9:40 PM Edit:
I've been having a lot of anxiety about everything that's happened--the earthquake, the thousands dead and thousands more missing, the people cramped and freezing in evacuation centers or elsewhere, with hardly anything to eat. And now the evacuation thing.
Earlier today, Koko and I had started talking about going to Okinawa for a week or two and seeing what develops up north. If it gets really bad, we're going to Singapore. That's sort of the plan for now.
But even if we leave, what about all the SGI members and people that I've met here--all my new friends? And all the other people that I don't know? Where will they go? What will they do? What will happen if they can't leave?
I still want to chant about our decision. (Well, it's one of two back-up plans at this point.) I feel uneasy about the situation, about coming up with ideas from only the brain, without any guidance from faith. I'm going to chant that the nuclear reactor cools down and stops what posing a risk to human health and life, and that the forecasted winds blow any potential nuclear cloud into the ocean instead of inland toward Tokyo and other inhabited areas.
(I know that sea animals and ocean life would be affected, but better them than humans. And I know that if people eat those animals, they might get sick too. So really, I'm chanting for the reactor to stop.)
We had been reading the news obsessively all day, sitting in front of our computers and phones and getting up only to eat or use the bathroom. (It's been like this since Friday night, pretty much.) So we took a break around 7 pm. Then, two hours later, when we checked the news again, the radiation levels had decreased. Whew.
On another note-
For dinner, I made some iodine- and alkaline-rich foods (take that, radioactive particles!): udon noodle soup with miso and some kind of bonito or other fish seasoning, seaweed, some kind of green leafy veggies and cod fish. Ok, so the noodles didn't add any protective factor other than some filling (and tasty) starch. Pretty good, if I do say so myself. I'd say it was Japanese-Chinese fusion.
Apparently, Japanese word for haddock and for cod are the same: tara. So I'm not sure which I got, because the fishmongers at Peacock supermarket pointed me toward the tara.
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5:35 PM Edit:
A friend posted on his Facebook, "As a precaution, a few media sources have been saying to take a shower immediately if you have been outside and place your clothes in a vinyl bag. Seriously---what do you do with the clothes after that? I guess when this is all over, I'm getting a new wardrobe."
It's an attempt at humor, obviously, and it worked. I literally laughed out loud at that (maybe because I not-so-secretly want a new wardrobe.)
But in all seriousness, I don't think many of the precautions we could and should be taking, if a little inconvenient, have an adverse effect. You have to take a shower anyway; might as well do it as soon as you get home. Koko insisted that we did so after coming back from the groceries; he didn't say anything about vinyl, though.
Fine, put the clothes in vinyl instead of a laundry bag. Eat more of the foods that supposedly combat radiation sickness (ie, foods that are alkaline or rich in iodine) like dark leafy greens and cod that are good for you anyway.
The problematic thing is not going out for work and school, which you may not have a choice in, especially if you're cash-strapped and work at a job with no benefits and no sick days. But maybe it's a good time to take a vacation in the south or elsewhere. Maybe it's not so simple, but it might be completely different depending on how you look at it.
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We went out around 11:30 AM to buy food at the Peacock Daimaru Matsuzakaya (it's the branch of a supermarket chain near me), and surprisingly, they still had bread. As I might have mentioned previously, the other supermarkets and konbinis (convenience stores) near us were all sold out of bread, essentials and quick (re-)heat foods. I think they bake on the premises (ie, don't have to rely on delivery trucks), so their supplies are good. A lot of the bread is in the 100-yen or so range, but the 300+ yen breads are all gone.
I've been having a lot of anxiety about everything that's happened--the earthquake, the thousands dead and thousands more missing, the people cramped and freezing in evacuation centers or elsewhere, with hardly anything to eat. And now the evacuation thing.
Earlier today, Koko and I had started talking about going to Okinawa for a week or two and seeing what develops up north. If it gets really bad, we're going to Singapore. That's sort of the plan for now.
But even if we leave, what about all the SGI members and people that I've met here--all my new friends? And all the other people that I don't know? Where will they go? What will they do? What will happen if they can't leave?
I still want to chant about our decision. (Well, it's one of two back-up plans at this point.) I feel uneasy about the situation, about coming up with ideas from only the brain, without any guidance from faith. I'm going to chant that the nuclear reactor cools down and stops what posing a risk to human health and life, and that the forecasted winds blow any potential nuclear cloud into the ocean instead of inland toward Tokyo and other inhabited areas.
