So it was my birthday last week. It actually became a four-part series (a little trick I stole from Zoe). My friends and I had lots of fun on my birthday eve. There was a fun party someone else was throwing on my actually birthday. The day after my birthday I decided we could still celebrate it since it was technically still my birthday in America. And to cap it all off, Rannie threw me this amazing party. It was incredible.
So yeah! To quote Bizzaro, “Life am good.”
So I’m just a few hours shy of my first full week back in my “other” home. It’s been really great so far. I’m having lots of fun with the girl. A few of my friends are in town. I’ve caught up with a few local friends. It’s just been really fun in a much less crazier way than my last trip.
The only downers were two drunken spats with the girly–one was two-way, the other was just her. It was basically the same issue that stems from gender roles and cultural differences. The first fight had her in tears, even though I thought I was doing the right thing. The second fight was a seven-hour cold-war. The latter was interesting because I was totally sober and she was hammered. I was trying to be understanding, but it was a bit annoying. When she woke up she felt terrible about the whole thing.
I’m actually surprised she hasn’t tried to kill me. We’ve spent maybe ten hours apart in the last week. I’d want to kill me at that point. Even though we’ve hit a few bumps, it’s been good. “We have to learn together,” she keeps saying.
My out-of-town friends have been ribbing me about cuddly and kissy we get when we drink together. Yeah, it’s pretty nauseating, but I have so much fun with her and I’m enjoying being wrapped up in the whole thing.
Anyway, here are some photos:
The flight to Tokyo was totally painless. I slept for most of it, worked on the book for some of it, and got three more badges in Pokemon Emerald (damn you Peter, for making me play again). So ten hours of fly time down and six more to go, plus a two-hour drive. It sounds like a lot, but I guess I’ve gotten used to it. My Y! Messenger experiments haven’t been as successful in the Narita Red Carpet Club. I can hear people fine, but they can’t hear me so good. I guess the WiFi upstream here isn’t all that. Plus there’s a lot more people online here than in SFO. Still, Y! Messenger’s VOIP-tasticness is pretty impressive.
I’m at the airport. I’d be really excited about my trip, but right now I’m just blown away at how good Y! Messenger is. I’m connected through T-Mobile Hotspot and making phone calls through Y! Messenger. The quality is fantastic–way, way better than I was expecting. I made a bunch of calls to the publisher and things for the book are coming along nicely. It’s pretty funny; there are so many people involved that my deadline keeps getting pushed, even though I can finish pretty much any time now. In a way, it’s good to have work while I’m in Thailand. I need to see if I can live there AND work there AND live with someone AND not make them crazy AND have them not make me crazy. This will be a nice barometer or litmus test (your choice).
But yes! I’m going to the place that’s felt like home most of the year. I’m really excited and a little nervous. There are lots of uncomfortable social situations and even more potential drama waiting for me. Hopefully I can avoid all that and just enjoy the many things I love about home.
Lubs!!!
So along with Korean and Aussie airlines, Britsh airlines are stupid. It boggles the mind… though not as much as hearing people complain about the launch date of the Wii.
Heeeeee!!! Rannie was sweet enough to purchase me a birthday party for my Thailand trip. If you want to wish me a happy birthday too, why don’t you kick her some cash to help defray the costs? I’m she’d appreciate it and I would too. Lubbities.
So I was supposed to get this really important disc for the book I’m working on. Considering that manuscript is due on Monday, I thought the powers that be (old wrestling reference for Justin) would do their best to get it to me ASAP. So a contact at the powers that be tried to find the files on an FTP site so he could burn me a disc. It turns out that he got an email on Tuesday from another company involved with the book saying that their uncomfortable putting this content up and I need to fly up to see what I need to see. Yeah, problem is, I’m leaving the country on Monday. See, this is what happens when I have to officially ask one company to ask another company for something. I could get what I need in a day, but I have to go through all the official channels. People get busy and/or forgetful and we end up with situations like this. No wonder I haven’t worked for a large company in almost a decade. It’s just annoying and frustrating.
I guess my problem isn’t really with the TSA, it’s with how complacent people are about the whole liquids/gels thing. This is a country of peoplethat whine about and sue over everything, but it’s politcally correct not to make a fuss about this because of some ass war the country is in. Banning styling gel or saline solution or a bottle of water from airplanes isn’t helping anyone and it’s inconveniencing everyone that takes commercial flights.
On a cheery note, Eric Young said something that totally cracked me up. “Don’t answer that! Plead the fifth commandment!!!” That’s just awesome.
I almost forgot how ridiculous the TSA has made American airports. Since coming back from Thailand, I’ve only had that quickie flight to Seattle. I was a good boy and checked in my carry-on sized luggage. Still, I wasn’t going to pull a MacGyver and blow up the airplane with an ornate concoction of toothpaste and styling gel. There have been several articles (I’m too lazy to look for one now) that have shown that creating an explosive device on an airplane from household products is virtually impossible because of a lack of cooling.
The liquid rule is more retarded. I can’t bring a bottle of water into the airport. Fine. No problem. But I can’t bring the bottle of water I purchased at the airport onto the plane?!? How the hell does that make sense? The water was inspected going into whatever stand was selling it, but by some miracle of science I purchased it, altered it, and transformed into a lethal substance before going on the plane?!? C’mon!!! Richard Dean Anderson was never capable of that. What the hell could I do?
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