14th of Shevat

It’s been a while. This whole past week was weird. I was supposed to get my hospital bed last Monday (on 2/3), and they were also supposed to ‘pick up’ my old hospital bed that day. The weather was really awful. We had gotten some snow and ice. It was so bad, my parent said the schools she works for were closed. The Apria driver did call me about postponing it, considering it was so bad out. He said he’d call me on Tuesday at around 9am or 9:30am. I never heard from him after that. The weather was bad for most of the week. Schools were closed most of week, except for Friday. That was a 2 hour delay. I have a feeling they didn’t call because of the weather. It was forecast to be really cold out this week. Not much snow in the forecast. It was ridiculous to be waiting so long. Especially with no word from them.

On Monday, they called me at around 12:30pm. I was going to call them after I had lunch. So, perfect timing. They had apparently called my parent just before me. I have her as my emergency contact. They have my info, but for some reason they’ve contacted my parent instead. It’s weird. It was like that with the previous bed. Anyways, they finally did it. They attached some of the old bed parts to the new one, which was interesting. The new one’s fully electric. Different than last time. Just a press of a button to have the whole thing go up and down. There was a crank with the old one. The family room looks really empty downstairs now. My bedroom looks more ‘busy’. I managed to get the hospital table where I wanted it. Parent helped a lot with bringing it upstairs. I almost had to throw it in my room. I can still get to the closet with it. Should be interesting to see what it’s like for bed baths. The bed itself is pretty comfy. 

I still need to dust more in my room. I wasn’t really using it as my room for close to 5 years. A little weird to get back to. I’ll vacuum it more and go through my clothes and other things. Hopefully I'll have the energy to do stuff like that. 

I ordered calendars last night. The previous calendars were stuck on December 2020. I got the Jewish calendar this afternoon. That’s pretty fast. It’s from the same museum that did my previous Jewish calendars. They showcase a different artifact (sometimes 2) a month. I don’t like the new packaging. They went without plastic with a slight overhang. I had to cut that off. They still have the Torah portions or parsha, phases of the moon, Shabbos lighting times, National and Jewish holidays (I think they even have things like Ramadan as well), and more. It’s usually a nice calendar. Last night, I also searched for a secular calendar. I was planning to get a chemical element one, like I had last time. That was a really cool one. Apparently they stopped making them in 2023. I looked for an herbs/spices one, which I had before. Nothing. Then I did a generalized search. They had a Pusheen calendar. I had one in the past and liked it. The problem was it wouldn’t get here until March, and I want it sooner. I was surprised with the sample that they even had Shavuot on there. That’s kind of rare for secular calendars. I found one that was called Passport to the World. It has pics of places from around the world. I think I had a calendar in the past with the same company. They’re French. They have French, Spanish, and English for everything. It might have pretty pics. I think that’s supposed to be delivered on Friday.

I also might look into getting a clock for my room. I already have an idea of where I’ll put it. I’d like it to not tick. I’m a little nervous about how to put it up on the wall. Maybe my parent can help me. I just want a simple one. I’m going to have to get rid of my stereo at some point. It doesn’t really work anymore.

My little TV is old (I think I got it just before I went to college in 2003), and it only plays my old Sega Genesis games. All the other channels don’t work. I want a new nice and small TV. I’ll take down my ace flag, and put it up there. Maybe have a sound bar underneath it. Maybe eventually get a game console with games. I think my parent got a Playstation for us, but it would be interesting to have something like that in my room as well. She can play with me, too. I have some ideas for the future in my room. It seems fun that way.

The Saturday before that Monday (the day I was supposed to get the bed) the Got Junk people came by. They were supposed to be here at 11am, but they came at like 10:30am. They took my bed, the headboard, and the stuff that was under the bed. I was nervous to know what was under there. I thought there would be like a ton of spiders, mice, or Rosie’s poop. None of that craziness. I found my certificate from when I ‘graduated’ from swimming lessons as a kid. Found a few of Rosie’s toys. She must have brought them there. I saved her fave big yellow ball and ladybug plush toy. It’s kind of an angry looking ladybug. I saw my old posters. There was a wooden slab. My desk used to be made of 2 short blue bookcases and a wooden slab/plank over it. I have a real one now. I think what I have now was my mom’s. I certainly didn’t need that huge piece of wood anymore. I’m glad they took most of it away. My parent, on Friday (I think), vacuumed the area that was underneath. There were a lot of dust bunnies and small pieces of debris. Now it’s even better. I didn’t have the energy by then to vacuum it myself. We had it ready for a while this way.

Last Saturday I also had a haircut appointment. I was worried the Got Junk people would take so long that I’d have to cancel it. Luckily, they were quick. They were done before around 11am. I got another buzzcut. A little cold for right now, but it’s so easy to take care of. I had a lot of grey or white hairs. Kind of surprised me. Yet again, she didn’t charge me. She does it because she feels that’s what she can do to help me. When she found out I had cancer, that’s how she felt about it. I feel guilty about it sometimes.

