JSC 2017

The 81st Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Circulation Society was held in Kanazawa (Picture left), where I presented my research, as usual, and chaired the session regarding autonomic nervous system.

My session was scheduled to be two hours in English. I had the same opportunity a few years ago, and I think I did it well at that time but I got extremely stressed before the session started. I enjoyed it during the meeting, though.

However, this time, I had been relaxed before the session (Picture middle) and was able to handle it without problem. Not to mention a successful presentation of my research (i.e., biomarkers and notched QRS for the detection of myocardial fibrosis in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy).

I am honored to announce that my session was the first session in the annual scientific meeting. Thus, you can see No.1 to No.6 papers in the session (Picture right). My colleague told me that the odds would be on your side. After I finished all my work, I recalled his word and said to myself silently, "It's really my day."

Agota Kristof

I have just finished reading a series of novels written by Agota Kristof, a Hungarian writer who wrote in French. The books that I read is a translation into Japanese.

I have never heard of her name, but Mr. Hiroshima, an software engineer who lives in America, has recommended it on a Podcast called rebuild. He said, "I would say the series is the best I've ever read, and I would read it several times in the rest of my life."

I am not sure if the three books suit to everyone. Actually, my wife, who is not a big fan of reading, gave up the series after finishing the first one. The Agota's masterpiece is, however, one of the most impressing books that I have met in my life; it is beyond the reach of my imagination. I was shocked, and have been still traumatized.

I am not going to show my rating on these books, and I believe that I have to read it again in the future. I do not know when it would be done ー 10 years later or 20 years later ー but I know it should be done, as Mr. Hiroshima said.

I am looking forward to rating them on my second try.

A 10-year-old Washing Machine

It has been a decade since this washing machine came to our house. My wife and I bought it at the timing when we moved to a brand new house.

Recently, my wife has noticed that there is often some water leakage seen under its bottom. We made a decision to carry out a thorough clean-up on the indispensable one.

First, we moved out the washing machine from the bottom pan. I expected it would be too heavy for us to lift up, but it was performed with little difficulty (Picture, left). She was way much stronger than I thought. Second, I removed all the sludge that has piled up over a period of some 10 years (Picture, middle), which was the most laborious task. Finally, we replaced it at the same place as it was, i.e., under the dryer and on the pan (Picture, right). It took only an hour as a whole.

We are lucky because no leakage has not found after the cleaning, although we did not recognize any reasons that could be associated with the water trouble. It is reasoned that lots of dusts under the washing machine would cause the leakage. I guess, however, that the washing machine was crying because it had become dusty. No wonder, a washing machine is a big fan of cleanness, given its role.

We never make it feel sad again.

A lecture in college

Today, I visited the classroom of our college, where I had studied a lot (?) as a student. It has been more than two decades since I graduated from college. To be fair, this is my first time to enter the room, as shown in the right panel, because it did not exist; it was build around 2000 (left panel, right building).

I made a lecture regarding cardiomyopathy and cardiac infectious disease, such as acute pericarditis, myocarditis, and infective endocarditis to 3rd graders. I am not sure whether they could make heads or tails of my contents, although I made every effort to make the lecture easy to understand.

Anyway, it was an exciting experience. I love learning something new as well as teaching to young people who are eager to learn. I saw a few student sleeping during my lecture, but I was not surprised because I did it sometimes when I was a student. The problem is the volume I prepared was too much to handle in 90 minutes. Next time, if any, I would do more better.

P.S.
Last night, I had a nightmare, where I was late for Today's lecture and freaking out in a taxi while heading to college. After I woke up and found myself on my bed before dawn, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Snow, Snow, and Snow

Yesterday, my daughter and son and I visited my parents in vain.

My Dad and Mam live 100 km north of my house, and it takes about one and half an hour by train. Weather reports indicated that it would snow heavily in the afternoon, but I had no worries because it was clear and fine without any clouds in the sky in my area.

On the way, I noticed that landscapes I saw through the window of the train were getting whiter. However, I had not understood our desperate situations until we got off the train and walked out the station. It was like a snow storm outdoors.

Sooner or later, I found ourselves isolated at the station. My Dad could not come to pick us up due to the hazardous road conditions. It seemed like that no taxi was available. It went without saying that public transportation, such as buses or bicycles, was out of service. My parent's house was not close enough to get there on foot. We had no other choice but to give up meeting my parents. The point was we needed to get back to my house by train as soon as possible, given the risk that trains would stop. It was lucky that trains were still working despite the terrible winter storm.

Take a close look at the right picture. Can you imagine? You have to shovel lots of snow to get on the train. This is not a platform that has no roof above. Strong winds made it possible to accumulate snow everywhere. It was lucky of us to get back home without any trouble, although it took more time than usual.

When we arrived at the station in our area, we were surprised to see beautiful stars shining in the sky, without any sign of snow.

Fantastic Title

I am supposed to be given lots of gifts around the end of a year because this period includes my birthday, Christmas, and New Year's Day in a row. The reality is not always what I am expecting, though.

