Category Archives: Daveo Dispatches

personal updates, thoughts, anecdotes, letters, and other missives – written for myself and sometimes for others

Healing Ramble, Personal Musings

Healing: annotations from a feverish fog

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Hi pals, Really backsliding from the recent C19 situation.

pocket fulla tools, none seem to work but hey, keeping handy

As you likely know, with #MECFS, my body deals with a massive post-viral infection load and thus an overworked immune system for 10+ years. As such, having a really hard time bouncing back. Just had to say aloud.

Me – being chronically creative/optimistic + always full of dreams, schemes and projects want to do – am again to point where have to “cross everything off the list”. I absolutely hate this as want to be making books, records, vids, revolutions. I am managing some postcards (sanity exercise).

{I know shared this before but}, my post-viral illness (lousy name: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) & what is colloquially called “long C0vid” have become awkward epidemic cousins:

More awareness and funding recently but results & protocols? nah

The Atlantic: Long COVID Has Forced a Reckoning for One of Medicine’s Most Neglected Diseases

Only a couple dozen doctors specialize in chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Now their knowledge could be crucial to treating millions more patients.

By Ed Yong

Also note: “ME/CFS involves a panoply of debilitating symptoms that affect many organ systems and that get worse with exertion.” sheessh

Further, blood flow to frontal cortex of my brain is reduced & immune system is fighting “everything all at once” without knowing what to fight (if that makes sense) manifesting in “brain fog” which, beyond confusion can lead to depression, especially coupled with sleeplessness :(

For a year, treated at a Okayama University hospital infectious disease program which began as a Long C19 specialty clinic and basically became a MECFS specialty unit. Taking a different approach then Drs in US/Canada or the Ayurveda treatments in India, Nepal, Lanka.

And, the treatment protocols gave me a real boost (including weekly cocktail injections and traditional Chinese medicines amongst other specific “sniper medications”) which got me going enough to do the #BCInvasion for which I am incredibly grateful.

However, the onset of this “bonus infection” in early hours of Sept 3rd have tumbled me back down the hill staring at the beginning of the game board. Didn’t *seem like* C19 as not problem with throat or respiratory systems but terrible fever, incredible pain & dehydration.

I’m mostly saying this for the record and my diary and memory after another sleepless night. Also, as a note to some wonderful folks who say “it’s just like a cold or flu” but alas, my situation is *much more* complicated. I didn’t ask for any of this & used to be invincible (well here and there, i have dealt with a consortium of medical conundrums, mostly around my guts which is *unsurprisingly* on point #gutbrainaxis.

And, following the erstwhile “community” around my illness, seeing so many people dealing with #LongCovid turning into #MECFS and fear I’m kind of taking the opposite route with this *newfangled virus* adding to my already dangerous coterie of mysterious infections. #pwME

For now, my darlings get up and about – last night I suggested a few small tasks / activities we could do together but the reality is: I’m here in bed, can’t watch anything, so listen to guided meditations for hours + brainwave stimulations, sometimes audiobooks & pods.

I’m just at my breaking point so thank you for noticing me. There’s never a great time for something like this *but* just got new routine down for picking up IchiStan from his new forest preschool riding the bus > old time trolley tram together as wife goes into busy season :(

for this guy, all the time

Again, I’m not sure why am saying this besides floating out to the universe that “yes, I am scared but somehow I will survive”. I don’t expect sympathy, empathy, advice or anything… Just needed someone to talk to. {I have asked hospital for a referral to a psychiatrist}

just looking for a spark

And in my feverish waking dreams comes forth every lousy situation & bad memory of my life. Yikes! So: If I’ve ever said a cross word to you, not showed up to support you, displayed my insecurities in an obnoxious manner, acted a jerk, misled in anyway etc.

Please forgive me. I am doing my best / better every day.

i wanna be your pal

PS So 3-1/2 years into C19 and the medical response is either of: a) take some ibuprofen, hydrate and rest; or b) go to the ER if it gets really bad; or c) some dubious medication that may or may not be reliable / available.

