National Black Forest Cake Day!

This holiday was actually a couple of days ago. It's my fave type of cake!😍To have a day devoted to it is awesome! It has chocolate, cherries, and whipped cream, which makes the perfect combo. Now I'm craving it...😋

I feel kind of bad that it's been so long.😔I thought I'd be better about posting this year. I still can, but at my current rate, it's pretty sad. Sometimes my computer slows down as I'm writing a post, so that's one of the reasons why I haven't posted as much as I used to. Also, just saw recently that Firefox is going to drop support, at least security-wise, of Windows XP users. So, I left Chrome because of this, and now Firefox is doing it, too? Crazy!😖

Anyways, I finished Naruto Shippuden last Friday. It ended on its 500th episode. Before that there was roughly 200 episodes of Naruto. That's a long time...😲I only skipped about 3 months of it, because they were getting really ridiculous with the side stories or 'fillers' as the main story was nearing its end. They really wanted to stretch it. (They did it before, but I think this was the worst time for it.) I still think the series overall was pretty good. The animation improved quite a bit over time, too. Hopefully this isn't too spoilery, but I knew Naruto would end up with Hinata, and they ended it with their wedding. A sweet end to it.😊 I think the actual ending was what happened right after Naruto and Sasuke's final fight. The rest seemed like they were just appealing to the fans. That's ok, though. It wasn't like those annoying side stories before. These had substance, and apparently they were based on the mangaka's (the creator of the manga/series) light novels. The last arc about the wedding was goofy and lighthearted, and that's probably what it needed. I didn't like Naruto's haircut during that time.😒 They aged everyone after that fight with Sasuke by a couple of years. Everyone else seemed ok, and some actually looked better than they used to. However, with Naruto, his hair was super short and spiky. I don't think I would have had so much of a problem with it, if they had made it fit his head better. If that makes sense? It made that part of the animation look 'off'. There's apparently another series starting next month called Boruto. It's basically about the next generation. The main character being Naruto and Hinata's kid. I think Naruto's finally Hokage in it. I might watch a couple of episodes to see how certain character's kids turned out, who ended up together, and maybe who stayed single. Interestingly, I think Sasuke doesn't care for romance and such, so the love (more like obsession) Sakura has for him might be one-sided. Sad for her, but would be interesting to see how that turned out. I'm not going to watch more than that, because it feels like it'll be a rehashing of everything for the next generation.😑

Finished Ao no Exorcist or Blue Exorcist's 2nd season. It was ok. Interesting to see that arc animated. I think the next one in the manga would have been even better. The one about Izumo's family/past. They grow a lot as a group, too. Shima being a spy was a big thing as well during that one. The current arc (in the manga), I think, is a lot more complicated than the previous ones. A lot of questions throughout the series are being answered. However, with that, more questions are popping up. Even the guy who raised Rin and Yukio might not have been who he said he was, or what people thought of him. Anyways, I hope they animate the other arcs in the future.

Finished watching elDLIVE. I haven't caught up to where the anime ended in the manga. There's obviously more, since the manga's still ongoing. The anime left it wide open for a sequel, too. It was pretty good. There were little references to the mangaka's previous series: Hitman Reborn. In fact, it sounded like it was in the same universe. Like, the mafia boss' ceremony was mentioned on TV. I think Reborn's hat was in one of the episodes. Just little details, but they were nice to see.😌 Reborn is one of my faves, especially the manga version. The main character, Chuuta, in this seems a lot more capable and has more confidence in himself early on than Tsuna in Reborn. I thought that part was actually better. It was cute that the last image of the finale was elDLIVE characters dressing up in Hitman Reborn cosplay. A nice touch, too. 

Also finished the most recent season of Gintama. I hope there's another one, since they also left it open. I know it'll be the last season, so it'll be bitter sweet.😔 I thought this one would be, but they basically said it wasn't over yet at the end. They still haven't stopped Utsuro/Shoyo. He seems to have a split personality. At least Kamui seemed to come to his senses about killing his own father, and his sister if she stepped in. I like that ultimately, Kagura (his sister), won the fight and saved him from essentially killing himself. It was interesting to see who was Shoyo's first student. (When Utsuro was a teacher he used that name.) They basically set things in motion. 

