Everything is changing ....

Halloween 2006 - a year later

So, Martina calls me Tuesday morning that happened to be Halloween and tells me to eat raw eggs for dinner in order to strenghten my vocal cords for the taping of our answering machine at work, which I, the "native English speaker" (NOT) got picked to do. Hearing "raw egg" made me think of the restaurant where they serve it best in New York - "Totto Yakitori" (I think it's called). It is a local Japanese hangout that only local Japanese visit and the cuisine is like nothing I've ever had! Forget sushi - there is none! I haven't even seen a soy sauce bottle on the tables, but instead you get a quail egg in a little petry dish to dip the raw fish in ... Oh-um ... I am not crazy about the "raw egg" idea, but I've tried a live cricket before, so a little egg is not going to discourage me from sampling the menu!

With all the raw egg in my mind I decide to invite Martina, her hubby and other co-workers to eat raw eggs at the mentioned place ... then I realize it's Halloween, so an idea flashes through my mind "Geisha" ... "Will dress up as Geishas and the guys can dress up like sushi ... " (which obviously will not happen because their male ego will not let it happen, but we girls, we do not care and they can serve as our entourage .. Even better! Girl power!)

5 o'clock ticks off the wall at work and we race for the closest craft store, where we stock up on pink wigs and fake shimerring eyelashes, then we're off accross the street to CVC where we attack the Xmas isle and secuire pillows and ribbons (to be re-used in December).

We run home, I carefully pick my undies in case my Geisha outfit loosened and I lost it somehow, put on a white long sleeve, Martina wraps me like a California roll into our Summer beach sheet; I tie my breast cancer scarf around my Geisha waist, adjust the pillow right above my butt where it belongs, flutter my new lashes that provide a view from behind of a bamboo curtain and attempt to comb my new bright pink hairdo. I know Jennifer (my old wig) is looking at me from above all pissed off - I could not wait to get rid of her, yet I am buying a competition!
I browse through the collection of chopstick on the top of the fridge and pick my favorite, which I pierce through the fake scalp, ends sticking out.

READY! ... The scurrying is the most authentic part of the whole costume as the sheet is pulling so tight on my body that I can only proceed with quarter steps almost loosing balance here and there ...

To make the costume more believable we decide to write Japanese signs on the sheet ... the only thing we find translated are street signs, so I end up wearing a "No Camping" on my leg and a "Private Property" over my private property.
Martina gets the "No Fireworks" on her leg and a "Fire Hydrant" accross her fire hydrant ... I mean her butt ...

We get to the restaurant and they "Do not have space" even though there are tables that are visibly empty. The not-so Geisha hostess keeps showing us a waiting list with on name on it and promises a 45 minutes to an hour long wait ... We're not welcome! Can you imagine? 4 Geisha's on Halloween in a Japanese restaurant "NOT WELCOME"????

Anyway, I use my persuasive talent without much success or sympathy and eventually give up. The sushi place accross the street welcomes us without questionning our motive other than being really hungry. We ask for the translations of our street signs and find out the place is owned by Chinese, the waiter is Malaysian .. no association to Japan!

We walk to TAO on 58th street, where all the beautiful people congragate .. we certainly get looks that we wouldn't have gotten in a mini skirt, as the competition of beautiful people here is fierce .... We down a mojito and put our hands together with a slight bend forward




"Arigato,
but
You've gotta be able to take a joke on Halloween, NO?"