National Milk Day!

Mood:

This holiday was actually on Monday. Apparently, it marks the first day milk was delivered in bottles in 1878. I can't stand it by itself, but mixed with something like chocolate syrup, or in a recipe, it's amazing.I've heard some people say we don't need it, but you can use it in so many different ways. It can change its form, too. (Turn into cheese, butter, etc.) It might be one of the things some people take for granted. So, it makes sense that there'd be a holiday for it.

My IBD symptoms seem to have gotten worse lately. The joints in my hands are stiff and really painful. They started to especially worsen Monday night. I think my left elbow joint is starting to hurt, too. Tylenol only helps to take the edge off, doesn't actually take the pain away. So, at the moment, I don't really have anything to take for it. It's interesting that sometimes when I go to touch something, I get a weird spiky pain in my hand joints.Having a hard time really carrying things, too. Especially in the morning. 

I'm still nauseous at times, too. My stomach is starting to hurt more often in addition to it. Also, bruising more often. I find all these symptoms oddly interesting, though. 

I emailed my gastroenterologist during the weekend, and got a response yesterday. She also called me last night. She seemed concerned about all these symptoms. She said these symptoms suggest continued inflammation of the colon, despite increasing the azathioprine. The inflammation can travel to the joints, causing stiffness and pain. It was odd that I was getting close to 'normal' or 'remission' level with my sed rate, and then suddenly with the last blood test it started going back up. So, azathioprine helped for a bit, and then I guess it stopped soon after.So, she wants me to go down to 2 pills a day of the azathioprine, go down a dosage and stop when I'm done with my current prescription of balsalazide, and start taking prednisone tomorrow. The steroid might help with the inflammation, and with absorbing the azathioprine better. Also, she thinks the higher dose of azathioprine was the cause of my nausea and stomach pain. Prednisone sounds scary.If I don't improve (or get worse than I am now) after taking it for a month and stopping, she wants me to switch to either remicade or humira. They're much stronger than azathioprine is. And, I might have to get injections with those. This is starting to scare me more, but we'll see what happens.She's a bit worried about the weight loss, too.

I also thought I should probably attend an IBD support group. I feel kind of detached about it.Like it's not really happening to me, but I know I have to take care of it. I guess it's not complete denial...I also feel like no one would believe me if I brought up these symptoms, and yet that's never been the case. With this, most of the time, they've taken it very seriously. I also tend to have test results that indicate that things aren't 'normal' during those times. So, I have evidence that it's real. It might be nice to at least talk to more people that have it through a support group. My gastro said she'll ask her colleagues about a local one, and email me back the response. 

So, she ordered a bunch of blood tests that she wanted me to get done either today or tomorrow. I did it today. There were about 7 or so vials they had to fill up. 3 were of the largest vials, and a couple were of the smallest ones. Kind of a range, but a lot nonetheless.She said she can see if the increased dose of azathioprine was really the cause of my nausea and stomach pain. She probably wants another sed rate done. There will probably be another general panel one, too. She said she wants to do a variety of different ones to see how the inflammation is, see how I'm metabolizing certain things, how my nutrition is, and I think more to do with my liver. Some of that has to be done anyways just before I take prednisone. This time the lab tech was very quiet. I get a strange feeling, and have passed out before, if I focus too much on the blood draw. I need someone to talk to me or some sort of distraction, in order to avoid that sort of thing.I did manage to draw out some sort of conversation with him, though. Of course it was about IBD. The only thing I could think about, when someone is running tests for it.It took a while, too. At least the vein didn't roll, and he was able to find it. 

Afterwards, I picked up the prednisone at the clinic's pharmacy. Apparently I have to start off at a certain amount, and then start tapering it each week. So, she has me on 10mg pills, and I have to take 4 of those a day for a week. The next week will only be 3, and so on until I run out. I like that they gave me a little schedule sheet to keep track of how many I should take each day. It seems handy.They said I have to take it in the morning with food. A common side effect is insomnia. It gives you a high energy boost for a little while, and then you crash. Some people think they're 'cured' during that boost. But, it's like a false hope on that. You could be a lot better while on it, though. It also is more likely to upset the stomach if not taken with food. You can have an irritated stomach even with the food. I already have nausea and stomach pain, so I'm not looking forward to it possibly being worse.The pharmacist was surprised I was prescribed this at first after I told her about the nausea and such, but when I brought up Crohn's, she immediately agreed with it. Saying the benefits will most likely far outweigh the risks. I could also be incredibly hungry and gain weight. But, I'll be on it for such a short time, it might not happen. For many people who experience side effects with it, they tend to go away pretty quickly after stopping it. At least that's what a lot of people say. So, if I do have any side effects, I'll go along with thinking they won't last after stopping it. That'll give me a little hope on that.