(I know that sea animals and ocean life would be affected, but better them than humans. And I know that if people eat those animals, they might get sick too. So really, I'm chanting for the reactor to stop.)
We had been reading the news obsessively all day, sitting in front of our computers and phones and getting up only to eat or use the bathroom. (It's been like this since Friday night, pretty much.) So we took a break around 7 pm. Then, two hours later, when we checked the news again, the radiation levels had decreased. Whew.
On another note-
For dinner, I made some iodine- and alkaline-rich foods (take that, radioactive particles!): udon noodle soup with miso and some kind of bonito or other fish seasoning, seaweed, some kind of green leafy veggies and cod fish. Ok, so the noodles didn't add any protective factor other than some filling (and tasty) starch. Pretty good, if I do say so myself. I'd say it was Japanese-Chinese fusion.
Apparently, Japanese word for haddock and for cod are the same: tara. So I'm not sure which I got, because the fishmongers at Peacock supermarket pointed me toward the tara.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5:35 PM Edit:
A friend posted on his Facebook, "As a precaution, a few media sources have been saying to take a shower immediately if you have been outside and place your clothes in a vinyl bag. Seriously---what do you do with the clothes after that? I guess when this is all over, I'm getting a new wardrobe."
It's an attempt at humor, obviously, and it worked. I literally laughed out loud at that (maybe because I not-so-secretly want a new wardrobe.)
But in all seriousness, I don't think many of the precautions we could and should be taking, if a little inconvenient, have an adverse effect. You have to take a shower anyway; might as well do it as soon as you get home. Koko insisted that we did so after coming back from the groceries; he didn't say anything about vinyl, though.
Fine, put the clothes in vinyl instead of a laundry bag. Eat more of the foods that supposedly combat radiation sickness (ie, foods that are alkaline or rich in iodine) like dark leafy greens and cod that are good for you anyway.
The problematic thing is not going out for work and school, which you may not have a choice in, especially if you're cash-strapped and work at a job with no benefits and no sick days. But maybe it's a good time to take a vacation in the south or elsewhere. Maybe it's not so simple, but it might be completely different depending on how you look at it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We went out around 11:30 AM to buy food at the Peacock Daimaru Matsuzakaya (it's the branch of a supermarket chain near me), and surprisingly, they still had bread. As I might have mentioned previously, the other supermarkets and konbinis (convenience stores) near us were all sold out of bread, essentials and quick (re-)heat foods. I think they bake on the premises (ie, don't have to rely on delivery trucks), so their supplies are good. A lot of the bread is in the 100-yen or so range, but the 300+ yen breads are all gone.
Also, a lot of their perishables are on sale, which might be good if you're not going out for a few days. I'm hearing from friends and friends of friends from different parts of Tokyo that there are people lining up outside 24-hour supermarkets to buy toilet paper, eggs, bread, milk, etc. I've heard that there is no bottled water on the shelves, though I haven't checked myself, because we've been buying juice (tastier, and more nutrients).
Queen's Isetan, an upscale supermarket chain and subsidiary of the company that also owns the Isetan high-end department stores, have closed all its stores until further notice, to conserve electricity. I think it's also partly because, with limited train service, the employees can't get to and from work very easily. And by that, I mean that they probably have to spend at least 3-5 hours a day commuting. I think they may also be closed because they've sold all the essentials that people would want to buy right now, and the remaining items are expensive non-essentials.
In other news, low levels of radioactive materials have been detected in the air in the Tokyo metro area.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/201
This is not good considering we are 170 miles from the nuclear reactors, and the government had only ordered the evacuation of residents of a 12-mile radius. The remaining residents in the 19-mile radius are to stay indoors. I hope everyone has tape and materials to seal their windows and doors, and potassium iodine to block the radioactive iodine from entering and taking refuge in their thyroids (this is what causes thyroid cancer after radiation exposure).
From the article:
"Weather forecasts for Fukushima were for snow and wind from the northeast Tuesday evening, blowing southwest toward Tokyo, then shifting and blowing west out to sea. That's important because it shows which direction a possible nuclear cloud might blow."
We went out to buy food earlier but will be indoors for for awhile. Too bad we don't have any duct tape to seal the doors and windows. >_<
Koko was on the phone with his higher-ups, and it looks possible that we may move to a different project, in Singapore. We're not sure yet. I'm not sure when we find out, but things have been changing very quickly.
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