Day 2...Reflections and Sushi

It is Tuesday morning and I’m sitting in the office waiting to start the day. We have a full schedule of stuff to do but we should be out on time today. We left the office at around 6:30 and headed to a traditional Japanese restaurant for dinner. I had grill beef, that was excellent, with mushrooms, potatoes and fried pumpkin. There was also some egg drop like soup that was a little different and messo soup. It was a solid meal but a little light on the beef.

I fired up Full Tilt at around 8:30 which was 6:30 am back home. There wasn’t much to play for tournaments so I fired up a cheap sng to get my fix taken care of. It was actually a pretty good one in that there were 5 players left at the 400/800 level. I eventually made it to the money and ended in 2nd when the blinds were so high that a call with any two cards wasn’t a bad call.

I also played a 90 peep and made it to the 2nd hour with a nice stack and unable to keep my eyes open. I turned the volume way up and put on my head phones so the sound would wake me if it was my turn to act. When we were down to 34 players I look at KK and an idiot was on my right. He limped in and and I made a strange bet of 14 x the BB and old fold except the idiot who calls. The flop is J96 and I push knowing he has little or nothing of this flop and hoping he will call with a piece. He calls with his A6. That’s right…he called with 3rd pair and gets rewarded with a 6 on the turn to knock me out. I made the decision to call it a knight.

I woke up this morning with and called home but got no answer so I checked some e-mail and got ready for the day with some breakfast and a bottle of Pepsi. The sun is still behind the clouds but each day here is another day closer to home.

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All of the guys that work here smoke like crazy and thus my allergies are going nuts. I never had allergies until maybe the last year and I really don’t like it. Anyway, they sit around a table and chain smoke during breaks polluting the air for miles around. Being a man I just sit in this cloud of carcinogenic toxins waiting for the second hand smoke to end my life early, one puff at a time.

It’s basically lunch time but we are waiting for the lunchroom to clear out a bit. The company gives lunch to all of the employees and there is two choices each day. Yesterday I had a Japanese hamburger that had a gravy on it that was outstanding. I also had some rice and messo soup with some random veggies mixed onto the plate. Not a bad lunch and a nice perk for the employees. I’m not sure what we are having today but I’m staying away from the messo soup.

So in another four hours we’ll be leaving for dinner. Tonight is a night of Sushi and so I will eat a lot and feel hungry by the time we get back to the hotel. The sushi here is much better than any that I’ve had in the U.S. and will be accentuated with a cold glass of beer…or two.

Since I’m starting to feel normal again I’ll probably go for a walk. Lord knows I could use the exercise and with no t.v. that I can understand it will give me a chance to do something other than sit in my underwear and play poker. Last time when I was here we didn’t get back until late every night and I stayed in a hotel without internet. Add the fact that nobody spoke English and you have the recipe for boredom. I Probably would have walked around last time but we were in what would be considered rural Japan. So I’ll be walking around looking like a tourist in a Hachioji…a city of about 500,000.

My boss grew up in this town. I drove his high school and and had Dinner right across the street from his childhood home. I don’t know what significance this is other than I may get hammered and stand in the street yelling my boss’s last name in hopes of meeting his parents.

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I had the pleasure of doing some of the work that I expect my employees to do. It isn’t that I didn’t know how to do it but that I was actually doing some finished product. It was easy work but it takes focus and patience (surf…you get it). Anyway, we get to finish the project tomorrow and then maybe spend the afternoon checking out some sights like Mt. Fuji. I have a couple of good picture of Mt. Fuji from my last trip…take a look.


This was a bit of a rambling post but it kind of relates to how I am feeling…a bit out of place and in a state of flux. Day 2 is all but over.

Sushi was good.