last night i went to sleep quite late, 3:30am, because i was busy preparing for my trip to okinawa. i probably won't have much access to the internet over there so i will write notes and blog my activities later. i woke up at 4:30am so that i could catch a shuttle at 5:20am. i thought it'd be ok if i didn't get much sleep because i could sleep in the planes and it might also help me to adjust to the incredible time difference.

the shuttle driver was a crazy old man. he couldn't drive at all. maybe he was too sleepy. i thought he would crash as he had trouble staying in 1 lane. i was the first passenger and he picked up 4 more. all the other passengers were girls, probably 5 years or so younger than i. they all got off at san jose airport. i had to go all the way to SFO. i thought it'd be best if i dozed off during the trip so i wouldn't freak out at his poor driving skills.

SFO was a bitch. i checked my baggage to see if it would fit and adjusted its contents until it would fit in the overhead storage bin model. then i went straight to the x-ray line to get to the gate as i only had carry on luggage. they made me go back to get a damn boarding pass. i tried to do the self-service check-in so that i could get a boarding pass but the machine said that international flights must check-in at the counter. hey, i haven't flown internationally in 7 years! how am i supposed to remember all this? i packed little and light so that i wouldn't have to go through all this mess. the line was massive. i had some food in my pocket for breakfast and started eating it. the line was too long, i was probably going to miss my flight. a worker started asking for people on my flight and she pulled me aside so i could get a boarding pass immediately, thank god! i went back to the x-ray line. i put all my things through, including my jacket and shoes. the guard before the machine was an old bastard, the guard after the machine was a young nice man. naturally i set off the alarm. the mean one pulled me aside rudely to get out of the way of others and the young one told me to put my metal into a small container they had. i started putting my watch, wallet, and belt into the container--which was all my metal--when the mean one started interrogating me as to what i was carrying, if i had coins, etc. i said all my metal is already in the container! asshole. i went through fine after that. but then this lady was asking me about my luggage. they saw in the x-ray machine that i have a pair of scissors. they are VERY tiny scissors for hangnails. it was a lost conversation. there was no way i could bring them with me, even if the airline held onto it. actually, they did not even offer that option. this is something airlines used to offer! the jerks. so i had to give it up. then i went to the gate, racked up my flyer miles, and shortly they started to let people board the plane.

i reached LAX, walked to the international terminal which was luckily right next door, and proceeded to look for my mom and her boyfriend. it took awhile. i thought she would be looking for me. instead, she was in a line waiting for her bags to go through inspection just to get into the airport it seems! we checked in, we ate soba, we hung out, we went to see her old co-workers at the duty free store, etc. we had a few hours to kill anyway before our flight (who planned this trip?!) but our plane was also delayed for 1 hour.

when we entered the x-ray area to the gates, i took off my belt and shoes again and started to put them through when the guard looked at me like i was crazy. he looked at my shoes. what?! i think he said not to put them through but he didn't speak in full sentences which pissed me off because i couldn't understand what he was getting at. i said, "don't you x-ray shoes?" and he said "not you". what the hell does that mean? for once i don't look hostile? i noticed those who were putting shoes had on dress shoes and i was wearing tennis shoes. i was kind of surprised at the shoes thing and said that i just had to take them off so i thought i had to do it again. he didn't say anything.

my mom changed her money for yen at the airport. i had only $100 and was saving it for airport use, just in case. i was under the impression that my debit card would work out just fine to make purchases at stores or get cash at an atm if i needed to. then we took off.

a snack

japan airlines didn't forget my vegetarian meal. the movies included "shrek 2", "bridget jones' diary", "baabaa yoshino" AKA "yoshino's barber shop" (some japanese film about boys getting haircuts and how it's your right as an individual to have your hair the way you want it), etc. there was old japanese tv programming, the drifters--they're a hilarious comedy skit group that i liked a lot as a kid. the audio stations sucked. there were simple video games. i alternated reading and playing backgammon inbetween naps.

backgammon!

halfway there!