7/25
4:30pm Pacific
First day back at work. Still rather jetlagged but improving. I keep waking up 1-2 times per night, when my bedroom is very dark, in stark panic that I’m on a train and have fallen asleep and missed my stop. I keep looking out my bedroom window and asking myself “Is this Osaka?” which is silly because while the trains were comfy, the experience never matching lying down cozy in my blankets in my comparably spacious darkened bedroom.
Monday, July 25, 2005
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Friday, July 22, 2005
9:07pm/5:12am Pacific:
I like sitting next to short people. There’s a very nice Japanese lady (also shoulder high) sitting nex tto me who laughed when I dropped a steamed baby carrot in my cleavage when the meal was served. She doesn’t have a bag in the under-the-seat-area, and isn’t stretching out her not particularly long legs... so much leg room it’s uncanny
I like sitting next to short people. There’s a very nice Japanese lady (also shoulder high) sitting nex tto me who laughed when I dropped a steamed baby carrot in my cleavage when the meal was served. She doesn’t have a bag in the under-the-seat-area, and isn’t stretching out her not particularly long legs... so much leg room it’s uncanny
8:06pm/4:11am Pacific:
Two thoughts. It’ll likely be a sad change not being tall anymore. While I felt like a gorilla most of the time, it was cool being taller than 90% of the women and 50% of the men. Though it was pretty damn cool to step into the airplane bathroom and have paper towels. Side note: I think we’re just south of the Kamchatka peninsula, that little tail of Russia that hangs down. I can’t remember when I’ve had those, if I’ve had those, since reaching Japan. Some times there were hot air dryers (the most effective I’ve ever experienced in some cases) but usually there was ample hand wettening facilities but nothing available in hand drying, apart from my pants leg. Though it did start to make sense – my hands were always dry again in just two to three minutes, even if I just barely shook them off upon leaving the sink. But body image. It’s been on my mind more than once and I believe I made a note somewhere earlier. Alex told me an odd thing. He had observed that there is a jealousy of caucasian women among japanese women for our supposed large eyes and breasts. This was odd and unheard of to me – I’m more used to a generally accepted caucasian woman’s jealousy of Asian women for their dainty builds, slender bodies, etc. I had a rather bad day on Sunday, which involved spilling soup on the white tank top I was wearing, in addition to an unflattering burn line and dye from my purse strap (side note: it seems that sunscreen dissolves black leather dye - I had the same thing happen some years ago in Las Vegas. I wore a white tank top and black purse and the shoulder of the shirt got smeared black - sunscreen seems to be the common denominator) I decided the thing to do would be to just buy a new shirt to change into on the fly. But then up on further thought it occurred to me that I would likely have significant difficulty finding one. I’m at the large end for standard sizing in the US, so my chances of finding a shirt in most stores in a country where the average woman is half my size. Oddly enough, Akemi was able to lend me a t-shirt – it was an American size large. Not as baggy as would be ideal but a surprisingly good fit. Akemi is maybe shoulder high on me and I’d be surprised if she was half my weight. Which for some reason reminds me of something. Alex let me use his bed while he slept on a futon in the living room/office. His bed headboard is sort of a crisscross waffle pattern.#### like that. After a few nights I noticed two ties hanging from the slats of the headboard. Could make a creative minded girl wonder.
Two thoughts. It’ll likely be a sad change not being tall anymore. While I felt like a gorilla most of the time, it was cool being taller than 90% of the women and 50% of the men. Though it was pretty damn cool to step into the airplane bathroom and have paper towels. Side note: I think we’re just south of the Kamchatka peninsula, that little tail of Russia that hangs down. I can’t remember when I’ve had those, if I’ve had those, since reaching Japan. Some times there were hot air dryers (the most effective I’ve ever experienced in some cases) but usually there was ample hand wettening facilities but nothing available in hand drying, apart from my pants leg. Though it did start to make sense – my hands were always dry again in just two to three minutes, even if I just barely shook them off upon leaving the sink. But body image. It’s been on my mind more than once and I believe I made a note somewhere earlier. Alex told me an odd thing. He had observed that there is a jealousy of caucasian women among japanese women for our supposed large eyes and breasts. This was odd and unheard of to me – I’m more used to a generally accepted caucasian woman’s jealousy of Asian women for their dainty builds, slender bodies, etc. I had a rather bad day on Sunday, which involved spilling soup on the white tank top I was wearing, in addition to an unflattering burn line and dye from my purse strap (side note: it seems that sunscreen dissolves black leather dye - I had the same thing happen some years ago in Las Vegas. I wore a white tank top and black purse and the shoulder of the shirt got smeared black - sunscreen seems to be the common denominator) I decided the thing to do would be to just buy a new shirt to change into on the fly. But then up on further thought it occurred to me that I would likely have significant difficulty finding one. I’m at the large end for standard sizing in the US, so my chances of finding a shirt in most stores in a country where the average woman is half my size. Oddly enough, Akemi was able to lend me a t-shirt – it was an American size large. Not as baggy as would be ideal but a surprisingly good fit. Akemi is maybe shoulder high on me and I’d be surprised if she was half my weight. Which for some reason reminds me of something. Alex let me use his bed while he slept on a futon in the living room/office. His bed headboard is sort of a crisscross waffle pattern.#### like that. After a few nights I noticed two ties hanging from the slats of the headboard. Could make a creative minded girl wonder.
