17th of Shevat

I started Duolingo's Polish course on Monday. I decided on Polish, because it may have been another language my ancestors spoke. I didn't really know some of my mom's side came from there until I did the 23andMe DNA test a year or so ago. I say might have spoken, because they were Ashkenazi. They may have only spoke Yiddish in those areas, and/or were closed off. Or, they might have assimilated and spoke Polish. I've heard some felt that Yiddish was beneath them (like they felt only the poor speak it, and they wanted to seem of higher class), and tried to blend in as much as possible. On the other hand, Yiddish was influenced by Polish. (Yiddish is really a mix of Hebrew, German, and eastern European languages.) It's complicated. It was at least spoken around them. I thought I'd choose one that related to my mom's side, since Scottish Gaelic related to my parent's side. Seems like a good way to do it. Next one might be Welsh...Anyways, I was nervous about it. So far, it's been really interesting and fun. I'm getting it more than I expected. I read, and have noticed, that a lot of languages have influenced Polish. There are some Russian elements, a lot of German, some Italian, and some French already that I can see. Makes it more fascinating. Despite not caring about getting into the next league, I've stayed in the top 10 for the week so far. They don't seem as competitive this time. It'll be interesting to make it to the next league, if I stay in the top 10 by Sunday. 

Went back to reading the manga, Shichifuku (7 Lucky Gods) Mafia. I couldn't find any updates on it for a few years. I really liked it. All of it's now available online. It's a shorter series than I thought it was, with only 12 chapters. I only had a few more chapters left when I put it on-hold. Basically, it's about a young yakuza boss, Leo, that has the 7 Gods of Fortune as his subordinates. Each is a lucky G-d of something, like music, warriors, fishing, agriculture, etc. Whenever they used their powers to protect the previous boss, Leo's mother (nicknamed Tiger Goddess), they sucked her life force out. Eventually, she died from it, and he had to take over. He wasn't even living in Japan when he was told to go back. He had to win them over. There's another yakuza family full of demons that's about to battle them. Should be interesting to see how it unfolds. 

My author Instagram account has been interesting so far. I've decided to post twice a day this week. Once in the morning, and once at night. Each day will have a theme. Today's is horror for the 1st post, and on chronic illness for the 2nd. Found something from Horror Society on Pinterest to share this morning, and I'll probably find something from my IBD board on Pinterest to post later. (Although, there are some interesting things on fb, as well.) My most liked pic's of a piece of artwork that has Proud to be Agender written on the side, with a drawing of someone holding a huge agender flag. I thought it was a powerful looking. I mentioned what the stripes on the flag represented. The only sad part is I don't know who created that art, so I mentioned that and where I found it. It has 15 likes so far. I was especially surprised by this, because no one liked the post on gender-neutral terms before that. Maybe it wasn't as eye-catching? People have been liking the posts on Judaism, too. Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week starts on Sunday, so the 1st posts that week will relate to being aro. 2nd posts could be for the other regular 'themes'. Also, the paperback versions of my books should arrive tomorrow. I'll post about that on there, and other places, when I get them. 

In searching for quotes/settings for Alliance, I've made it to chapter 16. Pretty quick. Probably will be done in a couple of days with this. Then, I'll go through Alliance: Dawn. Eventually, I'll post the quotes every so often on the Instagram account, and make trailers with them, too. I might draw some of the settings or buildings, and put those in the trailers. I might do things a little differently for the other book trailers. 

National Spinach Day!

Mood:

Spinach is awesome!It's so nutritious. I really hated that I had to avoid it when I was on blood thinners.Was sent to the hospital several years ago for having about 60,000 times the blood clotting factor. (If I had waited any longer, I probably wouldn't be here today...) No one knew why, and the clots (they were in almost every aveoli or 'air sac' in my lungs) mysteriously went away after 6 months of monitoring. Thank goodness they haven't shown up since. One of the things I couldn't have was spinach during that time. It has a vitamin that naturally thins blood, and if you're already on a blood thinner, it's not a good combo.Some other vegetables do the same, but I think I missed spinach the most. It can be easy to overcook if it's in a recipe of some sort. That's when it turns nasty. I like when it's fresh as a salad the most. Although, it goes well with some egg dishes. Pretty tasty with garlic, cheese, olive oil, and walnuts as well. I don't think I ever hated spinach. Even as a kid.

Oddly, felt a bit depressed last night.I was feeling pretty good most of the day, until I watched something before going to bed. I don't really know why, but things seem to be affecting me in an odd way lately. It could be stress, meds getting a bit stale (luckily I got my next batch recently, but I need to finish my current one), something to do with my IUD, or some monthly 'thing'. (The last 2 might be related.) It could be a combo.I think my IUD has been a bit unpredictable lately. Maybe it really will stop my monthly 'friend'? Not sure. I've had this 'new' one since the end of August. Maybe it took a while to stabilize in my body. Hormones are weird no matter how they're used...But, it keeps me from hemorrhaging.