There are a lot of interesting anime coming up for the next season. Kekkai Sensen was supposed to have their 2nd season during that time, but apparently that was moved to October. That's a while.😯 At least Uchouten Kazoku's 2nd season will start next month. It's been a while since the first season. Many of the others I don't know much about, but might give them a try. 

I'm getting close to finishing Bleach. I think it's been good. I've skipped the fillers, though. I think it would be frustrating to sit through them, because it seems like half the series is like that.😒 An episode before the last one I watched, had a time skip of 17 months. Some of the characters changed their appearance, which was interesting to see. This arc seems like it'll be interesting.

One Piece has grown on me. I recently read that in an interview with the mangaka, they basically made the main character, Luffy, aro ace.😲 They said he doesn't care about romance or sex. His only loves are adventure and food. His friends are like family. Now that I've gotten a decent amount into it, that actually makes sense. Which makes me a little more interested in it. He seems childish at first, but I think he's a lot more 'with it' and mature than he lets on. Especially, when they show him alone, or his thought process when he's fighting an opponent. I think there are time skips in this one, too. The series is still ongoing with close to 800 episodes. I'm close to the 200 mark. A long ways to go, if I keep watching it.😉 I'm also skipping fillers with this one.

At the 2nd local ace meeting, someone else actually showed up besides Dad and I. Yay!😀 I knew them from the other group, but it was still nice. They also landed on the ace spectrum, so it was definitely a group for them, too. It was a laid back meeting, and we veered a few times away from ace stuff, but that's ok. To be expected with so few people. I think I like the cafe it was at that time. It's a lot more open, and it feels like there's a more private area with plenty of seating in the back. So, I decided that's where the group will meet for now. I had a berry scone and an iced vanilla chai. The scone was so huge! Cake-like, too. I couldn't finish it. For the chai, it seemed like they used actual vanilla beans rather than an extract or premade stuff. They had quite a lot of different flavors for the chai. It was very interesting, and tasty. 

I'm hoping that more people come to this Saturday's meeting. I think the person that went last time liked it, so maybe they'll be there. If we have more people, we can have it more like an 'official' meeting. I can set guidelines, have people introduce themselves, talk about how we want the group to be, ask questions, talk about topics, bring up any news about the community (locally or otherwise), etc. Like many support/community groups. 

Also, at some point, I want to start a list of ace-related media. Maybe people who come to the offline meeting can give input on that, too. Media, meaning TV shows, movies, books, comics, music, etc. that might have ace characters, or ace themes, or about asexuality itself. That sort of thing. I've come across a few with just looking at news articles that groups on fb post, but never actually sat down and searched for it. Things like the uproar with Jughead from Archie, who the creator has said is ace and most likely aro, and the show Riverdale making him straight. Or, like I said with Luffy from One Piece. Even documentaries would be fine. I've seen a couple, but there aren't many of those either. I've read that there are a few ace-related songs, too. There are some ace singers/other band members. It might turn into something really cool...😎

I'm close to finishing the formatting for a print version of Alliance. After that, I'll just need to design the front, side, and back cover. I have the art designs already for the front and back. It shouldn't be too difficult to add a description on the back, do the side part, and put it all together. I think with the size I chose, which is apparently 'standard', Alliance is still going to be thick. In the Word doc, where the pages are already the size they'd be for the print, it's 300 pages. That's pretty sizeable. I think when I do Sweet Endless Terror's print version, I'll pick a smaller size for it. It has 12 short stories, and normally with Word, it's much shorter than Alliance. Like, close to half as long. Should be interesting. Also, Alliance's promo will start on the 6th. It'd be interesting if the print version is available on Amazon around the same time. It seems like having both the ebook and print versions of these will promote themselves even more. There would be more exposure, and maybe some people like having an actual book in their hands rather than staring at a screen. It'll be cool to see them in print, anyways. I think I read that they distribute their print books to many actual brick and mortar bookstores. That'll be good. I don't know what I'll price the print versions at yet. They'll probably have suggestions. It has to be enough to cover the labor involved in making them, materials, shipping them, etc. Of course, you still want enough for yourself. That's why print books are more expensive than ebooks.

