Theme of Multiflora

Mood:

Another track from Fairy Tail's first soundtrack. Still has some of the Celtic/rock sound. I still love the blends and the overall sound of this soundtrack.An awesome fighting tune, too. Also, perfect for a lot of the characters. A cool Fairy Tail amv that features it:

Posted another pic from the fair to FB and dA. It was of another horse. Its eyes were kind of interesting. Iryu Sousa was touching, yet again. Seemed to be a more complicated story than last time. 

In Bleach, Ichigo, Orihime, Sado, Ishida, and Yoruichi make it to Soul Society. They almost didn't make it. But, thanks to the quick thinking of Orihime, they made it safely. The Shinigami live in Seireitei, and as soon as Ichigo finds out where it is, he runs towards it. He's immediately stopped by a huge gate going up, and a giant who's the gatekeeper named Jidanbou. Jidanbou uses an ax at first to smash the ground and create a barrier to keep the others from interfering. At first he slashes at Ichigo multiple times with that one ax. Nothing hits or really fazes him. So, he uses 2 axes at the same time. Ichigo smashes both and knocks Jidanbou to the ground. As a mark of respect for beating him, he opens the gate for Ichigo and his group. The 3rd Division captain, Gin Ichimaru, is there to greet them on the other side, much to Jidanbou's dismay. 

In Fairy Tail, Makarov went to a guild master meeting, leaving Mira in charge. Lucy was trying to decide on a job to take from the request board. And, if she's sticking with Natsu and Happy as a team. Gray actually smokes in this version...(I don't remember him ever doing so in the anime.) He also seems even more perverted. They introduced Loki. I miss seeing him as a regular character in the anime. Instead, of coming out of the spirit world occasionally. They also introduced Erza. She always seems cool, yet clueless. Funny that way. She's extremely strict about things, and no one wants to mess with her. Since she's considered one of the strongest mages in Fairy Tail. 

Played my clarinet. Did some pieces from my advanced solo book, and some Irish tunes. Wasn't too bad today. 

Edited and posted chapter 17 of Alliance. I like how it turned out. It's actually one of my shortest chapters. I don't really have a set limit to pages for each one. So, it's interesting where I end up.I'm already getting more ideas for the next chapter.

日本語

The kanji for today is: 図. Or: ず、と、え、はか.る (Zu, to, haka.ru). It means: diagram, accidentally, drawing, map, plan, unexpected, illustration. Worked on more compound words for 引. 引力 or いんりょく (inryoku): attraction, affinity, magnetism. 延引 or えんいん (enin): delay, procrastination. 吸引 or きゅういん (kyuuin): absorption, suction. 牽引 or けんいん (kenin): hauling, tow, pull, drag. 拘引 or こういん (kouin): arrest, custody, seduction, abduction. Went over a Japanese lesson from my book again. Got most of the answers correct! I'm getting into the tough stuff of the book, so it's even harder to concentrate on the answers, and what's being brought up. Just registered for the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test), again. A bit nervous about the test in December. But, not too much, considering I feel a lot more prepared.I'm taking the lowest level again. 

Started brainstorming about my next drawing. I think I'll do a sunset scene at Unity campus. Unity is the made-up university in my story. I wanted something to do with colors again. And, I love to draw sunsets. So, we'll see how that will turn out. Also, did a little bit more of this last section of the meme. Kept messing up my main character's face. I think that's a sign to stop and do it again tomorrow or some other time.

Made something for the first time in a long time! I love to cook, so not being able to do much of it because of my shoulder, was really difficult. I made teriyaki chicken with rice, and a salad for dinner tonight. We still had some teriyaki sauce left from the last time we made it. Usually, a bottle of it is good for 2 meals. The salad was an 'Asian Kit Salad'. It came with lettuce and some other vegetables, some cranberries, wonton strips, and a sesame orange dressing. Really good stuff.I'll probably post a pic of it all tomorrow on FB and dA. 

Heat of Battle

Mood:

Another track from the first Bleach soundtrack. Really cool fight song. Even the fighting sequences sound funky. 

It looks like a nice fall day out today, instead of summer.Even the leaves are falling. Played some Irish tunes on my clarinet. Managed to write a bit today, too.

