Two Years

Hey there,

While we haven't been very subtle about it - posting on facebook etc - for those of you that missed the exciting event, Jeff and I have been married for two years!  I always used to think (oh, naive child!) that marriage just HAPPENED, that you fell into it and as long as noone slept around, that was it for a successful marriage.  My own parents recent marital issues have proved to me how incorrect that attitude was.  When we were dating I viewed dates as just that.  It was always a mildly surprising reminder of how long we'd been hanging out together and an excuse to go out for dinner.  Now I'm married I view it as a whole different story.  Our culture (and my recent family problems) is so full of news about divorces and marriages gone wrong that while Jeff having been my boyfriend for four years seemed like just a date, Jeff having been my husband for two years seems like an achievement!  (And this touching little entry of mine is no time for any smart-arse comments about Jeff, thankyou!  That goes for both sets of parents and Shelley :P )  (Note: I've long wondered about mentioning Mum and Dad's recent issues on here.  I held back while it was in the thick of it, but I think most of you in NZ have heard Mum talk about it and if you're over here, you may well have heard me mention it.  It was a pretty traumatic time all round, but now it seems like if the relationship lasts, it'll be a much, much more mutually rewarding one than the last few years.  There have been important lessons learnt all round, even if there were things like 'don't let your parents stay in your tiny Japanese apartment when they're supposedly seperating'.  :P  It's ok parents, you're still allowed back xxx)

Anyway, we had a really fun night.  I got dressed up in a new dress from Singapore, put my heels in my handbag and we walked up to the train station.  I changed shoes on the train and we went wandering round the centre of town looking for somewhere to have dinner.  The place I had chosen wasn't open, so we ended up at Italian place we had been to before (and therefore knew it was good).  I had a yummy white wine (actually no idea what it was... the 'English' menu was actually Italian.  Because those two are pretty much the same...) and Jeff had some imported beer.  Not the one he ordered, but one he likes even more, so that was ok.  We had bruschetta (translated as 'toast on tomato') and a wee cheese plate to start (oh blue cheese how I love you!), followed by pizza and pasta.  It was all very tasty and a thoroughly enjoyable night, concluded by another meander through the wee streets of bars and restaurants, lit by strings of blue fairy lights, back to the station. 

In other news, I wanted to tell you about an exciting wildlife experience I had a week or so ago.  I was driving along a country road in Jinseki, at about 4pm, when a big bird flew overhead and settled on the power line on the side of the road.  I did a double take, going "Was that...?"

I turned around and drove back, and sure enough it was a huge white and brown owl.  It turned its head to stare at me.  I fumbled round the car looking for the camera (I had left it on the table at home) and finally fished out my cellphone.  By this point it decided I was enough of a concern to move further down the road.  I followed it, inching along in my little Dihatsu Mira.  I managed to click one crappy photo, enough to show that its foliage was perfectly blended to the bare sticks and snow of the background (by that I mean you can't see it on the photo.  At all).  Finally it turned its big dark eyes away, spread its wings and flew away across the snow covered rice fields.  Amazing!!

I hope you're all doing well, wherever you are atm.  If you're in NZ, hope to see you in three weeks!!!