Is there something missing? Pardon me, just frustrated

Healing Ramble, Personal Musings

Diary: emerging, again (maybe) hermitude / so tired

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tired, skinny – waiting for bus,

Evidence for the curiosity seekers: I’m still here, alive…

Left the house for the first time in 10+ days (previous was a big hospital day) somehow amidst my hermitute, after 3+years got “the thing” laid me out badly with feverish hallucinations, debilitating pain, confusion, tears and sleeplessness {Sidebar: keep in mind that with my illness #MECFS I carry a massive viral load and a big legged immune system which has been constantly fighting this for 10+ years and also, the symptoms evidenced without the usual “scratchy throat, lack of smell and respiratory issues” so was a bit of a bewildering situation and very very much not good, not at all} … and then of course, the darling duo joined in on the fun… They are starting to bounce back because they’re invincible but tough seeing my normally intrepid wife battling through and are excitable cheerful boy we just started a new preschool program burning up with a 40° fever.

I am several kilograms accidentally trimmed up as really hard to keep food down and no appetite and so rolling like a zombie – bewildered, bothered, befuddled and just worn out of it all.

August got really weird with some unexplained and unexpected catastrophes, remarkable wife rolled with it all because she’s brilliant and a rainbow. Ichiro enjoys our spontaneous evacuations for a few locations as it meant trips to dinosaurs, beaches and pools.

I played along with my ukulele and tried not to be too grumpy as my precious batteries drained into oblivion… and made a few friends along the way.

Anyway, this is my usual picture of “waiting for a bus, wearing a hat and a mask trying to keep it together but losing my equilibrium & sanity inside” add it to your nft collection

PS our house is now set up for solar power including battery and selling back to the grid. Hooray for semi self sufficiency!

And yes, I keep sending out postcards and other little treats so I’m doing something right, right?

Healing Ramble

Notes: the scourge comes to cottage

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Summary: Oh hi, it’s me. 3+ years of being super cautious because I have #MECFS and then Bam! completely laid out in to feverous hallucinations & pain. My family then went through it and are recovering but I realize the next few months are a total write off for me. Completely discouraged.

me and Tom Waiting at the goat farm

Sept 4 [the hopeful years]: Big week ahead so i really have to get into action to get the medicines sorted (cause I didn’t do yesterday), plus garbage and recycling ready…

Tomorrow is kiddo’s 1st day at new preschool so Im tagging along + we have out-of-town guests coming for garden visit & dinner

Sept 5: Desperately, stunningly sick. High fever, massive chills, everything feels like concrete / All the stress from the last few weeks came together last night about 3 AM. Covered with ice packs, and a bit scared.

I’m so sorry to my darling wife and son because today was a big day.

(I know I’m always talking about the illness #MECFS and / but a month of ganbaru through crappy situations have put me in a colossal crash with some still unknown virus.)

Light incense for me, I’m not ready to join Jimmy Buffett yet.

Sept. 6: Thank you for all the kindness, fever has broken, I’m completely exhausted, haven’t slept for days, kept a little bit of water and rice porridge down. Will spare you for the details. Was pretty scary.

Mostly just so grateful for your sweetness. We will survive, we will get by

Sept 7: A wee notch or two better today.

Still in bed, spun out & lightheaded / fresh sheets & pajamas. A little bit of food and trying to catch up hydration slowly.

Mentally and emotionally, extremely difficult stretch beyond the physical struggle.

So worn out. Grateful for you.

Note: {And though I just hid out while all the commotion was going on…} our “Tsuchida solar farm” is now fully operational. Battery charging quickly, there is an webapp to track usage, battery level, and amount of access selling back to grid.

The project was also another solid example of “coffee diplomacy” meaning the power of getting extra great work by ensuring carafes of ice coffee available for workers in a little carport lounge. {Plus many coffees months ago for the 3 companies giving sales pitches/bids.}

Sept 9: turns out not “just a severe #MECFS crash” causing distress these last 5 days, indeed the specter of the noteworthy public health conundrum came to plague our home for 1st time in 3+ years. Wife is now wrecked too. Tough situation :(

{Yes, many people say “oh it’s like a cold for a few days maybe” so hoorwy good for you but for immune compromised folks dealing with already massive viral load (hi it me) its dang catastrophic}

PS Ichiro testing negative but obviously inside the cottage with us so…

Ryoko and I are taking turns resting/hydrating while other keeps Ichi-Stan occupied.

{I had a great “dad moment” eating grilled cheese sandwiches and watching Star Wars Rebels with my kiddo yesterday as we ride through this “popular public health conundrum ™”}

“Fortunately” I have a load of experience being sick so… (this is me trying to see a silver lining in a cloudy sky) toughing it out and utilizing crisis tactics.

