A Real Nurse And A Pretender

Yesterday I had gotten a message from Kuniko about being sick – she went to the doctor and they took care of her. This morning I went to Osaka to see if there was anything I could do to help out.

Kuniko is a little isolated in Osaka – there isn’t really anyone there to take care of her if something happens. When I got there she was up and about, but she looked exhausted. I tucked her into bed and busted out my sick supplies – Amino Suppli (the Japanese equivalent of Gatorade), orange juice, throat drops, EmergenC packets, and some chicken noodle soup.

Once Kuniko started drinking the Amino Suppli she started feeling much better. I know how that feels – I remember a horrible weekend in the dorms of Fresno State. I got a couple of bottles of Gatorade in me and I felt like I had been born again.

Since she was feeling better I cooked up some lunch for her, and we sat around eating soup and sandwiches. We spent part of the day just napping on the futon together.

Kuniko’s sister called, and she was in Okayama, and a little concerned about her. She had some extra time so she came over on the Shinkansen. It was the first time that I’ve met a member of Kuniko’s family. Her sister, Tomoko, was really nice. It was her first visit to Kuniko’s apartment and so we sat around and admired the place and talked about her job in Okayama. She is a school nurse for a high school there. I was relieved to hear that – now we had a professional on hand to take care of Kuniko.

We went out for ramen and Kuniko had no problem with the spicy noodles, so it looks like things are getting better fast. I got a few pictures of Tomoko – she was fun to hang out with and we practiced each other’s language on each other.

After dinner I left Kuniko in Tomoko’s capable hands and headed home. Once I got to Akashi I decided to drop in at Donkey and throw a few darts. There were some dart veterans there, and the bar’s top player and I played a couple of quick games of baseball. He was really good – he beat me both games with very little effort. I’m hoping that the master won’t bug me about joining the team now

Once I got home I had a little pineapple for dessert, and now I’m getting ready for bed. Tomorrow is the mystery trip to supposedly see monkeys. Whatever happens, it should be a good story.