what a week. most of it spent in the hospital, after having my appendix removed in emergency surgery last sunday. it will be awhile before i am back to my regular schedule of coaching, and i can do no physical activity for a month.



i bowled 2 games last saturday, before the pain started, a 151 and 155. i also took 6 other people with me for free. such nice benefits.



i found somewhere to watch the superbowl live, go panthers!



(listening to: grits- 'the art of translation')

tonight was my first night working my new job. i oversaw the first 'business night' at the bowling alley, essentially a one night 'league.' met tons of people, answered tons of questions, and worked 3.5 hours which will result in lots more free games to play. i played 3 yesterday- 140, 157, and 131.



first week of AIS girl's basketball practice is over, we should have a great team. first game is next friday, i can't wait. swim practice continues to go well. i trained with the team 3 times this week, trying to get in shape and get fast again so i can compete.



am the busiest i have been since i have been in zambia, and i am loving it.



(listening to: the fire theft)

just got back from taking advantage of the benefits of my new job. myself and six friends bowled for free. before that we watched 'the last samurai' (opened here today) and drank homemade root beer and played dominoes. a great night. tomorrow i have a swim meet to coach at, so since it's 2 am i should probably go to bed.

the turn off the radio top 12 albums of 2003:



1. fountains of wayne- welcome interstate managers

www.fountainsofwayne.com



2. thrice- the artist in the ambulance

www.thrice.net



3. death cab for cutie- transatlanticism

www.deathcabforcutie.com



4. over the rhine- ohio

www.overtherhine.com



5. nada surf- let go

www.nadasurf.com



6. the appleseed cast- two conversations

www.theappleseedcast.com



7. sleeping at last- ghosts

www.sleepingatlast.com



8. elliott- song in the air

www.elliottintransit.com



9. zwan- mary star of the sea

www.zwan.com



10. mates of state- team boo

www.matesofstate.com



11. brown feather sparrow- wide awakens everything

www.brownfeathersparrow.com



12. the jealous sound- kill them with kindness

www.jealoussound.com

as of today i am the league manager for the new bowling alley in lusaka, zambia. i have no idea how this happened, but i am excited. in exchange for my work i get to bowl as often as i want for free.

swim practice started yesterday, basketball practice starts next monday, i am going to be more busy than i have ever been in this country.



(listening to: mates of state- 'team boo')

changed a few things on this page, not sure what kind of theme to go with since it is not cold here in january. i am still shocked and thrilled with the joe gibbs hiring. i'll be getting back to the states just in time for the 2004 NFL season, i plan to watch every redskins game.



(listening to: fountains of wayne- 'welcome interstate managers')

the redskins hired joe gibbs as coach! amazing!



i just returned to lusaka after 2 weeks in johannesburg, south africa. it was nice to be in civilization for that time, it felt like being in the states. i went to 4 different malls, ate at lots of nice restaurants, and saw a few movies. the last 3 nights down there i ate thai food twice and japanese food once.



the reason i traveled down there, MK camp, was amazing. i got to meet lots of missionaries, saw some i hadn't seen in over a year, and made many new friends. i also got to experience the best worship i have had since leaving the states and heard sermons that i actually learned something from.



one of the most unique experiences i had was eating at a restaurant called 'the carnivore.' there are only 2 in the world, the other in nairobi, kenya. for 145 rand ($25) i got all you can eat meat (also soup, salad, bread, and dessert, but as you can tell by the name of the place, it is all about MEAT). there were 12 different kinds of animal including crocidile, ostrich, sable, kudu, pork, chicken, and beef.



i'll write more about this trip later, and post some pictures. and i need to change the look of this site now that Christmas has past.



(listening to: all things bright and beautiful- 'love and affection')