Trip home

Ah, home sweet home, how I wish I had seen more of you. This past July I took a trip home to Minneapolis, Minnesota for two weeks. I got on a plane in the Narita airport in Yokyo and got back to the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport about 7 pm on the second. There I was met by my parents and a strange bald guy that stood up with them. It took me a moment to realize the guy was my now bald older brother who was home for the summer from school. I hadn't seen him in person since at least the july before, probably the christmas of '08. I hadn't expected him to come with so it really did take me a moment to recognize him. Well, after that surprise we headed to Davanni's, the main pizza place on my list to visit while home. Hmm...Divanni's pizza. There just aren't any good pizza joints out here in Asia, at least not American pizza. one place makes the crust too thick so it's more bread than pizza and another always burns the cheese so it's all brown and rather crunchy by the time I get it. And Japanese piza just is not the same thing as good old American pizza. The next day we headed out to the Mall of America to look for shoes for the coming wedding, accessories, and I wanted to hit a few specific stores and the bead store for a bead book. (It's kinda hard for me to read the ones they sell in Japan or anywhere in Asia as they tend to be in the local language. :) ) I picked up some hair stuff, though the one product I was actually lookinf for, the Clipdini, I'll have to buy online. I loaned it to my friend for clubbing in Tokyo on my birthday and she lost it. It was one of my favorites and I was not happy but I found where to order it so I'll do that soon. I also found my sandals for the wedding and some earings as well as a pretty flower for my hair and we got Arby's for lunch before we left. My mom was having trouble walking that day and I was still suffering from jetlag so we only stayed there about two hours but we got all we wanted. The next day was church and Sonic for lunch (Hmm...) and we went out to Rosedale to watch the fireworks. It's always fun to sit somewhere in the relative darkness with misqitoes biting you and see fireworks from all directions before the ones shot off by where you are go off. It was also fun watching the kids. one mom behind us had brought her daughter who was around one or two that did not want to sit still while a couple in front of us had brough sparklers for their granddaughters who were about four and five or six. The next day I spent unpacking my monster suitcase, going through the stuff my sister had put in the attic, especailly pulling down all my old stories I DID NOT want up there (grumble, grumble), and packing for the coming trip. However, I got to spend a few hours with one of my highschool friends and her family and adorable son. It was nice I managed to see her, I had forgotten how much fun it is to just sit and talk to someone my age with the same background as me. I don't have that out in Japan as I am likely the most sheltered person on my boat.
Anyways, the next day we headed up to Manitowok, Wisconsin (I think I spelled that right...) so my dad could do the lighting on my sister's play of Willie Wonka. We got there Tuesday night, the first play was on Thursday night and we had to be in Tomah, Wisconsin by noon Friday so the guys could pick up tuxes for my brother's wedding on Saturday. While in my sister's town I helped paint some blacklight paint that showed during on of the scenes, fetched a number of last minute things from the house to the attached exchurh/theater, went to Bernstein's for delicious chocolate and a sandwich, and thumbed through the dvd collection my sister and her husband have acquired. I also saw the dress rehearsals on Wednesday night, the one for the kids fourth grade and under and the one for the kids fourth grade and older. Both were pretty good but I realized I am far too spoiled on Hollywood acting and effects that I was a horrible judge of real life stuff. Anyways, I never did see the first performance of the older kids show on Thursday, though I heard it was awesome, because I opted to take the silent house as my chance to finally write in my story. I knew that it probably hurt or offended my sister that I wasn't there but the only real plan I had for that two week trip was to finish my story, which at that point only had three rather large scenes left and I only had until Sunday night. So I missed the play but got where I wanted to be done by that night. After the play we went out to eat at a good restaurant and I got some sleep.
The next day my parents, my brother, and I headed down to Tomah, getting there about ten to fifteen minutes late but the group of my oldest brother, his best man, the bride, and her family had waited for them so we checked into the room, they drove up to where the tux shop was and me and my mom went to Perkins for brunch before returning to the hotel for a nap and more story writing. That night was the wedding rehearsal where we saw more of her family and a cousin of ours that was an usher and my last brother showed up. After that was the rehearsal dinner and the brothers went off to the bar attached to the hotel for a "bachelor party" (it doesn't quite work well when the groom refuses more than five drinks but the bride was also there so it may be excused...) and my parents and I headed up to watch some tv and go to bed. The next day was the wedding and I went for an Asian theme. I had bought an outfit in Vietnam that looked like a floor length dress with a tightskirt and the typical Asian collar. In reality it was clth that made the skirt but had slits up both sides nearly to the bottom rib and pants that are worn under it. With it I wore my new sandals, some twisted earrings I noticed were similar to the bride's, my hair in a bun under an Asian hair assessory, and a flower pinned above the bun. The hair assessory is very common in Asia, one I picked up in Singapore and the rest I picked up in a Claire's inn Hakata, Japan. It is made of two combs connected decoatively by seed beads on elastic string. The vendor in Singapore gave a dvd on different uses of the piece which I finally watched Saturday morning so I can finally use them with comfort.
Well, we got to the church in time to see the wedding pictures and stand in for some of them. The bride and her bride's maids looked gorgeous and though the groom looked dashing in his tux, my bald brother said it was a once in a lifetime event to see him in a tux, it would never happen again. We'll see about that... Anyway, the wedding was gorgeous and every sibling of my mother's was represented: two of her sister's came, one with her family, one of her brother's came with his wife, son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter,and the other two brothers each had a kid there. Not bad for how spread out that family is. The reseption was fun, no one seemed to notice that I slipped from my "glass slippers" into not nearly as fancy flipflops. I got to hold my cousin's baby a while as they sat next to me, I got to talk to almost all my cousins for a long time as well as the aunts and uncles there, I got to dance with two of my brothers, and I got lots of pictures. Not a bad night, even though the headache I had earlier at the church came back and I decided to leave early for bed. My brothers decided to stay the whole time and when the party ended at midnight they merely moved to the bar with a few others of the younger generation. They were not too happy in the morning when they needed to drive a few hours to drop one off at the airport and the other was driving on to Minneapolis. Oh well, they survived and we got brunch at Perkins before going to the bride's parent's house to watch them open presents. It was mid afternoon before we headed for home, stopping for supper at Culver's, the last food place on my list of must haves. I wrote all the way home and only had a few lines to finish when we pulled in the driveway. I didn't sleep that night, other than about an hour after laundry and the last of my errands were done. We left the house about five in the morning Monday and I finally got back to my room in Yokosuka about nine at night on Tuesday.
I had an awesome time in the US but would like to say this. To those I don't see every day, it takes me time to warm up to them. My parents and the two younger brothers are kind of an exception because I call my parents almost every week and me and my brothers are always picking on each other over Facebook so it's easy to do the same in person. To other people, like cousins or the people at church, it takes me time to talk to people and I hope no one during this trip thought I didn't like them. I know I probably seemed to ignore my brother-in-law and possibly a few cousins I don't know well anymore, maybe even some of the bride's family, but that was not the intent. I'm not good with people and have only a few friends over here who actually hear what's on my mind. Often I just don't talk because I don't know if my sense of humor will insult or cause an awkward silence. Anyways, I hope that made sense, it was a worry for me on the way home.
Well, this is Li'l B wishing you all a lovely day and signing off.