"No Worries"

I was looking at my ticket receipt last night for Australia, when I started freaking out.

I only have one hour and 10 minutes between planes. One hour and 10 minutes to go through customs, possibly get my baggage, and re-check. I then looked up the Brisbane Airport and discovered to my dismay that I need to take an AirTrain between the domestic and international terminals because they are THREE kilometers apart.

Oh, crap. Is it enough time?

I tried to reassure myself, (and my mom tried to reassure me over Skype) saying that I had an hour and a half in Detroit to go through that mess known as US Immigration and Customs (even the US Citizen/Permanent resident line took forever!) and had to get my luggage, re-check, and go back through security. I professed my worry to The Aussie, whose response was not particularly helpful: "I told you that the Brisbane Airport was big" (he of course, has an intimate relationship with BNE since that was his local airport).

Gee thanks. I love The Aussie and all, but seriously? Right at that time men sucked. After some more minutes of conversation, I began to really freak out, thinking that I am going to miss my flight, etc. etc. If I miss my flight, I miss the bus to Canberra.

Plus, I learned that the maximum amount allowed as carry-on is 15lbs total. Either I was going to pack really, really light (thank god there is free laundry in Canberra) or I was going to miss my plane. I think I might leave my laptop behind. Ringo may be pretty light compared to the clunkers that my friends have, but it will weigh me down.

This morning, I called JetStar in Australia via Skype, knowing full well I will not get the specific information via the Japan line as easily and as quickly. Apparently, I didn't have the specific JetStar reservation number so I would have to call back later. This was at 9:30am. JTB (the travel agency I used) opens at 11:00am. It was one of those times that I really wished things were like NYC and open either at 9 or 10am. I STILL forget that the shops (except for the department stores) open at 11 as opposed to 10.

At 11:01, I called JTB. After explaining twice in Japanese, the lady told me she will look up the number and call me back. I got the number in less than 5 minutes, and called Australia again.

Good news - my flights are "thru," which means when I check-in in Osaka, I have also checked-in for my flight from BNE to SYD. Also, my luggage will go between the planes so that means I don't have to pick them up and check them in again, like I had to do in Detroit. But I am still thinking of just going with a carry-on (I will call again like a week before just to double-double check). If I do check-in my bag, it means that I can bring my laptop, but I really don't want to lug it around. Alisa pointed out that I can still tweak my presentation, but it's excess weight.

Honestly, I have no qualms running through an airport. It wouldn't be the first time (when I had known Ingram less than 24 hours, I convinced him to run through Narita in Tokyo so that we could make our connecting flight to Osaka on time).

More good news: I got the confirmation from Wake Up! Sydney - 4 Share Dorm, Female Only. Another good thing about it is that while they do take your credit card for the reservation, it's only for reservation purposes; I will pay in cash there (phew). Very happy, though I think I messed up on the number of nights that I was going to stay. I don't like it when they ask for the check-in date and the number of nights as opposed to the specific dates - it can lead to mistakes. So I counted off my fingers - yes, 2/2 to 2/7 is 5 nights, not 6 - and e-mailed them back, telling them sorry made a mistake, and these are my dates.

"No worries," was part of the reply. How cool - they actually do say "no worries" in Australia, and it's not some Crocodile Dundee thing. Mel not only hides his accent (it only comes out after a tipple and when he gives speeches/presentations) he doesn't say "no worries."

All that's left is to email Mel's mum to let her know when I am going to Sydney so she can email the family friends and let them know that the DIL is coming. They might take me around for a day. Also need to email this professor I know who is at a uni in Sydney - we met last year at a conference, so it would be cool to meet up, if only for a bit.

When I return to Japan, it is going to be very interesting (but I am being sarcastic here). They just implemented mandatory fingerprinting like the US. But unlike the US, even permanent residents (except those "special permanent residents") and those who are on visas and have the gajin card (like me) get fingerprinted. According to the news, travelers are fine by it, but a lot of the foreign residents are not happy.