Mood:
Did a huge overhaul of this blog.
First time modifying it since I started it.
Really needed it. When I started, I didn't know what it would turn into. Didn't expect much, and was somewhat unsure how long it would be active.
Also, thought it would be interesting at the beginning, to have quotes as titles for posts. This morphed into song titles and holidays. It was better to me than possibly just repeating titles or having boring ones.
Plus, I could share some of the songs I found. For the holidays part, I thought it'd be fun to learn about food related ones, about my religious holidays, etc. I still like these ideas for titles. Doing the quotes made the title too long, that's why I stopped doing them.
The template was so old, blogger wasn't really supporting it anymore.
So, I applied a new one. It's made in such a way I can add my own pics to the background in the future. Totally different color scheme, too. I made it a lot wider than it was before. I had one column on the right side for 'gadgets', now there are two. With one, things started to get crowded and long. With two, it seems more even and not nearly as lengthy to me. They have the option of adding a third column, but I think that would be overkill.
I also changed my avatar, and cleared out my About Me info. The avatar is one I use with several other sites. Made it a while back (didn't make the actual image, just cropped and resized it), and have loved it since. It's Hong Kong as a kid from Hetalia. One of my fave characters, and didn't appear much from what I've watched and read. The avatar before that was a 'chibified' version of Katsura from Gintama. Gintama's my fave anime. Katsura's not necessarily my fave from it, but I liked the mood of it. I've made other avatars in the past (again didn't actually create the images), and haven't used some of them yet. Maybe I'll change it in the future. The info for that About Me section seemed too wordy and got in the way. I did update my info on that, and people can still click the 'view my complete profile' link in that section to see it. It's a lot more succinct, too.
Changed the flag counter, too. It didn't restart, but the old code was outdated. This looks more simple, too. I like seeing where people are from when they visit.
Apparently, Blogger has decided to do away with the 'link list' gadget.
So, I made a new 'fave links' list using a text gadget. If the link doesn't have the 's' in https and someone clicks it, it will now look for the link within the blog. They think http isn't as secure. People can still go to those links after being redirected to searching the blog for it. Just take out the url for this blog at the beginning and search. You'll still get to it. You can also search by the name of each link I posted. It's only a few that are like that. Blogger has also changed the 'search' feature to only search within this blog. I kind of like that, though.
I decided not to add some of the links I had before, and added some new ones. One of the ones that I'm not listing anymore was my Wordpress blog. I haven't gone back to it since 2009.
So, it's not active. One day, I might go back to it. It was about exploring Japan. Its culture, music, language, food, movies, and more. It was a lot more extensive than I remembered, when I briefly checked yesterday. The idea of it is still interesting.
I added a few links on Judaism. JTA is more like a news site. Aish is orthodox centered, but has some interesting stuff. Aish means fire. My Jewish Learning is more neutral in its affiliation. There's lots of interesting articles about Judaism itself. It has some news, there are recipes, and more. I'm Reform, so good to have a link to their main site. Although, I'm still leaning a bit towards Modern Orthodox Judaism...That's a different story. They also list synagogues that live stream their services. That's handy for someone like me who's immunosuppressed. Especially during the High Holy Days.
Added AVEN to it, too. Might think about adding the Asexuality Archive. Although, I'm not a big fan of it.
Also, added PLM and CCFA. One's essentially patients sharing each others health info. You can record a lot of your test results, journal about how you're doing, make friends who are going through similar things, keep track of all your medical related stuff, there's a forum, etc. Pretty handy. I haven't been on there in a while, though. CCFA's a good resource for people who have IBD. They have lots of articles, webinars, a forum, videos, quizzes, and more. Just a giant hub of it. 
I've also added direct links to my deviantART and Pinterest. That should be fun. I have a lot of art that I might not show in other places besides dA. Pinterest has a lot of interesting stuff. I'm getting more in touch with my 'style' fashion wise. There are some interesting recipes. There are a ton of other things that I pin.
Updated my lists, too. Finished Fukigen na Mononokean or the Morose Mononokean. It was much better than I expected. I thought they'd address the special powers Ashiya suddenly had while in the Underworld for the first time. It was briefly, and he was very pissed off. Also, felt like there could easily be a 2nd season. So many other unanswered questions...Fuzzy was really cute!
He was the first yokai or demon they exorcised, but he came back to basically be Ashiya's pet. He really cared for him.
Finished reading The Forgotten by Faye Kellerman. It was pretty good. Didn't entirely like the ending, but I shouldn't say much about that, because I'll spoil it. Just in case anybody wanted to read it. The next one that I have of the series is Stone Kiss. Barely have gotten into this one. Luckily, it's also the next book in the series, so no skipping books this time!
I think I only have 2 more books of the series.
Finished reading Tegami Bachi or Letter Bee. It had a very trippy end. It was pretty good. Felt like the manga would never end. I've watched both seasons of the anime as well. Very interesting series overall.
