So this weekend was my short but good getaway and do I ever feel like a million dollars. Well, maybe not really a million dollar because otherwise, I’d be living in Japan doing what my heart desires.

This year, I brought my old Dish Network satellite dish and receiver. I honestly have no idea if the box is still active since it came out of my old Radioshack store. I was hoping to pick up a signal but I think since the plastic casing on the LNB is cracked, there’s something wrong with it. I’m hoping maybe I can get a new one for next year.

I actually got to wonder if my grandpa can get DSL at the farmhouse. It’s nearly in the middle of nowhere and AT&T’s website says he can. It’s honestly a surprise since it says the nearest small town can’t and it’s only about 10-minutes down the road.

It was a real joy seeing the farmhouse again, I’m only disappointed I could only stay for a single day and to make matters worse, the drive home went wrong quick. I left around noon and once I hit Louisville, KY, I encountered near stopped traffic jam and it took me 15 minutes to reach an exit so I could take a detour around. For a late lunch, I stopped at Arby’s, one of my favorite places to eat. I got my usual and a milkshake but as soon as I got into the car and left my shake somehow exploded on the passenger floor. I was able to clean most of it up but couldn’t do much about it. Now, I will note that because of how my Ford Mustang has been driving, I had to drive my sister’s car there and back. So… yeah.

Then I got 50-miles from home, somewhere around northern Indiana and I hit yet another traffic jam. It took me 45-minutes to go 5-miles, so I could get off and cut over south of home. It was actually a rather nice detour, I like scenic sights and it felt like a quicker way too. And probably 30-minutes from home, I got dinner at Subway, which was a mistake. As soon as I pulled into my driveway at 8:40 PM, I felt like I could barf. There was without a doubt something wrong with that sandwich. I tried my absolute best to hold it in until I could get to a toilet but as soon as I opened the car door, I exploded all over the driver’s door. Let me reiterate, I was driving my sister’s car. Fortunately, everything cleaned up okay and I felt perfectly fine after that. I went inside and immediately went to bed.

I’m glad I went, I really wanted to go because it’s possible I might not be able to do the same next year. I’m really hoping Japan is worth all this effort, I know it is now and I will accept the outcome but it’s more a concern that it shouldn’t be this hard. I know people keep wanting to ask, “What will you do if you get to Japan and you decide you hate it there?” Well, that’s easy. I will kick myself so hard my kids will feel it. I’ve been invested in taking a trip to Japan for the last 4 years and it was only last year that I made the most amount of effort in making it happen. I’m certain that if my passion for Japan was misplaced then I would have lost my passion by now. Especially considering all the pain and trouble it’s caused.