why is it always on the short ones?

My trip back from Singapore was off from a decent start. I had arrived in Tokyo a little early, managed myself well, and had a pretty good 24 hours in Japan, as I mentioned in my previous entry.

Not looking forward to the 12 hour flight across the Pacific, it actually went pretty well. I did enjoy communicating and helping the elderly couple next to me, the communication being a key part, as they spoke no English, and myself, no native Asian languages whatsoever. I was disappointed on the 747, because although a single screen is for movies and information is typical on most flights, I had been spoiled with personally controlled screens at each seat with a large selection of movies and games on both of my flights between Singapore and Tokyo. However, the movie selection made up for it, as I greatly enjoyed all three movies, The Bridge to Terabithea, 61*, and The Astronaut Farmer - even though I slept through a large portion of the third.

Due to arrive at 2:40pm in Detroit, we were actually well ahead of schedule and were ready for landing at just a few minutes after 2pm. But, the voyage took a turn for the worst when we began circling in the air, as at first there was not space for us to land, then we began to have quite a bit of turbulence and increased altitude to get above the incoming thunderstorm. We continued circling for the next 45 minutes, only to be informed that our flight plans had been changed and we would be landing in Toledo to refuel and determine what we would do from there. The supposedly quick, 25 minute max, landing in Toledo changed into over 2 hours grounded in Detroit with no food, water, or toilet (okay, maybe not that extreme on the lack, but the quote from Meet the Parents is just what came to mind). We finally departed back to Detroit, and after what had accumulated to a 3 and a half hour delay on the airplane, I once again set foot on land - or, in a building that is.

We proceeded to wait for luggage for nearly a half hour, and as my final flight from Detroit to home was due for departure at 5:29pm, I was ready for my next delay. While waiting for luggage, I began to joke with a Northwest agent that was standing nearby, and then asked her where I would go to see about changing my flight. She then asked me where I was headed and after I responded, she showed a look of concern and replied with a "not too many flights there...let me go check on that..." What came next was her returning with a new boarding pass for me on a flight that would leave at 9:06pm, again, 3 and a half hours later than the original, and whispered "shhhh...not supposed to do this". A few people around caught on to what had just happened, and kindly began to ask her similar questions - she jokingly said "See, I told you! Now everyone's going to want it". Soon after a single piece of luggage had made several rounds on the pickup, more began to come. We cracked jokes about identifying luggage, a woman beside me saying "I can see mine, it's white with a bright red stripe", to which a man behind me responded with "I can tell when it's mine, too - mine is black." I turned and said "Yours is black? Mine is black! What a coincidence!" Soon enough, however, I was humored by the fact that I caught my black piece of luggage coming out on the opposite side, but did not rub it in that I was able to pick mine out rather quickly.

I then proceeded to go through customs, which was actually quite easy - they didn't really ask me anything - rechecked my luggage and headed to just verify my new boarding pass. I had already glanced at it and saw that I was in a C seat, and was like "stink, that better be a window or an aisle". I had practically fought for an aisle for my flights back after my 12 and 8 hour flights going there where I was stuck inside. I was soon to ask if I could have my seat changed to make sure it was what I desired, when I noticed that my seat was not listed as an Economy Class seat, but as a First Class seat! I definitely verified this, and was excited.

Smirking at being so lucky, I thought of the one other time my flight had been upgraded for free; and then I realized, my previous upgrade had been on the shortest flight of my multi-landing trip, just over an hour, and this would also, at just under 2 hours.

Why can I never get this on the 12 hour flights?

if anyone knows of a better way...

Luckily, English is a standard in Singapore. I would love to be multilingual, but I am not. However, I did start some online Mandarin lessons last night, and I believe I am doing pretty well. 100% so far on my "tests" of tonal recognition.

Anyway, neither Mandarin nor English is a standard in Japan, or at least, Tokyo. So, I managed to find my way around Tokyo, from the airport to a bus terminal, to a hotel, around "electric town" Akihabara, (getting semi-lost in the process...I swear that these maps are upside down / backwards - same thing in Singapore - I wasn't lost in relation to the hotel, just in relation to what I was trying to find - I did stumble across a building with the official title being the Nintendo logo), and eventually back to the airport the next day after a little touring this morning. While I feel I did well, I must accredit basically everything to a friend of mine, from booking the hotel to giving me directions via email.

So, back to the issue with English vs. Japanese. In my attempts to use my google account, or just google in general, I had to figure out how to get it displayed in English. I finally deciphered that the url required "hl=en" attached in order to set the default to English. After trying to make setting changes, I still could not get the pages to remain in English - even when I tried to make this post. So, I added the "hl=en" to the url and found success. The new problem was that with each link clicked, I would be on a new page with everything once again in Japanese. I initially tried to conquer this by using Picasa on my computer to make the blog post, but to no avail...
So, I want back to the direct way have added "hl=en" to every new url. When I go to add these images, it's still in Japanese, with no url display up at the top to edit (the address bar can be changed to always display, but I just didn't bother...)

So, that's that. Which gives way to my request. If anyone knows of a better way, let me know!

amazing bachelor party...

While I haven't been to very many, I must say that the bachelor party we held for my no longer single friend was just amazing. The morning started with us holding a picnic at the beach with the family and friends of bride and groom. With a massage therapist on hand, we also happened to hold a fundraiser to help with the costs of the "B.P." event. After raising $90 (Singapore dollars) and a great lunch provided by the bride's family, seven singles headed off to start our fun.