Finished reading A+B or Angel+Blood. This one was extremely short. Could have gone on for a while, too. They introduced a couple of big characters, and ended it like that. Maybe it was axed before they got very far? It had a lot of potential.
Almost done watching Servamp. Servamp is a combo of Servant and Vampire. It's better than I expected. The vampires were created by a human, and there's supposed to only be 7 of them. An 8th was made, though. (Not sure why yet.) All, except that 8th, have names that correspond to a 'sin'. The main one is Sloth aka Sleepy Ash. He's the oldest. These vampires have 'Eves' who are human. The Eves use them in battle. They're basically their slaves after they've made a contract. The vampires can turn humans who are on the brink of death into subclass vampires. They're not as powerful, but get enough of them, and they can do damage. The main vampires also turn into animals. Sleepy Ash turns into a cat, there's a hedgehog, there's a bat, there's a butterfly, etc. All 7 of the main, along with their Eves, are in a battle against the 8th vampire, Tsubaki. He has an army of subclasses, and I don't think he has an Eve. He's kind of crazy, and loves to kill humans. Some of the scenes he shows up in, it's raining blood.
I might find some new emoticons in the future. It would've been great if Blogger had its own set.
Right now, I've been using some from dA. Getting kind of tired of them, though...We'll see. Might not be for a while.
Mood:
It's my fave season!The weather is cool and crisp. The seasonal foods/drinks are awesome! The High Holy Days fall around this time, there's Sukkot, and Simchat Torah. Halloween and my birthday happen during it, too. (My birthday's on November 7th.) There's also Thanksgiving. Always feels like a new start this time of year.
Sunday was World Pharmacists Day. I think they're very underappreciated. They help save lives, or at least help patients cope. Without the meds I've been given throughout my lifetime, I could have easily died numerous times. So, I'm grateful for that. It doesn't mean every med is perfect, but everyone is different. The fact that there are different options is great that way. Today's Ancestor Appreciation Day. It's fascinating learning about my own ancestors. Cool to know where you came from, too.
Put my story about realizing I was ace on Tumblr recently. I'm still not used to Tumblr, so it was interesting. Got quite a response almost right away. There were a lot of likes.
2 from who I think are pretty famous within the community. At the very least, I knew who they were almost right away, and I'm still rather new to the community as a whole. I know Tumblr has supposedly one of the largest ace communities. In fact, the ace community was larger than AVEN when it started. Many people feel more connected to the one on Tumblr.
One of the 'famous' people I knew from their youtube channel, and the other from a book introducing asexuality. That book wasn't the best (it was free, though...), but the author also created the asexuality archive. A huge resource for info on ace stuff. He apparently also lives in Seattle, so rather close to me. I didn't know that last bit until he commented on that post. The one who is more known on youtube is very interesting and seems like a really cool person.
They live in Japan, and they often talk about their experiences being a gender nonconforming (I think) ace who's also a person of color living there. Also, how being panromantic can be a bit difficult to explain to people when you're ace. They also have some educational vids about asexuality.
The one who commented on the post, suggested I talk with someone in the Seattle Aces group about making a group on this side of the water. I haven't brought this up yet with their closed facebook group. He said he'll bring it up with them, even if I start talking to them beforehand, at the next meeting. He also mentioned that someone in the past already brought up the idea that there needs to be a group that meets over here. So, yay! Another person like me over here!
I was thinking of making my own closed group on facebook, inform the Seattle Aces about it (they might give me tips anyways), and if there are enough members we could actually meet somewhere. I think someone else brought this idea up to me.
Another person private messaged me on there. They said they could really relate to everything I talked about. I think they phrased it more as: except for being a woman, since he's a man, it directly mirrored his experiences and how he felt. That kind of made my day.That someone said that they've felt like me. It feels good to hear that people have felt similarly. I've heard others say a similar thing when I posted my story on AVEN, too. I don't think this person was out enough on Tumblr to 'reblog' or publicly comment. (He might also have friends in real life or family that might follow his blog.) That's ok. Makes his message even better, I think.
Saw my new gastro a week ago. She's actually a nurse who specializes in it. It feels like, from past experiences, that nurses might actually be better than doctors in many ways. They have to have a wider knowledge of how to treat people, for one. I have a lot of respect for them.
She was very thorough. Was concerned about things that I've just had to deal with, and doctors have said that I didn't have to worry about them after they were 'solved'. Like, I had blood clots in my lungs that were in every air sac, the clotting factor was about 60 times the norm, I was 'too young' for them (puzzling for someone at that age to have it so bad), there were no signs that it started in my legs or heart, and I was hospitalized for it (the nurses called me Princess, because I was too young in their eyes for it, too). It cleared up with their treatments, but no one knows why that happened in the first place. Had a horrible case of pneumonia a year before that also landed me in the hospital. It was so bad they poked a hole in one of my lungs, and drained over a liter of fluids. Not sure why it was so bad, and if it had anything to do with the blood clots.
