Next Stop Japan! part 1

Sept 4 2006 12something am

Time to board the plane.
34E... 34E... 34... E... shit. Middle row, middle seat.
Oh well, I make the best of it and settle in. Each person has their own tv in the back of the chair in front of them :D Some chick sits next to me. Hello plane seat neighbour! She's talking in chinese on her cellphone and isn't as excited as myself about meeting her plane seat neighbour.

Before I get too settled in, a stewardess comes to our row with some dude and says that we're in the wrong seats.
I double check the number on the armrest: 34E. Safe.
The girl shows her ticket: 33D. Nice.
Her phone is ringing now and she has some fun ringtone going but she's too busy with changing seats to pick up/hang up. Hate to be in her shoes.

The stewardess asks to see my ticket. She says that they guy booked the flight with his family and that they were all supposed to be sitting in the same row.
Oh shit, am I dumb too? Did I read the wrong number?
It turns out we were both assigned to the same seat and since his whole family's in the row, I've gotta go.
Blood runs thicker than water.

The stewardess says she'll try to find another seat for me. I'm thinking "Yes! First Class! :D"
Apparently that only happens on tv and in movies.
While the stewardess was finding me a seat, a girl sitting next to an old asian guy decides to switch seats with on in the front. She left a window seat! :D She probably left because she thought the old man smelled.
The stewardess comes back and tells me she found another middle seat but with no plane seat neighbours. I'll take the window seat kthx.
The old man smells fine.

The old guy looks well old... He's wrapped in a plane blanket.
All I've seen him do so far was sleep, sneeze and eat.
Watching him eat, I realize how fragile life is... Scary. Carpe Diem!
He was also the last person on the plane to finish his food. He even outlasted me. The force is strong with this one.
Then I think about myself when I get old. Am I looking into a mirror of the future?

I decide to fully enjoy my window seat.
We're flying over Regina and it's literally rectangle pieces of different coloured plots of land and a few dots where the "cities" are. Looking outside is fun. Real life googlemaps :D

Chicago!

Sept 4 2006 11am (1 hour gained from timezone difference)

I kill time walking around O'hare International Airport. It's got a killer food court but wasn't really all that spectacular. It is big though.

Some lady says something about pre flight something something. I wasn't listening since I was listening to music. I catch "boarding pass" though and my ticket says the same thing. People are crowding around these two women who're holding these finger print machines. I have no clue what's going on but I'll play.
People are showing their passports and their tickets, so I pull my stuff out. When it comes to me, I show her my stuff and she just says "Canadian passport? You're good." I guess it was only for... not canadians.

I notice boarding is taking a lot longer due to the fact that a lot of people couldn't speak english well.
Also, people were crowding around the gate for some reason even though they were calling in people by group. And on top of that: Assigned seats! (but apparently it's first come first serve for empty seats?)

First Stop Chicago

Dunno how often I'll be able to update my blog.
The community computer here really sucks. Slow, full of spyware and has a crazy japanese keyboard that makes it hard to type :(

I'm staying at a place near near Ueno station (bout 20min walk). Today I went to Odaiba. Tomorrow I'm going to Shinjuku. Pics and stuff will have to wait til I get more time and resources.

Here's a backlogged blog.

Sept 4 2006 1030ish

Mom has been freaking out for the past few days. I'm glad to be airborn and moving farther away from the craziness.
My plane experience so far has been pretty uneventful, which I consider good. I've been to the airport a few times before but I've never been on a plane (that I can remember). Today I uncovered the secrets of what goes on behind the ticket checkpoint. My strategy so far is to keep walking until someone stops you. Then I ask what they need.
Passport and tickets? Here you go. Put my bag on this conveyor belt? Okay.
So far I haven't really freaked out. I'm usually bad with things I've never done before (Took me about a year to get relatively comfortable with public transportation). I think it's because I haven't slept yet. Good job.

Hmmm... 14D. Assigned seats? My sister and mom are liars! They told me that it's usually first come first serve?
Aisle seat. Shit. I wanted a window seat :( Atleast it's a short flight.
The seat beside me is empty and some woman has the window.

So far my plane take off experience feels like the beginning of a roller coaster. I feel various clunks and kachunks coming from the bottom of the plane.
The plane feels like a large bus on the ground.
Where's the runway? We've been positioning and repositioning for about 15 mins. Each time we stop I'm thinking we're about to take off.
The woman beside me is napping.

After taking the longest possible route, we're finally on the runway. Exciting!
The flight's been delayed for 11 mins. Not exciting!

We finally begin take off procedures. The plane gradually accelerates and I sink into my seat. This is nothing compared to Eva's crazy driving when she's in a rush.
My ears pop. I'm constantly looking outside.
The woman is still napping.

The sun reflecting off the clouds make them blindingly bright. I can no longer look outside.

The stewardess asks if I would like something to drink. My brain wants coffee. My stomach says no deal. I'll have some iced tea. No iced tea? Fine, orange juice...
Actually, I'm not even really thirsty. But it's free and I'm on an airplane :D
I sip away gleefully at my cup of special airplane orange juice (aka McCains orange juice from concentrate).

My left ear keeps popping. TOC toc TOC toc TOC toc... Brain farts?

The plane's landing isn't as smooth as the take off but it's nothing to freak out over.

Welcome to Chicago!

Video: Cobra Starship - Snakes on a Plane

This is my official flying theme song.

Leaving for the airport in a few hours... Done most of my packing and now I'm doing things like putting music on my phone and setting up vnc on my comp so I can access it remotely while I'm in Japan. :D

I'm not really nervous or excited yet... Must be since I'm keeping myself busy and the lack of sleep.

Gaijin Invasion

Okay mister Junichiro Koizumi. I'll take your word for it and visit your wonderful country.

I'm leaving for Japan on Monday the 4th at 10am and will be arriving in Japan on the 5th at 340pm. Staying until October the 4th.

I'm eagerly awaiting my hearty "yokoso" and smile once I step off the plane.

Though last minute preparations are making me feel:
I've been pacing around the basement all day today... When I get nervous or anxious I tend to pace =

I'm looking forward to seeing japanese animals though.
I hear the cats over there look like this:

Video: SUPERFLAT MONOGRAM

An ad campaign for LOUIS VUITTON by Mamoru Hosoda. an updated alice in wonderland, in which a girl, searching for her lost cell phone, floats in a dizzying world of the company's logos. While waiting to meet her friends outside of a Louis Vuitton store, Aya's cell phone is eaten by the LV Panda, who then promptly swallows Aya - but the inside of his stomach is gateway to a psychadelic wonderland. Based on characters created by famed superflat artist Takashi Murakami.

The LOUIS VUITTON store featured in this video is the Omotesando in Tokyo, Japan.

If you can't view the vid then you need this. (If you're using firefox and only see a white rectangle, scroll down and then back up and it should show the player. I dunno why it does that.)
Youtube isn't the only online video streaming site ;D

In other news: Welcome home Steash!

Video: The Fast Food Song

Let's eat to the beat!

I'm gonna be singing this to myself everytime I eat fast food now.