A day off!

First, thank you wonderful readers! I have now more than doubled the views compared to my last blog and this is my 80th post compared to the 197 of my last one. It makes me feel so awesome - so thank you!

Today was my compensatory day off for the Saturday training I had last month. Oh was it glorious! Well, truthfully it was a bit strange. LOL I got up early (I had stayed up late because a friend of mine needed to talk so I didn't get much sleep) to meet Chihi to go to the doctor's. I was sick of my foot hurting (it's been hurting since March 29th. Don't look at me like that Maman!). The clinic opened its doors at 830 and Tsukasa said it was a popular clinic so she set up for me to meet Chihi a little early. Well I arrived at 820 (as I was asked to do) outside the office building where the Interac office is housed. I waited on the street for 5 minutes then started to get worried. I thought, "Maybe she is inside?" I went up the elevator but the office was locked. Rather than take the elevator back down, I just took the stairs. I went very carefully as the stairs here are tricky! They are tall, narrow, and they all have these rubber lips (the ones that tripped me on the bus!). When I got back down I went out to the street and wondered what to do. Suddenly Chihi appeared from the building! She had gone up the elevator while I was going down the stairs. LOL I'm just glad she showed up! We walked over to the clinic and there were already about 20 people waiting! Yeesh. We took a number and then when they opened the doors we took a seat inside. At first I thought it was strange that Chihi should come with me since they said the doctor spoke English - but it's a good thing she came (mmm) as she filled out the paperwork for me (that was all in kanji)! They didn't even start seeing people until 900. Chihi asked at the desk what the procedure would be and found out I would be waiting at least 50 minutes (sounded like she said 15 but she was so grave about it I figured she had said 50). She said, "I hope have a book!" "I do... back at my apartment. *checks my bag* I have Sudoku!" "Oh I love that!" "Me too!" "Ok, I am going to go back to the office." "Oh...ok." She she left. Eventually I was called back and the doctor looked at my foot. I think he wasn't that worried until I told him I had been in pretty frequent pain and had had swelling since March 29th. He told me he was going to x-ray it and I thought, "Ok..I hope they find something because how stupid would it be to be in THIS much pain for two months and then nothing?" Then I thought, "I only have (essentially) $60! I hope they will let me make payments!" I had asked Chihi how much the visit would be and she had said, "Not more than ichi ma-en (man-en)" (Not more than ~$100) After finding out I would have an x-ray suddenly I was worried I would be very much in the high end of that. But then I thought, "There's no way I can know how much it is! I just have to wait!" As I was waiting to get my xray Chihi appeared! She apologized about missing my short visit with the doctor (seriously 2 minutes). I told her it was fine and I was waiting for an xray. I told her about when I had capsular avulsion and how upset it made my mom that I waited until I could move my fingers, wrist, or arm until I went to the doctor (although at that time I had very bad insurance coverage so I wasn't sure I would be able to get the help I wanted. And actually it turned out that way -- I was supposed to go see an osteopath and probably have surgery but I couldn't afford to walk in the door let alone any more of his services. Luckily I was blessed and the tendon snapped back into place. It only gives me trouble when I've been signing for a long time or using my wrist too much while I weight lift.) I told her it was my custom to wait a long time and that I probably wouldn't even be at the doctor today but since they had wanted me to go for my chin I thought, since that door is open, I'll go for my foot. Finally I was called in for the xray and they took three pictures. I waited to see the doctor again (Chihi told me about her family), and then I was called to have my final consult. They had my xrays up and I told Chihi that I wanted to take a picture. She looked around quickly and said, "Go ahead! Fast!" So I did! :D I'm so glad she was there as I sat there wondering if I would have had the guts to do that if I had been sitting there alone. In any case, with no further ado, I present the inside of my left foot:

Isn't it great!?

The first thing the doctor when he came in was, "I can see a fracture." I went a little cold inside. Then he repeated himself, "I can't see a fracture." !? There's no fracture. Which was like, "YAY! Oh ... then what the heck!?" He spoke Japanese the entire time after that since Chihi was there. Grr. He was saying something about Osteo somethings and pointed at two problem places in my foot. He says I have arthritis in two of my joints of my big toe (meta-tarsal, etc). He also said the pain wasn't going away because I have almost flat feet (that has been true most of my life). He told me to get insoles and in the meantime he taped my foot. He also said my pinky toe bones were starting to bend and face the wrong way for this same problem. I thought the shoes I got were really good but I guess I will invest in insoles! Then he showed me a side view of my foot and said the top bones in my foot had changed shape. He asked through Tsukasa if I played sports. "Volleyball." He then said he could tell because of the bones! That actually was very flattering to me. I have spent the majority of my life feeling frustrated with people who told me, "You should exercise." I DO exercise! I HAVE exercised! My heart is probably healthier than yours!! At one point I was over 230 pounds with a resting heart rate of 50. My body just likes to do its own thing! So it was very reaffirming for me to know that even though my body itself is showing all my work! Even if it is in a bit of damage. Oops. I've been monumentally blessed in the past few years to finally slim down once I figured out the keys for my body. :) And Japan looks good on my too! :D In fact, last month I said good thing I was retaining water as it made my pants fit. Well, this month I can't say that. I have water retention and was pulling my pants up all day! In any case, at the end of the visit I was worried sick at the cost of everything (I had been there almost 3 hours) and then no prescription, no break ... I was hoping it wouldn't be like, "Here's a giant bill for the two pieces of tape!" I said a little prayer in my heart as I was called forward to pay and I was blessed right away -- my bill was a little over $17! MMM! I was floored and come to think of it the cost of healthcare is probably what has made me reluctant to ever go see the doctor. In any case, I paid and felt so incredibly blessed that it was so inexpensive. It seems that the healthcare system in Japan is setup to cure people rather than to make money. What a novelty! -- But seriously, what a HUGE blessing!

