Adrenaline

Mood:

By Beast. Beast is a 6-member Korean band. The band's name used to be B2ST, standing for Boys to Search for Top. Their name eventually changed to BEAST, standing for Boys of the EAst Standing Tall. They debuted in 2009. Even though they're a Korean band, this song's in Japanese. It sounds great, though. With some Korean bands when they do a song in Japanese, it just doesn't go very well. But, this is one of the few where it really fits. It's a fun party/dance song. It's mostly about falling in love at first sight, and their adrenaline's going into overdrive. I love the beat of this one. It's one of those songs I can listen to over and over, and not get sick of it.The band sounds pretty good, so I might look into them more in the future...

This is my wallpaper for August. It's the 'adult' versions of the Arcobaleno (means Rainbow in Italian) in Hitman Reborn. Verde and Viper (or Mammon) are on the far left, Uni and Reborn are the 2nd from the left, Lal Mirch and Colonnello are 2nd from the right, and Fon and Skull are on the far right. You don't see most of them as their adult versions too often, except for Lal and Uni. The Arcobaleno are supposed to be the 'World's Strongest 7' hitmen. There are 8, because Colonnello tried to take Lal Mirch's place. (Trying to save her from the curse.) He was successful with taking her place, but she ended up still being inflicted with part of the curse, got a corrupt pacifier, and didn't get nearly the same amount of power. She considers herself a 'failed' one. Mostly got to see her 'adult' version during the Future Arc. I don't think I've seen Uni's 'baby' version. Most of the time, the others all look like defenseless babies. But, looks can be very deceiving...That's part of their curse. They rarely showed Reborn's adult version. Uni's the leader of the Arcobaleno. Although, Reborn is when she's not around. (Which is most of the time.) Supposedly, the manga explains more about their curse and why they were cursed. The anime ended with so many questions unanswered about them.Well, good thing I'm reading the manga, then. I think I have just a little more to read until I catch up to where the anime ended, it looks like there's a lot more of the manga after that.

My Italy calendar features Lake Garda this month. It's the largest lake in Italy, and located in the north. Again, the 'daily' pics are of famous landmarks and food. A lot of the pics in this one stretch out for a few days. Maybe they couldn't think of as many places to go? The 1st has a pic of boats, the next of a tower, next pic is of a pasta dish, after that a cafe, then there's a dog in a basket, and today's seems to be of a clock tower. 

My Jewish calendar's main pic for this month is of a Shabbat lamp. It has an anonymous maker, made out of copper, possibly from the Balkans (that's a huge area...); 1800-1900. Looks like a very ornate oil lamp. The 2nd pic's of Torah finials. (They go on top of the rollers of the scroll.) They have an unknown maker, made out of silver, London, England; 1920-1922. They're really nice and shiny looking ones. The last pic's of a mezuzah. (Something we put on the doorposts of our houses, that contains a special text inside.) It has an anonymous maker, made out of Gypsum (glazed), 1990-2000. This one doesn't list where it's from. It might be from Amsterdam, where the museum is located...It has a fancy chef's hat, rolling pin, and frying pan painted on it. Kind of odd.It's also one of the most recent pieces they've featured. I like the older stuff more. It's kind of like peering into the past with those. There's a different feel with things back then.

The month-long holidays are: National Catfish Month, National Panini Month, National Peach Month, National Sandwich Month, American Artists Appreciation Month, National Goat Cheese Month. Some are important causes, some are to make you appreciate things you may take for granted, and some are just for fun. Not much this time. I haven't had catfish too often. Might try it again in the future. Paninis are great! Peaches are one of my fave fruits! Sandwiches are good, too. There's such a variety of them. Artists should be appreciated!Goat cheese is pretty good. Interesting flavor. 

I've been keeping up with my sit-ups. This week I'm doing 20 of them twice a day. Just enough to feel like 'something'. Getting back to my 2 2-mile walks today. Did the first one this morning. While I was out, I saw an elderly woman coming my way, so I made room for her. She stopped me and said I didn't have to move over for her. I responded with saying that I thought she might like more room. That area is kind of narrow, and some of the vegetation is overgrown spilling into part of the sidewalk, and therefore making it even more narrow. She said I was very kind and sweet, and was extremely grateful. Almost like no one does stuff like that for her. Which is sad.She eventually said that she hoped I had a wondrous rest of my walk. Very nice lady. Hopefully, I'll do my 2nd one after dinner or something. Might be with Dad. It's nice to walk with others as well.

