Of Celebration and Mourning
Contrary to the astonishment I felt, I was notified of my cousin’s daughter’s first birthday party a month beforehand; I just forgot what day it was. Unfortunately, it occurred last week Saturday. I hadn’t bought a card nor did I have much cash money. So, I ended up scrambling to the bank, doing a withdrawal (I have to scrounge for my ATM pin number…) and shuffled off to the store to get a card.
I didn’t think it’d be a problem and, sure enough, it wasn’t and I was out like trout on my way to Natsunoya Tea House. With my iPhone 3G’s GPS and Google Maps, I found the place fine. Parking was the disaster. Not only was the lot full, but the streets were lined with cars. Somehow the place still had spots for valet, which I don’t know where they’d go. I ended up parking in a dead-end street at the bottom of a long hill. Good work out.
I saw family I didn’t see for a while at the party and the food was ok. It was kinda novelty with you having to take your shoes off before heading into the dining hall and the waitresses wore kimono.
Sunday was also a busy day with my aunt’s funeral. I saw folks from the other side of my family that I haven’t seen in a while and even a few people from karate. It was nice to see them all, even if due to a solemn event. While I can ramble about a birthday party, it’s hard to find words for a funeral, so I’ll just say that seeing friends and family from karate has me thinking about going back. I need the exercise, and perhaps it’ll brighten my uncle’s (who’s the founder of the karate club I was a part of) day knowing I came back.
