Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Happened in Montgomery


Correction. I thought the bus boycott occurred in Birmingham (Alabama, not the U.K.), but I was wrong. It was in Montgomery. I learned it today at the Rosa Parks Museum.

The museum is small, but informative with historic documents, which is interesting. The presentation of the bus (what happened in the bus, how Rosa Parks rejected to give up her seat for a white passenger, etc.), I thought, is well organized. And you would get background information (more details) on the boycott. Actually, I didn't know that Martin Luther King Jr.'s house was bombed because he helped the movement.

Anyhow, that happened only 50 years ago. Mm ...

Monday, December 29, 2008

Fun But Confusing


I needed a book just for fun. And I missed the movie. That's why I picked this book. Yeah, it's fun to read. But toward the end, it becomes complicated and confused me, going like, "What is reality?! Come on!" This is just for fun, so I decided not to read it again to clear up the story.

OK, I know now I have to be back to school books. Damn, I have only a week until school starts ...

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Bed Stealer


She steals my bed ... :P

Friday, December 26, 2008

We Shall Overcome


AB gave me a tour in downtown. Alabama=Martin Luther King Jr. as CNN=Politics (well, I don't believe this). Anyhow, this monument is awesome. I know Martin Luther King Jr. is great, but I was also impressed by the designer who created this. It goes very well with Martin Luther King Jr.'s words.


Martin Luther King Jr. resided this church for six years.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Eight Hour Drive to Alabama

I was very lucky, and I appreciate that AMB's mom found someone who drove me to Alabama today.

This someone, T, was actually driving back to Tennessee (from Louisiana). That is, it's a long drive. So, we agreed to leave Louisiana around 7 in the morning. I don't remember what time I came back last night (or this morning) to my hotel, but I was smart enough to set the alarm clock. So, I could wake up. Good. But, I was still drunk. My face was kind of red, and my breath stank. Terrible.

Anyway, we hit the road. T was a nice person who entertained me by telling me about American history, especially about the time of civil rights movement (because we were driving in the South. No wonder), and asking me a lot of questions. It was fun. Because he is a priest, he is good at talking. I wish I could talk like him because I have to teach in the spring term. Ahhhh, in the spring term, I have to have a class! That's gonna be a nightmare ... Forget it (at least for now). It's the holidays.

It took 8 hours to get to Starbuck's close to AB's house in Alabama. Yes, the United States is huge. T dropped me off at the Starbuck's, and AB picked me up there. I realized that I haven't seen her more than 8 years because her kid who I hadn't seen before is now 7. Geez, time flies. But AB hasn't changed much. That's good. And HB, her daughter, is cute ... and you may guess, she talks a lot as girls do. She's funny.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Beautiful Wedding


AMB's wedding was special (AMB calls it "eccentric," hee hee hee). I liked the homey, hand-made atmosphere of the wedding. You know, Japanese weddings are too much commercialized. The ceremony took place at a little, old church, and the reception was in a historic house, which had been creepy without decoration but turned out very nice when the reception started. In short, the wedding was full of AMB's taste. She loves old stuff. I'm glad that she didn't have her wedding at the graveyard which is her favorite place.

I was moved very much. AMB looked so happy. And everyone looked happy. It was a very good wedding to make everyone happy :) ... And I got drunk because it was fun!

Happy marriage!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Midnight Cooking

Tonight, AMB's grandma, O, kindly offered a room for me to stay.

O, KR, O's daughter, and I came home around 10:00 p.m. O and KR went grocery shopping while I was having beer with AMB's gang.

Anyhow, around 11:00 p.m., O and KR started cooking. Well, O started it, and KR followed. And I ended up joining them. They were cooking traditional dessert for tomorrow. We could do tomorrow, but they started anyway. I don't know why. It lasted until 2:00 in the morning. A little after 2:00, I went to bed. But I guess O and KR kept cleaning the kitchen. They were so energetic. Of course, they are excited with AMB's wedding in a couple of days.

It was a lot of work for the middle of the night, but it was fun. It's gonna be another fun story of AMB's wedding, hee hee hee.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Off We Go!

Yea! We found AMB's future husband's parents at the Houston airport! Off we go to Shreveport!

AMB!

Yea! Finally we are in Shreveport! It was a long way, but it's worth the trip. AMB is here! Her future husband, E, is here! Her family and friends are here! It is great to see all of them (though I'm not good at remembering names).

I reconfirm that AMB is a much-loved child. Her family is so lovely that it is evidence of how much she is loved.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Plan B

KR and I were supposed to leave Austin this morning to pick AMB's future husband's parents at the Houston airport. But when I woke up, KR informed me that they couldn't make it because of a visa issue. It should not be a problem, but it is a bureaucratic issue. Fortunately, the will be able to fly tomorrow. So, we will pick them up tomorrow instead of today.

So, here's Plan B. We will stay Austin another day. It works well for KR because she has a few things to be done before Christmas. We did errands in the afternoon, and time flied.

And it worked good for me too. In fact, I fixed my paper. Well, I need more revisions and need to conclude the paper though.

Anyhow, we hope the gloom's parents fly safely to Houston tomorrow afternoon and hit the road to Shreveport finally. Otherwise, we will need to think of Plan C. Well, Plan C might be fun :P

Monday, December 15, 2008

Where's My Luggage?!