Speaking of walking, when I'm by myself I love to listen to my music.It's usually pretty loudly, because it's my way of blocking things out. Also, makes the walk not seem boring. It encourages me to do it more, if I have my music.Anyways, my old ear buds to my Sony walkman mp3 player died out.Specifically, the left ear one. The sound wasn't getting through it. The other one kind of started to sound dull. So, I got a new pair. The sound is crisp, and I can hear more of the background stuff.It's a really nice pair. I wasn't sure which ones would be good, and just decided on one. These may be better than when the Sony ear buds were new. They also feel more comfortable. So, this makes me very happy. Kind of transports me to another world.

Went to my gynecologist appointment Tuesday morning. Oddly, Dad had one scheduled right after mine. Waited just over 30 minutes passed my appointment time before the nurse saw me. For that, the nurse was essentially just checking me in. Not the actual appointment. I had to wait an additional 20 minutes or so to see the doctor.She told me that she had to operate 2 surprise C-sections. Oh joy. 

I don't think I liked neither her nor her nurse. Both kind of treated me in a condescending way. The nurse saying 'good girl' to me is not a good thing.That might be good for someone who's like 6. The doctor was trying to change my mind about getting an IUD. Saying she couldn't see the 'benefit' of it. Ummm...How about it keeping me alive?She kept saying things like if she was my sister, she'd talk me out of it. I don't have a sibling, but I'm pretty sure any family member who knows what happened to me in the past, would not talk me out of it.They'd be the ones encouraging me to get another one...Then, she said that she's told to try and talk her patients out of it. She said she would suggest other things if it wasn't for the clotting risk being so much higher for anything else. (I've had a horrible clot problem in the past, so those would definitely not be an option for me.) They seemed like they were almost laughing at me for not being 'sexually active'. And, gave me some warnings for if I decide to get pregnant, because of that clotting issue. Ummm...that wasn't the reason for me being there.I don't need a lecture on sexual health or anything like that. I just want to be able to keep living. She almost didn't believe me when I told her that I had an 8-month long period before. The only thing that kept me from fully hemorrhaging out was the IUD. It made them really light too, so I didn't have to worry about it as much. I also have extremely painful ones when I'm off of it. And you wanted to talk me out of it?Crazy. I think I might have seen her before, didn't like her, and switched to a better doctor. But, I feel like I don't have that much time. I want it as soon as possible, so I don't have to think about it anymore. She finally agreed to it, and is going to do a pap during it. I have to be put under for all of this. (Hence why I had to talk to a gynecologist. Otherwise, my primary doctor can do all of this in her office.) It's just too painful for me while I'm awake. Hurts a lot once I wake up, but at least I don't have to go through it while they are trying to do the whole thing. 

Went to the local support group a little later that day. There wasn't a very big turnout. Apparently for the one before it was supposed to be a potluck/movie day and only 6 showed up. (We were told this, since we weren't there.) A little more than that came this time, but not much.There was a new person this time. I swear he must have been the one I talked to a bit through Gaia, but don't really know because it's not like I can recognize him in real life just based on his avatar alone.He seemed to be thinking the same. Like he was about to ask about it, but was unsure as well. It'd be awesome if it was that person. I think it would be the first Gaian I've met in real life. A friend from college was the first one to show me that site, but I didn't become friends with her on there. Plus, I wasn't interested in it for a few years. (Opened my account on there in 2008, but she showed me it in '04 or '05, I think.) She would have been the only one I knew in person, though. (Oh, besides my mom. Who really didn't use it. Almost forgot though!) Maybe I'll find out in the future. We managed to come up with some interesting topics, but ended about a half hour earlier than usual.

