American Journey, Part 1
To begin the tale of my great American journey, I'll setup the scene and the cast of characters for you. But first, let's start with my trip itself. Because Yukiko had just found out she was pregnant we decided it was better to be safe than sorry so she wouldn't be going. It was tough leaving her but we had been planning this trip for a year and my brother had made all sorts of arrangements for us in America. And while Yukiko gets to see her sister's baby all the time I hadn't met my brother's baby at all. So we decided I would go alone and take lots of presents for everyone in America, and bring lots of great photos (and maybe a few choice presents) back for Yukiko.
It all began early one Wednesday. By some strange twist of fate my friend Dan was also heading out to India this day (read his cool blog to see all about his trip) and he was planning to take the same limousine bus as me to the airport. So I arrive at the bus stop and for the first time ever I'm the one that's one time. No sign of Dan so I head off to the bank to take care of some business. The day before I had tried to pay my rent via ATM as I usually do but the machine wouldn't allow me. An employee at this branch (which wasn't my usual branch) told me that the machines had been upgraded and I couldn't transfer money here but it should work at my usual branch. Luckily my branch is next to the limousine bus stop so I figured I'd be sort it all out before I got on the bus. However, I found out at my branch that it wasn't the ATM's that had changed but the entire computer network. And I wouldn't be able to do any electronic transfers for another 2 weeks. Thanks for the convenience Risona bank. So how the hell was I supposed to pay my rent? Of course this is the same bank that takes 1 week to give you an ATM card (compared to 5 mins anywhere else in the world). Heck, at least they were open. My biggest pet peeve in Japan is the banks, they are awful. I can find 24 hr ATM's in small mountain towns in Nepal but not in Japan. Aaargh. Anyways, I called Yukiko and asked her to make the payment this month. Wasn't a big problem in the end. Later I found Dan in the local Starbucks with some of the teachers from his Junior High School. Turns out that their flight to India had been cancelled because of heavy rains there but they all had to head out to the airport anyways. After an hour or so of the usual sharp witted banter we reached the airport and parted ways.
My trip got off to a rocky start at the Northwest check-in counter. As I finished my way winding through the Economy class line-up I was asked to open up my suitcase for an inspection. This wasn't my usual suitcase though. It was a bigger model I had borrowed from Yukiko because I was taking a lot of presents and omiyage with me. The tricky thing was, the suitcase was locked. And while I was the one who had locked it I couldn't quite remember where the key was. You'd think that I would have put it into one of my shorts' pockets, or one of the small side pockets on my carry on bag. Well that is what I thought too but alas... nothing, nada, zip. No key. Once security tells you to open your luggage though you aren't going anywhere until it is opened. So I was in a sticky situation. They even put my backpack through the metal detector again in hopes of spotting the key inside somewhere but that didn't work. After a few tense minutes I realized that I had put the key into my shorts pocket, but a smaller one farther down the leg. Whew, everyone was very relieved.
As I checked in I found out that I was going to have the pleasure of sitting in the middle of a row. Yay, 14 hours of displeasure. And my aren't Northwest's seats narrow and cozy. Almost, painfully so. The best part of the flight (besides when my legs weren't cramping) was how the annoying kid in front of me kept his seat fully reclined even during meals. Gotta love that.
So I finally arrive in Detroit with 2 hours until my connection to my final destination, Cleveland. I'm hoping to get a bite to eat somwhere as I'm just starving at this point. Vegetarian meals on planes aren't too filling (even though I'm eating some meat those veggie habits are hard to shake). Detroit security sees to it that that's impossible though as I spend over an hour picking up my bag and going through security yet again. I thought it was weird when they asked me to unlock my suitcase in case they wanted to search it any damn time they liked. Weren't locks on suitcases to prevent the airport personnel from ripping me off in the first place?
Dude, where's my departure gate? Dig this trippy corridor at the Detroit airport. Far out.
My connecting gate seemed to be at the far end of Detroit so I only had time to hoof it over there. Once again I got a minor panic as I heard an announcement that my flight to Cleveland had been overbooked and they were looking for volunteers to take another flight. Luckily though, I already had an assigned seat so I was all set and ready to go.
