Bloody Prince

Mood:

This is another one of Bel's character songs from Hitman Reborn. I think out of all the character songs I've heard from the series, I like this one the most. It shows how sadistic he can be. The video I found of it is a bit odd, but I like that it has the lyrics in both romaji and English. 

I felt really horrible last night.Felt worse when I woke up. Decided to sleep in, thinking it'll help a bit. I think it did, but I slept in later than I expected...When I got out of bed, I felt very lightheaded, had a massive headache, and was lethargic. Almost like I was anemic. (I would know what that feels like since I basically hemorrhaged out for 8 months a while back.) Felt a bit better after having brunch, but I still feel a bit lethargic. (The headache comes and goes, too.) Maybe my 'friend' is coming...Or, I'm not taking in enough iron. Either way, it's kind of a pain.

The Olympics have been interesting. The opening ceremony was a bit bizarre. Some of it looked really cool, while other parts made me think they were high halfway through or something.Interesting way that they showed their history. They edited a lot out...Kind of important stuff too. But, I guess like they said, it's just their oversimplified take on it. They do have a complicated history. Putin kind of scares me. Seeing him at the opening ceremony, and again during one of the women's figure skating programs was odd. Even ignoring the stance he takes on LGBT rights, he looks creepy.I've already heard some pretty crazy stories about their hotels, as well. One of the craziest, to me, is the water. They even told their customers to not wash their face with it. What happens when someone takes a shower with that water? If you can't, how do you stay clean?Also, heard about all the stray cats and dogs they're killing. It all sounds insane. Some of the stories I'm not sure if I should believe, or people are making it sound worse than it is. People are told to not use the internet, because they will most likely be hacked right away. Even the way some of the courses were setup is too dangerous. But, so far most of the actual events I've seen have been great to watch. 

I also read that Sochi is taking this opportunity to appeal to their Jewish visitors/athletes. They've setup 6 Jewish info centers, brought 12 more rabbis in (they already have one), they have a Jewish Community Center (JCC), they've asked all the hotels in Sochi to serve kosher food, everything including individual services are available in 6 different languages (English, Hebrew, Russian, Spanish, French, and German), and they have a synagogue but will also have services at 2 hotels. Even their JCC has a slogan saying 'welcome home'. Jews are slowly returning to Russia, but this seems like they are almost desperate to get more. It's very interesting, though. 

Valentine's Day is coming up. I have very mixed opinions about it.I love the candy, chocolates, and the idea of celebrating love. But, having been dumped on that day, and being single puts a huge damper on it. (I've actually been ok with being single. Sometimes it's actually nice, but it's the seeing lots of couples get lovey-dovey on that day that gets to me.) Some people have called that day Anti-Valentine's Day. But, I think that's kind of spiteful and mean.Maybe for me it should be called Chocolate and Love Day? The love part doesn't have to be romantic. (And, we should probably show our love everyday, anyways.) Even the full name of the actual holiday has always bugged me a bit. St. Valentine's Day. It has Christian roots, and I'm not Christian.I get that its been so diluted now that it's basically a commercial holiday, but it still can be slightly unsettling to me. A lot of Jews apparently feel similar. (Just read an article recently on it.) Not sure about people from other religions...

I finally got to watch the finale of Monsters on Sunday. They didn't post the finale for so long, I kind of gave up on it. I was looking through the new site I'm using, and they had it. Apparently, it took a while for them to upload the finale, as well. Several months after it initially aired. I loved this series so much, so when I saw that it was up, I had to watch it.I figured out who the killer was almost at the beginning of the episode, which was long before they had an inkling of who it was. But, I like the process they go through to get to the truth. It's rather entertaining. Especially to see how both the main characters act towards each other and the people they investigate. It seemed like, evidence-wise, it was a difficult case. It's one thing to know who did it, it's another to actually have the proof to back it up. It ended with Hiratsuka leaving a letter for Saionji to find. Saionji recently had a nightmare where Hiratsuka left a letter saying he'll never come back. There were cobwebs all over the storage room Hiratsuka uses as an office. In this actual letter, he said he left to investigate a 'personal' case, and will eventually come back. If they make a sequel to this, we might actually find out what he personally wanted to investigate. I kind of doubt they will, but it'd be nice. 

