If I had a chance to do the Sasebo trip all over again, here's how I'd do it right: (Personal Entry)

Time: June 28, 2008, about 8:45 AM.
Place: Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture, on the route from my dorm to Urakami Station

Foreword

Why can't I do everything right the first time? Why does my life have to always be riddled with mistakes? I often later think it through and realize how I could have done it differently to avoid those mistakes in the first place.

How the Sasebo trip could've been done better

It's some tiime after 8:30 towards the end of June. I'm in a taxi going to Michinou station when Jordan calls me and says a friend screwed up and we have to go to Urakami Eki. I have to be there by 9:04. He tells me to ask the taxi driver to take me to Urakami-Eki instead.

I tell Jordan: "Okay, I'll put you on Speakerphone so you can hear his response."

I tell the taxi driver. His response:

"______ _ _____ __ ____ ___ _____ ...Muri... ____ __ _ _____ _____ ___."

Christian: "Jordan, what did he just say? What's "Muri?""

Jordan: "Christian, Muri Means Impossible. He said that it's impossible to take you down to the station in just 10 minutes. I'm sorry, but you're gonna miss the train."

Christian: "Oh, can you all PLEASE go on without me? I'll catch up on the next train to Sasebo!"

Jordan: "Well, the next train will arrive in an hour. How'll you pass the time?"

Christian: "I brought my laptop. I'll just use it in a cafe nearby. But how do I get to the bandstand you were talkin' about?"

Jordan: "Just go out the front entrance at the station, turn left, and walk about 100 feet. You'll see the bandstand."

Christian: "Easy enough! Now, I'll tell the driver to pull into the next bus station so I can get to Urakami-Eki more cheaply the rest of the way."

Jordan: "Yeah, please do that. It's so expensive getting down here by taxi."

(At ~$4/mile with the exchange rate back then, and worse today at ~$4.41/mile, it was expensive to take a taxi in Nagasaki.)

Christian: "Okay, I'll see you Sasebo, Jordan."

Jordan: "Okay, see you then."

Christian: (Hangs up.) つぎのバスのりばをとまってください。バスにうらかみえきまでわやすいです。タクシにわたかいすぎね。"Tsugi-no basu noriba wo tomattekudasai! Basu ni Urakami-eki made wa yasui desu. Takushi-ni wa takai-sugi ne." ("Please stop at the next bus stop. To Urakami Station in a bus is cheap. In a taxi is too expensive.")

(Pays fare, leaves taxi, takes bus to Urakami-Eki, and passes the time on this laptop at a cafe nearby until the next train arrives.)

(Rides to Sasebo, then leaves the station and meets the Missionaries at the bandstand.)

Endnote

Mistakes slow me down in life, but only a few times have they stopped me. I typically learn how to do the same situation better next time if I'm ever in it again.

I don't know how many mistakes the typical guy makes but with Asperger's, I have made more than my fair share. Look on the bright side though: I've known friends who have failed out of college or decided to quit because it was too much for them. Not me. My mistakes have only slowed down my progress to graduation, but they haven't stopped me. Perseverance despite these setbacks, will eventually pay off.