New Year’s Eve does nothing for me, but on my birthday, I always get a bit reflective. And this time, there’s rather a lot to reflect upon. As a matter of fact, it’s hard to believe all this good stuff happened in a single year of my life.

My thirty-sixth year started, incredibly enough, on a restaurant terrace overlooking Kamogawa River, Kyoto, Japan. With the sun setting over the river and course upon course of delicious food being served, my birthday dinner was one of the highlights of a trip that was already one big highlight of culinary delights, culture and friendship. It almost seemed my 36th year could only go downhill from there. Little did I know…

Spring gave me Japan. Summer gave me Seattle, my second Writers of the Future workshop, another Awards gala, another trophy, another anthology with my story in it, and most importantly, another group of writing contacts, acquaintances and friends. Looking back to the spring of 2004, it’s all but impossible to remember what my writing life was like before Writers of the Future. Contemplating a full-fledged writing career was absurd back then, but these days, the thought is an insistent nag at the back of my mind.

Summer also gave me my new job. In a rather impulsive moment, I decided to quit and apply for a job at a company I admired. Not that any of their six job openings appealed to me; I just felt that with their activities and my resume, we should be able to find common ground. The procedure took through October to complete, but in the end, I landed the job they opened for me, and I’m still happily there.

All this, of course, was just a prelude to the huge and happy thing that happened in the Fall. Just as I was giving up on the Internet dating world, an incredibly wonderful woman found my profile on some site; we decided to meet after a couple of exchanged emails; and the rest, as they say, is history. Man, I had no idea a relationship could be this good, this trouble-free, this uncomplicated. “You know, this could very well be the one for you,” all my friends tell me, nodding wisely, and all I can do is cheer my agreement. My 36th year gave me Ilse, and up until two months ago, I couldn’t imagine the year getting any better.

But then we began cautiously discussing moving in together, and I emailed her a link to the site of an apartment building I’ve wanted to live in for fifteen years. It’s a kind of castle, with a courtyard, and corner towers, and lots of terraces, walkways and balconies, and a sauna, cafe, theater and greenhouse for the owners of the 90 apartments in the building. The first time I discovered the building, I just gaped, wide-eyed, a goofy smile on my face. And not only did Ilse love it at first sight as well; it turned out that one of the larger apartments was for sale, and with eerie ease we negotiated an affordable price, and an affordable mortgage, and no time at all, we had acquired our dream apartment in our dream building, three bedrooms, 1,000 square feet, and just a short walk in robe and slippers from the sauna.

For a long time now, each successive year has been better than the one before. I cannot imagine what my 37th will have to offer to top the one I’ve just completed…