One last party to go.
Tonight, it is one for our family - MoonFlower and I. Hahaha.
Yeah, MoonFlower finishes las working day of the year. Well done!

Thus, went into a restaurant located in Chiba - our usual destination called "Tetsu-ryu."
A friend of hers runs the place. He is French chef. Yeah, taste is guranteed!



Tonight's selection for wine - sticking to red. Pretty heavy one.
French red wine.







Fresh fish



Bright green salad with some herb





This is awesome stuff. Thick foie gras!!!
Unimaginably thick for sure. Hehehe.



Dried curry



Dessert - MoonFlower's pick.

Full of food once again. I was so full. I'd better go on diet very soon.
Soon after New Year's coming. Hahaha.

Anyhow, celebration of year-end with family is now done and completed.
Good dinner tonight.
Adjourned!

Yes, you can call me crazy…
I have another year-end gathering with friends. Yeah, tonight, too. Hahaha.
I cannot resist… too much.

Showed up in Shinjuku area to see several friends… who are…
KNOWN OVER 20 YEARS!
No kidding!!!

I met them when freshman year when I was 19 years old… See?

Tonight too bad that one of them couldn't make it because of sick…
So we missed Takashi from this party.
Amy and Kazuma joined me over dinner then.





Pizza was pretty good!
First visit of mine there… more than expected.
Good deal.



Pasta was even better!
Didn't finish the party or our conversation… automatically went in to 2nd place after Italian.
This time, Japanese. Very Japanese tavern like. Hehehe.



Right? You can even scream!





I'd better admit that I overate. Yeah, I did. So what?
It is end of the year! We better celebrate!



L to R: me, Kazuma, and Amy.



Surprise "Christmas" present from Amy!
Thank you so much!!! What a great surprise!



It was money clip. Yey!!! Loved it.
Use it immediately.

Friends, it was a great night. Thank you.
Will see you so soon immediately after new year.
Yes, New Year Party next!!!

Now firm's team is dissolved and many of "us" leaving the work for good!
Tonight farewell, not funeral, took place in Roppongi.

20-some friends got together over dinner.



Farewell gifts from the coworkers!
Like hunting hat. Nice!



Shoe caring kit.



Hand and body soap



Why underwear for me??? Hahaha.
Good joke!
Very kinky but cool present it is.

Festivity doesn't come to an end, easily!
Finished 2nd place around 2:30am.
No more trains for the day to go home.

Then, 7 of us decided to continue.
Went into sport bar for some more fun.



Pool table



Golf simulator and even played darts.
Pretty fun even though all of us were quite drunk!!! Hehehe.
Certainly, became memorable night.

Here is my BIG THANK-YOU!!!



Flower box for me.



Very cute!!!



Underwear… nicely "boxed."



Boxer pants. Hahaha.
Nice try. Liked it!



Underwear for two… couple --- meaning for MoonFlower and I???
Oh boy! What a joke!

Though, I liked it.

Marry Christmas, y'all!
How's your Christmas? Received several holiday seasons greetings with thanks.

In Japan, Christmas day is not holiday and it was ordinary working day.
Thus, MoonFlower had to go to work. Me? Still jobless. Hahaha.

Yes, Mr. Santa has obviously stopped by this place, also. Thank you!



He gave me a dress shirt for work. Hahaha ironic… I have to work harder now.
This blue shirt looks very nice. This will be my pick for 1st day at new work.



Another shirt… this is what I bought for myself.
I guess, this new shirt is my pick on New Year's Day. Hehehe.
2013 is going to be a new and fun year for sure.



New Year greeting cards are on the way!!!
Just dropped those cards at local post office this morning.
I still have to write a couple more.

In the afternoon, a little hobby time for me.
Yeah, typical Christmas day, isn't it??? Hehehe.



Worked on the model to build.



Here we go!
This is called "Zaku II" from animation called GUNDAM.
Pretty good, huh! I am proud of myself.

This is absolutely 1st time in 20 years??? Longer?
Never made such model since I was in elementary school.
Good hobby time for sure. It was fun.

Okay, less than a week is now remaining in this year. Please enjoy!
Do whatever you need to do without carrying over into new year, please!
Talk to you later.

Finally, Christmas' Eve! Ready for Mr. Santa's visit? Sure, why not.

Went to Mitsui Outlet Park in this afternoon for our Christmas shopping.



I wanted to see new pair of suits and some shirts.
MoonFlower wants new pants to replace her favorite one which was about wearing-out.

Didn't take too long… sun went down quite quickly.
We saw some illumination that was catching many shoppers' attention.



Huge Christmas tree!



Now time for cake! Sounds very Japanese Christmas. Hahaha.
Not home-made.
MoonFlower ordered this cake made by her teacher. Limited quantity.

Maybe from next year, MoonFlower starts baking her own for family? Hahaha.



Nice decoration on top of the cake. Fancy!



Labrador Retriever "Love" got tired after playing with me.
This is MoonFlower's pet and favorite.
Huge but cute!

Long day - spent quite time at mother-in-law's place. But fun.
Tons of food for sure. Now my belly is huge and I better watch out what to eat and how much to eat now.
Diet is another concern of mine. Hehehe.