Pretty much done with a drawing I've been wanting to do for a while. It's simple, and the person in it won't have too many details. It's me (with, oddly, a different haircut) with a wing sprouting painfully out of my left shoulder. That's the side that's giving me so many problems. When the pain started we joked that I had a wing that was growing and about to burst through my skin. I liked that idea.I tried to make it look gruesome, but I don't think it ended up that way. Maybe someday when I'm better at drawing I'll redo it. And, hopefully it'll be closer to what I wanted.Trying to decide if I should post it to dA...Also, started mapping out what I'll draw for the next part of the meme.

Iryu Sousa was sad. Although, most of them are. A lot of confused characters. The victim died because a woman suspected her of sleeping with her husband. (They used to, but they ended it a long time ago.) The victim's friend thought it was suicide, but messed with the scene to make it look like the husband from before did it. (She heard stories from her friend about him.) Later, she tried to kill herself and that guy, unsuccessfully. The man didn't really have a hand in the murder. Poor guy. Although, he is a womanizer, he still didn't do anything.

In Bleach, Ichigo passed lesson 2 in becoming a shinigami again. This time it's with his own powers. Before, he was using Rukia's. It was kind of a trippy episode.The objective was to get back up to the surface from a very deep hole, with his hands tied behind his back, within 72 hours before he turned into a hollow. He tried running up the walls. But, eventually his sword spoke to him in human form, and he managed to regain his powers with the sword's help. The group thought that they were too late and tried to annihilate him before he turned into a hollow. He survived, and burst through the hole. He had a face mask (which hollows usually have), but easily broke it. He looks awesome now. 

In Fairy Tail, Lucy and Natsu returned the book to the guy who wanted it destroyed. He found out that his father left letters to him in the book, that were bond by magic. He didn't know anything about his father, and misjudged him before he died. Now he feels even more guilty about it. 

日本語

Worked on some more kanji. Today's kanji was 船 (ふね or fune). Which means boat or ship. Practiced writing out a couple more kanji. Finished looking through the common compounds that have 強 (きょう or kyou [seem to be most common pronunciations in its compound words]) in them. There was a lot of them. Also, went over a lesson in my Japanese book. 

National Cotton Candy Day

Mood:


Its been a very long time since I've had cotton candy. I love the stuff though.So, it's good there's a day for it. Almost like eating air. Tasty sugary air.I realized a while back, that you can buy them in tiny bags at grocery stores. But, it probably doesn't 'feel' the same.


Yet again, today's been slightly cool. It doesn't feel like summer! 


I thought it'd be good to clip Rosie's nails today. She's been sticking to the carpet, pillows, chairs, etc. She put up quite a fight, but I managed to get most of them.To calm her down afterwards, I brushed her a bit. She loves the brush. Sometimes just likes to chew on it. And I gave her one of those little mice toys she loves so much. She seems to have forgiven me.Plus, I don't hear her sticking to things at the moment.


Iryu Sousa's next episode wasn't up yet, so I watched 2 episodes of Bleach. I'm starting to really like Kon. It's sad he gets treated the way he does. Another shinigami named Renji found Rukia, and planned to execute her for exchanging her powers with a human. Byakuya was with him, and is Rukia's brother. Ishida came in just in time, but was easily taken out. Bought some time for Ichigo to figure out what was going on and try to save her. He was severely injured by the end of the episode, though. I like Renji's sword. Kind of cool that it can change its appearance, and looks pretty lethal. I think when I saw the series up to now back in college, I liked his character too. It seems to me like they're taking forever to lay the 'groundwork' for the story. Still doesn't feel like it's really started, and I'm 16 episodes in. I think I stopped watching at about episode 18. So, I'll see what happens after that too.

In Fairy Tail, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy find the book called Daybreak that the client wanted destroyed. Lucy was a big fan of the author, and begged Natsu to not burn it up. Eventually, after he told her it was their job to follow through, she decided to read it on the spot. Meanwhile, the duke finds them, and orders 2 other mages from a mercenary guild to fight them. Lucy finds out that there's some sort of secret to the book, and tells Natsu that she had to read it somewhere else, and runs out of the room. Happy and the duke follow her. Which leaves just Natsu to fight the 2 powerful mages. I remember this from the anime. But, it's interesting to see it in the original design, and to see how different it might be. 


