Gentleman Jim blog.

Today's post is not quite so far in the past, only six years. But when I read about Lilly as a little baby -- and then look at her now -- I have a hard time remembering that part of her life. I figure my recollection of it will only get hazier as time goes on.

Also, the Tennoji Research Society was my name for Wednesday night get-togethers I attended at a particular izakaiya (pub) in the Tennoji district of Osaka in the early '90s. Usually it was me, a couple of Australians, a Scotsman, and a shifting array of Japanese. It was the only time I in my life I drank regularly -- that is, once a week -- mostly beer and nihonshu (sake).

February 19, 1998

Some of this week's milestones were baby's first passport pictures and Dad's first sports telephone marketing survey. Tuesday night someone called me up to ask about my "sports preferences." I went along with it because I did similar survey work myself, briefly, and I didn't call her on the half-truth that the "survey results were being supplied to the media" (as though various corporations weren't actually paying for the information -- especially, if my suspicions are correct, American Express).

One question was who was my favorite boxer. Since she didn't specify "active" or "living" as she did with other games, I said Gentleman Jim Corbett. It sounded like she hadn't heard that answer before. I also claimed that Mamba was my favorite beer. I don't have a particular favorite, actually, but it is my favorite beer bottle, complete with crocodile and palm trees on the label, and my favorite country of beer origin, Ivory Coast. If she'd asked for more brands, I might have said Ichiban Shiburi, a Kirin brew, because that was a consensus favorite of the Tennoji Research Society in Osaka, or Carlsburg, because I toured the brewery in Copenhagen once upon a time.

Lilly is three months old today. Her colic seems to be diminishing, her weight increasing, and her interest in everything around her very high.