Happy Purim! ^_^

Mood:


Hope the people who celebrate it (like me) had a very happy Purim! :D Purim is about celebrating Esther and how she saved the Jews of Persia from annihilation. We're supposed to be joyous and have fun. If you can drink, you're supposed to drink enough that you can't tell the difference between Mordechai (Esther's uncle and one of the hero's in the story) and Haman (the man who wanted to kill all the Jews). That's a lot to drink! :P You usually dress up, eat candy, listen to the story of Esther (the megillah), maybe watch a skit put on by the kids of the congregation, eat other desserts like Hamantashen, and shmooze. Hamantashen are triangular pastries with some sort of filling in the exposed middle. It's supposed to represent the shape of Haman's hat. You can put almost anything as a filling. Chocolate, strawberry jam, poppyseeds, apricot, etc. A very fun holiday! 


I didn't dress up this year, but I still had fun. We went to our synagogue's service. I liked how at the beginning the person leading it asked us how the story went, instead of just reading it. She did just read the last few lines, though. The kids' skit was horrible this year! Seemed almost like torture! You couldn't hear them, nothing was very original, and it seemed they weren't too enthusiastic about it. When I did it, we were thrilled to do it. Although, we were a little scared to do that in front of people. I was Esther. (Wahoo! I was happy to get the main role!) During ours, I was knocked out in the middle of Hebrew school (or Sunday school, can't remember which), by a rock. Then, I some how traveled through history and relived it all. It was actually fun to do! These kids didn't look like they were having fun. 


The adults kept passing around the alcohol and seemed a bit tipsy by the end, not really drunk enough, I think. ;) There was a lot of Hamantashen. Good stuff! Also, some brownies, dark chocolate malt balls, zucchini bread, pie, and something else. Every family got a bag of stuff. Usually it's filled with candy, nuts, masks, groggers (noise makers) and other things. There were people dressed as the characters in the story, as cats, as a peacock, fairies, ninjas, etc. Kind of funny to see. 


I tried to watch a good J- horror movie, but didn't find any online. (At least one I haven't watched before.) So, I started another J- drama called Bambino! It's hilarious! The music and the way they cut away dramatically added to the humor. (They obviously did these intentionally.) 


It's about a guy named Ban who wants to become an Italian chef. He's pretty good at his local restaurant, so he decides to study it and work at a special high end restaurant in Tokyo. He has a bit of a culture shock while walking the streets of Tokyo, since it's such an international city. He says while looking at everybody, "Is this really Tokyo?" :P When he gets to the door, there's a dramatic cut saying at the bottom Door to Adulthood. None of the other workers were very welcoming to him at first. In fact, the only friendly one after a while was Yona. Who's a bit of a womanizer and gets a little too friendly with everyone. But, he's the only one who believes in Ban. He's the capo cameriere, which is the head waiter. The first entree Ban is told to do is not good enough. When he makes it the way they want him to, he breaks the plate. He's then demoted to dishwasher. Almost everything in the restaurant is said in Italian, it's practically a requirement for the workers to know it. Ban doesn't know Italian. :D This paired up with the not being able to keep the pace of the kitchen, Ban has a meltdown, but keeps perseveres. 


The closing ceremony for the Olympics were interesting. It was pretty funny towards the end. Having people act like maple leaves, giant inflatable beavers, moose, mounties, cut outs of hockey players, etc. It was great how they poked fun at it. :D


Youtube:
Duty:

Sunrise (Again)

Mood:


By Orange Range. I still need to find more songs for my playlist. :D Maybe I'll get to it tomorrow. This is still one of my faves, so it's ok. ^_^ I got up a bit late again, because it was a similar night to the one before. -_- I got my results back from the JLPT, and I didn't pass. Not very many do on their first try. They're going to revamp the entire test for next year, but at least I have more of an inkling of what to expect. There's going to be 5 levels instead of 4. (5 being the easiest.) I've heard it's going to be even easier than 4 was for this past year. That's really good to hear! I'm still going to be working my butt off on it. They're going to have one more section this time. The listening is going to have extremely slow speakers. (The listening part was my lowest score, so this was also good to know.) Although, they're still ironing out the details. They haven't had this much of a change in the test before. The original test itself is my age. (Kind of funny to me.) I also watched the last of Distant Bonding, it was so sad. Pretty complicated story, but very well done. 

日本語

I finished the medical vocab and phrases worksheet. (The other useful expressions and at the hospital or drugstore sections.) 16. 風です。I have a cold.

17. インフルエンザです。

     I have the flu.

