Head in the Clouds

Mood:

This is from Bleach's first OST. I featured it on here quite a ways back. I still like it. So, why not feature some old ones again?I might go through more of Bleach's OSTs, now that I'm pretty far into it. I think I'm just over the halfway mark. (I've been skipping filler episodes/arcs, and that's quite a lot of it.) If I remember correctly this is in the background when characters are indecisive, eating large amounts of food and ignoring others, one of them does something stupid, etc. Kind of a fun one. The story arc I'm currently on has been the most interesting and suspenseful one so far. They went to save Inoue from the Espada, and defeat Aizen. They found Inoue, and are still battling a couple of the top Espada. I find it interesting that the mangaka (manga creator) uses different languages with different types of characters. Like the Espada have Spanish names and attacks. Even their 'world' and creatures have Spanish words/names. Another group of characters has German, the Shinigami use Japanese, another group uses Latin (I think), etc. I know he mentioned in an interview that Spanish to him sounded mysterious, and wanted the Espada to have a similar vibe. I find languages interesting, so it kind of enhances it a bit for me.

Went shopping on Saturday. Saw a gorgeous view of Mount Rainier on our way to Tacoma for it. It's usually not so clear. I managed to snap a shot of it. Yay!I managed to find a lamp at their Target. (Their Target is huge!) My old lamp that I used for my night stand burned a hole into its shade and the lamp itself. The bulb glued itself to the shade, too.It was a bit scary and weird. I got that one at a gift swap. Mom thought it looked ugly, but I liked it. It was a little too short, though. This new one is quite a bit bigger. Its got kind of a gold speckling pattern across 2 glass globes. So, it's see-through and reflective in parts of it. The rest of it looks like silver steel. The shade came separately. Like a mix and match thing. It's kind of a beige color. I'm not very used to lampshades, but it went on in an odd way. A low ring goes under the bulb, and stays secure after the bulb is screwed in. I thought you just put it over the bulb.Oh well, it's on at least. I'm starting to really like it. It also uses a normal light bulb, which is a big plus. Makes almost as much light as my main one. That's good, because the way my main light is situated on the ceiling, half of the room is much darker than the other half.It's really close to my closet towards a corner. So, having this on the other side of the room will help with lighting overall, too.

Also, got a nice looking 'bouffant' shower cap.It's the only kind that fits with my long hair.They had the same design I got last time, but I wanted something different. This one has a blue and white checkered design. The bottom elastic-like part has semi-frilly white lace around it. I usually don't like lacy stuff, but it's toned down and goes pretty well with the 'look', I suppose. My old shower cap had some major tears in the plastic on the inside. Especially with where I end up tucking my hair in...It also smelled and seemed slightly discolored. It was definitely time. I use it for when I'm going to have a regular shower (when I'm not washing my hair), cleaning, and while cooking. Keeps me from shedding everywhere for those last 2.And, puts it out of my face.

After that, we went to It's Greek To Me. It's a really good Greek fast food place. Since we don't go there that often, we usually get gyros. (Although, a lot of the other stuff on their menu looks good.) I got their 'small' combo. The combo comes with fries and a drink. Even though I got the small, the gyro was still huge!When I pick it up, the salad-like stuff always slides out. I end up just having huge wads of meat with some puddles of tzatziki sauce in the sandwich part. Then, I use their plastic forks to have the stuff that fell out. It's messy, but really good.

Found out my blood test results were normal a few days ago. I'm even at the high end of the remission range for my sed rate. Yay!I should be happy, but I'm still feeling my IBD symptoms. (Certainly not 'normal' yet.) A little frustrating still. My primary doctor said that my body might take a while to catch up. My gastroenterologist emailed me yesterday morning saying that since my results were normal, she wants me to do the blood draws once every 3 months instead of once a month. 

I'm wondering if just taking azathioprine is giving me similar symptoms?I also still have to be very careful while taking it, because it's an immunosuppressant. It's strong stuff, too. I get sick very easily now. I've thought about wearing a mask while out, but feel like it'll be isolating. Or, people will think I'm insulting them or something.Also, that masks might not help much. 