Our Christmas dinner came early…
MoonFlower and I went to hotel in Shimbashi, Tokyo.

Called "Conrad Tokyo." Yeah, fancy hotel!
Dinner was already reserved at casual French dining place.



Restaurant called "Cerise by Gordon Ramsay."
Produced by famous English chef Gordon Ramsay.
Yes, it is French.



Course along with "paring wine."
Each dish comes with selected wine.
Great selection already made… but enough to make me feel dizzy and drunk! Hahaha.



Amuse Bouche
Shrimp with Avocado source



Jerusalem artichoke soup
duck ragout, foie gras and pine nut



Traditional roast turkey
with pigs in a blanket and all the festive trimmings cranberry sauce and roast gravy



Christmas pudding
with brandy custard and rum and raisin ice cream

FANTASTIC dinner!
MoonFlower loved the food so much. So did I.

We definitely come back for another time.
Good selection. Make me fat. Oops.

Big annual house cleaning day it was!
From 11am to 6:30pm, MoonFlower and I did only clean the house. Nothing more.
Long day, huh. Sure. But worth it.

Cleaning this year's mess up and now ready for new year. Pretty significant, isn't it?

Then, a little family celebration held.



Opening up the bottle of sparkling wine for us.





Great Champaign glass… producing lots of bubbles for long time!



Sushi! From "Rokubei" - our favorite sushi place in Koiwa, Tokyo.
1st time we catered the sushi from that place. Did it right. Good idea.
Great food home along with wine! Perfect.



Yum! Great sushi. Always my favorite.

Surely long day… and busy. Though, quite productive and rewarded! Hehehe.

Good news!
My watch winding machine… is now back.
Faster than expected!

When I turned this in for service, I was told that it would be sometime in January.
Yeah, no way to get it back before Christmas.
Though, things were fast...



Here it is.
Now I set all watches in and run the winding. Cool, isn't it?
My favorite interior for sure.

Now perfectly ready for fancy Christmas home.

My day was about the full of miscellaneous stuff.
Yes, "errands."

Went to local hospital because I needed prescription for medicine.

Stopped by my bank because I needed to close one account there.

Common things for both places… it is most likely the nature to spend long hours for service.
FYI - compared to US banks, Japanese banks takes time to get one thing done.
Also, tons of people go into such place and those places are always crowded.

In hospital, waited longer than one hour. Wondering how to improve it.
Wait, I am no longer management consultant since I have quit! Hehehe.

Anyhow, I spent my day for just two errands. Too bad.

After band thing, usually good thing comes… it did!



(sorry, picture turned out not bright enough… my bad!)



MoonFlower's home-made pasta was supper.
Basil was even grown in the garden at her mother's place.
Isn't that great?

Taste awesome!

Now I am on "trial" for 2 weeks… to see if Hulu is worth to subscribe.
Yes, Hulu has arrived in Japan for a while.

Maybe I will switch my subscription from Star Channel (movie channel) to Hulu soon.
I guess, video on demand seems to be much better off than ordinary TV channel on specific category.
Plus, the cost will be cut by half.



For current viewing… it is "the West Wing." I like this series much.
Maybe another political theme-base drama after "Commander in Chief."

FYI - I have never majored in Political Science, though. Hahaha.

Nonetheless, the political theme-base drama is a good material for English study.
It is because:

- President will speak proper English.
- President's staff always responds starting with YES or NO. High clarity.
- Argument taking place seems good lesson learning into business scene.

Agree?

Down side is of the political term.
You will not enjoy much out of story without having good understanding of US Politics.

In my opinion, good point covers bad one well and worth to spend time to see and learn.
I just finished 1st season of 20 episodes.

20 episodes x 45 mins = 900 mins equal to 15 hours. Oh gosh!

Hulu holds episode up to 2nd season. 3rd or beyond are coming up soon??? Just wondering.
Otherwise, I have to look into other drama to watch for fun and some study.

Today is decision-making for country's direction.
Yep, General Election Day it is.



This is a genuine ballot for the General Election in Japan!

Believe it or not, we, constituents, still write the name of candidate as our vote on the piece of paper.
Yeah, piece of paper with pencil.
It is true! This is Japan's voting style still today.

Where is our technology? We are not confident of that??? Hmm.

LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) is coming to a historic victory tonight.
It will come back to the power for the 1st time in 3 years.
Good? Bad? Hmm, we just didn't give confidence to the other one - Democratic Party who held last power.



Not because of celebration of LDP's huge win - but just happened to be… opening a bottle.





Called ODEN for super along with that bottle tonight.

Some explanation here for you:

Oden is a dish in which a variety of ingredients such as tofu, eggs, white radish, fried fish paste, and potatoes are boiled together in a large pot of seasoned fish broth. Hot mustard is served as a condiment.

Making sense to you? Hope it does.



Yummy food and sparkling wine. Good combination for me.
MoonFlower didn't like that bottle much because she said that taste was different.
To me, it was okay. Hahaha.

Now 1st half of December is gone. Already!
Too fast.

