Interesting to think about no?

I have returned to the realms of Michigan, wedded and honeymooned. Returned to fight the fight that all newlywedded couples must face. The crash an burn of returning to normal day to day life and all it's hardships and dramas.

But, if I am allowed a bit of confidence, I believe Andrea and I are well-equipped for the challenges that lie ahead.

We honeymooned in San Fransisco and there are a few things that I learned while I was there:

1. No matter how expensive a pass is, it's not as expensive as taking public transportation ala-carte.
2. Pee before you go anywhere. There's no telling when you'll see the next restroom. Good lord, did I learn that one well.

I am planning on reporting at length, with pictures about the honeymoon. So check back later if you're interested in seeing the what sites we saw.

I must admit, I'm quite looking forward to this latest of the Harry Potter books. My life of late has been far too businesslike and not nearly magical enough. There is a need of some fantastical elements to stave off the cold hard grayness of reality.

If only I could learn to produce said magic, instead of relying on outside sources to provide it...

Andrea and I have begun our rigorous Marriage Counseling. Jeff, who is our officiant of choice, agreed to do the ceremony only on the condition that we submit to his counseling and see it through. And that we do all the homework he assigns.

So, with the event 3.5 Months away, we began our counseling this week.

Jeff handed us each a stack of papers to fill out/read. Each of us got a video. Each of us got a book (Andrea got a 2nd one, but it was small). Our mission was to examine the material and report on it.

Now let me tell you, thirty years of age or not, I'm rather apprehensive about this whole marriage thing. I honestly don't think having eight years on my fiancé gives me a leg up on what to expect or how to handle this thing. We're both total n00bs here.

And, to my relief, the material I've been studying thus far has been rather reassuring. Interesting, illuminating and largely reassuring.

I don't mean that to be a dismissive comment. I'm not saying there isn't a lot to learn, or that I'm no longer concerned about our standing ability to cope. What I am saying is that I begin to see that we have a good shot at it. And, unsurprisingly, I'm realizing things about myself that I, to this point had been blind to.

I have just the sort of psychology that those self-help book writers prey upon. ;)

Trent Reznor was so thoughtful as to release a new nin album on Tuesday after an overwhelmingly depressing Monday. I appreciate that in an artist.

Every time I think I may have grown out of this angry young man stage, I pick up a CD and find all of it's still in there.

I think one of the things that I really appreciate about Mr. Reznor's music is that he has a tendency to ennoble pain. To make it not only an acceptable part of the human condition, but a valuable and influential factor in personal experience.

I think too often we assume pain is something bad. Something to be avoided. And in avoiding pain we short-change our own understanding of self. We never learn our limits and we never figue out how to avoid our previous mistakes.

I especially think it's our job as Christians to view suffering as a gift. Pain is how we learn what we really believe. Pain is how we understand the difference between good and evil. It's how we define good.

And I think it's thanks to artists such as Trent Reznor that we are able to look beyond the immediate discomfort and despair and see the value in what we're experiencing. The glorification of pain allows for the acceptance of that which shapes us into better people.

This past weekend, Saturday April 9 2005, I turned 30. I am now an old man.

Thirty, however, seems to be a much larger number than it actually is. I was expecting perhaps rheumatism and arthritis. Perhaps a few chronic conditions. None of these things have, as of yet, seen fit to manifest themselves.

What did manifest itself was an iPod Mini via the lady. I have to take a moment to appreciate the abject wonderfulness manifested in a fiancé that gifts me with an iPod Mini for my passing into the decade of irrelevance. I must take a moment to point out the wonder of a lady who plays my little nerd games with me and makes me feel like less of a nerd. I would like to express to the community at large how precious this individual is to me and how the simple knowledge that she is there for me quiets the demons-- how it makes them irrelevant.

I also recognize that a lady who buys her fiancé an iPod Mini for his birthday is broke and so you should all send her money!

And I now return you to your regularly scheduled radio silence from me.

I've been playing Final Fantasy Tactics again and I have somewhere around 83 hours on my save file since I got the game the week it came out. It is what I do when my brain ceases to willingly focus on tasks.

I don't know exactly what it is about video games, but the most complicated planning and drudgery seem to suddenly equate to relaxing entertainment when they are done to 2d sprites.