Plane Trips

11:23pm

Time zones. This stuff is weird for me. I was talking with Amanda this morning before I took off for the airport, and she made the comment that it seemed like my flight would be unusually short. I thought about it for a minute and realized she’s right. The flight I’m on is only 8 hours or so. Jetstream stuff, or so I’m told.

Anyway, sadly enough it’s one of those flights where no matter how much I want to, or realize it’s a great idea, I’m not gonna get any sleep. That means that poor Manda is gonna have to deal with my super tired ass while she’s being super manic and happy to see me. Oh well. Won’t be the first time I’ve been indifferent in the face of someone’s excitement. Not to say I’m glad about it, but, shouganai, ne?

I still kind of have to figure out what all I’m gonna be doing once I’m back. I know that I’m gonna spend all day today with Manda, and then Christmas with the fam, but other than that nothing is nearly concrete enough to be counted on. Especially since people have had all of three months to make and subsequently forget about our plans. Again, oh well. What can you do.

****

Amanda picked me up from the airport, and we drove around listening to loud music. Customs were dicks, as usual, probably not so happy to be working on Christmas Eve, and understandably so, but I get the impression that workers in America just don't give a shit. Service in this country is atrocious compared to Japan. All my flights were on time or early though, so that was nice. Only downside is that I got zero sleep.

After Amanda picked me up, we went to a kaiten sushi restaurant (yea yea I know) which was mediocre, and staffed by Mexicans, who I suppose might fool the unsuspecting whitey now and then. We then went back to her place where I met her amazingly affectionate cat Armani, and proceeded to fall asleep on the couch in a nice snuggle while watching some Disney show or other about the spirit of Christmas. I got about 45 min. of sleep tops, which, though not enough, was much needed and helped me make it through the rest of the evening to this point.

The fam is the fam is the fam. We talked at great length about Japan for a bit, caught up on a few things, and enjoyed dinner. Owen's gained some of his weight back, but then again so have I so I can't really complain. The personalities are predictably still the same. The house is still the same, and being here, it's weird how instantaneously I can be used to being here again.

Having said that though, I hate to admit it, but I think I like Japan better. That's not to say my opinion isn't subject to change, but, at this point, I feel like I left more behind than have gained in coming. It feels like I never left, like the last year didn't exist, and I don't like that feeling. It's weird looking at my family and realizing I haven't seen them in 14 months, because when I look at them, it's like I never left.

This is exactly what I was afraid of. I'm terrified that I'm gonna move back to America and immediately afterwards it will be as if my time in Japan never existed. It's odd thinking now that in ten days I have to go back to Japan, because I have to go to work. I think it's gonna take a little while to come to see being here as a vacation rather than being home.

I'm crashing now though, at 9:30 or so pm. Hopefully I won't wake up TOO terribly early tomorrow, though it WILL be Christmas, and we all know how waking up on Christmas goes.