I mentioned a while back that I'm interested in exploring modern orthodox Judaism, or at least becoming more observant than I have been. I decided to actually start this. At least, making some steps toward it. (Finally doing something about it, rather then just talk about it.) For this coming Shabbat, I'm going to try and 'unplug' or not use electronics, and start/end it on time. So, no iPhone, no TV, no computer, etc. If it starts before we usually eat, like it would now, I'll light the candles and such at that time, then eat at the usual time. Technically you're supposed to light the candles 18 minutes before sunset Friday night. With Havdalah, which ends it, it's about 50 minutes after sunset Saturday night. So, these are rather early this time of year. Which might be perfect for starting that. When Shabbat starts later, I could have dinner and then do the candles. I just want to see how it feels, too. It might be nice to unplug at a certain time of the week.I might add more things slowly over time, we'll see. Depends on how this will go for a while. I might have my iPhone with me when I travel still for emergencies. Plus, I might let myself take a pic of something I haven't had before, but not mess with it until later. While waiting at a restaurant, I can just take a book out or something, instead of my phone. I've also started watching more of Chabad's videos on their iPhone app. They're not 'modern' orthodox, but will give me more insight, I suppose. (They are an orthodox movement and organization, though. Specifically, under the movement, Lubavitch Hasidism.) So far, a lot of it's been interesting. Many of it I knew already. Probably because Mom was very knowledgeable about Judaism as a whole, and because of the books I have as well. Should be interesting to see where this takes me. 

I finished going over/editing my 2nd novel, Sweet Endless Terror, one last time. Then, I decided to fix a couple of things with my 1st novel, Alliance, reuploaded it to Smashwords, and changed the price to 'free'. It took only about a day and a half to go all the way through to getting back into the premium catalog. (There are 2 reviews it goes through. The 2nd one for a new book usually takes longer to get the ok from.) It was very quick. I'm going to publish my 2nd book next. I'll have it start off on pre-order for a few weeks, and then it will go 'live'. During the pre-order period, I'm going to have it cheaper than when it goes live. That might be an incentive for some people. I also decided to switch the price of the 1st novel to free for during the pre-order time period. (Or, technically, just before until the pre-order ends.) After that, it'll still be slightly cheaper than the second book. These books aren't connected, but it might give some a chance to read the first book beforehand. Kind of like people might discover it as well this way. Pre-order sounds really interesting. Once the pre-order period ends, the author gets all the sales during that time, at once. The readers get it right away, too. The only downside might be that Smashwords doesn't do pre-orders with their catalog, but they still can put it as a pre-order through 3 other online retailers. (I think, from what I've read.) I'll just have to direct people to those first. But, after the pre-order period, it'll go live almost instantly on Smashwords itself and at other online book retailers. It can't go on Amazon until you make $100 on that book. But, it'll pretty much go anywhere else. They keep adding new retailers from around the world, too. Libraries can buy them, as well. Should be exciting to see what happens with it.I think it's better written than the first, it's a bit more personal since the short stories are based on my recurring nightmares, and people might be more interested in horror. I'm thinking of rating it mature for violence, being graphic, psychological, etc. There's no sexual content. (Which is what I usually first think of when I see 'rated: mature'.) These are based on nightmares, so it might not be suitable for certain ages.

I finished watching the Japanese drama, Siren. It was very short, but really well done. There were some plot holes, but if you ignored them it was good. The fight scenes were a little awkward looking. It was really twisted, funny, sad, disturbing, complex, and the music fit. It kept you guessing until the very end. Other than the fight scenes, it was very well acted. Kind of like a wild, bumpy, and oddly satisfying ride. 

