Turns out I did not get anywhere near an okonomiyaki, but warm sake I had too much. What I said about being one of those who only drink when they're happy, it's still true. I was very very happy when I drank the sake. What I did not expect, despite years of alcoholic experience and I probably should have known better, was that it unleashes all the feelings locked up inside, as soon as you leave your over-carnivorous guy friends for 2 minutes in the toilet.

It was a slightly scary, painfully real, quietly overwhelming 2 minutes. Then it hits you. The wall crumbles, shield breaks, cover blows. You're left with yourself and you can only be honest. You go back to the table, you look at your friends who are still stuffing sausages down their throats, and then you just cry. You cry through the last drips of sake, on the back of a bicycle back to the flat, and finally through hurling with your head fitting right between two buildings.

After you calm down a bit, you pick up the skype phone and you cry more when you hear his voice. Sob uncontrollably for two minutes until he tells you he can't talk to you when you're like this. Then you start to cry inside. You hang up, yell for your friends to come back into the tiny room only slightly larger than a prison cell. They hand you a tissue and some tea. And then you realize everything feels easier after drinking and crying. You feel lighter because you've let it all out.

Therefore, do not doubt the tried-and-true prescription for healing. It might not make your problems go away, but it sure helps the pain.