Two Passages by Haruki Murakami

"The last time I'd slept with a fat female was the year of the Japanese Red Army shoot-out in Karuizawa. The woman had extrordinary thighs and hips. She was a bank teller who had always exchanged pleasantries with me over the counter. I knew her from the midriff up. We became friendly, went out for a drink once, and ended up sleeping together. Not until we were in bed did I notice that the lower half of her body was so demographically disproportionate. It was because she played table tennis all through school, she had me know, thought I didnt quite grasp the relationship. I didnt know table tennis led to below-the-belt corporeality."

"At work, the day is solid with meetings from the morning on. Important meetings on sales campaigns for a new product line. Several employees read reports. Blackboards fill with figures, bar graphs proliferate on computer screens. I participate, although my contribution to the meetings is not that critical because I'm not directly involved with the project. I voice an opinion only once. Isn't much of an opinion, either -- something perfectly obvious to any observer -- but I couldn't very well go without saying anything, after all. I may not be terribly ambitious when it comes to work, but so long as I'm receiving a salary I have to demonstrate responsibility. I summarize the various opinions up to that point and even make a joke to lighten up the atmosphere. Several people laugh. After that one utterance, however, I only pretend to review the materials."