Well, that was quite an adventure. Sachi and I held a housewarming party last night, and it was pretty successful. Almost everyone who we expected to come made it to the party, for a total of 15 people at one point (including Sachi and me). Sachi and I overstocked on food and drinks, even not counting the good amount of goodies brought by guests; we still have quite the stockpile left in the fridge, despite the many courses served throughout the evening. We started with snacks–chips, pineapple & ham, pretzels, bread, and bagels. Sachi added salads and fried chicken, after which I broke out the salmon casserole. At one point, I microwaved some mozzarella on Nan bread. Then Sachi made her famous niku-negi tofu, with some cold noodles and rice on the side. Later, I cooked some filet steaks for anyone who was interested, and Sachi cooked some pasta. At the end, there was a bit of ice cream and other snacks. For the last few courses, people were beginning to wonder aloud about their waistlines; it was quite a bit of food over the evening.

The party was also successful in terms of how the evening was spent. We didn’t have any games or other novelties, but we didn’t need them. Oh, I showed some people how to use the Simsponize-Me web site (hat tip to Sean), as we used Simpsonized versions of Sachi and me on the web site giving directions to the party. But other than that, it was just good food and good company. Everyone enjoyed the view from the balcony (despite the limited visibility due to cloudy weather), and there was animated conversation from one end of the party to the other (it lasted about 6 or 7 hours). Put a lot of good people in the same room, that’s what you’ll get, I guess.

I think another reason why it went as well as it did was because of the location. The last time I held a party was in Inagi, and so everyone had to travel quite a distance to get there–not just by train, but by foot or taxi as well. A lot of people declined, understandably. This time, centrally located, most everyone made it, some even on foot, several by bicycle. Most of the people I work with, as it turns out, live in central Tokyo; for quite a long time, I was the main holdout.

After the party, Sachi and I discovered a problem with the apartment: the water from the air conditioner that was supplied with the apartment. We were aware that the machine had such a problem, but last night, after about 10 hours of continuous use, we discovered the extent. The thing had poured probably the equivalent of a cup of water to the floor and the TV and speaker below it. Fortunately, none of it was on to open circuitry, but still, it’s not good. Beyond that, it’s not acceptable as a device. The machine is woefully weak for cooling the big room, and if it pours water out when failing to meet its main purpose, that just won’t fly. Sachi and I will be talking to the building people about this.

Despite that small glitch (not in the party, either–just an apartment flaw), the evening was an unqualified success, and we had a great time (as we hope everyone who visited did as well). We were able to clean up in about an hour after the party, and just relaxed for an hour or two, drinking a bit more wine and enjoying the evening.