Friends, Family, And Super Heroes

As soon as the wheels touched down in Atlanta tears weld up in my eyes - tears out of pure joy, not frustration which filled my eyes just days earlier. Cell phone in hand, I run off the plane to the immigration line. I was so excited when the boarder guard stamped my passport and said “Welcome home.” I nearly reached over the counter and kissed him. Riding the escalator through the airport I was having one of those “do I go left or right” moments. It was so weird yet so comforting to be somewhere that order and conformity didn’t seem to matter. The next few days were sheer bliss… I was back in Atlanta, seeing and talking with friends, and my entire family was there too! The visit was fabulous, just too short. Reality hit hard when Sunday morning rolled around and I was standing outside of Hartsfield debating whether or not I should go in. The last time I stood here, I was filled with excitement of the possibilities that lie ahead. This time… well it was different.

Armed with words of wisdom, encouragement, love, and a new pair of Gucci’s, I reluctantly boarded the flight back to Tokyo. I think Claire and Monica were a bit relieved when I let them know that yes, indeed I was back in Tokyo.
We had a big week ahead of us and I decided it was in the project’s best interest to forge on. That and the fact we were going on vacation on Friday and my ticket was from Tokyo. All the “big wigs” were in town this week for a huge meeting which meant lots of team dinners and nights on the town. Tuesday night it was just that… after a lively dinner at our new favorite sushi restaurant Rainbow Roll we headed to karaoke. I have to admit the karaoke place was a bit scary (skulls all over the place and dark hallways) but once we got into our private room equipped with disco ball, multiple cordless microphones, and a phone in which you placed drink orders I was sold. Key performances included Baby Got Back by Heidi, West Virginia by Brooks, Yesterday by Dave, Dancing Girl by Monica, and Oops I Did It Again by yours truly. Claire provided some strong back up but wasn’t feeling up to really bringing down the house. Several hours later we emerged onto the streets of Roppongi proud of our karaoke prowess. Needless to say the next morning called for McDonald’s breakfast and some strong coffee (add in a little Advil and we were good to go).

Fortunately the next few days were quite productive and the meeting went off without a hitch. At precisely 12:30pm on Friday afternoon Monica, Claire, and I were vacation bound - Shanghai, Bali HERE WE COME!

Newton’s Law – For Every Action There is an Equal and Opposite Reaction (or something like that)

So if the positive action was meeting and having a conversation with Justin Timberlake (combine that with finding not 1 but 3 skirts that actually fit me here) and I was doomed for a HUGE negative reaction. And boy did I get just that! The days following talking to JT were quiet possibly the worst days in my professional career. I can say this with some certainty now that I have been working for 5 years (yikes, I’m getting old!).

There was a series of horrible meetings with my client, fights with my team, and actual tears shed. Under normal circumstances, this series of terrible events would be combated with phone calls to and visits with my “support system” aka friends and family who have been patiently listening to me complain for at least 10 years (if not more) and when all else fails, a flight home. However when you are 6,000 miles away and 13 hours time difference from your cheering section, it becomes very challenging to pick yourself up after a difficult day. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention one evening in particular that I was so frustrated with everything that I left the client site (see above entry for how not a pretty picture the client site is) walked directly to the convenience store, bought 2 bottles of cheap wine and proceeded to down them (through a straw) on the train home. At one point I had tears streaming down my face. Now in many countries this would elicit at least a look of concern from bystanders but in this country void of emotion, my sobs didn’t even get a second glace. I spent the next day in my concrete-clad apartment and decided that I had exactly 8 days until I boarded a flight back to Atlanta so I could go into auto-pilot and make it through the next few days. And at this point I didn’t have a return ticket to Tokyo and I didn’t care!