All quiet in the Land of the Rising Sun

As I've mentioned in previous posts, this time of year, Japan is 13 hours ahead of the New York.

So, around 2 or 3 PM JST, everything starts to quiet down. I stop receiving personal email. My Google reader feed dries up. My friends on GChat start to become idle. Even Facebook slows to a crawl.

By now (nearly 7 PM), the loneliness has truly set in. For extroverts like me, electronic communication is an incredible thing. Suddenly, I can easily stay in regular contact with dozens of people all around the world, sporadically catch up with hundreds more, and keep tabs on thousands.

But, this only works when waking hours overlap. Since the vast majority of my friends are on the East Coast, my extended social circle is a function of what it is there, not here.

Luckily, as happens every day, the 6 AM early risers in the US will be up shortly to keep me company. And so, another slow afternoon comes to a close.