The train ran over my shoe but thankfully my foot was elsewhere.

So I tried to write another post but it died because I killed it. So I will just say that I turned 31 years old on August 19th and to celebrate I bought myself an electric toothbrush.

Oh yeah I just remembered something I can talk about. The evening before my birthday I went to a friend's house to play poker. I am not very good at poker but I won the final hand, probably because I didn't completely understand the rules. Low stakes, but it was still nice. Then I went with some friends to catch the last train into Osaka for a night out. While we were waiting on the platform I accidentally kicked my sandal into the air and into the train track below. No time to retrieve sandal, so the night continued with me barefoot. When we arrived in Osaka, I was planning to remain unshod, but was strongly encouraged to get something on my feet. The problem is they generally don't sell shoes in Japan that are big enough. The biggest size is usually between 27.5 and 30 cm; I wear 32. But I agreed to try to find some cheap flip-flops/beach sandals. The biggest pair I found were still way too small, but I went with it. Good news, only about $3. Bad news, lavender. Why were the biggest ones they had THAT color? Oh well, just adds to the memory. I got many comments on my footwear for the remainder of the evening.

The next evening I went to the beach to say hi to some friends who had been there partying all day. As it grew dark, some of them thought it would be fun to go skinny dipping. I found this mildly amusing, as an observer rather than a participant, but sobriety in the midst of revelry can be a bit of a downer, especially on a birthday. So while I was happy to see my friends, and boy, did I see my friends, I was happy to get home to some peace and quiet after three days of people people people.

And now I have some lavender beach sandals that I will almost certainly never wear again. Anybody want 'em? ;)