Tuesday, 12.30:
This day is kinda of blur. I'll try my best to recall what transpired.
Slept in pretty late and did some more cleanin'. Headed to Ikko for dinner. Had some nira tama and some karaage. Chilled with the regulars and then went home.
Wednesday, 12.31:
Woke up and did some more last minute cleanin'. Watched some TV and headed over to Ikko for some toshikosho soba. The whole "family" was there except for Kita. I think he didin't come because Mori was there. They had a little verbal scuffle 2 months ago and since then, I haven't seen them both @ Ikko. My plans for the rest of night was: 1)go to Atsuko's house for dinner 2)head to Asakusa to go the shrine with Kaoru, Hide, Hideki and Ikko. I would've accomplished my plans, unfortunately, Jomi and Yuasa sensei invited me over to their place for some food. They also mentioned that Kiyomi was goin' to come to. So I went home, changed and headed over. Yuasa sensei hooked up some more grub while Jomi insisted that I drink with him. Tonite was the big K1 fight between Bob Sapp (Warren Sapp's cousin) and Akebono (very famous sumo wrestler who just recently retired). Unfortunately it was the last fight, so we were channel jumping between Pride, inoki (another fightin' federation) and kohaku (the famous year end music program that I always watch or have Aunty Nancy tape for me). I got to mee Seiko and her son Sho who arrived just after I did. Kiyomi came thru a little after them. I was really surprised to see her a little dressed up with some makeup. Their older brother, Yuta, came thru a little bit later. He was totally buzzed. He could speak a little bit of English but not enough to really carry on a conversation. As for kohaku, the white team kicked @$$! @ the very end, both teams throw out balls from their bucket and I think it was the first time that I've seen one of the teams have nothing to throw! As for the other fights goin' on...I got to see Royce Gracie fight! It's been a while since the last time I saw him compete. He went up against this Japanese guy. I told everyone that I gurantee that Gracie is gonna win. Of course they were rootin' for the Japanese guy but in the end, it only took 2 rounds before Gracie got the guy into this sick reversal submission. As for the big fight between Bob Sapp and Akebono, it wasn't even a fight! Sapp knocked him down really early and shortly thereafter, one right hook to the temple and Akebono was lyin' flat on his big 'ol tummy. All this while his wife and 2 kids were watchin'. Jomi called it a night right after the fight, I was kinda surprised that he didn't stay up for the countdown. Anyhow...due to the current situation, I was unable to go to Atsuko's and to Asakusa. However I did talk to Kaoru, Hide, Hideki and Ikko; wishin' them a happy new year and everything. We promised to have a shinenkai (New Year's party) sometime this month. @ around 0100, decided to call it a night. Kiyomi walked me out to the main road and I headed home. Sent out a mass email to all my Japanese friends, wishin' them a happy new year. Had an interestin' text converstation with A-chan. She was all geared up about when the next tantakatan shinenkai is gonna be. Watched a little bit of New Year's tv and then crashed out.
Thursday, 01.01
HAPPY ##(shhh...it's a secret!) BIRTHDAY AUNTY NANCY!!!
Woke up early and headed to Ikko to have some ozoni. Takahashi and Yoko san were the only ones there when I came. Mama brought out this phatty crab which we all devoured. I wasn't plannin' on drinkin' so early, but all my elders ordered me to, so I had no choice but to. Kita, Sensei, Noboru, Minoru, Ken, Kohiyama, Jomi & Endozawa came thru. I brought up the Akebono/Sapp fight and remembered that I bet somebody @ Ikko that Sapp was gonna win. I thought it was Kita, and Sensei remembered it too. After some time, I realized that I bet Sensei 1000 yen. He tried to say that since I already said it was Kita, it was too late. But Mama insisted that Sensei pay me...so he did. A little bit later, Mama (in her kimono), Sensei, Sakamoto and I went to the shrine between Ikko and my apartment to go to hatsumode(sp?). It was pretty funny to hear what Sensei asked for this year...let's just say it was of the dirty nature. As for my prayer, it was mostly a thankful one, which was quite long. Sensei said that the Gods are goin' to fall asleep cuz you're prayin' too long! Mama made her famous tempura which was off da hook! A little bit later, Sakamoto passed me the mic and I sang Happy Birthday to Takahashi who forgot it was his birthday. @ around 1300ish, all the guys started to play majhong for some high stakes. Found out later that Sakamoto won like a couple hundred bucks!!! @ around 1700ish, went to kick it at Kohiyama's. Met his wife and she served us some food before we crashed out. Woke up and went home @ around 0200.
