Fujiiyama Mama

We did it! We made it official!! Yasu and I finally got our butts down to City Hall (and on my Birthday, too!) to seal the deal. It was really easy. Turns out I'd done a bunch of extra work back home in Toronto that I didn't need to. I wrote an affidavit stating I was legal and free to marry. Then I had it and a copy of my passport notarized by a lawyer. THEN I mailed that to the province of Ontario and in return received a certificate called a "Statement in Lieu of Non-Impediment to Marriage Abroad." Once I was here though, those weren't necessary. I actually had to go to the Canadian embassy in Osaka to fill out the exact same affidavit I had already made. They also supplied me with a Japanese translation of it which was the real golden ticket. It was stamped by the official person and it was then we could finally get things signed, sealed and delivered. We went to City Hall where we had a choice of a "regular" marriage certificate or "kawai

The title of this is totally supposed to be sung out loud like James Brown's "Living in America" by the way. I live in Japaaaaaaaaaaaaan!! I actually can't believe it. After three epic visits and falling in love, I'm here. Hopefully for good, cuz my love and I are fully "90 Day Fiancé-ing" it and this girl is gonna live happily ever after thankyouverymuch. Not gonna lie, a LOT has happened in order to get here. I brought a dog and a cat for example, which was about 7 months of work ahead of time and I had to get a few things squared away so I can get married. I also had to sell off a ton of my stuff, take a leave of absence from my job and sublet my apartment. In other words, this last 6+ months has made me adult like I've never adulted before. BUT I GOT IT DONE AND HI, I'M HERE. The jetlag is real and happening. The shock is real and happening. The pets are happy to be with me but also like "NANDE YA NEN!" (aka WHAT THE HECK) and