Last week, I joined Trader and his friends on a week-long trip out of town. Trader and I had traveled together before but this is the first time we’ve gone out together for this long.

People say that couples who travel together can either 1) get even closer, or 2) kill each other. You can really see the good and a bad of your partner if you’re forced to be with them 24/7.  What’s even better, you can really see how bad someone can react when shit happens, which btw occurs in every trip.

For example, during our trip, we’ve almost missed our train because I somehow wandered off. That surely pissed by baby off.

Also, my plate of pickled tuna sashimi don (atop of rice) fell inside my backpack. My bag stank of tuna the entire day. It happened when I tried to feed Trader a bite and for some reason, my grip wasn’t as strong as it should be and the whole plate fell into my bag. Big whoops.

My dad would’ve blown his top, sermoned me all the way to Hakone till nighttime and wouldn’t let me forget how stupid/careless I am for not holding the bowl more tightly. Trader, for whom I’m very appreciative of, simply looked at the entire mess I’ve created and then helped me with cleaning it up.

These are some of the things that I’m most appreciative of. During my trip, I’ve come to realize just how bad of a girlfriend I can be, and how good and wonderful Trader can be.

For example, not only had I this bad habit of wandering of while waiting for people, almost causing us to miss our train, but I’m also quite useless day-to-day. Put me on the phone with someone, I can easily get things done. However, I am unaware of simple things like, when getting rained, one should take a hot shower. Trader for his part quickly pulled me a hot bath and let me soak.

“I love you, but you do drive me crazy,” he said multiple times during the trip. He tends to do that when  I do something he cannot understand. “But it’s touch move (meaning, you must get what you touch or in other words, no return/exchange once touched) and I really love you.”

Sure, there are many things that I don’t think we’ve compatible about. For example, he’s a morning riser, but the early light fails to wake me up. “You’re like my sister who finds it so hard to wake up in the morning,” he said.

In another case, he’d love eating large quanties of beef bowl but I prefer a more varied menu. I cannot just eat the same thing every single day.

He also hated partying and plotted for us to return back to the hotel earlier when others still wanted to party (his excuse: we had to get up at 4:30 am to go to the famed fish market), while I was hoping to try out Tokyo’s clubbing scene just once.

Nonetheless, the trip showed me what a catch he is.

Aside from pulling me a hot bath on the day my hair got wet with the rain, he also did a lot of things for me such as:

* hold my hands frequently during the entire trip, watching and waiting to ensure that I can catch up with the group. T’was a tireful chore especially since I had a tendency to wander off when something catches my fancy.

* carry my bags when they obviously began to be too heavy. This he did despite having to carry his share of bags. “What type of boyfriend will I be if I don’t help carry my girlfriend’s bags?” he said.

* didn’t get pissed off when I was careless twice on the trip. One when my ticket fell and I had to go back and find it and two, when my food fell IN my bag.

And all the little things that one does when he/she clearly loves someone. So here I am being a useless greedy girlfriend while my boyfriend was sweet and supportive all around. Makes me wonder really – why is this wonderful man with me?

Anyway, I’m back so regular updates rolling soon. However, just wanted to say that I’m back with a stronger appreciation of Trader, and hopefully less of a tendency to chase him away.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!