Thursday, January 01, 2009
To The Nines!
I know most of you readers are only just beginning to consider your New Year's Eve plans, but for me it is New Year's Eve. Right now. No, I'm didn't go anywhere. Even if Mako wasn't pregnant and taking it easy, in Japan this night is best spent at home. If my "boys" were here we'd find a party to rock but seeing as how it's just me, I chose to drink at home and enjoy grown men torturing themselves for my amusement.
It's a few minutes into 2009. This awkward sounding number has prompted me to look back at the other -9 years I've experienced. In 1979 my sister was born. At the time I wasn't too thrilled about it but in the long run this has proved to be a very fortunate event in my life. In 1989 I first attended the CTY summer program and after some initial discomfort, I learned to fully embrace the opportunity to study and explore topics that interested me in a rewarding, supportive environment. As much as I loathed regular school, that's exactly how much I loved CTY. In 1999 I moved out my temporary basement hell-hole and into my first real apartment. I would spend five years in that apartment and, while I never fully accepted it as a "home," it was the closest I've ever come to truly living on my own.
So what can we say about 2009? Much like 2008, I will probably spent the entirety of the year living in Japan with only the occasional trip overseas. I foresee no major employment or residential shifts - this job and the apartment that comes with it are both entirely satisfactory. I'm hoping 2009 is the first year I will get to see some of my very close friends pay me a visit here in Japan because I'm eager to share what I love about this country with guests, but that's not up to me and the weak dollar isn't going to make things very easy on American tourists.
But who am I kidding? 2009 is going to be the year my first child is born, and that's an automatic Best Year Ever marker. Normally I'm more of the reflective "this was a good year" type rather than the optimistic "this is going to be an awesome year" type, but we all know childbirth is one of those game-changing life events that people get gooey about for decades, even when their little babies are fully grown. I can't say I'll be thrilled handling a baby and responding to its every need, but I know what this baby means to me and Mako and I.
So once again, Happy New Year and I look forward to seeing everyone again. Hope your year is as good as mine looks.
It's a few minutes into 2009. This awkward sounding number has prompted me to look back at the other -9 years I've experienced. In 1979 my sister was born. At the time I wasn't too thrilled about it but in the long run this has proved to be a very fortunate event in my life. In 1989 I first attended the CTY summer program and after some initial discomfort, I learned to fully embrace the opportunity to study and explore topics that interested me in a rewarding, supportive environment. As much as I loathed regular school, that's exactly how much I loved CTY. In 1999 I moved out my temporary basement hell-hole and into my first real apartment. I would spend five years in that apartment and, while I never fully accepted it as a "home," it was the closest I've ever come to truly living on my own.
So what can we say about 2009? Much like 2008, I will probably spent the entirety of the year living in Japan with only the occasional trip overseas. I foresee no major employment or residential shifts - this job and the apartment that comes with it are both entirely satisfactory. I'm hoping 2009 is the first year I will get to see some of my very close friends pay me a visit here in Japan because I'm eager to share what I love about this country with guests, but that's not up to me and the weak dollar isn't going to make things very easy on American tourists.
But who am I kidding? 2009 is going to be the year my first child is born, and that's an automatic Best Year Ever marker. Normally I'm more of the reflective "this was a good year" type rather than the optimistic "this is going to be an awesome year" type, but we all know childbirth is one of those game-changing life events that people get gooey about for decades, even when their little babies are fully grown. I can't say I'll be thrilled handling a baby and responding to its every need, but I know what this baby means to me and Mako and I.
So once again, Happy New Year and I look forward to seeing everyone again. Hope your year is as good as mine looks.
Labels: family, fuzzy memories, Japan, predicting the future, pregnancy
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Once our initial sibling disagreements settled circa 1995, I think the two of have managed to get along quite well. Don't you?
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