National Cheese Lovers Day!

Mood:

This holiday was a little while ago. I love cheese!Great there's a day to celebrate it! I don't particularly like the really smelly/strong kind. I'm still doing my cheese journey. Slacking a bit on it lately, but that's ok. I want to try many different kinds of cheese from all over the world. (It's kind of like visiting those countries.) Ones I can tolerate, at least. I've had a couple of different cheddars, Colby, Gouda, mozzarella, and a couple of others during this 'journey'. I think I started it actually a year ago. I wanted to try a different one every month. However, since I'm the only one eating them, and most don't come in small portions, some take me longer than a month. I tried the mozzarella from Costco, and that was enough for an army.Had to throw some of it out. I was eating it for almost 2 months, though. I want to try a lot of the cheese there, and they're imported from all over the world, but they come in huge packages. The mozzarella seemed to be the smallest amount. Some types of cheese I only see there. Kind of sad. There are still a lot at our local international market. I can peruse those for a while.

There's a weird theory that keeps popping up in various ace 'spaces' online. It honestly sounds bigoted and feels wrong to me.It's the theory that aces and the rest of the LGBTQ+ community are really nature's population control. This makes people sound like they're not human. They also bring up that maybe that's the case for animals that seem gay or ace. There are many issues with this.

With the animal one, they may actually be more fluid than people realize. In certain situations and environments, they can 'change' and reproduce. I just read an article recently about a species of beetle where the males will have sex with beer bottles most of their lives. At some point, this changes and they have sex with females, then they go back to the bottles. Not sure what the females do in the meantime.Maybe it's only when the females are 'in heat'. Things aren't necessarily static for animals.

All humans, unless they're infertile, have the ability to have babies. This is regardless of sexual or gender orientation. I'm living proof that trans people can have kids.Looking at it another way, I came from 2 women 'naturally'. This boggles many straight cis people's minds. (Particularly conservatives.) My existence breaks their fragile idea of it. I don't know why many people seem to think that if someone tells you they're trans, or gay, or ace they assume that the person is sterile. That's what they imply when this stuff comes up. Seems like an odd thing for aces to say.Although, I don't know if those people were just 'allies'.

There are many ways gay and ace people can have kids without even doing it the 'natural' way. So many more options than there used to be, which is awesome!There seemed to be some elitist ace responses to it, too. There are a few factions of ace elitists. All of them seem to look down on sexual people as a whole. Some especially look down on straight people. This isn't cool to me. It's hating on most of the world. These are family members, friends, neighbors, etc. Many of whom have the potential to be strong allies. It's like them attacking everyone in the LGBTQ+. Don't turn it around. Be better than that.

Anyways, one of those elitist aces, responded to my first post on facebook about it. She said that straight people are continuously popping out babies. They have unexpected and unwanted pregnancies. Apparently, according to her, gay and ace people don't have unexpected pregnancies. They plan each one, if they have them only using those methods I mentioned. And, it's rare. It still reduces the population. So, much wrong with this!I mentioned that there are infertile straight people. They might just continually have miscarriages. (Which is heartbreaking.) They might not want kids. Some have health issues where it could be fatal if they do get pregnant. Many plan it out. They're not just popping them out like crazy. (Also, implies they're just baby-making machines.) Many gay and ace people have unexpected pregnancies. I don't think it's rare for LGBTQ+ people to have kids. Many of the older members that I know have had kids the 'natural' way. Some have more than one kid. They still have functioning reproductive organs. Unless trans people (and others) decide to have certain surgeries before actually having kids. That's a different matter. (And, even then, there are ways to have biological kids. Like, banking their sperm or eggs beforehand, and using a surrogate.) Many, just like straight people, might not want kids. Many do, though.