After that I was feeling nauseous and crampy but I had some errands to run. I walked Chihi back to the office and went up to say hi to everyone. I told them about my fall and asked them about getting my skirt fixed. My black skirt, that I wear EVERYDAY now that's it's so hot broke. One of the teeth on the zipper got bent and it derailed the one side. AARGH! Since I don't have the tools nor the will to fix it, I asked the ladies where I could take it. They told me there was a store in Fesan (which is a 20 minute bike ride from my place - it's at the station - it's actually attached to the station) and there was one in Nanak. Nanak is a 2 minute bike ride from me so I chose to go to Nanak. I said goodbye, and then biked over to the Hyaku-en shop. I bought some things I needed for school and a handfan (Now I have two - but with this intense heat, it pays to be prepared!). After that I biked over to Nanak. I went to the bank and withdrew some money for tomorrow (to buy those things I need), and then went over to Nanak. I had NO IDEA how to find the store. I went to the information desk and asked in halting Japanese about a place to get my skirt fixed. The girl said there weren't any shops like that in Nanak. It was a letdown but I am going to Aiina tomorrow anyway so I will look for Big Mama (the name of the shop in Fesan) then. I then went over to the bakery and got some bread for lunch. After all that I was overheated, trembling because of the heat and cramps, and just needed to get home. I biked home quickly and turned on my dehumidifier. I tried to put some of the things I had gotten at the hyaku-en shop away but I couldn't manage it very well. So I sat down and waited to recover. I felt cooler fairly soon (mmm) and then was able to move around a bit. I put my things away, read a little bit, and messaged. I also got a bit of a nap - I was so exhausted and felt so icky I sort of swam in and out of involuntary unconsciousness for about an hour. Eventually I was able to sit up and read again. When dark fell I knew it was time to do my last errand. I had decided, before I knew I could feel crampy, that I wanted to buy some ice cream at a grocery store a couple miles from my place. It had a good selection and I wanted to stock up a bit. So I drank a Monster and off I went! I biked there, grabbed a box of chocolate ice (which makes me wonder if it's chocolate flavored water or that's what they call fudge bars) and I got some Dole fruit bars. I also got a box with 6 cones of ice cream or ice (2 vanilla, 2 twists, and 2 chocolate ... I believe). I also got nori (lol - the seaweed for rolling sushi), and a couple energy drinks. I wonder what the cashier thought. 3 boxes of cold treats, nori, and 2 energy drinks. LOL In any case, I felt icky and I was determined to do something nice for myself. I wilt in heat and having those cold treats at home for the end of the day will go a long way in giving me something to which I can look forward every evening. I'm worth it! I biked back home and then here I am!

Two funny things I forgot to tell you before: at the elder's Eikawa, Elder Akiyama (he was Elder Preston's companion - I have a picture of him from the ward Ohanami Celebration in my blog) told me that my bruise looked like a beard. That made me ridiculously happy. I've joked for years that I wish I could grow facial hair because I love it so much! So I took a picture - a la Philippines for Nod - and lamented that though I finally have my beard, I can't stroke it because it hurts to touch it!

Other funny story: You know how I told you about those Gorilla ice bars/slushie bars that were inexpensive and that I hadn't checked the other flavors? (Actually I wanted to get a couple boxes of those at this grocery store but they were out of all the flavors except for "Soda" and I didn't know what flavor that would be so I didn't want to buy a whole box of them.) Well I checked the flavor I had skipped that day... turns out my brain was protecting me. Corn. Ya.. corn flavored. AND -- AND!! It has corn chunks in it. o.0 I just... I just... maybe I'll try it to say I have, but I'm telling you right now that when I think of cold treats, corn does not jump to mind. It's not even anywhere on my list. Not even near the bottom. LOL Silly, silly. Although at the same time, I never thought I would eat sugared bean paste. (Like refried beans with sugar mixed it - seriously.) It's actually really good. It took me awhile to acclimate to eating sweet bean paste as a dessert (usually it's found in bread - in the center like a jelly filled donut), but as I said I enjoy it now. I would still take ice cream over it but then again I've always loved ice cream as one of my top desserts! Oh that reminds me of another quick story - Devin texted me one night all upset. "What happened?" I asked. "I just wanted some dang chocolate! I bought the bag with the picture of chocolate filled donuts! But are they chocolate filled!? NO! They're filled with beans! What is wrong with these Japanese people!? Don't they know beans are not a dessert!?" LOL I told him to tell me the next time he was coming to Morioka and I am going to surprise him with an Anpanman. They are filled with chocolate pudding. Thus his, "This is why I have trust issues." will be resolved. :) Anyway, hope you all have/had a great day/evening! XOXO, A

I took this last night - seriously, these colors are so cool!

Took this picture this morning :) - I am LOVING chronicling this! - My chinicles! Although I wanted to do something with a play on "Chickenfoot" but so few of you would understand the reference - STILL, great show!

I dedicate this picture to Nod! :D This is my beardy/Filipino picture!

The writing that ensured THIS was the fan I bought - LOL