The Futility of Superhuman Expectations or, On Not Outwilling Jet Lag

My friend Trainor often tells me, "Ok, Kathryn, you are not that special." She tells me this when I am despondent and/or stressed out about not meeting the incredibly high standards to which I hold myself, but would never dream of holding anyone else. Also, I can't think of anyone who ever calls me "Kathryn" besides the woman who chose the name (who, too, is named Kathryn).

I am thinking about Trainor's wisdom right now, at 3:00 a.m. on a Thursday morning in Japan. Yesterday I was feeling so smug because I was certain I had outwilled the worst of my jet lag. I thought, for reasons I couldn't explain but didn't mind taking credit for, that I had managed to get almost normal sleep the first night in Japan and stay up doing normal things during the day. At 4:30, I told my mom that I was going to take a little nap until Mike got home from work and we'd leave for dinner in town at the most delicious Korean BBQ place ever. I vaguely remember her coming in to the guest room at almost 9:00 to tell me that she'd decided to make dinner at home instead. I finally woke up 20 minutes ago, after 11 hours of sleep.

So, once again, I am not that special. I get really bad jet lag traveling to the other side of the world, just like everyone else. I am glad I have Trainor to help me embrace it. It's actually kind of empowering.

Now I need to do something cool when I'm awake during the day because I know Serge wants some kind of travel post on Egomania Strike. Also, I am dying to hear more about Mattie's audition for his high school musical, which is 80s-themed. He was not alive during the 80s, which makes me feel old. I believe he told me on the way upstairs yesterday afternoon that he auditioned singing, "Good Old Fashioned Loverboy." He is one of my favorite people ever.

IMPATIENT

Dear Time,

Please start moving faster. This semester is interminable. I just want to be in Japan already, seeing my family and hanging out and having Christmas cheer. I miss them. They affirm my life. You understand.

Love,
Kate

The TV Ties that Bind

Last night I had a fantastic time watching the two-hour Heroes premiere that Matt DVR-ed for me in Southeast while I was in class on Monday. I had to make cookies for work and I was really excited to accomplish two things at once, so I drove in to the city after class. This was also an opportunity to continue my new mission of teaching Matt life skills before he goes to college, though I’m not sure that knowing how to bake cookies will make him that popular on his future hall of 18-year-old boys.

Matt was in Japan for two years and I was worried about losing touch with him because of the time difference, not really talking on the phone, his active social life as a high school kid, and how incredibly lazy he is about answering my emails. Actually, though, we had many shared cultural experiences while he was in Japan being a kid and I was in D.C. trying to be an adult. I am, of course, talking about TV.

There are so many easy reasons to vilify television. It’s rotting the brains of America’s youth. Watching TV uses less brainpower than sleeping. TV contributes to obesity in the children who aren’t playing outside while they’re watching marathons of Hannah Montana. Etc., etc., etc. I get it. I agree with some of it, especially the obesity argument. However, watching TV together is a tie that binds my family, so I can’t get totally on board with the argument that TV is evil. It shouldn’t be a substitute for parenting, but if you’re watching selected shows with your kids then it can be a decent source of family time.

My family has geeked out to many shows in the past five or six years since TV on DVD became ubiquitous. Now my mom and Mike don’t have to suffer through commercials and can turn on closed captioning because they are losing their hearing more every day. Before we were in to TV on DVD and I went away to college, we often watched multiple movies in a weekend. James, Matt, and I also played soccer, t-ball, volleyball, baseball, karate, and basketball; Mike ran and biked (still does); we all read like crazy (well, except for Mike); my mom did logic and crossword puzzles; Matt and James played video games (together, often); and we always sang like ridiculous people in car (Laura could always be counted on to join right in if she was around). However, watching five episodes in a row of Gilmore Girls, The Office, Monk, or The West Wing, etc. is one of the ways we prefer to spend time together. Also, it’s not like we’re watching I Love New York.

When they were in Japan and I was in D.C. they got hooked on Heroes around the same time I did, when the first season came out on DVD. I have Amin, Musson, and Adam to thank for convincing me to overcome my fear of watching something that might be slightly scary; my family members are each much braver than I am. Once we figured out we were all watching it, Heroes became a way for us to connect with each other via phone, email, and when I visited at Christmas (we watched the entire second season that I had missed). Heroes connected Matt and me the most because we are geeks who will sit at our computers and read additional information about the show on blogs and Wikipedia. We have to share and dissect this information with each other because no one else we know would possibly care.

Other families might cook together, or ski, or sing, or tap dance. We watch TV and marvel at intricately woven stories and cool special effects. I loved every minute of the two-hour episode last night (Tim Kring is back on his A-game), but even more than that I loved that my baby brother was interested enough to watch it again and spend two hours with me. He also learned how to make cookies.