Congratulations are in Order!

Some of my friends here in Ueda and two friends back home deserve some congratulations for passing Go and collecting more than their $200...way more.

Alice: Congrats on getting the job in Tokyo! I'm psyched for you. Without your directions and advice over the past year, The City That Hides The Horizon would still seem too large to puncture. Ueda is losing a hospitable and warm-hearted JET. You're leaving big shoes to fill :(

Mike and Patti: Woohoo! Congrats on the baby news! It's comforting knowing that intelligent people who kick ass are multiplying and babymaking. I'm so excited! I know you'll make awesome parents because...well...good, genuine people who can lure huge plants into this world from the smallest of seeds often end up becoming contemplative, supportive parents who lure babies into this world from the smallest of seeds. Thanks for showing all of us unmarried, babyless folks how to do the get-married-have-a-baby thing in proper style. You're unsuspecting mentors (and that's the best kind!) After six or seven months, send the little one over to me for his/her first skateboarding lessons.

Gary and Diana: Six years in the making! Congrats on the engagement news! I'm happy for you! When you move to Gary, Indiana to live out a raunchy existence simply because your adopted city's name allows you to, let me know. Like Hale-Bopp, "The Great Comet of 1997" as it's been etched into the memories of astonomy lovers worldwide, we all knew this engagement was coming. Unlike Hale-Bopp, however, this engagement isn't cold and covered in ice.