Does this sound like jet lag to you?

I can’t fall asleep at the right time and, once I do, I’m awakened for no apparent reason. My timing is all thrown off. I am lonely and in unfamiliar territory. I’m trying to figure out how to make international calls so that I can talk to a loved one. I keep doing quick calculations to figure out what time it is halfway around the world.

Somehow, my husband has given me his jet lag! I didn’t even know that was possible. He’s in Japan right now and I’m not. I’m still in San Diego, but I stay up like an insomniac because I’m not used to sleeping alone in our bed. I’m woken up two hours before the normal time because that’s the only time he can call me.

Besides the fact that my schedule is thrown off, the biggest problem is that I’m envious beyond rationality. When I figured out how to dial his hotel room in Tokyo and I heard the operator speaking in Japanese, her words ending in the familiar word, “Gozaimas,” I felt like hopping on the next plane to Asia.

And this does relate to food… when I heard that he was headed to Japan on business, I pulled out all the stops to try and get him to take me along with him. I even surprised him with his very-favorite “Daniel Cookies,” a family recipe so treasured that I don’t think I’ll ever be allowed to share it here. But alas, the cookies failed to work their magic and it became obvious that a second trip to Japan in 2005 wasn’t meant to be for me. I’m a teacher and the school year just began, so it’s not like I could have left anyway.

But that doesn’t mean I’m not jealous.

Daniel calls and tells me how his hosts took him to eat Shabu Shabu on the first night. The next night, after his big presentation, they went to a three-hour meal where the sashimi and chicken skewers and other delectables just kept pouring out the kitchen, along with beers and sake and plum wine. He ate all different types of sashimi - flounder, bonito, sweet baby shrimp, scallop, squid & octopus. His favorite dish was a very lightly fried toro. Last night, hishosts took him to Akihabara, Tokyo Tower, and izakaya for dinner. Izakaya is a Japanese-style bar with small plates of cheap food that perfectly suits a night of drinking.

I can’t handle many more days of this – hearing about the amazing Japanese food I’m missing out on.

But really, I’m happy for him. Right?