Watched the second season's finale of Toshi Densetsu no Onna or Urban Legends Woman, yesterday. It wasn't as great an ending as I had hoped. They treated it like it was just another case. A not all that exciting one. At the end of the episode she left to find proof of an urban legend in China, with the CIA. She still has many connections with the US. They left it so open, and with a 'business as usual' attitude, that it could easily have a 3rd season. We still don't know who she occasionally talks to. She has his mascot doll, he calls her (she never calls him, she doesn't know his number), apparently he's constantly watching her, gives her gifts, and she's talked about him like he's her boyfriend or something. And, yet she's never met him. They barely touched on it this season. The very last part of the episode was him calling her saying that he's surprised that she's still working with the Americans. He seemed kind of angry. But, that wasn't really a good enough cliffhanger for me. I don't know...

I've been writing more of the 6th short story to my nightmare anthology. Also, besides today, have been playing my clarinet. Did a lot of klezmer tunes, some classical solo tunes, and tunes from another solo book. Sounded pretty good. Did the 'tired' section of the expression exaggeration meme. Junko looked kind of cute. Next is the optional/difficult half, which starts with a 'worried' section. I don't really know why they called it the difficult half of it. Well, at least now I'm halfway through. Junko's cat ears seem to change in size as I go. Kind of funny.

日本語

Yesterday, I continued to study compounds for 美, and started studying the kanji 鼻. The main meaning for 美 is beautiful. (美 is surprisingly fun to write. At least, it is for me.) 美術 or びじゅつ (bijutsu): art, fine arts. 美女 or びじょ (bijo): beautiful woman. 美人 or びじん (bijin): beautiful person (woman), beauty. 美声 or びせい (bisei): beautiful voice. 美談 or びだん (bidan): moving tale, impressive tale. 美点 or びてん (biten): virtue, charm, merit, good point. 美徳 or びとく (bitoku): virtue. 美男 or びなん (binan): handsome man. 美容 or びよう (biyou): beauty of figure or form. 美貌 or びぼう (bibou): beautiful face, good looks, beauty. 鼻 means nose or snout. By itself, it's pronounced as はな (hana), and in some compounds it's pronounced as び (bi). I'll start studying its compounds next time. 

Homemade Soup Day!

Mood:

Homemade soup is so much better than canned or store-bought soup. Even if it's simple, it seems to taste better. You can also control things like how much salt is put in. So many of the canned stuff has too much salt.Even for me. You can make your own twist on it, too. 

The last couple of days have been abnormally cold for us. Felt like my face was frozen after each walk...I got both walks in today, despite the cold! Go me! 

In Toshi Densetsu no Onna, the case was about a professor who was trying to make the first automaton or a robot that thinks and feels on its own. He was killed in an accident where he was taking a bath and working on his laptop. He had a device setup so he could work through it while he took baths. This time that device wasn't properly mounted, and the laptop fell in the bathwater. Kind of a sad way to go. He was using his late wife's body to make the robot. His partner in the project is continuing his research. He decided to work on 2 robots, using his partner's body and the wife's that was already being worked on. Kind of freaky.When everyone was gone, they came to 'life' and walked all the way to a gundam statue seeming to be praying to it. At least, they were finally together again...Plus, no one was murdered in this one. In Rurouni Kenshin, they're still battling the gang that's holding Megumi. They made it to the commander at least. 

In Hitman Reborn, they started the battles for the guardian rings. Finally made it that far in the manga! It was a pretty cool part in the anime, too. The first round is Ryohei vs Lussuria of Varia for the Sun ring. Sun guardians tend to be very athletic and good with their fists and/or feet. Ryohei's into boxing, and one of the few members in the boxing club at the school. Lussuria's into martial arts. He has a metal knee with a metal plate over it. The match was in a boxing ring with lights shone on it as bright as the sun. Lussuria has sunglasses on, so it's not a problem for him. But, Ryohei's fighting blind. Since it's made to be like a fake sun around them, it can burn them as well as dehydrate them. (Which is what's happening in the pic. He also punched Lussuria's metal plate, that's why he's bleeding.) Later, in the story with the anime, Varia becomes much more likable and don't seem as 'evil'. I like Lussuria even if he's a bit 'odd'. He's very flamboyant. I started liking Ryohei more during the fight, too. He's an amazing fighter. 

