Coming From America

Well, I just got back from my little teeny-tiny vacation to America, and I have to say, it's kinda nice to be back home. I wasn't sure that I'd miss this place (AT ALL), but Meg's here, and my friends, so...

BOOKING...
Though let me tell you, it was nice to be back home, even if it was for just a snippet of time.
Yeah, well, everyone had the same no-brainer idea that I had. This was to skip their Golden Week (a national holiday, celebrating something or other), wait until the end of the following month, and take their vacations then. So finding a ticket became a huge fiasco, using air miles was a no-deal, used up all the money for rent, and lost a day back in the states.

TRAVELING TO...
The first flight from Osaka to Tokyo was rocky (especially the landing). I slept through the second and longest flight, but the smell of the food coupled with the tiny LCD screen in front of our seats made me quite nauseous. FUN! I did get to watch Pan's Labyrinth. It was gruesome and cool! They changed the gate number on the third flight I had from Atlanta to Boston, gate AND terminal, so I did a bit of traveling during that time. Almost missed my flight. I met some cool people on the way which made the long waits at the airport easier.

BOSTON
So much had changed since I last saw Boston. Some of the Ⓣ stations I hit looked nicer, but I was surprised that they no longer use tokens. I knew that they had to change some time or another. Now they have the Charlie Card, which is pretty lame, I guess. But that's because I love my IC card. Just touch it to the scanner and put it away. No fuss or muss.

I met up with my college friend Mark and booked it to his house in Beverly. Man, that place NEVER changes. Played A LOT of Guitar Hero II for the PS2. It was rockin'! I played one of the chicks 'cuz when you're playing a game for hours on end, who would you rather look at, some muscly dude, or a hot lady? Me? Hot lady.

Saw Pirates of the Caribbean 3. It was pretty cool. The best part was Captain Jack arguing with all the other Captain Jacks in one of the trippiest sequences I've ever seen on film.

JERSEY CITY
Despite it being Memorial Weekend, there was no traffic to impede my bus ride back to Jersey. Our bus driver was awesome. When telling us the rules, he told it like it is. "If you're a jerk, don't be a jerk."

I got to spend some time with various members of my family which was really nice. I got to go to Hoboken and buy some books (there are crazy tariffs on imported books in Japan - they cost more than twice as much!) and some delicious vegan cookies which, I think, will not last out the rest of the week.

TRAVELING FROM...
I left my home in Jersey at 3:15 am for a 6am flight to Atlanta. I'm happy to say that I slept heartily during all three flights. So much so that my body wished to continue to sleep and could hardly keep my eyes open during my lay-overs.

THE END
And now I'm back in good ol' Daikokucho! The sights! The sounds! The smells! Delicious. Had a barbecue with my upstairs neighbors and rocked out on Halo 3 I have work early tomorrow, and I can't wait...to come back home after!

So, I bid you, abyebye!

Mike, the Jet-lag ridden RocketRat!