This winter I’ll be back in Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan’s four main islands. I will have visited Kyushu three years in a row: 2013, 2014, and 2015. I go back for the gentle subtropical climate while Minnesota’s long winter refuses to budge. Kyushu is a manageable size, about one-sixth the area of Minnesota or…… Continue reading Dreaming of Kyushu
Category: Practices
Gas
It was breakfast at the Granvia Okayama Hotel. The tour group at the next table murmured in agreement as the colonel railed against typographical errors in the itinerary. I pegged him as “the colonel,” now a paper-pusher, close to retirement. It was impossible to tune him out as he recalled his first encounter with the…… Continue reading Gas
Gas
Posted about gas.
Couch Potato
Today I’m a couch potato/cold sufferer: blame it on travel. Still, I’m grateful for travel, grateful it’s only a cold.
LHR/ATH
Aegean LHR/ATH, US$116, exit row, empty seat beside me, free hot meal and wine, Bennett/Gaga on Android. #grateful
Amtrak at Union Depot
Cycled to St. Paul’s Union Depot. This winter I’ll take Amtrak to Miami, stopping in several cities including NYC.
Planning for Winter
Beautiful sunny day. Spent half the day inside, planning flights, hotels, cars and trains in warm places this winter.
Success Secrets They Don’t Want You to Know
Success is too often defined as celebrity, money, or power.Do SomethingA colleague, an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota, was about to deliver an early morning lecture. He stood in his heavy coat, and pronounced it to be a super frigid day.The students groaned in agreement.He then asked: “What are we going to do about…… Continue reading Success Secrets They Don’t Want You to Know
A Day to Forget
OK I admit it: I got tired of figuring out this place all on my own, so I signed up for a “Landmarks and Viewpoints” tour for foreign visitors. This was a day to forget.At exactly the appointed time the bus rolled up to my Okoyama (Honshu) $26 a night capsule hotel (Hotel River Side).…… Continue reading A Day to Forget
Passing Through Cedar
A Shared Culture When I’m in Japan I feel happiest and most comfortable when I’m hiking. When I pass another hiker in rain gear on the trail, a cheery “konnichiwa” is enough said. We look at each other, knowing we are sharing the same experience. A shared culture across different cultures lets me belong. Pursuit…… Continue reading Passing Through Cedar