Started writing the 6th story to my nightmare anthology. I'm starting it off seemingly innocent. Although, the idea itself sounds freaky. Later, it might be hard to write since it's so gruesome.But, hopefully I can muddle through it.

Played my clarinet. Did some advanced classical solos and jazz tunes. Only a few mistakes this time. Not bad. Better than when I played last Saturday. On Saturday I managed to do it for an hour, but didn't sound that great at the beginning. Hoping to play during the weekends again. 

日本語

Today I studied more compounds for 反. 反感 or はんかん (hankan): antipathy, revolt, animosity. 反逆 or はんぎゃく (hangyaku): treason, treachery, mutiny, rebellion, insurrection. 反響 or はんきょう (hankyou): echo, reverberation, repercussion, reaction, influence. 反語 or はんご (hango): irony, rhetorical question, antonym, word in reverse. 反抗 or はんこう (hankou): opposition, resistance, insubordination, defiance, hostility, rebellion. 反作用 or はんさよう (hansayou): reaction. 反芻 or はんすう (hansuu): rumination, regurgitation, chewing the cud; turning over in one's mind, thinking over something, pondering, musing. 

National Cheese Lover's Day!

Mood:

I love cheese!To have a day devoted to it is awesome! This was actually yesterday, but I like it so much why not celebrate it for an extra day? There are certain types I can't stand. Things like cottage cheese, brie, and some of the really smelly cheeses. Some I can only have if it's mixed in something. But, I love the majority of them. I've gotten hooked on a new cheese I tried recently called boursin. It's really good. I tried the garlic and herb one. Apparently, it's one of the most popular cheeses in France. I can see why.Yesterday was also Martin Luther King Jr. Day. He was a great and inspiring civil rights leader.

Got up early today. Earlier than I was expecting.Even though I went to bed late, I couldn't sleep. Might have had maybe 4 or 5 hours of sleep. I was wide awake at one point, and couldn't fall back asleep. So weird. 

On Sunday, I suddenly felt a weird itch around my ankle. I didn't think much of it, and scratched. Then, I felt unusually cool and like some sort of fluid was coming from that area. For a moment I thought that maybe I popped a pimple or something. Then, I looked down at it. Blood was streaming down it.I kind of freak out whenever I see my own blood. I eventually get a weird dizzy, sweaty, nauseous, faint thing going on. I've fainted before from getting my blood drawn.Apparently, I had scratched a weird leaf pattern, or maybe it was a bite. Can't really tell. I quickly found the largest band-aid I could find, and used it. It wasn't enough, and had to use another slightly smaller one to cover the rest of it. I still don't know what that was about. It's not everyday people bleed like that. My nails were cut pretty short, and I don't think anything bit me...Rosie (one of our cats) likes to bite me, but I don't think she did it around that time. Plus, it usually doesn't draw blood. They're more like love bites.

Finished watching Kyoukai no Kanata or Beyond the Boundary. It had a very trippy ending. It was good though. Even though I liked how it turned out, the last minute didn't seem very logical. More like a way to make the fans happy. She was supposed to 'disappear' or die, but suddenly appeared at the very end. They didn't explain that. Some people are coming up with their own interpretation, and I guess it leaves it open for people. Just a little unsettling, yet a feel good ending. Very mixed. It seems that they could make another season, but I'm not sure. It'd be nice, and they might explain more. What if she's not really herself or he was dreaming? That's even more unsettling.

Started the 2nd season of Tsubasa Chronicle. Sakura finally decided to do something for the group in order to get another one of her feathers back. She entered a race where the winner gets the feather. According to this parallel universe, it grants immense power. They said enough to power an entire city. All of the participants are people they met through their travels to different universes. They still think that they look the same, but aren't the same people they knew. Apparently, that theory is going to change soon. According to the people that keep watching them. Still don't know who they are. They have plans to stop the group from finding all the feathers, though. 

