New Year's Aches and Pains

I'm not as young as I used to be.

But let's face it, unless someone figures out time travel or time reversal, that fact will continually refresh itself and we will continue to grow older.

But, in this case, I'm referencing the LONG week I've already had, and it's only Wednesday of my work week. And I'm tired, because this schedule would've been a whole lot easier 6 years ago...

Basically, it went down like this.

For those who don't know, my feelings on New Year's Eve are very similar to Halloween. Too much hype. Not enough planning. In the end, not a whole lot of fun.

Which is why the best times I've had on NYE have been playing cards with grandparents or the one when I was a kid and we all watched The Breakfast Club and ran up and down Everett Street banging pots and pans.

But this year was surprisingly different. Especially when you consider the 14 hour day I worked. I mean, my schedule was sucky(I had to do the first and third shows, then rehearse the "Auld Lang Syne" tag, have a dinner break, do a full run of the countdown show, then do the countdown show, do the finale of the 11:30 PM BBB show, and finally perform the tag countdown to midnight!), it was my Monday, and I knew I had to work all day January 1st.

However, there was something magical about singing "Auld Lang Syne" in Japanese (yes, I actually memorized it!) with 67 people onstage and 1500 people in the audience waving giant glowsticks. (One cast member said, "It's like AVATAR!") And it was awesome to walk out for the jazz showcase to screams and shouts and feel like a rockstar.

And counting down from 20 to the New Year (it was surprisingly easy to count down backwards in Japanese), I completely forgot there'd be cannons and confetti as 33 people (and Mickey) danced the finale one more time! I mean, I was just GENKI! Without a glass of champagne in hand, anyone to kiss, or any of the other standard midnight-tolling necessities. It was truly special and a great night.

And, well, despite the old-man-who-lives-inside-me's objections, I decided to join most of the cast in going out to Shinjuku, since I'll probably only spend one New Year's Eve in Tokyo in my lifetime. And so, while the States were still stuck in the last decade (evidence: my facebook status read "Happy New Year... FROM. THE. FUTURE"), I proceeded to drink a bottle of champagne on the subway (classy, I know, but definitely legal) and roll up to a bar at 2 AM. Yes, when most people were crazy drunk and leaving for the night, we were showing up.

But I was still quite responsible and only stayed for an hour, even if that hardly justifies the hour commute each way on the subway. For one night only, it was as if I was back in New York and the trains ran all night! (if only every half hour at that.)

Luckily, I pulled a New York and sprinted down the stairs and jammed my foot into the doors so the first (of 3) trains at 2:45 in the morning wouldn't leave me. And with a bruised knee as a souvenir, I was turning out the bedroom lights at 3:52 AM.

January 1st was weird and creepy (everything is closed and empty here) and working 5 shows was brutal, but I'm a rockstar and sailed through with flying colors. But the exhaustion kicked in and I was out about 11 last night.

And today was a little easier, even if I wished I could have slept during A-shift like everyone else had the luxury of doing the last two days. And an evening of homemade cranberry cosmos and Sex and the City on the movie channel lended itself to feeling much better. Albeit emotional and crying like a chick.

Especially since I have another 5 more shows on Monday. Seriously, who decided it was tire out Topher week?

Fatigue (especially mental) was evident today when I completely forgot the words in the opening and had to cut off singing 8 counts early, and when I forgot my hat for the train scene in the 4th show.

Now, that wouldn't seem monumental anywhere else, but in Japan, seriously, people will stop me in the hallway if my bowtie is slightly crooked or the shirt flaps are under/over the bowtieor if my shoe is untied (as someone did the 5th show). Yet, somehow, no one, not even the woman dressing me or our super anal Stage Managers or the 15 other people I walk by for my entrance noticed I was hatless today. Nor did I.

Yet everyone onstage did within about 3 seconds.

Luckily, it was our nice, chill SM's today (which is probably why no one noticed) and I did not get in trouble (like I did for saying "Merry Christmas"). So I'm quite thrilled.

Nonetheless, this long week ain't over yet. So time to sleep. Happy New Year!

Story Time

"Souvenir!" the Japanese man said. "Souvenir for you!"

In reply, I stood there perplexed but decided to hold out my palm and the 60 yen in it anway.

And the Japanese man dropped two little seed pods in my palm on his way out of the park.

Whilst Evan and I stood there dumbfounded.

Actually, I think I shriek-laughed a few seconds later and the Japanese man may have turned back to look at me frozen there in shock and delight.

So I literally didn't MOVE and made Evan get my camera out my bag and take a picture. And here it is for your delight.

I FINALLY had my first random act of bizarre kindness from a Japanese person that everyone else seems to have on a regular basis. Seriously, a man just walked up to me, said "Souvenir" and dumped some seed pods into my hand. Like I had ANY CLUE what he was doing or why he was doing it.

I think the only thing more bizarre than that today was when we stopped outside the ATM before jumping on the train at the station. This man just kind of came up right beside me, stared, and was like, "Hello."

Naturally, my first instinct was that a fan was stalking me (they do that here), because, in the very strange Japanese way, he sidled right up beside me and then stopped and stared at my face.

Of course, it took me a moment to realize that this was not a crazy man, but one of our stage supervisors from work. Now basically that means when I see this man, he's in a suit and tie at my stage and he's usually delivering some sort of information (aka bad news). So I was not quite expecting this man in a baseball cap, sunglasses, and jeans to be my supervisor coming up to me at the ATM. And I certainly wasn't expecting to meet his stunning (and awkward in that first-time-meeting-you Japanese way) wife.

And I REALLY wasn't expecting to talk to them about our day, and figure out halfway through the conversation that my supervisor's wife actually speaks far more English than he does and that she would be acting as translator. Nor was I expecting a "Why are you going there?" filled with scorn and derision when I mentioned we'd be heading to Shinjuku Gyo-en for the day.

So I explained that we would be seeing the chrysanthemums that are on display in early November, and boy did chrysanthemums we see!

The park not only has beautifully landscaped flower beds, but it also had a beautiful Japanese garden with traditional teahouses and this, the Kyu-Goryo-Tei (Taiwan Pavilion).

And in an area usually "Not Open to the Public" (as listed on our map) they had a treasure trove of flowers on display. (Boy, I am glad we used our BGP and didn't listen to the map, since we were absolutely allowed to walk through the exhibit).

There also happens to be a beautiful French formal garden with long lanes of deciduous and rose beds. We took in the smell and the sight instead of taking pictures, but all it really made me long for was a Paris vacation and my mother's rosebed back on Everett Street.

There also is an "English Landscape Garden" which really cracks me up because the "landscaping" means basically that it is a giant open lawn with some trees on the side. And somebody got paid to "landscape" that. HA!

We did see some really giant Chestnut and Maple trees, but of course, my picture here won't quite do justice to their size and grandeur.

And that, my friends was how I had a lovely and most random day in Shinjuku, even if I woke up on the wrong side of the bed and couldn't quite be bothered about much of anything today.

In the end, I did manage to figure out that the seed pods had a little significance in that the giant ravens all over the park were eating them for the lunch. Which means that little Japanese man's souvenirs were actually a raven's lunch. Which I now have.

But hey. Who'd really turn down a free souvenir?