Friday, 01.02
Woke up pretty early and met up with: Mama, Sakamoto, Sensei, Kita & Minoru @ Ikko and then headed out to the Funabashi Auto Raceway. Right when we got into the car, Sensei had this weird look on his face and then proclaimed that aaa...chotto matte...unko (uh...wait a sec, I need to take a #2!). we all busted up, so we met up with Sensei @ his mansion. Then we hit the road to the raceway. Got there, paid 500 yen to sit inside. Mama brought out some onigiri and then we figured out who we wanted for the first race. Even though it was Sensei's first time, he explained how to go about markin' the card. I pretty much just looked @ the racer's nickname and where they were from. They had some interestin' names; for example this one guy's name was Komemoto and his nickname was rice book. The kanji for his name was kome = rice, moto = book. Some other ones were: Iverson, Kobe, Cervantes, Hustler, Matrix, Liar, Eminem, Genuwine, King Mambo & many others. What was a trip was that some of the racers were like 55+! Most of the racers were in the 20's or 30's. Another trippy thing is that the handle bars on these bikes were a little different. The left handle is higher than the right, cuz they get almost parallel to the ground on the turns. They also don't have brakes. All the bikes are 600cc's with the new racers havin' 500cc's which really didn't make a difference cuz some of the newbies won some races. Throughout the day, Mama made sure that our stomachs were empty by bringin' us takoyaki, onigiri and yakisoba. What was koo about the place was that it was unlimited drinks. Now now...let me be more specific, all you can drink tea, coffee and juice. I mostly bet around 400-500 yen on each race but the major winner was Minoru on the fifth race. He only bet $1, but won $150!!! We were like damn! He treated us all the food we had throughout the day. Mama brought me outside to see a race cuz she told me that soto ni, zen zen chigau yo (watchin' outside is totally different than inside). Boy was she right! When you're outside, you really hear the engines roar. You can actually feel the engines and wind as they pass by. So the next race, I took some video, which I found out later was prohibited. So the 7th race comes around and I decide to pick Genuwine (#8) and Manhattan (#1). They're the leaders after 3 laps (all the races are 6 laps around a circular course with each lap bein' around 500m) but it was way too early to jump for joy. with the final lap, they were still the leaders, but swass was comin' up quick. But @ the finish line, Manhattan and Genuwine crossed, 1-2!!! Hip Hip Hooray! I finally won!!! Mama had marked the same. She put down 300 yen while I only put down 100 yen. She won 3000 yen and I won 1000 yen! Mama had me get the reward for her. I don't know how the races are back home, but here, you stick your ticket in the machine and it pays you. What was funny, Sensei tried to put in losin' tickets to see what would happened. That guy is a trip man! Anyhow...we decided to head home after the 9th race. Everyone but Kita and Sensei won. Kita was the funniest one, cuz he was the one who organized this excursion and he's been there many, many times. He was always lookin' at his newspaper, makin' all these little notes and writin' picks on the back of cards and givin' them to us all sly and stuff. We headed back to Ikko for some drinks and food and Endozawa and Noburu swung thru. Was there til about 1800ish then headed home. Came home and wrote this blog and now bouts to go play some more True Crime.
Tomorrow is Shacho's New Year's party @ 1100.
Quick question for ya'll...how many of ya'll are interested in my little blurb I used to put at the top of each entry. Ya know the thing with the weather, japanese phrases, news, links and fantasy sports stuff. Let me know if ya'll actually read that stuff, aite.
Well well...I'm gonna fire up the xbox now...
Kaz out...
