Banana Lovers Day!

Mood:

Yay, for bananas!One of my fave fruits!(And, one of the most popular fruits in the world.) I usually have a banana everyday, but oddly we've run out. So, I can't have one today...Oh well. 

Had an appointment on Friday for a 2-hour intake 'interview' at the new counseling center. Well, it's new to me, since I've never had a therapist at this one. At the other place, the intake was just a 1-page questionnaire and a 5-minute phone interview. Nothing like this place.It's interesting that most of their clientele are in the LGBT community, and they're kind of tailored for that community. 

I'm supposedly considered to be under that 'umbrella', because I have a trans parent. They've kind of taken me in, and become somewhat like a family at the support groups. That's another thing I've noticed, is I feel like there aren't very many COTs (children of trans) like me around.At least that are open, supportive, and accepting. The breakout ally group that meets every other Wednesday through a main trans group mostly has partners or parents of a trans person. They told me the last 2 times I was there that there are a couple who are like me, but they don't go to these things because they feel they'll be the only one with this sort of relationship. Hmmm...They also said since they know another person, they might contact these people and tell them to go to the group next time. That'd be cool! (Although, I won't be able to go to the next one, because Rosh Hashanah starts that night.) This group meets at this counseling center. Dad and I sometimes joke, saying that I'm a unicorn. Since I'm so rare.

Anyways, the center sounds like they'll actually get where I'm coming from. I've had a therapist argue with me just over whether my Dad was trans or not.These people might actually be good to talk to in detail about it, and might be a lot more understanding. There's really nothing negative I feel towards it, I just go through a different 'experience'.

It was a very thorough interview. Just to see who would be the best therapist for me. I realized that I haven't really gone over mourning my mom with a therapist.So, that'd be good to go over, too. There were lots of other things that I never really covered before with previous therapy. Its been a very long time since my last therapy appointment, and they said I should probably be seeing someone at least once every 2 weeks. (Might have been since January or February since my last therapy appointment.) Eventually, I'll try to get a psychiatrist through them, too. 

After my appointment, we went to a very small Indian restaurant for lunch. There was very little seating, and it was a bit cramped. They had a buffet going for lunch. Very good food!They kept wanting to give us more things from their tiny kitchen. (Some weren't even in the little buffet bar area.) 

The ferries were running really late on our way back home, so we went up to the area where they have restaurants and stores at the terminal. I got a very good Ben & Jerry's brownie ice cream bar, since it was so warm out. Then, we grabbed some burritos from Taco Del Mar, and didn't have them until we got home. Would have been too hot to eat anyways. 

With the help of Pinterest, I've gotten more in touch with my style in clothing, and what looks good on me, as well. Its helped a great deal. I like dark fall colors (those in general look good on me anyways), and things like slinky looking soft clothes. For a while there I couldn't remember what my style was.Simply because I haven't seriously looked for things in a long time. And, now I have to. I'm running out of clothes, because I tossed a bunch out. I even found something interesting recently at a mall in Seattle. It was on sale, but still pretty expensive. But, the fact that I saw something I liked was good. 

I've been trying to really stick to my fitness routine this week. So far, so good.Up to 70 sit-ups, 2 times a day. I end up working up a sweat now. I can really feel it doing something after each time. Doing 2 of my 2-mile walks, as well. Still not entirely used to that, but it's getting there.I'm already feeling better. Feel like things are getting really baggy again. Even my new jeans seem to be getting that way. 

Did my nails again. This time it's a light pinkish-purple-y color. Kind of a bit metallic, too. There isn't a name for it on the bottle. I like it, though. Akuryo Byoutou is getting really good. The mystery behind the abandoned ward is getting more complex. 

In Hitman Reborn, things aren't looking too good for some of the Vongola. (Hibari's doing well.) It was interesting that Hibari knew exactly when his younger self was going to switch places with him. He just kicks butt all around. No matter how old he is, he seems to always be awesome. He's the most powerful Vongola member, and he only joins them when he 'feels' like it. Tsuna is surprising the enemy and Spanner with his ability to intuitively know what the enemy's about to do. And, how quick he learns from each fight. This whole story arc has been very interesting and intricate.

