Why a year-end party?

 

The year-end party at the Chinese restaurant was held last night.
I had a drink in Shinjuku with my seniors and juniors from the university's pathology department.
It was the first year-end party in four years because it was 2019.
This is the only one, since there is no year-end party at work this year, too, but it's fun to walk around the bustling downtown area at the end of the year.

The restaurant was quite popular and full of people.
Most of them were a large group of people, like at a holiday party.
Some people seemed to be having a good time, while others seemed to be having a less than perfect time.
We were just a group of people who liked to drink and talk.
We didn't exchange much information, and before we knew it, it was past 10 p.m. because everyone was talking about unimportant things.

The end-of-year party, which once disappeared due to the Corona disaster, seems to be making a comeback of sorts.
I don't really understand why there are year-end parties.
For more than 30 years since I started working, I have been drinking at the end of the year.
Why is it necessary to have such a party at this busy time of the year?
It may be that someone who likes to have a party leads the way, but there have also been times when people who don't drink much have been happy to plan the event for me.
A drinking party has always been one of the most enjoyable events for people.
We returned safely to the museum without being drenched in alcohol. It was a pity that it was cloudy and we could not see the stars again, but we were lucky that there were no problems on the train and no falls while walking.
However, I slept less than usual today and my head hurts a little.
Be careful not to drink too much.

How should I develop?

I turned 60 today.
My wife and son celebrated with me on the way out the door this morning.
I was surprised because I thought today would be a normal morning since they had hosted a dinner party for me last weekend.

I was surprised that today is my 60th birthday.
I have lived a long time.
First of all, I would like to thank my parents for giving birth to me and raising me, my wife, and everyone who has been a part of my life.
Of course I would also like to thank the readers of this blog for their support.

I have no health problems at the moment, except for the high blood pressure medication I take, back pain, and the fact that I am still working on my back teeth.
Unless a missile from another country falls on me, or I get in a car accident, or I run into a street riot, I should be able to live for some time yet.

Aging does not mean approaching death.
If you were supposed to die at the age of 80, that would be so, but since everyone's life expectancy is unique, it would be more appropriate to say that you survived another year.
But there are not that many years left, and there is no such thing as living another round.

It is up to me to make the most of this extended life.
My two children have become independent, so I can leave them alone.
It is enough if I live faithfully with my wife, without betraying each other.
The rest is my role in society, which is called "late life".
Fortunately or unfortunately, I am not in a pivotal position that would make me a latecomer, but that does not mean that I have done nothing yet.
I am working today and will continue to work tomorrow and for some time to come.
Am I alone in such a life?
It's not about the meaning of existence, but is there any part of it that people can use?

I work by covering the decline of my processing capacity with experience.
I think one of the ways to leave that experience to the next generation has been done with the publication of the second edition of my book.
The other part is how to create a better working environment for pathologists.
I think my next life's mission will be to live with these thoughts in mind.

Even if you want to work hard, you cannot work as hard as young people do, so it is good to seek a different way of working hard.
In a relaxed way of living.

My world does not revolve around me all by itself

When I came home last night, I found a wreath my wife had made hanging on the gate.
I felt the time fly by as I thought about the preparations for Christmas, but I suspect it is not just a matter of age.
I got a lot of work done yesterday.
It was good that I did not have much routine work to do.
I was also able to make progress on administrative work and conference-related tasks with the help of others.
The revised second edition is now in the final stages of publication and I am nervous.
It is a medical book in a minor field, so it will not sell as well, but I hope it will sell as well as the first edition.

In the evening I have dinner with a friend from medical school.
I thought we might go to a bar somewhere, but he suggested Nakamuraya in Shinjuku, where we reminisced over beer and oyster curry.
I hadn't seen him for more than 30 years since I left university, but I felt comfortable talking to him because we had kept in touch through social networking sites.
And although he does not read my blog these days, he was once an avid reader of this blog and often commented on it.
Once, when I was whining about not being able to continue blogging, he encouraged me by saying "continuity is strength" and helped me get through a crisis. Day, a week after returning to (almost) daily updates 04/03/2017)
There was so much I wanted to talk about, but we both had the next day, so we broke up easily, and if you really want to talk, you can put it in the messenger or whatever.

Not that there was anything big going on, but everyone was very important.
The fact that everything went smoothly (or so it seemed) was not due to my own efforts alone.
I may be the star of my own life, but at least I am not running the show alone, I think after one night.

When did the world become a means to an end?

The sun rises around 6:30 a.m. and it's getting harder and harder to get up.
I have a runny nose, but I'm not sure if it's from last night's cold or if I caught it from my son who stayed overnight.
I put on a mask and got on the train, and by the time I got to the hospital it was better.
I heard that the cold that I had until yesterday was getting better.
I am relieved because I don't want it to get too cold too soon.

I would like to stay home except for work, but that is not going to happen.
I have to commute to work and I have to go shopping.
I have to use public transportation or a car to get around, but it seems that more and more people around me are rough around the edges.
Perhaps I make others feel that way in no small way, so I want to be careful.
Is it because of my biological decline that I feel this way, or is it because of the transformation of society?

What I feel most strongly about the transformation of society is the growing inequality of money.
I feel that this undermines people's minds and makes their hearts rough.
It is inevitable that money is the most important thing in life, but people no longer choose the means to get it.

