Thought about why I sort of collapsed with fatigue late yesterday afternoon.
For all of my adult life I have enjoyed great good health. I was able to work and party as hard as I needed or wanted. A 16-hour workday was common. And it wasn’t unheard of to party until 4AM and still make it to work by 8AM. I believe we called that burning the candle at both ends. It worked for me.
And when I got into my 50s and Carlton was in his 60s, I became the “food police” as I tried to keep him alive and my weight fashionably low. Or at least lower than Carlton’s.
I have fallen off the “eat healthy” wagon. And I am no longer fashionably thin. I have called too many grilled bacon and cheese sandwiches with chips washed down with a beer, dinner. I think nothing of calling a cookie and coffee lunch.
Well, that has to stop.
I honestly believe that I have max 2 more years. So, I figure I can eat anything I want. But, I also think I might have more energy if I started eating like I should again. (I had cottage cheese and strawberries for lunch. That’s a start.)
It’s a bitch, when you know what you should do but you don’t want to do it.
The orchids are hanging in. And there is some interesting lens flare action.
Tired this evening. My dinner out was canceled. That was not a problem. I came home, got out of my clothes, and put into my fluffy bathrobe. I made some coffee and a little dinner. I am hoping to stay awake until sunset. That will be 8:31 today. Another cuppa coffee may be required.
Paid for my plane tickets, and the price increased significantly. Glad that I paid $15 to reserve my ticket for 7 days. I appreciate that United allowed me to do so because I might not have bought the tickets otherwise. This trip to Japan is wild and crazy compared to last summer’s well-researched Northwest Passage adventure. It feels like spending big money on a real-life “escape room” experience.”
And we did have cake last night. It was . . . a layer of chocolate cake then a layer of chocolate ganache with fresh raspberries spread throughout and another layer of chocolate cake decorated with a raspberry glaze and fruit. . .
The Twilight Zone
Old people enjoy birthdays as much as any 5-year-old. Each birthday is a gift.
And today I did some serious trip planning. Well, rather some serious, hotel reservationing. I finally figured out the generic Japanese hotel reservation form. Needless to say the cheaper the hotel the crankier the reservation form. I have 5 more nights to take care of.
I don’t understand what happened to me. I could not decide where to go or where to stay. Think that a big part of it was information overload. I had to remind myself – “Woman, you are not buying the hotel you are just renting a room for a night”.
Sort of carried the sunrise theme over to breakfast.
My trip planning is stuck. I am still on Mt Asahidake. I don’t want to spend another night. But, I don’t know where I want to go.
I am overthinking things. I believe that as I get older, I spend more and more time overthinking. I think it’s because I know that my once mighty cognitive powers have slipped a notch or two, and I don’t want to screw up.
Gratitude
My Asylum family is celebrating a birthday tonight. That means cake, ice cream, snarky cards, and good cheer. And a lot of gratitude.
A dinner guest. Like most residents, the crow thinks the culinary offerings “need improvement”.
Got a room for a couple of nights at the Bearmonte Hotel. At the end of the Bus #60 route. 3000 or so feet up Mt Asahidake. They made it clear that dinner would be Hokkaido pork teppanyaki both nights and that there might be people with tattoos using the onsen.
I haven’t decided if I will go to one of the northern islands only accessible by ferry. You know how I feel about boats. The lodging on the islands will help you if you want to climb the island mountain.
They will happily send you on your way with 4 rice balls, ½ a liter of water, and a portable toilet. If I decide to go to the island, I am NOT climbing the mountain, even with a free portable toilet. The mountain is over 5,000 feet. And it’s also an active volcano.
The Twilight Zone
This week I realized that I am an octogenarian. How did that happen?
The Orange Lunatic at the Libertarian Convention – Jose Luis Magana/AP
As a sometimes photographer, this is my fave image of The Creature from the last week or so. Makes you sick to your stomach to be an American. “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” Samuel Johnson 1775.
And no the guilty verdict doesn’t make me feel “better”. It just makes me feel less bad. For now.
Trying to find lodging and transit for me around Hokkaido. It’s like chess. You have to be planning a week ahead. Now, if I find a room in Sapporo where will I go after that? And after that. And how will I make the transit? I find that I am competing with busloads of “continental Asians” as the Japanese snarkily call Chinese, for lodging.
There are some truly bizarre hotel options. While browsing for a room, I encountered a pricing scheme that left me dazed.
The cheapest option? A room with just a toilet. Yep, you read that right. Apparently, basic ablutions were an optional add-on. You could upgrade to a room with a shower… or, for a slightly steeper price, a room with breakfast. But for some reason, the holy trinity of toilet, shower, and breakfast seemed to be an impossibility.
I’m all for a good travel challenge. So, I opted for 3 nights of the “toilet and breakfast” package, figuring a couple of strategically placed water bottles and some ingenuity would see me through any required in-room “showers.” Besides, this is Japan, the land of the amazing onsen (public hot springs/bath houses). Not to mention Toto toilets.
Lesson learned: Always double-check the amenities list when booking hotels in Japan!