Completely wrecked me.

This is all a long way of saying “yes, we’ve gone 3+ years without this (yes, tested many times) been very careful & deliberate and now just grateful for sweet words and I’m just putting this out for the record, not seeking medical advice/opinions” tyvm

And noting that importantly right now is to keep the situation contained here in the cottage and not leap over the 1 m to in-laws house. While they are 5x vax’d and generally healthy, they are elderly & this ain’t fun. Ichiro showing no symptoms <3

Sept 10: And Cee19 hits kiddo 39.7° fever & we all exhausted & stumbling like zombies / tmrw hospital (im a week in &/but a special case so recovery is slow but my darlings are *far more important* than me) oh Ganesh, please removed some obstacles puleese

[have a pal (from Vancouver days but now lives in Australia) in Japan on business and with his lovely wife made a bonus vacay sidequest trip to #Okayama. Instead of getting a fond reunion, I’m sending map pins, tips and snapshots to give a virtual tour of my unfamous city :(]

Wife and I are taking turns resting and keeping energetic three year old occupied. He tested negative and is symptom-free despite both of us being deep in the well. Hope it stays this way but my goodness, what a drag / courage and tenacity is fading

Think we should’ve got Covid in Japan when Hello Kitty was personally delivering a care box of pocky and other treats to everyone infected. Now not sure if there’s somewhere we should call to report our situation for statistical gathering besides just telling the kid’s preschool.

And just used Uber eats for the first time in Japan just to get a few things delivered from the konbini store since in-laws next door have managed to bring us some powdered soup and some kind of eggplant goop. I think they’ve turned into aliens

Sept 11: So 3-1/2 years into C19 and the medical response is either of: a) take some ibuprofen, hydrate and rest; or b) go to the ER if it gets *really bad*; or c) some dubious medication that may or may not be reliable / available. Is there something missing? Pardon me, just frustrated

Bonus MECFS Research confaB:

Oh and a C19 chart:

And unnecessary addendum:

Healing Ramble

Healing: hospital, exhibit ideas & pills (yes again)

Sept 1: [summary]

Anyhow, today like a big boy I took the bus to the hospital by myself (usually darling wife drives me and hangs out) but now we’re getting into her busy work season and I need to do this on my own… After the injections, I’m spaced out so will retreat to a little café to regroup.

Next week, our little tiger starts at a new “forest preschool” run by the YMCA which will require me doing afternoon bus rides and then switching to the old timey tram/trolley.

I figured out a routine where we’ll do the switch waiting at the Uno bus terminal station which is a building that looks transported out of a Greyhound station in Chicago in 1963 with newspaper vending machines, cigarettes on offer, and rows of plastic seats but it’s a place to sit down and wait for the bus out of the weather

8:44AM / Wakey: Oh, “Dave is sending a little updates, it must mean it’s a Hospital day and he’s nervous/anxious” Yep 1 hour til bus, still in bed pajamas and coffee mode. Get up get up

I need this guy’s “eye of the tiger” ;)

9:55AM / Bus: Made the bus with perfect timing. Sitting in front ‘co-pilot’ seat to dig vistas along absurdly narrow roads the bus choogles down with nible dexterity & seasoned skill.

Have a transfer at dreaded station bus loop to another bus/company.

Charged up my pre-paid value card on the fly. (This is Hareca card, not be confused with the 383 other cards)

Brought kindly Dr gift packet of Post Coffee (of course i decorated gift bag with appropriate stamps) to go with stainless steel travel Bodum French press gifted last time. Includes 3 kinds of pre-ground coffees (helping her replace can kohi habit)

10:22 / Outfit: Blue Stetson-brand felt fedora, short sleeve shirt (handy for injections), shoulder bag from Kathmandu (note: give it some saddle soap, 7 years old already!), cheap & cheerful & (importantly) soft headphones, & yes Margaret, a mask.

Maybe inspired by a tip about wearing darker blues now in Sept, inexplicably put on a tie from Chiang Mai for today’s character study.

PS glasses still need adjusted. So tired.

Made my busswitch… sounds really basic as im a super transit rider in many countries but, our area has 3 different bus franchisees providing service in various areas, and all of the signs are only in Japanese characters (and shockingly) but a little opaque to slow-minded like me.

