I'm not going to lie to any of you: I did willingly partake of alcoholic beverages at certain times during my all-too-brief stay in Japan. No, it's not a bad thing... it wasn't even an illegal thing. The drinking age in Japan is 20, and since I'm that old then it was legal for me to do so.
I mean, it's not like drinking every now and then is a bad thing, anyway. I can't think of a single civilization that has never had any kind of substance to get them buzzing or tripping.
...hey, why am I trying to defend myself, anyway? Do I feel guilty about it? It's not like I haven't gotten drunk before, you know... and besides, drinking can be like a learning experience in some cases. I mean, for one, you learn what it's like to look at everything a little more removed than normal. I know Steve is a goofy guy to begin with (well, from what I observed) but he probably wouldn't take out his masks unless some special occasion warrented it. Well, maybe, at least.... And I've learned that I do talk more when I'm around certain people when I'm drinking.
I mean, when I drink with people I know at school I tend not to say very much. It might be because I never feel very accepted among them, or that I feel like I can't compete with what they have to say. Come to think of it, I really don't feel like I can out-talk the people I work with at "CM-Life..." I guess I just figure I don't have much to say. But when I'm around certain people, like the people above, I don't have any problems for some reason. I don't know what it is... maybe it's something other than feeling comfortable. I really don't know.
Anyway, people act differently when they consume alcohol, including me. I think at one point during the festivities I openly expressed my feelings of inadequacy when it comes to talking to girls. I think I said something like "yeah, when it comes to girls I have no idea what to do. And you have to talk and stuff... it's hard." Yeah, I probably wouldn't have said that if I hadn't been drinking. But it's no big deal anyway, because I don't feel threatened by these people. I mean, just look at Seif in those two pictures above. How could he be threatening in any way? See what I mean?
So the times got pretty wild around JCMU the second to last night we were there. Even Rick the mannequin head got passed around a bit and ended up in some interesting situations. As I said above, I didn't really get out of control by any means, even after consuming a 300ml bottle of sake and 1 and 1/2 liters of beer. Well, all things considered I suppose that's not a huge amount of alcohol anyway.
So, what do I remember about our festivities? Well, I remember what was going on in all the photographs I took, and a couple I didn't take. I remember Josh, seen here measuring out his beer, borrowed my camera for a while and started taking photos of people. I can't blame him: if I got to use a camera with a super-wide angle lens I'd want to use it, especially after a few beers. I remember the rice feast I prepared: I had about 3 cups of rice left I had to get rid of, so I made all of it and fed everybody some. 3 cups of rice turns out to be about 9 cups cooked because it expands so much, and I'm surprised the cover stayed on the pot while I was cooking it.
I remember somebody fried up an eel and offered it to people. I tried a little and I guess I'm not an eel fan. It was a little too fishy-tasting for me.
I remember pulling stuff out of the "ninja hatch" and passing it around. The ninja hatch is really just a utility access crawlspace, but you can stand on the toilet in the bathroom and crawl out to the common room if you want to. Apparently lots of people at JCMU have done this and even hid artifacts in them. No, nothing contraband or explicitly vulgar, just lots of pointless artifacts. Rick the mannequin head was found in a ninja hatch, and apparently other little tings like a tiny Christmas tree, a couple dozen cans of chewing tobacco, an "ass hat," and plenty of other small things.
I suppose there really isn't too much more for me to say about all this. I mean, the plain and simple truth is that people did a lot of drinking and had fun, and that was that. Just one night of drinking too much, eating rice and eel, and having a blast. I had my share of drinks and fun, from running down the hallway to the elevator with Steve to get some more film to just sitting around and lauging with the other people there. The only thing about all that was it kinda made me sad to have to leave. I mean, if I stayed at JCMU I wouldn't be partying all the time, to be certain, but the people I got to know a little better made me want to stick around. There was Kate from MSU; Seif, Chris and Sterling; and all the people from CMU I never really talked to in Japanese class. All were fun to be around. I wonder if I can say the same for myself?
In any case, I suppose that's all there is to say about that. The pictures are goofy and fun but there really isn't too much below the surface when it comes to all that. Well, maybe a little, but knowing me it'll stay "below the surface" because I don't want to be causing any problems for anybody. No, it's nothing negative or anything, so don't worry: I've got nothing against any of the people who were there.
...eh, anyway, it seems like I'm starting to lose track of what kind of point I want to make here. The next day was my last full day in Japan and I've got a whole 'nother section devoted to that.
