"Appraising badminton rackets with an expert eye"

One night I was sitting in my apartment in Japan wondering what the NHK offerings would be when someone knocked on my door. It was Hara-san, the tea lady from work, and a young man about my age wearing a bandana around his forehead. Through an impromptu game of charades (due to my dismal grasp of the language), I finally figured out they wanted me to come play "soft-volley" or volleyball. It turned out the community gym was open Monday nights for volleyball and badminton. Not the garden variety that I played in my grandmother's backyard, but very competitive mixed double's badminton.

This came to mind as I was reading A Question of Attraction by David Nicholls. The main character, Brian Jackson, includes badminton on his college application in an effort to look more well-rounded. It's one example of his many attempts at humor that nobody gets. Entering his first year of university, he tries to reinvent himself by wearing a vintage donkey jacket, writing poetry, and competing on a television quiz show called University Challenge.

Although I haven't finished the book, I'm looking forward to getting back to the experience it evokes. That Monday-night-soft-volley feeling of laughing with oneself instead of at oneself.