I also had an 8-month long period. Basically hemorrhaging that long, in an incredible amount of pain, and became anemic. The only 'cure' for it was to have an IUD (Intrauterine Device). It seems more like a band-aid to prevent it from returning. We still don't know why it happened. The 2 gynecologists I've seen didn't pursue the reason behind it. I've also had an issue in the past where I would throw up all day. On a whim, my primary at the time, prescribed omeprazole for it. It kept me from throwing up like before, but it was a mystery why I had it in the first place. She thinks figuring out my blood issues (like the ones I mentioned), and stopping omeprazole will be a big first step. Also, important to find out, since these things could affect my IBD. So, she also recommended I see a hematologist in the future.
Haven't thrown up since I stopped taking omeprazole, which was about a week ago. I was on it for 5 years, and she also thought that was an unusual amount of time to be on it. Most are just on it for about 6 months. If something does happen with it in the future, it means something more is going on. I'm a bit worried that I've had some fiery pain in my stomach for the past few days, though. Still incredibly nauseous on top of that.
After hearing that my mom, maternal grandma, and a maternal aunt all had breast cancer; she recommended that I have a mammogram in the near future. I don't know if other members of my family, especially on my dad's side have had it, too. I'm still quite young for a mammogram. She said something like I should do it about 10 years before my mom was diagnosed with hers. That would mean about 3 or 4 years from now. I was 17 when she was first diagnosed. So, figuring it out in relation to my age at the time. That still seems a little early. I'm kind of scared of getting one.
Also, she thought that getting some genetic testing would be good. For one thing, with me being an Ashkenazic Jew, there are some genetic diseases that are found only within that group. Quite a few blood related ones, in fact. Of course, not everyone gets them. She seems more into my other stuff than any of my primary doctors have been.
She was puzzled by the pain I've been having. The pain that started on my right side, and that has traveled across my abdomen to the other side as well as my entire back. When she looked over me for basically a physical, as soon as she got to touching my sides, I had a huge jolt of pain. I was already hurting, but it intensified. She seemed very concerned about it. Especially after I mentioned that I've felt a small lump on my right side recently. When I think of lumps in the abdomen, my mind goes directly to what happened to Mom with her tumors. I don't think it's the same, but it scares me nonetheless.
I think it actually is something serious happening with my organs, whether they be my intestines or something else. That lump might be just an inflamed organ or something related to them.
I haven't had any imaging on my abdomen (parts besides my colon and everything above my small intestines) since before I started getting symptoms of IBD. First, it'd be good to see if my small intestines are affected. Second, it could be a more definitive indicator of Crohn's. She also said it'll give more of an answer as to why I'm in so much pain. So, she ordered to have 2 views of regular x-rays done, and a type of MRI. I'm glad I'll get some sort of imaging done for it. I've been mentally wanting it since the colonoscopy/endoscopy results came back. That was July 2015.
She said she can't do much about my pain at the moment, since she doesn't know what's really going on with me yet. So, she prescribed something similar to bentyl. It might be stronger, and it works more for some people. For this one, I have to put a tablet under my tongue and let it dissolve. I'm not sure if I've had a med like that. Should be interesting. This is an antispasmodic med. It suppresses muscle spasms. All bentyl did was make me very drowsy. She said this one might make me drowsy too, but it might work better with calming the muscles. Meanwhile, at the moment, I'm in so much pain I haven't been sleeping well, and am eating and walking less.
Tylenol does nothing for it. That's the only over-the-counter painkiller that's ok to use when you have IBD. At least, that's what I've been told and have read. Other painkillers can inflame the intestines even more, causing more damage.
She wants me to go back to miralax, and even have more of it than I had before. I have a hard time with this one. It reminds me a great deal of the horrendous laxative I had to take for my colonoscopy prep.The stuff that I threw up, and had to take an antinausea med in order to attempt to drink it. Didn't even get through half the amount I should have with that stuff. It smells like it, and has a much more mild version of the same taste to me. Even if it's in tea. She said I could have small doses at a time, but it'll be more often throughout the day. She also said I should take a probiotic with it. Since I was hospitalized so often, the treatments I had killed off most of my gut's flora and fauna. I may never get it back to where it was, because we're born with a certain number that sticks with us and only found in that individual. I can't eat spicy foods because of this. Anyways, I might get one of the probiotics I tried in the past where the big tablet fizzes in your mouth. They were kind of fun. Felt similar to candy.Got tired of the taste, though.