This day is kinda of blur. I'll try my best to recall what transpired.
Slept in pretty late and did some more cleanin'. Headed to Ikko for dinner. Had some nira tama and some karaage. Chilled with the regulars and then went home.
Wednesday, 12.31:
Woke up and did some more last minute cleanin'. Watched some TV and headed over to Ikko for some toshikosho soba. The whole "family" was there except for Kita. I think he didin't come because Mori was there. They had a little verbal scuffle 2 months ago and since then, I haven't seen them both @ Ikko. My plans for the rest of night was: 1)go to Atsuko's house for dinner 2)head to Asakusa to go the shrine with Kaoru, Hide, Hideki and Ikko. I would've accomplished my plans, unfortunately, Jomi and Yuasa sensei invited me over to their place for some food. They also mentioned that Kiyomi was goin' to come to. So I went home, changed and headed over. Yuasa sensei hooked up some more grub while Jomi insisted that I drink with him. Tonite was the big K1 fight between Bob Sapp (Warren Sapp's cousin) and Akebono (very famous sumo wrestler who just recently retired). Unfortunately it was the last fight, so we were channel jumping between Pride, inoki (another fightin' federation) and kohaku (the famous year end music program that I always watch or have Aunty Nancy tape for me). I got to mee Seiko and her son Sho who arrived just after I did. Kiyomi came thru a little after them. I was really surprised to see her a little dressed up with some makeup. Their older brother, Yuta, came thru a little bit later. He was totally buzzed. He could speak a little bit of English but not enough to really carry on a conversation. As for kohaku, the white team kicked @$$! @ the very end, both teams throw out balls from their bucket and I think it was the first time that I've seen one of the teams have nothing to throw! As for the other fights goin' on...I got to see Royce Gracie fight! It's been a while since the last time I saw him compete. He went up against this Japanese guy. I told everyone that I gurantee that Gracie is gonna win. Of course they were rootin' for the Japanese guy but in the end, it only took 2 rounds before Gracie got the guy into this sick reversal submission. As for the big fight between Bob Sapp and Akebono, it wasn't even a fight! Sapp knocked him down really early and shortly thereafter, one right hook to the temple and Akebono was lyin' flat on his big 'ol tummy. All this while his wife and 2 kids were watchin'. Jomi called it a night right after the fight, I was kinda surprised that he didn't stay up for the countdown. Anyhow...due to the current situation, I was unable to go to Atsuko's and to Asakusa. However I did talk to Kaoru, Hide, Hideki and Ikko; wishin' them a happy new year and everything. We promised to have a shinenkai (New Year's party) sometime this month. @ around 0100, decided to call it a night. Kiyomi walked me out to the main road and I headed home. Sent out a mass email to all my Japanese friends, wishin' them a happy new year. Had an interestin' text converstation with A-chan. She was all geared up about when the next tantakatan shinenkai is gonna be. Watched a little bit of New Year's tv and then crashed out.
Thursday, 01.01
HAPPY ##(shhh...it's a secret!) BIRTHDAY AUNTY NANCY!!!
Woke up early and headed to Ikko to have some ozoni. Takahashi and Yoko san were the only ones there when I came. Mama brought out this phatty crab which we all devoured. I wasn't plannin' on drinkin' so early, but all my elders ordered me to, so I had no choice but to. Kita, Sensei, Noboru, Minoru, Ken, Kohiyama, Jomi & Endozawa came thru. I brought up the Akebono/Sapp fight and remembered that I bet somebody @ Ikko that Sapp was gonna win. I thought it was Kita, and Sensei remembered it too. After some time, I realized that I bet Sensei 1000 yen. He tried to say that since I already said it was Kita, it was too late. But Mama insisted that Sensei pay me...so he did. A little bit later, Mama (in her kimono), Sensei, Sakamoto and I went to the shrine between Ikko and my apartment to go to hatsumode(sp?). It was pretty funny to hear what Sensei asked for this year...let's just say it was of the dirty nature. As for my prayer, it was mostly a thankful one, which was quite long. Sensei said that the Gods are goin' to fall asleep cuz you're prayin' too long! Mama made her famous tempura which was off da hook! A little bit later, Sakamoto passed me the mic and I sang Happy Birthday to Takahashi who forgot it was his birthday. @ around 1300ish, all the guys started to play majhong for some high stakes. Found out later that Sakamoto won like a couple hundred bucks!!! @ around 1700ish, went to kick it at Kohiyama's. Met his wife and she served us some food before we crashed out. Woke up and went home @ around 0200.
