I love blueberries, and putting them in a pie makes the whole thing awesome!
(This was actually yesterday, but it can still be celebrated!) For some reason, I used to have a hard time thinking that you could make a pie with blueberries. Like it sounded too indulgent to me, and couldn't possibly be true.
More indulgent than cherry pie. It was a similar thing with mince meat pie. I guess it was with things I wouldn't expect in a pie...I managed to get my 2 2-mile walks a day in for about a week. Towards the last few my shoes and socks essentially died on me.
My shoes lost their cushion, the heel part of the soles are making deep holes, they've become very loose, etc. Since I'm still losing quite a bit of weight, my socks that were stretched out to fit for what I was before (some I thought were pretty new, until I go through it in my head and realize they really aren't), have become very baggy and fall off easily. This is a weird combo.
So, my socks end up wadding down to the ball of both my feet. This leaves my heel open to the air, since the shoe has become loose. One of those walks was when it was very windy, and I could feel it go straight through to my bare heels.
The soles of my feet were a very dark red and looked extremely irritated after those few walks, too. I used some foot calming cream or 'remedy' when that happened. It felt much better after. So, while trying to rack my brain about using different shoes, the only options I have are either my winter boots or summer-like shoes. I sometimes get blisters if I walk in my boots for too long, and they hurt after walking for a short time. So, that wouldn't have been a good choice. Most of my 'keds' and varying forms of them looked beaten up, and had some sand in them. (Why sand?
) I decided to use my nice and comfy sandals. Or, at least, they usually are. I went for a walk with them to test them out. It felt fine most of the way. About 3/4 of the way, my feet started to really hurt, and in my right leg the lower calf started to hurt too. When I got home, and looked at my feet, they didn't look as irritated. But, there were some red bumps that seemed to be about to turn into full-blown blisters.
A couple of them actually ended up on the side of my toes. I used the foot remedy again, they stung a bit, but felt better afterwards. So, the sandals were not good either. The pain in my leg amplified the next day, which was Monday. It was like my leg was going to fall off, and someone was stabbing me with a hot poker and moving it around.
I noticed last night that there was some bruising around the area. I realized that I probably pulled or strained a muscle. I've had those before, and they're very painful. Most of the time they go away within a few days, though. Usually happens if I push myself too hard with things like walking too much at once. I don't want to 'ease' into it, though.
It feels so nice to do the whole thing! The pain has gradually been diminishing by today, but I'm still resting it. On top of getting new shoes and socks, I also need to get jeans. The jeans I have currently have holes in the lower part of the butt area. Funny, because nothing rubs in that area.
The butt is actually made for someone bigger than me, so it slides down all the time, and I'm constantly pulling it back up. I think that movement has made it get holes over time. That's the only thing I can think of. It's a weird area. I've never filled it out. My butt's kind of like a pancake.
I think it was more so after my tailbone injury a while back. I also can't 'high step' or walk the way I used to. Had the injury during marching practice in college, and that was the end of marching for me, considering I couldn't do high steps afterwards. It'll probably never be the same. It's just slightly off, and usually no one notices it.
At least I can walk, run, etc. Anyways, the jeans were also made for someone that's slightly more 'curvy'. (Wider hips, more butt, etc.) Not necessarily bigger. Although, now since I've lost weight, it's really for people who are bigger than me. They were poorly made too. It started to fall apart about a week or 2 after I got them. But, there were no holes until pretty recently. Makes it hard to walk with. The holes aren't visible yet, but it still makes me feel self-conscious.
The holes are only slightly visible if I pull them up. But, they're saggy and way too baggy if I don't. Not really my kind of 'style'. Dad made it back home safely last Thursday. She rested a bit over the weekend. She said she wasn't feeling much pain when she got home, but she's feeling it more now.
