crossbones and traffic jams

I arrived in sunny San Diego yesterday afternoon, but first, let me back up to the flight from DET to denver.

A screaming, loud, Asian baby took my window seat. Well, his mom put his car seat there, but i really didnt mind...after all...the window seat coming into the Rocky Mountains sucks. So i had the outside, and couldnt sleep because the kid ("oliver") was really upset the entire flight. Right before landing, he was especially upset, due to the pressure change. It probably hurt his soft head. I can understand, and i felt bad for him. His mom proceeded to fill him up with milk and cheese-its to help him stay quiet. It worked very well.
Upon landing, as we rolled to the jetway, she had the baby up on his feet facing her. I was shutting down my iPod. The kid took interest in the bright screen and fun buttons. I looked up at him and smiled...he smiled back...and proceeded to throw up on my shirt. hot milk and cheese its. it was just a little bit. His mom gasped and turned his head the other way, and he filled his car seat with hot soup. it smelled awful. I almost threw up. she apologized a lot, and i said it was fine. It kind of wasnt, but i'd live. I exited the plane, and went immediatley to the bathroom to change my shirt. sick.
The flight from DEN to SAN was fine. i slept the entire way pretty much...listening to Interpol's "Turn on the bright light" album. relaxing.
I got a little lost in the airport because i stopped to call Jessica and let her know i made it safely. I couldnt help but feel guilt in that i had just left the person i love most for five months while i embarked on an incredible adventure sailing across the pacific ocean. It's still with me, and will probably not pass, but this is what needs to happen now, and i have no doubts that we will make it and be fine. Life won't wait, i guess. Still...she's so cute and funny...i'll miss her everyday.

Today we drove to LA to go to the Chinese Consulate and get my visa so i can get off the ship on china legally. It was a suprisingly easy task, thanks to Uncle Brian who did like two days of research prior to my arrival on what i needed to take to them...which was more than previously thought. No matter. we got the letter from matson, copies of my MMD and passport, new passport photos, application filled out, and the $160 fee. done deal. The drive there and back was incredible. the traffic...ive never seen anything like it. we took a different route coming back to the house, and stopped at a record shop on the Pacific Coast Highway, just outside of a beach community called Leucadia. cool place. i was looking for the new Ceremony record...but no such luck...they had'nt received it yet. We returned back here soon after.

This weekend will be a real good chance for me to kind of clear my head before i embark on this journey of adventure, probably some danger, and explore my mental stamina. I want to prove to these guys that im capable of doing this job; this exciting, daring job that few people choose to do for numerous reasons. Although i will miss Jessica (alot), friends and family, this is a great oppurtunity. To sail the ocean, and be able to explore these places, and just feel that sense of freedom and adventure...i just feel it's part of me. I need it. Im excited, nervous, anxious, happy, sad, etc...i think ive had every emotion run through me in the past four or five days imaginable. I've done it to myself...i take the steps...i move myself forward...and i take responsibility for the decisions and path i've chosen. And day by day, i'm becoming more and more accepting of that fact.

See yuh on the flip side... --jh--