The news from Athens

is that black is funereal, after all. And Alabama is playing the best football I've seen them play in years (well, for the first half of the game, anyway). And I do mean years.











Games like that make me miss my grandparents. I mean, they both would have been ridiculously proud of the schools and the awards and the job and the life. But when I was three years old, I had a little red t-shirt that I wore all the time. My grandfather, an avid Alabama football fan, had gotten it for me. I loved that shirt. It read, "Hang on, Bear, I'm comin."

Indeed.

Hey, is that a passport in your pocket

Or are you just glad to see me?

So. I'm in Japan. How're things with you? Thoughts on Tokyo: It is Balls Hot. And it looks just like the monster movies. Which. Is. Awesome. The women dress super cool. I stick out like a pudgy, blond, American thumb. There are lots of gardens filled with frondy plants. The people with whom I've spoken are very kind and helpful.

First things first. Holy Debilitating Jet Lag, batman. Right now, it is midnight thirty where I live. Here, it's noon thirty. You do the math. The way that the jet lag is being communicated to my brain is weird--I do feel tired, but mostly I feel really heavy. Like gravity is stronger on this side of the world.

Second things second. I do not get to climb Mount Fuji. Which I am really disappointed about. The reasons that I do not get to climb Mount Fuji are many fold. Mostly, they start with my being an idiot making plane reservations. Who flies out of O'Hare on purpose? Um. Nobody.

My La Guardia flight was delayed for two hours. We chilled on the runway in our comfy economy seats. Then, when we finally got to O'Hare, we chilled on the runway for another thirty minutes--just enough time for my Japan Airlines flight #9 to take off sans me. After the initial breakdown, during which I sobbed my problems to a very nice United Airlines employee named Mr. Moy (and after learning that JAL does not transfer flights to United), I did some recon. Called my E and Z--who recently, conveniently enough, moved to suburban Chicago. They totally saved me. Came and picked me up. Gave me a bed and some yummy curry and bottles(!) of wine and played electronic password with me. And, it just so happened that dear M was in town that night--so Hooray! impromptu reunion! It was a delicious stolen season that I never would have gotten if I had been laid over in LAX. Jebus, I'm glad I was not stuck in fucking LAX.

Also, spent some quality phone time with Expedia.com trying to rearrange reservations here. They were wonderful and super helpful, but, alas, there were no more Mt. Fuji expeditions available. Boo.

Third things third. Just got back from Shinjuku, where I tried to meet up with my dear friends S and K. Sadly, that did not happen because S told me to meet them at the North entrance of the subway station. And there is no north entrance. So I felt just a little bit like Pee Wee Herman at the Alamo. Instead of meeting them, I wandered a bit. Bought a big ass bottle of water (which I made certain was water so as not to repeat my Amsterdam mistake of buying gigantic bottles of VINEGAR. Not-so-tasty.)

Fourth things fourth. It's nap time, bitches. I promise, I will only lie down for about an hour, and then I will get up, like the dutiful world traveler that I am. But my legs feel heavy, and I need to rest them.

Tonight--I'm going to the schwanky bar at the top of my hotel to drink martinis and contemplate night-time city views.
Next Post--descriptions of said martinis and night-time city views.

3rd Tokyo Argumentation Conference

I just found out that I received a summer research stipend, so I get to go to Japan in August!!! Woo Hoo!

And now I can spend the summer concentrating on reading, writing, interviews, and simulation.... not necessarily in that order. Regardless, it's wonderful news, and it makes me even more aware of how right the decision to come to St. John's was. This is a good place to be a teacher and a scholar.

I need to get a gun

Or a machete of some kind. And canned food. Lots of canned food.

54%

Strikes against me:

1) Apparently, people living in big cities with dense populations are especially screwed in the case of The Undead Apocalypse. So, that's no good, really.
2) No car. Stupid Zombie-infested public transportation.
3) Over-reliance on grocery delivery.
4) Lack of weaponry.

Things in my favor:

1) Good situational reasoning.
2) Abiding love for All-Things-Zombie (and the associated knowledge accompanying that minor obsession).
3) Physical fitness (people probably think I started running in order to look better in a swimsuit, Ha! it was all for the zombies).
4) Good sense of direction.

Que Hora Es

This made me laugh and laugh and laugh. (M, your recs are always wonderful.) I took Latin in high school (thanks, Nerdo!), but I remember my best friend, B--a very Southern, very Republican, Tennessee fan with whom I am still friends, against all odds--regaling us in the lunch room with her Spanish phrases. There is nothing as delicious as this phrase "El gato es muy grande" spoken with a thick Southern drawl.

It. Is. Awesome.