Narita Swan Song

In the swan song tradition of my prior entry, I just got back from what will probably be one of my last Japan trips before the impending work rule changes.  I was going out in style though as I was flying with my good friend Gail.  We have been friends since I transferred to Dallas in 2001 and she has been a mentor of sorts for me, work wise, thru the years.  She is a strong union advocate and has instilled that in me and I admire her integrity.  We had just spent the day together on the picket line for the Valentine's Day picketing.

This picture below was right before departure for Japan.  We took the honor of renaming the airplane after ourselves (but just for the picture)....

The weather in Japan was very cold but we were prepared, and I had my Iceland attire to keep me warm.  It was sunny outside, just very very cold.  The Japanese are big on their gadgets and I came close to purchasing an electric fly swatter.  Maybe next time.

Gail had never been to the Jet Lag Club, so we went there first.  I wanted her to see all the airline memorabilia on the wall.  We tagged along with a gal named Diane that Gail knew from domestic who is now JFK based.  She was with her friend Dan.  We enjoyed a few rounds of beers and the free popcorn and enjoyed a good banter about company and union politics.

Next stop was the Ramen Bayashi Noodle shop for dinner.  Luckily I had enough Yen this time, so I wan't in the Lost In Translation moment like last year with my friend Alane!

We rounded out the evening with a bottle of wine I had brought from home.  There were two earthquakes right after we arrived, but luckily this evening was earthquake free, so I slept well enough.  I got up in the middle of the night and skype called Ladyfriend and my pal Bobby and then went right back to sleep.

And we arrived home on time!

London Swan Song?

After a hiatus of several months I was able to get a London trip.  Kind of bittersweet because with the changes coming down the pipeline at work, I probably won't be getting back there as often as I used to.

I was flying with a pretty "senior" crew but they were nice enough and there wasn't really any drama on the way over.  We were very light, which made it an easy trip.

Once we finally made it to the hotel (the Hammersmith flyover is under construction making the ride in a bit longer), I made my way over to Sainsbury's to stock up on a bunch of my UK products I can't possibly live with out (since who knows when I am going back).  Ladyfriend is also a fan so I bought several bottles of shower gel and got a few cans of shaving cream.

I tried to get some Paracetemol with Codeine for my friend Bruce, but apparently now you can't buy it over the counter anymore.  The damned addicts ruin everything!!!!

I was torn about what I wanted to do on my layover.  I was thinking of taking the train out to see my college friends Amanda and Aaron and their wonderful dog Wolfie, but snow was expected in the evening and I was worried about making it back into town.

I decided to stay in the city, and when I woke up from my nap, I headed over to St. Paul's for their 5pm Evensong service.  I just love the "high church" experience and the building is so wonderfully designed for the music from the choir.  I hadn't been to St. Paul's since the whole "Occupy" movement started.  The last time I was there, the movement has just begun and all the protestors camped out around the cathedral had caused quit a controversy.  Several of the clergy resigned over the issue.  This had settled down a bit.  I would say that the size of the group is now about half as big as it used to be.  I am sure the temperatures have not helped.  The weather was brutally cold.

One thing that I noticed this time was that Paternoster Square, the area adjacent to St. Paul's, is now blocked off and you can only enter and leave thru designated alleys.  I guess the stores around the area were afraid of potential disruptions from protestors.

After the service, I made my way over to Yo! Sushi for some dinner.  Since I have the new iPhone 4S, I can shoot video, so I got a little shot of the conveyor belt with all the dishes going around.

I had been toying with the idea of seeing Backbeat, a new musical that just opened about the Beatles and their early years in Germany as a cover band.  But part of me still wanted to see Warhorse, the Tony-award winning play about a boy and his horse in WWI.  I had tried numerous times to try and get a seat for the play, but it's perpetually sold out.  For some reason, I was feeling lucky, so I blew off Backbeat and made my way over to the National Theatre in Covent Garden to see if I could get in.  I waited about 30 minutes (in the falling snow nonetheless) and they started clearing the line with return seats.  I was next to go and the gentleman came out and I was sure he was going to tell me that I had a seat, but instead he told me that they had no more returns and the theatre was full.

I hung my heard in sadness and started to make my way back to the hotel.  It was cold, but I was well covered with my P-coat, gloves, and my woolen cap from Iceland.  I ended up walking the entire way back to the hotel and enjoyed the falling snow.

I ended up running into my friend Kathy, who is Raleigh based, in the crew room, and enjoyed chatting with her for a bit before turning in for the night.

The flight home was full, but people were surprisingly friendly.  We flew a very northern route coming home and we ended up passing just south of Akureyri in Northern Iceland.  It made me think of my wonderful vacation there in October.