Afterwards, we went to Isla Bonita for lunch. I got their burrito blanco. One of my faves at other Mexican places, so I wanted to see what theirs was like. It was very good. Leftovers made for another great lunch.

After that we went to Starbucks. (I think we went home in between.) Apparently my parent had lost her wallet. The Apple Pay wasn’t working, so I paid for everything. A little difficult for me, considering I don’t get much through ssi.

After that we went to Walmart. I needed a surge protector and my parent needed Tums. I bought both of them, since Apple Pay didn’t work there. I needed the surge protector for my new all electric hospital bed, iPhone charger, and watch charger. The other outlet is for my lamp on my nightstand. So, it was another thing to prepare for the new bed. I’m surprised the iPhone charger works as well. It’s pretty old, but I haven’t used it in a long time. Hopefully it’ll work for a while. I think we might have gone to Petco, too. Rosie needed more cat litter. Apple Pay did eventually work there.

I tried to take a cramp med that my parent gave me during the week. Did it for 3 nights, and didn’t have any cramps those nights. It might interact with my other meds, so I decided to have it when I have cramps at night. That hasn’t happened yet. I’m unsure if it’s safe for me to take on a regular basis.

We decided to go out on Thursday. Kind of felt stir crazy. We went to Starbucks again, which I think I paid for it again. (We tried the Apple Pay again, and it didn’t work.) I tried one of their new sandwiches: pesto egg and mozzarella. It was really hot at first. It was good. The gingerbread latte wasn’t as great as I expected.

We went to Safeway for dinner stuff, and Central Market that night for dessert stuff. I think I got broccoli chicken Alfredo. I got a fruit tart for dessert from their new bakery area. My parent was able to use Apple Pay at both places. Thank goodness. I went through the self checkout and I had to tilt the fruit tart at a weird angle. It made some of the fruit pieces slide off.

We went to the Olive Garden for dinner Friday night. They actually had Apple Pay, and my parent had no problems with it. I got chicken and gnocchi soup, fettuccine Alfredo with broccoli, and tiramisu for dessert. There wasn’t enough gnocchi in the soup. I think I had like 3 in the whole thing. There was way too much broccoli in the fettuccine Alfredo. Like more than a head’s worth. The tiramisu was frozen in parts. Once I thought the cream/custard was like ice cream, it was better. Had half of the fettuccine Alfredo with broccoli and had the leftovers for lunch on Saturday. It seemed like quite a lot still.

Did weekly grocery shopping at Central Market on Saturday. Parent found some decent bananas. I got 2 dinners and 2 desserts. One being a broccoli and cheddar quiche, and the other dinner their mac and cheese. I had half of the mac and cheese Saturday night. Got a hazelnut chocolate cupcake from their new bakery area, and a cherry pie slice. The cupcake that night was a bit weird. The frosting/nuts/chocolate syrup was good, but the cake part had like an herb. I couldn’t place it. I got tired of having the oatmeal cookies, and got snickerdoodles this time. We also got hot dark chocolate. We still have small marshmallows, so why not?

Went to Safeway on Sunday. There’s a new flavor of the cereal I get. I normally get the maple pecan Honey Bunches of Oats. It’s one of the few cereals that doesn’t turn into tasting like sand. The new flavor is chocolate Honey Bunches of Oats. I thought about it. It would only be 3 more grams of sugar. I decided to get my usual, but I might try the new one soon. For a dinner, I got grilled chicken with green beans and mashed potatoes. It also has some garlic and herb butter. I added BBQ sauce to the chicken and the butter mostly on the green beans. I got tiramisu cake for dessert. There was a big one that was like 500 calories, and the one I got was 210 calories. I don’t need a lot. The chicken with BBQ sauce (it was one I haven’t had before) was really good, same with the rest of it. The cake is probably tasty, too.

Pinterest (I did not make these. I'm just sharing):

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National Potato Day!

This holiday was yesterday. I love potatoes! They can be so versatile. Baked, roasted, mashed, as fries, as chips, in stews, in buns, and so much more. 

I ordered my meds recently. One of them, Lialda, was up to be approved for another year of refills. I'm currently using my last refill. All my meds are important, but this one might be keeping my colitis in remission. Pretty serious. I can't just be dropped off it. Got a message from the nurse of the person who first ordered it for me. I haven't seen her in over a year. They said that I needed to see another GI in person (of course in Seattle) in order to have another batch of refills. I wrote back, feeling a little freaked out that I won't be able to get another refill before I finish my current one. I'll run out just a little before the end of the month. I wondered why they couldn't have just asked the last GI I saw, which was only 4 months ago. I didn't like her much or the clinic there, but I'm sure she would have approved. I also brought up how Seattle can be difficult to get to. Tacoma's better, but also a bit of a schlep. I also asked why my primary can't just approve it. She oversees my health in general and she's local. If I told her it wasn't working or something was off, I could see why I'd need to specifically see a GI for that. It just seems odd otherwise. I also know this med was supposed to be temporary until I was able to stick with a GI (that was an MD), and we could try out others that might be better. However, being on a temporary med is better than nothing. I looked later at the status of the Lialda. Turns out they renewed it for another year. I don't know if they did it before or after my email. Gave me a scare, then turned around and just did it. Pissed me off, yet was a huge relief. 

