Flashes of Panic

For once, I queried a lot of potential employers early enough to get work. My Osaka queries got several responses of, “no firm plans yet, but you’re at the top of our list,” enough that I think I can stop asking for more. Probably two magazine articles, plus the possibility of blogging for pay, which in this context actually sounds fun—like expanding some of the fragments in my notebook and sending them out. There are a lot of stories that aren’t big enough for full stories.

So Wednesday night, I spent an absurd amount (to me) on a plane ticket for Japan. Flights, especially return flights, are beginning to fill already. Outbound, I am flying through Indianapolis (why?) and then Detroit direct to Osaka; inbound, I will have almost six hours on the ground in Honolulu before jumping to Minneapolis and thence home. (I wonder if it will be practical to leave the airport for a few of those hours?) I should get in late on Thursday before the meet starts on Saturday, giving me a little time to explore the city, and a bit more on Monday after the meet ends, since I don’t leave until evening.

I also wonder if I have enough miles on some airline to bump one or more of those segments up to business class. Fourteen hours in coach is difficult. I will require an industrial-strength supply of paperback books.

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