By far the best of the three is the one that comes out to our home (called Uno bus) with beautifully maintained vehicles, great Wi-Fi, power outlets, comfortable seats… This one is a little bit more “standard issue”

Re above: That meant to say “unshockingly” because of course it’s written in Japanese because this is Japan duh but still, having the ABC version (especially on the special green bus designed to do a tourist loop) would be a super easy quick useful addition.

K, at hospital. no snaps permitted (obv)

Snack in between the various check points, gotta not fade

yes a photo of a konbini snack to keep energy up for injections etc

3:55PM Good news is: survived the *multiple medical checkpoints* of the hospital, including all the checkout/billing/insurance desk + got 13+ prescriptions submitted including some new medications (muscle relax, migraine) and will be delivered by courier.

3:58PM / Liberal Cafe: Got late lunch & siphon coffee at “Liberal” where boss calls me Mr Friday & exchanges postcards / ¥1250 for daily set minus rice plus coffee – shared a book of paintings from Shikoku & Germany

When i arrived at Liberal café, the boss says “oh it’s Mr. Friday” and I felt like a regular.

I might do a super low-key art exhibit there too (postbox paintings) will totally let you know and we will do an “opening” even if it’s just two of us with siphon coffees.

4:00PM / Bus switch: Caught bus and at Okayama station, oh my goodness, there are foreign tourists, wearing shorts, talking loudly wearing, backwards baseball hats & eating ice cream. It’s all so strange! :) {no one comes to Okayama}

Peeeeaaasu #SoTiredAllTheTime #mecfs #pwme

4:33PM / Home: Oh im home & in bed / thanks for hanging out with me on my journey… Helps the anxiety tell my story along the way

Bonus / Data: geeky medical imaging fun delivered by app

The data in these clumsy screenshots doesn’t necessarily need interpretation by we laypersons but just the fact that they “exist” is fascinating. Dozens of images, and all sorts of blood test results all of the Japanese is still beguiling and difficult to translate medical terms of course but still… The fact that it exists is very pleasing

Briefly: blood flow to my frontal cortex of brain is insufficient which impacts executive function (i get confused and non-verbal) and easy weakened but spinal fluid does not seem to be “leaking” although there is a clear impingement on cervical spine (i think result from car crash Jerome Idaho, 1988)

MECFS study: Mortality in Patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

“The findings suggest patients in this sample are at a significantly increased risk of earlier all-cause (M = 55.9 years) and cardiovascular-related (M = 58.8 years) mortality, and they had a directionally lower mean age of death for suicide (M = 41.3 years and cancer (M =66.3 years) compared to the overall U.S. population [M = 73.5 (all-cause), 77.7 (cardiovascular), 47.4 (suicide), and 71.1 (cancer) years of age]…”

Oh, and: Importantly: The master of my little secret kissaten trimmed these three beauties off a tree to see me on my way / he said yuzu but look like sudachi… but I’m not all that smart about these matters. Regardless bound to be tangy.

[Fast forward] Sept 4: Today on “tidying up with daveo” comes a variety of tasks involving: figuring 日本語 characters to identify medications and then, a “Laverne and Shirley-esque” (or “I Love Lucy” if you’re older) series of manual tasks, scribbling letters, tearing packets & sorting into bins #mecfs

The tasks are way quicker and easier now as most of the medications are bundled into “morning, noon, evening, bed” packets by pharmacy & TCM are in numbered sachets // although there are always situational outliers and new meds to test out before putting into the routine #pwme

Pod and Book addendum

Improving Campsite

Campsite: Fujita Koen maintenance

Evidence I tried to help with a piece of land the family owns that is squished between the shrine mountain and the road. Not big enough to really build anything on so trying to make it into a private hanami park of sorts. The trees and grasses grow like whoa so fast and so thick and all sorts of stumps, roots and even trash so gotta be mindful.

my poor rock n roll ears and haggard body

I lasted about 1-1/2 hours which is about how long mower battery lasted.

Note: there are more snaps from the original “workparty” to tame this awkward pie-shaped piece of jungle which i might remember to add to satisfy my “completedness” we’ll see.

PS My pals from The Matinée band might enjoy the cap

Improving Campsite

Visit from the wild boar trapper, annotations

Slightly dis-intermediated updates about the “wild boar guy” visit

Aug 2: The wild boar trapping specialist is coming tomorrow at 9 AM.