Also, finished reading the manga, Magico. It was really good.Seemed very unique, but the last few chapters also seemed rushed. The series could have gone on for a very long time. At least, they let us see the wedding and gave us a somewhat happy end. 

I recently started watching a drama called Yami no Basosha or Partner in Darkness. This one's also short, but very good and interesting so far. Has some actors I like, too. It's essentially about a killer mangaka (manga creator). He killed 4 girls (if I remember correctly) a long time ago. He decided to draw/write out one of his crimes into a manga. He left it in another mangaka's storeroom, and expected no one to find it. A secretary for the second mangaka was going through that storeroom a little after that mangaka died. When he found it, he asked an investigator to look into it. Especially because there were newspaper clippings about the murders mixed in with the manga. She's not familiar with the manga world, so she asked a manga editor to help her with the mystery. They want to know who the mangaka is, if he really did kill those girls, and what was his motive. They now suspect he has a continuation of the manga somewhere. They don't even know why he hid the manga there in the first place. Recently found out that the secretary was actually the little boy that the mangaka talked to in the manga. He saw him bury one of the bodies as a kid, and he had a fascination with killing things ever since. He wanted to be just like that mangaka. However, after the secretary finally found him, that mangaka didn't want a 'partner' and recently killed him. He might have killed many more people, but the only ones they know about were the ones that were reported missing, and/or their bodies were found. Only one of them wasn't found. This is getting better and better with each episode. I think I read that this was based on a manga, as well. 

6th Night of Hanukkah!

Mood:

Yay! It's Hanukkah!One of my fave holidays! I'm having it pretty low key this year. Not even going to any parties. The congregation that I like is having one tomorrow night. I remember that they usually have a lot of people show up, which is one of the reasons I don't want to go. For now, I don't know how my immune system will handle that many people in such a small space, again. I also don't want to wear a mask while I'm there. There's usually lots of food, so not only will I look weird, but I'd have to take it off in order to eat anyways.Oh well. I can have my own party at home. 

I've been lighting the candles for each night like usual. (There are 8 nights.) While going through the Hanukkah decorations, menorahs (for Hanukkah there is a special one called a hanukkiyah, but for short many just say menorah. It's the general term which basically means 'lamp'), etc.; I found a wax off spray. Didn't know we had such a thing.Used it the first night, and it did indeed keep the wax from dripping everywhere (didn't even see it in the 'cups' that hold the candles). But, the stuff smelled really bad, and the spray gets everywhere.Too much of a mess to deal with. I listened and sang to some Hanukkah songs on youtube. Had some song sheets, but had forgotten half their melodies, so it was nice to hear them again. Played a little dreidel by myself. Also, I wasn't sure if I wanted decorations up until the day before. Found some interesting things that we haven't used in a long time. Rosie seems to like when I light the candles, too. The more I light, the more she wants to sit and watch them. Tonight, she was on one of the tallest boxes (in the room I do it in) we have, and just watched contently.I did have some fried foods. But, no latkes. The closest thing I had were some fried potatoes at a Chinese buffet. Seemed to have a similar taste, though. Also, we had sufganiyot (sufganiyah for the singular form) or jelly donuts the night before. Kind of started celebrating early. They had a lemon filling, and were really good. Got the same ones again tonight. So good! 

This is my wallpaper for December. A fun Pandora Hearts themed one. Break's on the far left, Oz is 2nd from the left, Alice is in front of Gilbert (with the cymbals), and Liam is at the far right. Emily, Break's doll that seems to have a life of its own, is holding a ribbon in the middle. Can't tell if she's hanging off of the violin's bow, or just in midair. Combining one of my fave manga with a music theme, is pretty cool to me. Probably because I love music in general, and I'm a clarinetist. Interesting instruments that they chose. I don't think they played instruments in the actual series, so it's interesting. They might have in one of the art books. I haven't looked at them, though.

My Paris calendar features Montmartre, and  the name means 'mountain of the martyr'. It was derived from the martyrdom of Saint Denis, the bishop of Paris. The original inhabitants established their own town outside of city regulations. It quickly became a popular drinking area, and establishments like the early Moulin Rouge and Le Chat Noir (The Black Cat) surfaced. During the mid to late 1800's, artists such as Degas, Matisse, Toulouse-Lautrec, Renoir, and Picasso lived there.

