The dumpling king, a tale in 2 parts (Part 2)

We left off our tale "last week" with Dave having just arrived, me wondering how I was going to last the week without squeaking to a halt like an unoiled tin-man and you unsure as to what "the dumpling king" refers to. Now that the lads have finished their whirlwind trip (Dave having bid farewell and left for Tokyo this morning), I'm sitting in what now seems to be a very empty, lonely apartment; it seems like a good time to conclude the tale. Theirs weren't the only goodbyes this week, as you will see.

Like the Beatles but hairier

The "big weekend" has come and gone, a true salute to the phrase "when it rains, it pours". I've been trying to work out how to put it into words for a good couple of days now; I'm not entirely sure I've got it right but I'll give it a shot anyway. Needless to say, this is going to be a long post.

The story begins somewhat uninterestingly early last week where one of my Deputy Principals asks if I can shift my working schedule around a bit and come to their Culture Festival. It ends somewhat ridiculously in Kobe with handstands, fake moustaches and beer through a straw. Like a hamburger with too many patties, it's the bit in between that might make things a bit unwieldy.

On costumes and cooling

Perhaps inspired by a post I did at the other blog about Japan's buffet culture, Lis and I went out on Friday night for all you can eat yakiniku ("grilled meat" or BBQ). The concept is a solid one - vegetables and thinly sliced meat tossed on a table-mounted brazier, then plucked off at your leisure, dipped in sauces and regretted afterwards. Yakiniku is fairly expensive, as is all you can eat, so we were happy to get away with 25 bucks a head or so for the combination. This is one of the few situations you would pay that much to eat dinner out in Japan, mind you - it tends to be closer to $15 when you're not eating most of a barnyard.

Hi ho, hi ho

My brain really didn't want to admit that the break was over, and that there's now an almost uninterrupted 10 week slog to summer holidays. I'm sure once I get into the swing of it I'll be fine and I'll hardly realise the weekend is gone before there's another one. For now though, I'm going to crossly get out of bed and frown all the way on the train to work. So long holidays, and thanks for all the fish.

For Queen and Country

I hadn't heard too much of Saint George to be honest, much less the day named after him, beyond the little picture of him on the side of my beer bottle. I still don't really, aside from the fact that he makes for a mean excuse to run around Kobe with a camera looking for creative interpretations of the word "corgi".

A snapshot of our torrid lives

If you ever find yourself thinking "What are Mike and Lisa doing in Kobe right this second?", wonder no more. We're probably eating something like this or this, or winning any one of these things. I'm awfully proud of the hat.

Proper update tomorrow!

Lisa's blog

It's way prettier than mine.

If nothing else, check out the picture of the monolithic hamburg dinner I had the other night. It includes the better part of 3 different animals and will either make you hungry or vegetarian.

I'll see y'all after snowboarding - possibly Sunday if I have any energy/bones left.