~Speech Contest Blues~

**Insert Final Fantasy Music**
Japanese Level Up!!
ヤホわた・し・は・勝ったぜ！
**Continue FF Goodness**

Well i didnt win the speech contest, but i gotta say i prolly learned way more Japanese in the past week than i have since coming here. As well doing a 5 minute speech in front of a big crowd really makes asking someone a question or asking about food at a restaurant seem much easier. Well, now it is. I am a little disappointed about not really winning anything from the contest, which is actually fine, but the whole reason for me participating in this contest was because of my friends were kinda harpin on me to do it since i speak japanese well, etc. So... i did it, and barely finished it on time, which is prolly the reason why i didnt do as well as i'd liked. I'm more disappointed in myself for not doing as well as i could, but i suppose thats to be expected when you do something last minute

I also didnt really get to do anything at Sophia's school festival no thanks to the speech contest, which is kinda pissin me off. Worked on my speech all wednesday, thursday was rehearsal, and friday was the actual contest. People say i didnt really miss much, but i dont care, its a freakin school festival, how many times am i gonna get to go to one ya know, especially my own school's festival while i'm still in college, heh. It was really annoying tho, the speech contest ended just in time for me to go down to the main street really hungry where all the food stands were just in time for them to all be closing at the same time... agghh! lol, oh well, participating in an event for the school festival is a lil cooler than just going to it right? haha

Anyways, i dont mean to talk like it was terrible or anything, everything went well, and it was a very good experience for me. One of those things that i prolly didnt really want to do, but it really forced me to expand my Japanese, which makes it more than worth it. Plus, i did get 1000 yen off of the nomikai we went to afterwards, woo. Yes, ahh nomikai, i guess its tradition after the speech contest (this year was the 12th annual) to pull an all-nighter partyin, haha, well if its tradition, might as well

Turns out we went to the exact same italian restaurant i went to for the halloween party a week earlier, except this time, there was nomihoudai on alcohol, and for only 500 more yen. Actually since i was in the contest it only cost me 1500 yen, woo! haha, that lasted 2 hours, after which we went to Yotsuya... in Yotsuya, lol. Theres this lil restaurant near the station in Yotsuya thats name is... Yotsuya :P Gotta say the 2nd place was a little cooler, cause i was the only gaijin in the whole group, woo! hahaha, that can get dangerous tho sometimes, cause you forget that you stick out like a sore thumb >_<

Didnt stay out all night though, everyone pretty much went home by the last train, cause we started this whole adventure at 6 or so, and i had more than enough to drink by 8:30 (of course i took full advantage of nomihoudai, gotta get my money's worth), so getting home by the last train was more than enough for me to be satisfied with a good night. Oh yes! I did have some Nippon Shu at that Yotsuya place we went to, mmm-mmm delicious. Nippon Shu is what you prolly know as Sake, in Japan tho Sake just refers to any and all alcohol, if you actually want rice wine, thats Nippon Shu, and its delicious, rather strong, but delicious

Anyways, barely made the last train again. Atually this time i was actually waiting for the last train, but it was the last one i could take, unlike my mad dash for it the last time from the JR Yamanote-sen to my Metro Yurakucho-sen in Ikebukuro station, haha. Got home, and of course stopped at Life on the way back since it was pretty late, gotta get all those good deals on all the old bread and bentou from the day. The bread and bentou that they make during the day gets marked down in the evening and most of it is like, 1/2 off by 11 or so, and the last train got me there around 12:20. Oh yea, so i believe these are the times for the last trains...

The last Yurakucho leaves from Iidabashi around 11:56. It leaves from Ikebukuro around 12:08. So if i catch the last Namboku train from Yotsuya around 11:48, i can make it in time at Iidabashi for the last train in my direction, this is good information to know, that way next time i'm waiting for the namboku at Yotsuya and sweatin bullets about whether or not i'm gonna make it in time, i'll know for sure based on what time it is, lol. I seriously have no idea why in the world the trains stop every night tho. I mean i can understand for maintainence reasons and stuff, but can they not afford to run 1 every hour? just rather... annoying, heh, oh well, thats life in Tokyo