Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

New Year's Resolution

　　I wish all of the subscribers to my blog a Happy New Year. As for the annual event concerning myself, I chose several items that I would aim to accomplish this year. Revealing my private intention here will drive me into a corner, but it's my way to stir me into action. The list of my resolutions I chose is as below:

1. Improve my Korean skills from the 4th grade to the 3rd.
2. Improve my German skills from the 4th grade to the 3rd, as well.
3. Reach at least the lowest level of Mandarin Chinese skills.
4. Get enough physical power to jog for 10 kilometers.
5. Read at least 50 books in various fields except for books regarding medical science.

　　I don't know if I can attain the above items, but I'd like to stay goal-oriented and positive all the time. As you get older, you generally become inactive. I've seen lots of those people in the past quarter century as a surgeon. They ended their lives just like old leaves which fall down in autumn.
　　I wish I could be active and healthy until the last minute of my life. The above resolutions might be suitable measures for this purpose.

An Early Bird

　　Now, I feel like I have become another person. I get up at 5:30 every morning. It's 2 hours earlier than before. Naturally I go to bed by 11 o'clock. This change of my rhythm of everyday life is unbelievable for the reason that I wrote in the previous entry. My condition is very good now.
　　I finish breakfast sometime after 6:00 a.m. and flick through the headlines of newspapers over a cup of coffee. The amount of breakfast has doubled compared with a month ago. Then my wife takes me to the station by car. The scenery around the station looks  new to me though I'm really familiar with the station. I've never dropped in at the station at that early hour on a weekday. Lots of people in their business suits or students are coming and going. In this season it's still dark but comfortable in the fresh air of the early morning.
　　I get on the train after 7 o'clock and spend an hour in the train. Receiving an internet radio which is aired from Springfield, Oregon with a Taiwanese-made phone and a noise-cancelling headphone which is assembled in Singapore, I read books while commuting. The place that my train runs is a tiny coastal rural line of Japan. I'll show you on a map and you can imagine the beautiful scenery.

http://kumo.typepad.jp/wadachi/commute.html

Two Things I Started

　　I found a flyer in the newspaper, which advertised a seasonal discount of a health club near my house. It looked like a plan to get new customers. I have it in mind to enjoy skiing in Whistler next March after four years and my wife is gaining excessive weight. We decided to join the club instantly and applied last night. I'll do at least an every-other-day workout in the club. After my dog, Mocha, passed away, I felt somewhat depressed and apparently I am short of fundamental exercise, because I stopped walking. Every path around my house reminds me of Mocha and people along the walking circuit spoke to me about him. It bothered me and I stopped taking a walk. So, it might be a favor from Mocha to find this flyer in the paper, though I might read too much into it.
　　Another thing is the learning of Mandarin Chinese. Viewing the news on the internet, ordinary Chinese people are gaining more and more the right to speak out against the present brutal totalitarian regime, which should collapse in the not so distant future. I want to watch the historical turning point more directly. I missed visiting Hong Kong in 1997 and Berlin in 1989 and it's a bother to look up in the dictionary every time I come across Chinese names of people and places in documents written in English. I will dare to start learning Chinese in September.

(Vocabulary)
workout   トレーニング, 運動
have it in mind to  ～するつもりだ
somewhat  いくらか, 若干
somewhat of a sth  ちょっとした＜…＞
The news was somewhat of a surprise to me. そのニュースにはちょっと驚いた．
circuit  一周, 一回り, 巡回
read too much  考えすぎ
speak; to publicly speak in protest about sth, especially when protesting could be dangerous: [+about/against] Five students who had spoken out against the regime were arrested.
dare (to) do sth  ＜…＞する度胸がある, 思い切って＜…＞する

(Vocabulary from comments)
plasticity  (専門) 可塑性
drive  [U] 意欲, 気迫, やる気
do sth at the drop of a hat  すぐに＜…＞する
feat  偉業, 離れ業(わざ)

Bicycle and Germany

　　I enjoy riding my bicycle every weekend these days. However, I didn't have the remotest interest in bicycles before. Riding a bicycle looked like hard work for me, especially in summer as I have a tendency to perspire a lot and I hate hot days. On the other hand, riding a motorcycle is comfortable against the wind. I like motorcycles and I didn't even imagine that I would like bicycles. I think that the view of the German lifestyle changed my mind.

