Sunday, September 24, 2006

Happy Anniversary To Us

Although we were exhausted from our trip, Tom and I celebrated our first anniversary with a quiet takeout dinner at home.

It was a uneventful day but full of little moments and reminders that I married the most amazing guy on the planet.

Cool Musician in Tokyo

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Monday, September 18, 2006

Stranger in a strange land

Ahhhh...Japan! What an amazing trip we had. What follows is part one of my rather lengthy day by day description of the adventure. Stop by my gallery (link at right) for some pictures.

Day 1 (9/14/06): After packing and picking up the house, we left home at 8:30AM for the airport. We drove the car to Tom's office (they let employees leave cars in the lot when they are out of town) and headed for the light rail. We were at the airport in a matter of minutes and checked in for the flight to Chicago. We putzed around for a bit and boarded the plane at 11:00AM. The flight was rather uneventful and we landed at O'Hare around 1:00 PM. We switched airlines and double checked to make sure our luggage was being transferred to the Narita plane. Satisfied that all was well, we got our last American snacks and boarded the plane for our 12.5 hour flight to Tokyo.

Day 2 (9/15/06): Half a day disappeared as we crossed the International Date Line. We were chasing the sun so it was daylight the whole trip! About 8 PM I just *had* to look out the window - we were over remote Alaska. The mountain peaks flowed out endlessly and were gracefully divided by glaciers. Alaska looks like a giant meringue pie....I did manage to get a couple hours of sleep despite my excitement and was positively thrilled to find guest toothbrushes in the bathroom before landing. One note - sleeping upright sucks. Like suckity suck sucks.
By 6PM Tokyo time, we had landed at Narita international airport (about 45 miles from Tokyo). And waited patiently for our luggage. Fewer and fewer people were standing around the carousel until finally a "Last Bag" sign came out on the belt. Since Tom and I had not seen our luggage, we flagged down one of the airline agents and asked about our bags. The woman grabbed a clipboard, flipped through a list and noted our highlighted names. Hrm - this is not good.
"No worry," the baggage claim agent told us, "We find your bag in 2 or 3 days." Right. Because wearing the same clothes for 3 days is, I'm sure, as culturally acceptable in Japan as it is in the US. Riiiiiiight.
We filled out the "lost luggage" forms and breezed through customs since we had nothing to declare. Waiting just outside the customs area was our friend Takumi and his friend Toshi. Toshi was born in Chicago and moved to Japan when he was 10, so we spoke both languages with ease. This was much appreciated!
After a bathroom pitstop, we were introduced to Japanese vending machines to get a beverage for the 90 minute trip. We zigged and zagged through Tokyo traffic and spotted Tokyo Disney on the left. We stopped by Takumi's office to see the beginning of his movie "The Gift of the Trip" (roughly translated). After a visit to the Japanese style toilet for me (which was, um, interesting), we were on our way to dinner. We were to an amazing little restaurant run by a woman who called Takumi her Tokyo son and fed us well.

Stay tuned....

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

"I Voted"

Did you?

Most of you know I am the head election judge for my precinct, so I spent the day today working the polls. Polls, people, not poles. Get your head out of the gutter.

My day started at 5AM with a cold shower. I threw on some makeup, pulled my hair back and dashed out the door. On the way to my precinct I grabbed some chow since judges cannot leave the polling place on election day. I arrived shortly before 6AM and our team of judges started the hour long process to open the polls.

From 7AM to 8PM we were busy! Be nice to your election judges - we work 16-17+ hours days on election days and are constantly trying to remember and follow a million new election rules and laws. I learn a lot about the process every time and find people's reactions to the rules and regulations interesting. It's now 11PM, and I'm exhausted, but the results have been delivered to the election officials. :)

Anywho, make sure you vote. Even in primaries. As Deb says, "You all get the government you deserve!"

Monday, September 11, 2006

Do You Realize?

This song always makes me smile and cry all at once. I find it especially fitting today...

Do You Realize - that you have the most beautiful face
Do You Realize - we're floating in space -
Do You Realize - that happiness makes you cry
Do You Realize - that everyone you know someday will die

And instead of saying all of your goodbyes - let them know
You realize that life goes fast
It's hard to make the good things last
You realize the sun doesn't go down
It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round

Do You Realize -
Do You Realize - that everyone you know
Someday will die -

And instead of saying all of your goodbyes - let them know
You realize that life goes fast
It's hard to make the good things last
You realize the sun doesn't go down
It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round

Do You Realize - that you have the most beautiful face
Do You Realize

Artist: Flaming Lips
Song: Do You Realize