Yakitori, Booze, The Flu, and The New Guy

Since Monday, I have been busy.

My boss called around noon that day and told me he had finally gotten into my town and that the new guy would be here shortly as well. The movers had already arrived with the new guy's stuff and I needed to go down and let them know that they guy with the apartment key would be there soon.

The new guy is named, Toby by the way.

As it turns out, Toby has broken the mold and is not like 80% of all other foreigners in Japan. He is actually kind of normal and since his arrival we have gotten along very well.

Anywho, after Toby got all of his stuff moved in and settled a bit, we decided it was time to find dinner. So my boss, Toby, and I set off to get food. While walking toward the area of town that has most of the eateries and restaurants, we passed a very good yakitori place that I love but it seems like the place is never open. The three of us decided that yakitori sounded good and so we went inside to eat all sorts of chicken parts cooked in all sorts of ways.

With the eating came the drinking. Before even going into the restaurant, we had already had a couple of beers each and while eating we tacked a few more on as well. We also had a drink called ume-shu that was tasty. It is a liquor made from the pickled plums I am so fond of, very tasty. Anywho, by the time we were done eating we had all had a bit too much to drink.

Which probably led to my getting the flu. I had already had a bug of some sort before that night but after the yakitori, I got hit hard by the flu and it still has not left me. So I have been sick for a few days now and it kind of sucks but what do you do? Last night especially, after Toby left to go to bed, I went to sleep too but it was more of one of those deep sickly, fevery, sleeps where you dream weird dreams and wake up at odd intervals. I think I may have had a fever and it broke while I was asleep because at one point I woke up and was super hot but not sweating and then the next time I woke up I was drenched in sweat.

One other thing of note happened this week. Two nights ago, while walking back to the train station, I found the Japanese equivalent of a $50 bill. To celebrate my good fortune, I called Toby and took him out to eat at a ramen place near the apartment. The new people are really strapped for cash when they come to Japan so I have been trying to help Toby out a little here and there. I figure if I treat him well, he will treat my replacement the same way. It is very strange to have another person to talk to now. I have found it is also somewhat tiring, though that could just be the flu too.

Well, I am going to tie this up. I still feel loopy and I need to get to the bank to see what I have in the way of money, seeing that I got paid today.