Jikou Keisatsu was hilarious!Funnier than usual. I liked the restaurant they visited. It's called something like 'Fast Restaurant'. Everything is ready super quickly. For some, even before a customer has walked in. The owner knows exactly when someone will have an accident (like they spill something, burn their mouth, etc.) and gives them things ahead of time. She also closes early, but reopens the restaurant for the next day, an hour later. That was probably the best part of the episode. The hypnotist stuff was funny too. Shizuka wanted to find a way to fall asleep and she read about a hypnotist. She had a session with her, and found out that it was her old best friend from high school. The assistant to the hypnotist had a much stronger hypnosis and told Shizuka that she's an accomplished singer. So, in her head she was making it big, but to everyone else she looked like a fool. Turned out her friend was the murderer. But she did it as a minor, and like all the usual cases, it had reached the statute of limitations long ago. Kiriyama was a better hypnotist than her. She thought she could hypnotize him, but she was already under his. While they were hypnotizing each other, there were some really trippy backgrounds. They were sitting around a dinner table, and one background was a beach, another a surreal-horror theme, I think another one they were in the sky, etc. Made it even more funny.

Log Horizon has gotten even more interesting. The goblin king is planning to destroy everything/everyone in his way. Usually when it was just a game, there was an event where everyone had to kill him within a week. If they didn't, the goblins would multiply exponentially, he'd start moving from his castle and attack people, and the 'fish' goblins will multiply as well at the coasts. So, everyone would end up being surrounded. If they killed him during that week, the adventurers would be rewarded with very rare items. They were too worried about making their own lives better, they didn't know that the week was up for killing the goblin king. His minions aren't usually hard to kill, but the problem is the sheer number of them. Shiroe shared his info that he gathered on what happens to adventurers when they die. Crusty said it makes sense, because he's died enough times to realize that he's lost some memories of the outside world already. Since he forgot those memories, he's not sure how many and what they were specifically. He does know that he had a cat in the outside world, but can't remember its name or what it looks like. Sad. The 'kids' group from the camp (we don't know how old they really are, they're just low-leveled adventurers. The camp was to help them level up.) is off to battle the goblins that are heading to a defenseless town. They still haven't really explained Rudy yet. He might be apart of a group of People of the Land that are warriors (they rival the strongest adventurers). 

Toshi Desetsu no Onna was kind of sad. It was about a teacher who was in charge of the female dance group at the school, some were already apart of national idol groups. She had fallen in love with one of the stars of the group. They would meet during breaks in the girl's bathroom. Eventually the girl, Miki, tried to break it off, but the teacher first thought if she can't have her she would kill herself with a pair of scissors. Miki tried to stop her and the scissors went into her, killing her instantly. Another member of the group, who everyone thought hated Miki because they were 'bitter' rivals, was targeted by the teacher. The teacher thought she had influenced Miki's decision to break up. She wasn't successful with killing her though, and she survived. Miki's rival really loved her, and never hated her. The reason why the UIU were investigating it was because of an urban legend of a ghost that inhabits the 3rd stall of the 3rd floor's girl's bathroom. They say if you knock 3 times on the door, say "Hanako-chan, let's play", she'll come out and kill you or something. They didn't really know what happens when she answers it. Apparently, they basically proved that it was true. But, the ghost wasn't evil, and honestly wanted them to get to the bottom of the case. She even appeared as a regular student to them telling them about the teacher's secret meetings, rumors, and what they would do. Even Tsukiko was terrified of it by the end. But, why be scared of such a helpful ghost? She seemed nice, too. 

In Rurouni Kenshin, they explained more of Megumi's past and what her connection to an opium ring is. She, like her father, was once a regular doctor. The head of the ring had told her father to make opium for them. After a while, he stopped and refused to make anymore. He killed him, and made Megumi do it. She was told to make a new type of opium that's even more addictive and deadly. She refused to make it and ran away. Then, she found Kenshin and the rest of his group. The character's a bit over dramatic. Everything with her seems over the top. I feel sorry for her, but it makes it hard to take her seriously. She wants to go back to being a doctor. The opium ring finds her, captures her, and takes her to a guarded mansion. Kenshin and the others are going to bust in and save her. 

For Pandora Hearts, I still have a ways to go until I catch up to where the anime left off, but I'm getting there. I've always liked Break, but he seems even creepier in manga-form. He called Oz a creepy brat. Coming from him, it's a little odd. But, Oz is a bit weird anyways. At times he can seem creepy and not really himself. He's the key to knowing more about the Abyss, and possibly opening and closing it. So, everyone wants him. His clock 'seal' (looks like a tattoo) started to move. If it makes a full rotation, he'll be sent to the lowest level of the Abyss. Nobody knows if people can survive there, much less make it out. You're basically doomed. I don't think it made a full rotation in the anime. Maybe I'll find out what happens if it does. 

