about Cairo and here when I get back to the 'Stan. But I've had a pretty good vacation. It was needed, and I'm ready to get back to another 3 months of work!
I've been in Cairo for a couple days. Seen the pyramids, and some other fun places. I'll post more later!
Dubai: Because nothing says I Love You to a four year old better than a life-size plush giraffe.