Went to JJ's for dinner. Dad had just gotten a check from Smashwords, for her book. So, it was a nice way to celebrate.I had the onion ring platter, and their sesame encrusted chicken with pineapple and Korean-style BBQ sauce sandwich with fries. Really good stuff!The only problem I had was the bun became extremely soggy towards the end. Also had some iced tea with it. Had an ice cream drumstick with sprinkles back at home for dessert. 


While we were still downtown, we headed to the waterfront. Walked and talked along the boardwalk. I haven't seen such a high tide in such a long time. So, it was cool to look over and try to see something like fish. Didn't see any, but it was still cool. 


Watched a little of the Men's Finals for gymnastics. Kind of surprising. China won gold, Japan won silver, and Great Britain won bronze. There was a bit of a dispute with Japan's score. So, at first they thought they were off the podium, and then their coach made an inquiry. They discussed the score, and after a while decided to up Japan's score. It was going to be China, Great Britain, and Ukraine. I feel sorry for Ukraine. The US didn't do too well. Felt bad for them too.


While we were talking at JJ's, we both decided I needed a bank account. I haven't had one in about 4 years, I think. Maybe longer.I was with WaMu for a while, and then they merged with Chase, and I think I dropped them around that time. 


Also, really need a haircut soon. Done by a stylist, not like having just a simple trim.I wanted to grow my hair out. But, now it's getting to the point where it's easily matted in areas, and it's starting to do something weird at the top of my head.It doesn't look healthy anymore. Its been about 5 or 6 years since I've had a haircut. It will have to be done by someone who knows really curly hair. I want it to still be somewhat long, easier to manage, and look decent. I don't think that'll be hard. Mom always had a problem with me going to have a stylist cut my hair. She said stuff like 'I can do it'. It might feel liberating too.


Also, when I finish my novel, I'll have to seriously think about how to get it out there and sell it. I think I'm pretty close to finishing. So, I might have to get in that mindset soon.It'd be cool if it really sells well. Just motivates me even more!


By the way, I just got an email from OkCupid. It says that my personality's really great, guys want me 'so bad', and that my profile has been approved. I thought it was approved already...Guys would really want me that much?I've felt like I wouldn't be good enough for them, so that was nice to see. Not sure if my personality's THAT great, either.

Head in the Clouds

Mood:


From the first Bleach soundtrack. I forgot about how funky/eclectic the background music to Bleach is. Although, it has been a while since I watched  it at my university's anime club. I'm rediscovering it.So far, it's stuff I vaguely remember. So, I must have watched about 16 episodes before. (It's a really long running series, so that's nothing. But, more than I thought.) Better than I remember too. Anyways, the music really plays with the mood. This one was cool to listen to while I was walking this morning. The starting and stopping suddenly makes it interesting at the beginning. And, I like when they add other segments on top. Layering, I guess? Nice effect. 

Didn't sleep very well.Ended up getting out of bed at about 6:15.Not the norm. I usually try to get up at around 8. So, naturally, this has offset my day. At least it's nice out. Finally got a walk in, like I mentioned. Couldn't do my longer one, but I think that's because I haven't done it in a while. Eh, at least I did some.


Posted another pic from my Israel trip today. I'm up to the ones I took at the Banias Nature Reserve. Apparently, people are liking these so far too. I'm surprised, myself, at how some of them turned out. Ones that I thought would turn out horrible, didn't. Nice that way.


Naruto Shippuden was kind of cool today. There's a story that 2 brothers had gone into the belly of the Kyuubi (9-tailed fox), stayed in there eating its entrails for 2 weeks, and were then spat back up. They ended up receiving some of its power. They were pretty tough guys to begin with. Anyways, they were brought back to life, and forced to fight the Allied Shinobi Force. Cool how the Force won against them. Next week's preview looked kind of lame. Why can't they just continue the fight? Or have Naruto step in already? Apparently, in the next one Sakura will lose her memory, and they have to help her remember. It seems kind of like a weird side story, but I guess we'll find out. 