I hope things get better for her soon. I don't like when anyone's in pain, let alone my parent. She said she feels complete now, which is awesome.I went back to watching Ranma 1/2. One of the recent episodes I watched seemed to be the closest to a trans theme. (I've heard many trans people like the show for a variety of reasons. I could also see why some wouldn't like it now that I've watched a good chunk of the series...) More so than the rest of the time. Ranma was hit very hard over the head, and confessed that he always felt that he was a girl but was too scared to tell anyone. He said it felt like waking up, when he saw himself in his girl-form after being hit. I suppose normally there is a trans like theme in the way he mostly wants to stay a guy, but keeps changing into a girl. He feels horrible when he's stuck as a girl. (Although, he does seem to be getting used to it.) They attributed the feeling like he was a girl thing this time to him being hit over the head. But, he said things like he's always felt like a girl...It was very interesting, but a bit sad that they played it off so easily. I also think a lot of the family's reactions might be more 'real', but they don't hate him. They're just unsure as to how to go about stuff like that, so they try to make it humorous.
I also went back to watching Ansatsu Kyoushitsu or Assassination Classroom. I was going to take a break from it in order to try out some of the new shows, but a lot of the new ones seemed to be flops to me.
This show has gotten much better with every episode. It was starting to lag before I picked it up again, but now we're getting more into the action. I'm liking the characters a lot more, too. Karma is just an awesome character all around. I like the ones that are kickass and twisted. Nagisa's getting more interesting. They also answered what many viewers were wondering. Whether he's a guy or a girl. (Doesn't really matter that much?) Koro-sensei made a pool for the class, and they went swimming. When Nagisa showed up in his swim trunks topless some people were surprised. He does put his hair up in kind of a 'feminine' way, talks softly and calmly, is short, and looks kind of weak. And, apparently to some that equals girl, but nope they were wrong. They started the series off with the premise that he was the main character, too. But, then proceeded to focus on other characters. Kind of interesting. Nagisa also seems to be the most deadliest. You'd think Karma would be, considering how vicious, calculating, manipulative, etc. he can be. But, no one expects Nagisa to do anything. Kind of the nice and friendly quiet type. He's so good at keeping his cool, that his victim won't know what happened until it's too late. While smiling he can calmly walk up to them, then with a quick fluid motion wrap his body around them, then he attacks from behind. Kind of like what a snake might do. Their 'PE teacher' (he's really just there to help hone their assassin skills and train them in order to kill Koro) finds him the scariest and most likely to assassinate someone. Most of the time, Nagisa's constantly scribbling down weaknesses Koro might have. Some laugh at it, but it's come in handy numerous times. Kekkai Sensen or Bloodline Battlefront has been awesome!
I didn't like the other new shows (that weren't sequels). It's kind of like a hidden gem. The first episode didn't seem all that great, and a lot of the story seemed to be shoved in our faces way too quickly. But, it got much better. It seems like it's a pretty complex anime overall, but I like the ones that make you think, keep you on your toes, etc. Plus, the animation is amazing! I'm still unsure if one of the characters, White, is really a ghost or not. She's probably pretending. Leo has sometimes told her that the nurses at the hospital are looking for her. She usually hangs out at a cemetery near that hospital. People can see her...I don't know. Not sure what's up with her yet. I like that one of the main characters, Zapp, is darker skinned. There aren't too many good characters like that in anime, and especially as a main character. (There are some, just not many.) Most are pretty light skinned. I like to see diversity in them too. There are other side characters who have darker skin tones as well in the show. Zapp is also voiced by the seiyuu or voice actor who voices Hijikata from Gintama. It's interesting to hear that voice come from Zapp, but it definitely fits him. I really like his character, although he seemed a little too abrasive at first. He has several cool abilities (most of which are based on his own blood), is Leo's partner (he acts kind of like a guardian, always watching over him. Although, sometimes he likes to mess with him), a kickass attitude, is very passionate, and more. Vampires were introduced last time. Libra thought for a while that at most there would be 13 in the city. Leo used his eyes and said there were hundreds of them towards the center of town underground. They were able to capture one, but 2 of their agents were severely wounded. They were able to help them because of Leo's eyes. The vampires don't show up on video or pics, and most can't see them when they're face to face. He can see people's auras, and vampires apparently have an intense red one. It'll be interesting to see what happens next with this anime.Finished watching Ouroboros. It had a really sad and disturbing end.
