My life can be divided in 2. In the middle was the most life changing event: getting married. This singular day which I dont give place enough importance for, whisked me away from my old life and though I try to keep in touch with it, has taken me far, far away from it.
I wont go into that precious first part of my life, it was the best 30 years one could ask for. Those were the discovery years, when I discovered all the parts of myself in my home. I think I got stuck.
So when Stephen proposed, I felt deep inside it was right. My parents approved. (I still don't know why?) We got married and he took me away.
We first lived in Bangkok. We were there for 6 months. Good time for me to adjust to not working anymore and adjusting to my new life. It was close enough to home so I kept going back, my grandmother who I was very close to passed away. I was glad I was there and around when it happened but I had moved on. So had she. I am so happy she stayed till then. I became who I am today because of my relationship to her. I shall never be dismissive of old people, I always respect and value them and rather spend time talking to them than anyone else. I will automatically gravitate to older people in a party if I have no friends.
Then we moved to Taiwan, I spent one and a half years there. I had my last fling with nightlife on my own and explored Taipei - its night clubs and shopping to as much as I was interested in.
In August 2001 Stephen's Dad passed away and that took us to Australia. We were there for 7 years. First we lived in Sydney for a few months before Stephen's job took us to Melbourne. We lived in a beautiful warehouse apartment - a dream couple house. I got to know Robert Nowak and his trumpet.
Then a crisis in Deloitte made Stephen make a stand and quit his job. We were in the middle of buying our house in Mallacoota. What should we do? We moved into the house of course. With no job, Stephen decided to help his mother out from Mallacoota. We immersed ourselves in the arts council and all its goings on. We discovered living in a 'rural' town living on a fixed budget but enjoyed it. Mallacoota became my family and my second home. We decided to get Enzo to force us not to move anymore - after all a dog can't move and likes familiarity and stability.
In the last 6 months we lived there, Stephen began working with his brother in Canberra. He expanded his responsibilities and we moved to Canberra. It was a good transition place from a rural town. Close enough to return to Mallacoota regularly and a town big enough with all the ammenities of a city life without the crowds and bustle. I seriously missed traffic lights (though there was only one between our home and my new work place. We decided Enzo was too needy and we got him a companion - Dino. Dino arrived by plane from Bacchus Marsh. I couldnt get over how cute he was in the airport, I was showing him off to all the passengers on our walk to the carpark. He was just THE cutest puppy by ANY standards. He was a tiny quivering puppy in the back seat all the way home. Wound his way into my heart.
I wiggled my toe in my old industry again - I got a job in a consulting company and discovered I could still work with my previous knowledge, the basics were all the same and I learnt more about sustainable heating and cooling. I was so happy and inspired. I was not too thrilled about getting pregnant, who could be cuter/ more loving than Dino? but then Stephen was looking at new jobs and decided to join IBM in Melbourne.
So we moved to Melbourne and thats where we had Nathan. We lived in South Melbourne but my obstetrician who was in the city had to have all his babies in the brand new Mercy hospital in Heidelberg, where Nathan is officially born. South Melbourne is the loveliest of neighbourhoods in Melbourne. Like a small village, we got to know most of our neughbours and parks. Dogs are a great way to make friends.
We loved Melbourne, it was easier to be in Victoria, sharing the same news as in Mallacoota. We still drove back there every 2 months or so. We have NO holiday destinations, just Mallacoota. We decided to buy a house and we found something we both liked in Clifton Hill. More centrally located and near all the schools in Kew. The house was across the road from the largest parkland closest to the city - Yarra Bend Park. We were here for almost 2 years.
Then Stephen got the opportunity to do some work in Japan. He was away a lot, but I didnt miss him as much in the new house. Him being away while I was alone with Nathan all day wasnt fun, but we survived it. I accused him of not getting to know his son! Oh no! So the solution to being together came when he was offered to work in Japan. I cannot say it was a difficult decision to make, it was more difficult getting our friends and family to accept our decision. But moving to Japan was a no brainer - it was the ultimate in expat posting, and we embraced it with 6 hands and 8 paws. Yes, we took both dogs.
And now we've been in Japan for 11 months. I have never been happier. Its a wonderful place to explore. Much more inspiring and envigorating than Australia. After 3 years of