18. 二日酔いです。

     I have a hangover.

19. 胃がむかむかします。

     I'm sick to my stomach.

20. 胃がきりきりします。

     Sharp pain in his stomach.

21. 頭がくらくらします。

     I feel dizzy. (Yet another way to say it.)

22. 頭がずきずきします。

     My head is throbbing.

23. ちくちくします。

     I have a prickly pain.

24. ひりひりします。

     I have a burning pain. 

_____をください。

Please give me ______.

1. 頭痛薬 or zutsuuyaku: headache specific.

2. 鎮痛剤 or chintsuuzai: painkiller.

3. 睡眠薬 or suiminyaku: sleeping pill.

4. 解熱剤 or genetsuzai: antipyretic.

5. バンドエイド or bandoeido: band aid.

6. 目薬 or megusuri: eye drops.

7. 湿布 or shippu: compress.

8. うがい薬 or ugaigusuri: mouthwash.

Youtube:

Funny random Hetalia vid:

Kaito tries to do the radio exercise routine. (In Japan, they have an scheduled exercise program on the radio and TV everyday. I saw it on TV Japan. It's similar to what he's trying to do.)

Prussia's Blog (This time about Hong Kong, Austria and Gilbird :P)

Cute pasta song with Italy and South Italy from Hetalia:

This one has a lot of my fave animes in it! Awesome!

A raccoon and Beagle playing:

Being a 'ditz':

Awesome pics America from Hetalia:

Dr. Death:

Beagle puppies barking at each other:

Sakura

Mood:


By Ketsumeishi. I don't know much about the artist, but the song is beautiful and has a nice feel to it. Maybe I'll find other songs by them, that are just as cool. :D I slept in because it took me so long to fall asleep last night, and then I didn't want to get up. :P Funny how some nights are that way. I'm still looking for more music for my playlist. I found an awesome database on Japanese artist at Nippop, and joined it. It's so huge, I'm bound to find more for my playlist. ^_^ 


I watched a drama called Distant Bonding on TV Japan. I thought I wouldn't like it, but it was pretty good and interesting. It was about a man who was taken away from his mother in China and brought to Japan. He had a very hard time learning Japanese, and was a part of a class geared towards Chinese people trying to learn Japanese. (I think?) He became close friends with a girl in the class. While all this is going, he writes letters in Chinese to send to his mother. When he finds out where she is, he plans to see her and show her them. He makes it to a university and is famous. His adoptive (?) father has stroke at the end of the episode. Interesting to hear bits of Chinese and Japanese. 

日本語

I finished the names of diseases section, and started on the more useful phrases section. (This whole worksheet has been very interesting!) 緑内障 or ryokunaishou- glaucoma. 白血病 or hakketsubyou- leukemia. ぜんそく or zensoku- asthma. 便秘 or benpi- constipation. 火傷 or yakedo- burn. 水虫 or mizumushi- athlete's foot. 貧血 or hinketsu- anemia. 更年期障害 or kounenkishougai- a menopausal disorder. 

1. 熱があります。

   I have a fever.

2. ３８゜Ｃです。

   I have a fever of 38ﾟC.

3. アレルギーがあります。

   I have an allergy.

4. 食欲がありますせん。

   I don't have an appetite.

5. 咳がでます。

   I have a cough. 

6. くしゃみが出ます。

   I have been sneezing.

7. 鼻水が出ます。

   I have a runny nose.

8. 吐き気がします。

   I feel nauseous.

9. 寒気します。

   I have been having chills.

10. めまいがします。

   I feel dizzy.

11. 体がだるいです。

   I feel sluggish.

12. 下痢です。

   I have diarrhea. 

13. 便秘です。

   I'm constipated.

14. 痒いです。

   I feel itchy.

15. 虫歯です。

   I have bad teeth. 

Youtube:

Japan and his salt :D

The Spanish fandub of Spain's tomato song:

Prussia's blog (funny!):

Short, but funny Naruto clip:

Wo Ai Ni

Mood:


Or I Love You by Hitomi Takahashi feat. the Beat Crusaders on the Gintama soundtrack. Such a fun song! :D It's one of their ending songs. Well, the internet connection was out for most of the day. Luckily, we found what was wrong and fixed it. :P I printed off all of Alliance up until now. It's a pretty thick stack of papers. O.O I thought I'd run of ink or something. It was 63 pages. I did it to have a hard copy, because you never now when you could have a problem with your computer and/or flash drive. Also, it's another way for me to proof read it. Nice to actually see it too. ;) I wrote more of it, too. In my head it sounds and looks amazing, we'll see if I can truly put it to paper. 

