Red Cup Day

There is something magical about red cup day.

Yes, I know. In the olden days, people used to get excited about the crispness in the air, the change in the leaves, the first snowfall, cranberry harvests, and sleigh rides.

They also used to walk uphill both ways barefoot in a storm to school.

But this is 2009, and I'm in Japan. So Red Cup Day was extra special this year.

There's just something about the first Starbucks drink of the season from a red, Christmas-y cup that puts a whole lotta joy on my face. And since I NEVER GOT A PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE (wtf, Japanese Starbucks?), I was more than ecstatic to accept a delicious, tasty Gingerbread Latte today as an oishii consolation prize.

Alright, I know. Stop right there. "But Christopher-san", you say, "I thought that you pretty much hated Starbucks coffee and its big business practices and that you championed local coffee shops instead."

And you're right. I do. But, like any red-blooded American, I occasionally love a really good Starbucks latte, especially when I'm 7000 miles from home and guess what?!, a red cup feels like home.

So that Gingerbread Latte was quite delicious, and though we are lacking in the Eggnog, Pumpkin Spice (seriously, WTF?) and Peppermint Mocha varieties, I am looking forward to tasting the Dark Cherry Mocha and the Caramel Eclair (it supposedly tastes sweet AND salty).

And yes, I just spent the last 10 paragraphs talking about Starbucks.

But I mean, that's what I love Red Cup of LIFE day.

And then we had 3 dress rehearsals for Christmas BBB of which I got to watch 2. And even though we've been rehearsing it for over a month, I HAD NO IDEA HOW AMAZING AND INCREDIBLE OUR CHRISTMAS SHOW IS.

Sorry, I'll really try to stop type-shouting at you. Gomen nosai.

But seriously, if I thought that one coffee corporation I previously mentioned could be magical with a red cup, just imagine what the huge-normous corporation I work for could do with a big band, tap dancers, crazy singers, some of their flagship characters, and some snazzy jazzy Christmas tunes.

I mean, who needs to do White Christmas on Broadway when I get to SING "White Christmas" solo on a fog-covered stage with a big band, a french horn solo, while Mickey and Minnie Mouse dance a SICK (and touching) pas de deux? OH. And I ALSO get to do the best solo arrangement of "Let It Snow" you've ever heard, and, by the way, make it SNOW on the audience.

Eat your heart out Randy Skinner.

So thanks, Disney. Who needs Broadway when you are giving me some of the best spectacle I've ever seen in 15 minutes? I mean, Donald Duck on a scooter? 8 foot snowballs? A giant moving Frosty? And the most glamorous throwing up of red onstage (sorry HSM) I've ever seen? You better WORK.

And I apologize to all my real Radio City friends out there, but these Japanese girls are kicking their faces and READY to take over if any of you can't quite make it onstage. They are phenomenal.

So yeah. Christmas BBB and Red Cups and Gingerbread Lattes make me MECHA genki.

And then Evan and I lived it up at Zensushi across the street and the onsen.

AND I don't have to do anything but show up to work tomorrow AND we get out 3 hours earlier than a normal day AND I'm going to Outback AND Blair and I are going to sing and play together.

I'm definitely in the Christmas spirit!

All in an aka ipai day!

Tokyo Good, NWA Bad

So today had two major parts: One good, one bad. Let's start with the good, shall we?

I have rarely in my life felt as much pressure to be perfect from Day 1 as I have whilst rehearsing here at TDR, but voila! In 3 days and about 17 hours of rehearsal time, I have been fully thrown into an entire show. With 19 cast members (actually more with the doublings), and 30 minutes of non-stop dancing, singing, and character fun. Surprisingly, I feel quite confident after today's rehearsal. I can't believe I literally have learned and run the entire show top to bottom, but the work ethic in Japan is incredible. So much is expected of you, and yet look how quickly we can accomplish and create something great.

Not so secretly? I ADORE Mickey and Minnie's Summer Vacation. The Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride number with the dancers is RIDICULOUS. Those boys are hitting it so hard I'm in awe. And remember, these dancers aren't double cast and do the show EVERY time full out. No marking. WHOA. I got to watch it when Campbell ran it today and I am just in awe of our characters. They are SO GOOD at what they do. And I'm sure the height difference with me is comical (all of them except the Goofy's are obviously very short). But they give you full face and words and energy and PERFORMANCE every time. It really is incredible to think I'll be sharing the stage not only with so many talented Japanese, but also Disney Characters! Chip and Dale even stopped by our rehearsal today and looked so cute in their raincoats!