The new TV was put up yesterday. I was distracted by it, but that was to be expected. It's huge! I'm still not used to the size. It's like a giant window. I can read a lot of the text now, and notice more details. It made both my parent and I nauseous at some point. Probably because we weren't used to it. It would be cool to watch some sort of monster movie on it. Maybe like Jurassic Park. Although, I didn't see that on Netflix. Cloverfield might be another good one. That's on there. I actually liked that movie. It'll feel more like a theater, too.

Managed to get some Dutch in today. I think Duolingo changed things slightly again. The illustrations for each unit are actually animated now. Surprised me at first. They've changed the checkpoints and shaded the units in after those. I'm almost done with the Buildings unit. Next will be Future.

Tried to figure out Junko's hairstyle for drawing. The vision I have of her seems to be a blend of a few of the examples I've found. Edited a lot more of Alliance today, as well. I think I'm seeing more of them, because there were so many that I fixed before. It's easier to see those that were harder to pick up on. 

15th of Av

Tried that new cinnamon roll mug cake that I mentioned last night. I think it was the best mug cake I've had. The instructions were really simple. Pour cake mix into a mug, add water or milk (I used milk), mix well, heat up in the microwave for about a minute, add icing on top, and let it sit for a couple of minutes before eating. There was a lot of icing, it wasn't too sweet, tons of cinnamon, and very fluffy. I read reviews on it saying things like the icing is too thick and comes out in a lump. Mine didn't do that. It was thick, but I could squeeze it out evenly over the cake. There are many other flavors that sound really good, too. They all have a topping of some sort. Makes it a little more fun. Might be nice to try the others in the future. 

Someone posted a problematic meme in an enby fb group. Over a character with a chest binder it read: some boys were born girls. Another character had a wig in their hand and over them it read: some girls were born boys. This is actually transphobic and as some people worded it, bioessentialist. The op said it was supposed to be positive and it was just other people's opinions when we called them out on it. No, it's not. We've always been what our genders are. We weren't born a different gender. Some doctor interpreted our genitals to be a certain way, which is harmful in many ways. Male and female are still gendered terms. What people really mean when they ask for the sex of someone is what genitals they have. I have an agender body, since it's mine. It's not female. I was assigned that. It also comes across as trans people are just pretending. Many people don't like to use terms like mtf (male to female) or ftm (female to male) any more, either. Afab (assigned female at birth) or amab (assigned male at birth) are much more accurate and validating. You already are female or male, in these examples. The doctor just assigned you the wrong gender. Some enby people were starting to use mtx or ftx for a little while, but also realized how problematic that was. X being used for the non-binary umbrella in general. X is also being used as a new gender marker, like f or m, for IDs. Wish it was nationwide. I personally would use afab agender person. In relation to the meme, the text probably should be: some boys were assigned female at birth (or shorten to afab), some girls were assigned male at birth (or amab). It's also a little weird in an enby group. None of us, unless they're allies (there aren't many in that one for many reasons), are strictly and entirely men or women all the time. That's the umbrella definition. That's inclusive of people who have genders that are fluid and might sometimes be men or women, as well as demigenders where they might be partially a binary gender. Some people are bigender and might be both a man and woman at the same time. There are others. Why have such a binary meme in a group like that? 

In one of the IBD groups on there, someone posted graphic pics in their main post. In the rules it clearly states that you should describe what it's about, to warn people, then post them in the comments. (Obviously has to be related to Crohn's, UC, lesser known ones in some way.) That way people don't have to be confronted with that right away. Some people are genuinely triggered by it, some might be eating, some might not be in a good place (in public) to see it, etc. Many reasons behind it. So, a lot of people reported it. Then, he made a really angry post about how if you can't handle those pics, maybe you shouldn't be in the group. I saw the post with the pics in it briefly, but didn't have the stomach to really focus on what it was. Then, I saw his other post, and it was pretty toxic. People tried to reason with him, but he thought they were being immature. I didn't really see an admin or mod step in, but both posts were deleted. I'm wondering if he was talked to in a pm, and then booted out of the group? That's probably for the best. Although, people do need support with this sort of thing, and it can really get to them. Might be why he lashed out. I hope he still gets some sort of support, but also realizes why it was such an issue. That's tough.

I've noticed that the lump in my neck has been growing in size. The other side of my neck doesn't have a lump, which is good and gives me a way to compare. Lumps near knuckles are getting slightly bigger, too. I feel like something is growing in the left side of my abdomen. I mentioned in the past where that area felt kind of like a balloon moving around and was painful. Worried me enough to email my primary about it. It now feels more solid/fuller and bigger. It only hurts when I twist that area, but it does feel uncomfortable the rest of the time. At least I get to see my primary in a little less than 2 weeks.

