Sorry, Sorry

Mood:

By Super Junior. I think, one of their most catchy songs. It's fun, and has a nice beat. Kind of sounds classy to me, too. They're singing about how they're sorry for falling crazily in love. A funny thing to be sorry about. Super Junior is a South Korean band.

It's been really nice and warm the last couple of days. Today's been the warmest, getting up to 86 degrees. Interesting to go from the high 60s a few days ago, to low to mid 80s. After today, I think I saw that it'll be in the mid 70s. Perfect weather.Feels like summer is coming early.

Watched the Great Teacher Onizuka 2012 finale on Sunday. It was awesome!A little sad/scary at times, but very well acted and it had a good ending. Next Sunday, I'll start watching the special. Wonder what that one's about. 

In the finale, Onizuka found out that he had a brain aneurysm, and if left untreated, he might not live long. He was told to, for the time being, take it easy. It could rupture at any time. He tried to be especially careful, but ended up getting hit in the head multiple times. For one of those times, a heavy banner fell on him. He then was hit a number of times while trying to protect his students from Sho's 'friends'. Sho was one of the new headmaster's sons. He thought his mother's word was absolute, and anyone who disobeyed, needed to be 'eliminated'. His mother had taken over the school in order to restructure it, and have more students become successful and get into prestigious universities. She monitored the students with security cameras, both her sons watching other students and reporting back, had like an army of hall monitors, etc. The better the behavior a student had, the higher their grade. She gave them laptops to keep track of what will boost their grades. With teachers, she gave them those same laptops with a different point system. The more points you get, the higher the salary. She was scary for everyone. She said she'd fire any teacher who opposed her. And, with any student that did so, they'd be expelled. In the end, Onizuka taught her a lesson. Sho's friends triggered his aneurysm, and he spat up blood, then collapsed. He slipped into a coma after the hospital performed emergency surgery. But, miraculously, he woke up and immediately knew something was still going on at the school. He walked out of the hospital, and drove his motorcycle into the headmaster's window. Catching and throwing a grenade outside in the process. The grenade was from Sho who was threatening his mother and the principal that he'd blow up the school. Of course, after Onizuka saved everyone, his friends dragged him back to the hospital. I loved this series. Was reluctant at first to watch it.

Started watching Tsubasa Chronicle a week ago. It's done by the same group who did xxxHolic, called CLAMP. In fact, their 'worlds' converge occasionally. I know the last episode of xxxHolic was like a joint one with Tsubasa Chronicle. I was curious about it at the time, but forgot soon after. I was looking for an 'old' anime, and thought I'd give it a try. It's pretty good so far, and makes you think. Much more 'artsy' than xxxHolic was, in my opinion. Although, xxxHolic was artsy at times. 

During an excavation at the mysterious ruins in Clow Country, Syaoran discovers his childhood friend, Princess Sakura, appear on the site with wings that disperse into many little feathers. As the feathers disappear to different dimensions, so does Sakura's memory. Syaoran attempts to save Sakura and restore her memory, by traveling to another world to find a solution. While there he meets Yuko from xxxHolic (and the rest of the characters from her shop). She tells him that he must give up her previous memories of him, as payment for helping him. Once he agrees, she tells him that he'll have to travel through different dimensions to collect Sakura's feathers. Helping out with the quest is Kurogane, an exiled ninja from Japan Country, who wishes to return to his world. Fay, who desires to jump between each world never to return to his own. (They haven't said what 'world' he comes from.) And Mokona, who helps them travel between worlds. So, his companions are all from different worlds. Makes it interesting.

This weekend I went to Red Lobster to celebrate my book being published. I always feel weird about going there, because I don't eat shellfish.But, they have an amazing variety of things besides that. I got the maple-cherry glazed grilled chicken, wild rice pilaf, and some really good mashed potatoes. It was all perfect!Had a mocktail with it. It was a non-alcoholic version of their Berry and Mango Daiquiri. Really tasty stuff! For dessert, I had their chocolate chip lava cookie. It was so good!Was a nice celebration! 

