Hayato's origami

The 12 hour LA-Tokyo flight felt like it took forever even though I have done it countless times. I was not able to get much reading done this time like I usually do. The lightling was poor and I was distracted with so many thoughts. "This is a year of rethinking for many of us", my friend Russ was saying just the other day. Isn't it so true? In between my wandering mind, I ended up doing a movie marathon. I watched four in a row. Movies that I would not have paid to watch but they were up on the monitor. I started with an animated movie about a bride who turns into a giant and saves the planet earth from evil alien forces. Then I watched Dragon Ball, a video-game based film. This was a rip off of the Karate Kid. Then a Jennifer Anniston and Ben Affeck starring drama about young couples who have issues with their love life. Basically, it should have been something made for television. Then another drama about a high heeled corporate city girl who is transferred to a small town in America to reorganize a factory. I didn't find one film that contained a particularly original idea. Hollywood has been rehashing a lot lately. So much for movies. Then there was the

nflight food. I don't really have any high expectations but once I ate an exceptionally good lunch on a Brazilian flight from San Paulo to Rio. It was a simple plate of rice and beans with cooked greens. The dish was fresh and tasty, I could have eaten two and it wasn't just me that was raving about it. So I was curious what United had to offer. What I got was udon noodles with mixed vegetables. You had to search hard for vegetables. The noodles tasted like glue. The white wine, which I had to pay $6 for, was horribly sweet. The flight attendant offered to switch it to a red but it was equally undrinkable. I sound like a whiny traveller but I know they could do better. I shouldn't be because I had noone sitting next to me. The thing that matters most on these long distant flights is space. Once I got to Narita, the limousine bus to Shibuya came right away. It was muggy but cooler than I had expected. The rainy season was not over yet. I got to my parents' house in Shibuya before 7pm. . My nephew Hayato greeted me with a dimpled smile and helped me carry the suitcases up the steps. I felt the weight of the cheeses and the buckwheat pancake flour in the suitcase.  Everyone loved the souvenirs, the cheeses and the apricot butter are hits. My dad gave me a big hug. I kissed my mother who is in bed. We opened a bottle of red wine which my sister Fuyuko had saved for the evening. She made Tonkatsu - pork cutlet for dinner. The pork was very tasty. Hayato loves the fatty part. I caught up on my e mails. It's good to be in Tokyo, my other home.