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Today marked the 11th time I've celebrated my birthday in Japan. After an early disappointment (the Mexican place my wife and daughter and I planned to eat at--run by a couple of buds from Mexico--was closed; I really hope this was just bad timing on my part because, aside from the excellent food and beer I was looking forward to, I was kinda hoping to hang with one or both of the owners for a while...), we went to an excellent yakitori-ya and enjoyed some very fine Miyazaki cuisine. And I enjoyed several beers. Actually, this particular shop ("Den Den Den") seemed appropriate to me because it was one of the first restaurants I regularly went to during my early days in Miyazaki. (It's also one of the few places in all of Japan where I know more about "what's what" than my wife! Along with "gaijin" bars and the rules to sumo, this is a rarity meant to be savored...)

When we got back home I decided (against my wife's better judgements) it would be a good idea to walk down the street and pick up some beer (have I ever mentioned how convenient a place Japan is?). This led to an amusing moment when, on my way back, my wife called my cell phone to tell me that my mother was on the phone from Canada. She was telling me to hurry the hell up because she didn't know how much longer our daughter (who's six) could carry the conversation! My wife can't really speak much English. I can't really speak much Japanese, although 11 continuous years in Japan have probably given me a bit of an edge language-wise. We manage...

So, I get back home and spend some time catching up with my Mom. Her older sister has "the Alzheimer's" pretty bad, and my Mom has been worried for a long time that she might get it as well. I'm no doctor, but when I talk to my mother I'm filled with certainty that, no, she doesn't have Alzheimer's. I tell her this, and then jokingly "test" her. She seems genuinely pleased to pass my silly "test," but I think she's also genuinely pleased (like any sane person) to have someone else tell her that no, she isn't losing her mind. She's as sane as I am, whatever that's worth... (Well, fuck it, that's worth a lot.)

So, here I am now...

The Beatles-Happy BirthdayAlt. Link