日本語

I finished the rest of the body parts vocab, went over 2 medical expressions, and started the names of diseases section. 骨 or hone- bone. 肩 or kata- shoulder. 首 or kubi- neck. お腹 or onaka- stomach. 腕 or ude- arm. 手 or te- hand. 手首 or tekubi- wrist. 指 or yubi- fingers. 爪 or tsume- nails. 尻 or shiri- hip. 脚:足 or ashi- leg: foot. 爪先 or tsumasaki- toes. 

お腹が痛いです。

I have a pain in my stomach, tummy, abdomen, or bowel.

腰が痛いです。

I have a backache.

麻疹 or hashika- measles. 水疱瘡 or mizubousou- chicken pox. おたふく or otafuku- mumps. 百日咳 or hyakunichizeki- whooping cough. 破傷風 or hashoufuu- tetanus. アトピー or atopii- atopy. 潰瘍 or kaiyou- ulcer. 胃潰瘍 or ikaiyou- stomach ulcer. インフルエンザ or infuruenza- influenza. うつ病 or utsubyou- melancholy. 肩こり or katakori- stiff shoulder. 腰痛 or youtsuu- backache. 肝炎 or kanen- hepatitis. 肝硬変 or kankouhen- liver cirrhosis. 癌 or gan- cancer. 眼精疲労 or ganseihirou- eyestrain. 高血圧 or kouketsuatsu- high blood pressure. 虫歯 or mushiba- cavity. (Lit. tooth bug. :P Funny way of saying it, I guess it's true.) 口内炎 or kounaien- canker sore. 痔 or ji- hemorrhoid. 椎間板ヘルニア or tsuikanbanherunia- slipped disk. てんかん or tenkan- petit mal. 糖尿病 or tounyoubyou- diabetes. 日射病 or nisshabyou- sunstroke. 脳卒中 or nousotsuchuu- stroke. 白内障 or hakunaishou- cataract.

I made something from one of my older Japanese cookbooks for dinner. It's basically an udon stir fry. I put onions, celery, chicken, carrots, snap peas in along with the udon and some sake and soy sauce. Turned out pretty good! Interesting to have a thicker noodle in a stir fry than the ramen. The frozen udon only had directions in Japanese. I could read it enough to know what they were. (Although, it was pretty easy.) I could read the warning too. ^_^ 

Jiraiya's Theme

Mood:


On the first Naruto soundtrack. Kind of a funny song, just like he is. :D I love the taiko drums and the sound of the shishi odoshi (or 'deer chasers'). Sort of a traditional feel to it. I'm going to add more songs to my playlist, starting to get tired of the ones I have playing over and over. (I'll try to some how make the font for this new version bigger, but not as big as their large. Normal seems a bit small?) I'm falling a lot more normal and energized than I have been lately. Makes me happy! I wrote some more of Chapter 8, which I'm still on Zero's story. He seems to be becoming a very interesting character. A bit of an experiment too. ;) I'll probably bring it back to the present soon. I think there isn't going to be much left of this chapter. Hopefully people will like this one. Also, I finally got a chance to play my clarinet! It's been a while. It wasn't too bad considering. It'll probably take me a short time to get back to what I was at before. After that, I can improve it more if I keep it up. I'll be even better if I can either replace a screw or the ligature itself. (Doesn't hold reed too still anymore, since the screw is stripped.) Oh, and interesting thing is I have to get a sax ligature if I buy a new one. O.O My clarinet's weird that way.

The class visits a beach side boarding school that isn't completed yet. Sensei was asked to chaperon them, even though it was summer vacation. He calls the school, the School of Breaking Point. All the workers there are being pushed to their 'breaking' or 'boiling' point. The place is actually about to fall apart because of them. (Building reaching it's 'breaking' point. :P) Then he visits the town and finds out everyone's about to snap there, he starts naming the town after it too. I love how they debate things in this series. ^_^ 


Nozomu Itoshiki (sensei) has an older brother who's a doctor named Mikoto. Doctor's are also called sensei, so he get's confused when one of his brother's students ask about him. When put a certain way, his kanji means Death. So, Kafuka (she asked about Nozomu) starts calling him Dr. Death. O.O When it's normal, it means life. Sensei is going to have an arranged marriage meeting in his hometown, so he leaves for a while. Chiri, says she must stop it, and all the other girls join her at the Itoshiki mansion. They're all surprised at how wealthy his family is. They have a butler named Tokita, who shows them around. When they see sensei, he's in totally different attire (very casual shorts and t- shirt. He normally wears a yukata.) and has gelled his hair. He has 3 older brothers named Mikoto, Kei, and Enishi. Also, has a younger sister named Rin who's 17 and is a master in the Itoshiki School of Flower Arrangement with 3,000 students. 

