YAPPEE ANNIVERSARY

Yeeee... how time flies...

Nineteen years ago, on that third day of April, yours truly stepped foot on Japanese soil, and immediately headed towards Hiroshima University...

The stint was supposed to last two years.

It became three after I succeeded to sideslip into the Master's program.

And six, when I managed to sneak into the doctorate course...

Six became seven as I precariously hanged on to the doctorate-program cliff for an extra year, waiting for the Research Associate job opening my supervisor promised...

That position took me to nine years...

On top of this pile, ten years zoomed past me as I continue to sit on my revolving chair in the research room here in this university...

Incidentally, twenty-four years ago, on that very same third day of April, yours truly was accidentally introduced to a young lady in Hong Kong...

Four years after that fateful shoulder-rubbing event, on that very same third day of April, once again, this time by design no doubt, yours truly found himself swearing in front of a county judge in the semi-arid, cowboy town of Lubbock, Texas, that he will cherish, protect, and adore his bride in good times as well as in not-so-good times...

Woooh... what a cruise it is turning out to be...

So, on this unforgettable day when Bolehland continues to struggle and stagger towards her dead-set goal of achieving 'developed nation' status by 2020...

I wish my 'suweeto haato'... yappeee anniversary...