Based on his conversation so far with my wifu by telephone, he is a dude of many skills and quite chatty.

Of course, there is a labyrinth of laws & regs associated and various precautions and myriad outcomes.

And for the record: I love pigs in general; no I’m not going to do this myself; they are nocturnal stealth bombers; produce 2-3 litters a year; can swim kilometers in open sea; and wreak havoc through neighborhoods & islands.

Aug 3: The multidisciplinary wild boar etc trapper has come and gone after much enjoyable conversation. He really gave me my own pitch about turning the cottage into a “coffee shop/music experience” place. Premium pricing for ambience and enjoyment.

Arrived exactly at 9 (not usual 15 minutes early to appointment to show how diligent they are), I served coffee and peaches. He is hilarious, immediately notice the Bill Reid blanket on the couch and asked “is that Tlingit?”

We discussed different varieties of bear in BC, stories of black bears in Lynn Valley tearing into garbage and leaving a big poop in my yard to greet me as I rushed out to catch the morning bus. He is licensed to capture all manner of game wildlife in Japan and, importantly has a stash of deer meat to hook me up with, he can’t sell it but can “trade it” for delicious cups of coffee. He’s very excited about my wife’s charcoal kiln and my MacGyver’d grill and woodstove. We also laughed about the directness/indirectness of foreigners/Japanese folks.

Though we can’t regular rampaging visits from wild boar, and the pathway where they come through the bamboo forest down onto the land in spite of a significant drop off is clear, turns out a trap isn’t a good idea for our area for various reasons.

Regardless, he took great delight in demonstrating his purpose, built/homemade spring loaded leg traps. The trap springs a hearty wire around the leg when a certain obscured trigger is well, triggered rather than the “jaw-hold” style traps, which are so violent. He also told us about the process which comes afterwards, but I’m gonna save that for maybe another conversation or not at all. However, I will say, he takes great care in doing all of this as elegantly, and dareisay, humanely as possible.

The conversation turned more technical about the kinds of fences wife needs to build on her new piece of land (in brief: substantial) and the mechanics of his trapping route. They’ve now headed into bamboo forest to recon. Of course I want to go with them but I’m just not able.

Anyhow, it seems our land isn’t prime ground / situation for trapping so advised some fencing strategies.

Best is: i kinda made a new friend who I invited to stop by for coffee (when I’m not at the hospital etc) this objective of forming new relationships with folks who can just pop by to hang out is on my list of ways to build community and get out of my mental funk.

So much to discuss about this topic… We’re only at the beginning of journey // yet the traps are not fit for our forest

If I had any enthusiasm about TV as a medium I would say “this guy needs a TV show”… He was nonstop interestingness and so many ideas, projects and big thinkings / quirky and charismatic as well.

Meanwhile:

I’m looking forward to your visit in some mysterious future day to add to the collection of interesting folks / your choice of beverages is standing by

Aftermath:

Boar (and deer) meat delivered and prepared – such goodness!

Improving Campsite, Personal Musings

Diary: i need quiet (grousing for no reason but so tired) #vent

I’m quite desperate for some long period of extreme quiet.

You’ll have to excuse me, I’m not at my best… I desperately need a rest

Yesterday, an outing to our fave beach, “quite empty for a Sunday,” I thought until a reggae soundsystem crew showed up with 5 awnings, multiple barbecues, flats of beer and significant speakers… I mean, party on but… Then some wannabe tough city kids showed up on the other side of us wearing those air cooled vests and spraying on mosquito repellent, sunscreen, chain-smoking mild sevens and then turned on a boom box with some crap music and then started arguing amongst themselves / nbd

Floated in saltywater, played ukulele, practiced meditation to ignore all the surrounding sounds. Across street is a great quirky café so I ate Oden and ice coffee and laughed / rolled wyes with the owner about the “Rastas” using their toilets but not buying any food or drink ~

This is all going on while we vacated house for our second round of fumigation for some persistent pest problems that I won’t go into detail except it includes so much vacuuming and laundry and decamping to a hotel before and last night, parent’s house~

I did my usual “triple stack” futon but the dear in-laws stay up till 11 and then back up at 7 remarking with shock and awe at *every single thing* on the loud television. Yes I’m a sensitive soul… Kind of a conflict to the elegant tatami room where I attempted to sleep~

