今日の日曜日は、朝から夜まで、ナコスプロジェクトのカンファレンスがありました。
午前中はスカイプで、ハワイ州のチェイさんと、ナコス俳句ポエム「茶飲みトーク」を発展させる内容のお話しをしました。そのあと、メリーランド州のオリビアさんと、年末年始にナコスからメールでお出しするグリーティングカードを作りました。オリビアさんが撮ってくださった美しい写真を使って準備しています。
午後はサムさんのお家でのカンファレンスでした。最新技術を用いて作っているベースを解説してもらいました。といってもこの段階で見ても技術的に私には難解！！音楽の方も頑張ってもらわなければと、ハーモニカ練習の成果も見せてもらいました。ヴァイオリンとハーモニカで合わせて演奏出来る日を楽しみにしています。
もう一つ、ニュースがあります。今日、茨城のシェルターからサムさんの家に犬がやってきて家族になりました。賢くてとても良い子です。夜はサムさん手料理のお食事を楽しみました。ありがとう！
帰り道、藤沢駅でクリスマスツリーの写真も撮影しました。
今日は、サムさんのお宅で、サムさんの手作りの料理をご馳走になりながら、現在、進めている、新しいプロジェクトの進捗状況を確認しあいました。万全のセキュリティーシステム、超高速のデーターのやりとり。。。さすが、サムさんです。
Came back from Las Vegas about a week ago. One of the highlight was to attend the concert of one of my favorite singers Andrea Bocelli. The concert was at the MGM hotel in one of their concert arenas. The place was packed with people, and of no surprise Andrea wowed the crowd with his angelic, effervescent voice. Initially, I had thought his concert was missing a lot of his famous songs, but I don’t know if it was a ploy or not, he ended up coming back to the stage for 4 encores and ended up singing his iconic songs (i.e. “Time to Say Goodbye”) as if to tease the audience. Heather Headley another of my favorite singers was present too. I thought she stole a little of the spotlight from Andrea singing “Over the Rainbow”, and a duet with Andrea. She has an incredibly powerful voice. All in all, I had a great time – oh and Las Vegas was freezing!!!
A few years ago I made a choice to return to the medical field. Since then I have had some experiences that made me want to quit. Being hit, being spit on, punched in the face and chest, kicked, being yelled at by angry people using, well, not so nice language. under-appreciated, under paid, long hours, frustration and so on. While working with a patient today I thought seriously about quitting.
This patient was so frustrating and full of anger. He rudely demanded things be done, even things he could have done himself. He used belittling words while instructing me. He was just impossible to deal with. But I did realize something. He thanked me every time I was done helping him. I found out later he was in a lot of pain. I noticed his foot had swelled and it was red. He also had tiny blisters on his calf and his ankle was turning dark grey. He lost his other leg to diabetes a couple of years ago. He had called me to his room a few times not really needing me to do anything for him. Then it dawned on me. Maybe if I just sit with him for awhile he’ll feel better. So I did. Within a couple of minutes he began to snore. I felt like an idiot. All he wanted was for me to be by his side and I thought he was being a rude old man.
I made a choice a few years ago to take care of sick people and those in need. Today I almost gave up on my dream. But now I’m happy my feathers were ruffled. Today, I was inspired to run the race I remembered why I do what I do. I love helping people. Who am I to give up on my dream. Who am I to give up on people in need. I refuse to quit.
Last week I went to the surfing championships on the North Shore. The waves were over twenty feet high. In other words, they were about the size of a small building. Waves that size are impressive to look at but can be very dangerous. The professional surfers that rode the waves were extremely brave and possessed a high degree of skill. Even one mistake could mean a broken surf board or serious injury. In case something went wrong there were boats in the water to rescue the surfers. Yet, the waves were so unpredictable that one wave actually knocked one of the rescue swimmers off of his boat. As a spectator, the contest was amazing to watch. The weather was gorgeous with nothing but blue skies and lots of sunshine. People filled the beach to watch the show. Sometimes, the waves were so strong that they moved far up the beach. If people weren’t careful, then they got wet. Some people even had things washed away. All in all, I had a lot of fun but was really glad to be watching from dry land.
by colored leaves
and stones surrounding
my feelings swell
This is a continuation of the story I began yesterday about going to my neighborhood’s park to see the fall colors.There was a guy selling roasted potatoes in the park. The potatoes were surrounded by stones, and the fire roasted them all the way to their core. It was truly the embodiment of fall. As I stuffed my face, I was surrounded by the beautiful leaves.When I realized this, I felt like I, too, had melted into the fall scenery. My mood was greatly uplifted.