Tried to get the blood tests and x-rays done a couple of days later. Only managed to get the blood tests done. One was to check my thyroid, just to make sure. The other a general blood panel. I was normal for both of those. Couldn't get my x-rays done, because the radiology department didn't get the faxed order. Kind of frustrating.I emailed the Digestive Health Services Patient Portal, and they refaxed it along with the MRI order. (Took some going back and forth...) So, I should be able to get it soon. Didn't have time to get my flu shot. I'm on an immunosuppressant, so this is very important thing for me to get. I just can't have the 'live' or spray version of any vaccine. My system wouldn't be able to tolerate it. I'll get that soon. Didn't have time to get the prescriptions, either. That'll be soon, though.
I finally got rid of Google Chrome, and most other Google stuff from my computer. I think Chrome was competing with Firefox. Plus, it's 'updater' was constantly slowing things down.
I can't use Chrome, because it doesn't support Windows XP anymore. I used to love it, too. Although, playing video in Chrome was always choppy or slow. I also cleaned up the registry, which got rid of all the 'loose' bits that were left behind from uninstalling that stuff. (There were quite a lot of other Google products on my computer, too.) It's cleared up a lot of space, and so far, Firefox has been running much faster and more smoothly. The only time it slowed down was because of an update. I think Google was keeping Firefox from updating, too.
Part of the reason why I haven't been posting much here was because it was lagging so much. Took forever to write up a post.
It got frustrating just to type. So, yay for clearing that up! Might get to posting more often now. Might use more pics in posts (like I used to), and finally feel like modifying the whole blog.Oh, interestingly enough today is Google's birthday. I feel like I dumped them on a happy day...Although, I still have Chrome and search on my iPhone. So, I didn't totally leave you.
Also, still use Google as a search engine on Firefox.
Read the most recent chapter of Kuroshitsuji or Black Butler, yesterday. This one was not only a Halloween special chapter, but marked the 10-year anniversary of the series. I didn't realize that it's been around for that long. So, Ciel is permanently 13 years old? He's gone through a lot more 'adult' things, though. This is my favorite manga.
That's saying a lot, because there are a lot of great ones out there! There's a lot of humor, it's dark, full of suspense, many twists to a complex plot, the characters are well developed, depressing moments mixed with happy ones, gory at times yet tasteful about it, and the art is flippin' amazing! There's so much more to it! It's set in the late 1880's, and sticks close to being accurate for that time period. At least, from what I've noticed, previous knowledge, and reading about it. Also, set in England, so there are some English cultural elements from that time.
The first anime season of it stuck close to the manga until the end. It was pretty good. The 2nd season of the anime was totally 'original' and not from the manga. I couldn't stand more than 2 episodes of that season.
To me, it was horrible and ruined it. Much later, the Book of Circus anime came out, and it was really good. It followed almost exactly what was in the manga. Book of Murder was like that, too. There's going to be a Book of the Atlantic movie coming up in January. That was one of the best story arcs in the manga, so that sounds like it'll be great if they follow it.Even cooler to see that one in motion. There was also a live-action movie. I'm reluctant to see it. It's another original story based on it. Instead of Ciel, there's apparently a descendant of his. She has to act/look like a guy in order for people to take her seriously. I'm not sure I like the actor they picked for Sebastian. I like him in other things, but I don't think he can pull off the look or 'vibe' very well.
I think many other actors can. The servants' descendants are there, too. It could be good...Considering how most of the things that were separate or had nothing to do with the manga, were done so poorly, I don't know.
I like how in this chapter they explored what Halloween is like around the world. Or at least, similar holidays. They incorporated many of the items/decorations from those places to make a big Halloween party for everyone to attend. It had many beautiful messages throughout, one of which was about what it really means to be human. Comparing humans to candles. It was a nice breather from the intense current arc. I hope this series goes on for many more years.
Ciel is in costume for Halloween in the pic. Interestingly, I think Sebastian was the only one that didn't dress up in a costume. But, he's a demon, so maybe he thought he didn't need to? Kind of funny to have Ciel dress up as a devil.
Rosie, my cat, has been more attached to me than usual lately. She's made a nest of my long hair she's collected, that's interwoven into my huge stuffed lamb. She likes to knead in that area. Also, made a small hole in the back of its neck. A little stuffing was coming out when I noticed. I almost feel like she's using it as kind of a voodoo doll or something.
The 'nest' of hair is on the same side my pain started on the lamb. Maybe she thinks if she kneads it, she can make that pain go away somehow? It's weird and creepy. She also checks to see if I'm breathing almost every time I wake up in the morning. She directs me to her food bowls (she has 2...) at certain times. She usually has plenty of food and water, and won't stop bugging me until I make something for myself. Interesting that she seems to know something's up, and seems to be trying to help me in her own way. Also, purring on my sides at night. I've read that purring does have a healing effect on wounds and pain. Not a drastic effect, but it's there. Except for the lamb thing, it's actually nice to know that another creature (definitely a furry family member) cares about me so much.