My Jewish calendar's main pic's of a menorah, unknown maker, made out of brass, Netherlands or Germany; 1870-1900. The legs/stand holding it up look like those sea monsters in old fashioned maps. (The ones that say things like 'here be dragons'.) They have a bird's head, and a fish's body. Their 'beaks' are open, and kind of look like they're smiling or laughing. Coming from the main body of the menorah there are hands for each branch. The branches really are designed like tree branches, and those hands are holding them up. They have normal 'cups' to hold the candles at the top. At the very top of the main body, there's a star of David. A very interestingly styled one. The other pic's of another menorah, made by Iene Ambar, made out of iron and wire, Amsterdam, Netherlands; 1988. I don't think I like this one as much...It's made up of triangular tubes, with a clear base. I think I see wires poking up from each corner of it. (Looks dangerous...) It's not the usual branched one or 'sitting' one. All the 'tubes' are at the same height. Normally, the Shamash candle holder is slightly raised above the rest. It's a 'helper' or 'attendant', and we light the other candles with it. But, this one isn't like that. 

One of my 2016 calendars is put out by the same Jewish museum in Amsterdam that did the Jewish one I have for this year. Technically, they go by Rosh Hashanah to start it, then end the second December after that. (If they go by Rosh Hashanah, shouldn't they end it on the next one?) So, every time I start it, it's a couple of months into it already. There's always something interesting featured from the museum. It would be cool to go there one day. The other calendar (for the normal 'secular' year) is going to be beagle themed. We used to have a beagle named Buster. I miss him a lot.He was quite a character. Most beagles remind me of him. I'm not used to having an animal theme. Normally it's either herbs/spices or places. I was half thinking about an element theme (like it features helium, gold, carbon, zinc, lithium, etc.), but felt more strongly about the beagle one. Maybe I'll get the element one next time. I love science, as well. Also, I'll go through my current calendars at the end of the month, and cut out any pics I want to turn into 'posters' to put on my walls. I think it's an interesting way of appreciating the calendars after using them. Plus, some have some pretty cool pics. 

Only found one month-long holiday that seemed interesting: National Egg Nog Month. I love egg nog (of course the non-alcoholic kind), even though I know it's a Christmas type beverage. I don't get it that often. When I do, I put a little nutmeg on top. 

Wow. It's been a while.Hopefully, next year I'll be a bit better about posting. The refrigerator broke down on November 30th. Everything in the freezer section went bad pretty quickly. Majority of the refrigerated section went bad quickly, too. I went through it all, and we took the stuff that had gone bad to the dump. Ended up being 120 pounds worth of the stuff.We had just stocked up everything, and a lot of it went to waste. I thought that maybe it needed to defrost without anything in it, so we turned off its power (the plug is hard to reach), and waited for about a day. Then, we turned it back on and left it going without anything in it for a day. Dad had cleaned it out before turning it back on. Apparently, the bottom area on both sides is working, but the vent is starting to ice over again. The top part of the refrigerated section is really warm, too. 

Dad called Sears about it, and scheduled an appointment to have someone look at it and hopefully repair it. That will be tomorrow at anytime between 1pm and 5pm. I really hope they can get it back to being fully operational. Even the water/ice dispenser isn't working. I've been using tap water for tea, and old bottled water when I just want water. The taste of the tap water is nasty to me. When I use it for hot tea, that taste seems to go away. The old bottle water has a weird taste, but it's not bad. I've also been eating oddly ever since the refrigerator broke down. 

Had a phone appointment recently with my gastroenterologist. In fact, she ended up calling me at the mall when were looking at refrigerators. (Obviously, didn't get one. But, we looked.) But, it was a very weird time to call me about something like that. I think I might have gotten some weird looks. That's ok, since I don't know those people, and probably won't see them again.

We talked about my concern about seeing a recent test result that indicated I have hepatotoxicity or drug induced liver damage. She said my other liver results were fine, and some were even better than before. She also said that everyone metabolizes the med differently, and not to worry for now. Just to wait and see what the next test results will be. She said I should have my next blood draw in mid-December. So, I'll do it the beginning of next week. 

