Oh, and before I forget to mention it...
I'll be home for the holidays
...sort of.

I'll be home Dec. 25 to Jan 8, so I'll actually be on the plane Christmas day. Which does make for somewhat of a rushed Christmas. Unfortunately it was unavoidable. Christmas isn't a holiday in Japan, so my work schedule has me working up until Christmas Eve. I was a bit upset about this, until I remembered I don't like Christmas.

Well, as I get older I do appreciate the time with family more. And the longer I stay in Japan the more nostalgic I get for American style holidays. But in the past I have felt that much of Christmas was too materialistic, that the sappy morality of "Christmas spirit" espoused in TV specials was worthless, and that calls to remember "the true meaning of Christmas" were just another front in the culture wars, as in "this is our holiday and we're going to take it back from those secularists". That's obviously an abbreviated version, but those are my main points.

But I digress. The point is I will be back in Grand Rapids during those dates. So if you're reading this, and you will also be in town during those dates, by all means give me an e-mail and let's get together.

There is also a possibility that I may be playing host to Japanese co-workers. A couple teachers have asked if it would be okay if they came to visit with me in America. Despite the promixity of the date, they have yet to confirm their plans, but I'll keep you all updated. If they do come that will obviously tie down my schedule somewhat, but we'll work around it.