Leavers' Weekend

Friday = Went to kencho with fellow Prefectural leavers. Yamane gave us our travel dosh. Very nice amount was received. I have since worked out that it is paying for my trip via Bangkok home, my CELTA course, my accommodation for the month, with some to spare! Nice! After that, Laura, Jenny, Paul, Jamie, Aaron and I met Jo, Yukari, Tom, Neal, and Kat in Tokuyama for Red Lantern Yaki-tori - yum yum! We continued drinking at the new and uber-cool Suzy Wong's. Such a funky wee place, it makes you feel like you aren't even in lil ol' Guch! As Jimmy says, "You can't go Wong!" After that we met up with Keith, visiting for the Leavers' Party, and Jimmy at Shidax. Nomihodai was ordered - the plan originally was "no hodai tonight", but with the night cranking along so well we couldn't not! So 2 and a half hours of drinking and karaoke later, all the favourites sung once or twice, I have to say I got a bit sad watching and listening to everyone sing their favourite songs, knowing there weren't going to be many other karaoke nights together. We finally made it home to bed after 3.30am!

Woken at 8am-ish on Saturday. Slept again til 10.30ish, then the phone rang, and we knew that it was work time. Everyone in varying degrees of tiredness, and hungoverness it wasn't a entirely happy day! But work indeed had to be done, it was like Santa's Workshop - Zen Zens in the making, CD putting togethering, T-Shirt printing - it was all go. We were hoping for a nap, but time went fast, before we knew it it was time to head to Kenko Park for part one of Leavers' Party.

We ate and drunk, chatted and bantered. All jolly good fun. At one stage Laura removed herself from company to concentrate on drinking as it wasn't happening as fast as it should be with talking at the same time! When we tried to see if Neal could fit a glass in his mouth, Jenny freaked out "Oh my God, don't do that, he won't be able to breathe, and it'll create a vacuum, and he'll explode!" She honestly looked like she might have cried with fear! So we thought (Eleanor and I) we should prove that it wouldn't happen by having Neal sit, and Jenny put her fist in his mouth, while Eleanor and I block his facial orifices (nose and ears!)!! Ah the hilarity, well except when Jenny pulled her fist out, and I thought I saw food matter stuck to it and started dry retching!!

On to Suzy Wong's for the Zenny Awards. I came away the proud and surprised winner of "Person most likely to be last to leave the bar"! Very proud moment, thanks for voting for me everyone!

Then final stop was Tiki-Ta for the party! It was very fun, lots of dancing and general craziness! I decided to stop drinking when began to get headachy and tired. Stuck to the water like a sensible drinker does. Honestly though, if I hadn't have gotten that damn award, I would've been home in bed by 12!! But I stuck it out, and was part of the last crowd to leave at 3am-ish! Couldn't let myself and everyone down on award night after all!

- Photos to follow -