Moving into the Future

Yesterday, in the midst of Yusuke's busy work schedule (even on weekends lately), we managed to get a glimpse of our future. It was a very exciting day for us.

We decided to go look at a few apartments that are for sale. We have been researching and looking at places from afar since January, but this was the first time we would actually see the inside of one of these babies. First, we looked at a 20-year old apartment that is extremely close to our train station. As we would prefer to stay in the neighborhood, we thought we would be willing to put up with a slightly older apartment. However, the 4-bedroom place was quite small, and seemed even less roomier than our two-bedroom apartment. Without boring you with other details about the cleanliness, or lack thereof, the brightness, or lack there of, of the place, I will say that we made a quick getaway just as the real estate agent was asking us to sit down and fill out a "questionnaire."

Then, we took a little restroom break at a local department store, and happened upon a brand new pet store. I am vehemently against pet stores because it is likely that they get their supplies of pups from so-called puppy mills. I would rather purchase directly from a breeder, so that I can visit the place and see how the puppies are raised in their first few weeks. Anyway, though I would never buy a puppy from a pet store, I am never against going into one and staring with desire at all the puppies. We have researched and decided on the breed that we would like to get once we move next year, so we went straight to the cage holding that type of puppy. There was a big crowd around the cages, and the clerk asked me if I would like to hold the one I was staring at. At first, I denied my desire to do this, but she lead us over to a table where she sprayed our hands with disinfectant and told us to wait there. She reappeared with the little two-month old cutie. This particular one costs ¥258,000 (about $2500, several hundred more than the average going rate in Japan and the USA!). Anyway, she instructed me how to hold him, and I took him from her. God, he was so cute! I couldn't believe my luck to get to hold this little thing, if even for just a few minutes. I handed him over to Yusuke, but he was unsure how to hold him. He usually holds things (babies, bags of groceries, heavy plants, etc.) a little distance from his body, which makes it feel even heavier. I always tell him, "Hold it like a baby. Let your hip or stomach support it. Don't grip it too tightly!" He must have been holding the puppy a little too tight or something because he kind of whined. Yusuke immediately handed him back to me. He's gonna have to learn sooner or later! Anyway, I can't wait to get a puppy of our own!

So, happy and excited, we went next door to the model apartment/gallery of a new building that is currently being constructed in our neighborhood. I had been wanting to look at this place since I first noticed it being constructed last year, but Yusuke held off. He was afraid that I would totally fall in love with the model apartment, that I would be really obvious about it, and that the salesperson would try to take advantage of us. Finally, though, he agreed to take a look at it. We fell in love. Then, the salesperson took us through the model (which was of course the best and most expensive representation of the 10 layout plans that will make up this building), and the more we looked, the more we loved it. We spent a long time there going over lots of details with the salesperson. I could tell Yusuke was genuinely interested because he was asking lots of questions. When she went away to get something, I told him to ask if they allow pets because if they don't, it's not a possibility to live there. He said he was afraid to ask, but it turns out they do allow pets. Anyway, even though we're excited about this place imparticular, there are other places we are interested in, so I think we have to get much more serious about looking. The ideal thing about buying a newly built place like this is that there is still time to choose our own colors and we can alter the lay out plan a bit at this early stage. If we wait much longer, we won't be able to do that. No big deal, but it would just fun to do that!

This is exciting for me because I feel like this is the year we're finally moving towards a future. For the last three, we were quite stagnant, and I felt depressed about that. I am so glad that Yusuke is finally taking initiative this year, and together we are working towards planning for our future.