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.

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.

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.

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.

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 :)

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.