Pneity

I'm going to consider this a very weird night. Starting out strange. I apologize, my blog software can't quite handle that I'm in a different time zone. This is my fourth trip to Japan, my fourth time in Tokyo. I wish I had written for my previous trips. They were all very, very special.

Back to this moment in time, though. I had a great day guiding my cousin Wade to the parlor where he got some new tattoos. He's thrilled. I walked around Daiso and IKEA while he got it done. We ate great foods, he a burger and I some ahi poke. Got back to the hotel and watched some Japanese TV. Some of my favorite stuff, but the guys I'm staying with asked me to turn it off after the baseball game ended. Go Tigers! But that got boring, it was barely 9:00. I decided to go out. It's already interesting. I'm at a small cafe that seems to do a bit of everything. Three beers on tap! I got a white beer and it's not to my normal tastes but I'm still here.

I'm watching the shop tender speak with another man who seems to be from Singapore, taking mostly in English about the complications of Japanese first person pronouns. He greeted himself with "ore" and that sparked the conversation.

There's a light heat coming from the heater in the ceiling and the light rainy evening is rather cool. I have my cozy pink hoodie on and am feeling good. There's nothing about this scenario that feels real. I wish I could live here. I'm sure more fun awaits me tonight so we'll see!

I've been planning this year's trip to Japan since late last year. Bought my flights just after Christmas, drunk on a Discord call with the boys who were going. I messed up one of the connecting flight layovers and had to spend money a few weeks later to correct that. It feels like an eternity ago that I started preparing this and tomorrow is our day to fly out.

I have things planned out. I know I am never able to sleep before this trip so I got a long night of sleep last night to prepare. As of tomorrow at 6 AM, when our flight leaves, I will have been awake for 23 hours. I may catch a nap tonight after all.

Wade, my cousin who is coming along, will arrive at my house around the time I finish up work and we will prepare to get going. By prepare, I mean he will relax and sleep because he's been packed and ready since last week. I will throw my stuff into a bag in a frantic, wild way. I am bad at being prepared at things, only good at planning.

So now, I watch the clock spin around. I am working all day and the work will crawl. I explained to a friend of mine just now in a message that there are two times where such a trip is awful: the day before and then about three hours before landing.

I hope to update this blog while I am over there. I do fear for it because last year, my server went offline three days into the trip. Just this morning, the battery backup I use for the server had a hiccup and everything went offline for a moment. But nothing seems to have been fried. Another glorious day.

So next time I update this thing, I'll be in a different scenario. Let's get to it.

It's kind of a beautiful day. I mean, it's been flood-levels of rain for the last 48 or so hours. My whole region is washed in rain. But it's one of the most beautiful days. I feel like it glanced off my mind when my mom told me about it because I really didn't expect it. I was talking to her about other stuff, had to get back to work within a few minutes. But she and I have a tendency to chat, say goodbye, then chat some more.

She said dad got a call from his doctors today and he has been diagnosed with nearly full body arthritis. This is a bummer diagnosis but it is not terminal. My dad's psyche has been doom and gloom for over a year now. He's about the age his dad was when he passed of some gnarly bone cancer. An impossibly cruel death. So to say my dad assumed the worst was an understatement.

I haven't seen him today, he left early in my day to go out with friends to the local club. I assume he's on cloud nine. A bill of good health and a vacation for him on the horizon. We are all happy today!

My watch also tells me I have 8 days until I get to travel a bit myself. Gonna be fun.