She didn't respond to my post, and no one commented further in that thread. One person liked my response. I also know that person is ace and has a kid she adores. I'm assuming since no one commented after me, that people realized how damaging and weird a theory it was. I hope so. It's also funny when I try to debate things, and it most of the time ends with my response. I think people get nervous around others who have things like knowledge, experience, bring up common sense, and facts on the subject. At least, online anyways. Oh, and especially when that person's a woman. Heaven forbid a woman knows what she's talking about...When I debate, I actually want the other side to 'challenge' me. (Not in a mean way, but actually have a polite and civil back and forth.) It can be fun. Sometimes it does change my view. Not entirely to their side, but enough to see why they feel the way they do. Sometimes I actually learn new things through it. When there's no one to challenge what I say during it, it kind of feels one-sided and like the air was sucked out of a balloon. There's not much substance. On the other hand, I like educating people, and telling them what's dangerously on the verge of being bigoted. So, there is something with this sort of 'discussion', if no one responds after me.

I also changed my facebook 'about me' section. I made it so people who aren't friends or friends of friends, can't see it. So, once I accept someone's friend request they can see it. I decided to say more about who I actually am. Not just what I'm into. I mentioned I'm aro ace, my platonic attraction, that I'm a Jew, author of 2 novels (and mentioned them), when I was diagnosed with colitis, what I studied at WSU, and then what I'm into. I'm debating whether I should have a short bio...The one that would go on the main profile page. (Near the pronunciation of the person's name.) And, if I should allow people I don't know to see it.

Went to last Wednesday's support group meeting. Someone who's relatively new asked how I was. I mentioned my pain with colitis stuff. I thought it would be a short thing. She kept going on and on about diet, and what she thought would be best for me. Felt like I was on a runaway train with no way to get off.She said I should be open and listen to what others suggest. Nope, the only people I should listen to are the medical team that deals with my case, myself, and maybe (a big maybe) people who have gone through something similar. People who are giving advice on something like that, who aren't a part of that community, don't have much of a say in the matter. I even told her that diet won't cure it, and has nothing to do with the disease itself. It's not going to care what you eat. It'll just continue doing what it has been doing. Meds (and sometimes surgery) are pretty much the only things that can slow it down and possibly get it into remission.

I posted about this on that facebook IBD closed group I recently joined, and got a lot of responses. It's apparently a big thing in the community about people giving them unsolicited health and diet advice.Most seemed really bitter about it. Some haven't encountered it much, and said things like maybe they just wanted to show you that they cared. One person's response seemed weird and hard to read. They were giving advice on how ingesting aluminum and other metals would help, and probably will cure it. It was bizarre.They probably didn't actually have IBD. I'm not sure if that would work, but it sounds dangerous. Nobody liked it, and they seemed to ignore them. I find a lot of the posts in that group interesting. Some are really sad, some are supportive/motivational, some share success stories, some ask for medication/treatment advice, ask about symptoms, some on diet, some about trigger foods, surprisingly a lot on using medicinal marijuana, some are scary, etc.

One of the scary ones was about a woman who was stuck in a hospital. She couldn't walk, the doctor wouldn't give her pain killers, they wouldn't help with her dehydration, wouldn't call her gastro, the nurse never answered her calls to do things like go to the bathroom, and other things. She was really worried. People responded with all sorts of interesting, and seemingly very useful, advice. She stopped responding entirely.No posts in other threads. With the last one, she was debating on how to switch to another hospital. She was in a lot of pain. I really hope she got help, that the people looking after her now know more about IBD, and they're generally treating her better. Some of the posts I can relate to. There was even one about colon scarring and pain. Another was about pain after being supposedly in remission. With looking at some of them, it feels like I'm not alone in what I'm dealing with. That can be a good thing, and I'm glad I joined. Probably should join another one to get more of a mix. Although, this one's very active and has a ton of members.

Lately, I've been trying to be better about staying away from certain foods. Also, staying away from raw and unpeeled (if it has a peel) fruit and vegetables. It's also been a bit difficult, because I don't have much of an appetite anyways.Dinner's pretty much my only 'big meal' of the day. I've been skipping snacks, too. My breakfast lately has consisted of just a little Honey Nut Cheerios with a splash of milk, and some water. The cereal has been about half a serving. Not much. Lunch has been a little more unpredictable. Today I had some rice with dehydrated onions, Greek feta dressing, and some meatballs. Again, with the water. I just realized, I haven't had much fruit and vegetables...Had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. A slice of cake for dessert. (Which I made a few days ago. It's like a cinnamon sponge cake.) The pasta thing had quite a bit of vegetables. Still, looking at the whole day, I probably haven't had enough. Maybe I'll try to peel an apple and bake it in the microwave for my late snack? Maybe add a little cinnamon?

