Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Carousing with a man on each arm

I had my first outside of work encounter this past weekend. Out at a club in Azabu I happened to glance across the room and found my eyes locking with those of a Professional. In fact, it was the young one who was so nice to me at dinner during the Kaisha's onsen trip. We did the embarrassed head nodding and wave thing and I returned to my dates for the evening, the beau and his friend. I whispered to the beau that a fellow Kaishaite was across the room, and should I go say hi? Don't ask me why I am asking my boyfriend about social mores but I really didn't know what to do. If I was Overseas I would no doubt go over to say hello, but despite having sat together through a long dinner, plying each other with alcohol, in the Kaisha twilight zone I have as much of a relationship with him as say, Ken Watanabe. Although if it was Ken-chan, I would be over there in a second. In my defence, said Professional was also surrounded by a group of friends.

By the time I decided I should go say hello I turned around and he was gone. Luckily I found him standing alone later that night and went over for a chat. My mind looked on in horror as my whole manner changed and I felt like a rigid doll standing up straight and nodding politely, laughing appropriately. Speaking like the lady I don't wish to become. In situations like that I sometimes wish I could use my gaijiness as an excuse to act how I would around any guy I run into in public, but I always err on the side of caution and turn into a polite Japanese-speaking white doll. Although what happened this particular night could have more to do with the fact that I was wearing (for all intents and purposes) a see-through shirt and was trying to distract him from my tanima (valley in Japanese) with my decorum. I must have thought in my inebriation that if I acted like I was at the Kaisha he would think I was wearing professional attire and pearls instead of a flimsy excuse of a shirt.

I am tired of all these social graces, I really am. In fact, I didn't even introduce him to the beau and friend because I didn't want to subject them to acting humble and thank-you-so-much-for-nothing-more-than-working-at-the-same-Kaisha-as-Geisha. Not normal is it? Well at least the Secretaries will have something new to talk about over their bento boxes: the Kaisha Geisha spotted in public drinking, smoking and carrying on (tanima fully visible), and with a man on each arm.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you think he would really go run off to the kaisha and tell everyone that you do indeed have a life outside of your role as The White Girl at work?

Lame!

Unless he's cute, which it seems by your behavior that he might be, then of course he's not lame.

Anonymous said...

Sympathies — not being able to just go up to an acquaintance to say hello must feel weird and stifling.