Happy Chinese New Year!

Mood:


It's the year of the dragon. Cool! I hope people who celebrate it had fun!It's also National Pie Day. Pies are awesome! 


Well, most of the snow's finally melted. It was a crazy storm. Started raining heavily on Friday, and essentially stopped today. There are still a lot of people without power. We're lucky to live on a hill, since there's also been a lot of flooding. Today's been really nice and sunny out.


Kept up with practicing my clarinet. Only missed one day this past week. Not bad.Worked on editing the heritage meme. And, wrote a bit more of chapter 15. I haven't focused on my writing like this in so long. Feels good.


I'm going to make a Hershey's Pie for Friday. It has chocolate, marshmallows, whipped cream, and a graham cracker crust. It sounds sooo good!I'll have to start making it Thursday night, so it can set in the refrigerator. It'll be hard not to eat it right away.I might make a Chinese dish called Fish Fillets with Hoisin Sauce. Sounds pretty tasty. I just have to figure out the sides.


Did my little service again for Saturday morning.Rosie was really interested in what I was doing this time. When I was sitting she came over to investigate what was going on. And, when I was standing she sat where I had just been before, meowed, and watched me intently. It was cute.This time it was the start of the plagues. Kind of an interesting and happening portion. 


We went to Taco Time that night. I haven't been there in so long!Things looked a bit different. I had the soft burrito meal. I used to get the bean one, but I tried the beef. Not as good, but not bad.


Then, we went out for some stuff. I got an incense stand. I've wanted something that you could smell almost right away, but wasn't overpowering. The spring meadows candle was close, but just wasn't quite it. Mom felt the same way with her candle, and decided to try some incense. She got a sampler that had 3 scents and like 90 sticks in it, plus a stand. Since it had so many sticks, we decided to share. We just needed to get another stand for me. I don't think I've used incense before. Hope to start soon.Had to finish off my candle first, which I did yesterday. Should be interesting. 


Turns out I'll have to wait a bit to watch more of Himitsu no Arashi Chan. The rest of the episodes out there aren't subbed. Although, I've been looking at an episode list on livejournal, that seems to have links to more episodes. But, they're blocked to non-members. If I join, I might be able to watch more. We'll see.


D no Arashi took too long to load, so I only watched the first couple of minutes. It looked like it would have been boring anyways. It was about segments they edited out of episodes, because they thought they were too random or something. They were doing it from their hotel room too. Apparently, 2 hours later than normal, so they looked exhausted. Oh well, maybe next time it'll be better. 


Yamada Taro Monogatari was touching. Taro's family had suddenly been able to move into a mansion, and were treated like royalty. It was a reward from the person who owned it, for the art Taro's dad did for her. Everyone, but Taro loved it. He couldn't relax, couldn't smile, and it was too quiet for him. Plus, everytime he looked at the food the staff made, he wondered how much it would cost. In the end, Taro told everyone he wanted to go back to their poor run-down house. He had too many good memories there, and things seemed cozier. Everyone agreed and moved back in. It's been a very interesting story so far. The next one's the finale. Taro might move to America to study under Ehara and Clemens (the guy he idolized as a kid), as their assistant.


Gintama was a bit lame. It's rare for them to be lame.Next week's looks awesome though! 

日本語

Looked over lesson 3 in my book. It was on これ or kore, それ or sore, and あれ or are. これ is this or these. それ is that or those. And, あれ is that over there, or those over there. Their polite forms are こちら or kochira, そちら or sochira, and あちら or achira, respectively. When modifying a noun, it's この or kono,その or sono, あの or ano. I was a bit confused before, but it does explain some things. I think I might have to go over it again next time, to really get it down. (Before, it was kind of hard to distinguish which is which and when do you use it, so this helps. I knew what they meant, though.) The kanji I worked on was 駆 or karu, kakeru, or ku. It means to advance, drive, gallop, impel, inspire, run, or to spur on depending on its context. 

National Hot and Spicy Food Day!

Mood:


I love spicy food, but can't eat too much of it anymore.Something about how my gut's still screwed up from when I went to the hospital twice a few years ago. (And, supposedly it'll never be the same.) Now, every time I have really spicy food, it doesn't agree with me.I was the type of person, who would see how many jalapenos I could eat when I went to a Mexican restaurant. Hot curries were great too. So, if you can eat it, then celebrate! It's also Martin Luther King Jr. Day. He was a great man, and definitely deserves a day in honor of him. 


