What's in a name?

My travel agent sent my round-trip ticket to the US today. I waited for it since Monday but I was preoccupied with more urgent things so didn't pay enough attention to the information written on it. At the back of my mind, I was urging myself to at least give it a quick look as I had so many troubles before with my name being misspelt. But then I thought that I didn't have to worry in the slightest because Japanese employees make sure that everything goes without flaws or delay. Besides, I already clearly informed them that my name was unique so they should be very careful not to misspell it. Later in the morning, somebody from the accounting department rang me for the receipts to be handed over to them right away for reimbursement later on so I took time to look at the tickets. Mmmmm... ok... ok.. good job, my name perfectly spelled. Great! I am going down to the accounting department. But then again, I felt that something was not in the proper order. I checked again and great heavens, if only I could loudly swear in school, I should have shocked eveybody. My name and surname were interchanged! I suddenly became another person.

Frustrated, I called my travel agent and my original flight schedule ended up being cancelled. Another learning experience, huh. The result? I am taking a separate flight from my classmates who are going to the same convention. I'll be traveling across the Pacific with my guardian angel and my shadow. Well, I am used to getting around alone so this is a piece of cake. I will just drown the suffocating boredom of long haul flights by listening to my favorite songs. I endured the 13 hour direct flight from Paris to Bangkok and arrived as strong as a horse, so the 12 hour journey from Tokyo to Chicago must not be that tedious. Anyways, please pray for my safe trip.