I'm really proud of the work we are doing, but I feel like I'm doing the ship all over again (process-wise of being the lead singer). It's honestly so hard to learn simple mover choreography! I'd almost rather have crazy dance steps so at least it didn't all bleed together. Especially when half the words are Spanish/Japanese and don't mean anything to me besides rote memorization! And it's so strange going from being such an ensemble player in HSM to having to "own" the stage with Divo confidence whilst still being secondary to Mickey. But I'm getting there... I think.

Tomorrow... Clean and Run. Whole show. 3 days. Wow.

Other positive things... I got my schedule and it looks like I will have a pretty normal schedule (not the crazy 6/7 day weeks I expected) so I don't have to worry about squeezing Fuji in this weekend if there's no one with whom to go. I can wait for Blair since she's all about it and go mid-August on one of my two-day weekends! Hopefully tomorrow we'll stop by the BBB theatre and maybe meet some new friends to get a couch and a bike! And I got more hangers from Campbell (and a Xmas tree for later) so I'm officially suitcase FREE!

Bad news:

The NWA saga only deepens... this could be a long battle, folks. Watch for recaps here at "A Toph Out of Water".

Today's madness: So I tried calling NWA to speak to someone about the clear overcharge for my baggage. After "choosing my own adventure" with the "Customer Care" number on the website about 15 times, I finally gave up and called reservations since I couldn't get anywhere. Turns out Miss Wendy at reservations let me in on a little secret. "Customer Care" is actually "Customer, we don't care (unless you're an elusive "Elite" member)" and is a DEAD END. NO LIE, readers. The supervisor at reservations actually told me that calling Customer Care will lead you to nowhere. And they wonder why I'm infuriated.

After explaining my situation, Wendy politely declined to help me (she does work in reservations after all) and I let her have it. When all was said and done, I learned a few things. Contrary to popular belief, having a reservation doesn't mean your ticket was purchased. Turns out, as we scrolled down the website on the phone TOGETHER, when I explained the "Tickets purchased prior to June 27, 2009" link, Wendy told me I was crazy. Apparently, according to her, my ticket was purchased July 14, 2009. However, I proceeded to say, okay, let's say that's true, and scroll down the page to the table for International Pacific Travel where IT STILL SAYS heavy bag fees are only $50! I literally said, "I'd JUST LIKE ONE NWA EMPLOYEE TO AFFIRM THAT THEY SEE THIS WITH THEIR OWN EYES TOO. IT CLEARLY SAYS 50 DOLLARS". At which point, Wendy promptly turned into a banana-throwing monkey and somehow couldn't find where I was on the website. She did reassure me that if I Fax or Snail Mail Customer Service with my receipt and a detailed explanation of it all, that I would most likely get a refund of the over charges. To which I asked her why I couldn't call someone directly, but she told me that I would never get through. At least she was honest.

I then further clarified with her that I was also on a Coach-Class Y full-fare ticket, which meant I should've been able to have a 3rd bag at NO CHARGE. Which I OFFERED TO DO IN THE AIRPORT. So now, in my humble opinion, NWA owes me $180. She did say it was a Y2R class, "but we still treat that as full-fare". So, I then ask, why the desk agents in NYC treated me like a terrorist. I explained to her that I am a US Citizen, a nice, polite, down-home Midwest boy who specifically was trying NOT to make a scene in JFK. She said that baggage rules are changing mutiple times daily due to merging with Delta and KLM, agents are instructed NEVER to go by memory, and to always look it up in the matrix. I asked if they had internet access and could have pulled up the website, and she said they only had local network access to the NWA matrix but it would still read the same. So now we have established in MULTIPLE ways that I was correct about everything except (according to Wendy) my ticket purchase date. I politely asked her one final question. Is my April 2010 return flight RESERVED or PURCHASED?She said it was considered PURCHASED and I should be subject to the baggage agreements made at time of purchase. July 14, 2009. So on the way home, theoretically, I should have 2 (more likely 3) bags free for 50 lbs. With a $50 overage fee. Pshaw. I'll believe it when it happens. And that means the gate agent lied to me YET AGAIN. And that was the "nice" second lady I went too. PSHAW.

Continental, I'm so glad you are leaving this BS since you have all my miles.

So now I am going to try one more option, the Refunds number from 8 AM to 4 PM CST listed on the website (I had to wait due to the time change). I don't trust Big Brother (NWA) and have saved all relevant information on my computer, including web pages, because I have a sneaking suspicion the website may magically change by tomorrow morning. I even called my mother to ask her to print out the baggage rules for evidence in case they change the website. Seriously. It's that bad. You can do it too for backup if you'd like.

Lesson? Don't fly Delta or Northworst unless you want a migraine. And never, ever, ever expect anything to be fixed AFTER your flight. Good luck with post-flight bureaucracy.