A few weeks ago I took a business trip to Japan. The trip itself was grueling and incredibly tiring but the food was good. What really burned me up though, was the air travel. This was mostly on account of my fellow travelers more than anything else. If I hadn’t been sick immediately after the trip, first with food poisoning (which I blame on the airline) and then with some form of the flu, I would have posted about this sooner. Here are some rant-filled bullet points:

• Roll-aboard suit cases are exactly that. Do not assume, ladies and gentlemen, that they are also roll-while-on-board as well. It really sucks when you persist in rolling your suitcase around inside the plane. If you are physically unable to carry your “carry-on” suitcase all the way to your seat, then maybe you should rethink your choice to bring it. Next time pick it up or check it in! Argh!
• I get the feeling that some people still think airplanes are some sort of “experience”. By that I mean some passengers seem to really like to kick back, take off their shoes, and put all of their belongings in the overhead compartment. News flash “Bryce”, we can’t put all of our crap up there or there won’t be space for everyone else. This isn’t a damn bed and breakfast, it’s a metal tube full of people who want to get to their destination. Since you decided to put your suitcase, jacket, toiletry bag (separate for some reason), headphone case, and latest issue of Men’s Health up there, I have to put my one suitcase all the way in row 99. Thanks a lot, douchebag!
• Hey man, don’t think that just because you’re “really tired” I have so much sympathy for you that I’ll forgive the fact that you decided to take a whole bench in the terminal to lie down. Listen here “Bill” with the ‘Bama sweater and nylon pants, I don’t care. I’m tired too, but I’m trying to be considerate of the other 500 passengers waiting to get on the plane by taking up only one seat on the bench instead of 5 (and part of the aisle, since your “full figure” protrudes a little bit).

  When you wake up 5 minutes before boarding, I’m sure you’ll wheel your roll-aboard suitcase right to your seat, place it and your 3 other belongings in the overhead compartment, kick back, and have a relaxing trip. Until then, learn to sleep sitting up or take a walk around the terminal to stay awake!

Oh and yes, my pockets were full of Yen since all the change I got on the trip came in 10 Yen coins which can’t be exchanged anywhere. I’ve got to use more vending machines when I’m over there next time.

I just returned (a little while back) from a week-long trip to Spain with the family. In summary, we had a good time! This was actually my second trip to Spain. Even though I saw some things for the second time, things seemed altogether more interesting this time around. Maybe it’s because I’m a little older, I don’t know.

The grave of Christopher Columbus
(inside the metal “casket” held up by the statues).

We started off in Madrid then headed to Granada with a quick half-day stop in Toledo (where everyone tries to sell you a sword). From Granada, where the famed Alhambra stands, we headed towards Torremolinos. Torremolinos is a beach town on the “Costa del Sol”. Our hotel there was almost right on the beach.

On our second day in Torremolinos, we decided to head to the UK! Well, Gibraltar to be exact. Contrary to popular opinion though, Gibraltar is more then just the rock, there’s a pretty interesting town built around it. There’s quite the friendly group of Barbary Macaques there, who won’t hesitate to jump on the backs of tourists and invade cars for food. My time on “The Rock” was probably my favorite part of the trip.

From Torremolinos we headed up to Seville where we saw a Flamenco show and enjoyed other typically Andalusian sights and sounds. We then headed back to Madrid where we spent the last day of the trip.

Photos should be up soon, although I have several panoramic ones that I need to stitch together. Look for those later on.

For those of you who don’t know, I’m in charge of applications in the Japan region at work. Given my interest in Japanese culture, I love this aspect of my job. I get to learn how the Japanese do business and what their engineers are like and I get to visit from time to time.

Last week (Sept. 1st through the 8th) I got the chance to head to Japan and meet the staff over there as well as go on several customer visits to promote our products. Business wise, it was incredibly interesting and I learned a heck of a lot. There were a few frustrating times as well, but I won’t bore you with the latest set of things that raise my ire.

Culture wise, I picked up a few tidbits here and there and got to visit a few cities I had never been to before. Specifically, I went back to Tokyo (went there on my last trip), and got to see Abiko, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Nagoya for the first time. My time spent in Nagoya (although brief) was interesting as I would never have been there if it weren’t for a typhoon keeping our group from making it back to Tokyo from Fukuoka.

All in all, I think the trip was more rewarding than not and I definitely look forward to heading back there soon (maybe next year, if things go well)!