I'm hoping I can get to more of my usual things next week. It was a little difficult with the heat and getting to other things that needed to be done. On Monday, some people are going to help put up the new TV. The replacement finally came. It's a much bigger and more advanced TV than our current one. That will be cool. Next Friday, I get to have my hair dyed. Can't wait! 

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Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler): Book of the Atlantic:




Ansatsu Kyoushitsu (Assassination Classroom):

13th of Tammuz

Sunday was International Non-Binary People's Day. Since I'm agender, I fall under the umbrella as well as the genderqueer and trans ones. Enby is a popular shortened form. Apparently, using nb is controversial. Yet, they sound the same. Some find enby too cutesy. I like it, though. 

Agender means I don't have a gender. Despite not having one, I think it's amazing to learn about all the different genders out there. It really gives a broader look of what makes us human. Men and women are only a small sliver of them. I think a lot more people would realize they're enby if they were introduced to it. It's still not talked about seriously that often. 

Bigender's another one. They experience 2 genders at the same time. That can be any combo. Man and woman, or man and an enby gender, woman and an enby gender, 2 enby genders, etc. Similar with trigender, but with 3. Pangender (meaning all genders) is controversial, considering there are genders that only come from certain cultures that people can experience. Like, 2-Spirit for Native Americans. Polygender (many genders) has been more accepted recently. Genderfluid's when people are fluid through genders. So, for a time they might be a woman, later a man, then agender, etc. They could flow through many genders, not just related to the binary. There are genders that only intersex people can have, too. 

Apparently, in the past, Judaism had 6 genders. Although, it was more related to sex. Looking at it gender-wise, I think according to that I'd be considered a tumtum. They were told they should try to fulfill all of the mitzvot. Mitzvot are commandments, but they're more like good deeds. There are 613 of them. Traditionally, there are some that man are permitted to do, some women, and the majority of them everyone's encouraged to do. Of course, it's ok for either gender to do the other's mitzvot, but that's considered doing more than they need to. Tumtums apparently also could step in for many different traditional roles. I'm sure people of many different genders would have been similar. It'd be cool if we went back to a multiple gender system.

There are also some genders within or related to agender. Demigenders are considered apart of it. They could be demiboy or demiman, or partially a boy/man. Same with demigirl or demiwoman, and many other enby identities. There are also some that are slightly masculine or feminine leaning. Personally, I'm not partially any gender. I don't have a masculine or feminine side. I just am. 

We got a new TV. It arrived today. A TV stand will arrive soon. We got a new receiver, too. So many new things! It might be a pain taking down the old TV stand/furniture, put the new one up, take out the old TV, and put the new one up. Somebody's coming by to help with putting the TV up. That'll be great. My wrists and arms are still not doing great, and I have a hard time picking up things sometimes. This is 70 lbs, so I don't think I could help. We needed an upgrade. The current TV is around 10 years old. It's time. The receiver and stand are older. Both the receiver and TV sound much more advanced, and will probably give an even better experience. 

Made a 2nd recipe I found on Pinterest yesterday: Crockpot Sausage and Potatoes. Seem to be following that at least 1 or 2 recipes from Pinterest each week so far. Although, it's only the 2nd week...It called for pork polska kielbasa. Instead, I used the beef version. They wanted me to use 28 oz, but I used 24 oz. They were 2 huge links. It was plenty of meat. It used frozen shredded hash browns. They had me let it defrost for 2 hours. It was still somewhat frozen by then. I was able to chip at it, though. I thought it wouldn't fit in the large mixing bowl. It seemed to shrink a little after a few minutes, and I was able to fit everything in. The other ingredients were cheddar cheese soup, evaporated milk, and garlic. I wasn't used to using evaporated milk, so that was interesting. It called for 4 minced garlic cloves. I added roughly twice as much. It really came through, which made it even better. That combined with the seasonings in the sausage made it burst with flavor. The cheddar I think made it richer tasting. Maybe enhanced it. It didn't really taste like it had cheese, which is all good to me. Kind of suspected as much, because it didn't seem like a central ingredient. Most of the hash browns turned into mashed potatoes. That was an interesting reaction, and a plus to me. After mixing everything together, which was a bit difficult because of the quantity of things, you add it to the crockpot and cook it on high for 3 hours. That's the only thing I don't like about crockpots. The wait and smelling it throughout the house in the meantime. It's a good thing at the same time, though. You don't have to think much about it unless you need to stir it halfway through or something. They suggested sliced green onions as a garnish, and adding salt and pepper. I didn't do either. It didn't need anything more. Pretty salty anyways. 

