Quickwrite: Grillers

Mary was "fed up" with Bob and everyday in the kitchen at Grillers, it seemed like a time-bomb waiting for one of them to explode.

Mary was one of the top grillers that had ever worked in the local restaurant kitchen. She prided herself with her work, in fact she lived for it. She had been employee of the month more time than she could count. Until Bob showed up.

Mary and Bob seemed to clash worse than ice and fire. Mary couldn’t understand why. She had always worked well with other employees. They took their directions without any problems. Not Bob though.

"Can't you just do the job right ONCE?" Mary asked impatiently. “It’s not hard! Just do as I say!”

“Do as you say, do as you say,” Bob mimicked. “I don’t tell you how to do YOUR JOB; don’t tell me how to do MINE.”

“If you did your job RIGHT,” Mary countered, “I wouldn’t have to tell you how to do it!” All the fighting made Bob red-hot mad and the madder he got the madder Mary turned.

As another order crossed their paths, Bob glared at Mary. He saw her for what she really was. Not the “griller” she saw herself as but a control freak and a bully. She made the other ovens cower in fear and Bob wasn’t about to let them get bullied again.

Not today and not ever again he thought. Instead of following Mary’s orders, he did what he did best and burned. He cackled as he saw every burger in the kitchen incinerate to a crisp, watched with delight as he saw Mary blaze and Grillers ignite like a twig. He looked at his handiwork. Now no one could get “fed up” anymore.

“Order up.” He called. 

Had to be under 300 words and use dialogue and have a twist and start with Mary was fed up with Bob and... 

My own story reminds me of...

Nebuta Festival Part 1

A couple weeks later the guys and I decided to go to a festival. It was a last minute decision and we were packed in the car. It was a great time. Had a couple drinks. Saw more parades and just laughed and frolicked and tried new things. The Nebuta festival is to prepare for fall. It is the excitement before all of the work necessary in the fall.
The festival is where wooden floats are created with Japanese paper and they light up. It is a sign of hope and peace. The Aomori festival is one of the biggest festivals in Japan and it is only an hour away from where we are stationed.
We got some free food, free drinks and even free prizes. It was exciting and fun! And oh so beautiful! :)
Here are some pictures!

Nope's- The Scary Side of Japan

There are a lotttt of nope's out here in Japan. A nope is a bug that you see and instantly walk away from. Your eyes never leave it. Your pulse starts to quicken and you book for it the second you can.

We have a lot of Nopes out here in Japan. Ranging from these:

Ahhhhhhhhhh!!! Run away! It's a scary place out there!

The Quirks and Perks of Tokyo

There are some interesting customs in Japan as well. There are little places called Cat Cafes. The one we stopped by briefly was J a L a L a. It's a little place that lets you spend time with cats petting them and talking to them. While also allowing you to surf the internet (some even offer coffee though this one didn't) There are cats everywhere in these little places (that was no bigger than a small room) You sit on the couch and fall in love with cats (beats owning one sometimes right?)

Here are some pictures of the Cat Cafe :)

They also are VERY big on arcades whether they are pachinko parlors or just places filled with videogame machines. Some use card games (like Pokemon and the likes) others are as interactive as the ones at Dave and Busters.

We stopped by Hard Rock Cafe where I was amazed that the menus were in complete english. We all got good (and very missed) American style foods. I had the loaded mac and cheese and the guys all got burgers. (When I saw American style foods I mean it. For example when ordering a steak in Japan you will get just hamburger meat squished down and without the bun) 

As we walked around we paid respect to the nature, the culture and the past of the people. It was nice to see the respect the Japanese people carry for so many different components of life. 

Walking around Tokyo you can find lots of crazy things, busy people and fun times. Tokyo is a wonderful place :) but it has its quirks too! 

Hey! We were there! :)

 

 

We also got to stop at Starbucks. The first one I have been to since leaving the States. Ahhhh How Missed You Have Been! :)