I woke up this morning and realized it's been exactly a year since I left Canada. I still remember that freakin' snow storm that kicked my ass all the way down Granville Street on route to the airport. In hindsight, it was a nice Canuckian send off, I think. Very appropriate.

I'm happy to report that I've checked off many things I intended to do in Japan up to now. Not all were successful but I believe in learning from my mistakes so, in the grand scheme of things, I've come out ahead. My heart is still solidly on track so I'm not mentally wavering or anything. My strategy has changed a bit so I'll be making a few changes in this second year but it's also what I expected. I hope to post a few more uplifting tidbits in 2008. And thanks to all those who have been supportive and sticking with me through e-mail and this site. Kudos.

I do miss a few things from back home like greasy pizza and big fat burgers but I think I'm missing hockey the most at the moment. The lock-out a coupla years ago was a bummer and it was probably what killed my enthusiasm for the sport but I've recently been making efforts to check scores and standings via the net. Some nice vids on youtube also help. Speaking of youtube, my all-time, hands-down, favourite vid is the following. If you're from Toronto you'll probably drop a tear as I did when first watching it. ALL HEART!!!



TAK