I've arrived safely and am already halfway through a business day here (slackers). It is unfortunate that flying here means you lose a day, but I'm looking forward to making up a whole extra day coming back.
So far it has been a relatively easy transition. Sure I don't speak any Japanese and I feel kind of rude having to do a lot of pointing and mumbling, but everyone has been extremely nice and at the office there are several co-workers who speak english well.
I couldn't find my camera before I left (but thanks for loaning me the charger anyway, Anil) so I'm missing out on a million photo opportunities. It seems like if any place had disposable digital cameras it'd be here.
A side affect of Vox being so media rich is without any photos to share I feel the post is meaningless, somehow.
Usually before a game I'm a nervous wreck. This time I decided I'd do everything opposite - I didn't worry about hydrating or sleeping or relaxing. I kept my mind off the outcome of the game and focused instead on how much fun I've had playing over the last few years - and how after 11 games I shouldn't be so nervous anymore!
The first period wasn't looking so great. By the end the Outlaws were trailing by 15 and I think some of the audience had given up hope. We regrouped and had a much better second period.
The next few minutes were hectic and in the end somehow the Outlaws managed to pull of winning the game by just a few points. It was a most excellent way to tie up a long and difficult season. My team was definitely the underdog going in to the game, and it made me very happy to see them all step up and play so well together.
More photos can be found at our photographer's site theneverman.net