Ready for take-off... eventually!

I had the roughest time trying to sleep during the whole night as my adrenaline and excitement kept me up. Every time I tried to sleep, I would wake up 15 minutes later to watch something on TV, such as Jay Leno's tribute to the late, great Johnny Carson. "Officially", I woke up around 4:50 am, but really, I do not think I slept at all.

	Yes, I am awake. Barely.
	Eventually, my adrenaline level gave me the boost I needed to wake up, and I was getting pumped that I was finally going to Japan! Woo-hoo!

So I took a courtesy shuttle van at 6 am to Vancouver International Airport; the ride took only 10 minutes. I wanted to get to the airport early enough to avoid any potential morning congestion. Also, the airlines do recommend people checking in 2 hours prior to any international departures (my flight would go from Vancouver to Seattle, and then transfer from Seattle to Tokyo - both flights were operated by United Airlines). However, I showed up over 3 hours prior to departure (my flight time from Vancouver to Seattle was 9:20 am). I had 3 hours to waste. Great. All I did was spend almost $10 for a bagel sandwich and a bottle of orange juice (damn, airport food can be one hell of a fuckin rip-off) and sitting restlessly on the airport chairs trying to catch up on lost sleep.

Since I had to go to Seattle, I had to go through the US Customs check... I will tell you now - from this point on, whenever I travel internationally, I will NEVER go through the US, no matter the price discounts for flights. Direct flight is THE way to go. Man, going through all that security check was annoying... I understand the reasoning for all these secuirty measures, but it was just a pain in the ass. The US Customs gave me the full check package - bag check, coat check, shoe check, belt check, weapon check, sexy ass check - I felt quite important. But no worries people - I ain't no terrorist... except to the toilets. :P

After all that was done, it was time to go on the flight to Seattle... until a weather occurrence known as a heavy fog decided to roll around Sea-Tac Airport. Therefore, the flight take-off had to be delayed as the flight crew was concerned if it was safe to fly to Sea-Tac. Of course it would be wise to stay safe and not risk it, but then again, I wondered if my United flight in Seattle would wait for a couple of other passengers and myself for the connecting flight to Tokyo.

After 20 minutes or so of waiting at my seat still fighting the sleep bug, I overheard from reports in Seattle say the fog will evenutally clear up later in the morning, so the flight was ready for take-off. However, they couldn't report on actually WHEN the fog will clear up. Therefore, the plane was given extra fuel just in case we get suspended in the air for a little while. But at least we were finally taking off!

The flight was supposed to take 40 minutes; therefore, it would give me a couple of hours before the 12:40 pm flight from Seattle to Tokyo. However, thanks to Mother Nature (that bitch!), there was no way the plane was able to land at Sea-Tac airport. The plane made a couple of attempts, but it was no good due to the thick fog. We had to stay up in the air for at least another hour, and there was only so much fuel that could keep the plane in the air. The flight attendant told us that if the fog did not clear up, we would end up going to Portland, Oregon instead. Oh man... first, a lack of sleep, then a delayed flight, and now a missed flight? Also, my flight was supposed to be non-cancellable and non-changeable, so I had no idea what the policy was when it comes to missed flights due to weather.

Well, I didn't had to worry about the policy of missed flights since the fog cleared just enough for the crew to make a landing around 11:30 am. Woo-hoo!

So I made it to Sea-Tac airport and I was getting very anxious - finally, after so many long years, I am heading to the Land of the Rising Sun!

	Hello, people waiting for UA 875 to Tokyo!
	The Boeing 777-200. It's a big plane. Nothing more to say.
	My personal video screen with a map of the flight between Seattle and Tokyo. I found it funny that there were passengers that wanted the map screen on their monitors; however, the flight attendants did not know how to set up the screen. Great training job, United Airlines - just don't teach your staff that there is a MAP button on the controller.

Japan, here I come!

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