I also don't think miralax is working anymore.I usually have it with my late snack along with a probiotic. Lately, that and the tea the miralax is mixed in is all I've had for that snack. I skipped a couple of nights to see how different it would be. It's not really. I almost feel like I'm flaring again, only with the constipation this time. This scares me a bit. I've read that some people do start flaring after their colonoscopy. It's like the stress they put on their bodies beforehand and the anesthetic, switched it 'on'. If I am, I hope it's not affecting the areas that were already damaged. That would be like a double punch.I'll see my gastro next month and see what she has to say. Hopefully she'll at least prescribe pain meds.

Gintama has been amazing!I'll be posting spoilers in this section, so if you're watching it and haven't gotten to the most current episode, you might want to skip this. They all went to Kagura and Kamui's home planet. I like that we might get more of a background on them. They basically overthrew the new shogun. His army deserted him, and he's been taken hostage by Gintoki and the others. Their main objective, at the moment, is to save Takasugi. Umibozu, who's Kagura and Kamui's father, met up with the people keeping Takasugi safe until the others arrive. Kamui's the leader of that group, but is missing. Umibozu is only there to find and kill him. Yet, he's helping Kamui's group? And, the 2^nd in command is ok with this? Although, he hates Kamui himself. There was a tradition amongst the Yato (their alien race) where the son eventually has to kill his father. That tradition was abolished, because their population was dwindling. Kamui still wants to fulfill it. So, they've had this 'spat' for a while. They're 2 of the most powerful characters. After Gintoki and the others meet up with that group, they plan to fight Utsuro. Who apparently was, Shouyo, their teacher from the past. They thought he was beheaded. He was, but somehow came back to life, and went back to being called Utsuro. Shouyo was kind and caring towards them, but Utsuro is the exact opposite. They say he's over 500 years old. I think he's been trying to find ways to kill himself, while at the same time trying to dominate planets/the space 'government'. He came from a planet that people have mined to power most of what they use in their universe. So, it's a very valuable resource. The story keeps getting more and more interesting. They still have thrown in several of the usual gags and humor, which is nice. One of them was Elizabeth fell out of their 'outfit'. They always wear a bird-like outfit. They write on signs to communicate. (So, you never hear their voice.) They've only really shown their hairy legs. Nobody knows what gender they are, or what they really look like. They fell out of the suit, yet still didn't show us what they look like...I like how the creator seems to mess with gender and people's views on it. One of the reasons why I love this show. Also, he messes with the ideas of sexuality.

Watched the Gintama: Aizome Kaori-hen or Love Incense Arc OVA. It was hilarious.Each character was falling for several other characters. At one point, Gintoki ended up saying he didn't care what age a woman was. (Although, he usually ended up with elderly women.) He did get together with Kondo towards the end. So, it wasn't just hetero pairings. It was about incense that once you inhale the smoke, you fall in love with the first person you see. It was in Yoshiwara, which is known to be a town of prostitutes. The person behind it wanted everyone to love each other. She felt she couldn't be with the one she loved, but other people could be. She wanted them to praise her, too. Once a big stash of that heart-shaped incense caught fire, the smoke filled the entire town. Later, they burned a big pile of broken heart-shaped incense. Apparently, it would counteract the effects. Afterwards, Gintoki seemed almost like those elitist sex-repulsed aces I referred to earlier. He didn't want anything to do with sex or even imagine it. He saw Tsukuyo's dress and freaked out. Saying she needed to cover up. He had a problem with her cleavage. Normally, he's very perverted.

Been watching elDLIVE, too. I'm not sure I like the anime version as much. The cut scenes are strange. It's got Chuuta from the waist down walking past in his school uniform. Seems awkward at times. They've also been using bright stripes in the background for some scenes. The manga isn't like that. One good thing is the voice actress for Drew is the same one that does Kagura from Gintama, and Happy from Fairy Tail. She's awesome! Almost as good as the voice actor who voices Gintoki. Maybe they'll get better as it progresses. I still get to see the stuff from the manga come to life. I probably should read more of the manga. Haven't for a while.

