Randomness from Hangover Hell

Somehow, I got it in my head last night around 11:00 that I wanted to be around people. The time may reflect how embarrassingly late I slept-in yesterday. I actually hopped on my bike and peddled over to the next closest thing to an actual town in this metropolis of eight million people. For those of you that have visited, none of you has been there.

Kanamachi is a tiny place by Tokyo standards...but (I discovered last night) they know how to do a Friday night. I'm sad to say that I was out till what would have been sunrise if it weren't so overcast. It's been a very long time since I've been out-n-about. I even met a couple of interesting people.

As usual with this kind of thing, I am paying for it today.

I just found out that I will be in Kochi for the new year's holiday. I'm not exactly looking forward to the whole plane thing, but am looking forward to a trip outside of Tokyo...esp. one that will involve lots of really good food! Time to polish up my excuses on why I don't speak the language and how come there aren't any children.

Because it's a holiday, I doubt if I'll have any free time, but I'm hoping to sneak away for a while (maybe steal a bike and take a ride along the river). One thing I really am looking forward to is a trip to the onsen (hot spring) near Mama's house followed by a dinner prepared by a master of Japanese cuisine (Mama). Papa likes it when I visit. He's allowed to drink with me.

For those of you confused by the above, Mama and Papa are not actually Taka's relatives. They took care of her and her sister while both of Taka's parents worked for so long, that they have become part of the family.

Since Taka bought the new digital camera, I think I'll try to take a lot of pictures. I'll put a few here in the new year.

Is anyone besides me shocked that another year is coming to an end? Does getting older necessarily mean that you go into a time warp?! I seem to spend the first few days of every month going, "Is it (month) already?!".

I feel like I'm in another time zone. It's 2:30 a.m. and I'm about to wash dishes before brushing my teeth and stumbling into bed. Of course I woke up in early afternoon and had a nap in a chair (my neck keeps reminding me of that little fact). Maybe one of my many New Year's resolutions should be establishing a bedtime (right up there with that 14-year favorite...learn the languge of the country I live in).