A Most Excellent Weekend

No, this does not refer to this past weekend's ring odyssey. That was most certainly *not* an excellent weekend. Rather, I am referring to the previous weekend when Yumi and I actually got to enjoy an entire weekend for the first time since I arrived in Japan - 10 months ago. We were able to put the Ph.D. corrections and wedding planning aside for one weekend and actually went out and had fun.
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Saturday, Yumi's office had a barbecue which started with a softball game; the Yokohama office vs. the Tokyo office! It was my first game in almost a year and I enjoyed every moment of it. It was also nice that I didn't embarrass myself or Yumi and actually played decently. I hit what I believe to be my 2nd career homerun and made some nice plays in the outfield including a shoestring catch and 2 outfield assists at home(!). Cultural notes: everyone stretched together (both teams) in unison before the game, we all lined up after the game and bowed to our opponents, and we refueled not by nuts and sports drinks but by rice balls and green tea! Playing softball with 20 or so Japanese reminded me of playing softball in Papua New Guinea; one of my most fond memories of that time. As my cousin Mel would sing as she perused either scene: which one of these is not like the others, which one of these, doesn't belong...
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After the game, we had the barbeque and I met Yumi's colleagues who are interesting and nice. One guy lived in India for 3 years and one is fluent in Japanese, English, and French. Then the real fun began. The drinking accelerated as we went to karaoke. I really enjoy karoake even if I can't sing my way out of a paper bag. Note to self (and anyone else with my [lack of] vocal range): do not, I repeat not, attempt Hotel California. :-)

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On Sunday, we ventured up to the "Big Egg" (Tokyo Dome) for the Yomiuri Giants hosting our Hiroshima Carp. It was nice to see friends we hadn't seen during our recent, self-imposed hibernation: Tomo, Jumpei, Dawn, and Keiko. Another cultural note: upon entering the stadium, Jumpei was told he couldn't bring in his six-pack of beer in cans. In the U.S. you're out of luck but in Japan, they pour them all into paper cups for you at no cost! Talk about civilized. Hiroshima kept up its perfect record for me. 3 games, 3 losses. This time they gave up 4 runs in the first, then clawed back in it one run at a time to where it was 4-3. Then gave up 2 more runs and let it slip away. I've posted before about the experience of Japanese baseball but it's worth repeating how different and fun it is with all of the organized cheering, trumpets, drums, flags, whistles, and the like. I'll post my first attempt at video below.

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