Last year was a year that definitely changed my life in many ways. It was last year that I had the biggest loss in my life so far which was the passing of my mother. Through this trying time I gained a new appreciation and feeling of connection to the people (staff and students) I met at Stageline. All the support and feelings of condolence I received really helped me through that difficult time and having an almost second family here gave me strength to weather that storm. The second major change was my marriage to my girlfriend of three years on New Years Eve. It was because of her I moved to Tokyo and it is also because of her I stayed here and am where I am now. We were married in Czech due to the good advice of Thomas and we had a sort of ‘destination wedding’ in one of the most famous castles in that region of the Czech Republic. Prague and the Czech Republic is an almost surreal place and the art, history, and atmosphere really made for a week and day that I will remember forever.Of course there were other things that changed like moving to a new apartment, meeting and making new friends and reconnecting with an old high school friend who lives in Tokyo now. So after all that past in 2009 I can only hope that this year will bring much needed happiness and joy to everyone I love both friends and family alike. As for me, I couldn’t have started 2010 happier or with more joy!／銀座インストラクター Michael