I don't want to take a red-eye flight again. Never again! You can't sleep. Your night is really short. Well, this is mainly because of time difference between Portland and Chicago (two hours). I left Portland 11:30 p.m. local time and arrived Chicago 5:30 a.m. local time. I wasted another two hours in Chicago to get another flight to get to Austin. And finally, I came to Austin at 11:30 a.m.! It was really, really long to get here.

Now, I needed to find my luggage which was supposed to arrive here yesterday. I went to the United baggage office. The clerk said something like, "I only saw three bags out there. If you don't see yours, you will need to find it at the baggage claim." Find my luggage at the baggage claim?! It didn't make sense to me because my luggage made it yesterday and it was not on my plane today. As I suspected, I couldn't find my luggage in the pile of luggage of my flight.

I came back to the baggage office to make a claim. Then, KR found me there. KR is AMB's aunt, who kindly offers me to stay at her place tonight to hit the road to Shreveport tomorrow. Because I called her yesterday that I missed the plane but my luggage made it, she understood my situation. She suggested to me to take a look at the US Airways' baggage office before we left the airport. I appreciate her suggestion. I found my luggage there. Good Buddha! I can put on my pajamas tonight!

Rotary Party in Austin

BR, KR's husband, is a Rotarian. They kindly invited me to their Rotary Club's annual Christmas dinner party tonight. BR was busy to introduce me to everyone. It was fun :)

I don't know about this blues man, but they had a special guest, who is actually an honorary Rotarian like me. Well, he is much, much more prestigious because the level of achievement is different. Anyhow, Pinetop Perkins is the guy. He is cool. He is 90-something, wearing red suits and a cool red hat. He is nominated for one of Grammys this year so I may be able to see his performance on TV.

After the dinner, we joined other Rotarians for dessert. I enjoyed a piece of good chocolate raspberry whatever cheesecake. Mm, I'm stuffed.

I don't know, but I think people here are more friendly. It's probably because they treat me as a guest of BR and KR, and probably because the nature of people in the South. D, who is from Houston, told me that people in Texas are more friendly than people in Pacific Northwest. He is probably right.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Cursed with Winter Breaks

Damn, I’m cursed. Last year, my trip for Christmas holidays was distracted by a sick flight crew. I couldn’t fly the scheduled day. And this year, again! I flew to Portland anyway, but because my first flight delayed, my next flight didn’t wait for me. Damn, United! Actually, I saw my plane sitting at the gate when I got there. But it was too late for me. The gate had been closed. But my luggage made it. I don’t get it. My luggage got on the plane, and I didn’t. What the hell!

Anyhow, United rescheduled my itinerary, putting me in a red-eye flight. You know what? United is stingy. Well, everyone knows this. Because United is stingy and they don’t care about their customers, they didn't offer me a hotel room to stay a night in Portland and take a flight tomorrow. So, there’s no choice other than putting me in a night flight. Damn it.

As a result, I was forced to waste eight hours in Portland. And guess what? They made me fly to Chicago to get to finally Austin (my final destination). Chicago first?! What the hell!!! Learn geography, damn ass!

Man, I’m wasting my time and I have wasted $10 for a couple of glasses of airport expensive beer.

I have to report this to DS who gave me a ride to the airport this afternoon. She must laugh to hell.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Where Should It Go?


I found a $10 bill on the street. One of big differences between the U.S. society and Japanese one is there is no koban, or police boxes, here and there. That is, even if I find money on the street, I can't take it to a police box because I don't see a police box nearby. I even don't know where the police department is in this town. Yeah, this town is peaceful.

It is freezing outside. The weather forecast says that the snow storm is approaching. My biggest concern right now is that my flight tomorrow afternoon keeps the schedule. Last year, my flight was cancelled because of a sick flight crew. I hope the weather does not distract my happy Christmas break this year.

Why did I go out under this freezing weather? Because I needed some air. I was sitting in front of the computer for the whole day, revising my paper. Revising, revising, revising ... revising drives me nuts so easily. In order to keep myself sane, I went outside. I needed to buy some coffee beans anyway. It is a short walk to get to the supermarket. I enjoyed the crispy air in that short trip. And I found the $10 at the end of the trip.

Monday, December 8, 2008

I'm Done


Yea! I finished my presentation. I really appreciate my cohort and friends who gave me good feedback. Actually, I enjoyed it.

And, I appreciate GM and GM. They are my ... mentors. I don't know what to say. They are great, for sure. We got some beer, gossiped, talked about a little bit of academic stuff, and laughed. It was great. I love hanging out with them. Comfortable, fun, and just great. They are great.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Timely Christmas Gift


Is she a genius, or psychic, or something?! She must have read my mind, even though we are thousands miles apart.

I just went to the Asian supermarket with YY and ZY yesterday. I saw bottles of furikake flakes on the shelf. And I thought, "Mm, white rice with furikake on top must be yummy ... But what the hell! These bottles are ridiculously expensive!" Guess what. I gave up.

This morning, on the way to the fitness club, I checked my mailbox and found an envelope there. It was from YY. Oh, this YY is a different person than the YY above. Confusing.

Anyhow, I opened the envelope on the way back from the fitness club. Guess what again. I found a furikake package in the envelope with a Christmas card! I think she has telepathic super power. She must be reading the crystal ball, surrounded by candles. Whether YY is a psychic or wizard, I appreciate that she remembers me :)

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Turkey Oyakodon


Obviously, leftover turkey is saving my life. Today, for lunch, I invented leftover turkey oyakodon. Yeah, it tasted turkey, but it was good enough to miss Japanese food.