(Vocabulary)
remote　〈可能性・見込みなどが〉 わずかな, とても低い
The risk of infection is remote.  感染する危険性はとても低い．
a remote chance/possibility  わずかなチャンス［可能性］

Cycling

　　Since I saw lots of people riding their bike in Germany last year, I have been interested in bikes, though the environment for cyclists isn't good in Japan in comparison with Germany. Some of my friends were also addicted to the bike at that time. Naturally, cycling is good for my health. This is why I bought the bike. It would be great if the cycling path network extended across the country and trains could accommodate bikes.
　　I bought a pair of cycling gloves and shoes on my friends' advice today just before my first ride. Both are made for cycling and are comfortable. I was surprised, however, to find the holes on the sole for binding the shoes and the pedals. I just knew that there was something to connect both, but didn't know about the holes. If it rained, my feet would surely get wet naturally.
　　Anyway, I went out for cycling. It took some time to understand how to change the gears, but the bike was well designed, as to be expected. The bike was really controllable even for me though I'm just a beginner. I enjoyed riding for about 2 hours and biked nearly 20 km. It led me to know that the distance can be more than I had previously expected. I'd like to ride at least 20 km every week at first, and gradually make it longer.

(Vocabulary)
on one's advice ～の勧めで

From kind comments
unsolicited (電話・手紙・Eメールなどが) かってにかかって［送られて］くる,(アドバイス・申し出などが) 押しつけがましい, おせっかいな
swerve  (ぶつからないように) (道などで) 〈人・車などが〉 急にわきに寄る［それる］
swerve to avoid/miss sb/sth  ＜…＞を避けて急にわきに寄る
swerve from sth  ＜…＞から逸脱する, それる
stray (動物が) 迷子の, はぐれた, 帰る家のない
a stray dog/cat  迷子の犬［猫］ 偶然にそれた
a stray bullet  流れ弾
axonal 軸索の
pothole  路面のくぼみ
making a nuisance of myself by ~ing
busybody  おせっかい焼き, 詮索(せんさく)好きな人

 

A Parcel from the UK

　　A part of my bicycle gear was delivered from the UK. I was delighted to see it when I came back home. It was transported from the UK all the way! What's more, the bicycle shop that I ordered my bicycle from sent me an e-mail saying that my bicycle was assembled and they had sent it to me. All the gears from the UK haven't been delivered yet, but I'm going to ride it this weekend. I'll show you pictures later.

Bicycle Pump

　　A week has passed since I ordered my bicycle, "Jamis Aurora," online. The shop personnel told me that it would take a few weeks to deliver it because they were so busy having received many orders. If their work is as previously scheduled, my bicycle will arrive next week. I'm going to enjoy cycling on a regular basis to keep fit. I'm not sure now, but I'm thinking of joining the 100 km cycling event that will be held this autumn, though I'm a beginner now.
　　I visited a sports goods shop to examine some cycling gear today. As I don't know much about cycling gears, I asked my friends to come with me and they gave me some useful advice. I examined some goods directly with both hands and compared both the prices in the shop and on the net. Consequently I bought a bicycle pump, a light, a chain lock and bicycle clips which are used for fixing the bottom of the pants at about the same or at a lower price as on the net and after getting back home I ordered online several gears from the UK to be delivered to my house at a lower price on the net than in the shop. It's amazingly convenient.
　　The picture shows the bicycle pump that I bought today. It should be stored at the entrance or out of the house, but I put it in my room and often look at it with a smile. The number of the entries classified into the category "Sports" will increase.

(Vocabulary)
bicycle pump　自転車の空気入れ
as (previously) arranged / scheduled 予定通り
keep fit 健康を維持する
bicycle clip （自転車の乗る人の）ズボンの裾留め

Long Walk

　　I walked my dog today a little longer than usual. The weather was clear and the temperature was that of early spring. It was very comfortable. The total distance of today's walk was 9.8 km. I am posting two pictures that were taken on the way. Though there is unrest like in Libya and the catastrophic disaster in New Zealand in the globe, how peaceful my hometown is! I feel really happy living in this city. One of the pictures shows the scene at a high school, where the students were working out for the Japan high school baseball championships in the summer.
　　I have been recording all the traces of my walk since last May, and the total distance of my walk during the last 10 months reaches nearly 500 km. I plot this data on the map of Japan, and I'm virtually enjoying the trip across Japan. All the procedure was done automatically by my smart phone. I'm imagining I'm in Fukushima prefecture, north of Tokyo now, and I am heading for the south.
　　I ordered a new bicycle, Jamis Aurora, by e-mail the other day. I'm thinking of accumulating the total ride distance on the world map independently of the walking distance. What route should I choose? How about from the North Pole to the Antarctic? Anyway, my wandering area would surely expand and you would be able to see a wide variety of pictures around my hometown.

