2 PM in the Afternoon? Need a Laugh? Have a Drink With Me!

I took the day off from work today and stayed home.

This douchenozzle that I work with at one of the radio stations got fired yesterday. I am celebrating. I had been putting up with his dishonesty, lying nonsense, and assorted peanut-flavored bullshit for 2 years. Finally, the idiots at station woke from their slumber and canned the guy.

Dumb-asses! What took so long?

Lord! I am surrounded by douchebags!

I had planned on staying home and drinking from lunch time... Just like being in America again and working at the stock brokerage.

We used to have two martini lunches. I'd be so toasted by 1 pm that I could hardly drive a car. But it was OK, that was back in the seventies so if a cop stopped you for drunk driving, he didn't immediately shove a pistol sideways up your ass.

My wife complains that if I stay home and don't do anything, then getting drunk in the daytime is bad. WTF? What's the point of staying home and doing nothing if you aren't going to get drunk?

First, I wanted to make it somewhat useful (doing nothing) by barbecuing in the back yard. 

I even washed and sliced some food.... I called another drunk friend over...

But, NO!!!! The wife says we can't barbecue in the back yard because if my friend and I are doing that in the backyard, then when we get drunk (well, actually, when I get drunk) we'll be too loud and make too much noise.

Why does she care about that? 

Well, because my son has a fever and is sick and home from school today and the bedroom is right above the patio so she says if we make too much noise, he won't be able to sleep.

OK, so then.... 

I say that my friend (that's you for all intents and purposes) and I will go to the local watering hole (that happens to be open in the daytime and has happy hour until 5 pm). She says "OK!" and actually gives me money! That's good!

No, that's bad! Because when she gives me the money I can tell she is irritated.

So, after a while of her huffing and puffing, I ask her, "You don't want me to go drinking outside, do you?"

She doesn't say. But I've been married long enough know what that means.

So, I called my friend and cancelled the drinking party for two. 

I cooked the food that I had prepared for the barbecue in a fry pan and gave it to the wife. Hell, why not? The dog won't eat mushrooms!

Anyway, I am drinking home alone now. It's 2:15 pm and I'm drunk. Drinking alone....

But this is really funny. Watch this and know why I am laughing:

Go have a drink... With me.

"Shichirin" - Japanese Hibachi is it Better Than a Weber BBQ?

In the west, when folks have a barbecue, they wheel out barbecue monsters! Fire up one of those big western barbecues up and you're grillin' for a killin'... Er, I mean, often able to grill for 6 to 15 people no problem. Heck, in the states, I used to have a huge Weber barbecue that could handle 30 folks, no problem....Oh, I don't mean that we could grill 30 folks! I mean that we could easily grill enough food for 30 folks... And that is 30 folks with huge western appetites too!


Japan is a crowded and narrow place. Since few people have the space for a backyard barbecue, folks don't usually enjoy that tradition like we do in the States. Nevertheless, in Japan, we have these tiny barbecues called Shichirin..


Shichirin is perfect for two or three people and drinking and snacking.... And they are perfect for the petite Japanese appetite.


After my huge Weber got rusted out from so many massive American style barbecues in my back patio (to the neighbors chagrin), I went out to buy a new one but also convinced myself that a Shichirin is good enough for the 3 or 4 folks (including my family of three) for just about any barbecue.


It's perfect when the barbecue is just me or two of us! A Weber burns too much charcoal and is too much of a hassle when the participants are only two.


Long ago, a Japanese person once said to me, "You cannot compare Japan and the USA. Both have their good things; In the USA, you have a big house with lots of space... But you also have the troubles of cleaning and yard work and keeping your home from looking dilapidated. In Japan, my home is small; it is convenient and everything is easily within reach. Also, since homes are so small, people tend not to accumulate junk."


He is right. Being lazy, I find this philosophy fits me well; I do sometimes enjoy doing the lawn and cleaning and doing the garden. But during my work productive years, I'd rather make money and enjoy my free time .... Someday, I do want to go back to living on a farm... But now, Tokyo is convenient and everything is easily within reach and easy to clean... The Shichirin is good for me (even though I do have a Weber to use for a large group of guests!)

Shichirin (literally "seven wheels") from Wikipedia:

The shichirin is a lightweight, compact, and easy-to-move cooking stove. Charcoal is chiefly used for the fuel of shichirin. It has had prototypes since ancient times, and it is said that shichirin roughly the same as today's were made in the Edo period.[1] Old shichirin are mainly ceramic and many can be found in old houses. Most modern shichirin are made by heating diatomaceous earth, but the raw materials are not uniform. There are also shichirin such as those made with a double inside and outside ceramic structure. The shape is mainly cylindrical, square, or rectangular, and the size also varies. Many varieties of shichirin are made for different uses. In the Kansai region, they are also known as "kanteki".

In my back patio. I've had many parties with 30 people or so, but when there's just 4 or 5 of us, the Shichirin fits the bill perfectly...

So, while I sucked it up and forked over $500 USD for another Weber, I bought a Shichirin for $30!


Gee, even though I had thought, "We could never barbecue on this wimpy thing!" I am glad I bought it. It fits Japanese lifestyle well; it is small, convenient; not a major production to break it out and it is extremely easy to clean..... AND! (And this a very important AND!) A Shichirin is OK to barbecue for one person and have a few drinks by oneself.


...Now, it's another story if there's 20 guests and you wanna barbecue 30 steaks and 40 hotdogs! But for me, my Shichirin is a gift from heaven! 


Thank god for my Weber BBQ and thank god for Shichirin!

I love BBQ squid... A Shichirin is perfect to BBQ this sort of small thing! On a Weber, it would fall through the cracks in the grill... Unfortunately I cannot imagine that become part and parcel of the typical American BBQ or July 4th BBQ celebration!