Friday's List

Well, last night Jason and Justin came over and we enjoyed ourselves with a dozen beers. Split between us, of course. We actually spent most of the time outside under the overhang of the complex because of this amazing thunderstorm we had last night. It was raining sheets, and the lightning and thunder was on top of us. It was awe inspiring. We were out there for the duration of two beers. Justin crashed here last night, and he's coming back after work today. When I got up this morning it was raining. It only got worse. It got dark, nighttime dark, at one thirty pm, and the rain was pouring down harder than it was last night, and the wind was whipping it around even harder. Also, add hail into the mix. Now, four hours later, the rain has stopped, and I am trying to stay motivated. I couldn't get the bottles returned today because by the time I got them into the car, I would have refilled them with rain. I did, however, get the trash taken out, and the chairs out also. Packing the clothes up and disassembling the bed for transport to Christina's has also begun. Now on to the irritation part. I got things taken care of with Comcast and set up for a Monday shutoff. All good there. I called the Consulate General of Japan in Detroit today, and after spending more than 10 minutes navigating a wordy and poorly designed menu system, left a message about wondering when my visa would be ready. I got a call back and the answer wasn't good. They are currently processing my application in Japan, and the guys here in the US don't know what's happening. Left hand not knowing what the right is doing. Lovely. My passport is in Detroit, so if all else fails, and I don't get it before the 28th, I go to D-town and get the passport from the Consulate, go to Japan, and spend 90 days in Japan, then swing over to Hong Kong, Guam, or Hawaii for a weekend or something. but it isn't the best thing. More money needed because the stupid governmental process. I've since fired off an email to Jeffery Johnson and Martin Stack, who are involved with JCMU (Martin being the head of JCMU in the states, and Jeffery being the Resident Director at JCMU), and am hoping for a speedy reply.