日本語

I finished breaking down the kanji from last time, and compared them together. The last bit of the breakdown was: 夕 or yuu- night or evening. After comparing the whole thing, it didn't make a whole lot of sense. So, it was nice to review those kanji, which was basically all that was good for. I'm thinking of doing one more complex one, thinking maybe they think of it a bit differently. We'll see. Then, I found the meaning to one of the higher level kanji on my list. (Also, a way to double check to see if I have it in my vocab list.) 線 or sen- line (also telephone, railway), wire, beam. Next I looked at the medical vocab worksheet. I have a pain in my ________. is _________が痛いです。My _____itches. is ______が痒いです。頭 or atama- head. 目 or me- eyes. 瞼 or mabuta- eyelid. 歯 or ha- teeth. 耳 or mimi- ears. 耳たぶ or mimitabu- ear lobe. 鼻 or hana- nose. (Yes, it's the same as for flower.) 胸 or mune- chest or breast. 背中 or senaka- back. I know most of these, but it's good to go over them. :D 

In Kuroshitsuji or Black Butler, it was the 'rat' problem that was in the manga. They had a mouse problem in the mansion, and the 'rats' or Italian Mafia kidnapped Ciel. The anime had Sebastian's fight with the mafia look even cooler. The pic is when he's asking them for info on their boss. They give it to him thinking he'll let them live, but he jumps off the car and they fall to their deaths. O.O 

I played an extremely addicting game called Stonepunk. You have to launch the caveman as high and as far as you can in his makeshift 'stone age' car. As you go there's upgrades on the launcher, the car, how bouncy you can be, etc. The upgrades to the car are just a Pterodactyl, a hamster, and/ or a turtle strapped to it. One helps you go higher, one makes you go faster on the ground, and the other helps you go faster through water. I went so high in it, I was in space. O.O I crashed into meteors and UFO's up there. There were tripping when they made this game. :P

I also drew more of Gun. (My original character from Alliance.) Filled out his body a bit more, since his arms looked skinnier than what his bones should be. O.O I also made them a bit longer, made a better flame in the palm of his hand, drew out parts of his shoes, and inked his head. I might go over it again tomorrow. Then, it'll be time to draw his clothes, ink that and the rest of him, then color it. Shouldn't take me long. 

Youtube:

Sasuke and Itachi's story:

This crocodile's huge!:

Russia's (from Hetalia) character theme song:

Velocity 3000

Mood:


By Orange Range. Another awesome one by them!This time a bit of Jrock, but not as hard as Kirkirimai. Kind of a driving type sound. Even if you don't understand the vocals, they have a cool rhythm to their singing ! :D Since my internet connection was having issues yet again, I wasn't able to do very much. It was bizarre because it was running extremely slow, and then for most of the day it cut out totally. Of course, now it's fine! 


I made some onigiri (rice balls) and tamagoyaki (rolled omelet) for lunch. It's one of my fave lunches! The rice was cooked just right this time. Although, I let it cool too long for the last onigiri, and it fall apart. That's ok, I had 2 perfect ones. I used sweet gherkin pickles, umeboshi paste, and pastrami as fillings. I put way too much ume in, thinking I love the stuff, why not have as much as I can stuff in it? Big mistake! I've heard a little goes a long way with that stuff, but I didn't pay attention to that. :P The pastrami was interesting with it. Might use it again. And the gherkins are always good in it. At least, to me. I'll try some more fillings next time. This time for the tamagoyaki I used Splenda instead of sugar. It turned out fluffier and not as sweet. It was still pretty tasty, might be a better texture this way.

日本語

I was going to do more breaking down of complex kanji and looking at their radicals, but I wanted to find what the measurements for Japanese recipes were in English. I hope to eventually do the recipes from one of the Japanese websites. (Will help me learn the language even more!) They have not just Japanese food, but other types of cuisine as well. I saw a falafel recipe in there. That's how diverse it is! 匹 or hiki- counter for small animals. Example:煮干し　１０匹 is 10 (small crunchy) dried sardines. カップ or kappu- cup. (Self explanatory.) コ or ko- another type of counter of things. This one was hard to find info on. I think it's for counting spherical or oval things. Example: 卵　２コ is 2 eggs. Another one used it for counting peppers. 摘み or tsumami- a pinch (e.g. of salt.) Example: 塩   二つまみ is 2 pinches of salt. 弱 or jaku- little less than. Example: 牛乳  大さじ1弱 is A little less than 1 tablespoon (cow's) milk. 人分 or ninbu- portions or servings. Example: 4人分 is 4 servings. コ分 or kobun- sections or segments of something. Example: たまねぎ （粗みじん切り） ：1/4コ分 is onion (chopped coarse): 1/4 (inch?) thickness. かけ or kake- section of something. Example:大蒜 (すりおとす）1かけ分 is 1 section or clove of garlic minced. 