Solar Power Digression

This morning back across to our house to get things opened up in time for the solar panel installation crew to finally show up (contracts were signed/stamped in February but been an assortment of delays due to various permitting/authorizations

1) Truck fulla solar panels (made in Japan)

2) Roofs where solar panels will go (not on blue roof or frontside of tile roof, but will go on the grey roof and the 2nd floor roof if that makes sense – the house has ideal East/West exposure (which makes for a hot house but guess good for this project)

3) Another awsum #keitruck in action laden with gear

So above me – while I am folding yet another basket of laundry waiting to go to Seitai treatment – the crew are up above my head drilling, stomping and attaching bits. Bless dear hearts working in this heat (2 days installation for panels then should light up around Sept 7)~

{when I’ve talked about the solar panel project when we signed contract back in February after meeting with four different suppliers, getting various different options amongst multiple visits (each with tea/coffee/polite, chitchat)…. We ended up with Made in Japan solar panels, with 25 year warranty, sufficient to power our house (the cottage), the parents house, and the two outbuildings – plus a battery system (with 15 year warranty) sufficient to power the house in the event of outages (and hey, it’s Japan, there’s always a natural disaster) plus, sell power back to the grid however that works.

I don’t recall how many kilowatts and all the technical specifications because there was so many numbers so many options and it all happened so long ago but eventually, I’ll give you that information if I can figure it out. Very important to us was the quality of the installation as the cottage isn’t particularly well built and the panels are going on a few different roof types, including the ceramic tiles on the backside of the naya tool shed.

Note: In some jurisdictions in Japan, there are grants, eco-loans, other subsidy programs, but in our case, no-go, so we paid cash with the aim of being self-sufficient, minimizing, carbon footprint, and planning long-term. With thanks to the “missing uncle and his empty dilapidated house” situation.

So I’m grousing for no reason except that my head is so inflamed from the air pressure and the stupid illness #MECFS and we’ve been in this crazy cycle for the last few weeks while also getting out of the house weigh more than usual by my standards~

Good news is, we’ve hit up the van Gogh exhibit, some chaotic interactive dinosaur thing, an odd traveling aquarium installation, two hot springs, a hotel with swimming pool and communal bath, three visits to the beach, a festival at a church, etc Plus, my favorite thing of going to quirky café/coffee shops.

Friday is a visit to the University hospital for another big day of iv & meds. I’m so grateful for medical care, solar panels, in-laws yet I’m so exhausted and dealing with absurd level of pain

Addendum:

Amongst my foggy half sleep, keep thinking about a few people who recently passed away far too early and somehow realizing I can draw a string between their 3 seemingly disparate lives. These are not the “famous people” rather those with whom I had a tenuous connection~

So yesterday at the beach, while thinking about how to respond in some meaningful way to the emotions, I wrote a song with 4 solid linking verses, a clumsy bridge and a chorus which needs another chord. 

Huge Barefoot Hamilton

Maybe I’ll work on it /notebooks are filled with scribbles to transcribe xo

Notes to Future Self

Nostalgia is a…

just another coffee

“nostalgia is a hobby for those not busy making the future”

dvo

PS i am nostalgic as fck

279 draft posts in web archive, do i bother? of course :)

Realizing huge swathes of my life aren’t even addressed (yet)

Convo with pal has me “reconstructing” travels and rambles from 86-96, dang so many miles!

I’m roasting wild boar meat

End of Dispatch

Personal Musings

Diary: shaking it out, tidying up bamboo and looking ahead to YMCA school

Meanwhile, back at the cottage after returning home from Seaside for a bonanza of vacuuming, shake out, linen changes and yes, more laundry and finally a bath…

Camping pals connected by majic intertubes

This morning, after a phone call with a birthday friend in the LaSalle mountains, headed out to help my darlings with the typhoon/wild boar clean-up.

some trees down and an unstable slope (belonging to a neighbors land who is incommunicado) and bonus is yet another wild boar attack on the compost. Try to make it easy “Buffet style” for them but still, the jerks trashed the place

Specifically, cutting down a bunch of bamboo fallen down from a neighbor’s unstable & unintended slope. “Why don’t they take care of this land?” I asked “they are old and given up and ask/told us to…{do whatever?}”. [problem is, the trees are on a slope that, if you left unattended or aggressively cleared, would be a possible mudslide problem into our area, including my beloved kura barn, and, as such maintaining the root structures of the bamboo is important to stabilize the slope]

A downed tree does add a nice frame into the front of the kura studio / note the lovely fern and now 2 post boxes as well as some fresh rock-scaping work

Anyhow, found the pathway the wild boar are following down to rampage the garden and compost, broke down the busted bin, shovelled up the debris, stacked up the felled bamboo and then another torrential rain storm like Bam!

