Happy Birthday, Tamie!
Saturday was Tamie’s birthday and we celebrated in class… at least that was the plan…
The girls stayed in Isehara on Friday, as Tamie had to work late and the grandparents were picking up Layla. Tamie also booked a haircut on Saturday morning so it was more convenient to just stay there. It gave me the opportunity to clean up the apartment for her birthday. How’s that for a good present, eh? The place was spotless… at least until Layla was back for more than five minutes. 
For her birthday dinner, I booked a cruise on the Royal Wing in Yokohama. We headed out early to visit Motomachi for the tail end of their “Charming Sale” to let Tamie do what she does best… spend money!
After visiting a number of jewerly and clothing stores, we stopped at a cafe for fries before heading out to the docks to catch our ship. That’s when the rain started – not a huge downpour, but enough to get cold and wet.
At the dock, we noticed there were two weddings going on that night – at least, there were two girls in big, poofy white dresses at big parties… in this country, you never know if it’s a wedding dress or a fashion statement.
I picked up the tickets I reserved from the counter and the lady gave me the tickets and charged me for the meal. I was a bit surprised, as it was a lot cheaper than I was expecting, until I found out that we were booked for the buffet instead of the course dinner. No one asked when I called to make the reservation, and it was too late when I picked up the tickets – I don’t know if they just assumed I wanted the buffet because I had a kid or what, but it wasn’t exactly what I (or Tamie) had in mind. It did make things easier with Layla, though.
On board, we were shown to our table along with everyone else waiting in line. The usually polite, orderly people of Japan who line up for everything from trains to bread shops raced for the buffet. We went to grab some food, fighting young and old people alike. The chaos that ensued was ridiculous – there wasn’t even an attempt at order as people circled the buffet table in both directions, cutting into lines and reaching over each other to get egg rolls and meat buns.
During dinner, a lady entertainer came to the table and made a balloon animal for Layla. Layla watched in abject wonder and amazement mixed with a bit of fear and nervousness. She finally regained the ability to move once the show was over and the animal was Layla’s. She’s too funny sometimes.
After the meal was over (or the food was done), we headed to the “Sun Deck” to take a look around. The wind was blowing, the deck was wet and slippery, but luckily the rain didn’t pour too heavily… so it was fun, if cold. I played around with my camera while Tamie and Layla eventually went inside. I would say I took pictures, but none of them really turned out… so I “played with my camera” instead.
When all was said and done, we went and grabbed a late train home. The girls fell asleep on the train while I stood stoically after giving up my seat for an old lady. The ungrateful old bat didn’t even say thank you, as if she was expecting someone to just jump up and give her a seat… you’d think she’d have been around this country long enough to know better. No, I’m not bitter – not even after a once pregnant Tamie would complain daily about how people here would ignore her while she stood in front of the “priority” seats.
Today, we woke up late after everyone slept in… I love Sundays. We stuck around home for most of the afternoon, watching Sesame Street and playing with Layla. We headed out to the grandparents’ house for birthday celebrations with the whole family.
On the way to the house, we stopped by the local cake shop to pick up some cakes for everyone. As everyone picked out which cake they wanted, Layla pointed to the biggest one in the display. Her grandma, always anxious to spoil the kid, bought it without hesitation. Who’s birthday was it, anyways? Cake in hand, we headed back to the house where Tamie helped her mom prepare an always delicious sukiyaki meal. Beef and cake! It should be Tamie’s birthday every weekend! 
So here’s hoping Tamie had as good a weekend as I did. The buffet was a tad less classy than expected and the weather could have co-operated better than it did, but overall I’d say it was a successful birthday weekend.
Photos here:
 Saturday |
 Sunday |