Thursday, September 13, 2001. 7:29 pm. Speeding towards Tokyo.
Car 10. Seat 4D.
I am back in my own shoes. While at NEC Gunma, we were forced to wear house shoes. Many Japanese businesses have special slippers that you wear within the facility. This cuts down on wear and tear on the carpets (from the tradition of removing shoes before entering a Japanese household). So Mike and I were forced to wear the Oriental equivalent of bowling shoes for over two hours.
After another successful meeting, we headed to the train station. Instead of hopping multiple trains back to Tokyo, the VP sprang for a direct ticket. Mike and I are stretched out, reclining in airplane-style chairs. I have learned a great secret of Japanese commuting … the rotating chair. Japanese trains don’t turn around on the tracks; they just spin all of the chairs around when the train gets to the end of the line. If you spin the row of chairs in front of you around, you can put your feet up and recline. Mike is already asleep in his makeshift bed.
Once we hit Tokyo, we’re heading to the office. I can get my daily Internet fix while Mike calls back to the United States. Besides checking in with the home office, Mile needs to call Delta Airlines. We have to be prepared for the fact that our Saturday flight to Atlanta is cancelled due to the recent terrorist attacks. If we can’t get home Saturday, it’s a whole new ballgame.
The Japanese sales force wants us to delay our flight, trying to schedule more meetings next week. If Mike and I can fly home Saturday, we will take that flight without hesitation. If Delta cancels the flight, we will probably be in Asia for at least a week.
We are making a backup plan, in case we become unwilling expatriate citizens of Japan. I wanted to stop in and check on the Taiwan office. Mike needs to visit several customers in Korea. A few weeks doing business in Asia could give American air travel a chance to reorganize.
Of course, there’s always the risk my wife gets pissed off and divorces me. As much as I want to get work done, I also have a desire to get home. Talking to my wife via cell phone and instant messenger is no longer an acceptable substitute for human contact.
All I can do is wait for the chance to call my travel agent. I recline my chair, resting my Rockports in seat 3D. As the train approaches Tokyo, the buildings get taller. I am returning to the big city, my current home away from home.
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