Thsi weekend has been a little rough. Wakana is burning out and needs a good long rest. Part of the problem is that the teacher who supposedly taught the kids Japanese I failed miserably to get them to learn something. So now she has a mess of ignorant unruly kids to deal with. Here we are, halfway through November, and she is still reviewing(teaching) Japanese I instead of Japanese II.

As for me, I was in some pain yesterday with some kind of bladder/urinary infection. I was going to go to the doctor today but I am feeling much better.

Anyway, we went out to run some errands this morning and decided to have lunch at Gyoza-Yatai. We walked in the door and were disappointed to see they had a Sunday brunch buffet set out. As much as we like that restaurant we do not care for their buffet. The waiter came up to greet us and apologized. He said they would serve a la cart after 2:00. We turned to leave and were almost to the elevator when the manager stopped us. He asked why we were leaving. We told him we'd come for the Hongkong Rice bowl and an Sanctuary plate of gyoza. We said we'd come back later.

He wouldn't hear of it. He promised us our Sanctuary plate and said they had some Hongkong fried rice on the buffet line. We could have that. We went inside.

Now, it needs to be explained that we really like this place and we like to talk with the people who work there. Last time we were there the cook came out to see us and we had a good time with him. The general manager, Frank, is a very personable guy who we like very much. Today's manager is a local with a girlfriend in Japan. He disappears every once in a while to go visit her. This is the place where we met the family of one of Wakana's high school classmates. We have some good memories of that place.

As we ate our gyoza the manager brought out a huge stone bowl of Hongkong fried rice. The cook wouldn't allow the manager to feed us the rice from the buffet line. Instead he insisted on making us our own pot. He brought it out to us himself and mixed it on our table. The manager introduced him and explained what had happened. We were really touched. We sat and talked to the cook for a long time and thanked him again and again for his kindness. As we ate the waiter kept us well supplied with iced tea, big smile on his face, and very warm personality. When we left the cook came out to say goodbye and wish us well. We were both touched and our spirits were lifted.

Life is good.