囲まれた石と紅葉で我れも高揚
かこまれた いし と もみじ で われ も こうよう
これは先日、紅葉を見に近所の公園に行った話の続きです。
公園には、石焼き芋を販売しているおじさんがいました。
芋は石に囲まれ、芯まで火が通った状態でした。
まさに、秋の味覚でした。
それを頬張る私は、たくさんの紅葉に囲まれていました。
そんなことに気付いた時、
私もこの秋の風景の一部に溶け込んだ気がしました。
私の気分は高揚していました。
– Oda Umi
– English by Chay Schiller
Most cultures include a smattering of homespun wisdom regarding the benefits of certain foods. In American culture, it is said that carrots are good for the eyes, roughage (like lettuce) is good for digestion, and chicken soup is good for illness. Let’s examine some Japanese parallels and see how they match up.
Konnyaku is thought of as a digestive aid in Japan. It is called the “broom for the intestines”; it is said that “konnyaku sweeps away the body’s sand” (蒟蒻は体の砂払い). Konnyaku is made by harvesting a portion of the root of an odd plant known as the Devil’s Tongue, and then converting it into jelly. Konnyaku is valued for its texture as well as health benefits, and is used as an ingredient in many dishes throughout east Asia. The interesting part about this “food” is that it doesn’t actually have much nutritional value – most of it consists of water and fibers that are nearly impossible to digest. However, it is beneficial for this very reason. The fibers drag across the walls of the intestines, functioning literally as brooms that sweep away toxins. Aside from this fiber, there is some protien, starch and minerals in Konnyaku.
In spite of Konnyaku not having very many calories, it tends to fill you up due to its gelatinous texture and bulky size. So, it is also used as a diet food by many who wish to lose weight. However, be careful not to overdo it. In 1970, the writer Ooya Souichi was advised by a friend to eat konnyaku as a means of reducing his weight. He decided to eat nothing but konnyaku, which resulted in death by malnutrition for the poor writer. The gelatinous konnyaku has also been a killer of unwary children and elderly people in the West who assumed they could swallow it whole as with typical gelatin .
In the west, we have identified lettuce as the portion of our diet that is good for digestion. This food is downright benign compared to the deceptive konnyaku, but the benefits we reap from it are also not as great. While konnyaku is processed and concentrated, lettuce remains in its uncondensed, natural form and few people eat as much lettuce as they would need to really benefit from the fiber, vitamins and minerals in the leaf. Salad, the only dish that really contains a significant amount of lettuce, is typically served with fatty cheese and dressings that temper the benefits with downsides. In contrast, konnyaku is versatile and comes in a variety of forms and tasty dishes in a quantity almost always large enough to provide some benefit.
That’s it for today. Next time, we’ll explore foods of the eyes found on each side of the Pacific: carrots and shijimi.
藤沢市に、グリーンライフ湘南という老人介護施設があります。
今日は、１２月の誕生会とクリスマスの集いということで、ヴァイオリン演奏に招かれました。
一人での訪問ですので、１時間のプログラム作りに工夫をしました。
クラシック音楽の小品、映画音楽、日本の歌を交互に演奏しました。
皆さん、楽しそうな表情で聞いてくださるので、どんどんどんどん弾きました。
気がつくと１時間１５分、弾き続けていました。２５曲ほど演奏しました。
喜んで頂けて嬉しかったです！
明るい職員の皆さんも元気な手拍子をありがとうございました！
Nakamura Michiko
病院ではカンファレンスというものがあります。
そこでは、患者の現在の状況や、
今後の見通しについて、それぞれの専門家が情報交換します。
私が働く病院では、
医者、看護師、理学療法士、作業療法士、言語聴覚士、
栄養士、社会福祉士、薬剤師などが集まり情報交換しています。
専門家同士の意見を統合し、最終的な判断を下すのは医師の役目です。
意見の統合がうまくいくと、患者の全体像が浮かび上がります。
その結果、治療方針やリハビリテーションの内容が明確化します。
逆に、意見がまとめられない場合や、
必要な情報収集が十分にされていない場合、
患者の治療方針はちぐはぐなものになってしまいます。
意見をまとめる医師の技量はもちろんですが、
それぞれの専門家たちの、正確な評価と判断が必要となります。
また、専門家同士が足並みを揃え、協調しなければ、
患者の生活を改善するための医療は提供できないのです。
ChanomiTalk 