When I first got here, I was checking out the tour dates for various beloved musicians and groups to see if I could see any of them here soon .. for one thing, suddenly being in a larger city again, I figured it should have a more active music scene without having to drive two or three hours as I did from the Burg. Also, the desire to see familiar faces from my pre-Navy days, even those familiar to me only from the stage, was really quite strong. In my travels, I found that Eddie From Ohio was to perform at a music festival outside Dade City (near Tampa, about three hours from here) this past weekend. So I arranged a trip for myself, and got to see them a bit more in the not-"on"-for-the-fans mode, which was very fun. Meanwhile, through them I met some of the members of other bands performing there, as well, and just walking around (as often happens at music festivals, especially in the broadly-folkish-genre) got to meet a number of other attendees.

I was barefoot the ENTIRE weekend, except for Sunday evening when I went with a new friend to Applebee's and of course had to wear shoes for that. Consequently (although this would have happened had I been wearing my sandles, too), nearly the entire surface of my legs from my knees to the soles of my feet are covered in bites from both mosquitoes and fire ants. For those who have no experienced fire ant bites, be grateful. There are few things worse in this world, as far as insect or other such pest bites. Fleas are NOTHING compared with fire ants. Mosquitoes are just a slight nuisance. Fire ant bites burn like the dickens, and there are bazillions of them, and you can't prevent them (through any product or method I know of anyway, besides not living in FL). They're rediculous. So, while mosquito bites don't normally itch me too badly, these combined with the fire ant bites are crazy-itchy because the f-a bites set of the m bites, especially in the middle of the night when my subconcious mind can't stop me from scratching.

However, there is a remarkable freedom in being in such a situation that I can get so bitten up, since the uniforms (especially if I was in battle dress with the trousers tucked in and the long-sleeves buttoned tight and all) don't really allow for such things, and one can only get so outdoors on the base. More importantly, I was almost three hours from the nearest Navy base as far as I know (though there was an Air Force base not far from there), and I didn't have any public-allowed uniform items anywhere in my car (just my working uniform, which can only be worn on base or for certain stops on the way home from work if one is fortunate enough to live off-base), and although I was talking with EFO and the musicians and attendees about what my experiences have been in the Navy several times throughout the weekend, it was a great break from that life, perhaps moreso than being home on leave was somehow.

(Sorry, that was a horribly written paragraph.)

It was nice to be able to stop at a random thriftstore on the highway during my drive home, too. I found a number of great things there, and yet kept my purchases to less than $30, even knowing it was payday.

That night, I went over the church I've been going to since I got here to check out the Young Life meeting they host. The couple that's in charge of YL for this particular area is really great, and I had a fantastic lunch with Alice (the wife of this couple) last week, really starting a great friendship off well, I think. So it was nice to see them again and to see what a real YL meeting is like, since I've been hearing about it for years and have been wanting to get involved since I heard about it, but it never worked out while I was in VA. And now I will most likely become a leader within the next couple of months, since I very much enjoyed the meeting and those first conversations I had with a lot of the students there. Since I could still pass for a high schooler (especially in the right outfit, or anytime I'm around several of them), and yet am plenty older and experienced in the post-high-school life.. well, the most important part really is that I can relate to a lot of the unique struggles some of the kids are dealing with, as far as the particularly soap-opera-like backgrounds. And then we have a leader who was raised in a "proper" household and it took a YL camp experience for her to realize she didn't really know the gospel of Christ. I'm excited to see how working with YL will enhance my own spiritual life and convictions, especially to balance out the Navy influences.

It's nearly 11:35 (or 2345) now, and I've gotta be at PT at 7:30.. since I took I rather extended nap today, I allowed myself to stay here longer, but I'd really better get back to the barracks and in my rack now.