Saturday, January 6th, 1990

Note:  This is a series of journal entries from my two years living in Himeji, Japan (1988-1990).  I'm archiving them electronically through my blog.  Last names have been deleted and replaced with first initial only.  For details on this series of blog entries, see this post.

Friday, Dec. 29th I cleaned and waited for Kyl and Gina to come home.  They called, and I put dinner on.  One hour later they finally got here.  Dinner was almost burned.  But I did finally get to meet Gina.  She's very nice.  After dinner we went to Mike & Resa's.  We watched "Beaches" and played Balderdash.

Saturday we went to the art museum, but it was closed, as was the history museum.  We ended up walking around the castle, and shopping.  I felt like a 3rd wheel all day.  We went to dinner at Murasaki, then came home & watched "Little House".

Sunday Kyl & Gina went to Okayama & I went to morning church.  After church Nicki, Kimberly & Mitsuko, and I went to Gaylords, then to Kitano cho to Danny Boys, then a Chinese place, then an Italian place, but they were all closed for New Years (this was the point that I truly began to hate New Years in Japan).  

We ended up at a place near Tokyu Hands.  After lunch Nicki left & K & M & I went to TH.  I bought various things including herb seeds :-).  We then went to Rokko, ran into Chie, and all of us went to Sun Kotobuki for dinner.  We concocted a plan to interview drunks on the train and spent the rest of the meal practicing accents and laughing hysterically.  The restaurant was glad when we left.

Church was annoying.  It was 5th Sunday, and we tried to stress testimony & talking, but it ended up being a hymn sing that Charles let go 1 hour past the closing time.  I'll be so glad when I'm not music leader anymore!

After church 7 of us rode to B's in G's car.  Kyl called to say that he & Gina were in Kyushuu or Shikoku at a hotel & wouldn't be coming (which was the icing on the cake to this horrible time they spent "at" my apartment with "me").

Anyway, at B's I got bit by a rat (gerbil) that was being transferred back to its owner via the party.  It was my fault...I shouldn't have put my finger up to its cage.  Kimberly offered to put Drain-o in it's water dish...Mary doctored me.

We did 3 skits for the entertainment segment, had great food, and Kimberly & I had a chance to go outside, look at the lights of Kobe, and have a nice talk about life in general.

We went in, ushered in the new year, and left about 12:30.

On the train we did our interviews.  Mitsuko got on in one car & sat & Kimberly, Todd, & I got on another.  We moved into Mitsuko's car, asked for her help, and proceeded.  The 1st interview, Kimberly was from Zimbabwe.  I translated her "Zimbabwean" to English & Mitsuko translated it to Japanese.  We asked two women about their views on importing Zimbabwean rice to Japan, etc.

Then we moved to another car & Todd was from the National Enquirer asking a couple about their views on the Berlin wall coming down.  We got to Mukonoso & Todd got off the train with us to make it believable.  He wouldn't get back on a car further back- an actor to the end, and ended up going to Kishimoto's to spend the night.

What a hoot!

The next day we got up late.  I looked at the U's New Year's cards, watched crappy New Year's shows, took a fabulous ofuro, sat under the kotatsu & then we went to the G's.

We played computer games, watched football, ate, talked, & had a great time.  Scott V. was there & when he left, I walked him to the station & said goodbye.  He left this past Friday (yesterday).

I went home around 7, and vegged for the rest of the evening.

Tuesday I did nothing...actually I did a lot of cleaning, laundry, etc. but stayed home all day.

Wednesday I met Mitsuko at 2:30 & we took a taxi to Mike & Resa's.  Mitsuko was up until 4:00 a.m. the night before, as was Kimberly, so she wasn't very perky!

At B's we talked.  Mike & I went to America Mura & got videos.  Kimberly came about 8.  We watched "Beauty & the Beast", "Made in Heaven", "Ferris Buehler's Day off", B.L. Stryker (a show in the U.S. with Burt Reynolds), and something else.

Thursday we got up, talked, watched "Working Girl", ate tacos, then Mike brought us home.

I took them a bunch of household stuff that I wasn't shipping home.  The bus was packed.  I stood on the steps at the back of the bus.  It was horrible- further making me dislike New Years (plus nothing was open from the 31st to the 3rd, t.v. was screwed up, etc.).

Thursday night I watched more videos!

Friday I ran a few errands, tore things out of magazines, watched t.v., cleaned, etc.

Today more of the same.  I scrubbed the walls in my wash room & finished tearing things out of magazines.  I also straightened up the apartment and wrote another song.