We actually got some snow this weekend.There's a storm passing through that might bring more. There really hasn't been much sticking to the ground in our area. But, there has been huge snowflake bursts. Kind of impressive.Got really cold last night, too. 


Translated a Japanese recipe called Seasoned Imperial Chicken in English. It was interesting. Might not use it, but it was fun to translate.Didn't find any good Malaysian recipes online. Next time I'll look for Singaporean recipes. 


Watched Kill Me Baby on Friday. It was, I think, a bit funnier than the 1st episode. It feels like the segments during the episode should be longer or the episode should be shorter. The format's weird I guess.

In Buster Keel, Blue revealed that he's a monster too. (On the left in the pic.) He's a suiki or water demon, supposedly the last of his race. He's looking for revenge against Kurokiri Setsuna, who wiped them out. They're successful with their first team job, and Blue finds out a little more about Setsuna. 


Went to my therapy appointment on Friday. It was the last one with this therapist. Since she's retiring soon. I've liked her a lot. Except, this time it almost felt like I was cheated.She was running about 10 minutes late, and I got out about 15 minutes early. And, we talked a little about what I might want to do with my next therapist. Did one of those weird questionnaires on depression and anxiety. (It's the closest thing on paper to checking up on any bipolar 2 symptoms I might have. Not the best though.) I scored really low this time, which is good. The lowest the score the more normal you 'feel'. (It means my meds are working. I love those meds! They're like miracle pills.) I remember I filled that out the first time I was diagnosed with depression. (Before we knew what it really was.) But, they use it on almost anyone with a history of mood disorders. Also, talked about her recommendations for the next therapist. She's not really sure, but suggested the newest/youngest person on staff. He's so new that he doesn't have a patient yet.Not sure if he's good though. Anyways, it was interesting, but that took a pretty large chunk of time out of the session as well. Maybe had about 15-20 of normal therapy. That's nothing!I'm happy for her though. 


While we were at the grocery store on Friday, we bumped into someone we knew. He was going to be all alone for Shabbat, since his wife was in Seattle for something. So, Mom asked if he'd like to join us for Shabbat dinner. He agreed and seemed very excited about it. As soon as we got home, I put the groceries away, cleaned up a lot, and started making dinner. Which was gumbo. Even though it was from a box, it was my first time. I added fish (cod, I think), green beans, and corn. So good!We told him it would be 7:15 for dinner. About 8 or so we felt that we couldn't wait any longer, and ate. Also, had an awesome key lime pie!We left his food out hoping he would come at some point. But, he never showed up.


We got a call the next night, while we were eating out at around 7:30. Asking if anyone was home, and saying how he waited a while at our door, and then left. I'm very confused as to how he would mix that up.Shabbat dinner's always Friday night, not Saturday night. Shabbat has passed by then. Maybe he had one of those weird air-heady/tired moments, I guess. Nice guy, but weird. 


By the way, we went to Pho T&N again. I got what I like to call their beef yakisoba. It was really good this time.A couple of burnt bits, but good nonetheless. Also had a Vietnamese tofu spring roll. I love the sauce it comes with. The roll is pretty good too, just not as awesome as the sauce.It was the first time in a long time that I couldn't finish it, but Mom finished hers. Oh well, made for a nice lunch today.


Had my own little service again Saturday morning. It's been interesting. This last portion was the beginning of Exodus. A lot of stuff packed into it, too. Rosie watched me intently again. I'm getting a chance to really read the portion, instead of just showing up at shul (or synagogue) and hearing someone else's summary of it like I'd normally do. I kind of feel more involved with it, and yet I'm not.I mean I did read portions before we stopped going for Shabbat morning services, but it wasn't everytime. And, I got lazy half the time with it. Gives me a bigger picture I guess.

Started watching Another on Saturday. It's based off of a mystery/horror manga. (Which apparently was based off of a novel before that.) 26 years ago, in a 3rd-year classroom of a middle school, there was a student named Misaki. She was an honors student, good at sports, charming, and was very popular with her classmates. When she suddenly died, her classmates decided to carry on as if she was still alive until graduation. In the spring of '98, a boy named Sakakibara Kouichi transfers to that classroom, and he grows suspicious of the fearful atmosphere in the classroom. There's a beautiful, aloof girl named Mei Misaki who wears an eyepatch and is always alone drawing pictures. No one seems to notice her, except Kouichi. 


