Nothing Comes Easy

I had written a long, dramatic tale of the difficult day - to put it lightly - that I've had. Then my airport wireless internet service died, and I lost all of it. Perhaps that's a good thing. You don't need to know all the hairy twists and turns that led to me spending a long night at the Narita Airport, instead of making my way to Bali.

Here's the condensed version: I have four large bags with me - including a 70-pound suitcase - for a year's worth of clothes for Korea. I had found a cheap train that could deliver me to the airport without making any transfers, so I wouldn't have to lug all my stuff on standard commuter trains. But upon arrival to the station, I discovered there was an accident and the station was closed. I ran in a full sprint - with all four bags in tow - to the nearest station and boarded the first train there. I would have to make a transfer but should still make it to the airport with 90 minutes to spare. But no such luck. After arriving at the the transfer station, I learned that the entire JR Line - Japan's largest train network - is completely shutdown. I had to reboard the same train line I was just on, but on a new train. The latest train had a sick person on it, so the route ended up canceled (that's what I think happened - the language barrier was fatal on this effort).

Five hours later, I finally arrive at Narita Airport just 15 minutes before my flight is scheduled to take off. Malaysia Airlines ticketing counter is now closed because that was their last flight of the day. Through a series of painful phone calls, I finally make a reservation to arrive in Bali on Saturday night - my 30th birthday. So much for the big beach party, but such is life... such is my life... and I'm getting really good at rolling with it. I haven't broken down yet, even though Malaysia Airlines told me I would have to pay for an entirely new ticket. $650 drained out of my pocket - or to be more clear, added to my growing credit card account. Between the injured foot, going to Guam for a work visa, and missing my flight, I have racked up a huge financial hole from unexpected expenses that I'll likely be working off the entire year that I'm in South Korea (and I can't cancel Bali because that's where I depart for Korea).

Right now, at least I have internet access, a Sapporro beer I picked up at the airport convenience store before it closed, and a dope new playlist on my iPod, and now I'm in shockingly (even to me) good spirits.