2006-12-25 - 1:27 p.m.
Blame or Thank Xavier for the Following Things-That-Could-Prove-Team-Numasawa's-A-Success
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I've been meaning to write about Something Nice for a while. But Something Nice is surprisingly problematic. It's hard to feel like a success when you don't have an audience for it.
And everytime I started writing about Something Nice, it came out sounding boastful and defensive of the life that Team Numasawa's been building, so I just complained instead. Even if you're a success, complaining is easy.
And because it's mighty unlikely that all my friends are going to drop in for a surprise visit and spare me the need to compose the following collection of defensive boasts - and because all my complaining has made Xavier start to get a little worried - here they are, some of the things that could prove that Team Numasawa and I are a success.
-The other Numasawas like me. I know this because they give me things. Shuhei's aunt gave me a bunch of her old clothes, shockingly much of which are things I actually, really, like. Shuhei's Grandma forbade us to buy carrots, potatoes, big Japanese radishes, green onions, or cabbages, vegetables that she grew copious amounts of in her garden this year. Shuhei's Grandma also helped us to find a cheap sewing machine, then refused to allow us to pay for it. Thanks new Grandma!
-People say that my Japanese and Shuhei's English is improving. And they aren't always saying that just to be nice.
-Whenever possible, Shuhei and I make things for the apartment. And the apartment is shaping up real nice. I don't much care for broad cultural generalizations but, it's a fact, Japanese people sure do seem to like buying things, and I'm awfully happy to be with a guy who thinks that rag-rugs, making your own kitchen table, and a nailed together wooden fruit crate bookshelf are cool.
-Shuhei's gaining weight! And, here, it's worthwhile to note that, asides from the ridiculous amounts of condensed milk I've been baking with (condensed milk is, for some reason, suspiciously cheap at our little local grocer's) nothing I make is especially fatty. Shuhei's just been eating way too much, which could prove that I'm a good wife.
-And I still suspect that I have far too much free time, but sometimes it goes to good use. I learned how to make flour tortillas. That was fairly exciting. And the next day, I learned how to make tortilla chips with the leftovers. That was pretty exciting too. I also made a Team Chaucer track jacket with the help of my new sewing machine, which is stupendously exciting every single time I wear it.
-People seem to like Team Numasawa. People even like us when we've been drinking. Twice now, Shuhei and I have been invited to karaoke by complete strangers who we've met on our way/swagger/walk home. I can't really articulate why this could prove that we're a success, but it could.
-And there are other things I could tell you about that might prove we're a success, but I'm not going to. I'm not going to tell you about how much I like the fancy little walk Shuhei does through the kitchen in his underwear, or about making up songs about Genghis Khan, or about the expression Shuhei makes while examining his growing belly, or about the frequency of erections occuring at our place. Nope. I'm not going to tell you about any of that.
-And, really, the only complaint I have at this point about marriage is that Shuhei is much too difficult to get out of bed in the morning for work. And although I've developed a dependable repertoire of tricks to get him out of bed, I really don't like having to be a trickster first thing in the morning. (Shuhei looks so handsome while he's sleeping that it's a shame when I have to go and ruin that by blowing obnoxiously into his face while half-yelling 'Typhoon! Typhoon!' and threatening to tsunami him next.) And the fact that this is the only complaining I have to do where the nature of my husband is concerned could, arguably, be the greatest success of my life thus far.
