We had 二百十日=nihyaku-toka, 210th day after 立春 on the last day of August this year. It is said to represent a time when rice harvest and typhoon landfalls often come together, a warning to farmers. And this flower called 彼岸花, higanbana in Japanese or Lycoris radiata carries three names in English including hurricane lily, red spider lily and cluster-amaryllis. Mei-Shun cannot help hoping such beauty in nature be ever resonant with peaceful repose of our lives.
hope
After 1Y + 21Wks
StandardThank you so much, Dr. A. She gave Mei-Shun “Yes” phone call last night, telling her no problem was found in the latest blood sample. It is said no news is good news. Mei-Shun agrees with this old saying and makes it a rule not to think about the disease after her regular visit to the hospital. Please, ma chérè mère, let her do so every time.
+ 3Days
StandardIt makes Mei-Shun feel a kind of thrilled to change her regular schedule — she has seen Dr. A in Friday morning so far. However, it would be in Tuesday afternoon from now on. It has been a bit difficult to find convenient parking space before noon, while she knows it is quite easy to do after lunch time. Furthermore, since her “every other month” means 8 weeks precisely, it would see October 4th for the next appointment. If kept on Friday, it would have been on September 30th to tell a lie to dear followers.
Right Ceramics
StandardIt has come on Mei-Shun’s molar of the lower right jaw. Yes, on the right. Actually, she had her left jaw swollen by narcotic injection in June. She therefore had her right molar shaven instead of left last month — no nerve, no pain for this one since it decayed seriously 2 decades before. It is regretful that she did not take good care of her teeth in younger days. They say Streptococcus mutans infect in babyhood, yet such finding is based on accumulated sacrifice by millions of patients.
3rd Tooth
Standard… has come to cover Mei-Shun’s molar of the lower left jaw. Yes, the third one. It seems her occlusion is too powerful to accommodate ceramics. The first one came into a soft candy, a bit sticky one, which she chewed. The second one had been safe for just a week before it was found broken when she got up in a morning. Dr. M therefore chose a zirconia to replace the latter, saying so sorry. Well, the only wish for the patient is that her choice would be the last.
After 1Y + 12Wks
StandardIt is really nice to be able to forget your disease: Mei-Shun seems to be used to receive a “Yes” phone call from Dr. A. She rang Mei-Shun’s cellphone on 19th, Sunday. Kindly let her apologize for delayed up to this weblog. She hopes to keep such mindset as long as possible.
Scar Treatment
StandardMei-Shun’s operation scar is browning and fading little by little. Following advice from Dr. A, she has continued to spread on it a medical gel commercially available. K pharmaceutical says that it improves blood flow, facilitates metabolism, soothes inflammation to restore normalization power of skin. They recently have introduced another version which works as a concealer as well, yet employs only one color to her regret.
Japanese Culture@wkday
StandardHere is new pair of sneakers. Thank you so much, Shin. They say red underwear called 申赤 (=saru -aka, meaning monkey red) brings good fortune in 申年. “Saru” leads to “去る” in the same pronunciation, meaning to go away, expected for bad fortune. Well, Mei-Shun has some while loves red shoes as well.
Missing Leptin?
StandardMei-Shun read an interesting, while a little scary article. Researchers on obesity said that the bigger weight you lose, the easier you will regain it. It is caused by leptin, a hormone secreted from adipocytes, inhibits appetite and activates metabolism. Obese people lose a lot of weight along with leptin, therefore tortured by serious hunger and limited energy consumption in resting state all the time. The only consolation is that she has been plump for almost half her life so far, rather than obese.
A Professional
Standard… in diet Mei-Shun could be called actually. Since her junior high school days, she has repeated weight loss and gain. It never seems good for health, the more you lose and gain sugar bags all over the body as insuline spike does in blood. Her goal is to reach BMI 22 first of all, and keep it as long as possible — for her whole life, hopefully.

