Perpetually jetlagged

Arr. I used to joke that I was jetlagged since birth. It's not funny anymore. Why did I party last Friday ... now I can't adjust again.

Welllll, I don't have plans for September except LA but I'm gonna be gone again the rest of the year. Oct: Japan and China, Nov: Munich, Prague (maybe get a Salzburg vacation), Dec: London, Switzerland, Vienna.

I get some perks though - I'm just 7,000 miles away from 1K status (100,000 miles in 1 year) which would put me at the highest echelons of United's frequent flyers. I've been getting business class upgrades recently and that really helps during 14-24 hour flights. Now if I could just sleep when I'm actually home and not working...

I should see my doctor and ask for sleeping pills.

Toots, Ron, I'm in LA this weekend - seeya :).

Peace out

I should pool a list of things to do while I wake out my seemingly-monthly post-travel jetlags. I've been up and dumb since 1:30 this morning and there are no signs of letting up anytime soon. It doesn't help that I've been processing many things in my head too.



Well, let's see. I just came back from Taiwan if you didn't know. I was there for a weeklong business trip visiting 6 different cities. It was so hot and humid there and on top of that I had to wear a suit and tie all the time. Nevertheless, I tried to find ways of having fun by taking lots of pictures.



During the first weekend, I met two cute girls in Taipei's Carnegie's club (a franchise of the one we went to in HK two months ago). This one girl wanted to have lunch with me the following weekend and sent me perhaps 50 text messages. I got annoyed and moved on. During the next weekend, I had a lay over in Hong Kong so I visited our usual watering hole in Lan Kwai Fong to release the canned heat in my heels. Within minutes of entering the club, this really cute girl approached me and took me to the dance floor. After a while, she introduced me to her 5 other friends; they thought I was Taiwanese for some reason. At one time they were all dancing with me and I thought wow, I really like Asia! Around 130am, I just went back to Causeway Bay because it was getting way too hot.



Tonight I've been thinking a lot about my new job too - I've been promoted. I really don't know what to expect but I hope this will work out well. Then I also thought about my mom and her current bout of manic-depression. Sigh, these things are quite contagious, and I hope I don't get snowballed into it. I've also been thinking about my future marital status. I don't know if I want to enter into a relationship - period. I play too much, rarely have the time and I've grown pessimistic of couples.

Now that I've splayed out my thoughts, it may be time for another attempt to fall asleep. Goodnight cruel world.

Here we go again

What time zone is that on my computer? Is it really 1am PST? Funny, it just seemed like 8 am a couple hours ago ... have I been working that long in the plane? Gosh I didn't sleep again.

"kudasai... itarakimas...ni-ju ichi" Oh yeah, I was just in Japan 3 weeks ago. Now I'm back. Back to the same Starbucks Japan, trying to get a grip of my sanity.

It'll be like this the next 6 days in Taiwan and Hong Kong. It will feel like deja vu mixed with some small talk from a distant stranger. Walk right side left, left side right. I think I'm going to throw up.

Somebody save me.

The unexpected

This past Sunday, I spent time fixing up my room and storing away my suitcases because I know I won't be traveling again until November. Just right when I started settling down to the PST time zone, my boss tells me this morning, "You're going to Taiwan this Friday." I smile and say, "That's great."

So yes, I'll be off to Taiwan and Hong Kong (again). Suitcase, suits, passport, electronics all ready. I can actually get ready for an international trip within 30 minutes now; that's how streamlined my packing process is already.

I'll post about my sister's wedding maybe tonight. I have a draft, I just have to complete it. Also, I'm beginning to wonder about my triathlon training with all these travels. I'll have to figure out how I can bike in Taiwan... (Tony, hope to see you!)

Tokyo

"It was nice to meet you. I'd take a picture with you but it's going to be crowded soon in 2 seconds…” Then the subway doors opened and I walked out briskly towards the street exit. I didn't look back; I didn’t want to show that I’ll miss it so much. But just before I reached the stairs I lingered a little until I saw the subway from my peripheral vision, moving again, faster and faster. I waited until it was a blur before I stepped towards the platform, faced the whoosh and waved goodbye. Thus, I was able to express and not get seen.

Tokyo is my last international business related trip this year. It hasn’t been days yet since I’ve been back but I’m already having withdrawal syndromes. Every month this year I’ve traveled so getting back into the rhythm of things will take a while.

Tokyo is home to the gaudy and the traditional, the $17 breakfasts and $1 sushis, the sensei and the senseless. My 8 day trip to Tokyo was an amalgam of extremes - never have I found more expensive basic necessities nor met more honest and genuinely hospitable people in my life.

Perhaps, the highlight of my trip was meeting my high school classmates whom I haven't seen in 8 years. It was a blast. Now that I've counted, I just slept 6 hours while I was with them for 3 days. We started off our Saturday morning by venturing to Tsukiji, the largest fish market in Tokyo. While we never made it to the 4am auctions, we still got to eat the newly arrived fish for breakfast. I had the freshest maguro (tuna) sushi I have ever had in my life! I also ate the "squilla" sushi that resembled pumba's grub – both slimy and crunchy!

Afterwards, we went back to my hotel and saw the most attractive piece of red metal on my city block. We took pictures with it but the police won't let us climb it all the way.

We then took the subway to the Imperial gardens and to the Akihabara electronics district where I almost bought a used digital Rebel for $450. Akihabara is a thriving testament that Tokyo is the mecca of electronics, useful and frivolous notwithstanding. Solar powered plant anyone?

Then we went clubbing. Considering that I didn't really sleep the night before because of excessive clubbing also, it was quite a feat staying up til the next day. My eyes were bloodshot; everyone on the plane avoided staring at me. Yay for shots and beers and endless crazy dancing.

Til the next adventure folks... this weekend is my sister's wedding. Au revoir.

The Calendar

Has your calendar ever been so packed that you actually cover up the day itself? Just 12 hours ago I realized that I am flying out to Tokyo tomorrow, er today. I'm up to my neck in to-do lists but I actually like it that way since I feel like I'm more efficient when I always am on the go. I'm a masochist, I confess.

But can I deal with that until 2009? My graduate classes in Stanford don't wrap up until then and work is becoming more routine and less challenging. I had to shake up my life a bit for some needed refreshening. Traveling won't do that for me anymore since traveling has become routine for me too. Writing as well.

Thus the triathlon. I started training for it and the plan I am following details down to the second the exact things I have to do in my workouts. But I will be working out 7 days a week to get ready for all three sports. What now that I'm losing a day going to Japan?

Nah, I will keep up with it. I want the challenge; I need it. I want to experience for myself what Albert Camus said, "In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer."

New Things

I like it how I have a July celebration every year - it allows me to do another set of resolutions.

Well, time to freshen up a bit my life's direction, motivations, and of course my blog.

First up, triathlon. 15 weeks to go!