Fence tree trimming

Our house has lots of trees and plants. Especially, my favorite is the south side, where there is a fence made of European white privet.

They gradually grow up despite little fertilizer and pesticide. The problem is it is not easy for me to keep them in a good shape. I want it to be boxed shaped all the year around.

The other day, my wife and I asked experts for tree trimming, gardeners, to cut them. What surprised us was the cost they told us. It seems like it would cost us some three hundred dollars. We have no choice but to give up their help. I decided to do it on my own, as usual.

I did it using a folded stepladder as well as a tree trimming device, which I bought several years ago but have not used it for years for fear of being injured. This time, I trimmed European white privet with big caution. It took me only one or two hours. Luckily, the temperature was not so high for Autumn in Japan that I did not soak in sweat.

I am happy to see the trimmed trees, but I have not been satisfied with my skills yet. I know what more important to make the fence cooler is not to trim them more tightly but to trim them more frequently.

I am wondering what the experts would say if they saw it. Don't you think my work is more worth the 300 bucks?

The Best Award

Let me inform you of my happiness. I received the most prestigious award of my company. I work in a public hospital run by a large medical insurance company. The award I received is the president's best award.

The award is composed of a small object made of glass, as shown in the right picture, and some amount of money. I was going to buy Nintendo Switch, which is a newly released game machine, with the prize, but I could not because it was not enough to get the toy. However, it DID NOT disappoint me at all. What matters to me is the reasons that I received the award. According the selection committee, there were four factors for choosing me.

First, I established the department of cardiac rehabilitation in the hospital. Second, I succeeded in starting the department of general internal medicine. Third, I created educational systems, such as Matsushita Heart School and Matsushita ER Lunch Conference. Last, I have helped a lot of medical staff research and write articles.

Especially, the last two reasons among the four factors made me satisfied so much. I really thank the committee for letting me know what I have been doing in the hospital. I have never thought of that. And, I have to recognize that I owe these feats I have accomplished to many supporters.

I would never have done this without them. It is also worth noting that my family has been playing a pivotal role in this context. Thanks!

Summer vacation in 2017

Yokohama is where we stayed during our summer vacation trip in 2017.

Our trip was for 2 nights and 3 days. We visited Yokohama on the first day and Kamakura on the last day on the basis of consensus between my wife and me. On the second day, however, our schedule was determined by my 3 kids: Tokyo by my daughter and Saitama by my 2 sons.

Some may say, "Tokyo is fantastic, but why Saitama?" I basically agree. There are so many sight seeing spots in Tokyo. My daughter requested her mother to take her to Tokyo Disney land and a town called Harajyuku, which is representative of street culture and fashion trends in Japan.

My sons told me, "Dad, Don't you know Saitama has the world largest UFO catcher center?" UFO catcher is kind of an attraction, in which you control a small crane suspended from the ceiling of a clear box that is full with items, for example, figures, toys, candies, and catch what you like and carry it to the exit of the box. If you success, you will get the item.

We actually went all the way to the amusement center. It took an hour by train from Tokyo to the nearest station. We then took a taxi to get there. Look at the picture above. My kids are about to enter the game center. I am not sure if they thought the amusement center was worth visiting, but they spend a few hours without eating lunch.

I am very happy with the short trip because the process to get there was like an adventure. So far, no guide book seems to recommend it, and I hope they won't from now on. Very memorable summer vacation!

25-year-old Yukata

A summer festival is held in my town. One hour before, all of a sudden, it started pouring, but luckily stopped soon. Now the sun is shining through clouds. No wonder, the best condition for a festival in summer is prepared.

My daughter, 13, wears yukata, which is a light kimono and typically worn in the situation of summer festivals.The yukata looks good on her, and I bet she looks so beautiful.

The one thing I have to point out about the yukata is it is not new for her but 25 years old. The condition, however, is wonderful thanks to her mother. She has taken good care of it for quarter a century.

As you guess, the yukata is one that my wife wore 25 years ago when we went on a date in Gion festival. This reminds me of the scene where she, 18, was so charming with this brand new yukata at cafe, Wabisuke, in kyoto.

Hopefully, the yukata is handed over to the next generation, my daughter's daughter. A concern remains regarding whether my daughter would be able to keep it in a good condition for another 25 years, though.

She can do it! I am looking forward to seeing the scene with my wonderful wife.

A stethoscope

Yesterday, one of my mentor gave me a box at the cardiac conference handled by Matsushita Memorial Hospital. He said with smile that this was from Dr. A, who is his mentor.

I opened the wrapping of the box and found a label on the box, saying "This is a small legacy in The Second Department of Medicine, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine. I give it to you, Dr. Kawasaki, via Dr. Sugihara."

I was really surprised to found an unfamiliar stethoscope in the box. I have good knowledge about the history as well as the types of stethoscope, but I have never seen anything like this.

It seems like that this stethoscope was one that Dr. S, who is a giant regarding auscultation, purchased when he had studies in the U.S. in the 1960s. He gave it to Prof. Marumoto after coming back to Japan, and later the professor handed it to Dr. A, my mentor's mentor.