Wrote a bit of the 5th short story of my nightmare anthology. There's definitely more to this one than there was in the nightmare it's based on. I'm starting to like it, though. 

Tu B'Shevat!

Mood:

It's our New Year's for the Trees. One of my favorite, yet underplayed, holidays. To celebrate we eat a lot of fruit and nuts. Some do a 'seder' or ritual dinner/get together based on trees. (Lit. seder means order. So, things have to go in a certain 'order'.) Lots of symbolism throughout it. It's fun, and reminds us of how important they are.

Tuesday, I got up late because I had stayed up later than I should have...Ended up going through a bunch of messages I had put off. My email accounts were flooded, the deviations I get from dA were overflowing, and several other places with a message system were full. Felt good to clear them out at least. 

I also found out that someone I knew from elementary school up until our graduation in high school is moving in to the house next door. I'm not really sure what to make of it.For one, I'm happy to see someone I knew and might catch up with her. Another, don't know if she'd care about me living that close. She also has 2 little kids and a husband now. I think her husband went to school with us, but he doesn't look familiar to me. There are other factors, I guess. But, it's an interesting development. We saw them when they were checking out that house at first. I thought she looked familiar, and said she looked an awful lot like someone I knew. (They might have thought the same thing. They kept pointing towards our house that day.I don't know...) Later, since we have a lot of mutual friends on facebook, I saw a recent post of hers where she said that they're finally getting their first house. It was all ready to go. They just need to move in. I did a double take at the pic. You could tell that it had all the same details. Like the little green bunny near the garage door that faces our green bunny. 

Another interesting thing is my friend who moved to the east coast a while ago is going to be visiting the area for a month before she moves to Wales. She used to be my best friend through elementary school. Still were kind of connected off and on in junior high and high school. After we graduated, I don't think we connected again until a couple of years ago through facebook. Facebook's been amazing that way.It'll be interesting if I get to see her during that time.

I decided to drop the second season of Doctors. It was just the same stuff I got tired of by the end of the first season. It gets old.I'll look into a new one next week to replace it. Caught up on the episode I missed of Toshi Densetsu no Onna, though. That series never gets old. Plus, they switched up a few things. 

Tokyo Ravens has been very interesting. I like it more than I expected. There's still a lot that hasn't been explained, and I saw that it apparently has a ways to go. So, it's not ending at the same time many are for the season. Kind of like Log Horizon. Although, I like Log Horizon more. I think with Tokyo Ravens they're trying to make it more complex than it is. And, people are saying they're confused. Log Horizon is very complex, and they're constantly growing on it. It makes sense, too. Still, 2 very interesting shows this season. 

I'll finish up Kyoukai no Kanata this week. It's been really good, but the last episode was really crazy. They must have been trippin'.The finale shall be especially interesting then. I finish the last episode to the first season of Tsubasa Chronicle this week as well. I think there's another season that's just about as long. I've liked it for the most part. I still like xxxHolic more. That was another series done by the all women's mangaka (manga artist/creator) group, CLAMP. But, I want to try their other shows as well. They like to meld story lines and characters from other anime/mangas they've done in the past into newer ones. A lot of the time the story lines actually overlap. So, it's almost like all their work is just one giant series. It's fascinating. 

