Thank you all for all the great birthday wishes! I tried to avoid it, but I wound up meeting some friends at a local bar (if I said tavern that would have sounded classy but been a complete ruse...), got served a few birthday-bottles of beer (they had candles in the tops!) fu fu--- & then home (hangover-free these years)... to fall asleep watching Kurosawa's "Maadadayo"... a film I thought somewhat apt for the occasion, about Kurosawa's own life & growing older...
For those who know what I've been trying to do lately, I've got an appointment on the 6th of December to start the paperwork for getting into an academic program that will be helping me to get my bachelors, and ultimately, back to Japan... I'm indebted to those who have given me such encouragement here, and to the forums as a whole, as a place to talk so frequently with people who share such similar interests.
Thank you so much for your birthday wishes, & your kindness, they mean so much to me.
本当 m(_ _)m ありがとうっ
honto arigatou
ps. Uncle Frank, please don't change your "Mr. Sparkle" avatar for at least a week... I want to have some time to enjoy this one!
:cracker: 
:music: :hum: 
:gulp: :win: 
:gohan: 
:cracker: 
:music: 
:win: :gulp: :sing: :car: 
Have fun tonight!!
