10-22-07 Weddings and Babies

Last week, Michiyo and I drove to the airport together, and I stayed with her through to the security checkpoints. Visitors are allowed to go no further, so we waved goodbye, and so began her month-long trip back to Japan. So much has happened over the last few months, and of course I wanted to send a nice email about each one. Instead, this email will be a summary of everything, with some important announcements at the end.

I feel extremely lucky. September marked the two-year mark of my vocation of entertaining. After another busy summer chock-full of magic shows, juggling acts, magic and circus camps, and DJ shows, I thought back to 2005. The JET Programme was finished, the wedding adventure was complete, and Michiyo and I had completed our South American honeymoon. Opportunities were slowly popping up that fit the type of life I desired. Two years, later, I have begun to build that life, and my mind remains resolute in focusing on pursuing my dreams.

Summer also marked the first of two recent trips we took for some big events. While living in Japan and traveling in general, I have missed several important weddings of friends. Missing out on these experiences made me appreciate distance, and made me decide to overcome time, distance, and other details; I was determined to be a part of friends’ ceremonies whenver I got the chance. Last summer, Michiyo and I traveled to Pensacola, Florida, for my high school friend Dave Marlo’s wedding. Several other weddings happened over the last year as well in St. Louis—two cousins and two other high school friends, with each one being a fantastic party.

Oregon in August

In August, another friend since high school, Maria Palumbo, got married in Portland, Oregon. Maria and I met before my senior year of high school, and have been in touch throughout our travels and jobs in distant places. She asked me to be the DJ and MC throughout the weekend, plus this trip gave us the chance to re-visit Michiyo’s second American home; she studied in Eugene, Oregon in 1999-2000. We seized the opportunity to experience the Pacific Northwest, if only for a week.

Our rental car took us to the coast, where we found the house used in one of the all-time favorite films, “Goonies,” along with a painting-perfect sunset at a place called Cannon Beach. A day in Eugene let Michiyo catch up with some old friends, and the drive to and from Portland helped us appreciate the staggering color of the mountains and forests that simply do not exist in the Midwest.

Maria and her husband Nick did a great job planning an eventful weekend for family and friends. The rehearsal dinner, wedding, and reception took place at Still Meadows Retreat Center outside Portland. For several days, two families and numerous friends came together to produce an amazing experience that all took place under the clear, starry, Northwest sky. A bonfire on each night served as a comfy gathering place to tell all manner of camping, float trip, and other family stories, plus pass the famous Palumbo Gin Buckets.

One story that made the rounds involved a date that Maria and I never went on, involving fender benders, white lies, conspiracies, local police, and a national corporation—but that can be told another time). And, in case any of you are wondering, the reception did introduce the requisite rendition of the “Humpty Dance” to the otherwise serene natural utopia of Oregon.

Virginia in October

Next, in early October, Michiyo and I again hopped on a plane, on our way to another wedding. We flew to the nation’s capital; our short stay in Washington, DC, included stops at the Capitol Building, Washington Monument, Iwo Jima statue, the memorials of Lincoln, World War II, and Vietnam, plus a bakery in DC’s Chinatown, er, China-block. One evening was spent with a friend from JET who married my former Japanese teacher, and met their 1-year old daughter. At the end of our trip, we visited another Kumamoto couple, Mike and Sayuri, who hosted the picnic back in 2002 where Michiyo and I first met. They live near Virginia Beach with their two daughters. We caught up with them, then took advantage of the area’s off-season, driving the near empty Atlantic Boulevard on our way to the 17-mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, not to mention a steal of hotel room right on the beach, where dolphins jumped out of the water to wish us good morning.

In between DC and Virginia Beach, our complimentary-upgraded rental car hit the road for Harrisonburg, Virgina, pretty soon, we found ourselves in the middle of John Denver’s ageless classic (and Japan favorite) “Country Road.” Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River, and Mountain Mamas came alive as we joined the families of David Seabeck and Allison Yoder in her hometown. They spent time with my brother and I on the JET Programme in Kumamoto, bonded over karaoke and raw horse, and decided to spend their lives together.