Also, since yesterday was so hot, we went to Dairy Queen. They didn't understand that I wanted a simple sundae.Mind you it was in a chocolate dipped waffle cone 'bowl', but they had that suggestion on the menu. The only thing that ended up kind of odd, once they realized it was on the menu, was they used that weird hardening chocolate stuff used for the waffle cone. Instead of regular hot fudge syrup on the ice cream part. Made it harder to eat. But, was still good.

Tokage and Kaichou wa Maid-sama were both pretty good today. Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge (manga version) actually had an update today!This time it was about Iwai going out shopping by herself, and Kiri just so happened to be in the same area doing errands. Iwai found out that her hair hadn't grown the night before, and told Kiri she didn't need her usual daily haircut. Which was kind of surprising, since it grows profusely every night at midnight. Anyways, she bumped into an author. This time the author was a little kid, and Iwai thought she was lost and needed to find her father. So, she went searching with her, and all the while feeding her, giving makeovers, and trying things on. The girl had enough, and told Iwai she was a professional assassin. Kiri saved Iwai just in time. Luckily, he heard her scream, and knew who it was. Next time, he'll battle her. She apparently has some special gloves and knives, that may have been used for dissecting people before. Knowing from the last chapter, Iwai and Kiri are now together as a couple. They're cute together. 

日本語

Today, I went over more compounds for 実. 現実性 or げんじつせい (genjitsusei): realistic, practical, feasible. 真実性 or しんじつせい (shinjitsusei): fidelity, truth, authenticity, credibility. 実生活 or じっせいかつ (jisseikatsu): real life, everyday life. 実地試験 or じっちしけん (jicchishiken): practical test. 写実的 or しゃじつてき (shajitsuteki): realistic, graphic, true to life. 超現実的 or ちょうげんじつてき (chougenjitsuteki): surrealistic, surreal. 非現実的 or ひげんじつてき (higenjitsuteki): unrealistic. 果実店 or かじつてん (kajitsuten): fruit store. 確実度 or かくじつど (kakujitsudo): certainty. 実働 or じつどう (jitsudou): actual work. 実入り or 実入 or みいり (miiri): crop, harvest, ripeness; income, profits. 果実 or かじつ (kajitsu): fruit, nut, berry. 口実 or こうじつ (koujitsu): excuse, pretext. 

Almost done with editing my drawings for the meme. Read an online article in Japanese from Asahi. It was about a new 'River Jazz Boat' tour in Osaka. It goes from mid-May to the end of the month. It's to promote the history of jazz in Osaka. People can bring their own instruments, and jam with the pros. Meanwhile, they get to take in the great views from the boat looking around Osaka. It sounds like a lot of fun. 

SPY

Mood:

By Super Junior. Kind of a fun one. (Interesting to walk to.) You can kind of guess what it's about through the video. But, looking at the lyrics, it's about them chasing after a female spy that they've fallen for. I'm more into Japanese bands, but there are a few Korean ones that sound pretty good. Super Junior being one of them. Haven't really looked through that many of their songs, but I've liked what I've heard so far.

Haven't been feeling too well the last couple of days, so I've been sleeping in. Kind of annoys me, though. (Although, I was able to get to most of the stuff I wanted to get done these last couple of days.) Went through a lot of my mom's Jewish books. I'm only keeping a small fraction of what was there. Kind of weird to see how many I've put into the sell/donate bag I'm using. I've found things I didn't know she had. I still have a lot of them to go through, but I made a pretty good dent in it.

Started doing 30 sit-ups twice a day this week. I'm hoping to get back to a routine, like I had about a month ago. Only, I'm adding twice as much sit-ups each week this time. Managed to do my 2-mile walks so far this week, too. Trying to be as strict, if not more so, about my diet as before. 

