Welcome!

Well I'm on my way!

The first post of my journey comes to you from cold, snowy Chicago. While Al Roker looks nice and warm on NBC's broadcast of the Tournament of Roses parade--currently on the tube in my little corner of the Admiral's Club--Chicago is currently overcast and 22F with a wind chill of 6F. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to the warmer weather in my destination cities. But on to the recap of my journey so far...

Packing started Saturday afternoon. I'm proud to say that I fit all of my material needs for the next twelve days into one 25" suitcase and my Timbuk2 carry on (and a 25" isn't even the big one!). While I didn't consider this packing feat much of an accomplishment at first, the three women behind me on the check-in line in Boston each had two of those huge rolling bags. I assume they were traveling somewhere warm for probably around 5-7 days.

Logan was, well, Logan International Airport. Nothing special really, same as the flight from Boston to Chicago. Given the next leg of my trip--a whopping 14 hour flight--I'm sure that in hindsight it will seem more special. I ate a banana, a bagel, some cereal, and a nice glass of orange juice on the flight, one last hurrah with real American food before arriving in Asia.

Upon my arrival in Chicago, I headed straight to the Admiral's club to take full advantage of these awesome Priority tickets. Appropriately, they gave me tickets for a complimentary Bento Box--really a take-out sushi container--given my destination. It will be great for the comparison to the real thing, which I plan to have when I arrive in Tokyo. With only 40 minutes left before my flight, I'd better start getting ready (I also have to email everyone the link...)!

Next time you hear from my, I'll be on the other side of the world... Mike's side of the world.