BACK IN NORTH AMERICA

So I am in San Francisco and it's cold. Sure it's sunny California but really it's windy, it's cold and it's kinda foggy. I was walking around yesterday with a jacket on and I could see my breath in the the air, seriously it was that cool... in July. I have two days of Work here at the mothership before I head to Vancouver for Sean & Lea's wedding. I will spend a whirlwind five days there before heading back here for another week of work. It's a bit crazy but not as crazy as my 11 minutes in Tokyo.

You see, I flew Singapore - Tokyo - San Francisco and my layover in Tokyo was supposed to be 50 minutes long, tight but doable. Well due to strong headwinds and a turbulent flight (love that) we arrived late in Tokyo, way late, like I had 15 minutes to get to my next flight. I told the stewardess my predicament and she just smiled and nodded and said that everything would be okay... hmm. Anyway, when we arrived in Tokyo, I was one of the first to stumble off the plane and there was a stewardess waiting for three of us who were on our way to SF. She tagged our carry-on and we ran (yes I ran) through security, down five floors, along a long ass hallway, up three floors and then to the gate. We got onto the plane, they closed the door and a minute later the plane was taxiing onto the runway. I made it on time, the plane took off on time and miraculously, when we arrived in San Francisco on time, my bag arrived as well... wow. You hear horror stories about quick turnarounds and missing luggage, luckily I didn't become another statistic, you can cross the globe and arrive safe and sound with your bag intact!

Well, now that I am back I can look at these cities in a different light. Despite the beauty of SF it is dirty, there's garbage everywhere, beggers and rummies on every corner and the cabs are a disaster area, pricey and unclean, the booze is cheap, the mexican food is fantastic and the portions are gigantic... much different than Singapore. Not better, not worse, just different. I wonder if I am going to see Vancouver in a different light as well but really with Michelle, all my friends, family and my two puppies there, the city could be a flaming pile of shit and I would still love it there. I'll let you know. 

Anyway, other than the wedding, I am in San Fran for a week and half of work, meeting all the people I've only had early morning phone calls and the odd video conference with, it's cool. It's also very busy, I kinda wonder if seven working days is going to be enough but really, it's better than a kick in the face. 

More to come