December 17^th, Saturday: A funny thing happened on the way to the taiko…

…when my local taiko gurus, Alex and Joe, graciously invited me to a fantastic Kodo concert before I left for Japan. I anxiously anticipated the event with bated breath. Since my time here in Japan began, my affinity for taiko, Japanese drumming, has skyrocketed, particularly since Kodo is one of the most world-renown groups in this genre, and they have a couple buff cuties showing off their muscles of steel of which I have developed an unhealthy crush. So, off to Southern Osaka I traversed to meet my boys and a few of their friends.

Or so I thought. As I tried to call them to ask where on earth I was going (you know Kristin and directions; my geography genes must have come from the paternal side of my family with my continued lack of public transportation know-how), my cell phone made a funny noise and died. But not before I received a dry e-mail from my cell phone provider stating I hadn’t paid my bill in several months. Uh-oh!

Not that I’m a delinquent or anything of the sort, but hey, things come up right? Now my friends and family will constantly laugh and tell you that when it comes to numbers and myself, we’ve never gotten along. More of a love-hate relationship. Heck, I barely passed math in college, what with my “Gateways of Mathematics” class where Professor “Paco” let us discuss our feelings on math. Yes, really.

But this time I had an excuse. Since moving from my friends’ place into my new apartment, my provider still hadn’t figured out the change of address. So on that fateful Saturday, they simply got fed up with me and cut off my service. It’s actually quite embarrassing and reminded me of those cliché TV episodes where you see the struggling artist return to his/her apartment only to find out the electricity has been shut off. (That reminds me, I must pay my electric bill.)

So after asking plenty of random strangers and almost missing another Kodo concert, I arrived at the hall just in time to meet my friends and rush inside. Of course, Kodo never disappoints, particularly since after the concert they came out and mingled with the audience. Merry Christmas to me!