Also, she thinks she can wean me off of the balsalazide. She said I might be off of it by the beginning of next year. I'm guessing that means sometime in the next couple of months. I really don't like the balsalazide. The pills are huge, and I have to take a lot of them during the day. 

A couple of nights into rationing the azathioprine last time, I was in extreme pain in my lower right abdomen that traveled to my back and up into my chest. Had a very hard time sleeping. After a while, I was seriously debating whether to go to the ER or Urgent Care. But, then I started to feel better, and decided not to go anywhere. My gastro was concerned about this when I brought it up. She kind of lectured me about having too much or too little of what I'm supposed to have. (Unless she says otherwise.) It could seriously complicate things. She did change the prescription finally so that it's for the full month. Yay!

I've also been feeling odd more recently. Every so often I feel like my skin's on fire. I've even seen some dark red streaks around my earlobes and behind my ears. It's a little scary. But, I don't think I'll bring it up until after I get the next batch of test results. Also, my stomach sometimes really hurts. And, my scalp has been very itchy, especially at night. (It's starting to burn up too, every time I scratch.) It can affect other places besides my digestive tract. (Places that might be connected somehow, or I'm not absorbing certain nutrients, etc. They call them extraintestinal manifestations or complications.) There has been other odd things, but again, I won't bring it up until after I get those results back. It might come up on them, anyways. Also, I've been eating even less protein ever since the refrigerator broke down. I might still have some good sources, but either I just don't feel up to having them, or I don't want to have like a whole can of sardines, for example. 

Also, I have been feeling like not eating much. Eating is even more important now with the meds I'm taking, and the 'disease'. So, it's not a good thing to feel like you want to avoid it.Most of the time I'm telling myself that I have to eat at least enough for my pills. This has helped somewhat. Occasionally, having food I really love has helped, too. I can't always eat that, though.

I decided to join a Crohn's and colitis forum. It doesn't seem as active as I thought it would, but it's something. There's one guy that seems to post/reply to everything I put out, immediately. It's a little weird. Especially when most of his posts after mine end with something like: "We're here for you." The Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America's forum is even less active. Seems the site's just good for resources. Which is great, too. Definitely need that.

Finished watching Honboshi or the Real Culprit. It was a bit bland. Didn't have very exciting stories, and it seemed poorly acted. Odd, because most of the actors are really good in other things. 

Just recently started watching the Jdrama Siren, and it's been amazing since the very beginning.A lot of suspense and mystery. There's a lot of twists and turns. It's a new show, too. I don't know if Kara, the 'villain', is trying to become Yuki, a detective, or stalk her, or kill her slowly. Still don't know much about Kara. Shinobu, Yuki's partner and boyfriend (they're keeping their relationship a secret), knows something's up with Kara and is doing his own investigation. He knows she has some sort of interest in Yuki, and that recently with every murder she appears. There's never any evidence left behind of her involvement with the crimes, so Shinobu's trying to dig deeper into who she really is. (It doesn't help that she's had extensive plastic surgery.) She seems to have some sort of master plan with every murder, too. Don't know what that is, though. She follows the way a serial killer acts almost by the book, and seems to be trying different methods with each murder. At times, she even seems bored by it. Shinobu sees the pattern, but Yuki doesn't. In fact, Yuki seems to have become friends with Kara. 

I'm really close to finishing the manga Magico. It's gotten really trippy the last few chapters. The trippiness towards the end reminds me of 666 Satan which is also known as O-Parts Hunter. That one only got trippier as it progressed towards the end. The art reminds me a bit of En Passant. It definitely has its own uniqueness, though. It's been really good, and I kind of don't want it to end.

Youtube:

A Pandora Hearts and Kuroshitsuji amv:

A Gintama trailer-like amv:

10 hilarious cat commercials:

A Kekkai Sensen amv:

Universal Music Day!

Mood:

Yay, for music!This was on Saturday. We should celebrate listening and/or making music every day, though. But, some people might need a reminder every so often. The organization that started it, says it's a day to encourage people from around the world to make some sort of music. If they can't, at the very least listen to something that's inspiring or that really resonates with them. Kind of a cool idea. 