I've decided the last couple of nights to not use the wrist splints. I think I've been sleeping better and a little less painfully since. This makes me wonder... Roughly a year or 2 ago, I noticed a lump in the crook of my left elbow. It's been there since. Checked it out a few days ago and it's gotten much bigger. The crook of my right elbow has a smaller one, but it wasn't there in the past. They're both hard when I press down on them. I'm curious as to if they've grown so much they're interfering with things like tendons. Pinching them off, for instance. That would make sense with my wrist thing. I had a sebaceous cyst in between my spine and left shoulder blade a while back. It's tendrils grew long enough to wrap around things, making me think there was something wrong with my left shoulder/arm. It was affecting my nerves, veins, etc. Eventually, it got so bad I went to Urgent Care. The nurse looked at my back and noticed the huge lump. She took it out, but had to really dig to get most of it. I think she told me it was the worst one she's taken care of. I wonder if this is similar. I would hope they're not dangerous lumps. I'm nervous to bring it up with my primary.

Keeping up with walking most days. Often when I don't do my 2-mile walks, I've already walked plenty while shopping or something. This week I'm doing 15 sit-ups 2x a day. I'm starting to feel those more. 

I've decided that when I get my next haircut I'll dye it, too. The white hairs are coming in more often. Plus, it might be fun. Those white hairs have been popping up since I was in junior high. (I wonder if it's a hormonal thing...) I used to pluck them out. Now it's just too many to do that. I would like to have it in colors related to the flags I'm under. I'm thinking purple, green, and blue mixed throughout. Purple is in the ace, genderqueer, and enby flags. Green is in the aro, genderqueer, and agender flags. Blue is in the trans flag. It would look somewhat sea-like. I don't want white or grey in it, which is what most of the flags have. Another idea would be red with yellow highlights. It'll look somewhat like flames. I'm obviously going to have it done professionally. I've never dyed my hair before. I remember the smell of when my mom would do her own. She dyed it red for decades. It was difficult and that was in an enclosed space. I haven't been following the haircut every few months thing that I promised myself. Last one was around my birthday, so 8 months ago. It's too long at the moment. I've been unsure of it since it started coming out, but a trim shouldn't hurt. It'd be nice to dye it before our local Pride, but that's on Saturday. Not sure if they'll have an opening before then. I don't think anyone would get it, though. I can always explain it. It's cool if it's after Pride, since it's really for myself anyways.

3rd of Av 5777

Rosh Chodesh Av was on the 24th. There's only 2 holidays during this month. One is a fast day and considered one of the saddest days. I might go into it more on or around that day. The other one is supposed to be one of the happiest days. 

A few days ago, I was selling a bunch of stuff I had accumulated on Gaia. I really needed to clean up my inventory, and it's a great way to make gold. I like to use their 'dumpster dive' to not only find interesting stuff, but to sell expensive things I don't want. It's kind of a 2-for-1 thing. A lot of that stuff people actually buy real money for, but you can get it for free (if you're lucky) or a gold amount on the market that has other users selling stuff. If you know the system, it's great. I always sell stuff just a little less than the lowest price it's being sold at. It helps a lot. I've been selling things pretty quickly, and have made about 6 billion gold in that amount of time. 

Anyways, someone pm'd me asking if I could lower the price of something by a lot. Not only do I try to go lower than the market is selling them, but I usually have the option as buy only. Once it is listed, I can't change the price. It's fixed. People can choose the options of bid, timed bid, barter, barter among their friends, etc. Those are more fluid. Plus, with lowering it by so far, I'd cheapen myself. It sold while I was asleep anyways. 

She later pm'd me asking to be my friend. Saying we had a lot in common. I thought: sure, I might as well. I don't really know them, and it'd be nice to have another friend on there. The first post of hers was super long. It looked like a wall of text. Me being someone who wants to get to know others more tried to respond with as much as I could. I either write very little or a lot, depending on who I'm talking to. With every post, hers seemed to get longer. I felt I don't have time for that sort of stuff. She also repeated herself word for word several times. Almost like she was copying and pasting. That seemed suspicious in itself.

She said she was 18, and joined Gaia when she was 10. Gaia doesn't let anyone join unless they're 13+. A lot of the stuff can be too much for kids younger than that. Even then, some of the items can be very mature. I've been surprised sometimes. She said she loved my blog, even though she just found me. Yes, my blog is listed on my profile, but she couldn't have had the time to read much of it. She went on and on about her depression. Don't get me wrong. I understand and am cool with talking about it, but at some point you should talk about something else...Also, bringing G-d into it felt strange.

I later looked at her profile. The background had warnings about 3rd party viewers or something. She had a HUGE wishlist. Took up about half of her profile. There wasn't much info on her. Oh, I think I tried to check her profile before we were friends, but only friends could see it. There wasn't really anything to hide...I looked at her forum posts, and noticed she was posting every single day for several hours at a time, and every minute during that in a giveaway thread. You can't post every minute on there. There's a time limit between posts that you can't post a thing until it's up. It's like 5 minutes each time. It's supposed to keep spammers away. Plus, that seems weird to me. I understand trying to get items that way, but that's overkill.

