It’s December. The end of the year. I want to share with you my year in pictures.
January
This would be our last year in Abu Dhabi. I miss the apartment, and the level of convenience. The weather, not so much. The scenery, also not so much. As it turns out once you’ve seen one desert, you’ve kinda seen them all.
February
Thomas was born, and inspected by Doja multiple times. Initially relucant to approach, she started to warm up to her little brother.
March
With Thomas born and our plans to move to Japan underway, we had to get Thomas papers. The Dutch embassy is conveniently located in Abu Dhabi, but does not handle passports. Instead, I had to drive 3 hours back-and-forth to Dubai.
April
My thyroid was removed. I have written enough about it.
May
Trump visited the UAE to enrich himself and his family some more. The area around our home was completely locked down, as they carted this geriatric piece of shit around.
June
Chinatsu and Thomas were planning to fly back to Japan at the end of the June. Iran decided to bomb the Americans in Qatar, postponing our plans. For a short while, it felt like we were about to be part of World War 3.
July
Not one to let war stop us, we made it back to Japan and found a place to stay early July.
August
Living in the country side, having a car to get around is important. It was the first and last time I’ll ever buy a new car. Secondhand is the way to go, baby. But with second-hand prices very close to buying new, it felt prudent to buy new.
September
Our stuff had arrived from Abu Dhabi. My visa had been issued. Life had become boring once again.
October
In October I took a train to meet a friend. In the countryside, the more smaller stations are not very well maintained.
November
After 3 years of Famichiki being a mastodon instance, a meetup was held in Tokyo. People from all over Japan traveled to Tokyo to see what we look and smell like in real life. It turns out many of us are white, middle-aged men.
December
The year is coming to a close. Moving from Tokyo, to Singapore, to Tokyo, to Abu Dhabi, now in the sticks. I wonder what next year will bring.