Sayonara, Nihon
 

I am leaving Japan.

The reason is a great one. I am going home to the woman I love.
We met at 19, became great friends and I and fell in love, but she was already with someone else. After six months of self-inflicted emotional misery, I completely stopped seeing her, and spent most of the next decade wondering what she was up to.
In 2005 I wrote a letter which managed to find her and we became friends again. This time she was married. However, the marriage was already struggling and in early 2007 they broke up entirely. And for the last six months or so we have been an "item" over the internet.
We have waited almost a year for things to settle down. She now seems to be as ready as she will ever be. I want to be with her, she wants me there, so I am going. This is the most important thing in my life.

I have negotiated an early end to my contract, booked my flights, and am halfway through canceling all my services. I still have to send or pack or sell or give or dump all my stuff, and clean my apartment. I have four and a half days to do this. Holy &%$#!!!

As of one hour ago I am unemployed. I will miss many (but not all) of my students and colleagues. I will miss getting paid on a regular basis, too :p but I have enough saved to tide me over until I can find something back home.
I am a little sad to be leaving Japan. It has been almost entirely a positive experience (Morie, give it a try. Socially, it's almost the exact opposite of China). There are quite a few things I haven't managed to do but there are some very good ones I have done.

So for the cellar, I will very soon have seriously reduced internet access, so I don't think I'll be able to drop by here so often, at least for a while, which will be good news for Cicero and her post-count.

I'll be back when I can, though.

Errr, any questions?

Yes, what's your favorite colour?

Wow. you didn't even ask our permission or put up a poll or anything. i'm not sure how to feel.

I guess I'll just go with happy for you. Good luck. Life is wild, enjoy the ride.

All over the Cellar, hearts are breaking. :)

Best of luck to you, Zen. Please keep in touch when you can.

(Goes to look for Stress Puppy who listed puns as a guilty pleasure.)

here's hoping the little lady doesn't have wickedly bad breath or vaginosis or something you will regret giving it all up for. Ain't love grand?

but seriously....i hope she doesnt stink.

ZenGum,
How good and right it is that you should leave the Cellar for this worthwhile endeavor.

I wish you good fortune, and hope to see many Zen posts in the "What's making you happy today" thread.

and photographic evidence of this budding relationship. there are a number of threads available or you may start your own.

but...but...but...

Wow.

This is huge. I hope for the happy ending we all read about as kids and eagerly await an update once the dust settles.

Good luck to you both. I'll miss you, take care!

You come back now, ya hear?

Awesome! I too demand pics, though. Good luck, dude :)

Best wishes to you Zen.

Thanks for the help and info you've given me and my wife about the opportunities there in Japan.

I'm sure that your new life will work out and that you'll be happy.

And...

Just remember, that being unemployed is NOT a bad thing as long as you have money. ;)

Take Care friend.

:sniff:
Ohhh. That's so sad...Well great for you, bad for us.....

You won't be unemployed for long and I'm sure you can find internet access soon enough!! Right?



Don't forget to come back!! I promise not too get too far ahead...!!
:D

ZenGum sort-of-leaving? Well, hell. ZenGum posts have become some of my favorites! . . . Good luck with your IRL stuff.

i think i must have missed a couple episodes.....