Late August marks the anniversary of my arrival in Japan, this time totaling 28 years. So the question would seem to be, "What have you learned, Dorothy, in your long stay over the rainbow?"

Of course, I lack the youthful innocence of Dorothy Gale (not to mention her plumbing), and rather than Glinda the Good Witch of the North, the question-asker would appear to be none other than the Wizard of Odd himself, yours truly.

Meaning I must answer my very own poser. Not hard. For I have learned a lot. Ranging from the mundane to the sublime.