Frustrated

 Tomorrow is the last day of my 10-day holiday and all my great plans have fallen through.

My plan was to spend 2 full days at the other house.  That would have given me time to get the last few things out and start cleaning.  Then I was going to spend 3 days to start packing up some things here. It's starting to get warm so I was going to wash the extra blankets and put those and the heavy winter coats away.  I did manage to pack up 4 boxes of books to keep and 4 boxes of books to throw out.  Actually, the kids did most of the work, I sat and supervised!!!  Then I was going to spend the rest of the holiday reading and researching how to make a YouTube channel.  I know that sitting reading or watching videos isn't hard but I was in so much pain that it was hard to focus.  

The pain isn't as intense as it was, the pain medication and sleeping pills are helping.  My biggest problem now is exhaustion. I feel like I've had the flu after the fever breaks and you start recovering, that kind of exhaustion.  At least now I can send the light at the end of the tunnel.  

From what I've read online stress can affect the immune system.  My stress level has been at its highest for years.  

My biggest stress is getting money to move, which seems impossible.  I have so many ideas for the house but no money to do anything.  Even hiring a company to move our stuff might be impossible.  Then how to make money once we move there.  We plan to keep teaching here but have very few students and I don't know if I want to start again near where we are moving to.  So many questions, no answers!!

Christopher's drawing of me

The Pain Clinic

The doctor yesterday wrote a letter explaining my symptoms and the pain I was experiencing. The staff made an appointment for the same day. I was hoping I could get some relief. No still in pain, actually it feels worse. The pain was localised now it seems to be spreading. 

I decided to walk. According to Google Maps, it's only 17 minutes from the house, took me just over 20 minutes.  Not too bad considering it was all uphill.

When I got there the first thing was to check height, weight, and blood pressure.  My blood pressure was down, my weight up and I've lost another 3cm in height!  After filling in the paper worker it was a case of waiting.  Not too long, maybe 30 minutes. I was surprised that the walk had eased the pain but sitting started it up again.  Talked to the doctor, she said that this will get worse before it gets better, not what I wanted to hear.  She prescribed an extra painkiller for the night and some Chinese herbal medicine,  I then had an X-ray and blood test.  She wants to give me an injection of nerve blockers but wanted to make sure that my spine was okay and that my blood wasn't too thin.  I have to go next Tuesday morning, I don't want this but I need it.  I start teaching on Wednesday and need to be a bit better by then.

The main road up to the clinic

It's hard to see but the area is surrounded by mountains.  This is normal in Japan,  mountains everywhere.

Christopher bought some lovely meat pies. So dinner was meat pies, baked potatoes, and meat pies.

meat pies

Nice dinner

And of course, cake for Hannah's birthday.

Hannah's cakes

Hannah's Birthday

 My little preemie is now 22. 

Those years have flown by.

We had yaki-niku and sashimi for lunch.  Yaki means to grill, and niku is meat.

Meat being cooked on the grill, sashimi on the plate

Nice lunch.

Just a few photos.

entering High School

16th birthday

Going to driving school

Dressed up to go to the city

Playing with an app.

I'm not doing so well.  The pain from shingles is intense, the painkiller isn't helping.  Another night of no sleep, plus it went very cold, which made me tense up, making the pain worse.  I went back to the doctor, he has given me some sleeping tablets and made an appointment at a pain clinic.  So I have to go again to a different doctor.  I know that until the virus is finished there isn't much that can be done but the pain is intense.  I broke a rib a few years ago, this feels the same.

I just want to relax, get ready for teaching and have some fun. I bought a card for Hulu, I use to have a subscription but didn't watch that often so I decided to cancel it.  But one can buy a months subscription using cards.  It's good for me, I can watch something, try to relax and heal.  I want to sleep as I know that is the best but lying down is the most painful.

Better go and get ready, my appointment is this afternoon.  I'll update later!

Oh......Insert Favorite Swear Word

 Another night of no sleep.  The painkiller from the emergency doctor only worked one time.  Yesterday (Monday, April 29th) was a national holiday, and the hospital that I go to for bone/muscle problems was closed.  Also, Mikey had the car.

I really tried to persevere.  Mikey would have time to take me to the hospital in the afternoon.   But this morning I was feeling terrible, so David called the hospital, to make sure it was open and a taxi. This time Christopher came with me.  The hospital is an orthopedic and internal medicine hospital.  It also has a large rehabilitation room.  Because this is the week with many national holidays the hospital was very busy.

