... as it always does around this time of year. Last Thursday saw the first snowfall on Tokachi Dake in the center of Hokkaido. The Hokkaido Shimbun sent up their helicopter to take some footage and you can watch it as this link:
https://www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/movies/detail/6275976206001
And yes, the Hokkaido Shimbun has it's very own helicopter. Makes the Irish Times look like a provincial rag.
Last night no after effects; this morning didn't feel too bad - a bit woolly in the head but that tends to be par for the course on a Monday morning. Cian was fine, but we gave him the day off school anyway. That's the sort of magnanimous, easy-going parents we are. Or rather I am. Sanae is Japanese and there is no equivalent of 'magnanimous' in her language. While 'easy going' refers to the engine performance of your average Toyota. So, I went up to the university and did the usual round of first-day-of-the-week email responses to student queries "The textbook is sold out. What should I do?" - dare I say it, order another one. "I would like my course registration cancelled as I am quitting the university next March". And all of it in Japanese. As the morning rolled on my magnanimity rapidly ran dry.
By lunch time I had the chills, my muscles ached and standing up was making me dizzy. So I self diagnosed (I am a doctor, ahem, after all), 'vaccine after effect' and gave myself the rest of the day off. Back home, Cian was fine, albeit bored. Seeing my distressed condition, he magnanimously washed up his own lunch dishes and left me do mine.
As I write this, I am feeling a tad feverish; there is a bit of rosy glow to the cheeks and I can't stand to watch Netflix. Classic symptoms. Tomorrow Cian will definitely go to school, but I may have to extend my own magnanimity to another day at home.