The weather was crazy on Saturday. It was very rainy and windy. In fact, it apparently had gotten so bad that downtown (along the waterfront) was flooded. The videos I've seen of it are amazing to watch. (One person calls it a 'hurricane' in their vid.) It's like a river opened up over the main road.The lights flickered occasionally during the day here, but there wasn't any real flooding around us, and the power didn't go out. Just looked really messy outside. Sunday was a bit chilly, but sunny at times. Quite different than the day before. 

I still feel like I'm slowly coming out of my cold or whatever it was.I'm a lot better than I was, though. Hoping to start up my sit-ups again on a regular basis. I did them last night and this morning. So, it's a start. Doing 10 sit-ups 2 times a day this week. Somewhere simple to start with. It'd be great if I can get back to my 2-mile walks again, too. 

Something has been weighing heavily on my mind since Wednesday. (Although, I feel a lot better today about it.) I was told that I'm off of my health insurance, after I tried to order more of the azathioprine. Funny thing is, I ordered another med on the 2nd, and didn't have any problems with it. In fact, it was cheaper than usual. Which had me really puzzled.Dad had switched jobs to a local school district recently (she works at the high school that's about a 5 minute walk from home now), and I think the insurance changes over in October. (I'm a dependent on it.) It's supposed to be the same sort of plan, because it's the one offered to all 'educators' in the state. (I think.) 

Anyways, I decided to put the azathioprine on hold for a few days to see if it was a glitch. It was still the same yesterday. I had to order it, considering I'll run out on the 19th. They still haven't updated the dosage, so I get 20 days of it instead of 30.They told me I should tell my doctor about it when I got my meds right away, so it's changed for next time. Thank goodness it didn't cost as much as the med I got on the 2nd, if I wasn't covered. Normally, for that one while I'm covered, it's $6. When I ordered it on the 2nd, it was $3. If I wasn't covered, it would have been about $140. Crazy!That's a huge difference. 

I read that there might be a waiting period between the switch to the 'new plan'. Some say it might be until the 15th. I'm a little angry about it (ok, maybe more than just a little angry...), but I'd be so relieved if it did kick in then. Some say it might be as long as 90 days. I can't wait that long...Found out last night that Dad's off of it now for the time being, as well. (She really needs it, too.) So, it kind of feels like I'm falling without a safety net at the moment.Luckily, I'm pretty stable right now with my IBD. Although, this has caused a bit of stress on it. I was supposed to get a blood draw at the beginning of this month, but knowing that I'm not covered yet, I'm putting it off. It's free while I'm covered, but without it, it can be pretty expensive to have lab work done. They show how much the insurance pays for that and other things on a chart online so you can see how much things would cost. It's interesting to look at if you're covered. If not, it can be scary.If I do get back on the plan on the 15th, I'll get the blood draw done as soon as I can after that. I'm going to email my gastro about some of this stuff soon.

It feels scary also because I still feel new to IBD stuff. I feel I still don't know much about it, even though I'm learning a lot. I read a lot of it also has to do with how each individual's body reacts to it. It's different for everyone. That's also another scary part, since I was very recently diagnosed. Not enough time to really know what it's doing, or what the meds are doing to me. So not being covered feels like throwing me to the wolves this way.

Since I started azathioprine (especially with the most recent dose), I've noticed that my nails have thinned, become soft, and are somewhat rubbery. It's a weird feeling. I noticed it a bit before I upped the dose when I took off a Jamberry nail thing. (They're kind of like really strong stickers or decals for your nails. They have some interesting styles.) It left marks, and part of the inner nail area flaked off. I did it exactly as they told me to. Now my nails easily bend, get little nicks in them, have weird ripples/indents, and can be hard to clip. The hard to clip part is mainly because of that rubbery thing. (I only used the Jamberry samples on my index fingers, so it definitely didn't cause this. So, I'm not downing them.) It's kind of sad.I'm staying far away from Jamberry now. I only tried it once, but it doesn't sound smart for me right now. I'm even a bit weary of nail polish, but think it might be better for me. 

