diagnosis: acute infectious bronchitis

yes, that is what i was told by my friendly, informative and Mike Ditka-looking nurse practitioner...yes, my nurse was a guy...don't be stereotyping my nurse thinking my nurse was a female that looked like the former football player/coach for the Chicago Bears.  i am now on day 3 of my antibiotics and assorted other medicines for my cough, fever, running nose (smelly feet).  i do feel much better, thanks for asking but... i will not be leaving for Japan tomorrow which means... no Takatsuki Jazz Festival.  no Fried Pride on saturday afternoon in the main concert hall next to the temple next to the big park on the grounds of a former castle. no SpitFunkunder the Hankyu Takatsuki train station.  no SharpHerd Big Band. no shamisen jazz by Keisho Ohno.

if, if, if i feel 100 percent better, i may try to leave on friday to catch the last day of the festival.  more than likely i will stay home or close to home and rest.  Justo Almario is playing at LACMA on friday night.  and there should be some kind of Cinco de Mayo event this weekend even though it is only the Tres and Cuatro de Mayo.  Noriko has two much-sought-after tickets to see her beloved Kobukuro (see March 14th posting) on the 14th so i would like to accompany her to that sure-to-be excellent/brilliant/memorable concert at Osaka-jo Hall which is next to Osaka-jo (castle).

officially i do not have to work until the 17th of May but that may change to the 19th.  

so where i have been since my last post...Philadelphia, back to LA, Philadelphia (slept in airport crew room), Las vegas, Philadelphia (once again slept in crew room) and back home to LA on monday the 28th.  i walked to the clinic on monday after a long night and flight home...my cough actually caused a passenger to move to another seat.  and since being told that my cough that if you remember starting way back on the 9th of April (check April 11th post) was not just a simple cough, i have been trying to stay inside.  today i ventured out to walk a few errands...dry cleaning, market, post office and haircut.  now i will be content to watch the Celtics and Hawks at The Garden in game 5 on tv.  and update my blog.  i will find some photos to add later.  i still have hundreds and hundreds of photos that i would like to share from Japan.  and i have some new nice ones from the Chester, PA area and from Las Vegas.

time to say goodbye to April, my cough and...

(if you make it all the way thru the video clip, try to listen to the comments of a guy standing near but not too near to me... kind of funny).

do something for a change

Earth 2008 is almost over.  as one of the speakers today or was it on sunday or possibly saturday where i heard it, "the earth doesn't need saving.  it has been here for millions of years.  but, we do need to stop hurting it so that future generations can enjoy it also.  or something like that.  i did receive a cool bumper sticker that says "do something for a change" but, i have no bumper to put it on.

two years without a car...sort of...i kind of had the use of friend's car from time to time for about 7 months but that...kind of...ended two months ago...i think.

today i was able to get my passport... i like my 1998 photo better.  it took two buses to get to the Federal building on Wilshire Boulevard near the 405.  from there i took i started walking toward my third Earth Day festival in 4 days.  on saturday i took the bus to Earth Day Festival at Polliwog Park. fun. on sunday, i skated to Santa Monica Pier for the Green Apple Festival.  fun.  and then took two buses to get home (brrrr, it was cold once the sun went down and waiting at the LAX transit center for my bus home).  back to today, the real Earth Day....yes, every day should be Earth Day.  after walking about a mile, i jumped on a bus heading up Wilshire to Western as the festival was going to be starting at noon and it was already 1130a.  Wilshire Boulevard was actually shut down for 5 blocks and on a tuesday.  there were vendors and more.  the more is why i went... the live music.  here are a few photos.  there were several wonderful groups but the highlight for me was Michael Franti who performed an acoustic set after accompanying Seane Corn's musical yoga session.

and more moments in Japan

back to more of my Japan

....to me

Keisuke Iwamoto with Family at Shukugawa.  they were celebrating his sister's birthday (4/2) and i asked him to play "happy birthday" for Noriko's birthday (3/31) which i also played for Aunty Akiko's birthday (4/9) and now for mine.

celebrating my birthday a week early with Noriko and her Otoosan last sunday at Banpaku Koen (Expo Park) with takoyaki, apple pie and tulips.

ありがとう。

some gifts from Noriko...what could they be?

this is where i went to celebrate my birthday with all these Earth-loving people.

Forever Fab ... Beatles' tribute band

Pretzel Logic ... Steely Dan tribute band

tony and i waiting on the bus home

sunlight thru the trees near my home, a nice way to end my birthday.

more of my Japan

how many photographers does it take...