I left Tokyo on Friday 9/16, and arrived at NYC five minutes later.

It was a 13-hour flight but because it was a stress-free one, I am as energized as I was when I left Tokyo. What stresses me the most on long-haul flights is the fact that I might not be able to do #2 while on the plane. I am a picky pooper and if the bathroom conditions are abysmal, I’d prefer to keep it all in. But JAL toilets were immaculately clean, and even furnished with washlets. For those who do not know, washlets are what the Japanese call their technologically advanced/superior bidets. Which is why I tend to shy away from drinking coffee while in-air, but not this time. I was in a vehicle that passes my cleanliness standards and was on vacation. The only thing holding me back from loading up on caffeine was my self-control, and I packed that along with the geek neatly inside my suitcase. Ok, that was a lie. I kept the geek neatly tucked under my shirt.

Not even the long lines at the immigration was enough to keep my energy down. I was on a caffeine induced high. When it was finally my turn at the gates, the OIC freaked out when he saw my Japan limited edition Suicide Squad plastic folder. I could tell he was a big fan. The guy underneath my shirt was screaming “Hi!” at his. After sorting everything out, he ushered me through to the gates, and I was officially standing on US soil. I claimed my bags and walked outside to meet the person that has my name written on a placard. Now in Japan, when people raise signs on airports, it’s raised towards the exit gate where the passengers are going out of, so that once they get out, they can just scan the signs for their names. I have no idea why it’s the opposite here.

img_2516I rode this car and while we were leaving JFK, I saw the moon which was quite huge and beautifully round that night.

When we pulled up at my Aunt’s place, I was greeted by Uncle Don and my cousin Lucas, who was now taller than myself. They just got home from the gym and they presented me with two options, eat or sleep.

I. Was. Torn.

The ride from the airport to their place allowed my body, soul and stomach to sync up with each other and I was feeling both hungry and tired, physically and mentally. I was in no position to be faced with such life threatening decisions. But a decision has to be made, and we decided to have dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. The rumbling noise was too loud to ignore.img_2531
I have heard about the food servings in America and they were not exaggerating. This salad I ordered was more than I could chew. It probably was three times the regular serving I was used to.

After dinner we headed back to their place. I chatted a bit with Lucas, after which I went to bed just before midnight.


Leave a Reply


WordPress.com Logo


Google photo


Twitter picture


Facebook photo


Connecting to %s