I also posted 4 pics to DA, links to them: Ishidoro Stone Lantern Koi More Koi Koi 3. Go check them out! :D 

Kirikirimai

Mood:


Or Mind Boggling by Orange Range. More of J- rock type song, a little harder sounding than a lot of their songs. They're a pretty dynamic group anyways. 


Yesterday I looked at a lot of the Jewish links. They were very interesting. I looked more into VJ or Virtual Jerusalem at: VJ It's a Jewish and Israeli news site. Has a ton of info on what's going on in the Jewish world. Also, has a forum. I'll check that out another time. Also has a webcam of the Western Wall. Cool! 


Another one is Aish at: Aish It's a huge Jewish database. Means fire in Hebrew. Has weekly torah readings and commentary, music, history, tips on dating, Shabbat info and resources, other holiday info, videos, a humor section, and so much more. O.O Awesome site! 


Also, visited Women of the Wall's site: WoW They're a group of women who are fighting for women to have full access to public prayer at the Western Wall. Also, to be a model of religious empowerment for young Jewish women and girls. Awesome cause, at least to me. 


Next was Taglit- Birthright Israel at: Birthright This is a program that allows young Jews ages 18- 26 to go on a free trip to Israel. They believe every Jew (that was born Jewish) has a birthright to go there. (I really want to go!) I tried last year, and they didn't tell me that I didn't get in until the day before we were supposed to go. I was so pissed! -_-" It's a 10 day trip, and you get to choose what trip organizers you would like to go with. I think my organizer wasn't really with it, so I'm thinking of reapplying through a different one. The next one is in the summer sometime between May and August depending on the organizer. Summer sounds like it will be way too hot, but I only have a year left to try for it.

日本語

Today, I looked at Japanese terms for recipe measurements. Mainly because I found an awesome database of Japanese recipes from Japan. I can read most of the ingredients, I just didn't understand the measurements too well. 枚 or mai- counter for flat objects or pieces. An example, 豚ロース肉（とんカツ用）　４枚 is 4 pieces of tonkatsu pork (thin pork loin cutlets). 少々 or shoushou- dash or small amount. Example: 塩　少々 is dash of salt. 適量 or tekiryou- as needed or proper quantity. Example: 小麦粉　適量 is flour (as needed). 個 or ko- counter for mil. units or individual. Example: 卵　２個 is 2 eggs. 本 or hon- counter for long cylindrical things. Example: パセリ（小）　１本 is 1 stalk parsley (small). 大さじ or oosaji- tablespoon. Example: オリーブ油･･･大さじ２ is olive oil... 2 tbsp. 小さじ or kosaji- teaspoon. Example: バター･･･小さじ１is butter... 1 tsp. I thought these were kind of cool to know. I have a few more terms to look at, and then I'll try to make these recipes. Should be fun! ^_^


Youtube:
Some funny scenes with Gintoki:

Cute cat! :3

Pretty Japanese Folk song:

Awesome art and music centered on Naruto. (Even if don't like the series, the song is beautiful and the art's amazing!):

Huge golfish!:

Albino crow O.O:

Asterisk- Full Version

Mood:


By Orange Range. Another awesome song by them! I think the first time I heard it was for the opening song of Bleach. That was back when our anime group was introducing the series. I only watched maybe 2 or 3 episodes. Just wasn't very into it at the time. :D Maybe someday I'll go back to it. 


Well, last night and tonight were awesome!  I feel like it was a very good day. The sun was shining brightly, it was beautiful! Plus, it was a bit warmer than it has been. Also, there was something a little scary last night. Hearing 3 meows close by, while the door was closed, I had my earplugs in, and it certainly didn't sound like Tasha. It sounded eerily like Shadow.  Shadow passed away a year ago this April. So, it felt pretty weird. Mom had a similar thing happen to her for a week a while ago, only it sounded like Shana. One of the first pets that passed away, about 10 years ago. I'm freaked out and happy about it at the same time. I don't believe in paranormal stuff, usually, but this was just too weird. 