I might also be losing muscle mass or 'wasting' slowly. Wasting's such a weird term for it, but that's what people call it. I normally am extremely muscular in my legs. I know, because not only did I do marching band from the beginning of junior high until a few years into college; I took 2 weight training classes. One in high school, and the other in college. Weight training's also a gauge since I could see how much weight certain muscles could stand in my body. I remember the first time I was on the 'sled' in the high school class, I started with the wrong amount of weight. 200 pounds.It's a machine where you lie back and push up a platform that holds weights with your legs. Normally, people start with maybe 20 pounds at most. The 200 pounds felt like nothing, which impressed the teacher. I was allowed to slowly continue adding weights to it as long as I had a spotter. (He lectured me first about safety with the weights.) I think I made it close to 400 without much of a problem. I beat a football player who challenged me on it.Interestingly, I think there were only one or two other girls in that class. It was similar in college. That shows you how strong my legs can naturally be. I also had to walk uphill to a lot of my classes in college, getting my 'cougar' calves. (The cougar is their mascot.) I also had to walk to school and back in junior high and high school. Sometimes I had to walk to and from several times, because of band stuff or clubs. Anyways, I'm noticing that those muscles seem to be shrinking. I'm getting bonier in those areas. I don't want to lose them. I'm losing fat in those areas too, but I feel the muscles themselves are going as well. I don't feel as strong there. My upper arms feel weaker, too. It's a weird feeling.

I'm getting close to finishing Rurouni Kenshin. I don't really want it to end. The art just kept getting better and better. Seems pretty high quality for the time, too. The current arc is a bit weird. It's on feng shui, and how people are exploiting others through it. I wonder how the series will end? There are still movies, OVAs (Original Video Animation- usually either like a special or an original story based on the series. They can be a few episodes long), and 3 live-action movies. The live-action ones are rather new, and would also be very interesting. There are parts of the show that seem kind of 'magical', but are usually explained in a real life sort of way. So, I totally think it can be pulled off in live-action. I think I've watched one of the OVAs a long time ago. It was before I watched an episode of the actual series. I think it was called Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal, and it was a lot more tragic and sad. I might watch it again, along with the other stuff I haven't seen, after I'm through with the series. I think I'll go in chronological order. The first thing is a movie from 1997. 

The finale of Kekkai Sensen or Bloodline Battlefront was finally put out last week.They postponed it for close to 3 months. It was roughly twice as long as a normal episode. I really love this series, so it was nice that they made it longer. I don't like that they made the fans wait for so long.I get maybe having a couple weeks for a break, but 3 months? I read that one of the issues was that there were scheduling problems. Many people had complained in the comments section even after the finale that things seemed too random, it was too fast, and they didn't know what was happening. It sure didn't seem random to me, and even though it was pretty complex and quick, I understood most of it.But, I like those ones that make you think. They still didn't answer a lot of things, but I think part of what made it good was the many little mysteries scattered throughout. (Of course, the humor was a huge plus.) It had a very bittersweet ending. Ghost or White disappeared. (She called herself Ghost at first to Leo.) I think she passed away, but gave Black (her brother) the power of the barrier. I think they got rid of the 'King of Despair', who was like the king of the vampires that hid in Black. He would take him over repeatedly, and had the opposite personality. (His eyes would go from blue to red, and he styled his hair differently.) I say he might have disappeared, because at the very end we heard the tune that the 'King' is always whistling coming from someone else. We don't see their face, but their back. There were hints of a possible 2nd season. Libra welcomed someone new at the very end. Again, they didn't really show this person. Leo's sister was shown at the end reading his letters while in her wheelchair at a park. Someone is behind her. She opens her eyes, and it seems like something happened with hers as well. I was thinking halfway through the series that maybe she's blind, but her eyes looked 'special'. Not like Leo's, but like they didn't have pupils, grey, and almost like she had galaxies in them. I'm wondering if the person behind her really read the letters out loud to her while she held them...(All we hear is Leo's voice reading it out.) We don't really know. Someone said White wasn't in the manga. She's pretty central to this season of the anime, but maybe that means there's even more of a possibility for it coming back. There are plenty of 'bad' guys left, too. I'd love a 2nd season, but hopefully they'd plan it better if it happens. 