There was another update of Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge. They were updating once a month, but there were 4 months in between this one and the last. I love this series! There's a new character named Ichirou Jinkei. His 'Killing Good' is called Rapid Shot of Pinpoint Penetration. He's an Order-Made just like Emily is. Only Emily realized she was in the wrong and became an ally. Order-Mades are scarier than regular authors, since they have original weapons that use their own ability. They weren't used by some previous mass murderer, that somehow gets handed down through the generations. Once he shoots, and his target sees him the bullet will go directly through their heart or brain. Even if he didn't aim correctly. He's a ruthless sniper. Anyways, he thought he could kill Iwai or the 'Hair Queen' easily. The bullet went straight through her hair instead of those areas. He was aiming for her head. Apparently, his bullets sensed her life force was her hair. Her hair is constantly growing, and only one pair of scissors will cut it. So, after seeing that it went through her hair, Iwai suggests that she can be used like a shield for both of them. They run for a while, and then take a rest. (I don't think I'd take a breather if some crazy sniper was after me. I'd get out of there as quick as I could...) Witchy finds them, and tells them that the holster she gave to Kiri earlier was from Iwai's father. He had it just before she executed him. (Witchy is head of the Gossip organization. Gossip is pretty much behind everything. She knows about almost every author, good, instead, and order-made. Her ancestor killed the 'Hair Queen' or Iwai's ancestor. Before Iwai's ancestor died, she put a curse on her. So, there's this weird grudge thing going on with her.) Later, Ichirou catches up, and is about to attack Kiri, then Iwai throws him the holster and his pair of scissors back. Ichirou was killed brutally at the end. At least, that's what it looked like. If he's not dead, he's close to it and in a great deal of pain. Besides having a G-d complex and the killing, I liked his personality. It was a little too 'cute'/happy, and yet scary at the same time. You didn't know what he'd do next. It'd be interesting to see what happens next in the story. Something needs to happen to Witchy, at least. 

Wrote some more of the 5th short story to my nightmare anthology. It seriously is one of the most gruesome. But, hopefully it's also thought provoking to people. It, I guess, has more of a philosophical feel. The scary thing is I'm imagining it all in my head as I type it out. It's kind of creepy. 

Played the clarinet. Did some pieces from one of my solo books, a few Gershwin tunes, some Duke Ellington, and some from my 'advanced' classical solo book. Quite a bit. Sounded pretty good. 

日本語

Yesterday, I studied the kanji: 畑. It can be pronounced as either はた (hata) or はたけ (hatake). はたけ (hatake) is preferred though. It means: field (for fruits, vegetables, etc.), cultivated land, vegetable plot, kitchen garden, plantation; (n, suf) (はたけ [hatake] only) (ばたけ [batake] when suf) field (of specialization), sphere, area; (はたけ [hatake] only) (col) womb, birth, birthplace. I started to study the kanji: 発. It generally means: departure, counter for gunshots, discharge, disclose, emit, publish, start from. Next, I'll study more details on how it's pronounced for certain meanings, and compounds. There are quite a bit of common compounds listed. 

Last night I decided to try and make something from my Jerusalem cookbook. I had been itching to really cook something for a while. I made what they called sweet and sour fish. It was pretty tasty. But, the more I think about it, and after having some of the leftovers, I didn't really like it.The sauce itself tasted amazing. But, the coriander seeds kind of threw it off a bit. There were so many of them...The way they had me lightly bread the fish didn't really turn out. The breading slid off as I cooked it. I don't really need that much fry, though. I used cod. The sauce also had bay leaves, tomatoes, onions, garlic, sweet bell pepper strips, vinegar, sugar, curry powder, and more. It smelled very curry-ish. Kind of like a hybrid of the eastern European sweet and sour sauce used for stuffed cabbage (which I'm pretty familiar with), and an Indian curry. Interesting to say the least. It was great to try the book out, too.

Arashi no Ouji

Mood:

Or, Storm Prince. This is one of Belphegor's character songs, from Hitman Reborn. It's sung by the voice actor. The voice actors for this show were amazing. And, they can all sing pretty well in character. Each character had their own vocal quirk and/or laugh. I haven't heard too many shows be into it that much. Bel's laugh is 'ushishishi', Mukuro's is 'kufufu', Squalo yells whenever he enters a room saying something similar to 'Voooi!'; just as examples. Bel is apart of Varia, the Vongola's elite independent assassination squad. He's a genius prince from an unknown country, and is the youngest member. (I think when Fran joins them in the future, he becomes the second youngest.) He uses storm attributes. His nickname is Prince the Ripper. He presumably killed his twin brother (he later finds out his brother survived, but is soon killed off by Xanxus, Varia's boss), along with his entire family, when he was 8 years old. He joined Varia right after, because he was bored. He becomes euphoric whenever he sees his own blood, reminding him of the time he stabbed his brother. Pretty twisted character. But, that also makes him interesting. 

I'm feeling a lot better than I was.I still have a stuffy nose that I can't seem to clear, sometimes it still gets very runny, occasionally have coughing fits, stomach is a bit better, things taste much better, etc. So, there's light at the end of the tunnel...Just wish it would leave me quicker. I read that some people take about 2 weeks to fully recover from a cold. That's a long time.Longer than I thought. I seem to be recovering much quicker than what's normal or 'average'. Yay!

