Wishing upon a star or two

Today is the tanabata - star festival - in Japan, when two stars (I don't know which) are visible in the same sky only once a year on this date -- the seventh of the seventh month. The myth goes that the stars were once lovers but got so lovey-dovey that they neglected their work (as close to a sin as you can get in this workaholic country) and so God punished them by banishing them to opposite sides of the Milky Way. However, the former lovers saw the error of their ways and got right back to work (maybe at a 7-11) so God generously gave them one day off a year when they could shack up. Anyroad, the upshot is that on this day you can make a wish, write it on a piece of paper and  tie it to a bamboo tree. Emma's wish: "I want to be a princess." Katherine's: "I want to go to Disney Sea." Yoshie's: "Family's health and happiness." Patrick's (same since university): "Write a novel." By the way, this is also the date that I proposed to Yoshie one chilly night 12 years ago in a tent in the Rocky Mountains, but that's another story...