It's now official... well sort of. I got all the approvals for a vacation back home! So I got the oks for a vacation starting the 24th of September until the 8th of October (Japan time). I think it's 2 weeks. So as soon as I'm ok'd I go to the local travel agency to go ahead and book the flight. Turns out that for JAL (the only airline carrier that the travel agency works with) the 24th is the last cut off date for a certain price. On the 25th, the following day, the price drops 10,000 yen (about $85). But the thing is that while the start day for my vacation is adjustable, the end day is not. So, I sat there at the travel agency for a while thinking about whether an additional day in the States is worth $85. 24 hours for $85. A little more than $3 an hour.
The other thing I'm wondering is whether it would be a good idea to go visit Ben Tao in VA. Of course time and money are a concern. Ehh, I'll just go shop around, see what the prices are with other travel agencies and choose from there. No problem. In the meantime, aww yeah, it's time for a homecomin'.