this and that...

wow. there’s been so much going on. aunt patty’s here which is just fabulous. we went on a tokyo rampage before heading back to joetsu for some fun in the countryside. tomorrow we’re off again so i wanted to jot down a bit before we head out.
my list of things i wanna tell you about is spiraling out of control… i don’t have time to do justice to the earth celebration, the recent funeral i attended or the insane fish market so… you’ll have to settle for these tidbits.
a couple friends had a birthday party a while back at a fabulous cabin in a neighboring mountain town. it was a famous person costume party. i was busy with driving lessons [more on that in a minute] so i didn’t have much time to plan. that’s how i ended up going as tina turner after a fight with ike. complete with teased hair, black eye and torn up stockings.

there was a huge grill that was never empty and an inflatable jungle gym thingy so you know it had to be a blast.

i think carrie gets the most spot on costume award as pregnant britney spears…



the following week was a welcome party in a nearby town, tokamachi. i’ve got a couple of friends there and decided to join them for the festivities.

we did one of those infamous all you can eat and drink things. followed by bar hopping and pool playing.

i am oh so happy to report that i played billiards for the first time since my hand surgery and didn’t completely freakin’ suck. woohoo.


another first…on September 5, carrie and i went to take the driver’s license test in kashiwazaki. i won’t rant about the backwards system that allows foreigners to drive for a year on a license purchased at AAA for $10, and then forces only americans and south africans to pass a ridiculously difficult test that is the source of fear and loathing nation wide. other foreign nationals are simply allowed to transfer their home country's license. i will however rant about the fact that i spent about 12 hours and nearly $300 studying for the aforementioned test only to fail for no good reason. no melodrama…seriously. i dutifully took hours of lessons from a little old, almost toothless man who would remove his shoes, sit cross-legged in the passenger seat and chain smoke as he told me all the little tricks for passing the test. he continuously complimented my driving, and told me i didn't need to worry about the test. well... the driving license center employee scribbled furiously on his secret clipboard as i inched my way around the closed course, just as i’d been taught, announcing everything i was doing in japanese…downshift to second, blinker [winka in japanese] on, pump the break, check left and right, wait to turn, stay close to the left side of the road, check the mirror, obstacle in the road is dangerous, check blind spot, etc… he told me my driving was "umai, jouzu" which means skillful and well done but…get this…i didn’t use my left mirror enough. what the freak. it’s a damn racket. so carrie and i went out to have a ‘let’s learn from failure’ beer as she didn't pass either.

since the test is only administered on mondays and patty is here now, i must wait until 9/26 to take it again. can you all cross your fingers please.

carrie and i furiously sending we failed, bitch-fest emails from our cell phones. a year ago i laughed aloud at the sight of two people out for a social occaision who were using their keitais at the same time. now we’re turning japanese…