![\"Wondering](\"http:\/\/www.triplefstudio.com\/yokoso\/images\/nye_11_1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe New Year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Eve party has come and gone and it seems to have been a success. I never really set a time for it to begin, so at the beginning of the evening Tomo and I were all dressed up with no place to go!<\/p>\n
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Note I tried a little experiment with these pictures \u00e2\u20ac\u201c perhaps a failed experiment. I changed the mode to a program mode because I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want the camera to compensate for a lack of light and over-expose. So, although the party was appropriate mood-lit for a party, every picture is now really dark. Oh well, lesson learned.<\/p>\n
Anyway, Tomo had time to watch a little TV before the guests started to arrive. Some were late because they were busy cleaning their room, another was late because their 1.5 hour nap turned into 3 hours, and some were just late. But almost everyone made it.<\/p>\n
The plan was to eat, watch a comedy special, and maybe consume a little alcohol. Between the 10 of us, 14 beers, 4 bottles of champagne, 2 bottles of white, and 1 bottle of red were consumed. I think I had at least half a bottle of champagne just myself. Or more. Nobody got sloppy drunk, so the party was able to sustain for a bit.<\/p>\n
Everyone seemed to be enjoying the food. I heated up about 4 liters of chili (yes, really, 4 liters) wondering if anyone would like it. As it turns out, people did. Some were surprised that it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a little spicier, so I broke out the cayenne especially for them. I should have gotten Tabasco as well.<\/p>\n
![\"Enjoying](\"http:\/\/www.triplefstudio.com\/yokoso\/images\/nye_11_2.jpg\")
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![\"Enjoying](\"http:\/\/www.triplefstudio.com\/yokoso\/images\/nye_11_3.jpg\")
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As the night progressed, people got more and more interested in the comedy television special.<\/p>\n
![\"Enjoying](\"http:\/\/www.triplefstudio.com\/yokoso\/images\/nye_11_4.jpg\")
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We had a countdown and popped some \u00e2\u20ac\u0153crackers.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d When I was running errands, Tomo told me to get some crackers. I told him I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think we needed to add anymore food. I thought he meant crackers, you know, like crackers. But turns out \u00e3\u201a\u00af\u00e3\u0192\u00a9\u00e3\u0192\u0192\u00e3\u201a\u00ab\u00e3\u0192\u00bc. or crackers, are like firecrackers. He described them as pulling the string and then they pop. Oh, right. Then I added that I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want the streamers flying out and making a mess. After all, I had just spent three days cleaning. He told me I could find some that didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have any streamers. I sort of forgot about them and had no idea where to buy them anyway. But then I went to a 100 yen shop and thought, well, maybe they have \u00e2\u20ac\u0153crackers\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and maybe I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll buy some. I never go to 100 yen shops, I absolutely HATE 100 yen shops, but I wanted a small plate for a candle and I wanted to spend no more than 100 yen. So there I was, and I found the mother load of crackers. And, if you can believe it, I even found \u00e2\u20ac\u0153No Dirty Cracker.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I think that meant that the streamers streamed but were then captured. I snooped around a little more and then determined that was probably the case. Those crackers were definitely worth it. The text reads, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00e6\u2022\u00a3\u00e3\u201a\u2030\u00e3\u0081\u2039\u00e3\u201a\u2030\u00e3\u0081\u00aa\u00e3\u0081\u201e\u00e3\u201a\u00af\u00e3\u0192\u00a9\u00e3\u0192\u0192\u00e3\u201a\u00ab\u00e3\u0192\u00bc\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, (chirakaranai kurakka-), which roughly translates to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153non-scattering cracker.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
![\"No](\"http:\/\/www.triplefstudio.com\/yokoso\/images\/nye_11_5.jpg\")
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I just noticed the warning label on the back. Make sure you play with the adult and do not put it in the pocket.<\/p>\n
![\"No](\"http:\/\/www.triplefstudio.com\/yokoso\/images\/nye_11_11.jpg\")
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After the New Year, the TV special ended, so Tomo broke out his collection of Studio Ghibli<\/a> movies and folks watched, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00e7\u00b4\u2026\u00e3\u0081\u00ae\u00e8\u00b1\u0161\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (Porco Rosso<\/a>). Why Tomo brought that collection from Tokyo baffles me, but it was a success. People started wearing out by then.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We watched the Shiina Ringo<\/a> Expo 2008 live concert DVD that Tomo and I went to<\/a>. That was a pretty incredible concert. By then I think I had a lot to drink because I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t remember tons of that time. Odd. Maybe I was talking to others at the time.<\/p>\n After that DVD finished, Tomo suggested we rented \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Hangover\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with Japanese subtitles. Hmmm, so that meant I needed someone with an Apple Store account in Japan to rent it. With so many music fans, that took about three seconds. By this time everyone was getting pretty tired. As I thought, the party turned in to a big slumber party, but the expectation of where and how people would sleep was far less than I thought it would be.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I think the heated floors kept everyone pretty cozy, although the wood isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t particularly soft.<\/p>\n The sun came up, the trains started run, and slowly people started to wake up. Slowly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n By 8:30 am or so, everyone had left and I had the chance to go to sleep. As the host I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really feel like I could go to sleep. So I kept myself going. I woke up at 10:00 am or so, feeling really, really, really bad and tasting nothing but champagne. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never been so drunk that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve gotten sick. Really. But on 1\/1\/11 I was soooo close. But all I could think of is that if I puked I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d never want my chili again. So somehow I successfully held back, fell back asleep, and was able wake up around noon and start cleaning. I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel very good most the day, but was better in the evening and full speed today.<\/p>\n Thanks to my Japanese friends who broke from their usual traditions to enjoy a house party at my place. This is most likely my last New Year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in Nagoya, so it was really nice to be able to share it with Japanese.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The New Year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Eve party has come and gone and it seems to have been a success. I never really set a time for it to begin, so at the beginning of the evening Tomo and I were all dressed up with no place to go! Note I tried a little experiment with these … <\/p>\n![\"Enjoying](\"http:\/\/www.triplefstudio.com\/yokoso\/images\/nye_11_6.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Resting](\"http:\/\/www.triplefstudio.com\/yokoso\/images\/nye_11_7.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Resting](\"http:\/\/www.triplefstudio.com\/yokoso\/images\/nye_11_8.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Resting](\"http:\/\/www.triplefstudio.com\/yokoso\/images\/nye_11_9.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Rise](\"http:\/\/www.triplefstudio.com\/yokoso\/images\/nye_11_10.jpg\")
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