Even though I'm still at the tail end of coming out of this, I tried to start up my sit-ups again this morning. I'm going back down to 60 twice a day, to go easy on myself. Managed to do it!Hopefully, I can do it tonight. I hate not doing all my exercise stuff, so I'm itching to get back to it all.

It snowed early this morning. We don't get snow that often, but sometimes it's enough to be hazardous. This storm seemed to be over pretty quickly, and most of it is gone now. We might have gotten 1-2 inches at most. 

On Wednesday, I started watching the 2nd season of Toshi Densetsu no Onna or Urban Legends Woman. I didn't think they'd make a second season, and kind of took it off my radar. When I was looking not too long ago for new ones to add to my 'to watch' list, I saw that they did. I really like this series, so I'm happy I can continue it. Still has the same quirky characters. I almost forgot about them, even though it had only been a little over a year. This one was about an urban legend near the base of Mt. Fuji. Apparently, there's a legend about a creature similar to Nessie, called Mossy at a lake nearby. There's also one about a hidden village where people who couldn't bring themselves to commit suicide in the forest made their own place. They felt like society failed them, and made their own village in spite of that. This legend might actually be true, according to what happened to Otonashi and Katsura when they were lost in the forest. The 'villagers' may have helped direct them to the crime scene and helped them get out, by leaving large stones as a trail. The Mossy one is most likely not real. But, she still has hope that it is. She apparently worked in America after the first season ended. She became very popular over there, and then decided to go back to Japan. It started with her coming back. She's still treated somewhat like a celebrity. They made a special unit for her called UIU or Unscientific incident Investigation Unit. There's a new techie now, too. She seems interesting. Katsura has a new boss in the forensics department. She seems to want to be exactly like Otonashi, but isn't very good at pulling it off. 

Wrote more of the 4th short story to my nightmare anthology. It's becoming longer than I expected. But, that's ok. It still won't be very long. I've actually added some stuff that happened, or based on what happened to me, in real life. So, there's some truth to this one...Makes it more scary and believable, I guess? Still haven't been playing my clarinet. Again, hard to do if you can't breathe too well.

I'm making my first pot roast in the slow cooker or crock pot for dinner. (Thought it'd be nice for Shabbat dinner.) It kind of came in a little kit. The package had a smaller package for the meat, a bag full of vegetables (potatoes, carrots, a giant half of an onion, and celery), and a separate spice pack. They had instructions on the back. Basically, throw it all in with a little water. I'm doing it on the high setting for 6 hours. It smells so good already!I looked at it recently, and it seemed to be slowly falling apart and making its own sauce or juices. This looks like it'll turn out awesome!

I'm also trying to get back into drawing. Managed to get back to my 'project' for drawing all my characters next to each other. Have most of the main character, Shadow, outlined pretty well. Plus, Junko's arm over him. My previous drawing of Max is really helping with anatomy. He's a skeleton demon, so it's kind of like he's the bare-bones base for it.I also started another meme. I wanted something simple so I'm not bombarded by the other project, and give up from being too frustrated. This one is an 'exaggerated' expression meme. It showcases a wide range of expressions. Things like not just happy, but up to ecstatic. Or, tipsy to drunk. Another is mildly annoyed to royally pissed off. Sounds like it's great practice. I'm using Junko for this one. I haven't used too many of my female original characters for these. Got to show some love to them too.Plus, I hated the old design for her. I did the first one where it's the light end of happy. I like her new design, and I came up with it rather quickly. 

日本語

I studied 2 kanji for today: 湯 and 登. The first one is most often pronounced as ゆ (yu). It means: hot water; hot bath, hot spring; molten iron. It tends to be pronounced occasionally as とう (tou) in compounds. 銭湯 or せんとう (sentou): bath-house, public bath. For the other one, when pronounced as 登る or のぼ.る (nobo.ru): to ascend, go up, climb; to go to (the capital); to advance (in price); to swim up (a river), sail up; to come up (on the agenda). As 登り or のぼ.り (nobo.ri): ascent, climbing, ascending (path), climb; northward (towards Tokyo). In compounds it might be pronounced as とう (tou) or と (to).