Oh what a night

I wrote the following one very early morning (or late night as you may see it) while pretty intoxicated. My head was resting on my desk, eyes closed, and as you can tell, abilities trailing off as time passed. I woke up the next morning to this document on my laptop. But, to my credit, to be able to write this well while drunk is pretty cool. Anyway, for your entertainment, I present the thoughts and observations I had one evening about two weeks ago (completely unedited):

begin drunken typing

"Holy ..." I said aloud as I exited the cab and the door shut. At this point, I realize that I'm drunk, but not so to the point of not being unable to think. I draw out my keys, taking care to orient my apartment's key so that entry is easier. It's odd in a way that I can be in such a state, yet still am able to remember which way the key goes 40 feet before reaching the door. Tonight was such a blur of events that it seems like one continuous flow of things until I think about the logical progression.

I ended my last class today at 20:30, leaving the school at about 20:45, and then biking home in the rain for 20 minutes. I love cycling in the rain, despite what my mother thinks of the safety implications. Anyway, I figured that Hara-San would be at Sen Sen (restaurant across the street), and that he would call me shortly after I got home. Good guess; he called not moments after I had wiped my bicycle chain of dirt and water. Not feeling particularly dressy this evening, I showed up in a pair of rolled-up rock climbing slacks and a semi-compression fit black long sleeve wool T-shirt. Compare that to the suits and ties of the other customers at Sen Sen, and you have a recipe for the expectations of a foreigner: nothing. Sometimes it's nice not to fit in. Sometimes.

As I guessed, Hara-San was there, having a good time. drinki3EAWERE DELIIOUS, DESPITE SOME OFTHEM BEING BETTER WTIH SAKI, AND OSME OF THEM BEING BETTE AGE.TINBSEVEERAL TING STHAT i HAD NEVER HEARD OF, INCLUDIG SQUID, AND ASEVERAL TOTHER THIGNS THAT i HAVE WRITTEN DOWN I BLY PHONE. aLL ng and eating to his heart's content. I wA INVITED TO JOIN IN ON THE OCCASION,

end drunken typing

That last paragraph really trailed off, huh? Well, OK, it didn't really trail off (implying a slow progression); it pretty much fell right off a cliff. I'm sure accidentally pressing the CAPS key doesn't make it read more coherently. I think it was at that time that the last drink I had had for the evening kicked me in the face. Anyway, it should have read:

As I guessed, Hara-San was there, having a good time. Some of the drinks I had were delicious, despite some of them having sake. There were several things that I had never tried before tonight, too, including raw squid (Shiokara), and other things I have written down in my phone. I was permitted to try and eat to my heart's content. I'm glad I was invited to join him on this occasion.

To answer some potential questions:
• No, I don't drink like that often.
• Yes, I do drink significantly more than I did back home. Back home, I might have had drinks maybe 4 or 5 times per year. Here, it's maybe once or twice per week.
• Yes, that massive change in frequency does bug me, but drinking is very important to the culture here in ways that it purely isn't in the US.
• Yes, I am trying to find ways of decreasing my consumption, since I prefer to maintain control over my motor functions and mental processes. Anyone who knows me well knows this.
• Yes, despite being a light-weight in the drinking world, I still hold up better than some of the chaps here, perhaps simply because of my body weight. BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) is measured as a percentage of your blood that is alcohol by volume. So, if you have more blood (read: you weigh more), it takes more alcohol to achieve the same BAC than it would if you had less blood (read: you weigh less). This may help to explain why women tend to not be able drink as much, and here in Japan, why a relatively light-weight drinker (me) can be just fine while other "veteran drinker" Japanese may not be faring so well.