Daily Report: Surprises, Some Even Pleasant

I was sitting at my desk today when the cigarette lighter sitting next to my wallet, about 18 inches from face, exploded. No reason for it. Just a very loud pop... slightly louder than a champagne bottle uncorking. (I checked: Made in China.) It broke into about 3 large pieces, and 6 or 8 smaller pieces... and a stink of butane. No flame. No cuts or anything, and I was holding my coffee mug up to my face when it went.

There is a new little Japanese restaurant opened up just outside the entrance to my housing estate. I've been watching the place under construction for the better part of a month, anticipating. The head chef and owner is actually from Japan. The place is tiny, with just four 2-person tables, and an open kitchen surrounded by a bar. Epril and I went there for lunch. We had a soup for 60 pisos ($1.20), a beef with sesame seeds over rice for 170 pisos ($3.40), and a very large portion of California rolls for 175 pisos ($3.50). If you live up on the hill, you definitely should stop by.

This past Sunday, we had a group of friends over to the house after our usual roast beef Sunday lunch at Kingston Lodge. Andy and Cynthia were there, Chris and Rhea, and Harry and Bebs. We mostly just sat around and watched a couple of movies... but it was nice to have some visitors for a change, instead of constantly going out.

Epril and I finally got the video of our wedding back. Unfortunately, the video editors burned the DVD as one entire 45-minute scene, so there aren't any 2 or 3 minute portions that I can yank out to put on YouTube. We're going to try to get the original video stock.