I was at a loss for words since I was really impressed. On top of that, I was wondering if I was valuable enough to keep it. I heard the sound of my heart with the legacy, and found it working perfectly. The condition of the stethoscope is incredibly excellent, although it is almost 50 years old, like to me.

No wonder, my role is to hand this legacy to next generations. I will pick up one guy to pass the legacy before my retirement in order not to stop the continuity of what I have been taught by my wonderful mentors.

A test for the first time in 10 years.

I took a test to get a licence for cardiac rehabilitation, today. I think I did a good job.

To tell the truth, I did not do any homework to prepare for it because I thought I would pass the examination without difficulty. I've been a cardiologist for more than 2 decades, and I have been engaged in cardiac rehabilitation for over 3 years.

To my surprise, almost all attendees around me were likely to study so hard; their textbook told me so since I have found tons of checks on it.

I had to have lots of lessons before the test, which took almost 7 hours and made me actually exhausted. If I remember correctly, the last time I had an exam was almost 10 years ago. The result will be shown 1 month later.

I am pretty confident of it, but I hope my 3 colleagues will also pass the examination together.

HCM: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

HCM is one of my research fields. I have been interested in HCM for more than two decades. This is because my senior colleague, who was actually excellent on echocardiography, showed me the wonderful world of HCM when I was a resident. It seems like he has not been active for this 10 years or more, though. Anyway, I am grateful to him to introduce me to this fantastic world.

Yesterday, I attended the 123rd Kinki Regional Scientific Meeting of the Japaneses Circulation Society, held in Osaka International House Foundation, Tennoji-ku (Ward), Osaka City, Japan, as a chairperson, presenter and observer. Take a look at the program shown below.

I am proud of these three presentations in a row; they are surely occupying this session. All of them are associated with HCM, and what more, these contents are exclusively unique. To my knowledge, the last one is the first report in the world to clearly show murmurs due to a diastolic paradoxic jet flow. This report has been recently accepted as a case report by an international journal.

I was quite satisfied with yesterday's conference, but I cannot take a rest, because another scientific meeting is taken place next weekend. Keeping on enjoying academically is my motivation to study hard.

Cats and Dogs

I thought I was a dog person, but recently I found myself loving cats as well.

Today was a typical comfortable weather for June in Japan. No cloud was seen in the sky, it was not so hot or humid. I loved it. However, all of a sudden, it started raining at around 10 pm. Speaking exactly, it is raining cats and dogs outdoors, literally pouring right now.

It is completely dark, with frequent thundering and lightning. My daughter has stayed in the living room with us although it is time for her to go to bed. It seems like that she is scared of the thundering and the sound that the stormy rain hit the windows of her room.

Anyway, I think I am lucky with this rain because I would be miserable if it occurred on my way to my office early in the morning or on the way home after work. The rain is too hard to keep on going in such a heavy way until I go to work. Chances are it will clear up during my sleep.

I am looking forward to checking the sky after I wake up next morning. I am sure I would confirm that I love the cats and dogs. Good night.

Extra newspaper

Today I got extra newspaper for the first time in my life.

My wife, daughter, younger son, and I went to Umeda, the largest shopping area in west Japan, for shopping. The place was crowded as usual.

After crossing the zebra zone between Hankyu department store and Osaka station, I found people standing still to read something. Some were interviewed by TV crew, and others were giving out something like newspaper.

Immediately, I understood that extra newspapers were issued. I have seen guys picking an extra on TV, but, to be honest, this was my first time putting myself in such situations.

Although I was excited and happy when I took it, the content brought me back to the reality. As I guessed, the news on the extra showed that a bad event has happened.

It is Mother's day, today, which was destroyed by the bad news -- this kind of news is definitely unwelcome at any time, though. To avoid deteriorating the situation, more sanctions will be added internationally. However, it is worth noting that wars should not be allowed to happen again no matter how they behave.

E Shiritori

My family visited my parents during the Golden week, where my younger son, 10, and my daughter, 14, asked me to play E Shiritori. "E Shiritori?", I asked although I could guess what it was like.

According to them, it is kind of word games. Shiritori is a popular play among kids. You ought to look for a word, the first letter of which starts the last letter of the word that your opponent gave you. It continues until someone says the word that ends with the letter "n" or is unable to find a suitable word.

E Shiritori is picture-based equivalent to the Shiritori, as you can see in the left picture. The fun part is competitors are not always sure what the picture your opponent draws means. Please take a close look at the bottom lime of the picture. After a red watermelon, something undetermined comes, followed by a smiling face. Can you guess the rinks between three pictures?

My son said, "It's a mosquito", and she replied, "My picture is SETO KOUJI, a famous Japanese YouTuber." I asked them, "So, dose that make any sense?" It seems like, after all, none of us knows who wins or who loses, but everyone burst into laughter after listening to each explanation.

E Shiritori was fun. It is not the sense that counts. Sharing fun time is priceless.