We got there at 9:30, had an x-ray then waited until 11 o'clock to see the doctor.  At one point an ambulance was called to pick up an elderly lady.  Looks like she was bought in from an old people's home, she wasn't doing very well at all!!!

Finally got to see the doctor.  He took one look at the side where the pain is and said something in Japanese that I had never heard before.  Turns out that my pulled muscle is shingles.  I had noticed a rash in the morning but thought it was an allergic reaction to a rub I had used for the pain!!

I had to wait a bit longer to see the other doctor.  He confirmed the diagnosis and prescribed antiviral medicine, a cream, and strong painkiller!!  

Yet another holiday ruined!!  Never mind, if the painkiller works at least I can read and watch TV.

One thing I'm very grateful for is the Japanese medical system.  In some ways it's difficult to navigate, there are no GPs so you have to figure out where to go.  Because I've lived here for 15 years I have an idea of where to go. Also one of my early students here was a public nurse, she introduced different hospitals to me.  The fact that even during one of the busiest times I can walk into a hospital and know that I will be seen is good.  The wait is a few hours but better than a few months in the UK.  Also, I pay into the national health system.  Last year I was paying about 40 pounds a month for Christopher, Hannah, and myself.  David's is paid through his work and Mikey pays his own.  Then at the doctors, dentist, and pharmacy, you pay just 30% of the cost.  It's not a perfect system but one of the best I've seen.

I'm trying not to panic about the other house I was planning on going for a few days during this holiday but looks like I can't do that.  I'll try to sort things out here more!!

Hannah had work at the nursery this morning.  She's also a bit under the weather, allergies, and a low-grade fever.  She was racing about to get ready but didn't notice that she had put on odd socks until she got to work.  She told the staff that it was a new fashion!

Odd socks!

Show No Hi, Showa Day

 Today is the first day of the Golden Week Holiday.  There are 4 public holidays, which gives people a chance to travel or just relax at home.  In Japan the school year starts in April, I know a lot of my students, especially in junior high or high school, look forward to this holiday, it gives them a breather and a chance to understand the changes in their schedules, especially those starting a new school.

The name Showa Day is a recent name for this holiday. When the emperor was alive it was his birthday, then it was changed to Greenery Day, to reflect the emperor's love of nature.  Greenery Day was moved to May 4th.  

Showa Day is named after the period of Emperor Hirohito, he was emperor from 1926 to his death in 1989.  This period brought about a lot of changes in Japan.  Of course, Japanese expansionism continued, and then World War Two.  The defeat of Japan after the atomic bombs and the first time for people to hear the emperor when he made the speech announcing Japan's surrender.

For a lot of people, however, the term Showa period brings up a feeling of nostalgia for the recovery period after WW2.

There are many Showa museums that seem to focus on the period from the 1960s to the end of the 1980s.  These museums showcase how the average family would have lived, the father going off to work, the mother staying at home and the kids studying hard in school.  Some kind of ideal life.  What they don't show is the father working all hours, and the mother left to do all the housework and childrearing.  

The 1964 Olympics showcased the new Japan, a country that was running headlong into the future.  A country that was desperately trying to put behind the past and focus solely on making the best country ever.  I remember watching a video in secondary school about Japan and how Japan was modernizing at a rapid rate.  I was awe-struck by the scenes of Tokyo, this massive modern city but also saddened that Japan was losing its traditions.  I'm happy that there seems to be a more balanced approach to life now, bringing in the modern, and the future but at the same time honoring the past and the traditions.  Also, since the pandemic, there has been a wave of young people moving back to the countryside.

For me, the idea of Showa Day is a chance to reflect on how Japan managed to become one of the richest countries in the world after its defeat in WW2 and where the country is going.  There are a lot of problems in Japan, the biggest ones at the moment are the economy and the falling birth rate.  I have no idea how to fix either!!!

A few years ago David, Hannah and I went to a Showa Museum.  I have a few photos from that trip.

typical classroom

the metal trays are from the school lunch

no idea what this is but it is freaky!

Movie posters

TV

love the old phone

I think Hannah took these photos, she was interested in the classroom, more than the other displays!

WHY???

