my poor knees :(

So I started going for a walk this afternoon because I didn't have anything else to do, and I got about a block away before my knees started hurting. A lot. I ended up just going to the library and wandering around in there and then reading the one thing I found in English - a weekly newspaper. It was kind of boring, since I'd already read all the news that was in it (AP articles) and I didn't know what the editorials were talking about. I did get to read Dilbert and Shoe. And I saw that the Cubs are 2.5 games out of first (and in last place) and the Sox are only half a game out of first and are tied for second place. Then I walked back. My knees still hurt. I went to the school doctor about them in the fall, and she just gave me a referral to a knee specialist... not anything useful. And in Chicago the doctor told me that joint pain is hard to diagnose because it comes and goes... which is true. They felt fine for a while and now they are hurting again. And I haven't been riding my bike very much. Maybe it has something to do with the weather, it is supposed to rain tomorrow.

I am beginning to plan two more trips - there are three scenic views of Japan. I already went to one of them (the floating shrine at Miyajima) and I think the other two are good places to try to go. One is north of Tokyo by two and a half hours on the shinkansen and the other is more like 6 hours away, its as far south as Kyoto and on the other side of the island. But I'm not sure when I will.