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June 20, 2006
The Best Birthday Hau... Party Ever
So last Sunday, my neighbor (and very good friend) arranged a birhtday dinner for me at a fancy Italian restaurant near the coast.
We got our own room with a lovely view of the classic Enoden train line. This part I already knew about. In my mind, I was imagining people would show up, eat some good italian food, drink some Italian wine, wish me a happy birthday, slip me a couple of cards, and head home. I was envisioning a very low key dinner.
Instead, those mutinous people banded together (as mutinous mutineers often do) and chipped in for these rockin' heels
ruffly green shirt
funky black/grey/white flower brooch
a travel journal (for my upcoming Shikoku pilgrimage) that has little pockets throughout it to keep mementos
and the sweetest group birthday card book ever!
In addition to the group present I also got:
From Kate: A whole bunch of panda stuff. And by a whole bunch, I mean a whole bunch! This girl went a little panda-loco at the local stores for me. How sweet!
Let's see if I can name everything: panda socks, panda towel ring, panda notebook, two panda stuffed toys, panda mini-duster, panda mini-lunch box with stationary in it, panda stickers, panda poscard, panda rusk, panda candy yogurt, panda lollipops, and panda chocolate dip sticks. Phew!
Oh, and to top it all off, a panda birthday card.
I guess this is the result of my dressing up in a panda suit and stilettos and lip synching "You give love a bad name" by Bon Jovi.
From Andrew and Daisuke: Special underoos, a skull and bones pin, and a beaded/sequined necklace/neck drape thing. And the best package.
From Frootyloops: Lombard Caramel corn from San Francisco.
From Francis: A cat paw (which I proceeded to include in almost every picture thereafter)
From Matt: A real Cuban cigar.
From Antje: A birthday card comparing fruitcakes and ALTs (he he) and a "Panda Shock" soda drink eraser.
From Frances: An excellent handmade card with "all things Ema" word search on it.
From Al: Forchsticks (yes, they are chopsticks and forks combined and YES! they are STARING at you) and colorful wavy hairpins
I really hope I didn't forget anyone/thing/kindness/gift...
After the gift receiving, I proceeded to eat and drink wine, take pictures (with and without cat paw) and try on my new shoes. And of course, mandatory attempts were made a booty popping by several of the group. Oh master D showed us how it was done.
In the end, everyone, in addition to being so incredibly generous in the gift department, also paid for my dinner, which was... pricey.
I feel incredibly lucky (and guilty) for getting such special treatment by my friends in Japan. I probably can never repay all this kindness and generosity, but I will certainly try! Thank you thank you, if you all are reading this. This was an incredibly memorable evening.
Here are some links to pictures that friends took of at the party:
Funk Fresh Andrew's Account of the Evening
Posted by Emarrific at 12:52 PM | Comments (4)