Hi folks. Turned out to be a big Tuesday night party!!!
Showed up to Ginza area… for meeting friends.



Channel & Cartier - fancy electric decorations. So cool.



Not eager to cross the street to take a closer shot to the huge Christmas tree.



Tonight's venue. Italian restaurant called CENTO ANNI.
I have used this place over half dozen of times, already. Like this place so much.









Kirk and Charlie… got together.
Of course, Yoko also with us tonight.



Plenty of wine for four of us.



Yoko, me, Charlie and Kirk (L-R)
Charlie had to go home after that restaurant.
Three of us continued. Hahaha.



To Shinbashi area.
Stand bar - Cash on delivery style.
Yoko comes this particular tavern often??? So true.





Pretty good home-made style dishes. Perfect.



With drunk Yoko. Hahaha. So fun!
Let's do it again soon!

Hi folks.
Slow week started for someone like me… without job? Hahaha.
NOT SO MUCH.

I went out in the afternoon to attend the business seminar.
Yes, I tried to learn something new. Least I can do.

Of course, I even dressed up. Wearing suits and putting tie one for sure.



Plenty of time for reading. Good stuff. Important as well.
I read newspaper and stuck to the kobo for reading eBook.



What's wish for Christmas present to Mr. Santa?
MoonFlower wants something from real need in our everyday life.
FUTON. That was her wish for.

I expected something different from such… something like shoe or cosmetics, etc. Hahaha.
I was wrong!

Tomorrow and rest of the week, I will be busy for partying! Many year-end parties are coming.
I will be careful how much to drink and what to eat.

Day after big party… things got slow… you know what I mean. Hahaha.
Didn't do anything… much.
At minimum, MoonFlower and I went out to Chiba.

Our purpose is only one… have to arrange year-end gift for my parents.

So went into Sogo department store. Selection was huge!
Though, she had determined already. The process was rather easier and simpler.

Ramen noodle shop called Santoka is next destination.
Located upper floor from where we just shopped.
Santoka is famous chain and we like so much about its salt-base soup.

Good noodles. Very hot (hotter than warm) bowl. Good stuff.

You know it was quite cold… and heard from friend the fact…
In my hometown Ogaki, it is snowing already. Started accumulating.
Man, already? No wonder it was so sold around!

Then I picked up new gloves for myself.
Since I didn't have any to prevent cold hands. Hahaha.
Ones picked up have a little gimmick that allows me to operate iPhone.

Something like you can buy at Brookstone. Hahaha.

With this cold weather, I should put those gloves on immediately!

Tomorrow, I have one plan attending the seminar.
Yeah, let's not waste time for nothing. Be productive or learn something new.

How many days left in 2012? Not many for sure.
3 weeks…
Man, so fast!

Memorial day for me… today, two friends were invited as guest to our home.
Since the day MoonFlower and I moved in this place, having guests like that should be part of our lives.
So far, she held two dinners with friends… now first time for me.



Decoration / presentation is part of our "welcome."



Champagne bottle was opened!





Full of foods… cannot let guests go back home with empty stomach. Hahaha.





Still continues.



How many bottles???



MoonFlower's home-made lasagna becoming my favorite!





This bottle - French wine was of my selection. Pretty good!!!



Entree - roasted pork. Yum!



Full of sweets, too!



Guests for the Day.
Left - Tetsu & Right - Ryuji - we all worked for the same company long time ago… like year 2001.
Since then, we are still friends - dining together quite often.

Great friends with numerous topics to talk about.
Work (logistics), family, hobby and fashion. What else???

Great time really passes by so fast.
Started around 4pm… and it turned to be 11pm, quickly.
Almost missed the last train for the day. Hahaha.

Well both, we thank you for coming and sharing great time with us!

Who is next guest?

Before the year-end party - another party came. iPad mini 64GB White is ready for my pickup.   Yodobashi Camera do not give me a call. Insteady, I have to check the site for inventory. They cancel order unless picked up within 3 days.  Pick-up was immediately carried out. Hahaha. My new gadget is finally arrived. Didn't take much to set it up because of using the "installation from backup." Quite simple. Dinnar party took place in Roppongi. Yeah, I used to go that place for work for long time… Very fancy place… lot of cute girls in town! Hahaha.  "Lie back" restaurant for party. I was the 1st person shown up.       Full of foods. Ate too much.  Many friends!  Isao's birthday today. A little surprise.  Good cake. Strawberries covered.  Fun people together tonight!

Surprise, surprise.
Today, my resignation is accepted by the Firm.
After almost 6 years, it is now time for departure.

Another page of my life is coming up.

So excited while so worried. Hahaha. True, though.
I cannot read the future like you. Thus, there is always risk…
Though, risk can be great benefit.

Type of the risk this time seems manageable. So I give myself a green light.

I will keep you posted in this page… to see what happens next.
Stay tuned!



Not missing the photo of our Christmas tree for 2012 before too late.

Tree is bigger than past years… not watered enough? Seems to be dying fast than expected.
The ornament is heavy making the branches bent.
Though, this is nice decoration.

Well done, MoonFlower!
(Right, I have done nothing to this!)