Oh how I have gotten used to Japanese efficency. Its 7:49pm in the back end of nowhere and my bus should be here by now. thirty seconds late. no wonder the driver apologised. and to think in London I never wore a watch so as not to know how late the buses were

A slow day for the sun to come out so quality book reading time and then oddly sleepy time. I guess the batteries are still not upto full charge yet. Did get a wonderfull afternoon on the beach in the sun. Have also become a somewhat avid viewer of Japanese TV. Language aside some of it is dead funny. Last night we had the moving company olympics, dead serious and dead funny. Then there is guess the game show. There is nearly always a cooking or travel show (which invarably has the hosts raving about the food in some quaint traditional restaurant – followed by a slow mo close up shot off the food being picked up with chopsticks.) Another fav is the white bread cooking show,butter and salt included. And lets not forget the samuri programs where all the shoguns talk like they are constipated in a frozen dunny.
Not to dissimiliar to some of the male TV hosts. I could go on

I cannot claim credit for this, however it is to good not to share.

I have 2 dogs & I was buying a large bag of Pal at Woolworths and was in
line to check out. A woman behind me asked if I had a dog.

On impulse, I told her that no, I was starting The Pal Diet again, although
I probably shouldn’t because I’d ended up in the hospital last time, but
that I’d lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IV’s in both arms.

I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and that the way that it works is to load your pants pockets with Pal nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry & that the food is nutritionally complete so,I was going to try it again.

I have to mention here that practically everyone in the line was by now enthralled with my story, particularly a guy who was behind her.

Horrified, she asked if I’d ended up in the hospital in that condition because I had been poisoned. I told her no; it was because I’d been sitting in the street licking my balls and a car hit me. I thought one guy was going to have a heart attack he was laughing so hard as he staggered out the door.

Stupid woman…why else would I buy dog food???

The japanese take great pride with being in touch with nature and the changing of the seasons. Witness spring when as soon as a single stonefruit blossum appears a millon Japanese are mobilised to take a picture of it or of them standing underneath it. Yet with all this love of nature and natural freash food, they are totally oblivious to the power lines interfering with the view supplying power to the vending machine in case anyone wants a cold coke after all that nature.

Just tuned into a ‘cooking chat show’and todays sponsered product looked suspiciously like whale meat. Just to remove doubt they showed a big picture of a whale to show all the japanese housewives that they are getting the choicest cut of whale. They then showed the contents of the can (which you get mail order). It basically looks like expensive dog food – the type with chunks and gravey. And no matter how good you are at taking the contents out of the can and presenting on a plate, it still looks like dogfood.

Scientific whaling my arse. Still if they are going to serve it up like Fido’s dinner then Greempeaces job is done.

The new generation wants fillet o whale and fries, not cans of petfood. pics coming soon

A beautiful day again here in seclusion. Except for the chilly wind it would have been perfect. Walked up the coast this time. Tried sometimes lying in the sun but the wind got the better of me. Did get some great pictures, one set of this old boy who was collecting seaweed and came scurring over to talk to me! On another note I found the pictures of my chemo iv tree,it was a little upsetting, healing time still required.

Finished off the weekend of sun, air and walking with a real authentic onsen. Our timing was perfect as everyone was on the train back tothe ratrace. Place was practically empty. will link to the etiquette of onsen when I return to ratrace!

Finished off the weekend of sun, air and walking with a real authentic onsen. Our timing was perfect as everyone was on the train back tothe ratrace. Place was practically empty. will link to the etiquette of onsen when I return to ratrace!

Just had a full morning of doctors orders. Long walk in the fresh sea air and sunshine. The wind is blowing so hard from the storm front last night that breathing was not an issue, the air was practically being forced down my lungs. I even had the perfect doctors snack – an apple.

One thing that I’ve not expressed is how well I’ve been taken care of over the last 3 months. Most of that has been at the hands of the staff of Jikei University Hospital in Minako-ku Tokyo. The have been the most incredible people to have around when you are not well. Some of it may have to do with having a gaijin to take care of. Some may think that would lead to a lesser care. I will argue that the opposite is the true.

Each and every single member of the staff there went out of there way to make me feel comfortable and accepted really well that my Japanese (nihongo) language skills were not the best, but you will be amazed at how communication can transcend language.

One of the conditions of being admitted for Chemo was that I needed a dental exam which I passed easily other than the molars needed a clean which I knew was due (but I couldn’t see Steven my dentist in NZ last time I was home). They scheduled this for my second day of being in the hospital. I think they picked the one who could speak some English, she was so incredible lovely. After the exam she told me that she was really nervous about cleaning my teeth and kept apologizing that her English was not good. Its not until you don’t speak the native language that you realize those who speak English have made such an incredible effort. This lady also reminded me so much of my aunt (who was at one point my childhood dental nurse). Anyway she did an amazing job of cleaning my teeth and the language differences were easily overcome. I’m not sure she is used to having her patients hug her afterwards, but she deserved it!

Back to my bedside nurses. I kept trying to remember their names but I think the chemo drugs had an affect and I just could get them. However I will always remember there faces and there care. I remember reading Lance Armstong wrote about chemo his nurse being an angel. Well I will always remember mine, they were mine!