November 26, 2007 - Monday

Clear with a bit of rain.

A very good day. This morning when Fumihiko got up to go to work, I managed to rouse myself enough to say goodbye. I fell back asleep right away, but at least I tried. I got up around 9 am and stayed up! I showered and then I went out. Today, I had myself an adventure.

I took the train to Sakata, the next city along the train tracks. I got there and walked downtown. It's quite a hike, but it was decent weather and not too cold. I passed a lot of closed shops, but whether they were closed because it's Monday or they were just closed I don't know. I did notice a store along the way that sold Ecco shoes.

At Shimizuya I looked around and then had lunch in one of the restaurants. I had tuna spaghetti with egg and salad. I thought it would be hot spaghetti, but it was cold. It was okay, but I probably wouldn't have it again in this season! It would be fine in summer. The waitress was little rude, didn't even wait to see if I wanted a drink or not. I would have ordered one, but she didn't wait. Her loss. After lunch I bought something for Fumihiko then had a cup of coffee and a piece of cake in a really nice coffee shop on another floor. It was a nice treat.

When I first went into Shimizuya I looked for a pair of shoes for myself. A few years ago I had bought my favourite pair of shoes, orangey-tan Ecco slip-ons. Over the years they've stretched out of shape and I'd love to replace them. The store didn't have any anymore. I did try on a couple of pairs of shoes, but I wasn't in love with them and they were really expensive.

On my way back from the department store to the station, I decided to stop into the shoe store I had seen along the way. I asked about shoes in my size, especially the Ecco brand ones. Anyway, I ended up buying a pair of burgundy shoes. They aren't slip ons, but they have velcro fastenings (convenient in this country). The right one is a little tight, despite the man in the store stretching it for me. Still, the service I got at the store was amazing. We did quite well. The storekeepker spoke a bit of English, I spoke a bit of Japanese, they gave me coffee while he tried to stretch them a bit and then I even got them waterproofed and a small discount! Now, these aren't cheap shoes, but I've found with my weird feet, I can't wear cheap shoes anyway.

Of course, with all the waiting in the shoe store I had missed my train, but there was one about an hour later. I didn't really have to wait all that long as I still had to walk back to the station. When I got there I took a break and sat in the waiting room and read a Reader's Digest.

Back in Tsuruoka I headed into S-Mall for a bit. I got a few things for some of my older relatives and also picked up things for dinner. Although I had planned to go out for dinner, I found that I really just wanted to go home.

At home I did the email/blog reading thing and then had dinner. I also put on some of my Friends DVDs. I think I watched 8 episodes tonight. It cheers me up a lot. Hurray for Friends.

Fumihiko called me around 7 tonight. He sounded lonely. Poor thing. I like being alone, he hates it. I do miss him though. Still, he'll be back tomorrow and things will be fine.

Well, it's late, and I'm very tired. I am off for the night. Goodnight!