Random acts shape people's perceptions of you/A lesson in being less judgemental (like that is ever going to happen!)

After stuffing ourselves silly on Turkish, off we trotted to an izakaya for cheap beer.

Midway through the drink order, the young waitress asked my colleague if she worked for a certain college. Nobi confirmed that she did and asked the girl if she remembered me. I was busy saying, probably not, I didn't teach that course, I left two years ago etc when Missy pipes up "I remember you being angry!" I was thinking, "H'mmmm...my reputation spread to students that I didn't even teach!" when she jogged my memory "You ran into my classroom chasing a boy who had said bad words to you". The horror came flooding back in a Bloody Mary haze of shame: some really annoying pseudo hip hop kids were blocking every one's way outside the elevator. I told them to go to class as the bell had already rung and was greeted by something along the lines of "Fuck you!" At which point I chased said whippersnapper and barged into his classroom yelling at him as poor old Tauchi-sensei looked on bewildered! Mt T enquired "Ahhh Lebecc, eh iz zer somesing long?" He was unable to make head nor tails of my "Rah rah rah rah, that little git rah rah rah, how dare he rah rah rah" rant so off I went.

Later Mr T came to apologise and offered by way of explanation the strange hypothesis that they had heard those words in songs and didn't understand the true meaning. I called "Bullshit" on that attempt to get away with it!

Nostalgic thoughts and blushes were ended when she offered to serve us a free drink. She then asked me if I could remember Mari-chan? Of course! Did I know that she had moved to Okinawa with her 30 something husband and 6 month old kid? Er, no I didn't!

Mari's future seemed written on the wall after she had told me she thought she was pregnant and what should she do. A false alarm and big lecture on the use of condoms later, after I quit the job, I heard she was sporting dungarees and an ever expanding waistline.

The waitress seemed like a nice girl, but I couldn't help but remark that she was, well, a waitress, and that that was the future that awaited most of the students after they graduated with their useless diploma from that college and hadn't she said she was on the University Transfer course?

Bill paid; Mari's email address proffered; enquiry as to how long she had been working there asked and answered: only during the holidays as she is studying English, Spanish and American Studies at Kyoto University!