Hug Your Cat Day!

Mood:

This was actually yesterday, but why not keep celebrating it? We should be hugging our cats every day.They deserve it, and we feel better afterwards. Same goes for petting them. It's kind of a stress reliever for us, and for them. Today's National Orange Juice Day. I can't stand orange juice by itself.I almost have an allergic reaction to it, where my throat closes up. (A lot of different juices do this to me, but orange juice is the worst.) When it's used in cooking, it's pretty good. It's also International Firefighters Day. They have a really tough job, and I highly respect them for it. They deserve a day, if not more, devoted to them. 

This is my wallpaper for May. It's Lambo meeting his 20 years later self, from Hitman Reborn. He's presently 5, so this version of his future self is 25. There's also his 10 years later self that shows up more often. But, with 20 years into the future, he's a lot more powerful. And, kind of becomes cool. He's normally a crybaby, and at first looks incredibly weak. Whenever he's about to break down in tears, he grabs his 10-year bazooka and aims it at himself. He usually switches places with the older version of himself after he fires it. If the 15 year old version of him starts to cry, he fires the bazooka again at himself, and the 25 year old version pops up. Again, switching places with the younger one. They usually can only stay in another time period for 5 minutes. So, the 15 year old one, would have to shoot himself within that time limit to have the 25 year old show up. And, he still is running on the time of when his 5 year old self used it. So, there's less time for him anyways...He also apparently travels through parallel universes, so none of them know what the outcome would be for the world the 5 year old version is living in. They can't predict things. But, they can give advice about themselves. They can't really meet themselves face to face like this either. Lambo doesn't seem like it at first, but he's a pretty central character. Without his bazooka there really wouldn't be a story, or at least there certainly wouldn't be a Future Arc. He impacts a lot of the other arcs in kind of subtle ways. And, even at 5 he can do a lot of damage. (His 5 year old self can be annoying at times, though. But, it's kind of typical of a 5 year old.) I still don't know much about him even after watching the anime. Hopefully, they'll explain more about him in the manga. He's technically the Lightning Guardian of the Vongola family (youngest Guardian), not the Thunder. There isn't a Thunder one. Looked online a bit, and apparently some people are confused by it. He definitely has an affinity for lightning. The horns are used like lightning rods. And, his body is specially conditioned, so lightning doesn't affect him. 

My Italy calendar features the Amalfi Coast this month. I've heard of it before, and mostly all they say in the description is it's beautiful and a great tourist destination. Yesterday's pic was of Positano at dusk. Positano's one of the towns along the coast. Today's pic's of wisteria in Ravello. Ravello's another town in that area. 

My Jewish calendar's main pic for this month's a rug, and it has an unknown maker. It's made out of textile, silk, chintz, brocade, metal, silver, and gold. From Goa, India; 1675. The second one's a spice box, has an anonymous maker, made out of tin and silver, from the Netherlands; 1800-1900. The last pic's of Torah finials, unknown maker, made out of silver and silver-gilt, from Germany; 1912-1913. Again, interesting to see the really old stuff.Cool that there's something from India, and it's a beautiful rug. The spice box is used during Havdalah (our concluding ceremony for Shabbat or our Sabbath). This one looks interesting. It's kind of big and wide looking. The Torah finials go on top of the Torah scrolls. These ones look kind of average though, but still interesting to see. Kind of shows how little their design has changed over the years. 

The month-long holidays are: National Asparagus Month, National Barbecue Month, National Egg Month, National Hamburger Month, National Mediterranean Diet Month, National Salad Month, National Salsa Month, National Strawberry Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Global Health and Fitness Month, Haitian Heritage Month, Jewish American Heritage Month, National Pet Month, National Vinegar Month, Women's Health Care Month. Some are important causes, some are to make you appreciate things you may take for granted, and some are just for fun. Interesting stuff this month. I love asparagus, eggs, hamburgers, salads, salsas (and yes it's the food kind, not the dance style), vinegar, and strawberries! Barbecue is always good. The Mediterranean diet is interesting, and is generally very healthy. Health and fitness is important no matter where you live! Cool heritage holidays! I'm a little partial towards the Jewish American one, but that's because I am one.Doesn't make any of the others less cool and interesting. They should all be celebrated. I'm all for celebrating pets, they're awesome! Women's health is a very important issue as well. 

