July 18th, 2005 - Day 1

I don't remember much about the night before, but as I'm sure I breathe, I'm sure I barely slept. My bags were packed, my clothes for the next day were laid out, and every other little preparation had been taken care of. I remember glancing not so tiredly at the clock on my desk and seeing, quite irritably, that it was four in the morning. While I knew that sleep was something that I didn't exactly need, and that I would have an opportunity to do so for many hours the next day, I was simply frustrated. Trying to sleep, and not being able to, has always been a severe pet peeve for me. It wasn't unreasonable though, and when I finally did nod off, I'm sure that the only thought on my mind was where I would soon be headed when I woke up.

Japan.