I think she was fishing for info from me. I only told her things I'm willing to share with most people. Not like I gave her my address. I'm glad I stopped responding after I realized, and blocked her. If she's reading this, and it was a real account, I'm sorry. It just seemed too fishy for me. Reading/writing that much every time, for a conversation, was a bit much. So, hopefully, I wont get an angry comment. At least, I'll be the only one who sees it (I have it set to moderate comments before publishing), and I can block her on here if need be.

Lately, I've been getting a lot of likes/follows for my Alliance fb page. That's been really cool. A couple are from the Philippines, one's British (they actually liked Sweet Endless Terror, too), one's from South Africa, and I think another one's Nigerian. All these in the last couple of weeks. Sounds like they're from all over. Makes it more interesting. 

I tried to make a meetup group for the local ace group. I went through the whole process of setting up an account for myself, then looked into making one. Apparently, it costs each month to make your own group on there. I could somewhat understand if we already had several members that were regulars offline, and we were taking dues or donations. The offline group hasn't been active, so there's no money for this sort of thing. That's kind of why I wanted to make a group on there in the first place. To get more members...I'll look into other sites that are similar but free in the future. I'm disappointed with meetup now.

I've kept up with writing both the sequel to Alliance and the memoir. I'm doing both each day now. I think I'm writing them about twice as fast as before this way. Makes me happy. Although, this means I essentially have to think twice as much while I write, too. Thinking about it while typing is the same as before, but then I have to think about the other one sooner. I'm trying to take a break between them, so I don't burn out. 

Recently, it seemed Netflix had completely wiped my list off. That list that is really long, but full of interesting international stuff. So, I decided to redownload it. It wouldn't except the password I had. A couple of days later, I tried it again with a slightly different password and got in. All of the things on my list were still there. Yay! I've decided that I might treat myself with a show of some sort after I finish writing for the day. Most recent ones I've started have been a Belgian detective show called The Break, and another Singaporean detective show called Against the Tide. Both have been surprisingly good. 

The Against the Tide one is about a famous mystery/fictional crime author. He's fascinated with psychology and studied a little of it in college. Apparently, in the current case, a murderer is copying everything from one of his books. There's also a psychologist who's helping with the case. Her client was killed. She seems like she's a main character. She finds criminals interesting, and tries to find out why they act the way they do. There are actual detectives, too. Ones a huge fan of the author, and the other seems like a real jerk. I hope they change that in the future. It loosely reminds me of Castle. I feel his look has a similar vibe to it, too. 

The Break seems to be about a detective who goes to extremes to get answers. No one else seemed to be into the current case. (Except for his partner.) They kept labeling it a suicide. One of the characters has a ton of Nazi memorabilia. He might be the culprit. They also keep flashing to the future where he's talking to a therapist, and he seems to be involuntarily stuck there. Something big happened. 

Finished watching Uchouten Kazoku 2 or The Eccentric Family 2. I ended up not liking Benten as much as before. She always had a dangerous side. She turned out to be bitchy, too. And, not in a good way. Yasaburou, one of the main tanuki brothers, was going to be cooked into a hotpot. Same thing happened to their father. He ended up being saved, and the humans in the Friday club that held that dinner annually, will most likely never be able to do it again. Yasaburou finally agreed to marrying Kaisei. She looks much younger than him. It seems a little weird that way. The only thing that kept him from agreeing was every time he'd see her, he'd transform from his human form back to his original tanuki form. In their culture, they say if this happens they're made for each other. He has an extreme case of it, though. It's usually not every time. The grandma was so cute. She was just a giant white ball of fluffy fur with a head that almost disappeared. She seemed to always be tired, and would take frequent naps. I think she lived in the forest. 

Youtube:

Kuroshitsuji (these are either just making fun of it in a lighthearted way, or making some already funny scenes even funnier):
Gintama:

Happy 4th of July!

Mood:


Or Independence Day! Wahoo!  Hope it's been a safe and fun holiday. The fireworks from downtown and in our neighborhood, freaked out our cat yesterday night.  She kept looking at us with big eyes, and ran up and down the stairs. Tonight should be even harder for her. During the day, there's been a lot of fireworks going off. Why during the day? You can't even see them! Even if their not the colorful ones, they're usually cooler at night. So, I don't get it. I do love one of those things I used to get as a kid. You throw them on the ground and they pop loudly. They're not dangerous, just loud.  We used to throw them at each other. Oh, and those sparkler things on a stick. Those were fun too! It's sad it had to be so cold today. 


On Saturday morning, we went to a Bar Mitzvah. We first went to the family's house for a Friday night Shabbat service in their backyard. It was a lot of fun!They had maracas and tambourines for people to play during the service. We sang a lot and the Bar Mitzvah guy played his guitar throughout. (That's pretty cool in front of that many people, and being a little nervous about his big day.) We knew a lot of the people that showed up. The only problem with being outside for it, was the mosquitoes. I was slowly being eaten, but it didn't matter to me. Since, I was having fun. Later, I found out I was bitten right in the middle of my forehead. Yay!  I do have a large vein that pops out sometimes, maybe they saw it as a good opportunity? 