Got the rest of the Pesach or Passover related stuff on Monday. Dad went to that QFC I mentioned last time for me. (Which was great!) I'm surprised most of that stuff was still there, considering there was only 12 days until the holiday. (Now it'll only be a week from tomorrow...) 

They still had kosher for Pesach salad dressings, which is good for both our salad for our seder, and possibly for our friends' seder. Decided on the balsamic Italian one. Sounds really good. 

I now have the matzo farfel (crumbled chunks of matzo) for my granola. Had some matzo farfel leftover from last year, but it had been opened and probably didn't have enough for that recipe. Didn't seem safe with it being opened already, and sitting for a year on a shelf.Got the chocolate covered orange peels too. Those little candies are surprisingly good. Not very many calories, either. 

Also got kosher for Pesach mayo. They had either 'lite' or original. I chose lite. Regular store-bought mayo sometimes has soybean oil, or sometimes corn derived products. (I thought the olive oil ones would be ok, but they add things like corn syrup.) If you follow Ashkenazic Pesach dietary laws, then that's not good for the holiday.I think it'll be my first time trying kosher for Pesach mayo. When it was just mom and I, we weren't that strict about it. But, I feel odd about the regular stuff right now.Heck, it might be better than the regular mayo. I like to use mayo in my egg and tuna salads I put into matzo sandwiches for lunches during it. The relish we have is surprisingly ok for Pesach. I like to add that to both salads. They use things like actual sugar instead of corn syrup. 

At our local supermarket that has the huge Pesach display, they had kosher for Pesach noodles. I love them!But, no one else does.Mom hated them...If cooked too long, they turn globby and into kind of a glue consistency. I think they still taste good even then. May look nasty, but so tasty!I use them for lunches, too. Interestingly, the spaghetti sauce we have is also ok for Pesach. Yay! 

Also, last year I thought that QFC had a big horseradish display next to their Manischewitz wine. But, apparently they don't this year. It was in one of the regular store aisles. She got the 'extra hot' kind. I only like horseradish when a little bit of it is mixed into a sauce. Gives it a nice kick. But, as it is, I can't stand it.(Certainly not if it's extra hot...) Maror ('bitter herbs') or horseradish is one of the main symbolic foods of the seder. I usually use a very tiny bit for myself. It's barely visible, but enough to taste. As long as I can taste it, it's fine.

Posted the first 2 'pages' of drawings of my original characters' outfits/accessories from Alliance to dA. Both have been getting a lot of views, and a few faves. A group, that I'm not a member of, liked it so much they asked if they could put it in their group's 'featured' folder. I don't think it was that great, but agreed to it.

Panda Cloud Antivirus was acting up the last few days. (Also, probably put me in a weird mood.) I was so frustrated with it, I ended up having to reinstall it. It kept having popups saying this program encountered a problem and needed to shut down. This was every few minutes after each time it would start up. I noticed that my computer was much slower, too. Then, after reinstalling it, the next day, it asked me if I wanted to update. Panda uses the 'cloud' to update itself in the background, so this seemed odd.I agreed, and it started having problems again. I got rid of what I had installed entirely, and installed it again. It's been working fine ever since. Just in case, I ran an in-depth scan. It detected something and fixed it. So, maybe that something was messing with it? I might look for a new free one online in the future...But, this is good for the time being. 

I'm extremely close to finishing the last short story to my nightmare anthology. Probably will finish it next time. It's a pretty weird one, even when comparing the rest of them. 

Played my clarinet. After not practicing for a while, it felt good. Did a lot of klezmer tunes, and some Mozart. Sounded much better than I expected. Felt smoother than last time.

日本語

Studied the kanji: 救, 給. 救 is only pronounced as きゅう (kyuu) in compounds. As 救い or すく.い (suku.i): help, aid, relief, (religious) salvation, (Christian) grace, providence. As 救う or すく.う (suku.u): to rescue from, help out of, save. When 給 is pronounced as きゅう (kyuu), it's mostly just in compounds. But, on rare occasions when it's used on its own: (obscure) wage, recompense. As 給う or たま.う (tama.u): (male) (after the -masu stem of a verb) semi-polite or endearing auxiliary verb indicating reception by the speaker. As 給え or たま.え (tama.e): (suf) (usually in kana) (male) (after the -masu stem of a verb) please... 給料 or きゅうりょう (kyuuryou): salary, wage. 供給 or きょうきゅう (kyoukyuu): supply, provision. 

Did some of the practice stuff on JapaneseClass' site. The practice part of the site basically quizzes you on a mixture of vocab, phrases, and kanji. Some new stuff, some you haven't encountered in a while, some you might have been weak with in the past, etc. In order for 'attendance' to be taken on there, you need to do at least 20 of those practice questions. I ended up with a combo of like 70 correct in a row this time. The most I've ever gotten was around 85 in a row. It was a good session on there to say the least.Next time I might take more of the chapter tests, and some of the reading quizzes. The word/phrase list quizzes that the other members come up with are good, too. Some go into more detail with verbs and grammar. It feels like that site is growing and improving every time I go on. You can challenge other members, as well. I'm also looking more into their detailed study list for new words/phrases/etc. Should have been doing that more often from the beginning. They list the pronunciations, verb forms, practice sentences, how to draw them, and more for every entry. The practice sentences have been very helpful, too. Everything has audio (except for when you're being tested on kanji), but it's not entirely accurate.They're working on fixing that. 

