Erin Hughes.com

So now I have been home for a couple of days and we still didn't have a tree. Around 8 AM Eric got up and we made some breakfast. My Dad got up shortly after that and we decided to go and get a tree. It was not prefect tree hunting weather. It was cold and there was a slight drizzle of rain that by the end of the day had turned into a downpour. We drove for about 1 hour and passed 3 places where my father had bought trees in the past and all were closed. I was amazed it was 2 days before Christmas and everyone was closed. We went back to the house and I tried to make plans to go shooting with my friend. It was starting to rain harder and I was not really feeling like standing in the rain to shoot, plus everyone on my end was moving real slow. 1/2 way to the shooting range we decided to scrap the shooting plans and continue our search for a tree. We went to 2 more tree places and both were closed. UNBELIVABLE 2 days before Christmas and no one was open to sell us a tree. We chalked it up to the weather which by now was really a pisser and decided to head over to my friend Cory’s house to see what he was doing. ******Note to self 2 days before Christmas avoid the Mall any of them. My Dad wanted to see if he could get something quickly at Dicks. When we saw how packed the parking lot was we decided to skip going inside but we were already in the lot and it took us almost 30 minutes to navigate out. ********* We went over to Corey’s house and had a few beers and talked about stuff Corey seemed amazingly clear-eyed and happy. I felt like he was holding back in front of my Dad. We talked allot about his snowmobile and his family. It was nice Eric played with his dogs and Amy gave Eric enough sugar to propel a 2 year old into space. Eventually I realized that they had other places to go so we headed home for the evening. At home Eric played on the computer and watched some TV and then went to bed. I was still feeling the jet lag so I followed him to bed not to long after that.

The next day I woke up and I was still feeling weird about our arguments from the night before. I needed to get to former companies office so I could have lunch with my old boss and talk about stuff that was important like computers and stuff. Mom had said I could use her car but needed it to an appointment that day. My dad offered to give me a ride. We finally got going and not to soon into the ride dad and I started arguing again over stupid shit. When I got to my old office my former boss offered to give me a ride some place later. I said good bye to my dad and went inside to see what if any improvements had been made in my absence. I was surprised to see that Jim, my former boss had gotten so much done. He had been able to purchase some new servers and make a few other adjustments and said that things were running pretty smooth at that point. A lot of the work I had done there was still in use, the backup server, the Citrix implementation and the wide area network. The WAN had seen some major changes with the addition and subtraction of satellite offices but the structure was still basically the same. Jim gave Eric and I a ride to the mall where I met one of my long time friends Jason. He looked sounded and acted exactly the same as I remembered him. He is one of the people I hardly ever have any contact with when I am in Japan, but he hasn’t seemed to change a bit. I told him I needed to rent a car cause I was not happy with my current transportation situation. He immediately made a few phone calls and then let me use his phone to rent a car. He took me to the rental place and watched Eric for me while I rented the car. When it was all said and done I followed him to Olive Garden where he ate and I had a beer while Eric colored. When we finished Jason paid the bill and we left. Traveling with Eric is tough but I hope I get to spend some more time with him before I go back. I took Eric to Shiki a Japanese restaurant after to get him some sushi. He had been saying that he wanted rice and some Japanese food, but by the time we got there he fell asleep. I ordered some sushi to go and went home and put him right to bed. I had another beer at the house and then went to bed myself.

