Saturday, April 24, 2004

posted by: copernicus on 4/24/2004 10:32:00 AM
Ok, here it is, the final volume. I got about halfway through finding pictures for this, but now google is not working for some reason and I'm done trying. So, here you go, as is.

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SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE VOL. 5 of 5
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Feb 27th, 2000. Now on plane back to Seoul, Korea .

Yesterday went to the Sydney Observatory . Looked at Venus & the Sun through their 16 inch telescope. They use a solar filter that reduces sunlight to 1 part in 100,000. The Sun looked like a dull orange ball with tiny black spots . Each was a sunspot the size of the Earth or bigger.

Met a girl named Chloe last night at a jazz bar around the corner from our hotel. She's a 22 year old art student @ University of Sydney . Ended up back at her apartment, split a bottle of wine and a few joints. Made it back to the hotel at 5 a.m., just in time for an hour nap, then everyone was up to pack and head to the airport.
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Just passed over Jayapura, Indonesia. Will cross Equator in about 30 minutes. 6 hours to Seoul.
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Now 3 hours from Seoul. Passing between Manila, Philippines & Guam . An enormous volcanic eruption has been taking place in Manila for the last week, I thought we might see some effects from here, but I see only the Pacific Ocean and white clouds.
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41 minutes 'till Seoul. Just flew over Southern Japan - a lot of small islands. One is called Fukuoka, just south of Hiroshima & Kitakyushu . Now over Korean Straight headed for Pusan, Kimhae, Taegu, Tae Jon, Seoul, Inchon Osan & Won Ju. In the last 3 weeks we've been in or flown over dozens of historic battle sites from WWII and the Korean War, from Japan all the way down to the Coral Sea where we were scuba diving .
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Just boarded the plane in Seoul, and then de-boarded. We had engine failure before we even taxied.
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After a 1&1/2 hour delay, we got on another plane. We're now waiting to taxi and take off. Another crew of hottie Korean stewardesses, but these too wear way too much make-up. This airline must only hire attractive women, not one has even been average-looking.

I guess they don't have discrimination suits in Korea.
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Just flew over Mount Fuji again - also Yokohama & Tokyo. It's night & we're at 30,000 feet, so I couldn't see much except that it is totally developed. Every inch all the way up to the water, it makes a perfect outline of the city & coast.

As Japan recedes through the window, it is the last land or light I'll see until sunrise over the coast of California.
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2 hours from Los Angeles. On the way to Australia it took 12 hours to get from L.A. to Seoul. On the way back, Seoul to L.A. is a 9 hour trip thanks to an 80 mph tail wind.
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Now in Salt Lake City. Sitting on a plane waiting to taxi and fly to Kansas City. However, this last leg of my journey has an interesting precursor: my flight # is 2012, as is my email address and the subject of many random events and theories. Perhaps 2012 is my own sychronistic prophecy.

We shall soon see if we make it home.

Flight 2012, seat 2D, gate C12. They sealed the door at 4:44 p.m. I'm surprised that in this possible numerological sign there isn't a 7 somewhere. As some know, my number is 27. What they don't know is that 0, 1, 2, & 7 have followed me in different combinations for years. Usually it is 1 & 2 together or 2 & 7 together, but occasionally I get strings of all or most like today.

But it's the 28th of February. If we were going to crash, it should be yesterday.

444 haunts John on a regular basis.
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It's a beautiful day in The Land of Dumb-Ass Religious Beliefs. About 38 degrees, partly cloudy. Rain clouds make way for the sun and move across the mountains whose tops are hidden in the clouds.

-The End-