It has been a long time since classic fraud and thievery became oleore fraud and appointment robbery.
When I see or hear about special scams committed by organizations like companies, I wish they would work hard at a legitimate job to pay for it, but I guess that is not possible.
Recently, there has been a problem of women prostituting themselves in host clubs to pay off their debts, which also seems to be a kind of scam.

Well, in some countries, stolen crypto assets are being used to fund huge amounts of money for missile development, so perhaps the disappearance of ethical values is already happening all over the world.
Considering the colonial rule that Britain and other European countries once exercised over the world, it may be that this was also an extremely irrational grab for wealth, and that the use of any means to get money has been going on for a long time.

A Sense of Contribution to the Nation as Reflected in North Korea's Missile Launch

The mornings are similar.
The social situation is the same, there's nothing to talk about domestically, the situation in Palestine and Gaza is in a stalemate, and I don't know what's going on in Ukraine.
I feel that Putin and Xi Jinping are not as exposed in the media as they used to be, is it because they are actually hiding in the shadows or because of NHK?

I wanted to check out the third school right away, but then I decided to take the night off to cool off because I wasn't sure what to do about the lesion that is so difficult to interpret.
Last night, just as the evening drama was starting, it was interrupted by a J-Alert at 10:46 p.m. due to a North Korean missile launch.
It was a good nuisance, and I couldn't sleep for a while because my eyes were so glassy.
I wonder when the replay will be on.

At that time, a picture of a North Korean crowd applauding and banzaiing was broadcast.
I wondered how those people felt when they did that.
If I were in Japan, I would think I could never imitate them, but there (in North Korea) they must be doing it very hard and risking their lives.

The ruler or rulers and the rest of the people.
What is the difference?
What you can't or won't do, you make others do.
This may be one of the schemes of the position of the ruler and the ruled, but in the extreme case it is to make them kill each other as a war.
What kind of mindset does one have when working for a master (i.e., ruler)?
How do warriors in the Warring States period, soldiers sent to fight in two world wars, or enthusiastic people in North Korea feel when they go there and do their "work"?

I do not have a strong sense of belonging to an organization (my current employer).
When I was young, I was proud of the pathology department at my university and tried my best to live up to its name.
However, as I moved away from there, my sense of belonging to the department diminished considerably.
As I changed jobs several times, I began to feel that the other side did not think as much of me as I thought they did, because of the dry way they cut ties with me as soon as I left.
Now I only feel a loose relationship with them as a place where I can simply be of service to patients as a pathologist.
Of course, I do what I can as a member of the organization because I do not want to cause trouble for my employer.
I should be thankful that I have the freedom to think objectively about how I can contribute to the nation and the organization as a member.

Happy emails make me happy.

The cold weather is finally in full swing and the morning temperature is 10 degrees Celsius.
It's good that we still have the sun when we go out now, but it will still be dark in a month, which makes me wonder what the future holds.
The Tokaido Line was delayed, and the platform of the down line at Ofuna Station was crowded with people.
I was worried that someone might fall onto the platform, but the down line came soon after we left the station, so I guess it would be okay.
The rush to work, which was eased after the Corona disaster, is now the same as before.
Is it natural that the economy is improving and people are more active?
On the other hand, it is a bit difficult for those of us whose physical strength for commuting is declining.

Yesterday I received an email from the person in charge of the second edition of my book, with a PDF of the third edition.
On the cover letter,

　　"We will finish this week. We are in the final stages!

I was very happy to see a rare "! mark, which was unusual for him.
It made me realize that publishing a book is not something I can do alone.

Almost a year ago, I was approached about the second edition of the book, and the first person in charge of the book seemed to have given up and was replaced by the current person in charge in September.
I had never seen him before, not even online, but he overcame my request for a draft without any difficulty and sent me one composition draft after another at a furious pace, and it was over in a flash.
The emails were also very emotionless, which made us very happy.

But in the end

"We are very sorry for the short time frame.
I would be very grateful if you could give me your instructions by Wednesday the 22nd.

I'm not happy about this, but it's something I have to do anyway, so I'm going to stop blogging now and work a little harder after this.

Don't let alcohol get to you.

The sky was completely covered with rain clouds.
The rain that had been falling since midnight last night continued to fall, but it had just stopped when I slipped into the station, so I didn't have to unfold my umbrella to save my life.

Last night, several of my friends of pathologist group met in Shinbashi and drank quite a bit.
Unlike Ginza, Shinbashi is a businessman's town, and we drank at a beer hall where someone is said to be good at pouring beer.
We talked about this and that while enjoying the bubbles that lived up to their reputation.
It was not so much an exchange of information, but we talked about what this person had done and what he was doing, and we learned some unexpected and useful things.
If it got too much, it would get uncomfortable, so we would stop at an appropriate point and change the subject.
Even when they were drunk, they were able to control their drinking, so I could drink with peace of mind.

As you get older, you become more aware of your alcohol limit.
When I was younger, I didn't know, so I made a lot of mistakes.
It's easier said than done to say, "Drink, but don't get drunk.
Last night, I made it home safely, but I regretted the two extra drinks I had after the last order was called.

Alcohol is only good when it tastes good, and it is even more poisonous when you are intoxicated or drowsy.
Whether you drink out or at home, you must be careful.
I am sure that many places will have year-end parties after Corona, but I would like to spend the year-end and New Year's holidays with caution, as it has been three years since I last drank outside.
I'm not going to have a drinking party at work this year either, because I don't want anything to happen to me.