In Aka Aka, they still don't know much about this 'mystery man'. They just found out that he's using one of their friends' bodies as, essentially, a container for him to move around. And, he's not liking it. He keeps saying that he wants his body back to Yue. This has been very interesting too. The only downside is that I've caught up with the updates.The last one was 2 months ago. So, I don't know when I'll be able to continue reading it. In the meantime, I'm thinking of replacing it with another manga. One I obviously haven't read before. I have some ideas, but we'll see.

Played my clarinet. Did some klezmer tunes. Wasn't too bad. Only slipped up a couple of times. Wrote some more of my second story to my nightmare anthology. I think it's sounding scarier than it was in the actual dream it's based off of.

Sketched out an outline of Shadow, my main character. He's the first I'm drawing in my new 'project'. All my characters are going to be lined up and interacting with each other with a height measurement in the background. This way I can showcase their heights, clothing designs, and personalities. Shadow is one of the shortest ones. I want it to turn out with Junko hooking an arm around him, and have him waving. It might take a while to get that to look decent.

日本語

Today, I studied more compounds for the kanji: 真. There's a lot of them. Apparently, a very common one. All the better to go over them. 真面目 or しんめんもく (shinmenmoku): one's true character, one's true self, oneself; seriousness, earnestness. 真夜中 or まよなか (mayonaka): dead of night, midnight. 純真 or じゅんしん (junshin): purity, sincerity. 天真 or てんしん (tenshin): naivete. 真っ逆様 or まっさかさま (massakasama) (the hiragana is more commonly used.): head over heels, headlong, head first. 真っ盛り or まっさかり (massakari): height of, middle of, full bloom. Next time, I'll do more compounds for this kanji. 

deviantART faves:

Aliens from Strawberry Planet StupidFox - 95 You Tube I did not make these! First, a really cool up close pic of a strawberry. Second, a hilarious installment of the comic, StupidFox. Not sure how he got up there...Third, an awesome drawing of an artist's interpretation of what Youtube would look like as an anime character. Found this artist through dA's facebook update. They're drawing their own rendition of social media sites as their original anime characters. It's an interesting project. Chrome looks interesting, too. I decided to 'watch' them, too. Also, had someone fave a bunch of my dA food pics. They must have just come across one, and then found my gallery. It was interesting to see what they liked. I occasionally get those sort of people, but they always surprise me. 

Just Like That

Mood:

By Meg. This is the Japanese singer, not the Italian one of the same name. The song's kind of fun and jazzy. To me, it sounds like some sort of cover. But, it's really good either way. It's all in English. The last one I put up that was hers was 'Beautiful'. Totally different feel, but that shows how talented she is. Found out about the Italian artist of the same name, and she's pretty good too. I'll put up one of her songs soon, as well.

Did my first 2-mile walk for the day this morning. I normally just do one around sunset. It was already starting to really warm up as I walked. So, I was sweating like crazy about halfway through.I was good this time though, and put sunscreen on before I left. Doesn't smell very good, but I'd rather have that than get a burn.I'll do my 2nd walk maybe after dinner or a little later. If I can do both of them each day, including my sit-ups, it'd be awesome!

When I got back, I put nail polish on my fingernails. Now I have both sets of nails painted. Yay!I decided to do 2 different types together. One's kind of a bland mauve-like solid color, and the other's purple with glitter. Normally the glitter one doesn't show up too well by itself. With both of these combined, it looks pretty cool.