Friday, 01.02
Woke up pretty early and met up with: Mama, Sakamoto, Sensei, Kita & Minoru @ Ikko and then headed out to the Funabashi Auto Raceway. Right when we got into the car, Sensei had this weird look on his face and then proclaimed that aaa...chotto matte...unko (uh...wait a sec, I need to take a #2!). we all busted up, so we met up with Sensei @ his mansion. Then we hit the road to the raceway. Got there, paid 500 yen to sit inside. Mama brought out some onigiri and then we figured out who we wanted for the first race. Even though it was Sensei's first time, he explained how to go about markin' the card. I pretty much just looked @ the racer's nickname and where they were from. They had some interestin' names; for example this one guy's name was Komemoto and his nickname was rice book. The kanji for his name was kome = rice, moto = book. Some other ones were: Iverson, Kobe, Cervantes, Hustler, Matrix, Liar, Eminem, Genuwine, King Mambo & many others. What was a trip was that some of the racers were like 55+! Most of the racers were in the 20's or 30's. Another trippy thing is that the handle bars on these bikes were a little different. The left handle is higher than the right, cuz they get almost parallel to the ground on the turns. They also don't have brakes. All the bikes are 600cc's with the new racers havin' 500cc's which really didn't make a difference cuz some of the newbies won some races. Throughout the day, Mama made sure that our stomachs were empty by bringin' us takoyaki, onigiri and yakisoba. What was koo about the place was that it was unlimited drinks. Now now...let me be more specific, all you can drink tea, coffee and juice. I mostly bet around 400-500 yen on each race but the major winner was Minoru on the fifth race. He only bet $1, but won $150!!! We were like damn! He treated us all the food we had throughout the day. Mama brought me outside to see a race cuz she told me that soto ni, zen zen chigau yo (watchin' outside is totally different than inside). Boy was she right! When you're outside, you really hear the engines roar. You can actually feel the engines and wind as they pass by. So the next race, I took some video, which I found out later was prohibited. So the 7th race comes around and I decide to pick Genuwine (#8) and Manhattan (#1). They're the leaders after 3 laps (all the races are 6 laps around a circular course with each lap bein' around 500m) but it was way too early to jump for joy. with the final lap, they were still the leaders, but swass was comin' up quick. But @ the finish line, Manhattan and Genuwine crossed, 1-2!!! Hip Hip Hooray! I finally won!!! Mama had marked the same. She put down 300 yen while I only put down 100 yen. She won 3000 yen and I won 1000 yen! Mama had me get the reward for her. I don't know how the races are back home, but here, you stick your ticket in the machine and it pays you. What was funny, Sensei tried to put in losin' tickets to see what would happened. That guy is a trip man! Anyhow...we decided to head home after the 9th race. Everyone but Kita and Sensei won. Kita was the funniest one, cuz he was the one who organized this excursion and he's been there many, many times. He was always lookin' at his newspaper, makin' all these little notes and writin' picks on the back of cards and givin' them to us all sly and stuff. We headed back to Ikko for some drinks and food and Endozawa and Noburu swung thru. Was there til about 1800ish then headed home. Came home and wrote this blog and now bouts to go play some more True Crime.
Tomorrow is Shacho's New Year's party @ 1100.
Quick question for ya'll...how many of ya'll are interested in my little blurb I used to put at the top of each entry. Ya know the thing with the weather, japanese phrases, news, links and fantasy sports stuff. Let me know if ya'll actually read that stuff, aite.
Well well...I'm gonna fire up the xbox now...
Kaz out...
This entry was posted by kaz, on
金曜日, 1月 02, 2004.
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