13 Going On 30 is actually a fun movie. I cried several times during the 3 or 4 times I watched it over the Pacific. Man, I am so dehydrated. The mayor of Hiroshima has …

That's "Pardon me, I'm sorry" in Japanese. Probably the first phrases I learned here. Just back from Hiroshima, where I used them and felt them more strongly. The typhoon cancelled my train and rerouted me …

Steve has only seen a few minutes of The Daily Show, ever, and hated it. And he thought Jon Stewart was a preening fratboy. Aieee!

"Kawaii" is "cute." "Kowaii" is "scary." Take care! If you are afraid of heights, don't go on the world's largest Ferris wheel. Just in general, "oh no, this action had this totally foreseeable consequence" feels …

Surprisingly, I now know about twenty words of Japanese. Two or three "excuse me"s and "please"s each, "me," "one," "ticket," "you go ahead," and so on. Steve pushes me, gently, to do the polite meeting/parting …

In Tokyo. At Steve's apartment. I simply cannot and will not chronicle weird English here - there is too much.

I got a compromise Japan Rail pass from JTB on Kearny at Market. Working downtown: your ticket to convenience! Made copies of my passport's first page. I associate head-and-shoulders shots, especially grainy photocopied versions, with …

Much better. Mostly packed. Almost all the prep is done. Leonard will make me his awesome, addictive cheese puffs for the journey. I feel voracious just thinking of it. OK, I also need lunch.

My colleague asks, "what do you have to be nervous about? I'm the one who's getting married!"

I am not through my backlog of work, not by a long shot. I have to get done with it. I have to figure out whether to buy a Japan Rail tourist pass very soon. …