Sounds like my type of anime.So, it's one of the shows I really wanted to see this season. The first episode wasn't as amazing as I thought it would be. But, it still looks like it has a lot of potential. The art and background music's perfect. The opening song didn't seem to fit with the overall mood. The only real downside of the first episode, was that it dragged at times. It could be that they were trying to build up the mood. Hopefully, that'll pick up soon. A lot of critics online mentioned that it was slow in areas too. So, I guess we'll see. 


Pandora Hearts just keeps getting better. The story seems very intricate. They revealed a bit more of Gilbert's past this time. 


Himitsu no Arashi chan was hilarious. They're still on their vacation. This time, Sho is with them. Last time he was covering the Beijing Olympics. (Yeah, I know it's a while back.) The funniest part was when they went to another haunted house. Whoever screams the most loses and gets the title of biggest scaredy-cat of the group. Aiba screamed so much! Even at things that were stationary and normal.(They had planned traps where things would spring up at them.) Apparently, if I don't find a sub for the next episode, I'll have to jump 10 episodes. That's a lot of raw ones. Oh well, I'm just grateful some of them are up. D no Arashi was about finding a mole again. They did it this time! At least most of these episodes are subbed. (Probably, because it's an older series.)


I'm kind of sad that I'm nearing the end of Yamada Taro Monotagari. It's been a fun series. Although, this episode seemed a lot more serious than usual. Gintama was hilarious!I'm surprised with what they can get away with in that series. Tons of Dragonball references. Managed to get a little playing done today as well!

Sixth Day of Hanukkah!

Mood:


Yay! It's the 6th day!Feels like it's going by so fast. Might make latkes again at some point. Today's also National Candy Cane Day. And, Rosh Chodesh Tevet, which is the new month of Tevet on the Jewish calendar. It's also the start of Kwanzaa. So, happy Kwanzaa to those who celebrate it!Oh, and if you celebrate Christmas, hope it was a good one.And, today's also Boxing Day in Canada and the UK. So many holidays. Cool.


I got another present a couple of nights ago!A clarinet stand. It's so awesome!Sometimes, I need to stop and get/do something for a minute in the middle of practice. This is better than laying it on a table, or trying to somehow maneuver it so I can carry it with me, or leaving it on a chair, etc. I can just leave it standing up. The keys won't bend this way, or damage something it's on.I keep thinking that it's not very sturdy, but I've pushed it hard and it's stayed where it was. 


The design's interesting too. The 'legs' are inside the main part that supports the clarinet. You just unscrew the bottom, and they flop out. Then, to secure it, screw in the bottom again. It's from Germany. And, there's like 6 languages on it. Warranty thing's only in 3. English, German, and French. But, there's Japanese, Chinese, and Russian as well everywhere else. That alone's interesting to me. 


Mom said that she has one present she'll give me Tuesday night, and the other one's still on its way. So, it'll be a little late. That's ok with me. I'm happy to get any presents.So far, the pens and stand are really awesome presents! I wonder what else there will be?


Went to the Hanukkah party Saturday night. It was really nice to get out, see people, and have some fun.We did Havdalah, and lit the many cool menorahs people brought. Really pretty when they turned out the lights. There were some traditional ones, homemade ones, artsy looking ones, etc. We said the blessings and sang a few songs over the candles. 


Then, we had dinner downstairs. The tables were pushed way too close to each other. Even the really skinny people had issues getting in and out of their chairs.There was some pretty good food this time. Vegetarian lo mein, pot stickers, spring rolls, latkes, a couple of salads, bagels, mac and cheese (weird...), pizza, and some others I can't remember at the moment. They had gelt and M&M's scattered across the tables, along with some dreidels. There were so many desserts, too!A cake, mini cinnamon rolls, cheesecake (?), fortune cookies, and more. 


I met a Japanese woman at the party, who seemed a bit overwhelmed with everything. As soon as she heard that I was learning the language, she sat down with me. We talked for a long time. It was kind of nice.She's a lot more traditional with her Japanese, so there were a couple moments of confusion on both sides. Sad thing is she's much older than me, and there's a different way of speaking to someone like that in their culture anyways. She said she's heard that the 'youth' have really changed the way they used to speak. They're not as polite, and they say things 'oddly'. (Her words, not mine.) She was so excited about meeting me, she gave me her phone number. (I gave her mine, too.) She said I should call her if I need anything, whether it be help with my Japanese or just to talk. She said she wants to learn more about me. And, she's pretty interesting, too. So, that's great. I was hoping to find someone much closer in age to me.But, that's ok, it'll give me experience in talking to that age group, as well.


