the real snot-monster

it's raining now [well, it was when i began posting], a cleansing, thoroughly drenching downpour that's perfectly suited to my current mode.

aside from an annoying argument over lunch (i couldn't get the guy to stop calling autism a disease), and a wonderful point made about king solomon's famous "let's cut the child in half" afterwards, it was a fairly uneventful day.

i took off early today, using two of the hours my shuttle travels have gained me over the past couple of months. that allowed me to get to training on time*, and tonight's was particularly gruelling. my body's reaction post-dust wasn't pretty, and breathing was particularly difficult. on the bright side, i think i've done a good job of reducing the damage done by a week of no less than three jelly doughnuts per day.

* stopping on the way for my favourite shinto meal. while waiting for the bus from there, i took a photo of the skyline and an agitated navy private questioned my intentions - i think he thought the camera was aimed at him. i was left amused.

the warm-up was crazy - one of the guys brought a meaner, heavier ball that leaves pretty solid marks. we had fun :)

also, having misunderstood an instruction in self defence, i got smacked in the head with a shoe. what made that action more surreal and shameful was that it was *my* shoe.

scrapper and i have just had a couple of extremely interesting conversations, and i have to admit being a bit jealous of the way his brain works. it's a combination of curiosity and intelligence that flows in all directions, and it's pleasing to argue with.

two more weeks until i arrive in south africa, and i am *excited* ^_^

[post interrupted by bus arrival, waving to sunshine but not actually stopping to say hello, orange juice, a fantastic shower and a brief internet check]

i'm lying in bed with my neck engaged by the massage pillow, and it's definitely time to dream.