We found out a couple of nights ago that the frozen peas that were being recalled by Costco, were the same ones we had.Dad tossed them, but we already had half of a big bag of them. It was recalled for possible listeria contamination. People who are immunosuppressed are very susceptible to getting sick from it. Read that the symptoms might not become noticeable for a couple of months after ingesting it. That's scary!Not sure if it's affecting me as well. I have had a horrible headache since Sunday. I didn't know about it until Monday night. If it gets really bad, and I feel very sick, I'll tell my primary about it. Might have to go to Urgent Care beforehand if it gets to that point. 

I revived my livejournal account. The last time I posted something on there was 6 years ago. It's kind of to get more eyes on both my novels. But, I might do little updates every so often. I've also thought about joining writers' associations for free. Apparently there are a few. I need to look more into it, though. I might start another Tumblr account to promote them some more. My last account with them was deactivated because of my inactivity on it. Plus, I don't think my desktop computer likes it too much.If that's the case, I might end up using their app on my phone. 

I managed to practice my clarinet on Monday and today. Yay!That's more often than it has been. I'm slowly getting better, too. I'd be a lot better if I got to it every day. Once I play on a regular basis, I might bump my practice time from 45 minutes to 50. I can be on my way to a full hour. That used to be my norm for practice times. It'd be awesome to get back to that!I played a lot of Irish tunes today. Monday, I played some jazz, Gershwin, and some pieces from my advanced classical solo book.

日本語

Today, I studied the kanji: 司, 試. When 司 is pronounced as し (shi): director, official. As 司る or つかさど.る (tsukasado.ru): to rule, govern, administer. 司令 or しれい (shirei): command, control, commander. 司書 or ししょ (shisho): librarian. 司法 or しほう (shihou): administration of justice. 寿司 or すし (sushi): sushi. 行司 or ぎょうじ (gyouji): (sumo) referee. 司会 or しかい (shikai): chairmanship, leading a meeting, presenter, host, moderator. 試 is only pronounced as し (shi) in compounds. As 試みる or こころ.みる (kokoro.miru): to try, attempt, have a go (at something). As 試す or ため.す (tame.su): to attempt, test, try out. 試合 or しあい (shiai): match, game, bout, contest. I'll be going through more of its compounds next time. 

I finally got to translating more of that You Maga article. Also, quizzed myself on JapaneseClass' site. Read an article in Japanese on RocketNews24's original site. It was about how tourists think all there is to the food in Tokyo is their sushi. How it's highly overrated and overpriced. The journalist said they think more people should discover Tokyo's version of tonkatsu, and a certain ramen I'm blanking on. They took pics of the best places to get them. It was interesting to read and somewhat drool-worthy. Watched some of their news through ANN's Youtube channel. Interesting stories. Their main meteorologist is very enthusiastic. She's entertaining, while the guy she explains it to (during specials) is so stiff. He doesn't react much. Some sad stuff happening there, too.

I've kept up with the way I prefer to eat this week.Haven't had a 'splurge' day yet. Last week it was on Wednesday and Saturday. (While keeping to this way of eating, I usually don't have 2 of those in a week.) One big plate of spaghetti and meatballs turned into 4 meals for me this week. That's a lot!I haven't faltered from it. I've even been eating half of a donut for dessert. (That's been the dessert this week.) I sometimes have the other half with lunch, where I might also have leftovers from a dinner. So, it's like 2 dinners in a day...Things are looking bigger and bigger as I stick much closer to this again. I'm also feeling fuller after each of these meals. Kind of cool. 

Hopefully, I can get back to my walks, too. Although, it's been pretty warm lately. Walking in that sort of weather makes you feel hotter halfway through. Kind of demotivates that way. I just have to plan it better. Like, not during the hottest part of the day. I did get one night walk in tonight. It's something! Even if I'm losing with just limiting my calorie intake, I would like to keep what little muscle I have left right now (for some reason I've lost a lot of it). Plus, it'll keep me more fit. Health can be complex, and it's more than just getting back to a 'normal' weight. I'm also keeping up with my sit-ups.