Started the translating process for a paragraph from a You Maga article I'm going over. I always try to keep it as close to the original meaning/tone as I can. Got through the first couple of sentences. (One was particularly long.) 

Read some articles in Japanese on RocketNews24's original site. Their English version has different articles, or when they translate from the Japanese it has a 'foreigner' spin on it. Interesting to read the original articles.It's still got that edgy/alternative feel to its news. Often entertaining, funny, touching, cool, upsetting, etc. stories. Stuff you might not get from other news sites or shows. The first article I read in Japanese on there was about a new trend in Japan. Where people mix 2 7-11 products together, usually with things that you'd normally think wouldn't go together. This time it was on mixing a type of noodle bowl (it has its own sauce included) and potato salad. They said it sounds and looks nasty, but tastes good. I wonder how much sodium that would have?

Watched the 2-part OVA of Kuroshitsuji or Black Butler: Book of Murder. It's so long put together, I had to break it up into a couple of days. It's like 2 movies in one. I thought it was pretty good. Stuck really close to the manga. I think the only thing they left out was when Woodley was about to be taken away on a carriage (I think they were heading to Scotland Yard). The whole scene where Earl Grey impales Woodley's head in a downward angle lengthwise. (Rather than just decapitating him.) It's pretty brutal, but they left all the other gory details in. Maybe they thought it would go too far? I almost had a laughing fit when Sebastian laid on the floor 'dead' and Ciel acting crazy about it. Plus, when they decided to surprise the other servants, and brought him back to life. They buried him, and he rang the bell that's usually used in emergencies where someone was buried alive. The servants believed it, and once they 'saved' him and opened the coffin, everyone piled on top of him crying and saying how relieved they were that he didn't actually die. It'd be cool to see them make more 'specials' or anime seasons featuring the manga arcs. The sinking ship with zombies one would be cool to see in motion. But, if they just say Book of Zombies, there's another arc related to it. Maybe they could put them together? Although, those are pretty long stories. 

Started reading Shichifuku (Seven Gods) Mafia last week. It's pretty good. Apparently, it really is a new one. A lot of the ones on my 'to read' list are new to me, but have been around for a while. The Alfano Family are a vigilante group from Italy, since they're loved by the local residents, they've lived peacefully. However, ever since the rise of a rival mafia family, dark clouds have been hovering over them. Leo is the new leader of the group, and is told to go to Japan to bring back the 7 strongest people who were once his mother's subordinates. His mother was head of a yakuza group before marrying his father who was the head of the Alfano family. Her nickname was Lion Goddess. He's bilingual, and occasionally swears in Italian. Apparently, those 7 people are The 7 Gods of Misfortune that were sealed away in a hanging scroll. He breaks the seal when he starts firing his gun at a cockroach that appeared behind it. One of the Gods appears before him after that, and his family back home's luck starts to run out. They team up and try to look for the others. They're all a bit eccentric. It's an interesting start. 

Parasyte has been crazy! They decided to end last week's episode on a philosophical note. Basically about what roles do humans really have on earth? What does it mean to be human? Does it matter? Aren't we the same as those parasites? What does it mean to be alive? Will something evolve, become superior, and wipe us out? And, other questions. They brought back Migi. I knew he didn't really die. Felt really bad for Gouto. Even though he was a mass murderer, and was in pursuit of Shinichi for so long. He seemed to be just trying to survive and improve himself. When Shinichi 'killed' him and his organs were trying to come together to repair/build him again, they made this whiny sound, and Shinichi was forced to destroy all his parts. There was a slim chance that his organs/other parts would be successful. He would have threatened his family, friends, and possibly the rest of humanity otherwise. The finale is this week, which I'll hopefully see tomorrow. It was quite a ride. 

Started another drama called Teppan Shoujo Akane or Teppan Girl Akane. Teppan is a metal grilling plate used in teppanyaki style cooking. Akane's mother passed away a while ago, and her father disappeared shortly after. She's always been proud of her father who's called 'number 1 teppanyaki chef in Japan'. She naturally acquired teppanyaki cooking skills from him. She's managed and protected the family's restaurant ever since. A rich daughter of a major food company orders Akane to move out at once, because her father borrowed money against the restaurant. At first she closes up the store, but her father's friend, Kurogane, shows up. He shows her her father's teppan nicknamed ittetsu, that he cherished. It reignites her passion for teppanyaki cooking. In order to protect the restaurant she embarks on a journey with Shinta (a childhood friend) to find her father. She ends up being involved in several cooking battles along the way. It's a bit campy at times, and feels like maybe it came from a manga. But, it's good so far. It's been a while since I've seen a cooking-themed drama.