I woke up about 4 am and found Eric sleeping in the bed next to me. I went down stairs and proceeded to make my self a BIG omelet. In Japan one of the things I miss the most is a big American breakfast a fully stocked American fridge. I tore into the fridge and went nuts cooking. I ate the omelet that was not as good an s I remember being able to make I must be out of practice. Eric woke up and I made him an egg sandwich on an English muffin. We hung out a little and then Eric Dad and I got on the road to stop and make some visits and get some things. First we went to Brockport HS and I saw Mr. Fake. He gave me a few phone numbers of other people to contact and we were off again. We stopped at Wal-Mart where I noticed all the VERY VERY large Americans shopping. We were looking for some boots for Eric but couldn't seem to find any so we moved on. Next was Payless where my Dad bought Eric some boots that he was ecstatic about. Finally we arrived at Patrick’s house. It is really my house but it looks so different now. The outside looks the pretty much the same with the exception of the new windows all the way around the downstairs. Inside the downstairs apartment I couldn't believe the transformation. Everything was painted and there was new carpet on the floor in the living room and dinning room. Upstairs the same miracle had occurred, all new paint done exceptionally well. Satomi and I had tried several times to remodel and paint but neither of us had the skill and patience that Patrick and his girlfriend Casey have displayed. I was blown away by the amount of work and attention to detail that they had put into the place. It truly looked awesome. Eric some how managed to find the only gamming device in the house and got his Uncle Patrick to let him barrow it. Eric, Dad, Patrick and I went to get something to eat and do some Christmas shopping at the mall. Eric saw Santa and I asked if he wanted to sit on Santa’s lap. He said NO DAD NO! I took about a 2 hours and 2 trips to the bathroom for Eric but we got out of there with a few new things. After the mall we went back to Patrick’s house and he hooked up the game for Eric to his projector so Eric could play it on the 8 foot (almost 3 meter) screen. Dad and Eric played games while Patrick and I brewed beer. Actually Patrick did all the brewing I just watched. I was pretty impressed with my brother’s knowledge and efficacy at brewing beer. He knew what he had to do all the steps needed to do it and when things did not go perfectly he knew what to do to improv the next steps on the fly. We went back to Mom & Dads house. Eric was a little wild but settled down after dinner and went to bed nice and early. In order to try to get adjusted to the time difference I decided to stay awake. I started drinking with and arguing about politics with my parents (staunch Hillary supporters). I promised my self that I wouldn’t do that. Some how our conversation degenerated to shouting and I fled upstairs and tried to sleep.

Eric and I got to our seats and I instantly found that my seat was broken. It wouldn’t stay "upright and locked." I know better than to complain about this because they will need to fix the seat and the plane will not be able to take off till they do. Eric was REAL excited to be on the plane and started jumping around like a monkey grabbing the seat of the 2 soldiers in front of us (one of which had arms bigger than my head). Eventually I got him to calm down and sit down. About a hour into the flight he announced that he was tired and laid down to go to sleep. His feet were hanging in the isle so I switched with him and he slept for about 2 hours. I ate and drank a beer. Then eventually dozed off my self. We both woke up a while later Eric ate and we watched a movie. A little while later (4 hours or so) he feel asleep and stayed asleep for the most of the remainder of the flight. The flight it self wasn’t really so bad. Eric was very well behaved and many of the passengers around us complimented him and I on his behavior. The problem with the flight was the crew and the plane. My seat not working was a inconnivance but it pointed to the overall maintenance of the plane and it's age. During our landing water leaked into the passenger area from the fuselage and was dripping quite a bit as the plane finally touched down roughly in Detroit. The crew was well less than helpful and not so understanding telling me I had give them my tray even though my son was asleep and had not eaten. I asked for such unreasonable items as a 1/2 cup orange juice and water that brought a scowl to my Airhostess face. there was one woman who was very helpful and I was disappointed when she left for her break . But the best part of the flight was getting off it that’s for sure. I plan to write a brief complementary letter on the things that were done right and wrong on the flight. When the plane did land we needed to wait for some one who had a medical emergency to be taken off the plane. When we did get off the plane we went through customs. I hate being interrogated just for trying to get back into my own country. The red neck dork at the customs gate with his perfectly groomed horseshoe flat top, talked down to me the whole time, and was amazed to find out that not only was I NOT a English teacher but I held a position that required some level of intelligence. I thought to let him know that I made 2 times what he did and that he might gain something by reading something besides Rodeo Weekly & Guns and Ammo. I could just imagin him holdin the old Red White and Blue over his shoulder while pacing back and forth on a stage bellowing out in a drill instructor styled voice that no “true American could live anywhere other than the good old US of A.” White pointy hood optional. Being a formerly red neck racist bastard I can spot’em a mile away. The rest of the customs staff was very very helpful and polite and we made it to the concourse with plenty of time to spare. I bought Eric some ice cream for his excellent behavior on the plane. Then not long after that did we get on our connecting flight. To Rochester this plane was much better maintained and the crew was very friendly and helpful. The last flight was only 45 minutes so it was pretty much over before it began. We got off the plane in Rochester and found my whole family waiting for us with a banner and all. Eric was a little shy at first but by the time we stopped for dinner at Taco Bell him and Grandpa were getting along great. We went home and Eric found the warm house and all the Christmas lights to his liking. I was exhausted and tried to stay awake till my brother arrived but just couldn’t. Eric was still going so I asked my mom to put him to bed when he was ready. She had no problems at all with that and I woke up in the morning to find him asleep in the bed next to mine. Getting there was difficult and draining but not impossible. More to come later. E./