Since I’m already soaking wet, figured might as well take down the platform used for the adorable inflatable pool oasis, hauled em back, stack em up, moving the bricks and blocks stack up ~ quickly drenched and muddy, realized had opened the inside house windows for fresh air / fck

Made a mess getting in and out of the house, more old towels deployed… back outside in the deluge realizing the grass ain’t gonna get cut today and it’s gonna be a drag once get time to do it coz like a jungle around here!

All the rain gutters drain into rain barrels which then get used to water the garden but ain’t gonna be needed for a while, and got a remember to empty out the various rain barrels or else it’s gonna be another mosquito bonanza.

So, moved some stuff around in the carport (cleaned up the cast-iron griddle from the spontaneous barbecue during the first part of the clean up several days / eons ago) and put a few coat of varnish on some more handmade “finger pointer” signs for a bit of dopamine.

Inside, muddy clothes surrendered, fresh up and start back to the laundry folding assembly line (problem with mold, mildew and mites means everything needs washed and then probably needs washed again) / but, a bit of Tintin watching with Ichiro and then Motown dancing fun time.

Inside, muddy clothes surrendered, fresh up and start back to the laundry folding assembly line (problem with mold, mildew and mites means everything needs washed and then probably needs washed again) / but, a bit of Tintin watching with Ichiro and then Motown dancing fun time.

Dinner, he fell asleep in mamas lab, the two of us watched a solitary episode of Marvelous Mrs Maisel / savoring 1 episode at a time… then hey, another basket of laundry is ready! Folded w/ Leonard Cohen live, and then reviewed the new YMCA preschool extensive briefing documents. Starts Sept 3x/week.

It’s great preschool program as they get the kids outside & active in nature, not just some supervised play time in a fenced in gravel lot like so many of the schools we visited. {Yes, we visited at least half a dozen preschools as though he’s going off to college} the downside: It’s quite a distance from so, for the pick up, will ride bus from end of the line at our house, to downtown Uno bus terminal & transfer to old school tram/trolley line and ride to the end of the line, bundle up my sweet little dude and reverse course.

I’m a little nervous as some days – as anyone who follows along knows by now – are really tough for me with the #MECFS, but I’ll only do this a couple days a week but really important during wife’s busy arborist season (October, November, December are full on).

So, will do what I can to be the best papa possible + I’m so proud of my darling wife’s business (10 year anniversary next year!) & I’ll tell the YMCA preschool I’ll be Santa Claus as an excuse to start growing my beard back :-) I do what I can, so we go on.

K bathtime xo gn

Bonus: random snap of Ichiro on drums

I dream that he has a band, and I can be the old dude in the back right in the Merch table (albeit poorly)
Personal Musings

Diary: unexpected Ushimado hotel outing

Oh my goodness, what a topsy-turvy start to day… really going on for a few days since Typhoon(s)… While we didn’t get hit hard but dealing with some unpreventable & unsuspected problems so currently preparing for a fumigation and heading out to an unintended “hotel vacation”.

ships on stilts and the gentle glow of Family Mart in the distance

A busy post holiday week in August meant most everything was booked, and, in general, you have your choice of elegant/full-service, traditional ryokan or “highly efficient, but spartan and charmless” business hotels… Darling wife found us a groovy, kind of faded glory resort-y kind of place, seaside in commercial port harbour village about 40 minutes away.

[Update] Impromptu hotel night included:

  • outdoor inland-sea-side pool swim
  • a quirky cafe w/ cool boss (Hiroshi Kobayashi at Tereya Cafe)
  • tiny picka-picka shrine
  • hotel onsen
  • sharp pyjamas

Some evidence follows:

& now cuddled up with travelling correspondence kit

Summary: Making mango-ade outta fumigation downer

Bonus: after the hotel which included to swim in the pool, and I soak in the very hot seaview onsen, we went to our “usual” beach Nishiwaki for a dip in the ocean, a lousy ukulele song, and a bit of a meal and a snooze in the groovy little café.

i think we are officially “regulars” here now