Landed in Japan

Japan is experiencing the same weather as Portland was when I left, rain mixed with snow. The plane trip over was not that bad. I had enough room for my legs and there was no one sitting next to me so I had space to spread out a little. I expect it to not be so good going back as I am leaving on Friday. I should have thought and left on Saturday, ah well. I suppose I should see what my seat assignment is and do what I can to get a good one.

There was snow on the ground when I arrived at the office this morning and no one really showed up until 10:00 am. What happened to the Japanese work ethic? The guy I was supposed to meet turned up sick so I have no one here to help me. Fortunately that is no big deal. I found my way no problem. The only thing that did happen was I forgot my badge. It's at the hotel. I also walked out without my room key and I forgot my room number when they asked for it at breakfast this morning. It was no biggie, though. The service here is phenomenal, they asked my name and found my room number. I got a new key so I am good to go.

I opted for the Japanese breakfast this morning and got two tiny omlettes, some pickled veggies, fish and some other mushroom like stuff plus dark miso and rice. They also brought me a cool little box with a hot stone in it that had pieces of nori (dried seaweed paper like you see sushi wrapped with) on top. The idea was to keep the nori warm and dry. You pick it up, dip it in this salty, sweet sauce and then wrap it around some rice to eat. Very delicate and tasty. A good start to the day.

Offices here are not as luxurious as in the US. Very utilitarian and spare. No one has closed offices, you basically sit in a bullpen. I will take some pictures and post them here if I can figure out how to do so.

Well, I have to work on my presentation for tomorrow, so I will sign off until then. All is well. Also, thanks to my sister-in-law and nephew for helping Blondie clean off the 12 inches of snow they got. That is a wonderful thing! I appreciate it very much.

Fun and Games on the Road

Generally, when I am on the road it's a boring routine. Drive to the airport, park, check in, stand in security line, feel violated if they check my bag, wait in a noisy airport with the press of humanity, fly in a noisy and cramped plane, land and get bag, get rental car, drive to hotel, try to sleep, go to work the next day and work 12-14 hours per day for 2-3 days and do it in reverse order to get home.

While some trips are cool like to Singapore, Monte Carlo, London, Tokyo, New York, Gaithersburg, etc., most are to places like Racine, Manitowoc (Wisconsin), Sidney (Nebraska) and other garden spots. Business travel is not like it used to be and is getting worse. Now that I have reached 1 million miles with Delta, I don't feel the need to get miles as much.

Once in a while, though, we do have some fun. Even in Racine. One of the guys on the implementation team bought what he thought was a dead fox in China. Actually it was a dead fox but made into a stole. He really didn't know what it was until I put it on this week and showed them how the mouth is the catch for the foot so it will stay around your neck.

Everyone was totally grossed out saying they didn't understand how I could do that. It smelled a little musty, but not bad. I could have used it outside, it was VERY cold (snowing) for April 3rd. In any case, we all got a good laugh out of it.

In any case, Mr. Fox from Racine, via China wishes all of you a Happy Easter! He is going after the bunny but the Peeps are safe. They are no good unless they are really stale anyway. Couple of months....

Dad

(Wow, I REALLY need to lose that 30 pounds!!! No Peeps for me)