After that, there was like a dessert feast. They were set up outside, but people took them inside because of the bugs and how cold it was starting to get. There was such a variety! Things like brownies, apple pie, apple cobbler, mini eclairs, cookies, lots of fruit, cheesecakes, rumballs, and more. All good stuff!  I couldn't have everything, because it was just too much for me. They're punch was nasty though. 


The Bar Mitzvah service in the morning was very nice. Yet again, he played his guitar. The only problem was how close together the chairs were. He had a candy shower at the end. Which was us throwing balls of gummy bears.  He had a helmet and catcher's mitt. I love how he had a sense of humor about the whole thing. He sped through a few prayers and some of the Torah readings. That's ok, it's kind of to be expected. He was nervous.  After the service, we were outside for a bit. It was at a beautiful lodge. They had to set up for us. 


When we went back inside, they had chocolate lollipops with name tags on them. Which also said which table we were assigned to. Since I told her I wasn't sure if I'd sit with the high schoolers and college students or my parents' table; she put both on. The tables had balloons and halfway up the string, had record covers hanging. These were the 'labels'. My parents were at the Pearl Jam table, and my other choice was at Led Zeppelin. (By the way, I like both, so it was a hard choice still. ) I couldn't find the Led Zeppelin table, so I stayed with my parents.  They had decorated the tables with guitar picks and a record at the center. Kind of a cool idea.  I knew everyone at the table, and they were all good family friends. The food was amazing! Lots of fruit, salmon, an awesome Caesar salad, pesto ravioli with a ton of cheese in the middle, and garlic bread. (There was also a marinara choice for ravioli.) They also had a band playing. Eventually, people started dancing off to the side. 


Then, they started doing some Israeli dancing. I was watching off to the side debating whether I should join them.  After a while, they all came over to me anyways, and made me the head of the 'snake'.  We were doing like a hora thing and picking up people along the way. I didn't expect them to grab me and make me lead it.  I did it for a while, weaving through the tables and the sides of the room. Then, there was a slight obstacle. Someone's chair and stuff was in the way.  So, there was a mini jam. Then we split up and went to the front of the room. While I was leading the line, the Bar Mitzvah boy was playing a song with the band. When he was done, he sat in a chair in the middle of the circle we made at the front of the room. The guys hoisted him up, while we sang and clapped. That was a lot of fun too. After that, it was back to Israeli dancing. This time, I immediately joined in.  It was so much fun, then the band switched to an undanceable song. So, we got some of the cake. I met a couple of the college students, which was nice.  I got the chocolate cake. Which had very thick sweet icing. So good!  Then we sat outside for a while, and eventually went home. We didn't get back until around 3. 


That night, we watched District 9. It was very good, and a bit disturbing. Really sad how the humans treated the aliens. The ending kind of left it open for a sequel. It would be interesting to see the next one, if they make it. 


I also started playing the Sims 2 again. This time I decided to make it a bit more fun and interesting.  I made a Sim that looks a lot like America from Hetalia.  He was pretty easy to make. His personality's similar too. Not only that, I also put him in the Strangeland neighborhood. It's one that's right next to a UFO crash. Supposedly, there are aliens there. Perfect for that character. In the anime, he has a pet/friend named Tony who's an alien. Fits a little too well.  More things happen in this neighborhood than the normal one. So, it's been a lot more fun. 


Tonight, we're going to have the 'patriotic' cookies we bought at the market. Thick sugar cookies, white icing on top, and blue and red star shaped sprinkles. It looks good!  Then, we'll watch the fireworks from Seattle on TV. Might look out our window every once in a while to see some of the neighborhood fireworks. 

Lag B'Omer

Mood:


I've been feeling a bit weak, so I took it easy. Today's Lag B'Omer, or in English, the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer. The Omer is like a countdown from the second day of Passover until Shavuot. (49 days.) Shavuot is a holiday celebrating the Torah. It's also a harvest festival. Lag B'Omer's a very joyous holiday. There's many reasons behind celebrating it. People celebrate with bonfires, barbeques, getting haircuts, weddings, picnics, listening to music, and parties. (The fires represent the light of the Torah.) Archery's also big during the holiday. My parents went to someone's place to celebrate. They're going to do some archery, have pizza, sit outside, and I'm not sure if they're going to have a bonfire. I just didn't feel like going. Also, Dad's going there as Jill, which should be interesting. I'm thinking of changing the template of my blog, to a more wider version, I guess. Hopefully, it'll look good. 

I watched a Japanese Drama called Mr. Brain on TV Japan last night. It's very funny and interesting. It's like a cross between Bones, CSI, The Mentalist, and Criminal Minds. I like all those shows, so it's pretty awesome! It's about a Neuroscientist named Tsukumo Ryusuke who works at IPS, or Institute of Police Science. His personality reminds me a lot of the main character in the Mentalist, only he's smarter and seems a lot more funny. He loves to get in people's faces, and tries to catch them off guard. The first episode I saw was the second, so I decided to watch the first one. 


