Wax On - Wax Off Cobra Kai

This is a very busy hotel that I am staying at! In Feb-2006 i posted about the China Trust Whales were staying here for Spring Training for the month! This time it is 2 vans full of Martial Arts Artists(?)! Yes the Cobras were in town for a tournament. Several of them were staying on the same floor and were having a good time playing cards last night! No, it was not that bad and i was certainly not going to complain!!!!!

Everything In Life is Timing!

Everything is about timing! One person's adventure is anothers adventure in hell. Waiting at the airport Friday afternoon for my typhoon delayed flight, i was talking with the couple across the aisle from me at the gate area. It seems they were on their way for a vacation in Japan! They were very excited about their trip. they had the trip tik maps and even an English to Japanese electronic palm type translator. you typed in the english word/phrase and it would give it to you in Japanese and even say it for you! they were even looking through cruise line books for their next vacation! It seems that she found an internet hotel offer at a Hyatt type luxury hotel for $4.00 a night instead of $400! So they booked the hotel in Osaka for 9 days and 5 days in Tokyo! They were very excited that they were going to get the concierge level room for 9 days for $47.10 in Osaka. They thought that the hotel wouldn't honor the obvious error and that they would get a $25 coupon to use! They said that the hotel was very good about honoring the reservation and price and didn't give them any argument about their mistake. Jeez, i would have spent the money and got first class plane tickets.

HAH!

Obviously they don't watch the typhoon channel! while her husband was on a trip to the restroom, i told his wife that our plane was delayed because of Typhoon Shanshan and that it was headed north towards Japan as we spoke. My trip was going to be lengthened by 900 miles and 2 hours, theirs was going to turn into hell! She asked me not to tell her husband about the typhoon because when they got to the hotel, he would obsess and just watch the weather channel. I can tell you that he wasn't going to have to watch anything on TV! Just outside and inside of his hotel room!
It turns out the when the typhoon first came ashore on the southern islands, 5 people were killed within hours, a train was derailed from the winds, all kinds of flooding and mudslides. i had to sit in a coach seat for 2 extra hours, these two probably spent the day in a typhoon shelter at the hotel! Now for the next 3-4 days, the typhoon will travel north from Japan into Russia. Their weather is going to be rain, more rain, followed by even more rain! I hope the hotel has a spa! i really don't wish them a bad time, but i have been struck by the irony of our paths intersecting like they did and the outcomes being so totally different!

i'll post the weather graphic later!

This image added 09/19/06

Obviously, if you looked on the typhoon channel today, you would see that Tyhoon Yadi has just passed over Iwo Jima and is headed directly for dead center Japan! i just hope that i can pass through Friday without to much ado! But i can't help thinking of my fellow travelers who will have another week of typhoon weather to deal with!

The Yard!

For a moment there i thought that i was back at Allied Aluminum picking up triple track windows and storm doors!
It looks just like the Yard at Carter Lumber!

It may not be the Home Depot, but you can get anything that you need for those home improvement projects!

I Don't Know What They're Selling???

But I'm Buying!

Walking down the street I almost got run over by a scooter because I stopped so quickly! I just stood there laughing to myself. I just had to go cross the street to see what was going on!

Oh! The language barrier! I don't know what this is about but you don't see many lawn ornaments like this where i come from! It must be pretty important because that's a serious chain holding it down! If you look at the cutout poster behind it, she is modelling a "patch"!(Just above her shorts! take my word for it! ) and the same for the three in the top photo! What kind of patch, i'm not sure, but they do look like they are enjoying it! No, i didn't go into the store!

More info!
i asked F what they were selling and she said Birth Control patches and she laughed and asked, "why, did i need some?" NO! was my reply!!! I didn't have the courage to ask about the statue though!!!!

H4 or Simpson?

You Decide!

Trying to adjust to the time difference, I spent the afternoon out walking! Found some streets that I have not been on before! The following posts will be shots of the afternoon walkabout!
I glanced over and spotted this flat terrain work utility vehicle! I thought that Hummer was introducing their newest Hummer version the H4! but no, on closer look I see that it is the all new Homer Simpson! (the guy inside smiled, waved and went back to taking his nap!) This is how my walks about town go!

Dinner for 1!

Sometimes I worry myself! When I learned that my flight was going to be delayed for 2 hours, I decided I better have something for dinner instead of waiting for Coach Fare! I had taken a whole series of photos of a marvelous sushi platter with a side of fried tofu and a glass of plum wine! Ohhhhhh - How wonderful!! This is not your Giant Eagle wrap in a box, but truely a handmade work of art! The roll covered the plate diagonally and covered with roe! I had slices laid down so that you could see the detail inside, sliced carrots, asparagus,tuna, and more! oh my mouth still waters! BUT! 1 glass of plum wine and somehow i manage to delete all of the pictures except this one! So, you'll just have to take my word that it was truely delicious!

In the Hood - Part II

Wonderful! Just before leaving for this trip I checked the typhoon channel and there it was!! Typhoon Shanshan was even with and just east of northern Taiwan (24N-120E)! On Friday, 09/15 it skirted north of the island heading straight for Japan. Lots of rain in Taipei and everywhere else for that matter! The flight NW70 from Taipei to Detroit was delayed 2+ hours, so that meant my plane, NW69 was going to be at least 2 hrs late leaving. Its the same plane running back and forth! We made up some time on the way into Osaka and the turnaround was as quick as I have ever seen. We no sooner went through customs screening and they started reboarding the plane! Rather than fly through the storm, we flew an extra 900 miles flying around to the east of the storm! It virtually doubled the flight time! I thought that we were going to stop in Hawaii! Anyway, that meant that I got to my hotel around 3a.m. It also meant that there was no way I was going to go to sleep right away! So, i went for a walk to the nearest 7/11 for some staples and came back to the room! The Chia Pet from the train station is gone! Awwwww! (see February - 2006 posts!) I had the usual breakfast at 6:30. Something, something else, something different, and something really different! Oh, I did have a roll with some butter too! The lobby was full of people and me! At 6:30 they're heading out for wherever and here comes this outsider! Just plops myself down at a table and starts eating! The curious looks and glances are really funny! Oh well, I paid my $2 bucks, so the heck with them!
Now, its nap time to try and reset the body clock! More later! Papa

PORTULACA - World Peace - Baby Whoopsie

And there it was! A ray of sunshine on a late summer's day! A single Portulaca flower in bloom! It reminded me of my wish list!!!! It brought a joy to my heart! Just like the first crocus in the spring bursting through the snow....
It also reminded me that with an upcoming birthday, i should update my real wish list! And i did! So, those of you who know the date and were just going crazy over what to get me..... i updated my amazon wish list!!! still plenty of shopping days left!!!!!
This is the first post since my last trip in Feb-06. kind of indicates the summer that it has been! But the flower today shows how things are working themselves out for me!
Oh, and by the way, i just bought another ticket for a trip to Taiwan, one more time! So expect more exciting and informative posts to follow!

As long as I'm in the mood, let me share with you the real JOY of my heart!

My Grandsons!

I mean, what could ever be better than playing GTA at Grandma and Papa's house! Where the grandsons rule!