Surreal Sunday

I hope everyone's having a great weekend, as it winds to a close and we all prepare to return to work. This week has been interesting for me, as have the last several weeks. I'm hoping to do some work on one of my novels in a little while, and go to bed early in preparation for an early morning tomorrow. I just started watching Beerfest, and I figured I'd scrape together a few thoughts before I got to novelizing.

I spent Friday evening with M@, my near-legendary friend from back home whom I met while we were students at [Generic State University]. I can't say for a fact that M@ and I have seen each other at all since late December of 2006. Spending time with him reminds me just how much time passes between visits with my friends. Sure, there are a few who are still very close to where I grew up and went to school, but most of the people who I formed close friendships with in high school and college can only be feasibly accessed by telephone or Internet. Because of the nature of my work, and the nature of their work, I've been fortunate enough to run across a handful of folks out here: Laud, Furious D, and now M@ for eighteen of the next twenty-five weeks. I guess that the bottom line is that hanging out with M@ is not only the longest-term connection between my life at Van Diemen's Station and my life back home, but also a real demonstration of just how far my life has gone in the last couple of years.

M@ joined me at church today, as did the Fashionista and Mrs. Mike Nelson, to celebrate my confirmation. As of about 11:45 EST this morning, I can officially count myself among the ranks of official members of the Church of England, as opposed to the last several years in which I was merely a professing Anglican. Some might say there's not much difference, and there's really not, but this is a very big deal to me. Growing up in a very liberal church, and then attending charismatic and evangelical churches in high school, I was never exposed to the traditions and rituals that have carried the catholic church (as opposed to the Roman Catholic Church) successfully through the ages. Today is one of the experiences that will remain etched in my memory for the rest of my life - indeed, it will tie me forever to Van Diemen's Station. Of course, that just makes me think even harder about what my next move will be, and when I'll make it.

In addition to writing an article about Mauritania and getting confirmed this weekend, I also spent a good chunk of yesterday watching Bravo Two Zero, the made-for-BBC film based on the book of the same name. Not only did it serve as motivation to keep training and working toward my own goals, but it reminded me of finishing the book on the plane to England. That was the first time that I trudged alone into the unknown - a trend that has continued to this day. Very surreal. I'll be linking to the flick in this week's posts.

Well, I'd best be getting things ready for tomorrow, and maybe doing some additional writing. Have a great Sunday evening, folks.