When's the last time you flew in an old prop airplane?
I was to suffer one more setback before my trip was complete though. After finally arriving at Cleveland International Airport I collected my bags and got ready to meet my brother or whomever was supposed to come and get me. So I waited... and waited... then just for the fun of it, waited some more. Hmmm, no one here. I did have my brother's home number with me so I found a pay phone and gave him a call. No answer. It was only 4 in the afternoon so I knew they wouldn't all be sleeping. I didn't have Rob or Ann's mobile number with me. What to do, what to do. Turns out my mobile phone from Japan was working (global roaming, nice) so I tried calling my mum in Vancouver. She answered the phone and I told her what was going on. She didn't have Rob's mobile number either so she said she'd go on the Internet and see if she could find him online with Messenger. I called her back a while later and it turns out that she did find him online and told him I was waiting at the airport. He was still at work. Turns out that while he had the right date and time written down on his calendar he had it stuck in his head that I was arriving a day later. So anyways, eventually he got to the airport and I got to see his house for the first time. And what a house it is. It's nearly as big as the high school I work at.
48 bedrooms, 16 bathrooms, and 2 olympic size swimming pools. And you should see the underground research and devolpment labs, just breathtaking.
Nearly 2/3 of all the houses around here had American flags attached. It's almost like they're trying too hard. Makes you wonder just where these people's loyalties lie doesn't it?
The main reason for this entire trip was the opportunity to see my brand spanking new nephew, John. He's quite the performer and you'll be seeing a lot of pictures of him in the next few postings.
This is obviously a staged photo.
Whereas this one is the real deal, showing what life on the floor is really like.
Other people in attendance:
My brother Rob
His wife Ann
And joining us a few days later, Mum...
... and Dad. This kid certainly knows how to sneak into a picture doesn't he.
There were also a, ahem, few animals around.
Wolfie
Einstein
Woody
Caesar
Calliope
New Kitty - guess this temporary name just stuck
Pete
And everyone thinks I like animals?! Amazingly enough, there is actually one more cat as well as a mountain gorilla reserve in the backyard. OK I'm kidding about the gorillas but there is another cat that is somewhat free-range and lives in the wild, except for dinner time. So with this amazing place and diverse cast of characters the story of my amazing American Journey will continue... next time :)
It all began early one Wednesday. By some strange twist of fate my friend Dan was also heading out to India this day (read his cool blog to see all about his trip) and he was planning to take the same limousine bus as me to the airport. So I arrive at the bus stop and for the first time ever I'm the one that's one time. No sign of Dan so I head off to the bank to take care of some business. The day before I had tried to pay my rent via ATM as I usually do but the machine wouldn't allow me. An employee at this branch (which wasn't my usual branch) told me that the machines had been upgraded and I couldn't transfer money here but it should work at my usual branch. Luckily my branch is next to the limousine bus stop so I figured I'd be sort it all out before I got on the bus. However, I found out at my branch that it wasn't the ATM's that had changed but the entire computer network. And I wouldn't be able to do any electronic transfers for another 2 weeks. Thanks for the convenience Risona bank. So how the hell was I supposed to pay my rent? Of course this is the same bank that takes 1 week to give you an ATM card (compared to 5 mins anywhere else in the world). Heck, at least they were open. My biggest pet peeve in Japan is the banks, they are awful. I can find 24 hr ATM's in small mountain towns in Nepal but not in Japan. Aaargh. Anyways, I called Yukiko and asked her to make the payment this month. Wasn't a big problem in the end. Later I found Dan in the local Starbucks with some of the teachers from his Junior High School. Turns out that their flight to India had been cancelled because of heavy rains there but they all had to head out to the airport anyways. After an hour or so of the usual sharp witted banter we reached the airport and parted ways.
