Hmmm hmmm hmm…what to write about Day Two. Japantown. That’s where I went. One person commented last night that it should be “Japanville” or “Japan City” in order to sound more classy. I half-agree.

On the way to Japantown: hail. Again. It actually hurt a little bit this time when the pieces of ice caught my ear. I was running down the street saying “ow” every few minutes. It was quite invigorating. I would have been happy if ’twere only hail, but it was rain as well. (subjunctive mood junkies, here’s your fix!)

The place is mostly restaurants, from what I’ve seen. There was a “Hello Kitty” store (not that those aren’t proliferating to the regular malls nowadays), and there were also a couple of “novelty” stores…those were the most fun We went to a Japanese dollar store…they had the strangest things there! I have a picture of a piece of Engrish to post as soon as I get back.

I picked up a souvenir for DH there. It involves electricity and is useless, so I know that it will be perfect. After that….more running around in the rain, trying to get back to the bus stop. I was ready to come back to home base. My legs are complaining at me today for all of the walking that I did yesterday. HILLS! They have hills here. Endless hills — several of which I’d like to have no business tumbling down. I say my legs are complaining at me today, but really it’s my entire body. The method of walking on a hill is different than walking on flat land. It seems that in Florida, several people walk on the heels of their feet instead of the balls of their feet, and in Cali, people walk on the balls of their feet to make it up and down the hills. It’s all about weight distribution. I can’t seem to find an article demonstrating the differences between the walk of flatlanders and hillhoppers, but I did manage to find this interesting article about some dork running in skies properly.

After a short break back at home base, we headed out to Espetus for a quick bite to eat. Okay. Not a quick bite, more like a few elongated bites. Okay fine, it’s a buffet! A MEAT buffet…all you can eat meat. It works, though I could barely move upon leaving the restaurant. There goes the diet….

We’ll see what day 3 has in store

Okay…so it was February 26th, Monday. I leave work at approximately 4:30 PM and promptly arrive at the airport at 4:50-ish. I’m through security and waiting patiently at the gate at 5:15, waiting for my ~6:30 flight which has been delayed for 20 minutes, so it would then be 6:50-ish. (a lot of -ish today, eh?)

I hear my name broadcast over the loudspeaker. Perplexed, I make my way to the desk. I’m informed that my flight is leaving late and that I’ll never make the connecting flight. I’m told to run very very quickly down to the other end of the terminal.
(and now I’m hearing my venerable host washing out my cup, which I must have forgotten to put in the sink…sorry MS!)

So I run down to the other end of the terminal, people are staring at me (I’m fat; fat guys don’t run), and I make it just in time to get checked in to the other flight to leave. I’m the only passenger leaving from Tampa to Oakland on this flight, so I’m the only one who had to change flights. My original flight path was to be:

• Tampa
• Chicago
• Oakland

But it was instead changed to:

• Tampa
• Kansas City
• San Diego
• Oakland

And on the new schedule, I didn’t even have to get off the plane to go to another gate because it was the same plane all the way through YAY!

I was lucky enough during the second and third parts of the flight (I was the only passenger traveling all the way) to have an entire row to myself, and the stewardesses (screw political correctness) encouraged me to stretch out. From KC to SD was quite turbulent…I figured it was a cheap massage

So! I arrive in Oakland at the same time I would have arrived had I stayed on the other flight, but at greater convenience. It’s raining slightly. My bag doesn’t come out of the baggage claim.

I went to the baggage claim desk and started talking to a guy there. He seemed kind of busy. MS was with me, and rerouted me to the first available agent. A rather bubbly girl she was (the agent), it being midnight and all. She gave me banana-flavored gum and told me that I MUST try it. Here is the website for the gum. Peruvian gum…who knew!

She tells me that my bag will be here tomorrow…well…today now, I guess, and that they would call me and deliver it to me. Thank goodness! I want to shower!

Since my baggage is gone, and I need to take out my contacts and brush my teeth, we stopped by a Safeway supermarket. We don’t have these in Tampa. I’m not entirely sure that we have them in all of Florida, to be honest.

Then we head to an all-night cafe somewhere in the city. Of course, I’m completely lost and have no idea where I am. The restaurant was very…unusual. But…it had the best beef stew that I’ve ever tasted (in America). Can’t argue with that!

So…good experiences so far…flight delayed, but rerouted with no running between gates. Baggage lost, but the amiable staff are delivering it soon. Strange cafe…(played Irish music?)…but GREAT food, very friendly staff.

I walk outside, and it’s HAILING. It didn’t hail for too long, but what a way to kick off the visit

To make it short and sweet after that…

1. Arrive at destination
2. Venerable host (MS) offers more-than-adequate lodgings on third floor (also happens to be a server room and an office)
3. Experience excellent night-time views of San Francisco (I’ll post pictures)
4. Wake up, head downstairs to the smell of FOOD
5. Find out that airline is delivering bag between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm
6. Post this. Time for a nap.

So…that’s that I’ll write more later. Getting sleepy. It’s 1:25 PM in Tampa right now.

There are no detailed instructions for going from 2.1 to 2.1.1! Jeez…tryin’ to make me feel like chopped liver, are they?

Also, completely unrelated to this, I was talking with a friend this morning, and we were discussing name changes in the San Francisco ball park because of AT&T. I’ve decided to not write a new book called “Monument to a Monopoly: A History of San Francisco Name Changes”

I’m charged with researching immigrant agricultural work in the United States. What are the laws regarding social security numbers and these workers, and what are the taxes that need be applied?

I’m itchy today.

I hate falling asleep with my contacts in, but for the past three weeks that seems to happen occasionally. I seem to be getting tired a little more easily these days, it’s kind of strange. Instead of me deciding when I’m going to sleep, my body is making the decision for me. Again, strange, because it also makes the decision about when to wake up, whereas before it’s always been my alarm that gets me up. I seem to be getting up earlier and earlier.

I’m going to try to just shrug it all off to Treasure Hunt fever.