Thursday was the 2-year anniversary of my mom passing away.It didn't feel like it was. I barely remembered except for when I went to bed the night before it. And, even during the day it was only vaguely on my mind. It seemed like a bit of an odd day in other ways, I guess. 

It reached record breaking temperatures. At least 85 degrees here. That was the last time I checked which was before the hottest part of the day. I decided to be smart and go for an early walk, so I wouldn't get stuck in the heat. During the walk I was stopped by one of my new friends, who I've known as a neighbor for a long time, and she asked if she could walk back to my house with me. I said sure, and along the way she made a bouquet for me.Most of the flowers were from her own garden. Some were from the park at the tennis courts where she planted a little patch of them, and some were from neighbors who told her it was ok to pick them. It was very sweet of her. 

Later on during the day, there were the May Day protests in Seattle. The first one was planned, peaceful, and they were very clear with their message. Mainly about the minimum wage increase, and on other workers' rights. Then came the more entertaining, yet dangerous, protesters.The ones run by Anarchists. No one knew what they were going to do, and last year they vandalized, broke glass, broke into cars, fought against the police, etc. Basically just causing chaos. This year wasn't as violent. I think I heard a few people were arrested, but it wasn't all that big. There was definitely a bigger police presence. They seemed to outnumber the protesters. They were from neighboring counties along with the Seattle PD. They had hordes of bicyclists with body armor and cameras attached to their helmets (which I think was very smart), black vans behind the crowd, police on horseback, motorcycles, etc. They basically made walls around them so they couldn't attack the local businesses, fellow police officers, pedestrians, and control them overall more. It was kind of cool to watch how well prepared and on their toes they were.

After watching a bit of that on TV, we went to Red Lobster. I ordered from the 4-course meal deal again. I got the Caesar salad, spicy chicken tortilla soup, Cajun chicken linguine, and red velvet cake in a jar. I wanted the grilled tilapia instead of the linguine, but they were out of it.The only other option for me on there is the linguine. It's really good, but the dish has one of the highest amounts of calories on the menu.That's kind of why I try to stay away from it. So, I can only have a little bit at a time especially if I'm sticking to my plan for eating. (Which I did really well with during the rest of the day.) The red velvet cake in a jar wasn't one of the dessert options for this 'deal', but you can substitute it for a dessert for about a dollar more. It's a lot more exciting to me than a brownie or Key lime pie.Those are the only options through it normally. I love the cake in a jar thing. Kind of makes it fun. Although, this seemed to have a lot more icing than cake.Halfway through it, it became very heavy and rich tasting. I tend to be pretty strict about the dinner part, and eat all of the dessert. Kind of to reward myself. Plus, if I had eaten most of the food before the dessert, I wouldn't have the stomach for it and would have consumed even more calories. So, it works out. 

But, this way there are quite a bit of leftovers. I found a way to eat them before they go bad, and still keep up with my 'diet'. Just have them throughout the day. Nothing else really, except maybe dinner might be different. But, spread it out for the other 4 'meals' I have. I try to eat 5 small meals a day. Breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, and a night snack. And, I've heard that's actually a pretty healthy way of doing it. While sticking to my 'plan', each meal is pretty low in calories, but it's not too long between meals either. Kind of like I'm grazing all day.

Friday night my new friend, the same one who gave me a bouquet of flowers, mowed our lawn for us. While she was doing it, I thought the sound I was hearing was our neighbors doing their own lawns and didn't think much of it. I came down a little later to the smell of mowed grass. I looked outside and saw what she did. It was kind of a surprise at first.She did a pretty good job. She had told me before that she'd surprise us at some point with doing it. I thought that meant in the far future, not now.It was very nice of her. She even saved our picnic table outside, and picked up a lot of the sticks. (The table was falling through the deck.) 

