Declan Murphy wrote:
> Declan Murphy wrote:
> 
>> Very strange happening at Immigration (Nagoya) - the official smiled 
>> at me.
<snip>
> Crikey! Another strange incident. The postcard approving the extension 
> has arrived already. Stamped the day after I submitted my application, 
> and received next day.
<snip>

Went in and got my visa stamp. I'm pleased to report that the normal 
"service with a snarl" is back, 1 hour 50 minutes duration, with not a 
hint of a smile anywhere. Somehow I'm finding the normalcy comforting.




-- 
"Beyond the Euphrates began for us the land of mirage and danger, the 
sands where one helplessly sank, and the roads which ended in nothing. 
The slightest reversal would have resulted in a jolt to our prestige 
giving rise to all kinds of catastrophe; the problem was not only to 
conquer but to conquer again and again, perpetually; our forces would be 
drained off in the attempt." - Emperor Hadrian AD 117-138