Actually I have rather many cracks in my floor. This is just the biggest one. Thank goodness I am just a renter. Otherwise, I might be concerned. But I doubt it.
If you really care, you can open this image in a new tab…
At least I think I am going to Japan. I have a round-trip ticket from New Jersey to Tokoyo on reserve. Why NJ? Because, of airline pricing weirdness. A business class ticket from EWR is ½ the cost of a ticket from one of “my” local airports.
Right now, I am playing around with where to go. And how to get there. And can I find a room that’s OK once I get there? Japan has lots of “events” that suck up all the hotel rooms. But, with a train pass, I can always go somewhere else.
The Twilight Zone
This entire trip process is an exercise for my aging body and brain. Of course, I could go with a tour group. But, this is more fun. And it has a sizable element of risk. What could possibly go wrong?
This is all subject to change. Only $15 has been spent. That’s the holding fee for the plane ticket.
Summer = Evening Storms in my neighborhood. And last night’s storm was a preview of coming attractions. It took out the Wi-Fi for the night and some of our elevators. But, I verified I can control my lights, etc using Alexa when the Wi-Fi is out. (Usually, when the wi-fi goes so does the electricity. )
After several days in acute old-woman mode about going to Japan, I have gotten myself back on track. Thinking about July 8ish to August 2ish. Fly into Tokyo and most likely spend a night. Then train it north the next day. Stay up north until the last week of July. Then maybe return to Tokyo for a week of Tokyo madness. Plane out on Aug 2. Return to DC on Aug 2. Crash. The time difference is 13 hours.
When Sam and I went to Japan in 2010, a dollar was worth about 90 yen. We calculated the cost of things by chopping off the last two digits. But, today a dollar is worth 157 yen. That means conversion is harder. But, the trip is cheaper.
Gratitude
Went to yoga today on the bus. When I got on the bus, a very frail woman was wearing a mask up front. This woman could have been 40 or 90. She had that frail look that seriously ill people have.
The bus get to the end of the line. I transfer to the bus that goes to the hospital at this spot. So I hop off the bus. I hear the woman asking the driver to help her stand up. So, I wait by the door on the sidewalk. I can help her to the bus that’s going to the hospital I figure. Well, she was going to a hospital. But, a hospital that was a Metro ride away.
Very slowly we walked over to the escalator. I couldn’t let that woman go down 2 escalators alone. She didn’t want to walk to the elevators which weren’t as close. SO, I go down the escalators with her and get her to the platform.
She wouldn’t let me continue to escort her. I hope that someone else picked up where I left off. As I left she said: “The last treatment was rough.”
I am grateful on so many levels.
I just happened to be at a place where I could help her.
I am still in pretty good condition.
I had a metro card with sufficient cash to get into the subway system. (many regular bus riders don’t have much money on their cards).
And, I know that none of my friends would allow me to go out in the world in that condition. Even if they no longer had cars – someone would have been on the bus/metro with me.
There is a lesson here. I just don’t know what it is. Maybe gratitude is enough.
I asked AI to improve that gratitude bit. It was improved. But, it wasn’t me. I am still struggling with AI. You will have to endure the unimproved version.
Women’s Memorial – Arlington National Cemetery – 2012
Sort of fell into a great mental rathole about 2PM. I dragged myself outside for a little walk and that helped.
Mentally, I have about set my trip to Japan. But, I am also doubting if I am physically able to do it. And do I have enough available marbles left? One thing is for sure – I won’t be in better condition next summer. Maybe I should go in October when the weather should be more old-lady-friendly? Just wimp out, forget about Japan, and spend July in Bermuda.
I was looking back at the Blog and my first trip to Japan in 2010 with my 17-year-old granddaughter. This is what I wrote on July 4, 2010, the day before departure.
I am getting into trip zone. Preparing for 20 hours of transit. Heading off on an adventure. A samurai tale. The old grasshopper and young cricket – each on a quest.
I always said that old age is the time to take risks. What exactly do you have to lose when you are 66 – maybe 20 years max. Years of decline. It is time to put your money where your mouth is, grasshopper.
And now I am 80. What exactly do you have to lose when you are 80 – maybe 6 years max. Years of ever-increasing decline. It is time to put your money where your mouth is, grasshopper.
Rolling Thunder – 2002Run for the Wall at Ballston – 2009Goodnight Chesty, Wherever you are. Run for the Wall. 2011 Arlington National Cemetery.
If I am 100% honest… The best part of the day so far was naptime. Questioning the wisdom of heading off into the wilds of Japan. What do I have to lose? I am sure there are naps for the taking in Japan.
Back when The “Supremes” were truly supreme. – 2008.
Way back when Carlton and I lived in Ballston, we were surrounded by Run for the War and Rolling Thunder for 3 or 4 days late in May every year.
No way I could run all over taking photographs like I did then. 2014 was the last year I went out to seriously take pictures.
Where it started – 2009
Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) — established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared it should be May 30. It is believed the date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all
over the country.
The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The ceremonies centered around the mourning- draped veranda of the Arlington mansion, once the home of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Various Washington officials, including Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, presided over the ceremonies.
