No run, injured brain

When I was a wee slip of a lad at university in Armidale, I made a very good friend we shall call Mac (to protect the innocent). He was possibly the most eccentric and unpredictable and exciting person I had ever met up until that time (and probably to this day). He was my Moriarty. The first day I met him we spent some hilarious hours with an air rifle shooting up the many nick-nacks that abundantly littered his college room. This incident formed an indelible start to our friendship and was the first of many other riotous incidents over the years (there were also many other famous events involving Mac that I only got to hear about afterwards).

Mac has done some incredible things in his life, but it has never been contrived or affected. It's just Mac. He lived in his car for some months at university. He has had jobs ranging from chimney sweep and tree lopper to radio advertising sales rep to tour bus driver. For the past almost ten years though, he has "settled down" and worked for a well-known international aid organization involved in humanitarian assistance. He has been based in places like Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Pakistan, and has been in Sri Lanka since two days after the tsunami struck. I think this type of "settled down" suits him to a tee.

Mac left Sydney for his international life several years before we came to Japan, but before that we had seen each other fairly regularly for four or five years, further cementing our friendship. But until two days ago, we hadn't met for about five years, maybe six. Currently on his break between missions, he decided to spend some time in Japan. He landed on Monday and we were able to catch up over lunch and again in the evening over a couple of quiet beers. That didn't result in a hangover, but definitely not enough sleep to get up and run on Tuesday morning.

Last night though, we went out. Things didn't get out of control or anything, but we still had some typical "Mac" experiences. He had said he wanted to try Japanese sake. OK, so I get a tip from a friend and we find Suzuden in Yotsuya, which is primarily a specialist sake bottle-shop, but also has a small standing bar attached. So we quietly drank two glasses of sake, the first being a bit dissapointing and the second quite fruity and lively. "It's very easy to drink" said Mac ominously. "It doesnt burn or anything." No, I said, this is pretty good grade sake, and sake is not distilled anyway, so it is actually pretty mild, but at 15% alcohol, this can be quite dangerous. Then Mac, as is his wont, turned to a lone salaryman beside us and asked for a recommendation. The guy duly pointed us toward a slightly more expensive number from Toyama. It was very dry and earthy, but otherwise generally lacking in character. Somewhat embarrassed I guess, the guy disappears. But he soon re-emerges from the door between the bar and the bottle shop carrying an issou (1.8-L bottle like this) of sake. "Here" he says, "I present you!" Jeebus, this is an expensive bottle of sake! He duly rips the top off it and starts pouring! Of course we force him to partake and soon a new life-long friendship that might only last the night is being formed. The friend who had tipped me off to Suzuden also turned up with a friend (I'd mentioned we were going there) and then we were all tearing into the isshou, and we also bought another 750 mL bottle to reciprocate the kind act of our salaryman friend. Both bottles were dispatched to sake heaven and a good time was had by all. We had to move on to another event (a beer meeting, believe it or not) and Mac ended up getting the salaryman's business card. This was no ordinary salaryman, but "Senior Inspector, Tokyo Metropolitan Police Criminal Investigation Bureau". I guess, basically, that means he was a senior detective! Funny, he seemed quite an honest law-abiding citizen ;-)

Anyway, the night went on and a few more drinks were had. Mac and I didn't last long at the beer thing, basically because we were too toasted from the sake I think. We headed for home but stopped in a yakitori shop right near my house. I remember us being engaged in lively discussion with a middle-aged couple next to us, and eating some good yakitori, but not much more. Mac had also wanted to eat some fugu, but somehow we did not accomplish that mission. I guess I am just not a very good host.

So, anyway, I haven't been feeling too well today and decided that, even if the hangover subsides, I will take another day off running. A good nights sleep and perhaps a gentle run tomorrow is in order. Let's just call this a taper for the East Japan half marathon on Sunday. Mercifully, Mac has headed off travelling to other parts of Japan. But just like Arnie, he will be back...