The trip

March 4th 08:58 Somewhere over North America

So begins my journey to Shanghai. It started around 04:00 when I woke up on my own. Good thing because I had messed up my alarm and it didn’t go off at that time. Got up and showered, finished the last bit of packing, and waited for my cab to pick me up. Karry got up with me and helped me get myself together. 05:00 came and we prayed for my journey and for our household when I am away. Went and kissed the kids (Abby got up and we hugged). Taxi arrived and I was off.

OK, so I go to the airport via the taxi. Dick, my toothless taxi driver talked all about how he wants to go back to Las Vegas some day. Actually he was quite a charming guy. Probably in his 60’s. Looked like life added 20 years to his face. We had a grand conversation on the way to Logan. The taxi itself was quite an experience. If you have see Star Wars and know what a POD racer is, the car sounded exactly like one of those. Dick drove the cab like a Pod Racer as well. Yikes!

Got to the airport, through security, onto the plane. Now I am somewhere over the frozen tundra of Wisconsin. We should be on the ground and at the gate around 10:00. Listening to my iPod so far:

1. Neal Morse - ?
2. Hillsong – Ultimate Praise
3. Assembly of Dust – Boston 12/31/05
Battery holding up. So am I. One leg of my journey almost down.

BTW – First class rocks!!!


March 5th 13:50 GMT +14

So the second leg of my journey is coming to a close. In two hours we will be landing in Tokyo and I get my first taste of the East. This flight will be 11 ½ hours long, and it hasn’t been too bad. Again, first class rocks. The in flight food was really good and they really take care of us up here on the second deck of this 747. Our flight has covered, at this point 5175 miles at 35, 000 feet. We flew over Canada, up over Alaska, then headed south towards Japan. Right now Japan is a few hundred miles to my right.

The flight has been very smooth. A few bumps here and there, but overall very comfortable. The in flight movie system is really awesome. Each seat has it’s own video monitor in which I can select to watch a movie. I have about 30 choices ranging from classics to recent. I caught three movies total. First up I watched How Green Is My Valley. This is a 1939 John Ford movie starring a young Roddy McDowell and, deep sigh, Maureen O’Hara. Next up I watched Ice Age – really funny. Then I watched M*A*S*H. Finally I watched The Ringer, a movie about a guy who pretends to be Mentally Challenged in order to fix the Special Olympics, in which he has bet on. It actually was really good, and pretty much a family movie. Most associations for Developmentally Challenged folks have highly endorsed the film because it treats these folks with a great deal of respect.

Music wise, I finished up Assembly of Dust, and am now listening to my third Billy Joel album. I listened to 52nd Street, An Innocent Man, and am now on Glass Houses.

I got about an hour of sleep, which is fine. Right now it is midnight back home, so it is like I am pulling an all nighter! It is still daylight outside and the sun is really bright so everyone on the plane has their shades down. Well, we are hitting some rough turbulence, so I think I will end for now. Next time I write, it will be from Japan to China. Almost there!