My trip got off to a rocky start at the Northwest check-in counter. As I finished my way winding through the Economy class line-up I was asked to open up my suitcase for an inspection. This wasn't my usual suitcase though. It was a bigger model I had borrowed from Yukiko because I was taking a lot of presents and omiyage with me. The tricky thing was, the suitcase was locked. And while I was the one who had locked it I couldn't quite remember where the key was. You'd think that I would have put it into one of my shorts' pockets, or one of the small side pockets on my carry on bag. Well that is what I thought too but alas... nothing, nada, zip. No key. Once security tells you to open your luggage though you aren't going anywhere until it is opened. So I was in a sticky situation. They even put my backpack through the metal detector again in hopes of spotting the key inside somewhere but that didn't work. After a few tense minutes I realized that I had put the key into my shorts pocket, but a smaller one farther down the leg. Whew, everyone was very relieved.
As I checked in I found out that I was going to have the pleasure of sitting in the middle of a row. Yay, 14 hours of displeasure. And my aren't Northwest's seats narrow and cozy. Almost, painfully so. The best part of the flight (besides when my legs weren't cramping) was how the annoying kid in front of me kept his seat fully reclined even during meals. Gotta love that.
So I finally arrive in Detroit with 2 hours until my connection to my final destination, Cleveland. I'm hoping to get a bite to eat somwhere as I'm just starving at this point. Vegetarian meals on planes aren't too filling (even though I'm eating some meat those veggie habits are hard to shake). Detroit security sees to it that that's impossible though as I spend over an hour picking up my bag and going through security yet again. I thought it was weird when they asked me to unlock my suitcase in case they wanted to search it any damn time they liked. Weren't locks on suitcases to prevent the airport personnel from ripping me off in the first place?
Dude, where's my departure gate? Dig this trippy corridor at the Detroit airport. Far out.My connecting gate seemed to be at the far end of Detroit so I only had time to hoof it over there. Once again I got a minor panic as I heard an announcement that my flight to Cleveland had been overbooked and they were looking for volunteers to take another flight. Luckily though, I already had an assigned seat so I was all set and ready to go.
When's the last time you flew in an old prop airplane?I was to suffer one more setback before my trip was complete though. After finally arriving at Cleveland International Airport I collected my bags and got ready to meet my brother or whomever was supposed to come and get me. So I waited... and waited... then just for the fun of it, waited some more. Hmmm, no one here. I did have my brother's home number with me so I found a pay phone and gave him a call. No answer. It was only 4 in the afternoon so I knew they wouldn't all be sleeping. I didn't have Rob or Ann's mobile number with me. What to do, what to do. Turns out my mobile phone from Japan was working (global roaming, nice) so I tried calling my mum in Vancouver. She answered the phone and I told her what was going on. She didn't have Rob's mobile number either so she said she'd go on the Internet and see if she could find him online with Messenger. I called her back a while later and it turns out that she did find him online and told him I was waiting at the airport. He was still at work. Turns out that while he had the right date and time written down on his calendar he had it stuck in his head that I was arriving a day later. So anyways, eventually he got to the airport and I got to see his house for the first time. And what a house it is. It's nearly as big as the high school I work at.
48 bedrooms, 16 bathrooms, and 2 olympic size swimming pools. And you should see the underground research and devolpment labs, just breathtaking.Nearly 2/3 of all the houses around here had American flags attached. It's almost like they're trying too hard. Makes you wonder just where these people's loyalties lie doesn't it?
The main reason for this entire trip was the opportunity to see my brand spanking new nephew, John. He's quite the performer and you'll be seeing a lot of pictures of him in the next few postings.
This is obviously a staged photo.
Whereas this one is the real deal, showing what life on the floor is really like.Other people in attendance:
My brother Rob
His wife Ann
And joining us a few days later, Mum...
... and Dad. This kid certainly knows how to sneak into a picture doesn't he. There were also a, ahem, few animals around.
Wolfie
Einstein
Woody
Caesar
Calliope
New Kitty - guess this temporary name just stuck
PeteAnd everyone thinks I like animals?! Amazingly enough, there is actually one more cat as well as a mountain gorilla reserve in the backyard. OK I'm kidding about the gorillas but there is another cat that is somewhat free-range and lives in the wild, except for dinner time. So with this amazing place and diverse cast of characters the story of my amazing American Journey will continue... next time :)
posted by Jason at 6:36 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home