天気：雨天
Today was filled with a lot of “unexpected”, but everything turned out for the best… I got up pretty late, relishing the sleep in. It wasn’t until 10:30, when my stomach was hurting me that I finally went up to have some breakfast. While in the kitchen, Asami told me she was sick, and wasn’t up to coming with; a shame, but can’t be helped. Soon after, Jacinthe told me all her other plans had fallen through, and she’d like to join me; I had told her about it before. Then, after I had gotten ready (all dressed up), I decided to go to the computer room to check my email; just in case the time to get there had changed. I was shortly visited by Katie, saying that (for reasons unknown), she was going to come today; okay. So, in the end, it was just Jacinthe and I; I was grateful that I had at least one person. We left for Makino station soon after, and took the local train several stops, till we finally got to 守口市 (Moriguchishi); just before the meeting time. I had no idea where we were meeting them however, but opted for the closest exit; the west exit. We stood near a Makkas for a while, and Maarika, her friend Rose, and Natalie (a prospective new member to our club), suddenly showed up. Maarika didn’t know where we were meeting the girls either, so we wandered around like lost little lambs for a while, until we were found, and promptly united with the rest of the group, at the east exit.
We made our way over to the Moriguchi culture centre, a short walk away, and proceeded to descend the stairwell into the basement, where the washitsu (Japanese-style room) was located. Upon arrival, we took our shoes off, and joined sensei and a number of her other students. We got there at about 1:30, but the concert wasn’t due to start until 2:30; I don’t know why we just didn’t meet at 2, like we had planned in the first place. Anyway, this gave us time to go have some lunch. And guess where we went; Makkas. Well, it was just Jacinthe and I, and Mori-sempai and Natalie; the rest went to Mister Donut. Jacinthe and I tried the New York burger. It was really tasty (patty, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and mustard), but I still liked the Texas burger more. We were a little rushed at the end (the time just escaped us), so we briskly made our way back, and got there just in time. The audience sat on white cushions on the tatami mats, and the performance took place on a red mat, in the adjoining room; the sliding doors had been taken out. Expecting to play shortly, I gave my video camera to Jacinthe, to get her to film for me; she was in a good position to record. It turned out though, that our club wasn’t even on the program; I personally felt a little left out.
But anyway, it was great to see all the other performances. The sensei played both the koto, and shamisen, accompanying her husband on shakuhachi, and also her students. Her youngest student, a cute little girl of 8, played hanagoromo (sensei accompanying). This annoyed me too; Maarika and I could have played with her. But no; oh well. So yeah, the “official” concert went on for about an hour, and Jacinthe managed to get it all on tape; can’t wait to watch it again. Then, disappointingly, many of the audience members left. Sensei’s son, and grandkids, and two other girls were all that remained; and Rose and Jacinthe of course. It was finally our club’s turn to perform, and the girls did such a good job; it was a shame they didn’t get the support they deserved. After they had finished their pieces, Maarika and I were up. Since my video camera was just about full, Jacinthe recorded us on her camera; she wasn’t able to get the others, but she too only had a few minutes left of recording. We played with the shakuhachi, and I was really pleased with myself; I got every note out. I feel I have mastered hanagoromo now, and am more than ready to move onto sandan, and get that really good.
So, all in all, it was a great performance. After us, we packed up the room, and got treats from the sensei, before she, and the remaining audience, left. We set up low tables on the tatami, and sat around and ate together. Pretty soon, the lights were out, and we were telling ghost stories. I didn’t really have anything to contribute, but thoroughly enjoyed listen to the stories, recited in both English, and Japanese. It wasn’t until after 7 that we finally packed up and left the building; out into the rain. Jacinthe had lost her gloves, and thought she might have left them in Makkas. So, we said our goodbyes, and made our way back over there. We didn’t find her gloves unfortunately, but I managed to break my umbrella; another unexpected. This and the fact that I didn’t have a beanie justified in my mind that taking the bus home from Hirakata would be a good idea. Jacinthe had no objections, so that’s what we did once we got back. I had cleaning duties again tonight, and made dinner (gyudon) just in time. Everyone showed up to cleaning, and we got it done in no time. Soon after, Biancha returned from the military base, laden with food; a whole suitcase full. To my sadness, she wasn’t able to find rolled oats; I will have to rethink what I’m going to cook.
Remembering Rachael, and saying that I’d watch Advent Children Complete with her, I hastily made my way down to the lounge. She was ready and rearing to go, the movie set up on her blu-ray drive in her new laptop. And oh wow, was it good; it made me fall in love with FFVII all over again. The quality was superb (it was so pretty), and there was at least 20 minutes on extra footage. This really made the difference, and the movie suddenly made so much more sense, the plot so much more solid. Denzel got a back story, Geostigma posed a real threat and was really scary, and all the fight scenes were elongated, becoming even more epic. Cloud’s character was also much improved; he was smiling more, and showed a real caring for Denzel and Marlene. And, it showed blood, and damage; scratches on Cloud’s bike for example. Little things here and there, made it seem a lot more realistic. So, apart from a few little things, like the weird time jumps, I was most impressed. I read Rachael’s review of it afterwards, admittedly very humorous thought not very professional, and that ended my day. A day full of the unexpected…
No comments:
Post a Comment