The Kobe Conference

All things considered, Kobe's conference for recontracting JET's wasn't the total waste just about everybody told me it would be.

There were some good presentations mixed in with the less than useful ones.

And I got to ride the Shinkansen for the first time.



Note the little touches - the arm rest on the window - that are the hallmark of Japanese thinking and courtesy.





Sadly, it didn't remain this empty the whole trip.



The Hotel accomodations were quite spiffy... note the flat screen TV and good balcony views...







And Bobby was my roomate [he that's giving the crazy eyes in the picture - though once I did wake up in the middle of the night to find him hovering over my bed with the same look. Odd, huh?], a nice and pleasant fella from Hawaii who's a pleasure hang with. At least that's what I tell him to his face [Hi Bobby!].



The young lady stuffing her grill is Sara [Hi Sara!], another Hawaii refugee and friend of Bobby's [poor Sara!] who joined Bobby and me at very cool Kobe Jazz club one night [Sone] and afterwards was forced to endure our company as we leeched on to her. Very nice and sweet girl, far too good for the company she was forced to keep.