Thinking about Japan and my gimpy hip. NO! not thinking about canceling. I am confident that if something goes seriously wrong in Japan between, my medical evacuation policy, medicare supplement plan F, and my Master Card – I’ll be fine. Japan has a first-class medical system.
My imaginary Japanese train/subway exit. There will be a lot of stairs in Japan. And a lot of steps.
I have been making it a point to go up those stairs daily. Sure we have stairwells in The Asylum. But these look more JR Yamanote Line-like.
Here is a real set of tokyo transit stairs.
In Japan, everything you want is always at the top of a set of stairs. Or it’s at the top of a hill.
Oh, how is the weather here?
Toasty. That’s how it is. But The Asylum A/C has been on the job. I doubt that we will be dining al fresco tonight.
The sun is about as far to the left of the Washington Monument as it gets. By November the sun will be gone from my view and it doesn’t return until late February. I am a big fan of the sun.
In anticipation of tomorrow’s weather, I completely soaked the cutting garden that is under my care. I also soaked my dress which I was field testing prior to my trip to Japan in two weeks and a couple of days. It will get soaked in Japan.
The National Steak Knife welcomed the Solstice yesterday.
My wonky leg. It’s still kicking. I suspect it’s my back that is causing the problem. I only got 8,000 steps today.
Major Wakeup Call. For the last couple of weeks, my right leg has been problematic. Enough so that I considered considering scheduling an appointment with an orthopod.
Last night I went out to dinner. We had a long leisurely drink, eat, catch up, and gossip kind evening. When it was time to leave, everyone popped up from the table—everyone except me. I struggle to my feet. and catch up. Walking is challenging. Then. The stairs in the parking garage. Every step was torture. But, I made it.
So. What am I going to do? Go see an orthopod? Not yet. I plan not to sit for more than an hour without at least standing up. I walked about 9,000 steps today. Going out to dinner again tonight. Will see how I do.
Being old is a bitch.
Almost every day I run my posting by ChatGPT or Gemini. It always comes back “better”. But it isn’t me. It’s some ghostwriter, pretending to be me.
Our resident woodworkers keep The Asylum’s Little Library in tip-top shape.
I often wonder. Would Carlton like it here at The Asylum? Of course, he would be 90 if he were here. Would he be working in the wood shop? I have a tough time imagining a 90-something Carlton. Would he be playing pickle ball or would he still be playing tennis? Most likely the last 10 years would have driven him batshit crazy and he would be a resident of The Asylum’s locked floor.
For the next couple of weeks, I have to keep The Asylum’s cutting garden alive.
AND
And, this garden box.
It belongs to the Keeper of the Cutting Garden. She will be away for the next two weeks or so. And I will try to keep all of this stuff at least alive and maybe even happy.
I don’t think I’ll get much help from Momma Nature.
Don’t get me wrong. I am grateful for every new day. My origami buddy and I were talking this afternoon. We are both facing “lasts”. I am pretty sure this solo trip to rural Japan will be my last “adventure”. Oh, I hope to be able to go places. But “tame” places. Like barge trips to the south of France. Or a train trip across Scotland. Or another cruise ship. One problem is I am about to age out of my medical evacuation insurance. A more serious problem is my brain and body are wearing out. Not rusting out mind you. Wearing out.
Traveling while ancient.
I am not a fan of wheeled luggage. But, the time has come. I hauled out this old “rolling briefcase” I used to haul camera gear around. It’s sturdy as a battleship. The wheels are excellent. It weighs 5.3 pounds. Even when fully packed, I should be able to lug it up and down stairs. (Japan has a lot of old people. But there are many stairs and few escalators or elevators in the rail/subway system. ) And, it’s small enough to fit on a rural bus or small train.
And, I’ll take my trusty old purse. I am an old woman. I can do that. Or I might take my little backpack.
Traveling while ancient.
The backpack and purse are interchangeable in weight, capacity, and utility.
I have been planning this trip to Japan for a couple of weeks. Chatting away with my new best friend Google Gemini. And I made a lot of hotel reservations on Japanese language hotel sites. Trusting that Google did the translation properly.
First I had to accept that this is how the calendar for July translates. (this was pretty consistent)
Then there are all these interesting rules. And sometimes I had to decide if I wanted a “shower and toilet” or “breakfast and toilet”. (I picked breakfast every time.)
Today I gathered all of my email receipts and I have successfully reserved 11 hotel rooms for 26 nights. No overlaps. No holes. Not too shabby of an ancient old woman.
