A Fugu Sidebar

Just wanted to share a funny story about the first time I had fugu...

It was about 15 years ago now and I went out to a bar with a bunch of my Japanese college buddies. We started drinking beer and then moved into sake, as was our usual pace at the time. (And still kinda is.) One of the guys pointed out they had "fuguzake", or sake with fugu in it, on the menu. I realized it was the kind of fish that could kill you, but as I was half in bag, I figured "What the hell!" and we ordered some. Basically it was just a piece of dried fugu in a glass of hot sake, and there was really no danger in drinking it, but how the hell was I supposed to know that in the drunken state I was in? I thought I was "staring death in the eye", so I drank quite a few glasses.

It was only after we stumbled home that I started to get worried and was afraid I was going to die. So I what did I do? I called my parents to say good-bye! Yeah, I know, smooth move... but it gets better. They weren't home so I left a message on their machine teliing them I had just had fugu and this was the last time they might ever hear from me!

What was I thinking? Imagine coming home to a message like that?! Talk about worried! My mother still gets mad when we talk about fugu. I just got off the phone with her earlier and told her we'd eaten it and she commented yet again how she can't believe we eat that "evil fish".

At least I was sober this time...