Just like our week in Oregon, this week introduced another part of the country to us, and making it that much better was the company of numerous friends from everywhere. David and Allison sent invitations to people in 31 states and nine countries. Included in this group were a bunch of present and former Kumamoto JETs, all of whom came from far away: Big Joe made the drive from Vermont with his car’s failing transmission, Jamie arrived late from Atlanta after a mom-enforced cleaning of his room, and Kim, Nancy, Kathy and Holly all fought off jet lag after making the journey from Japan. Allison’s brother, Karl, shook off classes at Princeton to drive down, and proceeded to show us some local highlights, including my inaugural burger at Five Guys, and a landmark jump off a 30-ft tower in the middle of a flood-runoff lake, along with David and his brother, Michael.

Michiyo and I arrived in time for the rehearsal dinner at Taste of Thai, where we met their families, and were served by Anna, from Kazakhstan (no relation to Borat—I asked). The next day, after the girls’ tea party and the boys’ tower jump, the younger crowd hit the town first at a Mexican Restaurant, where we met an awkward car salesman named Jeff Jackson. We then hit one of the favorite bars of students at James Madison University, where Jamie chatted up the girl working the door, and gave her his business card: Jeff Jackson, Honda sales.

The wedding day went off perfectly; Big Joe arrived just in time to jump into his tux and walk down the aisle with the wedding party, Jamie got the video camera operating as the ceremony was starting, and some guy named John from the sound company fixed the speakers in time for the reception that night. David and Allison bore the glowing smiles of giddy newlyweds, as well as the relief and satisfaction of an endeavor well-planned and executed.

Gratefully, I was able to serve as the DJ and MC of this days reception as well, and because of the high level of happy, fun people in attendance, this party ranks up there with the best! We all missed my brother, Mark, who couldn’t catch a direct flight from Hong Kong to Harrisonburg, but he was there in spirit. Dinner, toasts, and dancing led to a moment where we were all jumping and smiling on the dance floor, and I felt like I was back in Kumamoto, in a crowded dark basement bar ‘one more time.’

Announcements
Number One: Michiyo and I found out in May that we will be first-time Mommy and Daddy, or for the bilingual speakers out there, Okasan and Otosan. I have let this news spread by word of mouth mainly, but I want to share this officially with all of you, my family and friends. Just before going to Virginia, we found out we will be having a boy, and that he is quite busy inside Michiyo. As for names, which many people constantly ask about, I favor Optimus Prime, the Autobot leader of the Transformers. Michiyo is not so high on that. We will have some combination of a Japanese and American name for the first and middle names, which we will decide by the due date of (rougly) Valentine’s Day 2008.

Michiyo is spending about a month with her family in Japan. Her tiny Japanese frame hid the pregnancy for several months, but she’s finally putting on some weight, prompting me to let her know that she is looking more and more American every day. In the next few weeks, I will take advantage of the temporary bachelor life by going to New Orleans for a Post-Katrina Service Trip with my sisters, then attend a DJ conference in Las Vegas. Michiyo will return in time for Thanksgiving, then spend a restful final trimester home in St. Louis.

Announcement Number Two: Inspired by David and Allison’s wedding web site, I am re-launching a blog I started a while ago. At emailbig.blogspot.com, I have posted many of my travel stories and articles, and have begun to add pictures to each. My goal is to build this into several other endeavors, which I will share as time goes on. Please enjoy re-visiting my trips to 30 countries, outlandish employment, the engagement story, and countless other memories I have shared. Also, do not hesitate to share this site with people important to you.

Announcement Number Three: Japan has had an incredible effect on my life. The application deadline for the JET Programme is due December 3rd. If you or anyone with whom you are friends or related might have an open mind to this adventure, please mention this to them, and/or feel free to refer them to me. The only stake I have is sharing with others this unique and far-reaching opportunity.




I read this recently; if you’d like to know what book it came from, drop me a line.
For he is not poor who has little; only he that desires much . . . and true security lies not in the things one has but in the things one can do without.

Be rich my friends!