A quiet night…
Turned into a up till 430am getting shit-faced type of evening. I was surprised. V. invited me out to dinner because both our men were going to be away from Tokyo this weekend. Her husband S. had his trip cancelled as the temperature was too warm (eight degrees) for good snow on the ski slopes. He then asked his Korean Belgian friend, O., to join us for dim sum at Roppongi Hills — a swanky upmarket shopping mall just a half-hour hike from the shoe box.
Though I was wondering if it would be weird with V. because I always felt slightly awkward with her. I just saw it as “Oh maybe we don’t click” or “She’s a private person so she won’t reveal too much of herself in the beginning”. Well, I was dead wrong. She’s such a fun and warm person. This night reminded me never to write people off so soon in the beginning and to always give them not just a second but third chance or however many till you really come to a firm conclusion it’s not working out.
Dinner was excellent and I will go back there whenever I crave for authentic Chinese fare. The dumplings were fat with fresh shrimp and delicious minced pork. I wish I had stomach space to cram in some duck noodles but after 10 plates of jiao zi I decided to take a break.
I was happy to engage in “adult” conversation — I keep saying this but I truly feel so starved of that type of dialogue. However, I couldn’t help but feel envious of their zoom-zoom adult jobs. I’m actually sharing a project with Mr. D but I still feel it’s a little early to talk about it with other people.
I know this is self-conscious stuff is all in my head but my New Year resolution is to get back into the game as aggressively as I can. Perhaps I’m afraid I’ll regress to just a girl who takes language lessons everyday, as I do miss calculating and navigating my way through the work place. It would be shallow to say I want to appear more interesting, but for my sanity and personal progress, I have to end my mental vacation soon.
After dinner, V. was a little reluctant to hang out because she wasn’t feeling that great. S. suggested a Brazilian bar (he’s Brazilian by the way) nearby. I presumed it was going to be one of those one drink and poof we’ll all go home but one caipirinha turned into five and one bottle of Brazilian beer morphed into three each. The samba music was infectious and the beats got us jiving. Couples on the dance floor twirled to the live drums and Portuguese lyrics. It didn’t feel like Tokyo at all.
The weirdest thing I remembered was a Brazilian soap opera they showed in Singapore back in the 80s. It was dubbed in Mandarin and had English subtitles which I used to follow religiously with my late grandmother. About unrequited love, this modern romance series gripped my family for months on end. I told S. about this and he thought it was hilarious. South America is so remote from our little island. I heard it takes three days to fly there but the little bit I saw last night made me want to find out more.
That’s me whipping a 1,000 yen note from under five 100 yen coins sitting on the beer bottle’s small opening. I felt like a magician. Haha. We chatted drunkenly about Brazilian waxes and everyone took out pictures of their family and loved ones. Unfortunately I didn’t have one of Mr.D in my purse and they were a little disappointed since I’d been talking about him.
Then my Singaporean stomach started growling from all the booze and I suggested ramen. I showed them the one I went to in Roppongi and they all nearly collapsed laughing: “It’s a chain! They have this everywhere!” So we took off in a cab to a fantastic ramen place near Akasaka-Mituske. Gawd, I was in ramen heaven. The soup was a savoury sensation and the noodles looked handmade and pale, unlike the mass manufactured instant mee like variety you always see. The boys were amazed I could finish my bowl. More running round the palace is in order that’s for sure.
But the night was still not over. I invited them over to the shoe box for drinks. They were amazed at how Mr.D and I could live in such a tiny space. They wanted to look at everything though it took them like three seconds to complete the tour. We watched random videos on youtube — from Paris Hilton and Queen. S. even did his own karaoke act and we just laughed our asses off.
O will leave in Jan and V and S will return to Boston in Feb. I will be sorry to see them go. I discovered there was much more to each of them. Booze is such a great way to break the ice. The night ended with big hugs and a promise to get together again next year.
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