Timeline of a Dinner Party

T-3 weeks: Rikugien Garden Trip
Yumi and I spent a nice day out with Dawn and Jumpei at Rikugien Garden in Tokyo. Since all had a good time, Yumi volunteered me to make pizza for everyone at some future date. Dawn is a Japanese-American here for a year on a fellowship through the U.S. government. She is a fellow former Peace Corps volunteer working for the U.S. Department of Commerce. Yumi met her at work. Jumpei is a free-lance translator between Russian, English, and Japanese. He and Yumi both did volunteer years in the U.S. with the Never Again Campaign which does educational presentations on Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and nuclear issues in general.

T-2.5 weeks: Emails Go Back and Forth

Dates are proposed and bandied about. Saturday, December 8th is decided.

T-2 weeks: Other Invitations

Jumpei asks if Yumi would like to include another NAC volunteer, I invite my teaching colleague, Christi, and Yumi decides to invite her childhood friend, Keiko. Dawn asks if she can bring a friend, too.

T-1 week: The Internet Orders
All good Japanese households must have slippers for guests and a doormat, so around $50 and 2 days later, we are in compliance.

T-3 days: The Ikea trip
I am told cushions for our chairs are a must, so off we go to Ikea. Also on the list: more dishes, wine glasses, salad bowl, and a glass pan for my famous stuffed pizza (patent pending). The impulse buys included 2 tins of gingerbread cookies, 3 bottles of "Glogg" (spicy, very sweet red wine) and 3 compact fluorescent light bulbs so I practice what I preach. Of course no trip to Ikea here is complete without the ¥100 (about $1) hot dogs and ¥50 ice cream cones. I vetoed the Poinsettia as too Christmasy over strenuous objections.

T-1 day: Cleaning Begins
Yumi had some flex time due and chose to take off Friday, in part to get ready for the party. She did some laundry, shopping, and cleaned out our two very small bedrooms which we use for storage (we sleep in the Japanese tatami room instead). Of course, the one bedroom she cleaned out was completely jam-packed with stuff she had strewn about the room from suitcases unpacked 2 months ago.

T-10 hours: Cleaning and Cooking

Yumi started cooking a dessert while I cleaned the floors. We wipe the floors down every weekend and inevitably they are full of dust within days. I feel like Sisyphus with hairballs. I also was assigned the task of folding all of the laundry Yumi had done the day before and doing all the dishes (my everyday jobs).

After Yumi finished the dessert she announced she was leaving any minute to go shopping for some final last minute items. That was around 1pm. So I went about starting the pizzas by making the dough and sauce (I'd normally use spaghetti sauce but it wasn't really available so I made it with tomato pieces, onion, and garlic). About an hour later, she said she was really ready to go. About 45 minutes later with her makeup impeccably applied, she actually left. She got back around 4:30pm as I was finishing up the preparations for the first two pizzas.

Yumi reclaimed the kitchen to make the other dessert (a great cheesecake) and I was relegated to other miscellaneous tasks. At this point, Yumi asked my opinion for the cheese ball she was making. She asked if I had eaten a cheese ball before, and I replied in the affirmative. When I laughed at her basically squeezing onion bits into cream cheese, she asked what was so funny. I said I thought cheese balls have more than just cream cheese and onion in them. She asked how to make it and I said I don't know since they are usually just bought at the grocery store. She insisted that I must know how they are made because I am American and Americans eat cheese balls. Clearly, no logic was going to work here and clearly she was frustrated with her cheese ball, so I vacated the area until the coast was clear and the cheese ball completed. Incidentally, she did end up adding some mozzarella cheese at my suggestion. **note: Yumi is objecting to her characterization. I told her it stays as is and she can defame my character in her blog**

I tried to partially cook one of the pizzas so that I could reuse the pan and later just finish cooking that pizza the rest of the way but it just wasn't happening, so we went to plan B.

T-15 minutes: Keiko Arrives

There's punctual, and then there's punctual. Keiko arrived around 6:15pm for our 6:30pm dinner party and of course we were no where near ready but she didn't seem to mind. She gracefully helped us finish stuff up like the contentious cheese ball.

T+15 minutes: Christi Arrives

My colleague Christi made it (it's very hard to find Japanese addresses because many streets don't actually have names and there are many small alleys and pedestrian only streets). At the same time, Dawn called and was trying to figure out how to get from where she was to us. After about 5 minutes on the phone trying to explain, I decided to just go out and get her. So I took our (read: Yumi's) bike and collected her. No mention of the friend she said she might be bringing. So 8 people was now 7.

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T+45 minutes: Appetizers and Jumpei

With all of the introductions over with, people started drinking the Glogg and eating appetizers (including the aforementioned cheese ball which, it must be said got rave reviews). Yumi was concerned about Jumpei since he hadn't called and it was getting late. She left several messages on his phone. Meanwhile, we started eating. Despite my best efforts at planning a seamless dinner, the pizzas had to be eaten sequentially. The small cheese pizza went first around 8pm.

T+2.5 hours: Dinner Continues, Dessert Begins, and More Jumpei

Pizza #2 (mushroom, spinach, and onion) makes its debut and I must return to the kitchen, clean the pan and put together the last pizza. Not ideal, but the only real option. Around that time we finally heard from Jumpei. He thought the plans were for Sunday night. So no Jumpei nor his friend. Dinner for 8 was now officially for 5. After construction, and cooking, the pizza (pepperoni and onion) wasn't done until about 10:45pm. It was the best, though, since it was the freshest. It was quickly followed by Yumi's desserts since it was getting late.

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T+5 hours: Exit

Everyone left around 11:30pm and headed to the train station. Yumi and I did a superficial clean up and collapsed into bed.

T+15 hours: The Dreaded Dishes

This morning, I spent another 1/2 hour or so washing an evenings worth of dirty dishes and then had delicious leftover pizza for lunch!