The Teaser

Now that I am back on U.S. soil, this blog will serve a new purpose. Though, many of you (Steph Sparks particularly) will argue that this blog has, in fact, served no purpose at all in the last month and a half since I have rarely updated it. Maybe so. :)

Lots was going on...and when given the choice between living all I could possibly live - or sitting back every once in awhile to write - I decided to "Live the Vida Loca" as the great Ricky Martin would say.



Have no fear, though. All is not lost. In my adventures, I have taken over 3,000 pictures and another 200 hundred videos (actually the video number is made up...but there are probably close to that many).

This blog will now take on the role of a place where I can sift through these pictures and write a sort of memoir about my adventures. My first such story will be of the incredible voyage home. This is a rather lengthy tale to tell, however, and will have to wait until after the weekend. It will be worth it, though!



Read how Paula and I get drunk in the face of an evil deaf steward (is that what you'd call a male steward(ess) that can't hear our drink orders?) while bravely sailing (over in an airplane) the vast Pacific Ocean.

Read how I nearly cry while eating curry for the last time in Handa City...and then, as luck would have it, eat curry four more times before I touchdown on New York soil.



Read how I penetrate a giant tree.

Read how I BEN AND JERRY'S IS THE SHIT AND HAS LIKE 100 NEW FLAVORS (possibly a slight exaggeration...but I've counted two so far)!!!!

Read how a combination of Ben and Jerry's awesome new flavor, a windy San Francisco road, and Jess' "smooth but aggressive" driving (really a little more aggressive than smooth) almost makes me vomit mint chocolate chip all over her back seat.



Read how I never ever sleep...ever.

Read how I saved the Princess Toadstool from Bowser.



Read how I ate pizza!

Read how I still have over 70 U.S. dollars worth of yen in my back right pocket (don't try anything funny).

Read how my father is asked if he is a professor at The New School...and how we eat free quiche and drink free wine after blatantly turning down a one way street in Brooklyn, right into the clutches of the NYPD.

Read how I land on Mars and fight aliens with this Earth stick.



Read how I get free beers at redneck local bar in the middle of Wyoming...and then drink beers under the table (not "drink him under the table"...we were literally drinking under a table) with our townie waiter at a nearby diner at 5:30 in the morning.

And so much more!

I'm heading to Atlanta tomorrow for a DCI convention (at which I'm sure many more stories will be born), but I'll try to post once more before I leave. I won't hold your breath...but I'll post again on Sunday night at the latest.

Until then, I'll leave you with this final picture. I thought Japanese school children looked weird with their matching bright yellow hats. Though, while I was at Union Square yesterday, I couldn't help but notice and gawk at this group of children (and school teacher) clutching this rope for dear life as they made their way down the sidewalk.



Moral of the story...everyone looks ridiculous except me...always carry a camera.