Jinja and Shoga: Life in the Land of the Rising Sun

Well, today I turn 29. Ok, so technically I'm now 30, but since I've taken a que from Benjamin Button and decided to age backwards for a while (maybe until I hit 24 or 25), I'm turning 29. Now, for those you thinking to yourselves that 30 isn't so bad and you wish you were 30 again, then let me suggest that you, too, may begin to age backwards! Just start counting down a year every birthday instead of counting up! It's that simple, really.

In all honesty, I have to admit that I wasn't really looking forward to turning 29+1 today. Going up a number every year has never bothered me before, but somehow '3-0' seems to me like the age at which one can no longer deny that one is an adult. Not that I haven't been taking care of myself for how many years now, but I still don't exactly feel 'grown-up'. And I guess the main reason is that I always thought I'd be well-accomplished at this point, in terms of a career, a family, etc. Surprise, surprise, life doesn't turn out how we planned!
But. I do have so many things to be thankful for. While I've put my career on a hiatus and often miss working in a lab, I've exchanged it for a more wonderful husband than I could have dreamed of. And while children are not yet in the picture, we've got an adorably furry little black and white 'baby' and plenty of time for travel until it's time for some human babies. I could get more sentimental and go into depth about my wonderful family and friends, both here and in the US, but let's assume that it's already a given that I'm thankful for them!
Here is Wasabi's present to me---a good laugh at her walking backwards while trying to get out of the bag for the birthday flowers that Yuki bought me. Enjoy!

Wasabi's bad moon-walk impression






It might as well be Wasa's b-day too, for all the fun she's having with gift packages!