lingqi's Journal: October 21st, 2003

October 21st, 2003 (3:14pm)

I found out the hard way that a trip that takes 26 hours to complete is not a fun trip... Especially if the majority of it is spent on airplanes. I mean, I knew this theory before, but just never so personally...

I could only imagine how bad it would have became if it was on airplanes that has the "pack 'em like sardines" policy...

For this, I once again commend American Airlines for giving passengers more room...

I left my parents' place in NY about 4.30am Eastern time on the morning of october 19th, which would be 5.30pm Japan time of the same day. The flight from JFK to San Jose, CA is scheduled to depart two and half hours later.

From there, the trip went something like this (all times Japan stardard):
10.19 08.00pm - plane departs NY for San Jose
10.20 02.00am - plane lands, hang out in airport
10.20 04.30am - plane leaves San Jose for Narita
10.20 03.30pm - plane arrives Narita
10.20 04.30pm - start excruciating train ride to home
10.20 07.30pm - got home

So, leaving home in NY at the equivalent of 5.30pm japan time, and getting home in Japan at 7.30pm the next day... Probably the longest trip I have ever taken in my life.

I am just glad it's not travelling between NY and Sydney with layovers. =)

The worse part of the trip was probably the NY to SJC leg of six hours or so... Even though I had an isle seat, the woman in the middle seat was, well, larger than life. She also seemed to feel that she had every right to ooze over and take over 25% of my seat with her arm that was probably thick enough have its own radar signature... sigh...

Japan is about the same as when I left it... It gets dark extremely early now, though - 5pm and it's already pitch black outside... This would probably be the only reason why I would remotely miss daylight savings time - but for the convenience of not having to remember setting clocks, I say I will still stick with not having the silly ordeal.

Something that grabbed my attention was that takasaki line, the one that runs between Ueno and Kumagaya, is something like 120 years old... I had no idea it was SO old; It certainly gives a contrariant feeling when you ride one of the newer trains running down this line that has been established for more than a century.

The other noticable change is that almost all the rice fields has been harvested - smokes from burning stalks and hull filled the horizon with fog-like smoke... The "bountiful harvest" feeling of autumn gives way to a "desolate winter" feeling - and it's well accompanied by the chilly morning air. One more year comes to pass, for sure.

Summer Time, etc

[KNicolson]

If you compare Japan with, say, Australia at the same latitute (or is that longitude?) Japan is actually about 2 hours behind (or is that ahead?) where it should/could be. Even though it's pitch dark by about 6pm (that's one thing I really miss from Scotland, decent sunsets, long evenings, twilight) I'm still getting up in broad daylight at 6:30am.

Next, the fatty in the seat beside you - did you complain on the flight? The worst you could have got was a few airmiles in compensation.

Re:Summer Time, etc

[lingqi]

heh... i was going to complain (or more precisely, ask to be relocated) but I was afraid that she'd overhear and like, i dunno, sit on me or something...

as for the timezone - I think tokyo sits between where +9 and +10 should be - but I guess I am just happy that I am not in china any more - which is probably the worst "time-zone spanning" country in the world...

Fat..

[dacetone]

As a fat person, I buy two seats on an airplane. I know I'm fat, but I'm not an asshole who doesn't care who gets my...arm ooze. Heh. You could have complained, but I doubt they would have done anything.