Two years ago I went on a Once in a Lifetime Trip to Japan. I’ve never been the sort of person who’s particularly fascinated by Asian culture, so my motivation to visit the far and mysterious east was simply based on the fact that A) I wanted to visit my Bestest Friend Angelina (who has been living and working in Japan since 2005) and B) She was willing to help pay for my flight. So I made up an 10 day itinerary jam-packed full of Everything I’d Ever Want To Do In Japan.

So I visited Tokyo and saw;
- Shibuya Crossing (and that dog statue that was on Amazing Race)
- Akihabara District (and went to a Maid Cafe there)
- The view from Tokyo Tower.
I also visited Kyoto, Osaka (and USJ specifically), Sang at Karaoke, Ate Shabu-Shabu, and generally accomplished everything I had set out to do. Even if I failed to actually blog about it all.

Not to mention getting to spend quality time with Angelina in her new home environment, meeting her fantastic friends, and generally enjoyed myself beyond my wildest expectations. Since I’d never planned to visit Japan (like, ever) in the first place, I considered this a resounding success and left it at that.

Until last week.

Her contract is expiring this summer, and she’s decided to leave the Land of the Rising Sun to return to The Great White North. Knowing that this is likely going to be a difficult process, I tried to think of ways that I could help. I mean, moving is hard (I should know I’ve done it over a dozen times in the last decade), and I can’t even imagine how hard it is going to be for her to move from some place you’ve lived for four years, that also happens to be a foreign country, back to the city that you haven’t lived in since high-school. Rough Gig.

Maybe I could help – by easing the transition, say, if I were to fly over to Japan, hang out for a bit, and fly back with her.

Well, yes, it’s a crazy foolish silly idea. But that’s what’s happening. It took some pretty strategic planning (attempting to redeem frequent flier miles = fail), having my own flight schedule, and her booking separately, getting her Board of Education to approve her flight, and me getting an entire week off in August. But it’s all done. Booked. Huzzah!

So, I’m heading back to Japan.
I’m going to get Angelina to bring her home.

I’m actually really, really excited about this trip. Even though it’s totally expensive, and frivolous. I make no attempt to hide how much I love flying, and airports, and who doesn’t love vacations? I’m extra excited because this time, with my Everything I’d Ever Want To Do In Japan already complete, I get to just hang out, and enjoy doing whatever Angelina wants to do in her last few days in Japan.

As an added bonus I will be able to break my current standing record for Longest Flight Ever of 11.5hrs (Newark to Honolulu) to 13hrs (Chicago to Tokyo). <sarcasm>Oh Yay</sarcasm>.

Hopefully I’ll be able to follow my own advice, and it won’t be too traumatizing.

Today I’ve  got three bits of news that actually have little/nothing to do with the actual shows that they are related to. So if you don’t watch Survivor, Battlestar Galactica or How I Met Your Mother, don’t worry – you may proceed without hesitation.

First, Survivor, because something pretty neat just happened. Via FanCast, there was a live chat with the most recent booted contestant of Survivor: Martini’s (or whatever), Debbie, and guess who got her question put up FIRST?

That didn’t really answer my question – but still kinda neat, right?

Second up, BSG. Oh, not much to say here, except that I’ve been rewatching the entire series with my mother, we’re up to mid-season 3, and am very much enjoying reliving the experience while already having All The Answers. It’s like watching The Usual Suspects for the second time. The the absolute best part, however, is seeing how into it my mom is getting, which is extra exciting since she totally dislikes sci-fi (not counting Stargate, because that’s just a MacGuyver sequel for her).

Not only is it super-fun for me to figure out who her favorite (Adama, Chief, Helo) and most hated (Baltar, Baltar, Baltar) characters are, but also she’s gotten into the habit of talking to the TV which can be hilarious. Examples? Ok. “Don’t go over there, Chief, I think it’s Cylons”, “Baltar, you’re dreaming again!” and the most satisfying is that she repeats “So say we all” whenever it’s uttered. Awesome.

And now I shall provide you with a photograph of a Battlestar Galacticake that I found on Flickr:

Moving on to How I Met Your Mother. A few weeks back there was an episode in which Ted divulged his Murtaugh List. Every item on the list he had declared as now being “too old for this Sh!t”. Such examples given are Beer Bong and Crashing on a Friend’s Futon. To my very delight, the list has already started to penetrate the Public Vernacular.

In fact, my near and dear Angelina herself had recently added “Taking the (K)nigt bus from Takamatsu to Tokyo” on to her list. (I attempted to futilely add ‘Drink Jaigermiester’ to her list, but she would have none of it, apparently being in Japan gives her a 4 year reprieve so it’s on the back burner).  This obviously made me think about my own Murtaugh List, and things that I quite simply cannot, or should not do, at my age.

This is a work in progress, but brief summary of what I have, so far;

- Go camping without Air Mattresses

- Wear my hair in Pig Tails

- Put off seeing the Dentist (I’ve learned from Past Mistakes)

- Not drink Coffee

I don’t think there’s anything else, just yet, but I’m sure the list will grow. I”m super interested in other people’s Murtaugh Lists, so please share!

(PS: I’m still looking for members of Club ChantelleJoy, you can join by subscribing to my RSS feed. Membership is free, and apparently very exclusive!)