We started out with more fun in the water, then moved on to a great dinner followed by even more fun at the pool. The evening was unforgettable, the enjoyment of reminding the groom of his antics in the past, warning of his future, and just having fun! The laughter as we played cards, gave gag gifts, and got the groom to say some things that he may never say again, and the pure and genuine time with friends was what made this so amazing.

Crossing the Pacific!

After waking at 4:00am for a 6:00am flight to Detroit, a 7 hour layover with a 1 hour delay once on the plane before my 13 hour flight to Tokyo, then a 2 hour layover that extended to 8 hours before my next 7 hour flight, I finally met an old friend at about 4:30am in Singapore.

After driving to his house, I finally went to sleep by about 5:30am, then slept until about 5:15pm.

I soon met his family and went with them to have a great dinner with them in a small, packed restaurant with a to go line comparable to the soup kitchen, but alas, no Soup Nazi.

to sing sing...

singapore, that is....
In just over two weeks I'll be boarding a plane to fly half way around the world to the small island city-state of Singapore. At 704 square kilometers (270 square miles), Singapore comes in a little above 1/40th the size of Hawaii.

I'm really excited, as I'll get to see many friends that I haven't seen in over two years, in addition to attending a wedding of two of those! I'll have a TON of pictures, so just you wait...

fallen ent of yesteryear

With grandeur this Ent stood his ground,
steadfast through Nature and Time.

Like many fores he rose and fell,
confirming young Ents to start.

Crossing the Rubicon to match his stature,
a grand honor, tried and true.

Only those with the pride and humility
required to fill this devoid,

Will one day stand tall as did he,
to shade, to shelter, to guard.

it has sprung...

Although steadfast in my belief that the year is not complete without a winter snow, I have to say that it has been beautiful the past few weeks. It reached a high of 83 degrees here today, quite a bit higher than the high this saturday of 53...and I enjoyed it.

I just might have to say that second to a beautiful winter (of which I have been denied for several years now), spring is definitely one of my favorite times of the year. This will be the first year that I am really going all out with a garden - I'm enjoying the time with some of my neighbors' kids, as we plant little seeds and keep our eyes on the lookout for when they sprout.

Late last fall we christened some oak acorns; , Joshua, Orange Princess, and Supercallafragalisticexbealladocious (with a few backups). We're down to about a dozen small seedlings that have sprouted up! The wystiera seed was named "The One Eyed, One Horned, Flying Purple People Eater".

I truly enjoy just being able to be look with the eyes of a child, taking genuine interest and awe in the world around me, being able to just lay back once in a while and watch the clouds float, the ants work, and the grass grow.

go to hell carolina, go to hell !!

enough said.

"open seclusion" just sucks...

So, my work setup is a super large "L" desk with 6 drawers, shelves on the wall, a small closet/cabinet for a jacket or umbrella with two more drawers beneath, an open cupboard with 9 shelves on it, each their own little cube, in addition to two more small cabinets up on the back wall.

My use of these facilities involves a drawer with old newspapers that I have yet to carry to recycling, a single empty plastic water bottle lays on it's side among the 9 shelves, kept so far for two main reasons; the first being that again, I have yet to carry it to recycling, and the second being that I was so intrigued by the group discussion about our research that I proceeded to slowly but surely cut the 4 inches of paper/plastic wrap on it into slices, following the grooves of the bottle. That was entertaining. I think keeping it lets me remind myself of my accomplishment for that day.

This brings me to what I face every day, the far wall that extends the entire portion of the building, entirely windows letting in the sunlight of the day, watching the leaves fall from the trees, observing today's snowfall; all of this is what brings me to why this just sucks. Sitting in this spot I realize that I would rather be hiking along a peak ridge, walking the downtown streets, canoeing a river, just sitting on the grass that resides a floor below me would be incredibly better than here. I have a laptop - and wireless - why am I not out there?!

So, the open seclusion is that I believe work places me in a depressing mood by letting me sit and observe what I am missing out on - I feel like I'd be happier in a small cubicle with buzzing fluorescent lighting (perhaps not - I'm rather sensitive about the sounds...).

Except for my single coworker, my daily interaction at work involves one of the following lines:

"No"
"Hi"
"I don't know"
"No (deeper this time, with a low, underlying growl)"
"No (almost same as the previous, but with eye gestures)"

People walking by always ask me for directions. It's really annoying, too. Not because they ask, but because they expect me to know their answer instantly without me offering to help them find it - because, basically, I don't know where it is either.

So, that's that. On a positive note, I can always just lean back in my chair and look out the window, dreamily picturing myself just sitting on the outside lawn.

Ah, to pass the time away...I think there are paperclips in my desk drawer...

feel the breeze...

have you ever found yourself, just waiting...listening...hearing something in the distance - it's coming, you know it.

do you wait? no...run to it. grasp and embrace the chance

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
- Mark Twain

winter eve

Calvin & Hobbes

ssssSssSnOOOOOW- SNOW!!!!

it's SNOWING!!!

It's pathetic, I know - not me, the snow! How you could think such a thing :). Well, this is the first snow of this freaky winter. It was about 75 over the extended weekend - including Monday spent with kids playing on the lawn with water guns - now it's snowing.

It's so pathetic the county schools aren't even delaying. For a large city that probably owns a grand total of two plows (okay, maybe a couple more) which are probably pathetic plows that attach to the front of a utility truck - basically the kind that your average joe ...no offense to any joes reading this... up in NY owns to plow his own driveway.

So, yeah - I'm still excited. And yes, I'm sure about the schools, as I checked the school list - I'm not even in school, and it's still fun to check - and disappointing to not be listed...

8:55am UPDATE - They closed schools!!!!