 Last week I was joking with my students that my holidays have two patterns.  I'm either very busy cleaning or sick.  I then told them that this ten-day holiday I was going to clean for a few days and then spend time preparing lessons and reading or watching movies, I wasn't going to get sick!

Guess where I ended up this morning.....at the emergency room!  Because of the holidays, the hospital I usually go to is closed until Tuesday and the pain in my side and back was getting worse!  Saturday night was another night of no sleep, even with stronger pain killer I still couldn't get comfortable enough to sleep, I dozed for about an hour!  The weird thing is that standing isn't painful but sitting and especially lying down are very painful.  I did wonder if I could sleep standing up!!  

So this morning I went to the hospital where I had my surgery, it's the nearest emergency room, Mikey had the car so I had to use a taxi.  There weren't many patients but just as I finished talking to the nurse an ambulance came in so I had to wait a while longer!   Hannah came with me, she is very organized and had taken notes on her phone before we saw the doctor so she could explain things.  I can understand but sometimes the doctors use a word or phrase that I'm not sure of and I feel that it's better to have someone help out!  I got a CT scan, the doctor couldn't see any cracks on my ribs and thought it was just muscle pain.  I thought the same thing, also if it's a cracked rib there is nothing that can be done except take strong painkiller and wait for it to heal.  The doctor showed me the scan and a 3D image of my ribs, that was very cool!!  Came home with some strong medicine for the next couple of days, if it's still painful I can go to the other hospital for more medicine.

So yet again my holiday got off to a bad start!!  I still have eight days, so let's hope things turn around and I can get some jobs done!!  Actually May is the last chance before it gets really hot and humid, which I find difficult to deal with!!   

Yesterday Hannah went out to dinner with the staff from the cram school she works at.  The manager was quitting so they held a goodbye party.  She had a good time except for the fried shrimp with the eyes still in.  She sent me a photo and said trauma.  This comes from when Hisao made miso soup and put in whole shrimp.  Hannah spooned one out and screamed her head off, she was only 7 at the time so understandable!  Since then she doesn't like shrimp with the heads on!!

the trauma shrimp!

She also saw this sign, which says "Don't feed the cats"  She wasn't impressed by that!

Don't feed the cats!

I hope that I can get some jobs done tomorrow!! We will see!!

The Pain.....

 Of getting old! I tell myself that age is just a number but my body thinks otherwise!

I think I pulled a muscle on my left side.  I picked up one of the cats and felt something pull as I stood up. That was on Wednesday, Thursday the pain started, Thursday night I couldn't sleep. But I still went to the other house on Friday.   Then another night of no sleep.

And of course, today starts 10 days holiday for me!  I can't win sometimes!  Christopher has gone to see if he can get some stronger painkillers!

I managed to get some of the boxes out of the last small room, most were empty.  I put together a few more bags to take to the trash place and had another look at the bees.  Still wondering what to do.  When we moved there, about 16 years ago, we had the same problem!  Hisao bought some spray and just sprayed it into the vent, I'm not that brave!

I don't know if you can see the bees but this is the vent they are using!  I think I'll get some net to put over and then spray them.  I honestly don't know what else to do.  I want this fixed as soon as possible as it's under the tatami room.  I want to see if I can take up the tatami mats and the floor underneath to check the foundation.  Termites are a big problem in Japan and I want to make sure that we don't have that problem!

Also, there are more cracks.

Crack in the foundation

This has been there for a long time but it was just the top part.  Where it turns and goes down is new.  We had a small earthquake the other week and I think it shook the house just enough to make this crack grow!

another crack

This is near the front door and completely new.

I wish I had the money to take this house down and rebuild but that is a pipe dream!

I took some photos of the outside.  When the weather is nice it is a good place. I guess everywhere looks miserable in the rain.

The side of the house

driveway

the mountains

I want to take out most of the trees in front of the house and put up a deck.  There is already too much shade from the roof and having so many trees just cuts what little bit of sunlight we might get!  Also, I can dream of BBQs and building a pizza oven!

And I saw a ladybird!  I haven't seen these in years!

little ladybird

After the house, I went shopping on the way home. There's a supermarket nearby that has cheap meat, a lot cheaper than near where we live now.  I had a laugh at the sign on the bananas.  The label on the bananas said 'Go For It' the staff tried to copy that but messed up.

What is 'Fo'?