It gave me more of a background on him. He used to be a popular Host. He was walking along a sidewalk on a busy street and the metal street walls fell on him. He was rushed to the hospital and they had to operate on his brain. Apparently, during the accident, he injured a part of it. His brain tried to compensate for the area. Which, in turn, has made him a lot smarter. So, he goes back to college and becomes a Neuroscientist all within 5 years. The IPS gave him the smallest lab, and said they don't know much about it. His assistant is Yuri, and she's new to neuroscience and had begged to be transferred somewhere else. After learning a bit more about it from Tsukumo, she's grown to like it a lot. He also has a pet rat that gets into things. He likes to eat a lot when he's trying to think clearly, mostly bananas and sweets. 


The cases are very interesting. The first one I saw was about a killer who likes to eat his victims after he's killed them. The murders are still happening even after his death. The other case was after the killer murdered his victims, he left what the police thought was a calling card. A giant 十 painted with the victims blood, which they either thought meant the symbol for 10 or was a religious symbol. They saw tinier ones in a corner and ignored them. These were a dying message from the victim that was the kanji for the killer's name. The killer tried to distract everybody with the giant one. It didn't distract Tsukumo for too long, and was the only one who noticed it. There's a dirty cop, who's been working with the Yakuza on the side. They thought it was him at first. But, after Tsukumo noticed the message, he knew it couldn't be the cop. So, they couldn't touch him. 


Apparently, a lot of the actors of the show are very famous and have won awards over there. This has sparked my interest in watching more Japanese dramas. As it is now, I've started watching Ando Natsu, Bambino!, and now Mr. Brain. All have been good so far. 


I hope to maybe make something from that recipe site either this week or the next. There's so many good looking ones. I just have to decipher the ones I want and make it. Also, I should find more music for my player this week. 

Oh Happy Days

Mood: 


By nobodyknows+.  Another fun song by them. :D It's about the good times. Well, my pain in my ear feels like it's getting worse.  I can't do much about it right now, though.  Got up a bit late, so didn't have time to write. But, that's ok, it's the weekend. 

日本語

I finished all of section あ or a. That means I'm done with the new Level 3 vocab list.  Tomorrow I'll work on the new greetings. Maybe go over the new Kanji I learned too. あ or a- Ah!, Oh!. ああ or aa- like that, that way, so. 挨拶 or aisatsu- greetings. 間 or aida- among, space (between), gap, interval, distance, time (between), pause, break, span (temporal or spatial), stretch, period (while), relationship (between, among). 合う or au- to suit, to fit, to match, to agree with, to be correct. 赤ちゃん or akachan- baby. (Interesting, because 赤 or aka means red. ちゃん or chan is an honorific. So, something like red one? Funny.) 上がる or agaru- to go up, to rise, to come up, to ascend, to be raised. 赤ん坊 or akanbou- baby. (Why so many words for baby? Also, why are they red? XD) 空く or aku- to become vacant, to be available, to be free. 上げる or ageru- to rise, to raise, to elevate. 朝寝坊 or asanebou- oversleep, late riser. 味 or aji- taste, flavor. 明日 or asu- tomorrow. 遊び or asobi- play, playing. 集まる or atsumaru- to gather, to collect, to assemble. 誤る or ayamaru- to apologize. アルバイト or arubaito- part time job, (comes from the German: Arbeit), side job. 安心 or anshin- feel easy, relief, peace of mind. 安全 or anzen- safety, security. あんな or anna- such, like that, so, that, sort of. 案内 or annai- to guide, information, guidance, leading, to show (around), to conduct. 

I watched Primeval, too. I haven't watched it in ages!  I remembered everything as soon as I watched the first couple of minutes. This time it was about a 'dragon' looking creature and a knight that came from the same time. The knight was more destructive than the dragon!  The knight kept thinking he was in hell, and that the people from the present were demons. They eventually calmed him down, helped him through the anomaly, and saved the dragon. I love their humor and the type of situations they get into. 

I played another Minoto game called Valentine and Cupid. It was quick, easy, and cute. Like it is most of the time. I ended up with the Cupid end.  I had helped a couple fall in love, so it makes sense. The next game I played was Cocoa Room. This is from the same people who have themes like watermelon, rum, chocolate, etc. for each room. You have to find all five of what ever food item the room is centered on, solve puzzles, do some math, find other items like screwdrivers and sticks, and eventually crack the code to get out.  It's usually pretty hard and almost everybody has to get help on how to crack the code. But, it's interesting and I like challenging escape games.   Anyways, I found all 5 hot chocolates. I needed some help yet again on the grid they used to crack the code, but got it in the end. So, at the end it said Perfect End, you drank all the cocoa. Wow, that's a lot of cocoa! 

After this we went out for some errands. Then, we went to a Chinese buffet. I feel so full still! But, it was very good food! They're apple pie (more like strudel) is out of this world!