In Hitman Reborn, Tsuna and Kyoko were coaxed into playing Russian Roulette by Reborn. Reborn assured them that the gun was 'party safe' and didn't have real bullets. Kyoko was the first to try, and was shot by a dying will bullet. Reborn had conveniently forgotten which gun was 'fake' and gave them the real one. If Kyoko didn't regret something just before she was shot, she'd actually die. But, luckily just before, his mom had walked in, jumped to conclusions, and said: "Isn't it hard to have this no-good-son as your boyfriend?" (Before she walked out again.) When Kyoko came back to life, she ran straight for his mom, and wanted her to 'take back her words'. Tsuna assumed that meant the part of 'your boyfriend', and thinks she hates him now. What she really was upset about was the fact she said 'no-good-son'. It's an interesting series so far. And, I can tell where it differs from the anime already. Kind of interesting to start the series in both mediums at the same time. 

Managed to play my clarinet today. Hadn't the last couple of days. But, oddly, I sounded pretty good. Only a few mistakes. And, they were mostly at the beginning. Did a couple of jazz songs and a lot of Irish tunes. I've finished the flyer for my tutoring thing. I just need to get it out there soon. 

日本語

Today's kanji is: 算. Or: さん (san). It means: calculate, abacus, probability, divining. Worked on translating more of that chicken and potato soup recipe. Almost done with that. Last couple of lessons have seemed pretty simple to me. I get them more than some of the others. I'll just have to go over those others some more until I get the same feeling with them!

Did some of the meme. A couple of days ago, I finished the one about drawing Vince's 'true love' or what he really likes. I drew a big table full of buffet type stuff. He loves food. In the story, he's never had a true love. Poor Vince!The next slot I'm working on is of Doina turning into a zombie, and chasing me. I'm doing the same mochi version of myself that I did for the Hetalia meme. Since I kind of like it. Also, makes it funnier looking. (I still don't get how a 'healer' who has a lot of antidotes, would turn. But, I'll throw that out the window for the meme.) 

Worked a little on the index for the recipe list. The list of recipes that I would like to make, is so long I need an index.I will get to them all someday!(Obviously, I'll start up again when my shoulder is finally healed.)

Still doing my virtual trip to Japan. I'm in Aomori prefecture at the moment. There's not much info about it in the guidebook. (Even less than for Hokkaido.) So, I looked at the bilingual atlas, online journals, and the Aomori Prefectural Government website. The atlas and website had a lot of cool things in them. Went to Cape Shiriya, where there's wild horses, a monument, and a lighthouse. Then, went to Hotokegaura, which is a stretch of coastline with huge/tall strange natural rock formations, and cliffs. The water's beautiful too. They think the rocks resemble a gathering of praying Buddhas. They're cool looking. And finally, I went to Mount Osore. It's a volcano, and some say the landscape around it looks like hell.The name literally means: Mount Fear. Lots of temples there too. Still have a few things I want to see in this prefecture, so that should be fun.

I'm so glad Iryu Sousa came back for a second season!I love this show! Itomura looks at clues in articles left behind by murder victims. Everything he finds seems to intrigue him, much to the annoyance of the other detectives. But, he usually solves the case, and finds some sort of message to send to the victim's family and/or the killer. Really was a touching series last time. The first episode of this season didn't disappoint. Oddly, they have a new female character who's working with him. Wasn't sure if I'd like her at first. But, the character and actress ended up being really interesting. A different feel, but seems more 'real' this way. She's more down-to-earth than the other one.

Started watching a variety show called Cartoon KAT-TUN. I miss the Arashi variety shows, but they either aren't subbed or the video's missing. I like the variety shows usually because I can hear the way they actually speak. It's sometimes much quicker than in dramas. Plus, I get to learn more about their culture through games, interviews, etc. So, in a way it may be more educational for me. Anyways, this show is hosted by the boy band KAT-TUN. I think I saw a snippet of it a while back and liked it. (It was on something like Japan TV.) So, why not try it now? They ask their guests 100 questions beforehand, and pick whatever answer is interesting to them. Then they ask them some more questions based on it. Then, later they have a game section. This time it was DAT-TUN5, which is a game of bingo-darts. They compete against another guest. If the guest wins, they get one of the gold darts. If the group loses too many games, there's some sort of punishment. Doesn't sound as fun or exciting as Arashi's shows, but they're not bad either. (And I miss their documentaries!) 

deviantART fave: StupidFox- 73 I did not make this! Another funny installment of StupidFox. I feel sorry for StupidFox...