日本語

I only got around to figuring out 1 of the radicals for 拶 or satsu.  And that was the top part that looks like 3 く's. (Apparently, it's not in my conversion table.) On: セン or sen. Kun: かわ or kawa. It means curving river or river. This comes from 川 or kawa, which means river. That one I know, and have seen many times. 

After all this, I decided to do another thing that will get me more used to the language. I turned most of my bookmark folders from English to Japanese. Don't know why I didn't do it before.  It's awesome to see, and it's staring at me constantly. ^_^ Then, I went a step further and changed most of the page names into Japanese, too. Did all this without having to look back at my vocab list! Then, oddly I found a site that had a ton of Japanese links. All of them look very helpful! It had dictionaries, place names, lessons, etc. for links. 

If that wasn't good enough, on that same site, they have a learning Yiddish and Hebrew section. Also, a general to in depth Judaism section! It was nuts!  2 of my worlds just collided! All these sections were ginormous! One of the links went on to another database of Jewish themed links. This one was even bigger.  I've found some pretty awesome links, and might share some of them later. 

Youtube:

A cute and funny smiling dog in Japan:

I can really relate to this one:

Really young kittens:

Onegai! Senorita

Mood: 


By Orange Range. (In English and Spanish: Please! Senorita.) This song's awesome, bringing bits of Spanish and Japanese together. Has a Latin flare too. Another good party song. :D I actually got a comment on my old site called Sugoi Japan! Although, it wasn't really about the content I had. They just wanted to know if I knew of a certain anime's name from the 90's. They didn't give me a good description. -_- Plus, I wasn't into it back then. :P So, I approved it thinking maybe someone will answer his question. I haven't updated that site in a very long time. I forget about it sometimes, but people still visit it. Maybe at some point I'll get back to it. It was basically my early research on Japan. XD

I wrote more of chapter 8. I'm really liking Zero's story so far! :P Also, I'm up to page 60! O.O That's awesome! And there's still so much more to the story. I still feel like I'm just setting it up. Also, I got a few comments on my pics. They apparently love them. 

Since I didn't like 2X2=Shinobuden too much, I decided to try another manga. This one's called Dear. It's pretty good so far. There's 3 different 'species' in this world, demons, humans, and Lycanthropes. (Lycanthropes are a mix between humans and demons.) The Lycanthropes seem to have gone extinct, except for one girl named Chiruha. (She's on the right in the pic.) She lives in a small house alone in the forest, with just a TV. So, she's constantly watching it, and learning about humans. She starts to get lonely and dreams of living with humans, and one day she decides to visit a nearby town. When she sees humans she gets excited and says it's just like on TV. She suddenly realizes she needs a place to stay. She bumps into a demon that starts attacking her and is saved by Kisara, who's a Vice Captain of the Punitive Force. (He's the one on the left.) He's visibly surprised when she says her name and what she is.

日本語

I started looking at the components of the first vocab word's kanji. It took me the whole time, and I still haven't totally finished with this word. It's 挨拶 or aisatsu, which means to greet or greetings. I broke down the first part: 挨. This by itself is ai. Which means near, close by, next to, towards, to lean on, push open. It has 10 strokes. (Strokes are how many 'strokes' or lines it takes to write it.) Next, I broke this kanji into its radicals: ム, one that apparently doesn't have a meaning and is just added to some words (going to look around some more to make sure.), and 矢. ム or mu. Has 2 strokes and means: I, myself, private, secret. 矢 or ya, shi. Means: arrow, dart, vow, swear. Has 5 strokes. The next part of the complex kanji is 拶 or satsu. It has 9 strokes. It means to be imminent, press, squeeze hard, force. I haven't broken this one down into radicals yet, and will do it tomorrow. :D

In Naruto Shippuden, they make it to Tonbei who's being taken care of by Sakura. Hotaru had asked to have the Forbidden jutsu in her back to help restore her clan. Tonbei says they have no choice but to destroy the jutsu. There's a way to remove it from her back without hurting her. Once it's out it'll lose its power. Hotaru doesn't want to give it up, and someone named Shiranami can help them. So, Naruto goes to find him, and gets a lead. If they can't find him, they'll have to extract it. (The pic has Hotaru on the left and Utakata on the right.)

