No, Really, I Am an American

First of all — HAPPY NEW YEAR to one and all!! I hope you have a good one!!

I’d been feeling kind of bummed about the New Year; there were some minor scheduling issues with everyone and I was afraid I’d end up spending the holiday with the cast of the West Wing. My landlady Masumi invited me to the shrines with her and her friends…but my mood wasn’t really up for crowded shrines. Rob invited me out with some of his friends, and I was a bit reluctant to go, but I ended up talking myself into it.

I’m really glad that I did. The plan was to have dinner and then go to Round 1, a place a bit like GameWorks, for bowling. I wasn’t too keen on the bowling thing since I never bowl, but I never mind just hanging out with everyone. Rob and I met up with the Slices crew — Sone and Seng, the owners, Dante, Sone’s friend Akane, and their other friend Ross — and went to Yakiniku Goen; I don’t usually hang out with the Slices crew as much as Rob, but I’d always thought they were nice people. It was really fun seeing them outside of their work.

It was still a bit early, so we ended up walking down Shinsaibashi to the Starbucks near Loft (for those of you who know the area). I’m still bummed about the lack of mint in my mocha, but it was nice to have a hot drink. Tonight was just about the coldest its been this winter, mostly ‘cuz of the wind. It’s Spring compared to Chicago right now, but it was still pretty chilly to me.

I’d never been to Round 1 before, but I’d heard of it. I played one shooter game — I wasn’t very good — and the watched Rob and Dante play another one. I find it amusing that 100 yen doesn’t seem like a lot to me to play a game in Japan, but if it was the American dollar I’d balk at the price. It’s probably ‘cuz the smaller yen amounts are in coin form and I usually associate that with spare change.

We went up to the 3rd floor to reserve a lane. It didn’t take too long at all, so that was nice. When we were filling out the card thing, Dante asked me what name I wanted for the scoreboard. I explained that I wasn’t really any good; he insisted that it was all in good fun and I ended up on Sone’s team.

Holy crap it’s been a LONG time since I’ve bowled. I really don’t remember how to play. I know that sounds really stupid, but it’s true. I vaguely remember having a method a long ass time ago, but clearly I’d forgotten it ‘cuz I had straight gutter balls for about five freaking frames before I finally hit one pin — I was pretty excited about that one pin! I eventually got the hang of it by the second round, I even had a strike and one or two spares. I was pretty excited when I hit more than one pin and would generally exclaim “More than one!” when it happened.

While we were a bit into our second round, we came upon midnight. The staff had passed out poppers while we were playing so everyone pretty much paused to ring in the new year. It wasn’t a big affair, but it was pretty five-by-five.

After we finished bowling, we ended up at the Starbucks on Dotombori, the one across from the big crab. I had no idea it was open 24 hours. I think one of the best parts about tonight was the fact that all the trains ran all night. Made getting home super easy. I was sure to call my parents while we were at Starbucks — I’d tried while we were at Round 1 but couldn’t get through. My mom told me it wasn’t New Year’s yet, but for me it’s 2008.

I’m really glad I ended up going out. It was a lot of fun and it was kind of nice to see different people. I ain’t saying I wouldn’t have enjoyed being with Fight Club, it was just kind of fitting in some way to me to have spent this holiday with different people.

Happy 2008!!!