Human Testing

　　I felt a slight chill last night and went to bed earlier than usual. I usually don't take medicines with a cold, but I thought it was a valuable opportunity to try medicines myself. I conducted some human testing. I also had a stiff shoulder and posterior cervical pain. I took a Japanese herbal medicine for these symptoms and this was really effective. I will be able to prescribe this medicine confidently. However, the diarrhea began. At first it was like water, but it gradually changed to formed stool. Do you understand what I mean by "formed stools"? I used this term to describe the stools which aren't watery. If you know a better expression please tell me. Anyway, I took another herbal medicine for diarrhea, but it wasn't good for me. It was a good lesson.

(Vocabulary)
human testing/experiment 人体実験
formed stool 有形便
dyspeptic  消化不良性の

Antifilarial Agent

　　It's getting cold day by day. I gave my dog, Mocha, this year's last antifilarial agent this chilly morning. As you know, filaria is transmitted by mosquitos which usually are active in summer. You might not think that such an agent is necessary in November, but mosquitos are frequently found around my house even in early winter.
　　Japan is surrounded by warm currents which are rather warmer compared with countries of the same latitude. I sometimes realize that Japan is sited in an unbelievably blessed natural environment. Anyway, that's why mosquitos are active in November.
　　It's very easy to make him take a tablet. I have only to put it on the top of his meal. His ordinary meal is from Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. He has been fed it for more than 5 years of his whole life. He has never eaten any other meal. His meal, I think, is perfect. He doesn't smoke, he doesn't drink alcohol, he takes shots of vaccines every spring and he takes walks regularly. His lifestyle is completely healthy, I believe.

(Vocabulary)
antifilarial agent  抗フィラリア薬
give medicine to / give someone medicine
make someone take a medicine （人）に薬を飲ませる
dog [canine] heartworm/ filaria フィラリア
filariform larva フィラリア型幼虫
wholesome 〈食品などが〉 健康によい, 健康的な
I like plain wholesome food. 何も加えられていない健康的な食べ物が好きだ．

Potter, Putter

　　I heard a new Japanese-made English word, "pottering", or "puttering". It indicates riding bicycles without purpose. They never pedal hard like in a race and don't have a destination like on a cycling tour. They just spend time wandering around.
　　I often take a walk with my dog, and find something new even around my house. If I had a bicycle and could extend my wandering area, it would be great fun. I looked for several magazines dealing with bicycles on the internet, and ordered some of them. The picture shows them. I'll devote myself to reading them for the coming several days. By the way, how do you call this purpose-less slow cycling in English?

(Vocabulary)
potter(英) putter（米） のんびりする
deal with sth〈本・映画などが〉 ＜…＞を扱う

Today's Breakfast

　　The picture shows today's breakfast for inpatients and me. I stayed at my hospital last night and it's also my duty to have the same breakfast as the inpatients' and leave some comments for the nutritionists and staff members of the food service. To tell the truth, it wasn't so good. It might be good for the health, but its taste was bland. The salt and fat are restricted for preventing hypertension and obesity.
　　I have been eating hospital meals for more than a quarter of a century. I think the supper and breakfast before and after night duty, and the everyday lunch must have contributed to my health. My laboratory results are totally within a normal range. I can't believe that this fact hasn't anything to do with hospital meals.

(Vocabulary)
dietician / dietitian / expert in nutrition / nutritionist 栄養士
bland  味けない, 平凡な; (料理・食品などが)味に特徴がない, 淡白な; (表情・口調などが)感情を抑えた(表に出さない), （意見などが）控えめな, 当たり障りのない

Bicycle

　　I'm getting interested in bicycles day by day. When I visited Germany last year, I was surprised to see the bicycle paths which were designed widely along the road. The trains could accommodate bicycles. People could move easily with their own bicycles. I thought that it was a smart system. Lots of people ride bicycles in Japan too, but the infrastructure for cyclists isn't enough now.
　　However, bicycles are absolutely good for the health and never emit greenhouse gas into the air. Besides some of my friends who used to be crazy about motorcycles, began riding bicycles recently. Events for cyclists became common. The picture was taken when they were about to start for a short ride. Their bicycles are designed for a long ride, and they were going to visit a park 20 km away at that time. It must be nice for keeping fit. I'm planning to buy one before too long. The second picture was shot last year near Boden Lake which is located on the border of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. It indicates a sign post for cyclists.
　　As for Germany, today's CNN says that a high-speed train will connect Frankfurt and London in about five hours. I've been to Frankfurt, but not London. When I visit England some day, this train will be one of the options to reach London.

(Vocabulary)
before too long  近いうちに

 

Kashu, My Birth Place

　　Kashu is the name of a small village where my parents lived in their twenties. I was born there 52 years ago. Even now it is considerably far away from the prefectural capital city, so this village must have been an extremely rural place in those days.
　　We dropped in at this village and looked for the house which my parents rented 50 years ago. The scene completely changed and they managed to find the place where our house was built, but the house had been demolished and a storage shed was there. I was sorry not to be able to see the house, but my parents found a woman who used to be their neighbor. She remembered me, and told me a fantastic story about the day I was born.
　　In the tiny isolated village, there was no doctor. Old ladies who had experienced their own deliveries used to attend the delivery as a so-called midwife. The delivery wasn't always safe. After giving birth to me, a midwife advised my father to feed my mother something nutritious, like carp. There was naturally no supermarket. He went out to a nearby pond whose size was about twice as large as the average ballpark. The purpose? Of course, in order to catch a carp for my mother.
　　You know what, he caught a big enough carp to amaze the village people. The midwives and neighbors seemed to believe that this baby must be gifted.

• (Vocabulary)
• shed  物置, (物置)小屋; (電車の) 車庫, 倉庫, 作業場
• a tool shed 道具小屋
• birth attendant / maternity nurse / midwife 助産師

Walking

　　I make it my policy to walk my dog, Mocha, for a while just after coming back home every day. Naturally, when I have to stay at my hospital for a whole night or stay until late, I can't. However, if I can, I enjoy walking around my house with Mocha. It's been hot recently, but I continued it for keeping fit. A shower after walking is really refreshing.
　　My daughter, however, has sympathy for him. His body is nearer the surface of the blacktop than mine. She insists that Mocha would think my walking as only a nuisance to feel a higher temperature than me. It might be possible.
　　Anyway, Matsuyama city has a population of 600,000 and is the capital of the prefecture. You might imagine that it would be as dry as dust, but it's not true. The pictures were taken in a 2 km diameter from my residence during my walking. The first one is of the main road to the airport. It's ten minutes' drive to the airport. You can see some people enjoying fishing and walking in the second picture. This peaceful place is also near my house.
　　There's not a day that I don't hear some bad news from all over the world. I really feel grateful for my situation.

• (Vocabulary)
• keep fit 健康を維持する
• the blacktop〈米〉 アスファルト舗装
• blacktop [U] アスファルト [同意] Tarmac(英)(商標)
• nuisance《[C]通例単数形で》 迷惑な行為, 厄介な人［もの，こと］
• make a nuisance of yourself 人に迷惑をかける
• as dry as an old bone / as dry as dust 無味乾燥な
• conditions 《複数扱い》 (暮らし・仕事などの) 環境
• Conditions in the prison were appalling. 刑務所内の環境はおぞましかった．

New Funny Sandal (MBT)

　　At first, look at the picture. A sandal is placed sideways. Do you notice something strange? Examine the shape of the sole. It's not flat but round. This shape seems to produce instability on purpose in order to strengthen the muscles and joints. Just stand simply, and you can do exercises of various joints. I decided to use them. The manufacturer says that strictly speaking, their shoes aren't shoes but exercise equipment. Please wait for the report.

• (Vocabulary)
• sideways 横向きに
• deliberately　わざと〔行為者が悪意を持っているニュアンスがある。〕
• by design / on purpose わざと

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k3Jd5nqZOE&feature=related
http://jp.mbt.com/Default.aspx?lang=ja-JP

Medical Check Up

　　I had a check up yesterday. All the results haven't come back yet, but I knew that the gastroscope test was good. No malignant tissue was found in my stomach and duodenum. Japanese people have more possibility of suffering from gastric cancer than Anglo-Saxons. So, the gastroscope test is set among the routine items of medical check ups of people whose age is 40 and over.
　　I had gone for a check up three years ago just like this time. At that time, the gastrocamera was inserted into my stomach through my nasal cavity, and this method was getting the main stream of the screening test and it was less painful.
　　However, this time  the test was through my mouth. I had cross-exercised how to do the gastroscope test with my colleagues when I was a doctor-in-training. My colleagues, as well as me, didn't master the procedure and it was really painful. Since then, I didn't want to undergo the test and have eluded the test all the time.
　　Now, my wife didn't allow me to avoid the test this time, and I was sorry to be set on the examination table like a poor experimental animal. I appealled to the doctor in charge for some sedative.
　　The effect of the sedative was wonderful, but I couldn't do my work till noon.

• (Vocabulary)
• have/go for a check up 健康診断を受ける
• nasal cavity 鼻腔
• doctor-in-training / trainee doctor 研修医
• guy in charge / person in charge 担当者

Long Time No See

　　I've not known whether I'm coming or going these last couple of weeks. Additionally, I have been depressed and have managed to do my routine work and consequently I have been away from writing entries. Now, I'm getting healed up day by day.
　　Today, my hometown was hit by torrential rain. The shortage of water in the summer is a big issue in my hometown every year, but the water looks like it's enough for surviving this summer. Fortunately, there was no human damage and my house, of course, didn't get damaged.
　　On the news programs, the main topic is the result of the Upper House election conducted on July 11th. The ruling party suffered a heavy defeat, and this is what I was waiting for.
　　Tomorrow, I have to get a medical check up and I feel sluggish for I have to undergo a gastroscopy test. I have a strong vomiting reflex and will feel pain to some extent. I decided to think this way; It's not bad to know the patients' feelings.
　　Anyway, I'm alive and fine. While I didn't post any articles into my blog, some of my friends were afraid that I might be in big trouble. Thank you for your concern.
　　The picture is of my second daughter, who lives in Germany. I guess that she was cheering for the German National Soccer Team outdoors with many people.

• (Vocabulary)
• feel depressed / down / heavy / sluggish 気が重い
• vomiting reflex 嘔吐反射
• patient with diminished gag reflex 嘔吐反射の低下している患者

Longitudinal Walk of Honshu

　　You know that Japan consists of four main islands; Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. I live in Shikoku, but I started a longitudinal walk of Honshu, which is the biggest island of the four main islands. Naturally, it is a virtual walk. I'll show you some fantastic gear in this entry.

　　The picture is of my mobile phone, which is made in Taiwan. A variety of functions can be added  by downloading additional software from the internet. The other day, I added the function of pedometer to my cellular phone. The pedometer is sold by itself, but if it is set on this mobile phone, it is totally different from the original pedometer. It can not only count the steps, but also detect and record the current position. After the walk, it calculates the moving distance, average speed, burning of calories and, moreover, draws tracks on the Google Map. It's a wonderful function.

　　At the same time, the moving distances are totalled and put on the map of Honshu. The mobile phone shows where I would be if I had walked from the northernmost tip of Honshu. I had just walked 35km/1778km, but I'm going to walk across Honshu. This is a silly little idea, but it can be enough motive to continue walking for my health. It might be a bother for my dog, who has to walk with me. (grin)

(Vocabulary)

virtual

事実上の, 実質的な, …同然の

They drove home in virtual silence. 彼らはほとんど無言のまま車で帰宅した．

I didn't want to leave my children with a virtual stranger. 子供たちを他人同然の人と一緒に置いて行きたくなかった．

仮想の, インターネット［コンピュータ］上の

The website allows you to take a virtual tour of the campus. ウェブサイトではインターネット上でキャンパスを見学できます．

pedometer  歩数計

length of move / moving distance  移動距離

silly little たわいない, 取るに足りない

 

Severe Jet Lag

　　I've suffered from jet lag for about one week, and now finally I feel better. When I got back eastward from Germany last autumn, I had jet lag too. The jet lag that I had on my eastward flight was always worse than that of the westward flight from Canada. The time difference between Vancouver and Japan is 7 hours and it's the same as between Germany and Japan. The direction of the flights would have more effect on how serious the jet lag is than the net time difference.

　　I have thought above about jet lag. Then, comparing the flight from Japan to Canada with that from Germany to Japan, both flights are eastward and the condition is just the same, but my jet lag gets better in a day in Canada. It is very curious.

　　I found a clue to this question today. What I usually do on my arrival day in Canada is take a walk in Whistler village, and I get a lot of ultraviolet light from the sky and snow. However in Japan, I have to work under fluorescent lights all day from my arrival day. Having more sunshine might work for the recovery from jet lag.

　　When I got back to my office a week ago, a huge amount of work was waiting for me and both the work and jet lag annoyed me. Now, I could go through it successfully, and am going to start writing my blog again about the trip to Germany.