I have another surprise! And it’s a big one. And that’s a clue. I’ll spill the beans soon…

For now though, may I present the first installment of my “Notes from Japan”, taken straight from my travel journal, augmented by stuff I remember now.

11:51 AM MST: Delta Sky Priority is awesome. So is the guy that bumped me into seat 5A.
[Editor's note: I got moved up on my connector flight from Denver to SLC so I could get off the plane faster since it was such a tight connection.]

11:53 AM MST: I think Fred Durst is on my flight to SLC.

12:24 PM MST: We flew over the house, it’s too bright to look out the window.

12:40 PM MST: Rob, you would not fit in these seats. At all. There are mountains in the skies.

1:57 PM MST: Riding a regional jet through a thunderstorm is better than a roller coaster. The other plane didn’t make it so the flight is half empty. I’m by myself.
[Editors note: I barely made my 38 minute connection through Salt Lake City, I was one of the last 3 on the plane and they were holding it for my jet and another. The three on my flight made it, the 33 on the other flight didn't.]

2:02 PM MST: I have a menu which tells me the wine is free. My TV doesn’t work though. {Yellow customs form and white landing card.} Our purser has a sense of humor regarding Blackberries and seating arrangements. 10h56m. [Editors note: Time of flight]

2:07 PM MST: This plane is huge.

2:43 PM MST: Did I mention the wine is free? 10h25m to go. They’re feeding us a lot. I should sleep but I want food. Also. Noise canceling headphones are the best.

2:46 PM MST: Can I pee yet?

2:48 PM MST: Dude I don’t want your feet on my stuff.

3:16 PM MST: Wine, water & Dramamine. Dinner soon then sleep.

3:40 PM MST: Flying over smaller planes is fun.

4:06 PM MST: Lunch time. Orange juice, the free wine made me drunk. I forgot why I’m writing this. Hi mom! Vancouver Island is coming up. I want sleep.

4:10 PM MST: Tired. Feels like a dream. I’ve flown domestic so long that I forgot what a nice plane is like. Randomly, I want a haircut. Lunch was pretty decent. OJ now instead of wine. Need to keep the immune system up. It’s admittedly a little sad how much I enjoyed that food.

7:28 PM MST: Managed to doze on and off from about 4:30, but that’s it for now. We’ll be flying over the Bering Strait soon. Snack time.

11:49 PM MST/2:49PM JST: Slept on and off again. All this flight is good for is to sleep but I got lucky with no one beside me. 1h30m to arrival. I’m hungry and very disoriented. Planes are dry.