First Day Off

Well, training ended yesterday and was capped off by a few too many back ally beers before a few porch beers. Nevertheless, the first day off was not filled with any thing which was overly exciting. We took Cydonia to Namba to get her a cell phone and ended up having lunch with our Japanese friend who we met at the cell phone store. The pictures are of the place we ate lunch and the meal itself was called "O-cone-o-me-ak-ee" or an omelet with cabbage, cheese, and topped off with barbecue sauce. It was a delicious meal and I had a bit of Joel's noodles as well. The food was prepared at a main grill which had seating around it and was then transfered to the mini-hot plate at each table. It was yet another new experience.

After lunch, I decided to buy an I-pod to treat myself. Why or what I was treating myself to, I am not exactly sure. Perhaps it is the fact that I am now in the working world and have a job, not much of a real job, but a job that will hopefully be rewarding and offer lots of experiences. Also, the I-pod serves a practical purpose as it will allow me to study my Japanese to and from work. I thought I might be able to do that with my cd player but then realized that I would need to make 45 discs; so, I decided it would be easier to buy an I-pod. Joel made me a bet that I wouldn't be able to purchase it using my American card and it was the typical DDB or Double Dollar Bet (the loser has to buy two items at McDonalds, one for himself and one for the winner). I was able to purchase it with the card so I am now up to two items at "Mack-ahs" as the Aussies call it.

We caught the train home and I took a little nap before making some cereal and eggs for dinner. After my gourmet meal I decided to go for a little walk to a park I heard about. It took about 10 minutes to find it so I decided to make the night a bit more interesting and go on a little walk-a-bout. Bad decision. Three and a half hours later, I eventually find my way home, luckily with only one blister on my foot. However, I did get to see a nice river, at which point I new things had gone terribly wrong. I retraced my steps and attempted to follow the signs to Shin-Osaka station, the one closest to my apartment. On the way back I got to see a late night soccer game - it actually appeared to have some talented players. When I got back, Joel was in the complex with some Japanese friends from WSU so we had a porch drink. That was my first day off in the big city of Osaka. I know its a little out of order but I'll try to write a bit on training tomorrow before it escapes my memory. Hope everyone is doing well and things are going great in your life. I wish you all the happiness you desire.