So, I tried calling her the next day to thank her. She wasn't answering, so we went to her house to personally thank her. (Both Dad and I.) We talked for a while with her. She loves to chat, so I think we were there for a couple of hours.She told us that she basically ruined her cell phone while mowing our lawn. Dropped it somehow. I don't remember all the details. So, she was waiting for the replacement, and people couldn't contact her that way. When we were about to leave, she wanted to give us something from when she went to Costco. I said ok to the fruit leathers. It's been years since I've had them.She said she wants to plant strawberries in our strawberry pots, as well. She's apparently did that today. She's a very sweet person. Kind of feels like we're her little project or something. 

After that, we went on our monthly Costco run. Got some interesting things. One of the things we got was a huge thing of chocolate covered raisins. The pieces are bigger than I expected, and apparently each piece is close to 10 calories. Have watch it on those.Sounds like a great dessert or snack in itself. 

After that we went to Hale's Alehouse. (Sometimes shortened to just saying Hale's Ales.) Hadn't been there in a long time. The menu looked a bit different. Some of the entrees did, too. I got the jerk chicken on a Caesar salad, and iced tea to go with it. The jerk chicken had just a bit too much spice, but it was still good. The croutons to the salad were huge, and actually felt 'real'. Like you can tell that they're pieces of bread, instead of hard little bricks. Couldn't really taste the Caesar salad part too much, but it seemed nice. It also came with some homemade bread on the side, a packet of butter, and a couple of lemon wedges. The bread was good at first, but soon I noticed a really strange aftertaste.I don't know what the aftertaste was. The iced tea tasted good at first, but also had a nasty aftertaste. I kept thinking that it was just brewed oddly or something, and that maybe if I drank more that taste will go away. But, it didn't. It was odd. So, kind of a mediocre experience overall.There were some really good points to it, but also some not so great ones. After that, we went out for a little more shopping, and got home late.

Recently, I dropped Tokyo Ravens, and started watching Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei or The Irregular at Magic High School. I might post more about it in the future. I'm still unsure about it. I really like the girls' uniforms, though. They don't have really short skirts like so many high school anime shows do. Instead the design looks kind of like a futuristic kimono thing. The skirt is long, and has a sheer layer over it. That layer has kind of a cool kimono design. The top isn't bad either. A lot more modest. The guys' uniforms don't look too bad, either. This anime takes place in the future, so there is kind of a futuristic look to it. I'm just not sure if I like the characters enough to continue it. The siblings seem awfully close, and the brother seems kind of oblivious about it. (The sister realizes, but just blushes about it.) There isn't very much comedy to it, which is what I like in a series. It has to have a nice blend of comedy and seriousness. Otherwise, it'll get tiring to watch.I guess I'll watch one more episode of it.

I dropped Toraneko Folklore and started reading elDLIVE. It's by the same mangaka (manga artist/creator) who did Hitman Reborn. It's her newest one. It's interesting so far. I'm definitely interested in it enough to continue it. She has an interesting way of storytelling, and usually there's many layers to it. 

Started watching Border recently. It's pretty good so far. The concept I think has been done on American TV before, but I think it's done well. Interesting to see a Japanese version. It's essentially about a detective that's been shot in the head, dies for a few minutes, and is brought back to life in the hospital. He's left with a decision of whether to have the bullet surgically removed or kept in there. They say there's a high chance he wouldn't live through the surgery. The heads of the department want him to get it out, so they can have the only piece of evidence that was left behind in that case. He's unsure at the moment at what to do, so for the time being, he'll keep it where it is. He ends up getting massive headaches, then can see the victims' ghosts and interact with them. The lead is played by one of my fave actors, Shun Oguri, and he does a really good job. I like most of his shows, and the few movies I've seen him in. There was only one drama recently that I wasn't interested in. He seems to be pretty active, especially recently with both dramas and movies. Doesn't surprise me because he's very flexible with his roles, and is very believable. (He's not type-casted to be one particular character, although he's played a detective before.) I'm going to drop Fukuie. It wasn't going anywhere, and there wasn't any emotion.