I’m finally back on the correct side of the Pacific after a fairly busy week and some adventure in getting back. Almost missed my plane back to Nihon when the SFO airport was fogged in and I sat in an aircraft sitting at the hold short for almost 2 hours. Then I stood in a line to take the bus to the international terminal to just get on board before they shut the doors. Hectic to say the least.
Last day at my meetings they wrapped up early. So I took the opportunity to try out my new irons. Rented a rental set of clubs asked them if I could put my irons in the bag (they said yes), and off I went to prove that new equipment really improves your game. 4.2 hours later: new clubs, same bad golf……….
There is a moral there somewhere but I’m not sure what. Going to go today and try to prove the theory again, now that I have had a chance to get some decent sleep.
Going back to the United States is always a two edged experience for me. On the one had there is a certain level of comfort being in a place where I understand the language fluently, know the customs and courtesies ( or lack there of in many cases), and can get around in a less crowded environment. At the same time I find myself missing a lot of the things I love about being in Asia, particularly being able to get around with having to use a car. America is a great place to live all right, however it is a little bit boring too. The city I was staying in, did not have much to offer in terms of excitement. The bars and clubs I went to were all for a younger crowd and there was no place to go for “the sure thing”, like there is in Hong Kong, Bangkok, and other cities over here. And of course because of the lack of public transportation, you really could not cut loose and enjoy yourself lest the ‘road nazis’ stop you and make you do a dance on the side of the road.
Other things seemed different too. House prices are a LOT higher than I remember. Reading the paper and the real estate adds was obscene….(I’m thinking about buying a rental property so I can have a tax break). 450,000 for 2000 square feet? Those are only slightly less than Tokyo prices……have folks lost their minds? Plus I would have to cut the grass and all of the other fol du rol I don’t now do in Japan.
Americans dress far more casually when just going out than Japanese do. That takes a little getting used to after a prolonged absence. Maybe I am just getting older and more intolerant, but there were too many people with just T-shirts and hat backwards and even the girls were what I would call “dressed down”. (I’ve commented before on this phenomena.) . In Tokyo you see a lot of girls in skirts and if they are in jeans, I’ll guarantee you the top they are wearing is nice.
And what is it with girls and tattoos on the small of their backs? I saw several girls who, when they reached over a counter and their T-shirt rose up, one saw a tattoo of some sort just above the belt line. I guess its sexy and an attention getter, but whenever I see that I don’t see bird or a butterfly or whatever. I just seen a sign that says:
ENTER
HERE
*
*
*
V
Lots of other things that I wondered about too. Being back in the land of cable TV had me channel surfing and watching lots of news, none of it good.
I think about all of these things since we are all just a pink slip away from losing our ability to stay in Japan and Asia. I’m not sure I’m ready to go home yet. So I’ll just work harder I think to keep that from happening.
More to follow on this subject.
Skippy-san
