Sensei and Sensibility
Monday, February 21, 2005
And So the Worlds Collide...
February 18, 2005: I woke up at 10am, after working until 3am at Starbucks. I was working with 2 new people, and I myself was new to closing (previously, I couldn't do closes because the bus didn't run late enough to get me home - now I am within stumbling distance). It was a hairy experience, trying to close down a store, and the espresso machine. My mind was whirling, and I still couldn't sleep at 4am ... dozed off...10am and my eyes were open...the ominous thought of "this is the day" repeating itself over and over in my mind.
I drank my coffee and read the newspaper, paying careful attention to the horoscope. Today was a good day for me to travel - not much in that, I thought.
I puttered. Then I puttered some more. I tried to distract myself in the world of "The Young and the Restless", but to no avail. Flowers came from my ever thoughtful sister. My stomach was doing flip-flops as fear was taking over. I had received an e-mail that there were problems at the Osaka airport - at first, they were unwilling to issue Yoshi a boarding pass because his ticket was open for a year, but he didn't have a visa. I was quietly anticipating problems. What if they sent him back? Would they contact me? Would they let me see him, even through glass, so that we could touch fingers and gaze into each others' eyes?
I walked to the flower shop and bought him the most perfect red rose that I could find. I stopped by Starbucks to get a coffee to calm my nerves, I hopped on the bus to the airport. I treated myself to a donut at 5pm - his flight was landing at 6pm, so I had the time.
No, wait, the plane was landing at 6:15. I need a whopper junior to calm my nerves...
Now the sign said 6:35. Time to settle myself in front of the TV and try to think of something else - Zoolander, the movie on TBS for the moment. I checked my watch incessantly. 6:35. He won't be coming out for a bit. 6:45- I lined up with the masses to greet him. 7pm - the flight attendants from his plane started to come through. 7:15 pm - the passengers from his plane started to come through. I looked up expectantly at the TV screen that showed the passengers coming down the hallway. No Yoshi. Maybe I missed him? 7:35 - I did a quick run around of the arrivals area to make sure I didn't miss him. 8pm, I clutched the rose harder and walked up to the glass to try to find him - there were no more passengers from his flight coming out. Other people were staring at me - this girl with a furrowed brow frantically clutching a rose. The story of my stress was etched on my face, but the lines did not betray the depth of my fear.
8:15 - still no Yoshi. I needed a drink.
8:20 - I looked down, thinking about how I would find out what had happened to him and trying not to cry. "Sabine" I heard softly. My head snapped up and there he was in front of me! Forgetting about the railing that impeded us, we hugged, and I gave him the now-limp rose.
He had been waylayed by the immigration officers, and the line-up coming from Taipei had been hideous. Luckily, the officers were very kind and helpful to him. They asked him what he was doing in Canada (why would he have a one year open ticket when he supposedly only wants a 6month visitor's visa?). He explained that he was visiting "Friends and Family". They wanted to know what family he was visiting, since he had never been to Canada before. He admitted that he was visiting his wife. They instantly understood - he hadn't received his residency papers yet, but wanted to be with his wife. They informed him that his six-month visitors visa could be extended if he showed someone a copy of our marriage certificate, and sent him on his way.
And with that, he was here :)
The taxi ride from the airport was.... well, as they would say on the riverbank, that was another story! ;)
 Sabine . 10:47 AM . Comments
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