Edited more of Alliance. This time read/edited from the very beginning in Word, until chapter 4. I think what I might do is read/edit a few chapters on the paper version, then trade off and do the same amount on the digital version. That way I can look at it twice in a 'round'. If I do this everyday, I should get through it pretty quickly. I seem to have a lot more errors at the beginning than I do for the rest of the thing.

I decided on another drawing idea. I'll draw out all my characters next to each other, with a height measure next to them. To show their designs, a bit of their attitudes, and height differences. Funny thing is my main character is the shortest. Should be a fun project. I might color them, too. I can use my fancy colored pencils and 'manga' pens.Another fun part to it. Not sure how long it'll take me, though...Also, edited that last panel of the drawing meme in Photoshop. I'm really liking the design I have for my main character in this one. Might use it as the main one for him.

日本語

Today's kanji is: 実. As じつ (jitsu): truth, reality; sincerity, honesty, fidelity; faith, kindness; content, essence, substance; (good) result. As まこと (makoto): truth, reality; sincerity, honesty, integrity, fidelity, confidence, devotion, trust, reliance. As み (mi): fruit, nut, seed; content, substance, ingredients. As まこと.に (makoto.ni): indeed, really, absolutely, truly, actually, very, quite. As み.の (mi.no): true, real; blood-related, biological (as in a relative). As みの.る (mino.ru): to bear fruit, ripen. As さね (sane): (obsc) pit (of a fruit), stone, core. The compounds today for it were: 実学 or じつがく (jitsugaku): practical science. 実権 or じっけん (jikken): real power. 実験 or じっけん (jikken): experiment. 実在 or じつざい (jitsuzai): reality, existence. There's plenty more compounds to this one. So, I'll be going over those for a bit. (Maybe for the rest of the week. We'll see.)

Opera (Japanese Version)

Mood:

By Super Junior. Super Junior's a South Korean boy band, with 9 active members currently. At it's peak they had 13 members. They've won many awards in Korea, and are popular worldwide. It's interesting that (as I've noticed) a lot of the big/popular Korean bands out there have a Japanese version of at least some of their songs. I actually prefer this version over the original Korean one. One of the few songs of theirs I feel that way with. Even though I do have more of a draw towards the Japanese versions, some of those just don't sound right. They're choppy, and don't seem to have the same flow. It's a cool music video, too. It seems that they're trying to appeal to people and show them what operas can be like. As one of the translated lines says: "The opera suits you much more than you think." I'm not really into opera, but I love the song. 

[Full] Super Junior - Opera Japanese ver by f100000113838875
Well, to people who celebrate Christmas, hope you have a great one!I don't, but I have many friends and family members who do. And I wish them all the best. 

We were going to a local Chinese buffet tomorrow night. But, there's a high chance that this area might actually get snow, so we played it safe and went out tonight. Apparently, the closest one that we like so much, was closed for repairs.So, we had to go out a ways. But, it's a pretty good one too. Just odd customers. I think there's a bigger selection at this one, compared to the other one. There was a bigger sushi bar, many different types of chicken, really good vegetable rolls (maybe better than at the other place), tasty bok choy, garlic green beans, salads, salmon, corn, and more. For dessert, they have a chocolate fountain with slices of bananas and marshmallows on the side for you to dip into it. Also, some banana slices in a strawberry sauce, different flavors of ice cream, cake rolls, cream puffs, etc. I grabbed tiny bits of everything I could eat. Didn't have as many plates of food as I usually do. It's a sign that I'm on the right track!

