We checked out today, Ola to catch a flight back and I to check in to the Toyoko Inn that I originally had intended to stay in. By nine o’clock we arrived at our partners’ office, where we stopped in for a quick coffee and tea before I took Ola to the Tokyo station. As it turned out, he could have managed on his own, but it doesn’t hurt to provide a safety net. We were already later than the worst rush hour, so the subway was not too crowded, and again emptied at Akasaka-Mitsuke. At the Tokyo JR station I was a bit peeved that just in order to get on the platform I had to buy a ticket and couldn’t get a refund, which is something they manage to do at the Metro station. A corollary of that I suppose to be that if your loved one (your darling, your joe) boards a bullet train (shinkansen), you get to wave goodbye at the wicket gate. Romantic, eh?Â
After I got back, we soon headed out to visit a customer who had recently bought our instrument. He had some suggestions and questions but was satisfied with the results he was getting. I improvised a scan protector with the top of a steel vessel for a specialty coating system, which might get him better results, but (a) he can’t measure with it and coat at the same time and (b) the Scan Protector we make is five times lighter and easier to handle.Â
On the ride there I’d dozed on the back seat, but on the ride back I sat in the passenger seat and stayed awake and alert the whole time and discussed music promotion in Japan with Mitch. He used to do that before he joined our partners.Â
We’d had lunch at the Gusto family restaurant and I’d eaten too much despite having ordered a small meal, so I decided to eat less tonight and got myself some combini food. Ground pork on a stick, beef on a stick, bread with mochi and mushroom paste in it, a vitamin C drink, and buckwheat tea made a balanced meal except that the fourth food group, ice cream, was missing. Back at the hotel I discovered that this brand sold their little ice cream without the spoons that more expensive brands secret away in the lid. I was about to cut up the lid to fashion a spoon when I remembered I’d just tossed away the contents of the Swiss International Air Lines Children’s Menu shoulder bag: plasticware and a napkin. So it was thanks to the children’s menu that I could eat my ice cream in a civilized manner.Â
I’m a bit tired and not feeling too great, so I’ll quit here.Â
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Hehe. Mom, can you tell we played Boggle? If you don’t know what I’m talking about I’ll leave you to puzzle it out.
Hope you feel better, Stephan. Are you getting sick or just tired?
Of course, my darling, my jo! I didn’t guess when I first read the post, though I did notice the phrase and was glad to see someone else who knows it. I just didn’t realize the knowledge was recently acquired….
I believe “jo” is the more common spelling, but “joe” is a variant form (and also means a cup of coffee, and a coin).
Repetition is the best teacher. Repetition four times in the same evening is an even better teacher (which is a contradiction, I know).
According to Merriam-Webster, “jo” is the spelling, but I’d heard the phrase in defense of “joe” and was too lazy to check. Merriam-Webster gives the plural as “joes,” without giving a variant form, so that may be the source of the variant. We played with a smaller dictionary, to the chagrin of your jo(e).
I slept over nine hours last night, which helped, but I think I’m still tired. Perhaps my soul hasn’t quite caught up with where in the world I am.
That’s why we have a very large dictionary in our house. It lives on its own stand, and was a gift given specifically for Boggle use. It has “joe” as a variant form of “jo.” 🙂
Have you played Quiddler? If so, you’ll know why a certain musician had a significant advantage until the rest of us caught on to solfege. But two-letter words don’t help with Boggle. Come to think of it, if you were using “joe,” you must have been playing the 4×4 version, since the 5×5 doesn’t allow three-letter words.
Must. Not. Envy. I’ll get my fill at Thanksgiving.
It’s my turn to envy what you will get at Thanksgiving! I do recall now that it is ‘jo’ and we use it in Quiddler. It was hard playing 4×4 and thinking of three letter words. I have yet to pull out the games I brought, but I will when the time is right. I don’t think I have Quiddler, though. My prayers are with you, Stephan. Lots of people are sick here, too. 🙁
Well, even with a small dictionary one ends up with too many gratuitous Boggle words. With a large one I’d write down all pronounceable combinations and keep my fingers crossed.
I don’t know Quiddler.
I can confirm not being sick. Thanks for everyone’s prayers!