5:43pm/1:49am Pacific:
The flight just took off. There is distinctly more legroom up here, I have to say. I was just thinking about Alex’s shower, a prime reason why I’m a bit stinky. It’s in it’s own room which is approximately five feet square. The tub has a footprint the approximate size, perhaps a touch larger, as a standing alone shower but is a rather deep tub – if I’d sat down I’d expect it to be shoulder high or nearly so. There isn’t a hot water heater for the building or for the apartment, just for the tub/shower. It is gas powered. Your turn the gas valve at the wall to open, then hold down and turn a knob to position one. Actually, reverse those two steps. There’s a crank that you turn a few times to get a spark. Then you turn (but don’t hold down) the same knob as before and turn to position two (never turn to position three as this would be hot enough to make tea most likely).
The flight just took off. There is distinctly more legroom up here, I have to say. I was just thinking about Alex’s shower, a prime reason why I’m a bit stinky. It’s in it’s own room which is approximately five feet square. The tub has a footprint the approximate size, perhaps a touch larger, as a standing alone shower but is a rather deep tub – if I’d sat down I’d expect it to be shoulder high or nearly so. There isn’t a hot water heater for the building or for the apartment, just for the tub/shower. It is gas powered. Your turn the gas valve at the wall to open, then hold down and turn a knob to position one. Actually, reverse those two steps. There’s a crank that you turn a few times to get a spark. Then you turn (but don’t hold down) the same knob as before and turn to position two (never turn to position three as this would be hot enough to make tea most likely).
4:33pm
The plane should board in a few minutes. Alex asked me last night on the train if I’d ever looked around and thought “my goodness, everyone is Japanese” or something along those lines. I never had that but found I did notice the occasional not-Asian person sticking out like a sore thumb. I can smell myself. Not in a bad stinky way but it doesn’t bode all that well. It should offer excellent defense on the bus back in Seattle. I think we’ve just established something. The moving sidewalks at Narita airport have a rather annoying buzzer if you go to get on the one going the wrong way for you. I’m sitting right by the end. However a fellow running for his flight ran onto on the wrong way and it didn’t buzz. So it can only tell what direction you’re going if you move slowly enough if my reasoning is correct. There’s a very large group of Japanese schoolgirls that appear to be in their early teens who are on this flight. Being in the same cabin as large groups tends to annoy me, so the economy upgrade seems like an even better idea. They could be in economy too, but I don’t know that there are enough seats in that section.
The plane should board in a few minutes. Alex asked me last night on the train if I’d ever looked around and thought “my goodness, everyone is Japanese” or something along those lines. I never had that but found I did notice the occasional not-Asian person sticking out like a sore thumb. I can smell myself. Not in a bad stinky way but it doesn’t bode all that well. It should offer excellent defense on the bus back in Seattle. I think we’ve just established something. The moving sidewalks at Narita airport have a rather annoying buzzer if you go to get on the one going the wrong way for you. I’m sitting right by the end. However a fellow running for his flight ran onto on the wrong way and it didn’t buzz. So it can only tell what direction you’re going if you move slowly enough if my reasoning is correct. There’s a very large group of Japanese schoolgirls that appear to be in their early teens who are on this flight. Being in the same cabin as large groups tends to annoy me, so the economy upgrade seems like an even better idea. They could be in economy too, but I don’t know that there are enough seats in that section.
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