[ Getting adjusted

I am still getting over jetlag, which always takes around a week or so. One
good thing about it is being awake very early in the morning. It is a wonderful
feeling to wake up and remember that you have no obligations or set plans for
the day.

We went to the supermarket yesterday, and it was a bittersweet experience, just
like last year. The frozen food section was enormous, and chips isle seemed to
go on forever, and the deli was inviting. At the supermarkets we go shop at in
Tokyo, there is no deli where you can ask for a 1/2lb of smoked turkey or roast
beef.

There are some things here cheap and easy to find, which in Tokyo would require
us to visit a specialty shop like Kaldi. It's things like that which bring back
memories of life in early 2000s Japan, where is was a struggle to find a decent
US style burger or potato chips.

And then there's reliability, or the lack of it. I'm sure everyone here in the
US really likes those locked cabinets in stores, where you have to ring for
someone to come and open up so you can get a bottle of sunscreen or whatever.
Well I pushed the button for service and predictably no one ever showed up.

I went shopping for a mobilephone case at another shop. I found what I wanted
(it was easy because most of the pegs were empty) but the box was open and
empty. "Oh well, I'll ask at the register" I thought. Shop staff asked me if I
needed anything:
"Yeah, do I just take this to the register to get it?"
"No, it's already in the box"
"No, the box is empty."
"It is? Lemme check."
I handed him the box and he said "Oh, it must have been stolen."

He went and checked In The Back but I already knew they wouldn't have any more
in stock. I ended up having to go to 3 more places before finding close to what
I was looking for. At one shop the guy called me "Boss" and didn't even get up
from his seat. I'm on vacation so I found the whole thing funny. My SO did too,
particularly because a store in Japan would never admit to having things stolen
from them.

Today is supposed to be another scorcher before it rain tomorrow, and then it's
supposed to cool off. Since I have no plans for today just yet, I'm going to
sit here with some tea and watch the sunrise over the morning commute.

Have a pleasant day!