Hard Rock, Leather Straps, and Shoes

Gotta love the Monday after an exhausting weekend. I layed in my bed at about 6:30am pressing snooze maybe 6 times. I was tired and warm and cozy in my bed. Who wants to get up when the house is the temperature of the outdoors? Don't worry, I was able to make it to school today and the games I planned went well, aside from a few criticisms given to me by Ito (baka) sensei. The reason for the exhaustion is shopping. I never realized how much it can take it out of you.

We went to Fukuoka this weekend to celebrate Selena and Louise's birthdays however shopping was the main agenda. We drove down on Saturday (it surprisingly only took about 2.5 hours to get there), parked our cars at the first available parking spot and set off to Tenjin, shopping mecca of Fukuoka. I was bewildered, lost and in awe at the sights and sounds around me. Imagine after 4 months of living in the country, the quiet little country, to be plopped down in the middle of one of Japan's largest city. I couldn't fathom all the people walking around and shops to visit. We shopped for about 3 hours leaving with a pair of pants (yea! I was able to find a pair that fit), a sweater, a poncho and a rather pricey, but sweet watch. We then met up at the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner and birthday celebrations. Talk about reverse culture shock, at its finest! The menu was so.....so American! I drank an appletini and cosmopolitan (which is just unheard of), I ate pulled pork, coleslaw and french fries (what? a proper bun?) and then danced to 'They Say it's Your Birthday' by the Beatles. Fabulous! After dinner we headed out to the Small Cock and Big Cock (technically the Happy and Crazy Cocks) which are bars and danced and drank a bit. It was a good time, many gaijin which is very weird for me. Then we went to Sam and Daves which is a club that apparently has excellent music and dancing. Tonight just happened to be bondage night. We walked in fairly unaware of what was going on and saw a few women in leather clothes slapping eachother. (sorry for the older/wiser readers, I'm just giving the facts) We immediately left (ah such good judgement was instilled in us, thanks Mom) and were fortunate enough to get our 1000 yen cover charge back. After that, we basically called it a night.

Sunday we arose to the sounds of children screaming at Bren's friend's apartment. We got ready for yet another day of money spending. We went to Canal City, which in my opinion is much better than Tenjin. Easier to navigate, not as intense and overall nicer shops. I bought a skirt, PJ's, and 3 pairs of shoes. Yes, 3! Why 3? Because a) they fit and b) they were cheap! Even more fabulous! After eating some Indian curry we drove to Costco, yet another culture shock. Most of the stuff is straight from America. Some highlights of that shopping trip were brownie mix, Tostitos chips, Campbells soup, waffles, bagels and refried beans. Ah, simple pleasures.