I don't know if I mentioned it, but I started watching the 2nd season of Kuroko no Basket or Kuroko's Basketball. It seems even more interesting this season. I think there's one more season to the series so far. I'm thinking of watching the 2nd season of Haikyuu that's currently airing, soon. Another sports themed one. Haikyuu revolves around volleyball.

Started reading Hyde and Closer recently. It was recommended to be similar to Hitman Reborn. I can see a lot of similarities already. The 'teacher' and the other stuffed animals seem much cuter and deadlier, though. (Rather than the 'babies' do in Reborn. Seemed like they were just going for weird and slightly cute in that one.) I like that sort of thing. Shunpei Closer's grandfather, Alsyd Closer, would travel around the world and always came back to Japan to tell his grandson about his amazing adventures. Before leaving for Africa, he gave Shunpei a teddy bear named Hyde on his 7th birthday. 6 years later and Shunpei receives a dangerous package that had a stuffed monkey inside. The stuffed monkey came to life and started attacking him. Later Hyde comes to 'life' and eventually saves him. Shunpei apparently comes from a long line of legendary mages. He's the last descendant left, and all mages from around the world are after him. If they kill him, they can gain immeasurable power. Apparently, his grandpa gave him Hyde to protect him, and to teach him how to hone his magical powers. Powers Shunpei didn't know he had. Hyde likes to put candy cigars in his mouth, drinks honey like it's whiskey, and has his weapon called 'Texas Chainsaw' stuck up inside him. Shunpei has to unzip Hyde's zipper in the back in order for him to take it out. So far he doesn't seem to have any friends or people that join forces with him yet, like Hitman Reborn did. It'd be interesting if it progressed like that. I wouldn't mind if it was similar, but had its own unique qualities. 

Magico has gotten more and more interesting. It's a pretty unique series so far. I'm at the final round of the husband and wife tournament Shion and Emma are in. If they win, they finish one of the rituals for Magico and they get a magical home as the prize for winning the tournament. It feels like they've befriended almost everyone in the tournament. Shion's brother showed up, and asked him to stand in for a ritual for him where he's not sure if he'll survive. Later, Shion refused and said he'll do anything to stay happily with Emma. He doesn't want it to end like that. His brother, Faust, seems really evil. After being turned down, he got really pissed and showed himself as a contestant in the tournament. He was apparently signed up for it under a different name the entire time. Now he's out for blood against Shion. Saying Shion is so selfish, and only thinks about himself. Sounds like he has it backwards...He's pretty powerful, but never became one of the great sages like Shion. He's resentful towards him, and considers Shion a failure of a human being. He apparently has the power to use the dead to fight, can kill and bring back people alive instantly, can pop in and out of people's mouths, and has some sort of black fire. Interesting. After the tournament, Shion promised a couple, their kid, and their cat that they'd be able to be neighbors in his dragon, Sieg. His dragon is like his son. He found his egg buried somewhere, and took care of it. His home is inside the dragon. It looks like there's a whole village inside, though. But, he along with Emma, Luu, and their cat are the only ones that live there. Shion was really lonely with just his cat there for a while, and thought it'd be great to have neighbors someday. The family also couldn't go back to where they came from, so it would be perfect. Interesting to see how it unfolds. And, after this part of the greater Magico ritual, what's next?

Yesterday, I drew a skull with a candle coming out of it, that'll be used in the cover art for my nightmare anthology. I finished it remarkably quickly. At least, for me it was quick. Turned out much better than I expected, too.Didn't have to edit much in Photoshop. I'll color it in Photoshop and on my drawing pad to see which is better. (Color the candle, and maybe darken parts of the skull.) I'll use the best one. Then, I have to decide on a background color, any effects I want, and the title stuff. It's progressing much faster than I expected. Getting kind of exciting.After I finish the cover art, I might do one more read through, and then I'll submit it to Smashwords. Then, it's a waiting game. The first approval will put it in their normal catalog. Then, after the 2nd approval, it's put into their 'premium' catalog and distributed to various online retailers. I think it took about 2 weeks for my first novel to go through the whole process. I've decided to call it: Sweet Endless Terror: An Anthology of Nightmares.