 |
|
  01.27.02
click to enlarge
Have you ever noticed that after you
get
married you and your spouse start to
date
other couples? I know I'm not the first
to
say this, but it certainly rings true
in
our case.
Slowly, bit by bit, like dust accumulating
in the corner, you start to grow apart from
your single friends. You just can't relate
anymore. You can't relate to the things that
they do, the things that you yourself used
to consider the foundation of your social
life.
Karen and I have been dating a really
nice
couple lately: Mhairi (pronounced varry)
from Scotland and her husband Makis
from
Greece.
Last night they had us over to their
place
in Yokohama and fed us Greek food.
Tasty,
tasty feta cheese!
Karen met Mhairi through a mothers group,
Mhairi is expecting in June. She obviously
has an interest in Jack and all things baby-related.
That's just part of preparing to be a mom.
Now, the four of us get together, hang-out,
and do those things that I always used to
make fun of my parents for doing, like looking
at wedding photos, or going to the pub and
cutting yourself off after only two pints
(Okay, maybe my parents didn't do exactly
that).
We don't have any plans to meet again as
of yet, but I'm sure that we'll be seeing
them again relatively soon.
 01.24.02
click to enlarge
Only in Tokyo.
Last night I went to a going-away party for
my friend and coworker Tim. He's been here
in Tokyo, off and on, for about seven months.
He's a consultant for Blue Martini Software which is based in California. My company
is Blue Martini's Japanese partner and distributor.
We had the party at a restaurant called Alcatraz,
a restaurant which can only be described
as a surreal and twisted dinner theater set
in a prison.
As we approached the entrance to the restaurant
we were faced with a sliding metal door,
but the door had no handles. There were,
however, a series of bright red buttons set
into the wall to the right of the door, and
each button had a different blood type inscribed
on it. When we pushed one of these buttons
the main door slid open and we were greeted
by a bright-eyed and bouncy young woman dressed
as a very sexy nurse. She handcuffed me and
took our party to our table.
The restaurant was set up like a combination
hospital, torture chamber, and prison. There
were knives and axes on the walls. Everything
was concrete and stainless steel. It was
dark. The staff was dressed as prison guards,
nurses, and medical-experiment patients.
The table areas were actually very small
jail cells. Most of the cells were only about
four feet high, so we had to double-over
as we went in and we sat on the floor. To
get service we had to rake a metal cup along
the cell bars.
The best part was that they put on mock break-outs
and torture scenes. As I said, the whole
place was dark, but it was also rigged with
various spot lights and colored bulbs. For
some reason that I couldn't figure out they
played really bad 80's music constantly,
and you know how bad 80's music can be if
it wants to.
We were eating and drinking when suddenly
a twisted and macabre voice came over the
speakers and told us that we should never
have come, that we were going to end up dead.
Then there was a series of small explosions
and people wearing expressionless white masks
started to run around. They ran up and down
the narrow corridors and burst in to the
cells, grabbing at people, sticking their
masked-faces right up to people's noses.
At the same time, out in the corridor, the
sexy-nurse waitresses were administering
giant syringes to people screaming on the
floor. It was a mind-numbing gastronomical
entertainment experience.
The food was not half bad. They had some
unique 'prison-oriented' fare, for example,
the 'penis platter'. This is assorted sausages
cut to resemble penises and served on a platter
that has a ruler inscribed along its edge.
It's served with a condom and salad on the
side (see picture above).
I was the first to leave, and they hustled
me out a side door and I ended up in the
laneway round back, drunk, lost and looking
for Shibuya station. There was one thing
that kept going through my mind...
Only in Tokyo.
 01.21.02
click to enlarge
Today is our two-year wedding anniversary.
Being married is a wonderful thing that too
many people take for granted. It really is.
For the first time in my life, I finally
feel like part of a team. Everything I do
has new-found significance. It matters to
somebody.
When I was a bachelor it seemed that marriage
was an ending. An end to late nights out.
An end to spur of the moment travel decisions.
An end to 'doing-what-ever-you-want'.
I now see that marriage is also a beginning.
A beginning to a whole new phase of life
where I am no longer the most important player.
And you know what? It's a relief not to be
the center of the universe anymore.
Thanks Karen and Jack for two great years.
 01.18.02
click to enlarge
Japanese people are generally very private
about their personal lives.
Recently at work we had our first inter-office
marriage. The guy sitting beside married
one of the girls in accounting who
sits in
a different part of the office.
They were married in December, but
I just
found out about it the other day.
I've been sitting next to him for the past
eight months and I had absolutely no idea
that he was seeing anybody at all, let alone
someone who was sitting in the next room.
I never saw them exchange knowing looks,
or go out to lunch together. Now that I think
about it, I don't think that I ever even
saw them speak.
These people are masters of social
vagueness.
Either that, or else I'm just thick
and unobservant.
|
|
|
|
3 comments so far