Speaking of which, I've been exercising more and eating less the last few weeks. Feeling much better already. I'm now doing 20 sit-ups when I get up, and 20 more just before going to sleep. Started with just doing 10 twice in a day. Adding 5 to both the morning and night ones each week. Actually, feel like the area around my abdomen is tightening a bit more. Trying to cut a lot of my dinners down. I think that was partially my problem. Eating too much for dinner.I tend to have half what I did before, and save the rest for another meal. Still trying to eat less at other meals too, but I hadn't worked on this yet. Went a couple of times for longer walks. Still not as long as I wanted, but it's a step. Hope to do those long walks at least once a day. But, I guess I have to work up to it. Eventually, I hope to add in riding my bike, and maybe playing basketball. (More like just shooting hoops, but still...) Those would help a lot as well. I've already lost a lot of weight from when I was at my heaviest, after coming home from college. (Last time I checked, I lost about 50 pounds compared to back then. Might be more now.) Long before I started this. Lost weight almost as soon as I started a med called lamotrigine. Which has been amazing...Depression meds made me gain so much, that was the main reason. This is a bipolar 2 med. (Originally used for epilepsy.) Doesn't work as well for type 1 people. But, that's going into something else...

Started watching Tonari Kaibutsu-kun, or the English title is My Little Monster. (But the lit. translation is The Monster Seated Next to Me.) It's hilarious so far! I love how blunt they are, and how they already know their feelings for each other. A lot of shows spend forever on the 'do I love them?' 'do they love me?' stuff. The story focuses on the relationship between Shizuku Mizutani and a boy named Haru Yoshida. Shizuku thought the only thing she was interested in was studying and planning for her future. Haru rarely attended school, and after meeting Shizuku while she delivered class print-outs to his home, he immediately greets her as a friend. Because of her, he's decided to go back to school, and sits next to her in class. He's constantly around her. He's already stated his feelings that he's in love with her, and she's realizing that she's falling for him. He's kind of a goofball. Irritated easily, curious about having a real friendship, felt abandoned before, and seems to be a bit unpredictable with his behavior in general. He now has a pet rooster that he's been taking care of at the school. Much to the dismay of his teacher. (It's very messy, and he doesn't clean up after it.) 

Went through a lot of the CDs I have in my CD tower or rack. A lot of them I didn't put in my CD holder, so I forgot about them. Found one that a friend gave me before we graduated high school, called Rachel's Mix. Full of songs she thought 'suited' me. I don't even remember which one of my friends gave it to me.Some songs I absolutely love. Some, are just plain annoying or boring. Great find, and brought some good memories back. Also, saw a CD that was made just before we graduated. It was for everyone who played in the high school band. It has recordings of some of our old performances, and pics of us. Individually and in groups. Cool to see. I looked a lot different back then.

Also, went through my Rammstein and Gorillaz CDs. I almost forgot about them. Rammstein is one of the few industrial metal bands I can tolerate, or even love. Their songs seem to really pack a punch, and can be like a wild ride. I've always loved Gorillaz, from when I first heard them back in high school. Cool beats, and a style of blending multiple musical genres. Like alternative, rock, hip hop, electronica, dub, pop, and more. I love music that brings together so many different genres. Makes it fun. They're a 'virtual' band with 4 members: 2D, Murdoc, Noodle, and Russel. I'll talk more about them when I 'feature' some of their songs. Also, looked up stuff for the band Blur. (1 of the members helped create [along with the artist/illustrator Jamie Hewlett], and provide some of the vocals and various instruments for Gorillaz.) I loved the band before, but found even more cool songs from them. Really awesome band. 

Apparently, we're not going to our usual place for New Year's Eve. But, that's fine since we're pretty close with the people who are hosting it this time. The ones who usually do it will be there too. They invited a bunch of people that we know, so that would be nice. Probably get to chow down on a bunch of junk food, play some games, and watch the fireworks on TV like usual. I'm going to bring a couple of games this time. Thought it would be fun to do something different if we get bored of things like Trivial Pursuit and Apples to Apples. I'm thinking of bringing Boggle, Stratego, and maybe Rummikub. Haven't played Stratego in a long time. It's kind of like chess, only with bombs.I love strategy games. 

Watched Kamisama Hajimemashita. Next episode is the finale. I was really surprised by this one. It's really good, and I don't really want it to end. 

Managed to write more of chapter 19. I'm a bit stuck at the moment, but I'm trying to muddle through it. Played my clarinet. Getting even better with some of the Klezmer tunes in my book. Practiced some kanji and compounds.