Ootnaboot on Christmas Eve Day

I'm back from my Christmas eve jaunt to the embassy and hospital.

 

The embassy took longer than expected and I got a lot done at the hospital, so all worked out really well. I even had time to take a nice long walk down to the Harajuku area from the embassy in the cool sun of December. I bought a couple things for Christmas and then caught the trains to the hospital.

 

I arrived with over an hour to wait, but as I wanted more done than originally planned, I asked for a full blood workup as well. They took my blood in a short time, with no more than a 5 minute wait (good for an unexpected request), and then up to wait for about 20 minutes for the ultrasound. They called me in early in fact, and did a lot more than expected. I was thoroughly enjoying a really cute nurse with a gorgeous voice (under a face mask... but those eyes!) guide my breathing as she ran the gelled ultrasound ... thingamajig way down low over my lower abs on both sides, then over my back, and down the sides as well to check on everything as I had requested at that time (more than planned). She even called in the specialist to look at the area in case she missed anything so it was really comprehensive. When I left, I told her she has a beautiful voice and wished her a very merry Christmas and a happy new year (in Japanese). She laughed, blushed, and wished me the same back. This is one of the very reasons why I enjoy going to the hospital: I get to chat and flirt with the cute nurses and technicians *wink*.

 

As soon as I was done, I went down to the original doctor and they called me in within 5 minutes again. He sat me down and told me that there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with any of my blood tests, that they found NOTHING in the ultrasound unusual at all, that there is no buildup of "sludge" that might be the presence of the beginning of stones, and absolutely no herniated zones anywhere down there. Nothing. I'm as "healthy as a horse".

 

He suggested that maybe I strained the muscle, or pulled a ligament under the muscle that connects the muscle to the bones if I was working out that hard down there, and then with the pain, maybe I naturally protected the area, twisted a bit and now I have a sore back from that. It makes sense.

 

Doc suggested I vsit an orthopedic surgeon so that they can look to see if the muscle or ligaments have been damaged. And as he knows that it takes along time to build muscle, but it falls away very quickly, he suggested I might like to do that as soon as possible. So I guess I'll take off Monday morning and go and sit. You can't make appointments for the first visit to a new doctor, and they aren't taking referrals from other doctors. I was told that they are VERY busy so to expect a long wait. I can do that.

 

No pain meds offered, none requested, and that's fine. I don't want to take drugs just for that. I have to take off longer I guess, from the gym, but maybe there are things I CAN do there. Anyway, from the 29th until the 4th the gym is closed so I won't be able to go anyway.

 

I was hungry, so I asked the cute, friendly woman at the billing desk (3,000 yen for all of the stuff today - really cheap!) if there were any "shokudo" places around to eat. She tld me that the hospital has one, but it isn't good. I asked her about outside, and she directed me to an area with a variety of restaurants. I found one, had a fantastic lunch and read my book for an hour before heading back home.

 

I guess I'll go to my trunkroom, get a different pair of handlebars, and switch mikan-chan (the name I have given my aluminum bike) around and change the specs a little bit. Something to do.

 

Tonight it's off to the local shrine to sneak in some candle burning, sake sipping, mikan munching, and prayer to The Universe. It's a little hard to do when there is a giant spotlight pointed on the shrine, but I'll make out. I just have to be careful of my back when I do *wink*.

 

Merry Christmas!

I love you!!

Cam

P.S. Here is a GREAT creative commons Copyright (free for download, use, and distribution) Christmas music album from "Frozen Christmas". Grab it if you like, and throw it onto your music players for the festive seasons! (It is what I used for my latest video).

Attachment: Frozen Silence Christmas Carols.zip