Now Where Did I Leave Off....

Before you read this blog, please revisit the entry entitled "New Music and New People." I have added two new paragraphs concerning an event that I was confused about for awhile that now holds pertinence to the following stories.

Saturday, May 5 - To Namba We Go
Today I was to go meet Keisuke on a trip to Namba. We had been looking for some friends to go with us, but we were largely unsuccessful in doing so. I was able to get Nao to agree to come, but she couldn't join us until later that night and she would have to bring her friend.

My arrival at Namba Station sent Keisuke on a hunting trip since I ended up on the wrong side of the rather large station. After he came and rescued me, we began our journey of trying to find stuff to do. Our original plan involved Saki and Chiaki, but they apparently could not join us, so we had to find stuff to do with just two people. First, we looked around in a popular department store, but everything in there was rather dull and boring. After we walked around for a bit more, we stopped by some arcades in order to have some fun. Next, we went to a cafe where we enjoyed a triple chocolate drink while waiting for Nao to arrive.

I had earlier spoken to Nao online about our venture and did some information fishing. As I discovered, her friend was a guy, but she was not dating him. When they arrived in Namba, I discovered that this friend was one of the exchange students at the school. From there, we all went to eat okonomiyaki for dinner. After dinner, Keisuke had to leave since he had another appointment to attend to. Nao, Matt, and I went to karaoke. It seemed that Nao did not want to sing in front of us except for the few songs that she sang with one of us. Matt and I had several songs that we both knew, so we got to sing together a few times.

After karaoke, we went to the station in order to head home. Nao had to go a separate way. Matt began asking how I knew her, so I described the rather odd circumstance of meeting to him. From there, he casually stated that she was his girlfriend. Unfortunately, this information was inconsistent with the information that I had previously received. However, I thought that it might be best to approach the incompatibility from the other side since it could cause trouble if I brought it up to him. Therefore, I pleaded the fifth and we returned home peacefully.

Later, I asked Nao about the mismatched information and she verified that they were not together. She explained that they used to date, but she broke up with him because of the future distance problems. She expressed her concern about his statement in that she thought he might still believe they are together. After later asking him about it, she found that he did indeed lie about it. Through my psychological analysis, he wanted to get back together with her and perceived me as a threat to that goal. Unfortunately for him, his untruth pushed that idea over the edge by making her mad at him for lying about such a thing and therefore making her not want to talk with him anymore. (These events all happened over a series of days over the span of a week).

Sunday, May 6 - To Dinner
Today was the three weeks in the making plan to go to dinner with Miruku and friends. She brought Yuki and two other friends. She tried to invite Albert along, but he was sick. We met halfway at Kyobashi Station and made our way to the restaurant. Miruku said that the restaurant that she reserved was a little expensive, but looking at the menu, the prices were still less expensive than in America. We all enjoyed our meals while talking. After eating, we stayed and chatted for about two hours. Yuki's father had previously gotten upset with her for going to dinner with some guy (me) because he is very strict. Therefore, he mandated that she be back home by 9:30. However, 9:3o came and went. Apparently, Yuki has a bit of an attitude when it comes to being told what to do. This amused me, as it is against my image of a Japanese person to do such things. After we left, we all went to the station and parted ways.

Monday, May 7 - Otanjoubi, Omedetou!
Today was my birthday. As a present, my Japanese teacher gave me.... a test! A test that I later found out on which I got the highest grade out of all my other tests. As another present, I got to go to my favorite culture class and stare off into space and then do a similar act in my human resources class, but with a little more attention every now and then. After class, I was to meet with Nao, who insisted on getting me a present. She was officially the only person who gave me a present and also officially the person I knew for the shortest time (5 days). She got me a kimono for males since I asked her to get something Japanese. After that, Nabil appeared and insisted that we celebrate my birthday, so Nabil, Nao, and I went to karaoke. This time, I was able to get Nao to sing songs on a consistent basis and by herself - an interesting development considering that she used to date Matt and would not sing with him and now Nabil, who she did not know at all was there and yet she still opted to sing.

After karaoke, Nao realized that she would not be able to get home since the trains would stop before she could reach home. Fortunately, she was able to find a friend to stay with who even lived near the dorms. So we all walked home together. Using the excuse that it was cold, Nao took my arm in order to keep warm. This was a fairly consistent act all the way home. Hence was my birthday.

Tuesday, May 8 - Alright, That Does It...
All I can recall from this day was that I gave up on getting my sister's birthday present from a site that hadn't shipped it for three weeks, so I had one of my Japanese friends help me choose from another site that was in Japanese.

Wednesday, May 9 - Nada
I don't recall anything particularly special happening this day other than meeting with Masami and Nana again for lunch.

Thursday, May 10 - A Glass of Milk
Today I got to go to karaoke with Miruku; this time unaccompanied by friends. Miruku is part of a gospel choir, so I was expecting a treat. Sure enough, she had a voice. Throughout our singing, I assisted her in pronouncing English at her request. After karaoke, we went for dinner where I continued to assist her with pronunciation. She also perused her dictionary for English cliches and I attempted to explain the meanings to her. After we stayed in the restaurant for awhile, we finally left to head home.