In an Aeroplane, Over the Sea

It is approximately 09:04pm Eastern Standard Time, 10:04am Tokyo Time, and I'm about 36,000 feet above the Northern end of the Pacific ocean, near the eastern most points of Russia. The flight only has about 4 hours left, which seems relatively menial compared to my travel time thus far. I popped a zanax and slept for about 2 hours on and off; I've never been especially good at sleeping sitting up, although I suppose it is one of those skills you can hone over time. I envy the people on this flight who can! It's also pretty amazing what they can do with in-flight entertainment nowadays - this 777 has individual screens for each passenger which can access games, movies, and T.V. shows, and quite a lot of them at that! Me personally, I watched Airplane on my laptop, Flight of the Conchords for my in-flight entertainment, and maybe I'll check out Kung fu Panda, just for laughs.

Anyway, this whole journey seems surreal and will until at least when I step out of the airplane, assuming the effect isn't prolonged. I managed to talk to another caucasian passenger, who happened to be returning from a trip home after teaching in South Korea for a year! He seemed like a nice fellow and we swapped e-mails, with the intent of hanging out at some point, be it in Japan or Korea. I really should consider working in Korea some day, the benefits are out of this world. He also mentioned vacationing in Cambodia, with a beach-side hotel room that cost just $10 a day! I think living in and traveling around Eastern Asia is going to be a lot of fun.

I can't seem to focus enough to read any of the books I bought - Dickens and Lovecraft just aren't holding my attention for some odd reason. Maybe it's the sleep deprivation, the dull, lingering headache or the overexposure of my eyes to video screens...or a culmination of them all, most likely.

Saying goodbye to the Parents, the neighborhood, and even my cats - OK, maybe especially my cats - this morning was tough. I already miss them all. But, off I go through this rite of passage, this entry into manhood. Am I being over-dramatic? Not just about this, but about everything? A talented and charismatic English Professor (who got me to like Shakespeare) once told me that "you can go anywhere, as long as you have that Astronaut mentality." Either I have it, or I've gotten really good at pretending I do. I already keep smiling at the bits of Japanese I hear people around me speaking, and I can't wait to start finally putting those two years of studying to some good, practical use! If only there weren't so many damned Kanji, my reading skills wouldn't feel so weak.

Things I plan to do after I land and get through immigration and everything:

-buy a copy of Shonen Jump
-call the folks to let em know I'm still alive
-do a dance and say "HEY EVERYBODY! I FRIGGIN' MADE IT TO JAPAN! JAPAAAAN!"
-walk around and gawk around.