Stressing out!

Not only am I arranging a trip to visit Vietnam in April, but my mum and now my dad are coming to Japan in April. Then, Tom is coming in July for Fuji Rock and I have to go home for my family reunion in August.

Breathe Stephen, take it easy and take it one step at a time.

The whole Vietnam trip is proving to be a pain in the neck. I didn’t expect that I would have to take so many days off to get over there but it turns out that I will have to take at least two and more like 3, leaving me with 7 days of paid holiday left. The problem is that it takes 10 hours to get from Fukuoka to Hanoi (14 hours from Miyazaki to Hanoi) because there are no direct flights on the days I want. Fantastic! I only want to pop over for a weekend and it’s turning out to be a real headache.

Which puts me in no mood whatsoever to run around booking this and that for my mother, she’s booked her international tickets after a lot of confusion and stress. Her original itinerary dropped her in Tokyo with a train ticket to get to Miyazaki. Getting from Tokyo to Miyazaki is a feat none to taxing seeing as Miyazaki and Tokyo are on different islands. Now she’s coming into Fukuoka and I’m spending a weekend there before heading back to Miyazaki for work.

My dad is coming too, which has its plusses and drawbacks. A plus is that my dad can keep my mum company whilst I’m at work and another is that they both can drive so, if they both apply for international licenses it will make the trips around Miyazaki so much easier.

I think that I will take my parents into school on Tuesday for show and tell

It amuses me when I think about three black people being in Saito at the same time, I’m sure that has never happened before. I’ve caused commotion enough by myself; I can’t imagine how it’s going to be with two people with dreadlocks and one man almost 6 foot 6 tall. I think that I will take my parents into school on Tuesday for show and tell, I can’t wait until the teachers hear my dads accent.

Apart from taking my ‘rents to School, I want to show them Saitobaru, the various shrines and temples of Saito and of course the onsen… must mentally prepare myself for the last one as I don’t think I’ve ever seen my dad naked… scratch that, must mentally put that aside for the moment. Oh and Edfifune Eel restaurant too, must go there, as well as try some famous Miyazaki beef and Chicken Namban.

I guess I will take my parents to Taiko too. Although, looking at the calendar I don’t know if I will get a chance. The real question is ‘what do I do on the days I’m not working?’ A few people have suggested going to Kyoto, I guess it makes sense, that's the type of Japan they want to see after all, but I kind of want to show them another type of Japan. And I definitely want to avoid the Golden Week tourists going to Kyoto that weekend.

The Flaming Lips, Rage Against The Machine, The Killers, The New Pornographers, Radiohead and Aswad

Then there’s Tom and Fuji Rock. Oh my, the (rumoured) line up to this festival is unexpectedly good. Notable (rumoured) guests include The Flaming Lips, Rage Against The Machine, The Killers, The New Pornographers, Radiohead and Aswad. Yes, the one and only Aswad.
I’m really pleased that Tom has decided to try to come over, it seems that he has really got the travel bug of late, his last holiday was in Marakesh. He’s also going for a new job and educating himself to be a mortgage advisor, something I think he will be well suited to do, so all in all I’m pretty proud of him. Also it will be great to see a face from back home, I don’t think I will get to visit everyone when I go back for my reunion.

The reunion. The final big splurge before Christmas, which I think I will spend in Japan this year. Reunion promises to be good, the family back home have really dug in and it seems like everyone has made a contribution