In Akuryo Byoutou, Runa finds out that Asahi is having the same exact nightmare. The nightmare starts off with the back of a woman bent over in a white kimono with fog around her and a full moon. She slowly stands up, turns around, and opens her mouth to reveal black gnarly looking teeth. Kind of weird. As this has progressed, I'm wondering if Runa and/or the rest of the staff are even alive or real. A lot of Japanese horror stories do that sort of thing at the end. But, maybe it'll be different. Everyone but the doctors have seen some form of a ghost. Each were different ones. They don't believe it, but the occurrences are happening more often. Most of the rest of the nurses think something is up with Runa. Like she brings bad luck, because horrible things seem to happen around her. The patients are even wary of her. But, Asahi seems to not be phased by it. At the end of this episode Runa finds out her friend, who was investigating the abandoned ward, had an accident and may have died. I say may have, because she saw her 'ghost' as she was being rushed into the ER. Same thing happened to one of her patients that died shortly after. The only problem I have with Runa is her posture. Wish she would straighten up a bit, but I think that's just part of the character. She's kind of creepy that way. The actress who plays her is amazing!

In Hitman Reborn, nothing much more happened. The Vongola Guardians are still looking for Irie. They're all in the midst of battle, though. It's kind of slowing them down. Meanwhile, Tsuna's been stuck with Spanner. He seems to be against the Millefiore. He wants to help Tsuna perfect his X-Burner. Right now he's fixing a pair of contacts for the eyes that'll help guide Tsuna to the best position. But, Tsuna has to wait until he's done. He's getting anxious, and wants to help and protect everyone. I'm really liking this story arc. Very interesting and complex. 

In Akaya, they find out that the people who used to be close to the kindergarten principal that was 'spirited away' (actually eaten), don't remember him but feel a deep sadness and loneliness. Like something is missing, but they don't know what. Yue and the others don't know why they remember him so well still. Towards the end of the chapter, a strange man showed up in front of them in a field as they investigated the area. Yue looked startled. First time he's looked that way. Its been very interesting so far. 

Played my clarinet. Did a couple of jazz tunes, and a lot of klezmer tunes. Might have rushed a couple of the klezmer ones a bit. But, wasn't too bad this time. 

Wrote more of the 2nd short story to my nightmare anthology. It's sounding a bit 'different' compared to my normal way of writing. But, interesting nonetheless. I kind of feel like each story will be told in a slightly different way.

Planned more of my drawing of all my characters out. Found some things to refer to for proportions. Looked for a simple meme to fill out, but didn't find any that caught my eye. Oh well. 

日本語

Studied more compounds for the kanji: 神. 神気 or しんき (shinki): the elements, spirit, mind, divinity. 神話 or しんわ (shinwa): myth, legend. 神聖 or しんせい (shinsei): holiness, sacredness, dignity. 神託 or しんたく (shintaku): oracle. 神通力 or じんつうりき (jintsuuriki): supernatural power, divine power, magical power. 神殿 or しんでん (shinden): temple, sacred place, shrine, sanctuary. 神道 or しんとう (shintou): Shinto. 神秘 or しんぴ (shinpi): mystery. I'll finally get to start studying another kanji next time.It has a ton of compounds, too. But, compounds help me in more ways than one. So, it's very good to do them. 

International Picnic Day!

Mood:

Haven't been to a picnic in a while. Interesting that it's an international holiday. The weather outside would probably be just right for one. Sunny and warm with a cool breeze.

In Cartoon Kat-tun, Ueda, Kame, and Akanishi were visited by a 'principal' of an all boys' school. He had a student, and 2 high school girls tagging along (no one knew why the girls were there). You could tell that they were comedians/actors. I like all the skits they've been doing. Anyways, the principal wanted to show them what makes a real 'man'. I was laughing throughout the whole bit.And the guys started laughing like crazy. They didn't care about what makes a real 'man'. Koki was kind of ambushed in the hallway by someone posing as a wrestler. The wrestler did this weird dance and ran into Nakamura and Taguchi's room. Where he surprised them, and told them why he was angry. Then, he tried to pump them up, and get them as angry as he was. It was another funny segment. 