On New Year's Eve, I bought a book on impulse. While hanging out in the mall with my kids, I ran into this book. All of a sudden, its unique cover attracted me. I remembered the proverb, "Don't judge the book by its cover." However, I could not resist temptation.

The price of $30 did not discourage me from purchasing it although it was higher than I though it would be. Later, I was also impressed to know that each page was as impressive as the front cover.

Given my interests in outer space as well as deep sea, it is no wonder that this book satisfied me. I bet I have good knowledge about universe, but I have to confess that I have learned a lot from it. I am sure, this book differs somewhat from scientific or academic ones.

Anyway, how fantastic the title "HOW TO BUILD A UNIVERSE" sounds! It is not the cover that counts, but it is true that it tells you a lot.

Oops!

I blew it! It was careless of me not to avoid it. I was not thinking of it at all.

Recently, I have come to another hospital every Thursday to learn general internal medicine and emergency medicine. The hospital is far from my residential area. In addition, my jobs start early in the morning ― 6:15 am.

I left my home and arrive there before dawn since it is winter in Japan. My mistake on that day was that I did not turn off the head lights of my car when I got off. As you guess, I found my car lost its electric power when I came back to get something in the car around noon.

All I had to do was call my insurance company. Luckily, it provided everything I was going to need, what's more, for free. I had Ramen noodle while waiting because it would take an hour for the rescue staff to arrive. Soon, my car revived without difficulty. I really appreciated to them.

I got back to my home with caution in order to charge my car's batteries. That is, I DID NOT use air conditioning or audio system. Since then, my car has been doing well, indicating that the batteries are still workable.

This is my second time to have an experience of dead car batteries; it has been more than a decade since my first oops!

Tough but worth watching

Last night, my daughter and I did it. We knew it was quite a tough challenge to achieve but worth giving a try.

It was Kobe Luminarie, a light festival held in Kobe, Hyogo prefecture. To be honest, I have been to the festival. It was about 20 years ago, when I was a resident doctor. I asked my wife on a data; she was a student in music collage at that time. All I can remember is that the festival was incredibly crowded.

Yesterday, my daughter and I spent about 1.5 hours waiting to see the beautiful spectacle in a bad condition. It was freezing cold outdoors. It was not en easy task, as you guess, but we were at lost for words when we managed to reach the light gate of Kobe Luminarie, as shown in the left picture.

It was beyond the description. Awesome and Fantastic! No explanation was needed. We forgot all we had struggled until we arrived here. Simultaneously, the spectacle reminded me of 20 years ago. At that time, my wife and I were extremely impressed by the wonderful illumination. We though as if we were in heaven.

Maybe, 20 years later, I 'd like to visit there again, with my wife and daughter, and possibly my daughter's daughter. It would take me back 20 years ago and 40 years ago.

P.S.
My two sons refused going to see Kobe Luminarie. Instead, they reported that they enjoyed playing a video game, Mario Cart, at home while we were out. Biological differences may exist between boys and girls.

Nose hair to be removed

Today, while I was having my hair cut at a barber near my residential area, I found a new ad under the mirror in front of me, saying "try new service, clean your nose."

I realized that the service is nasal hair removal with special wax. I was really curious about it because not only it is ashamed that nasal hair is showing but I have never had any experience of unhairing. More important, the cost was only $3. How affordable, is it? I decided to give it a try.

First, the staff put some cream around the entrances of my nose holes. Second, he inserted one stick, which was several centimeters in length, into each nose. It was actually smooth and what I expected. However, one minute late, the staff forcefully pulled out the sticks from my nose. It was something that was beyond my thought. I was really astonished, crying out in my mind, "What in the world happened?"

The action was too quick for me to feel any pain. The staff showed me the stick that had been staying in my nose hole for a minute, smiling, "A lot of nose hair, here. Successful!" Then, I was able to figure out what happened with my nose.

After the hair removal, I found myself breathing more smoothly than I was. The problem is that the effect only can last for a month, but it does not matter to me, because I come to the barber every month. Imagination that I would have this thrilling experience every month makes me excited. The stick covered in my short nasal hair does seem really disgusting, though.

Rebellious Period

I found it just before leaving home for work. It was 5:20 AM. It was an unexpected massage to me from my daughter.

The lovely handwriting reminded me of last night's event, when I had gotten upset to my daughter because of her rude behavior to me. She even kicked me in the leg.

I know that she is going through a rebellious period. Now my daughter is 13 years of age, meaning the beginning of so-called teenager. However, I want my daughter to remember that I have been standing with you, and I am 100% sure I will, for ever.

"Dear Aya, you will get married and have teenagers decades later, like my wife and me. You might say it is too far distant to imagine, Dad. I swear, however, time flies and the moment comes to you way much faster than you would think."

I would be happy if I could remember this blog when I see my daughter struggling with her teenagers' kids in the future. It is likely that my future is surely full with something fun. Aging is not bad at all!