Of course, all local, state and federal officials have closed down most all government offices EXCEPT for the Baltimore City government, my employer. Non-essential (non-emergency) employees were on "liberal leave," meaning that we could choose to take off, but we would still have to use a vacation or personal leave day. That wasn't acceptable for me because I am still on probation, and choosing to stay home would mean that I would give up a work day because I have no vacation/personal leave days to use. The result is that I went to work while the storm was still in its early stages, though the wind blew me around and broke my umbrella. Anyway, I stayed a few hours and realized how imprudent I was before dashing back to safety.
I got back and watched an episode of TOKYOエアポート～東京空港管制保安部～, starring Kyoko Fukada, who I've dismissed as a horrible actress for the longest time. The mere idea that this dorama would be focused on airport staff made me shiver, but I gave it a chance anyway. And actually, it's a very good dorama. They do a good job sticking to what the airport staff actually do without dramatizing it so much. Of course a little exaggeration is necessary, but the overall product is pretty good. Kyoko Fukada is a better actress, probably because she's matured a little bit. The support cast isn't bad.
The only major complaint I have with this is the horrible English. The ground staff at the airport communicate with the pilots using English, like most international Airports do, but that forces Kyoko Fukada and the other case to speak in a foreign tongue, obviously. It's quite horrendous, and I wouldn't be able to tell what the heck they're saying but for the Japanese subtitles underneath. It's even more comical because whenever the script gets a little more complicated than just the basic "clear to land" or "reduce speed," the characters switch to Japanese. The pilots that they communicate with are conveniently Japanese, but that's a little unrealistic. Just my take, but the latest episode wasn't half bad!