Went to Shari's afterwards. They were running about 30 minutes behind, so it took a while for our food to come out.I ordered the lunch trio. It's a pretty good deal. You get to choose 3 things from the list that's provided. That can be a half sandwich, salad, quiche, soup, or a dessert. I got the chicken salad half sandwich, toasted sesame salad, and a pecan pie slice. The sandwich was really good. Especially after I stuffed the pickle that was on the side inside it. The salad was odd.Dressing was pretty good. The greens were pretty standard for a restaurant salad. The only thing that seemed odd was adding huge chunks of bleu cheese and pecan pralines to it. Seemed out of place. I normally love that stuff, but combine it together, everything seems to clash. The pecan pie was amazing!It's one of my fave types of pie. I think I had their caramel pecan pie one before, but that doesn't hold a candle to the original. I was so hungry by the time I got it, I ate the whole thing. Didn't eat very much during the day, so I thought it evened out. 

Got a bunch of awesome stuff again for groceries this time. (We usually do our big grocery run at the beginning of the month.) Got those breakfast sandwiches I like. They have a turkey sausage patty, fried egg whites, and cheese all on a croissant. (Low in calories, too.) It's very good. Also got chicken breakfast sausage, chicken pepperoni (sounds interesting), a big stick of beef summer sausage, rotisserie seasoned deli-sliced chicken, big everything bagels (first time trying Safeway's, and they're good), Greek lemon herb seasoned chicken breasts, Korean Bulgogi seasoned chicken breasts (both seasoned chicken are from Safeway, which was very interesting. Had the Greek one, and it was pretty good), lots of produce, macaroni salad, interesting looking pickles, an olive bread with both Greek and Spanish olives, Choco Tacos (I haven't had these in years. Basically ice cream with chocolate ripples stuffed into a sugar 'taco' or more like a waffle cone reshaped to be like a taco, and that's dipped in chocolate. Very decadent, but oh so good!), also got a single serving of red velvet cake (it was huge!), and some other things. The new Safeway just down the street from us is great! Lots of interesting things.

Started watching Hamatora last week. (Hamatora lit. means 'Beach Tiger', but I also think I've heard the Hama part is used as a shortened form of Yokohama. The agency is located there in the show, and it's the name of it. So, Yokohama Tiger...) This is much better than I expected. The reviews I saw of it online are clearly divided. Either they absolutely loved it, or hated it with a passion. I'm not sure why people would hate it. The story seems very interesting, and the animation's pretty good. Anyways, it's about selected humans called Minimum Holders who have been discovered to possess supernatural abilities. The main character is a Minimum Holder named Nice (he's the one in the middle of the pic) who forms a detective agency called Hamatora, and it starts gathering a large number of Minimum Holders. (They meet at a place called Nowhere Cafe.) His partner's name is Murasaki. (He's the one on the far left.) He's a more rational thinker and prioritizes the requests based on the reward over the content. Nice is very impulsive, absentminded, and doesn't read the atmosphere well. Despite this, he's a genius and can quickly assess info. His ability is called Sonic Minimum, and allows him to move at the speed of sound. His headphones activates and helps him control his ability. Murasaki's ability is Gravity Minimum, and it gives him superhuman strength. It's activated when he takes his glasses off. It's interesting what some of the characters' abilities are, and how they activate them. There has to be something, so they can't just unleash their powers. Another character uses a taser, and another takes off an eye patch and uses brass knuckles. The second season is airing now. The first season, the one I'm on now, aired at the beginning of this year. So, it's relatively new.

Started watching Amatsuki (lit. Heavenly Moon) last week. It's pretty good. Not thrilled with it yet, but I think it has potential. Tokidoki is a high school student who, when he fails his history class, is sent to a high-tech history museum that virtually recreates the Edo period to do make-up work. What started as just a school project becomes a lot more complicated when he's attacked by 2 supernatural beings known as the Nue and Yakou, and loses his vision in his left eye. After being saved from the Nue by a girl named Kuchiha, he realizes that he's no longer wearing the simulation goggles, and is trapped in the virtual Edo. He met someone while starting out at the museum, named Kon, who also gets stuck in the virtual world. He was helping him out with his assignment. When Tokidoki woke up shortly after his attack, Kon told him that he had been there for 2 years already. Tokidoki had only been there for about a week. Odd. But, he did say time is not the same there. I guess I'll see how it pans out. Oh, and apparently there's only a few people who can see the Nue and Yakou. 