In Hitman Reborn, Tsuna and Gokudera try to figure out where Reborn would be, and bump into the future version of Yamamoto. He's a lot more with it in the future. Apparently, Tsuna had just died in the time he was transported to. He was trying to make a peaceful agreement with an increasingly powerful rival family. But, was suddenly killed during those talks. Supposedly most of the Arcobaleno (like Reborn, Colonello, etc.) were wiped out. But, the Vongola Guardians are still around. Yamamoto takes Tsuna and Gokudera to the family's hideout, and they find the Reborn from their time. He has a hard time with the environment outside, and has to where a weird 'alien' like suit. He tells Tsuna that they were transported to just a couple of months before the usual 10 years. (Well, the usual meaning what happens when Lambo and other people use his 10-year bazooka.) So, maybe they have to wait 2 more months to go back to their time? Meanwhile, their bumbling frightened neighbor turns into a vicious leader of the rival family that killed Tsuna in the future. Really weird. Gokudera from the future had told him to kill that neighbor after Tsuna goes back in time, before he was transported back in time himself and his 'past' self appeared in his place. This is quite an interesting story arc.

Today, I started reading the manga, Akaya Akashiya Ayakashi no, or Aka Aka for short. It translates as: Of the Crimson, the Light, and the Ayakashi. Ayakashi are like ghosts or spirits. It's been very interesting. The story begins with a dream filled with red camellia, and a strange mask. The owner of the mask is Yue who lives at a temple populated with some rather unusual residents. The nearby town, Utsuwa, is holding a winter festival. Kurogitsune (lit. Black Fox), his fox spirit friend decides it's the perfect opportunity for the sheltered Yue to experience the sights, sounds, and most of all the food. Even though Yue is forbidden to leave the temple, they sneak into town. Humans all looked the same to Yue, except 2 people he met while looking at the pinwheels. Once the 'mistress' finds out, she doesn't punish them right away. Saying that the festival is always tempting. But, she said the 2 guys he saw might be special, and that he should become friends with them, then eat them. Kind of crazy.They're not even sure if the people he met were human. This is one of the few josei mangas that have caught my eye. I usually read shounen ones. Josei is aimed at late teens/adult women, and shoujo is aimed at young girls. But, josei has elements that are quite different than shoujo, and often gets confused with shounen. (I hate the stereotypical shoujo 'style'.) Shounen is aimed at young boys. (The older version of shounen is seinen. I've found some interesting seinen ones, too.) Kind of interesting. Funny thing is even if they're aimed at a certain age/gender, people are drawn to all of them. But, I guess it gives people an idea of what type of story it might be, or even where it's coming from.

Played my clarinet. Did some jazz and klezmer tunes. Sounded pretty good this time.Only made a few mistakes, and that was from miscalculating my breathing, and trying to get it perfect. When I stress too much on getting it perfect, I fumble more often. When I'm relaxed, I play much better. Have to keep that in mind.

Edited and printed off some of my 'posters' or 'flyers' for my novel, Alliance. Didn't get to writing more of my first short story for my anthology of nightmares. Figured out more about how I'm going to do my next drawing. It's a drawing that'll have all the characters from Alliance standing up next to each other, with a height measure next to them. They'll be interacting with each other. Kind of to show their personalities, how tall they are, figure out more of their 'design', and clothes. It'll probably take a long time to finish, but it sounds like fun.Going to the support group later tonight, too. That should be interesting.

日本語

Today I continued with more compounds for 所. 所感 or しょかん (shokan): impression, feeling. 所管 or しょかん (shokan): jurisdiction. 所見 or しょけん (shoken): view, opinion, findings. 所作 or しょさ (shosa): conduct, behavior; movements, gesture; performance (on stage, etc.), dance, acting. 所在 or しょざい (shozai): whereabouts. 所在地 or しょざいち (shozaichi): location. 所持 or しょじ (shoji): possession, owning. 所属 or しょぞく (shozoku): attached to, belong to, member. 所存 or しょぞん (shozon): opinion, intention, thought. 所得 or しょとく (shotoku): income, earnings.