Karaoke: My Way!

I can't believe I didn't try karaoke sooner in Japan! I know what you must be thinking. "Really? Karaoke? You?" Yes, me. And five other very fun friends!


Something must have gotten lost in the translation of karaoke to America. Because in Japan--the birthplace of karaoke--they know how to do it right! At a karaoke bar in Japan, each party of people gets their own (hopefully sound-proof) "studio" with couches, a sort of TelePrompter, and free drinks delivered right to your door. Once they deliver the first round and switch the computerized song search tool to English, you're free to let loose.

And let loose we did, in honor of Kathleen's birthday this month. Kathleen, Kathy, Kim, Mimi, Robin and I belted out song after song for nearly four hours. And although karaoke translates to "empty orchestra," there was no lack of instruments in our studio! Luckily there were nearly enough tambourines for each of us to have our own. But there were only two microphones...

We shared them fairly for the most part. After all, one person's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" is another person's "Bohemian Rhapsody." Although, we decided there's something very unifying about Frank, despite the fact that none of us are from New York, New York.

Nevertheless, I found it somewhat suspicious that whenever a mic was passed to me, it just so happened to be turned off.

I guess you could say I learned I have an inner rock star that was just waiting to come out. And I should probably take the hint to stifle "her." Not a chance! We'll be going back for more...I don't want to let my fans, I mean friends, down.