I have very little of interest to say to you this week, particularly compared to last week's bonanza; in the interests of keeping the rhythm going I'm just going to chuck something up. Possibly literally, if this doom flu I have gets as bad as I imagine. Through the twin miracles of infection and sleep deprivation, I currently have the sensation of controlling myself remotely. At the press of a button, my unfeeling arms click into position; I peer at this unfamiliar world through a camera. Sternly.
I think I should probably be in what you humans call "bed".
Friday night was yet another work party, probably to celebrate not having had a work party for a whole week. Walking there turned out more interesting than the party itself - I managed to find a a hole in the wall shop called "Currywurst". As the name suggests, they serve outrageously German sausages in curry sauce. They even have a "beer set" which combines such wonders with chips and a pint of beer - they may as well be charging 1000 yen for salvation. Shortly afterwards, I found a place that sold "dessert burgers" - I am not making this up. I'm "curious" in the same way water is "damp".
Saturday we headed to a sake brewery in the middle of nowhere. We've been meaning to visit one for a while now and given that one of the PTA ladies was playing a concert, we decided this was a good excuse. Contrary to my expectations of a big factory, it was a fire-blasted little shack that looked like a settlement for people with a penchant for random vats and hoses. We weren't even sure we had the right place to begin with as we bolted out of the rain, but then a man with an American accent, Japanese clothes and an astonishing amount of chest hair beckoned us in. After trying a few of the sakes, we were taken upstairs and sat down on hammered-together wooden crate bits. Like most things in Japan, the performance was extremely Japanese with the occasional swerve into the surreal. Dressed in a kimono, the star shuffled in, bowed, sat at an ancient piano and played, among other things, James Blunt (complete with the F word). I also made the mistake of admitting my birthday was coming up and was treated to an excruciatingly embarrassing "Happy Birthday" song on stage (inexplicably forced to link arms with another poor soul who had done the same). Meanwhile, the stick-like photographer had somehow managed to tip back a whole bottle of sake and a barely muffled belch said that the two white guys behind us were attempting the same. Pictures here, in case I haven't properly captured the magic.
I don't really know what to think about it as a whole, but she was awfully talented and I'm fairly sure I had a good time. I'm also hoping we built up some "sophistication" points for this that can be spent on bowling and nachos later. Having said that, we went to dinner at a place with a chocolate fondue fountain so we may well have spent them already.
In other news, I just recorded a listening test with the last husky squeak of my voice, so the students can spend their exam week wondering who this sexy stranger on the tape recorder is. With that, I think the last of my work is done so I can hopefully afford to sit in my jammies and drink cups of coffee for the rest of the week. I wonder if anyone will notice the difference.
Hehe sounds like a harsh come down from the dizzying highs of being the most sought after Italian plumber in the world. I had a look at the flickr photos, they're hilarious and there are SO many of them.
ReplyDeleteI laughed at "astonishing" amount of chest hair. Where did he sit on the Carson Kressly to Robin Williams scale?
Yeah, lots and lots. We still haven't heard whether we won the hunt. The photo album's all killer no filler so we bloody better.
ReplyDeleteImagine a cross between Robert Downey Junior and Danny Devito, in a dark blue dressing gown. We're definitely up the yeti end of the scale.