I played a game called Bool- Bathroom Escape. Got most things on my own. I was thinking too hard on one of the codes. :P It was a bit of a pixel hunt too. I hate those! -_-" It was just ok overall. Then, I played Blosics 2. You have to try and knock the green blocks down with different sized balls. It's a lot harder than it sounds. I normally hate physics games, but this one was pretty fun. Also, if you let the red blocks fall you lose points. And later there's ice on the platforms, which makes the blocks slide faster and there are more red ones. Only got to about Level 4 before getting entirely bored with it, because the blocks had to be moved as slow as possible. It was like watching paint dry. XD

I drew more of Gun. I think his anatomy looks a lot better than the others. It seems to be getting easier drawing these characters. (Practice makes perfect?) I'm going to have him with one arm out holding a huge fireball and the other at his side. His legs are going to be spread a part a bit too. I have the base done, I just need to refine it, ink it, and color it. Wahoo! I'll probably draw a chibi version of his dragon form or something flying next to his head.  

Shinku no Fatarythm

Mood: 


By Kanon Wakeshima. It's very gothic sounding piece. I love her cello parts in this. Sounds deep and full of emotion. I didn't write yesterday or today, but I posted more pics of the trip on my DA at: deviantART I've already gotten so many faves for them. I'm sort of surprised by it. These pics are still of the Morikami. 

The first thing they talked about how something incredible can still be overshadowed by something else. They introduced Usui Kagerou. He's supposed to be the class rep with thinning hair and existence. Most people don't even notice him. Sometimes he appears as like a vapor. I feel sorry for this guy, because he tries so hard to be noticed. Next they introduced Fujiyoshi Harumi who's into drawing manga. She likes ears and is addicted to pairing. They discuss what constitutes a 'proper' manga format. Chiri believes that there are always just 4 parts. Intro, Rise, Climax, and End. Sensei disagrees and says there can be a painful 5th part, being of Darkness. 

日本語

I finished writing out the Kanji list. So, tomorrow I'll start looking at the vocab and comparing its Kanji to the list. If it's a 'complex' Kanji I'll look at the breakdown of it. This should help a great deal in drilling these words into my head. Later, I'll make more sentences with them, maybe even write out everyday things in Japanese. ^_^ Then, I'm going to look for more penpals and sites that will have Japanese chat where I can use a mic. That's not for a while though, I want to feel more confident before that. 

I started watching the anime version of Kuroshitsuji or Black Butler. I think it might actually be better than the manga. (The manga's really good too!) It has a more funnier and horror feel. I love horror so the more the better! :D The art is excellent, too! Even the scenery is great! It starts off with the Italian guest. The servants still mess up everything, and Sebastian saves them by 'magically' making things perfect again. Ciel played what seemed to be a harmless board game with the Italian. The Italian landed on a space saying you lost your legs, then another one saying you will have a fiery death. O.O Later, he gets trapped in the mansion, and thinks there's a ghost following him. When the servants find him, he's entirely twisted from the hips down and is dragging himself across the floor. After this, the guest gets stuffed in an oven, while Sebastian says, "Didn't you know? In England, we eat desserts that utilize plum pudding, meat tallow, and mince pie." O.O Bard didn't know the guest was burned alive in the oven and starts stoking it. While doing so, Sebastian asks Bard to get a new oven. This guest was going to sell off Ciel's factory. (But, isn't that a little excessive?)

I started Fairy Tail, too. I didn't think I would like it at the very beginning, but by the end I think it grew on me. :P Mages belong to guilds and work by commission. The most prestigious guild is Fairy Tail. There's a famous mage that uses fire named Salamander. Natsu gets terribly sick while in moving vehicles. (The guy in the pic.) He has a traveling companion (familiar?) that's a cat, named Happy, and it has special abilities. An imposter calling himself Salamander shows up in the town he's staying in. He's using a forbidden charm spell that lures women onto his ship, where he traps them, and turns them into his 'product'. (Human trafficking and prostitutes.) Lucy wants disparately to join Fairy Tail, and gets tricked by the fake. Lucy's a spirit mage and uses keys to summon spirits. The 'fake' guy throws them in the water. Natsu and Happy come in for the rescue. Happy flies Lucy to the area where the keys were thrown. Lucy summons Aquarius, and she causes the ship to crash back into the harbor. Natsu is from Fairy Tail. He's a fire mage, and is the real Salamander. He can eat spells and has a dragon like appearance and abilities. He's going to help Lucy get into Fairy Tail.