National Chocolate Covered Anything Day 2011!

Mood:


Yay for chocolate!To me, chocolate goes with almost anything. So, it's fitting to have a day for it. I remember reading a while ago about a restaurant that only serves chocolate-centered dishes. All the meals were with chocolate. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. I think that's awesome!I'm not sure if that restaurant's still in existence, but it was popular. Things have been a bit crazy, so I haven't been able to post for a while.

日本語

Worked on writing a conversation to myself on Japanese paper. Also, went over a kanji that's been repeating a lot in the article I'm writing out. Thought it'd be good to go over those. I've just started reviewing again how to write them, pronunciations, meanings, etc.This time it was: 産 which could be pronounced san, ubu, umareru, umu, musu. Usually, it's san though. It can mean childbirth, to give birth, native, produces, production, yield, assets, naive, or inexperienced. Just depends on how you say it and what context it's in. I'm also making a sentence with each kanji, just to practice it. This really helps me remember it.Also, read some of You Maga's December issue. And, worked on the article I'm writing out. Yesterday, I finished translating a recipe for Jagaimo Mochi or Potato Mochi. (Only took me about 45 minutes to translate! Wahoo!) Essentially a Japanese version of latkes. Funny, because I didn't really expect it to sound so similar.Interesting, they say to season it with mirin and soy sauce. For latkes, we have applesauce and/or sour cream with them. Wonder what it would taste like the other way...


Finished watching Iryu Sousa last Friday. It was a pretty good series. Not outstanding, but good. Also, finished watching Yukan Club. That was a hilarious and touching series. Left me with a warm fuzzy feeling after.I think it's one of my fave comedies now. Doubt it'd happen, but it'd be interesting to see a second season if they ever made one. Also, got a new watcher on deviantART! Yay!


Worked on the Hetalia Heritage meme. Mainly wrote out labels for the countries. Felt that it'd take too much time to paste flags on there.Also, edited some areas that were fading/needed erasing/etc. Next time I think I'll finally be ready to scan and edit it in Photoshop. Had an idea for a Hanukkah-themed drawing. It'd feature my main character from Alliance, Shadow. He'll be a little kid looking in awe at the lit menorah. There'll be dreidels and a pile of gelt off to the side. Menorah, dreidels, and stuff will be on top of a piano. Similar to what we normally do with just the menorahs at home. It'd be like looking through a window at it. Cool, if I ever get to it and finish before the holiday ends.


Still been able to play my clarinet every day. It's been awesome!I can tell I'm getting much better. Also, finished transposing a long Irish tune. Almost done with reading Timeline. I want to finish it quickly so I can get to the next book on my list.Maybe I'll do that this weekend. Didn't find any Lebanese recipes yesterday. But, I know they have amazing food! So, why isn't it online?Next time I'll look for more Cambodian recipes. 


Went to a Yiddish songs concert yesterday. It was cool, but really short. Yiddish has always fascinated me.It feels 'familiar' or 'homey' to me, I guess. Some of my ancestors spoke it, so maybe that's why? My grandma's parents were always speaking it. So, she knows a lot too. There was some Hanukkah cookies there. They were pretty good. The congregation's annual Hanukkah party's coming up soon. If we go, sounds like it'd be a lot of fun. 


deviantART faves: second Gelt Moon Buns Game Girl .Under water. Hetalia drinks I didn't make these! First, an amazing pic of a cat. Second, cute crocheted bunnies coming out of a bag of gelt. Cool to find a Hanukkah themed thing. Third, an amazing drawing by an artist I watch. Fourth, Hetalia characters in their countries' most popular drinks. Kind of like those cup collab things I saw and linked to a while back. Just realized, all the characters are naked though. Nothing's showing (except for a little butt), just kind of weird. I guess if they didn't want their clothes wet...


Youtube:
Hilarious beagle with a leaf blower: