It was on 5/17 last year that I was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, and I started writing this Blog on 5/20. Even though it was a very bumpy and challenging year, it was one of the best years of my life. In addition that my treatments wo…

On 5/10, just as though he was waiting for my return from Japan, my surgeon’s assistant called me on the phone. “Hi, how are you? Has your weight increased a bit?” I answered that I lost all the weight I had gained in Japan because of the …

“Why am I sleeping?” I woke up at 12:30. Come to think of it, I went out for a walk at about 6:00, talked to Mark on the phone, and… I must have fallen asleep without eating dinner. I woke up yesterday at 5:00, and started my busy day. Dur…

Weather: Sunny and hot Breakfast: Sesami and bean paste sweet No lunch & DinnerHad a big dumping syndrome, but saw friends from high school at an "Izakaya" restaurant in Ikebukuro. Had a wonderful time.

Weather: cloudy, rainy in the evening Breakfast & lunch@home, nothing particular Dinner:Kamonegi, Mori@Sobadokoro Nakamura(?), Ikebukuro I was awoken by a nightmare. In the dream my parents and relatives were busily preparing a table of fo…

Weather: Sunny Lunch: Lunch buffet @ Quilt show @ Akasaka Prince Hotel Dinner @ friend’s home: cheese & olive paste, marinated fish (carp, tuna, etc) with vegetable, Tofu-egg quiche with eel, Inari roll, cheese cake, chocolate cake Saw a f…

Weather: Sunny Dinner: Cooked fish, potato and leak soup, rolled cabbage, custard cream cake @ my brother’s house Took a train to Yokohama to visit my brother and his family. First we went to a studio to listen to a Sanshin band. His wife …

Weather: Cloudy , then stormy rain Lunch: Squid ink pasta @ Caprichoza Dinner: assortment of Gyoza, etc. Spent most of the day shopping. First we went into a ?100 shop. Different from US dollar shops, they sell amazing varieties of product…

Weather: Cloudy Lunch: Eel donburi Dinner: Sushi Tired from the trip to Kagoshima, and spent most of the time reading in the apartment. Went with Mark out to see the tablet computer at Big Camera.

Weather: Sunny and beautiful Lunch: Omurice @ airport Dinner@ Oedoya in Ikebukuro I left Kagoshima for Tokyo. My friend from high school kindly took me to the airport. It is amazing how Tokyo and Kagoshima have changed; the fashion, pace o…

Weather: Sunny, beautiful day Lunch with friends from high school days @ residential restaurant Dinner@ home Had lunch with some girl friends from my high school days at a restaurant quarter of a residence, where the wife serves lunch for …

Weather: Rainy I visited a nursing home and “daycare program for the elderly” in the neighborhood with my sister in law, just to see what is available for my parents going forward. In Japanese society, where the whole population is aging, …

Weather: Beautiful early summer day Lunch: restaurant @ a personal residence Dinner: no recollection I saw two college day friends at a restaurant that was run by a housewife at a personal residence. This arrangement seems to be popular in…

Weather: stomy rain from evening through night Lunch: Chinese buffet Dinner: Kaiseki cousine at Welview Hotel We saw our old friends, anther interracial couple like us. We used to hang out together 30 years ago. In the evening, we went to …

Weather: Sunny and hot During the morning we went to my family’s cemetery. In Japan, where ancestor worship is the center of the religion, it is the most critical event for my father. It was very warm and the sun was very strong. I could f…

Weather: Cloudy Lunch: Bento in the train Dineer: Bento No matter how long it may take, I love riding the smooth bullet train. The ride is so smooth that I even tried water coloring in the train this time. A big misunderstanding occurred b…

Weather: Cloudy then rainy Lunch: Nabeyaki Udon noodle near Daitokuji temple Dinner @ Sweep with a friend from Kagoshima University days Temple visited: Ryugen-in, Daisen-in, Koryu-in, Kobai-in of Daitoku-ji temple Stayed @ Mitsui Garden H…

Weather: rainy Breakfast @ my brother's Lunch: Shumai @ Chinese restaurant in Ikebukuro Dinner: Hokke set dinner at a restaurant in Ikebukuro I attained one of my goals for my trip to Japan: I bought two pairs of jeans that fit me at a sto…

Weather: Warm and sunny Lunch & Dinner @ my brother's home in Yokohama We went to Yokohama to see my brother and his family. His wife is a great cook, and I make sure to visit them when I am in Japan. She cooked two different kinds of fish…

Weather: Sunny, summer like Lunch and dinner @ friend's home We went out to Oto City see our friends from Chicago days (1984) to; we met the couple when Mark and our friends were still struggling graduate students at the University of Chic…

Weather: Sunny and warm!Last night, upon arriving at Ikebukuro station, we went into the Tobu department store that is annexed to the subway station. “Depa-chika” is the word that describe the Japanese department store basement, where all …

Weather: too dark to know in Massachusett, snowy in Detroit, cloudy in Tokyo Lunch: Tendon @ Detroit Air port Airline food Dinner: Chawan mushi, Chirashi lunch box After a long contemplation, I decided not to take my Mac to Tokyo; it was a…

“You are fixed,” were the words of my surgeon after my 6-month check-up at BWH on Monday. If I had heard these words at another time, I could have been offended, thinking, “ I am not a machine, Doc!” However, this phrase by the surgeon was…

It was a bit crazy, but I went to Maine again on Monday (after coming back from there on Sunday night) with my art teacher. I am very fortunate to have a personal watercolor teacher, who is actively creating art and constantly having shows…

On Friday 3/30, I left for Maine with my girl friend J, whom I met when I was a graduate student at Ohio University in 1978, to celebrate our 51st Birthday together: mine on 3/31, hers on 4/8. She is the only friend I have maintained conta…

The insurance adjuster came at 9:00 for the toilet leak yesterday. He was quite generous with his calculations, and gave us money to replace the ceilings, plastering, painting, cleaning the rugs, etc. The amount was much more than what I e…

Trying to get out of the bed this morning, I touched my hipbone by chance, and was startled to find how protruded it is. I looked at my whole figure in the mirror and had a good look at it. The good news is that my legs look much longer th…

On Thursday (3/8) I saw my radiology oncologist and regular oncologist, then went tothe PFT (pulmonary function test) on Friday. Lots of visits with doctors. As I feared, my oncologist pointed to my weight - just 100 pounds, including thec…

It is very difficult to resume a blog after a long break. After coming back from England on March 2, life has been quite busy. Mark left for Japan yesterday while nursing jetlag, and he would be gone three months this time. Also, I had to …

Weather: Cold but Clear Lunch: soup at a sandwich stand near St. Paul cathedral Dinner: The Mekong, Vietnamese/Thai/Chinese restaurant near the hotel Stayed at Luna and Simone Hotel Today was the last day and only clear day in London. We p…