It could have gone so much better. I kind of had a feeling it wouldn't end well from the beginning, but this was just crazy. It was really good until the end, though. Every episode was intense, they threw in some humor, the story had a lot of twists and turns, and more. I really feel like that was the worst way to end it...I won't say much about the ending, because I don't want to spoil it, and it was just too disturbing to go over. So, now I'm not watching any Jdramas at the moment...Kind of sad, considering that's how mediocre this drama season is.
Not that many great sounding new shows out there. So this season for both new anime and drama is kind of lame. Although for the season as a whole, Gintama came back even better than before. But, that's a continuation of an anime, not a new one...
Also, started reading Midori no Ou (lit. Green King) or Verdant Lord. It's interesting so far. It's set in the near future when Mother Nature has decided to fight back against all of human encroachment. Vines and foliage entangle cities around the world, and large wooden creatures called Arethusa rampage through them. The main character is Shin Souma, who came from Japan to New York City to visit his twin brother Ken. Ken is a scientist that was experimenting on little kids. He felt they had a higher understanding or were in-tune with nature, and that somehow they might be able to control what was happening with their findings. He also sent for a 'delivery' by plane of one of those Arethusa creatures in order to observe it. It busted out of the plane, and began wreaking havoc throughout the city, but is able to communicate with the kids. Shin got mixed up in everything when he tried to save the kids. He suffered injuries that were lethal. Ken showed up and injected him with something, and he woke up alone and with not much pain. Apparently he injected him with something that encourages the growth of plants in his body. Half his face looks like the Arethusa's did from before. His arm has changed, too. He ended up saving the kids in the forest that was near the compound, but people chased after him hoping to capture, kill or experiment on him. Ken is just watching everything unfold from a helicopter at the moment. One of the kids saved him, and called the Arethusa that was delivered earlier over. The next thing he knows, he's waking up in a hospital bed with restraints. The doctor that was there said at most he might have a year left to live. The 'plants' have become essentially capillaries throughout his body. There's no way to get rid of them. They're just going to continue to grow, and the doctor doesn't know what will really happen if it does. The doctor seems ok, and he didn't do anything to the kid that saved Shin.
Went over and edited the 5th short story to my nightmare anthology. This is probably one of the most gruesome, and hard to sit through.
The weird thing is with the original version of this nightmare, it felt so real. Only 7 more stories left. Played my clarinet. Did some jazz and Irish tunes. Messed up a bit at the beginning, but the rest was great.
日本語
I studied the kanji: 協. It's usually not used by itself. Just in compounds. It's most commonly pronounced as きょう (kyou), but on rare occasions it's かなう (kanau). It means: co-, cooperation. 協会 or きょうかい (kyoukai): association, society, organization. 協議 or きょうぎ (kyougi): conference, consultation, discussion, negotiation. 協賛 or きょうさん (kyousan): support, mutual aid, cooperation, approval, authorization. 協奏曲 or きょうそうきょく (kyousoukyoku): concerto. 協定 or きょうてい (kyoutei): arrangement, pact, agreement. 協力 or きょうりょく (kyouryoku): cooperation, collaberation. 協和 or きょうわ (kyouwa): concord, harmony, concert. Did some of the practice and chapter quizzes on JapaneseClass. Was pretty good. Translated another sentence from that You Maga article. Read a couple of articles in Japanese on the original RocketNews24. There was also a new compilation of Japanese commercials on Youtube. I like that the person behind that account compiles current ones every 2 weeks, and then posts a vid of them. They end up being 7 to 10 minutes long. Most of them are without subtitles, which is great for me. It gives me a chance to see it being used as is, and to use the knowledge I already have. It's a bit more of a challenge with ads, because they tend to talk really fast. Sometimes the text that comes up in certain ads doesn't stay on for very long. Those 7 to 10 minutes can be quite a workout for my brain. Their ads are pretty entertaining, too. Some are really bizarre, but not as many as most people would expect.
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