The Muggle

So I e-mailed the muggle (if you don't know what I'm talking about, take a peak at my last post) (in addition to e-mail the gamers) and he e-mailed me back! He's 34, lived in Tokyo about a year, works for a European company, and has a generic, British-sounding name. He sounds pretty normal, but it's very hard to tell from a brief e-mail. And is signature was a quote from Hamlet. And not one of the really obvious ones, either. He made very basic overtures in the direction of actually meeting in person, and after a moment or two of thought I went ahead and decided to respond with similar overtures. I figure that as long as I'm meeting someone in a public place and hanging out in public places, nothing bad could happen, and I'm never gonna meet any one if I can't get over my natural distrust of strangers. I'll admit, I'm a little bit excited about the prospect of having someone to talk to, and it sounds like he knows other people, and I could meet them, too, and out of all it, hopefully I'll find someone worth while...can you tell from the fact that I'm writing so much that I'm also pretty nervous?

Edit: Well, I haven't heard back from the muggle. But at ultimabaka's instigation, I got in touch with one my friends from HS, Minh, who is in the navy and stationed in Japan. He responded to my e-mail within an hour, saying he was on his way to Akihabara TODAY! I haven't seen Minh in 6 years, though we've been in touch throughout. So...I'm gonna go see Minh! Yay human contact! :)

Muggle, Part 2

Today has been a nice day. I wandered Akihabara with Minh, didn`t spend any money cause I didn`t have any, and ultimately I found a bank and got money, which enabled me to buy groceries. All around, a nice way for things to go. It was great to get to talk to someone, and equally great to hang out with an old friend. On the way home, I stopped in a store, and held an entire - admittedly generic - conversation in Japanese with someone, and left feeling rather proud of myself. And when I got home, there was another e-mail from the muggle, and we`ve set up a meeting, and I`m nervous. Tomorrow, 7 PM, at the most generic meeting place in Tokyo, that`s right, the statue of Hachiko in Shibuya. :) What the heck am I doing meeting someone for drinks? I don't drink!! It's me acknowledging something I knew: EVERYONE in Tokyo drinks, and I'm gonna have to drink a little if I want to be able to spend time with folks. Sigh. Ah well, I'll cope.

Wish me luck! :)

Edit: Well, the muggle has e-mailed me saying he's not feeling well and can we do Wednesday instead. This makes me distinctly more nervous, but I agreed...I guess we'll see!