One thing I did not plan was a hotel room in Osaka. This would be fun. However, I learned from yesterday that this would have to be the first thing to accomplish. I dropped my backpack off in a coin locker, and walked into each hotel I saw until I found one with a price I was happy with. This time I only walked for about 30 minutes to an hour before I found the hotel. I was happy about that.
The next challenge, however, would be meeting my friend. I had her phone number and through skype I was able to call her. However, she did not answer, and I had to leave a message. I was unsure what the mechanical voice was telling me about her phone when she did not answer, but I left a message anyways. I wasn't sure if dialed right, or if I was allowed to leave a message, but I talked, and hoped for the best. I also sent her emails to call me at the hotel.
This was all just as well because I felt exauhsted, and wanted to lay down and relax until she called. The only problem with that was that I had to pick up my backpack from the train station. I decided that if I missed her call, I could call back, and, as tired as I was, I set out to the train station to pick up my bag. While I was at the train station, I saw an information booth. Since I didn't plan anything in Osaka, and I din't know about anything that might be interesting to see here, I check this place out. The nice lady gave me a lot of information about different things that I might be interested in, and she told me how to get there. She was also very sure to check if each of my destinations would be open when I decided to visit. I couldn't imagine any spot being closed on a Friday or Saturday, but I obliged her desire to check for me. Indeed, everything would be open. It started to feel like this stop in Osaka just might work out well.
By the time I got back to the hotel to settle in, and make myself comfortable, it was about 4pm, and I was exauhsted. I felt like if I laid down and rested my eyes for a moment, I might rejuvenate enough for when my friend wanted to meet. However, I wasn't really fooling myself; I've come to an age where I have learnt enough about myself to know that if I lie down and I feel the compulsion to close my eyes, I will fall asleep. And so I did.
I probably slept for about four hours when the hotel phone woke me up. My friend told me that she had already made it home for the day, and that it would be better if we met tomorrow. That was just fine with me since, even after a four hour nap, I still felt tired.
I then got the bright idea that moving from place to place, and not really knowing where I would spend the next night, was making me uncomfortable, nervous, and anxious. So I used this off-time to check online, and find some cheap accommodations for the rest of my trip. Indeed, my experiment in not planning was allowing me to survive, but it was not allowing me to enjoy myself. I checked the rest of my itinerary, and decided that how to best solidify it, and I made reservations for just about the rest of my trip. (A couple of things were still up in the air, so I didn't plan every single thing yet.)
Before going back to sleep, I decided that I should take a shower so that I can wake up fresh in the morning, and get a great start to my day. Another error that I realize that I have made with the lack of planning in this trip is that August has got to be the hottest month in the northern hemisphere. So where do I decide to spend the end of the hottest month? I'm in a country where most of the cities are covered with concrete. I now expect that every day here, even if it rains, will feel like steam is coming up from the ground, and down from the sky. It is ridiculous how hot and humid it has been here. I honestly thought that I might be able to get away with not bathing every single day, and thus save on my laundry requirements. This is not going to happen. I expect that some days will be so hot that I will have to change my clothes twice in one day. That's why I had to take a shower after taking a nap.
I was so tired I could barely bath myself, so I just sat down in the tub, and let the water from the massaging showerhead fall down on me. After gathering enough energy to finish the shower, I opened the shower curtain and was shocked for a moment. The mirror was clear! The long shower had percipitation dripping from the walls and the ceiling, but a perfect square of mirror just above the bathroom sink was perfectly clear, while the rest of the mirror was steamed over. I suppose that in the grand scheme of things, this is a minor technological feat, but if it is so minor, then why hasn't it spread all over the world. I know that I would love to get out right out of a hot shower in New York, and immediately be able to shave. Why isn't this technology in America? And if it is, then why isn't it everywhere?
No comments:
Post a Comment