Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Terrorism in Sri Lanka

　　I heard about massive terrorism in Sri Lanka. People in Sri Lanka seemed to spend better lives in the wake of a long civil war, so this news really surprised me. This country is a tiny island, but it has a long history and as many as eight world heritage sites. Sri Lanka has long been on my bucket list to visit, though the priority level went down to the lowest. When I choose where to visit, its security is the top priority. I'm planning to visit Oahu island in this coming summer vacation and Taiwan in the winter holidays this year. Then I'm thinking to visit Cancun in Mexico next year, but my wife is afraid of the security at present. Anyway, wherever we will visit, we'd like to spend enjoyable days there. I hope that people in Sri Lanka will recover from deep sorrow and get back to ordinary lives.

https://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2009/05/story-of-friend.html

 

Repdigit

　　Four more days will make four complete years since my car was delivered to me. During today's commute, the odometer indicated the repdigit, "77777", so I pulled over and shot it. I've driven various cars until now, and the span of four years made me lose interest in most cars, but my present car, a Mercedes-Benz SLK 200, still grabs my heart. I understand that 4-year-old European cars tend to have something wrong and require a lot of money to fix them, but I'm looking to keep it as long as I can accept its maintenance fee.

(Vocabulary)
repdigit　ぞろ目

Prep for Hawaii

　　I'm thinking of visiting Hawaii in the coming summer vacation with my same-age friends. This trip would be a special occasion. All the trip companions including me turned 60 and are supposed to have a party in Waikiki to celebrate each others' happiness and good health. The age 60 is thought to be a milestone of life in Japan. Additionally, Kauai Island Tour and Diamond Head Climbing are also planned by a companion. So, I bought a whole sky camera for shooting on the summit of Diamond Head. I'm sure to show you several whole sky pictures from Diamond Head after the trip. Then a sim card was delivered today, which makes my smartphone available in Hawaii. This trip is the third trip to Hawaii, but I've never been to other islands other than Oahu, so I'm feeling curious about visiting Hawaii, Maui, and other islands.

(Vocabulary)
whole sky camera　全天カメラ 

Performance of Shakuhachi, Bamboo Flute

　　I play Japan's traditional flute, Shakuhachi, which is made from bamboo. It was more than 40 years ago when I touched it for the first time. I was a student at that time, and have continued practicing since then. I had an opportunity to play it today in front of a big audience. I felt a little tense, but I think I did well. All the members in the following picture have their jobs and it was not easy to share time for practice, but we carried out our performance successfully.

Nursing Parents

　　My parents got weak since last summer and were unable to live in their house by themselves. My father has no specific illness and just grew old and feeble. He is bedridden now in a nursing facility. He is sometimes clearly conscious, but most of the time absentminded or drowsy. He speaks almost nothing. My mother suffers from severe senile dementia. She has fundamental strength, but she goes out once, she can't get back by herself. She is now under the care of professional care-workers in another caring facility. Unfortunately they can't live in the same facility because of the difference of their nursing level. Every time an event happened in the passed six months, I had to take steps to make my parents secure. My free time for my hobbies, including learning languages, was compromised but it's inevitable.
　　I've seen such patients in my life as a general surgeon, but now, I know that I didn't fully understand the real agony of their families. Nursing elderly parents is really hard work. Fortunately, my parents left enough money for their lives, and I was able to put their care into the hands of caring professions. If they lived in my house with us, we wouldn't be able to make a trip, or even go out freely. I learned through my parents that I should prepare for the end of my life not to stand in the way of our daughters' lives.

New Era "Reiwa" to Start in Japan

　　The Japanese Ten-noh is generally called Emperor globally, but I suppose that he stands totally at the opposite side of what you call Emperor, like Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, and so on. He is just the leader of Shinto priests. So, I believe that we should call him the Priest King or Ten-noh, not the Emperor in English.
　　By the way, the present Ten-noh will soon pass his position on to his successor. His era "Heisei" will end and another new era will start. The government announced today that the coming new era will be named "Reiwa". What will become of the new era, "Reiwa"? Almost all Japanese expect something good or happy in the new era, I think. The new era will start on May 1st with the enthronement of the 126th Ten-noh.