I played Escape from Tatami Room. Fun and a bit challenging. It was nice and long, too. Interesting to see a traditional Tatami room, complete with the fire pit, hook over it to hang the pot, and to see the ice rabbit. Which was made out of ice, 2 red marbles, and 2 leaves for the ears. Puzzles were interesting too. Also, played another Gazzyboy game called Cowboy Escape. Wasn't as long, or challenging. It was fun though. :D 

Well, yesterday was a Hadassah meeting. I came fully prepared this time to give the minutes, and they almost skipped it. I'm so fed up with them not caring about the minutes and wonder if they even think they need a Secretary. -_-" I'm thinking of resigning because of this. I'm not feeling appreciated. I'm going to email our President about it soon. Another thing, she was accusing me of signing up to do something, that I didn't. It was about making a website for them, which will have all the emails, calendars, etc. I thought it was a great idea when it was suggested, but I never said I'd do it. It's too much work, I think I need money to start up a site like that (which I don't have, and our group doesn't have much to fund it either), also I don't know some of the more technical stuff that goes along with it. This all made the situation feel worse. I'm afraid she'll get defensive, and it will 'burn bridges'. But, this is how I feel! Also, the group is truly lacking structure and organization. I've been a part of clubs before, and one of the main things you have to do is have some sort of order. We had an agenda this time, but no one followed it! Also, just having Mah Jong games every meeting is getting annoying. Especially because I don't play, we should have a lot more varied events. 

On a lighter note, we did some errands. There was such a beautiful sunset and we could see Mt. Ranier clearly. It was amazing! :D Also, we bought an Udon thing while we were out that I used to buy from an Asian grocer online while I was in the dorms. It was so good back then! It probably will be again! I'm thinking of looking back at that site, because they had amazing things. ;) Also, they're extremely cheap, and you get free gummies with each order. What could be better?

Ai No Mi (Dub Mix)

Mood: 

The Truth of Love by Minmi. Another awesome dance song.  Seems to me to have a bit of reggae thrown in. I had a really weird dream that freaked me out for a bit this morning. I haven't had too many of those lately. I always have nightmares and rather sad dreams, but some of them are a bit more 'surreal' . (For lack of a better word.) After a while, I always think those are interesting. They mess with me, but I guess the shock goes away or something.  I barely ever have happy feel good dreams. I started writing out descriptions to the buildings of my story. Or rather, I compiled all the main buildings in the story.  Haven't actually written their descriptions yet, since there were so many of them. Also, went over bits of the chapter I'm on. 

Ciel meets up with Madam Red and Lau. Madam Red is the former wife of Baron Barnett and works at the Royal London Hospital. Lau is the manager of the English branch of Chinese foreign trade. Grell Sutcliff is the Barnett butler. Ciel wants to solve the case of Jack the Ripper, because he's worried about his fiancée. They visit a pretty creepy, although oddly likable, undertaker to get info on the victims. After some coercing, he tells them there was only one thing that seemed out of place. That was every victim was missing an organ. He acts out how Jack the Ripper probably killed his victims.  It was rather gruesome, but the real Jack the Ripper was, too. He tells them only an expert would know how to do this. Sebastian goes out and compiles data on all the royal doctors, but finds all of them have an alibi. 

日本語

I wrote out more of the kanji list. I didn't get as many done as yesterday. (Thank goodness! It was WAY too many of them.) Stopped at 通 or too(rimasu). At some point, I'm going to go over the very beginning of the vocab and see what the 'root' (or I guess base?) kanji is for each one. Also, compare them. Just to get an even greater understanding of them. 

In this episode there's a measles epidemic. First they start debating whether to get them as a kid or an adult. Then, they somehow start talking about what psychological 'measles' are. The next one was about more points to something means things will be less 'prickly'. Like, if you were for one cause, people may berate you for it. But, if you're for many causes they're less likely to have a problem with you. Kafuka's example was if there's a love triangle, people have a harder time, then if there were more people. Realizing most of the girls he teaches have a crush on him, she starts throwing them at him saying make as many 'love' relationships as possible. He takes this a bit too far and makes 53 'love' relationships and comes back.  Chiri gets pissed and starts cutting him up. One of the last scenes has blood everywhere and Sensei's smashed up against a desk.  The new girl, just comes in like nothing's wrong and sits quietly at her desk.  Her name's Oora Kanako, and her nickname is Magnanimous girl. 

I played Gazzyboy's Pyramid Escape. It was nice, long, and challenging. Some parts were a bit frustrating. Had to have a little help with it. I also played another Gazzyboy escape game called Ancient Palace Escape. This one was much shorter, and didn't need as much help. 

I started drawing Gun from my story. Only got his head done. He should be an interesting character. I thought at first his head turned out weird, but the more I look at it, the more I like it. It's that way with most of drawings.