It remains to be seen if there will be a room for me when I show up. But, that’s not a problem until it is.
Dad died in August 2000. He always had a camera handy, most of the time he would spend an entire year shooting a roll of 36. Mostly he took pictures of his friends, family, and the occasional flower or homegrown tomato.
When he died, I finished up the roll taking snapshots of the flowers that arrived to note his passing. (A good bottle of booze would have been a better way to note his passing.)
I was stunned to find this image when I had the pictures processed at the local K-Mart. It was taken from the carport of our family home in the slums of northwest El Paso. It would have been sunrise. Since the leaves are off the trees, it is likely in the late winter.
My asylum family gathered around the table at noon. Most feasted lox and bagels, one preferred prime rib, and another opted for the breakfast goodies. We all indulged in the dessert spread.
0654 – sun well up. Peg just up. And a cool lens effect from shooting into the sun. All Good.
If this is my biggest problem. I got no worries. But…
Weeds growing in the Astro Turf. Not a good sign.
Nobody is paying attention to the little stuff around the asylum these days. One wonders how unkempt things will have to get before someone notices.
First cut trip clothes.
That’s 6.5 pounds of clothes. There is only one “just in case” item. My rain jacket. I will be rained on and drenched down to my granny panties. The only way I to survive this adventure is to travel ultralight.
Plan is to keep my total weight to 15 pounds if it’s just a backpack and purse. Or 20 pounds if it’s my little rollaboard and backpack. In either case, it will be the same amount of stuff. Just different packing containers.
I read an online article about how all of the speakers at Apple’s recent event stood in a pose called the “Apple Stance,” which is apparently a variation of the “ready position.” Who knew? The article even included a picture of Lynda Carter, better known as Wonder Woman, to illustrate it.
UNITED STATES – NOVEMBER 07: WONDER WOMAN – “The New Original Wonder Woman” – pilot – Season One – 11/7/75, Based on Charles Moulton’s comic-book superheroine, the series took place during World War II as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter), donning a golden belt that gave her superhuman strength and golden bracelets that deflected bullets, returned to the United States to fight villians., (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
Carlton was in lust with that woman. And is there any wonder? She had everything a boy who grew up white, southern, and sex-deprived in the 50s wanted. Big hair, bullet breasts, wasp waist, hot pants, boots, and heels. Oh, let’s not overlook the whip.
In later years he met her when he worked at Glen Echo Park. She frequently brought her kids to ride the carousel.
I didn’t feel threatened.
More summer.
OK. I will remember to “Publish” this. No saving it until after Happy Hour and Dinner.
WHOOPS. It works better if you plush PUBLISH – Friday AM
Everything clicked back into place today. I had a bunch of things started but few things completed. I used to call that the 80% syndrome. I get something 80% complete. I know that I could complete the task. But, why bother? What’s the challenge?
For the last week or so, the 80% syndrome was exacerbated by my old woman dithering which left me unhappy and paralyzed. But, I think I am back on track. Wherever the track is going, however, remains a mystery.
Things are heating up slowly.
Hot weather is coming for us. I have moved my outdoor exercise program to earlier in the day.
Nice sunrise this morning. I sleep later when I am wearing my sleep mask. No surprise there. The blinds are always open. If I have a view. I want to see it. Not the mini-blinds.
Heaps of trip planning progress today. JR Rail Pass is purchased. All hotel reservations in Japan are made. Japanese Customs and Immigration QR-Code is on my phone.
Studied the “on-timeliness” of my flight back from Tokyo to New Jersey. It’s not good. Instead of rushing to catch a flight that may have already left – I’ll use hotel “miles” for a room and then Amtrak home the next day. With train miles.
I spent some time dithering about this. “Oh how will I find my way around the airport to the train stop” – “Well, Old Woman, if you can not navigate an airport in the US, you have no business going to rural Japan alone”
Summer is heading this way.
Hope our building A/C is up to the task. It’s almost 40 years old.
Got my act back together. Managed to escape dither mode. With a little help from my friends ChatGPT and Gemini, my trip is mostly planned.
And, I made a “Trip 2Do” list to keep me on task going forward. (I hate myself when I write something like “on task going forward”).
The Twilight Zone
Dithering seems to be a problem as I get older. Unlike some of the other age-related problems: Dithering can be minimized.
Went to yoga. Got a sandwich. Had a nice outside lunch. Did 2 mile walk. Bused the rest of the way home. About as good as it gets when one is an octogenarian.