Started watching Haikyuu last week, as well. I'm not really used to sports-themed anime. But, people were raving about it, and I like volleyball. Never wanted to be on the volleyball team, but it was kind of fun when we did it so often during PE in junior high and high school. A middle school student, Shouyou Hinata, gains a sudden love of volleyball after watching a national championship match on TV. Although short in height, he becomes determined to follow in the footsteps of the championship's star player, nicknamed the 'Small Giant', after seeing his plays. (Shouyou ends up being really good at jumping and has incredible speed.) He creates a volleyball club and begins practicing by himself. Eventually 5 other members join by his last year in middle school, but they're defeated in their first tournament, after being challenged by the championship's fave team, which includes the so-called 'King of the Court' Tobio Kageyama, in the first round. Though they suffered a miserable defeat, Shouyou vows to surpass Tobio. He applies to the Karasuno High School volleyball club, only to find out that Tobio has joined as well. It's pretty funny so far. The anime is still ongoing, but it started back in April.  

Started watching Kuroko no Basket (Kuroko's Basketball. They shorten basketball to basket usually. Technically, they would pronounce/write out it as basuke, though.) yesterday. Basketball's my fave sport, and probably would have at least tried to play it in high school.But, our band director said you can't be both in band and play a sport. (Band was already like a sport, with how many things we did, not even including the marching.) Unless it was something like track. The band doesn't play for the track team. If you were apart of the band, you had to play in the pep band for the basketball teams. So, at least I could watch it.I also have a basketball hoop in our backyard, and used to shoot hoops all the time. Sometimes my friends would come over and play a bit. So, this sports-type anime might be right up my alley.The basketball team of Teikou Middle School rose to distinction by demolishing all competition. The regulars of the team became known as the 'Generation of Miracles'. After graduating from middle school, these 5 stars went to different high schools with top basketball teams. However, few knew that there was another player in the 'Generation of Miracles', a phantom 6th man. This mysterious player is a freshman at Seirin High School, a new school with a powerful, if little known, team. Now, Kuroko Tetsuya (he's the one in the pic with blue hair), the 6th member of the 'Generation of Miracles', and Kagami Taiga (the one with the ball in the pic), a naturally talented player who spent most of middle school in the US, are aiming to take Seirin to the top of Japan, taking on Kuroko's teammates one by one. This one's been pretty funny, too. Kuroko's main thing is slight of hand, being unnoticed, and passing well. He's not very good with shooting hoops or anything else. People can't read him in general. The anime's going to have a 3rd season soon. The first one started in 2012. Oh, and their coach is Aida Riko. They're surprised at first because she's a girl coaching the men's team. She has the ability to tell what each player's potential is by looking at them shirtless. She can't read Kuroko's. Kagami's is off the charts, though. She gained this ability while following her father to work. He tests athletes' fitness levels. 

The only reason I added more anime was because none of the Jdrama shows this season looked great. So, I replaced the empty slots/days that normally would have Jdrama shows with the new anime. I'm still watching Gochisousan, Kamen Teacher, and Juui-san, Jiken Desu Yo. So, at least there's some drama in the mix.

日本語

Studied the first kanji of the 'grade' or level I'm on: 愛. Pronounced as あい (ai): love, affection, care; (Buddhism) attachment, craving, desire. As まな (mana): (pref) beloved, dear. As 愛しい or いと.しい (ito.shii): (usually in kana, not kanji) lovely, dear, beloved, darling. As 愛しむ or お.しむ (o.shimu): to be frugal, be sparing; to value, hold dear; to regret (e.g. a loss), feel sorry (for); to be unwilling, be reluctant. As 愛でる or め.でる (me.deru): to love, admire. As 愛してる or あい.してる (ai.shiteru): (exp) I love you. As 愛する or あい.する (ai.suru): to love. As 愛らしい or あい.らしい (ai.rashii): pretty, charming, lovely, adorable. 愛玩 or あいがん (aigan): caring for (esp. a pet or a small object), cherishing, being fond of, prizing, treasuring; pet, companion. 愛顧 or あいこ (aiko): patronage, favor. 愛護 or あいご (aigo): protection, tender care. 愛国 or あいこく (aikoku): love of (one's) country, patriotism. 愛称 or あいしょう (aishou): pet name, nickname. I'll study more of its compounds next time. This is also very common in names. 

Youtube:

A cool amv with a variety of different anime: