weekend of October 8

it was liz:s b-day so we had a bunch of friends come into town and we raised some serious hell. friday nite we got dolled up and i took her out for a nice italian dinner and some good red wine, a big DOC cabernet, served cold of course, like all the reds in the country.

we sat at a bar up against a huge window that looked over a rock garden and waterfountain. the lighting in the restaurant was exceptional and the ambiance was youthful and trendy. started with broiled sea scallops with a tomato coulis. then had a beautiful cheese plate of parmagiano-reggiano, roquefort, gouda, camembert and pecorino served with hot crusty bread. the gorgonzola gnocchi is also worth noting. the menu was in italian with japanese translations so we were able to decipher quite a bit.

saturday about 15 of us met at what's fast becoming our comfy, everyday hangout.


we headed to a noisy bar\restaurant around the corner. they do all you can drink for 1800 yen, which is a serious bargain. you can imagine the mayhem. we tore up the japanese bar food, ie cheese wrapped in egg rolls, grilled chicken on a stick, fried noodles, clams in a hot pot, stuffed fried eggplant, etc.
this is lizzie giving her birthday speech.


michelle and i philandering with our favorite waiter.


then we hit took over a dance club around the corner.

sunday i went to the maintenence man at my satellite school:s house for a bbq. too much fun.

it was mostly the p.e. teachers so there was very little english floating around. between charades and my dictionary though we were all able to make decent conversation. they grilled rainbow trout, cabbage, onions and weiners [not quite hotdogs, not exactly sausage] and chunks of beef and pork. they also made a vat of tofu, potato, carrot soup that was awesome. the beer was flowing before i arrived about 1. at 2:30 out came the sake. as the guest of honor, i was given the biggest glass and it wasn't allowed to go below half empty. we also played a bunch of silly games like pass the weiner down the line with a toothpick held in your mouth.


the losers all jumped up and did this.

UPDATE: apparently someone was just telling me they looked like monkeys...some comedian does this move and looks ridiculous so everyone who loses must mimic him...i don't get it either.
then after some folks had left, the party moved inside and more wine and grilled squid, avocado salad, and all types of other snacky foods.
Kimura san, the maintenance man, is beside me. his house is unbelievably beautiful.

the hostess stayed busy in the kitchen and i spent quite a bit of time chatting with her [and trying to convince her she should quit cooking and come sit and have a beer.]
what a riot.

we had monday off cause it:s a national holiday, sports day. we didn't get very active. liz and i drug ourselves outta bed and onto the living room floor for movies.