Flashback: Christmas 2004

Here's a little holiday flashback. On the 23rd we hosted a small Christmas party for a bunch of my friends. Yukiko prepared lots & lots of sushi stuff so everyone enjoyed making their own food. A few people cancelled at the last moment but it probably turned out for the best as our little table couldn't accommodate anyone else. Christmas parties are great. We should hold them throughout the year.

(left -> right) Yukiko, Simon, Dan, Tomita Sensei (my Japanese teacher)

(left -> right) Cliff, Owen, Craig, Yukiko again!)

On the 25th we went over to our friends Kazu and Hiroko's place for a little Christmas dinner. Hiroko's sister Mayumi and her new husband of only a few months Jun was also there. It was my first time meeting them and they were really nice. Jun seems to like MMA almost as much as me.

Super party hosts: Kazu & Hiroko

The newlyweds: Mayumi & Jun

The 2 who drank all the wine

Obviously I had no idea what everyone was talking about here.

On the 26th I was shocked by the news about the big tsunami in the Indian Ocean. First reports had the casualties at about 2000 but of course it's much higher now. Last report was 145 000 dead. Some say that may double with sickness and disease caused by lack of clean water. It hit home for me because I've been to a few of the places in Thailand that were hit very hard, Koh Phi Phi and Phuket. I'm sure if I'd have been there I would have been scuba diving or playing in the water and wouldn't be able to update this blog right now. Very scary. Now would be a good time for everyone (including myself) to make a donation to the Red Cross or some other charity helping the survivors.

On the 28th, the evening before we left on our trip, we went bowling with my friend Dan and a few of his friends from Kwansei Gakuin University. I haven't been bowling for ages and had forgotten how much fun it can be. In the last game of the night everyone had really good scores. I got a near, if not actual, lifetime high score of 135. Usually I just try to break a hundred. Dan who got somewhere in the 140's is now considering going pro I think. Excelsior Dan!!

Our nengajo, or New Year's Card, which we sent out to all our Japanese family and friends. 2005 is the year of the bird. Thus our bird motif. Pretty clever aren't we?

Funny spellchecker recommendations:

Yukiko = huskies
Tomita (Sensei) = tomato
Hiroko's = heiresses or Iroquois
Mayumi = mayhem
nengajo = menaces
spellchecker = splices