Meeting with an Old Friend in Manhattan

Miharu, aka Mimi, was in Manhattan in advance of a business trip to Albany. She had studied at my college as exchange student back in 1992. Now, she's in public relations/human resources at GE Toshiba plastics in Tokyo. Our last meeting was back in 1996? Charlotte was in attendance. She had never Mimi. The two of them got along well though. Mimi looked very good - perhaps a bit slimmer and her hair was straightened. Still a very positive attitude. Her and Jens (old flame) are still friends, but can't make it work romantically. At 33, she's getting beyond marriage age for traditional Japanese ideal. No romantic prospects either. Her work is very busy, and she worked all but three weekends last year. This is the typical Japanese career grind that I'm glad that I don't participate in.

We enjoyed an Italian dinner in Hell's Kitchen area. Food was pretty good and reasonably price. The waitstaff appeared to be 18 year old Mexican boys, and I believe that I heard Latin music at some point.

The evening of course ended at the nearby Samovar Bar, an old favorite of mine. Once again, it didn't disappoint! Colorful ethnic characters and musical performances prevailed. There was a new piano player, joined by a guitarist and violinist. I bought Charlotte a rose. I had a Russian beer (not too good) while the ladies enjoyed Russian tea with some berry jam. I assume that their tea was served from a samovar.

At 12:08 AM, we left the parking garage and arrived back in the Boro at 1:15 AM. Great time.