I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

At the end of the day the other day my boss called me into the office. That in itself is not that big of a deal being that I work for him and have to walk in the direction he leads me. What struck me as weird was the way he did it. He closed the door after we entered the room. Anyway, he starts to go into detail about an ongoing project the company has been working on and what influence I should have on it. As he continued, I was bewildered. Not because of the expectation he had for me but because we had already had a similar conversation. That when it happened.

We want you to go to Japan for training.

So I’m leaving, on a jet plane, to the land of the rising sun. I will be spending all of my waking hours, while in Japan, learning more about the business and the processes involved, from the mother company. I’ll be spending one week in November with a fellow employee learning the ropes. For the most part we will have a guide with us at all times, keeping us on schedule, and determining where we go.

Last week I went and applied for a passport. It had never been a priority before but now a necessity. It was fairly painless but did cost me $200 to get the expedited service. I will be reimbursed.

When I informed my wife of my impending departure she was a little apprehensive. She didn’t like me going half way around the world without her so I asked if she could go with. The answer was yes but that I would have no free time with her and that my days would not be eight hours long. Basically, I go to work in the morning and come home after dinner with the people in charge of me. That doesn’t sound too bad except that dinner doesn’t end until the highest ranking person decides it is over. It isn’t unheard of to have this meal last many hours and thus no time with my wife if she goes.

Regardless of all of this, I’m going to Japan. As much as I would like for her to come with me I think the financial aspects of the trip are more then we can swing right now. Between the flight, hotel and spending money it would cost us at least $2000 for her to come with. Six months ago this would be a no brainer but not now. A summer of unemployment has depleted some of our resources.

I’m excited to be going. A far away land that has a different culture and different customs will be a great experience. I doubt if I would have gone there on my own so I will take everything I can from this adventure over the ocean. I will land in Tokyo about one day after I leave and on the return trip, I will get back at the same time I left. I’m sure my internal clock will be a mess but it will be worth the tribulation.