After talking to her, we went up to watch the movie. It was Up. I've seen it before, but it's still funny. I usually forget that parts of it has some pretty cool art. 


On Friday, we went to get some groceries. We were running low on a lot of things, and we usually go then to get our challah. It was packed!People were parking in the street outside the parking lot. Crazy! We got a lot of stuff, most of it we really needed, some for what I want to make this week, and a few 'extra' things. We were late enough, that by the time we went to the check-out it wasn't too bad. Not a long wait, like one or 2 people before us.


I'm thinking of making salmon chowder, a Korean chicken recipe (first time cooking a whole chicken. We'll see how that goes...), and a Finnish sausage thing this week. All of them sound soooo good!I decided on making an Irish bread and butter pudding with whiskey sauce as a dessert for Friday. Sounds awesome!


Dad made duck last night with some stuffing, carrots, and peas. Turned out pretty tasty. It's been a long time since I've had duck. To me, they taste much better than chicken.But, they're kind of expensive, and seem more fattening. I think she's going to make a soup out of the leftovers tonight. I was kind of thinking about the salmon chowder, but I see her reasoning with getting rid of some leftovers before we might make more. Sounds good anyways. So, maybe I'll do salmon chowder tomorrow night, instead.


A friend I haven't seen in at least 5 years talked to me through FB. She said she was in the neighborhood visiting someone. And, that maybe we'd get together before she left. Which was today at around noon. Doesn't look like it's happening, but she said it was a maybe. So, she probably didn't have time, or was too tired. It's all good. Maybe next time.She has another friend who lives in the neighborhood, who went to the same schools I attended. (Including college. Weird, pretty much through elementary school and on.) I've known him for a much longer time. We're not very close, though. Nice guy. We were a little surprised that someone would be friends with both of us. She's known him for a long time too. Didn't go to the same schools though. (Well, except college. We all at least started with the same one.) Anyways, it was nice that she was thinking about just 'stopping by'. She's always been very spontaneous, so it doesn't surprise me. Things seem to suddenly be getting better for me. Maybe that's a good sign for the new year? 


Did my own service again Saturday morning. This time, it was like Rosie was attending it. She didn't even try to eat my tzitzit, and sat (what looked like) in awe next to me. When I bowed, she bowed too. She's an interesting cat. Very into music, and now my service stuff? (Probably doesn't understand the service, but still wonders what I'm doing.) 


Kept up with my clarinet, except for on Saturday. Ran out of time. Poor planning on my part.But, it's cool to see how far I've improved with practicing so much. 


Gintama was even funnier today.I don't see how this show does it. And, I was right! It was all a crazy prank on Gintoki. They wanted him to quit drinking, so they came up with this messed up story that he had sex with 6 of them (one a guy) while he was drunk. He tried to own up to what he had supposedly done, by living with all of them in different apartments that were a part of the same complex. Zenzou played a role as giving him really bad advice through the whole thing. It was one of the best pranks that I've seen. He said he'll get his revenge on them soon. But, it did the trick for a while, even after he found out. But, as soon as he found out he may have really did something with Madao (the guy), he immediately ran to a bar to try and 'forget' everything. 


Yamada Taro Monogatari seems to always make me smile more at the end of each episode. Just a really nice show. Ikegami seems like she's actually growing up a bit. Liking her more that way. Mimura is a little trickster. But, a good one. One that has a lot of good intentions. In D no Arashi, they did some experiments with some of the animals at a zoo in Chiba. Things like, are elephants really dexterous? Giving them small things like peanuts. I already knew it, but their conclusion was yes they are. Another was, do lions play like their house cat cousins? Turns out they do. Only it's a lot more dangerous, obviously.I love this show.


deviantART fave: BBY Head Dance I did not make this! A funny dancing character animated by an amazing artist I watch. He's been doing a lot of these kinds of things lately. And, I like them. 


Youtube:
One of the Ao no Exorcist's, or Blue Exorcist's specials. The funniest one so far. Most have been really weird:

A Gintama amv featuring Katsura. I love this song for some reason. It's mostly in Swedish. Found out about it from another Gintama amv a couple of years ago featuring Gintoki. It was a lot better, but this is pretty good. Fits him, too: