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.

7th of Tammuz

Been mostly keeping up with my walks and sit-ups. This is the 2nd week of doing the sit-ups, so I'm doing 10 of them 2x a day. It's starting to feel more substantial. I'm getting more used to the roughly 2-mile walks. I just have to plan when to go each day, because of the weather. On really warm/hot days it'll be a bit late in the day. If it's going to rain, I try to look at the forecast for when it's either dry or lightly raining. If it's going to rain all day, I do have a nice new umbrella, just would be nice to not need it. I've been meeting more of the neighbors this way, too. That's been nice. One of them recently got a smoker and has been smoking meats almost every day since around the 4th of July. It smells so good walking by it. On the 4th, as my parent and I walked past, they told us about it. They were smoking chicken that day. I almost thought he was offering it to us when it was done. That would have been awesome! 

I've decided to make at least 1 or 2 recipes from Pinterest a week. I keep finding great sounding ones. I didn't have the motivation to do them mainly because of my health stuff. Sometimes it was because I thought they might be too difficult. Despite searching for single serving recipes, most of the ones I've collected are for multiple servings. Although, maybe I should separate those from the others to see how many there actually are. 

Some pins have multiple recipes. Those have themes like casseroles, single serving dinners and/or desserts, slow cooker meals, etc. As it is right now, I've crammed everything into either my Mouthwatering Fare, Cheesy Goodness, Sweet Endings, and Refreshing Drinks collections. Probably need to split them further. Apparently, you can create collections within collections. That might be handy. I can have the main ones, then split them up. The Mouthwatering Fare is more for things that aren't cheese-based. Some of them might have a little, but it's not central. Some of the ones completely without it I might be able to share with my parent. (There are a lot.) She hates cheese. I love cheese. Thus the Cheesy Goodness collection. It'd be fun to create my own desserts, too. 

I'm surprised I found any non-alcoholic drink recipes. They sound really good. Some are Starbucks copycats, special tea lattes, milk drinks, different flavored hot chocolate, homemade root beer, ideas for making your own lemonades, and non-alcoholic versions of alcoholic drinks. The ideas for lemonades one has things like watermelon lemonade, strawberry lemonade, pomegranate lemonade, blackberry lemonade, lavender lemonade, etc. Sounds fun and perfect for summer. There are also lots of other pins that are similar that have ideas on making your own version of things like soups, ramen, butters, and flavored salt. I could put those in their own thing. They're like templates. I did the ramen one once, and it felt more 'real' or authentic, but it also felt personalized. I like that sort of thing.

I decided to start with the most recent one I pinned in my Cheesy Goodness collection, which is Spinach Tomato Tortellini. I'm also going to print each recipe out that I try so I can keep track. It's easier to read than on my phone, and I might want to make it again. If it's not a good one, I can toss it and maybe drop the pin from my collections. 

This one called for plain tortellini. I got a spinach and cheese bag of them. It really seemed to fit. It was nice to have herbs in it. (It had basil, oregano, and thyme.) Not used to using thyme, though. There was 3 cups of spinach, and they wanted me to chop it up. It's pretty easy to do, but it was a lot. It was the only thing I needed to cut, so that was a plus. I didn't know there was a petite version of canned diced tomatoes. Another interesting thing. I can see why it called for it. I wasn't sure if it needed the juice or not, since they didn't say. I added it and it seems it was perfect that way. The heavy cream and flour were whisked together on the side, then eventually poured in with grated parmesan (used the real stuff) after cooking the other stuff a little while. With the heat still on and whisking it all, it thickened it up. More than I expected. Used quite a bit of garlic, but might have been even better with a little more. After the sauce thickened, they have you add the cooked tortellini and toss it in the sauce. I wasn't sure if the pan I was using was big enough at first. It was just right, though. 

It makes a lot. They say 4 servings, but those are way too huge for me. It's more like 8. The good thing about the ones that make so many servings is I can have them for my dinners and/or lunches for the week. Makes it so I don't have to make something more. I think it's healthier this way, too. A lot of homemade stuff can be packed with more nutrients than something from a box, can, or bag. Putting this in My Fitness Pal, it showed that it has a ton of protein, vitamins like vitamin A, calcium, iron, and more. The only downsides are it's slightly high in calories and fat. Another way to look at it is that they're not empty calories, at least. I was able to figure out the portions by putting it all in an empty tupperware container that was on a scale, weighing it at the same time, then dividing it. It was really heavy. Made it easy to figure out. I tried to give myself a full serving the 1st night, but realized it would have overfilled the bowl. I had a little less. Filling up half the bowl I was using with anything is usually a lot for me. Half a serving is plenty. Measured that out for lunch today, and it was enough to feel really satisfying. Also, it tastes better the longer it sits. Becomes more garlicky and I can taste the herbs more today. Seems like a complex and interesting dish.

I think the next dinner thing I'll make is a beef kielbasa, hash browns, garlic, and cheddar soup thing. It's very simple and a crockpot recipe. Just have to slice up the sausage and dump everything in the crockpot (it only has 5 ingredients, 5th being evaporated milk), wait a few hours, and then eat. Makes quite a lot of servings, but again, I can make multiple meals out of it throughout the week. 

I'm thinking of making blueberry scones that week, too. However, the recipe's not on Pinterest. I have a mix that has been sitting in the pantry for a while. Why not finally make it? I think I was nervous if it'll turn out. It sounds simple, though. Just need to add an egg, butter, and milk. Then, mix it up, drop them on a cookie sheet, possibly cut them into triangles (don't need to but they tell you how on the package), and bake them. That's another tasty thing to look forward to.

Finished editing Alliance. I might go back to the very beginning. Not sure. Soon, I'll start going through the sequel, Alliance: Dawn. I've been planning out how I want to draw the full-body of Junko. It's mainly been by collecting pics for ideas on it. I'll start actually drawing her soon. 

I've finished watching Gunjou no Magmel or Magmel of the Blue Sea. It was ok. Not the best. From looking at comments and reviews about it, I think some people were confused. They were expecting something not as cerebral or complex and more action oriented. Some said there was no plot, but they forget that it was mainly about exploring the dangerous and mysterious new continent, Magmel. Not really about the characters. Although, the main characters were developed and their backgrounds were introduced. The last couple of episodes were mainly about Zero, who's Inyou's assistant. So, that was a bit different. The rest of it kind of reminded me of what Kino's Travels 'theme' was. It wasn't necessarily about Kino, but on the places she explored. Makes the main characters mysterious, too. You don't know much about them, but you still feel something towards them. Another part of GnM was how brutally violent it was when they did fight with either the creatures, plants (there were a lot of carnivorous ones, and some could move), or humans. Similar to KT, as well that way. I don't think it was nearly as good as KT, though.

Finished the 2nd season of One Punch Man. They left it wide open for another season. I hate how Saitama doesn't seem to get much credit. When he fights, most of the time, not many people see it. His fights are often over in a few seconds, and he's growing more bored of them. He should be at number 1 in the rankings. Garou is an interesting character. Reminds me a little of Stain from My Hero Academia. He wasn't really evil or good. He thought both the heroes and villains were unfair with their approaches. He was dubbed Hero Hunter, because he'd pick fights with the heroes to see if he was better than them. He never killed them. Won most of the fights. He wanted to make himself into a monster without actually becoming one. He had a couple of brief encounters with Saitama. So brief, they didn't really see each other. Saitama tends to act on impulse, and the 1st time he immediately thought that Garou was a mugger. He punched him unconscious in a split second upon seeing him. After waking up, he vowed to meet that powerful hero in the future and surpass him. 2nd time, I think Saitama thought he was some random person threatening his friend King. He never looked at the news about the Hero Hunter. Maybe he'll actually meet him next season.

Finished Kenja no Mago or Wise Man's Grandchild. There were some good points to it, but I don't think I liked it. I wanted to. There were a few really odd ecchi moments that almost made me want to drop it. I liked the idea of Merlin adopting a baby he found and training him. He ended up surpassing Merlin early. Shin, the one who was adopted, actually was from our world but he died in a car crash and was reincarnated into that world. In their world, he was found in a carriage accident where his parents died. He was all alone. He doesn't have memories from his previous life, and none of his 'parents' in their world. It was also cool that Shin would think about scientific properties and not need to do an incantation for his magic. Made his magic more potent and faster. Also, made it so he could do anything he thought of. The romance thing wasn't really needed, and I don't know why, but I didn't really like Shin's love interest. She seemed 'off' somehow. The 'villain' was interesting. I don't think I'll watch a 2nd season, if there is one. 

Finished the 3rd season of Bungou Stray Dogs. It was good. Nice to see the leaders of both the detective agency and Port Mafia fight, and to know a little about their backgrounds and friendship. Apparently, the detectives, the Port Mafia, and the government are all working together to keep the peace. Interesting to see the man that's basically the boss of all 3 factions. He's supposedly the strongest, yet they said the only ability he had was to turn into a cat. There's something more behind him. No one knows much about him, including those leaders. Most of the time, he apparently acts like he's one of the members of the detective agency's (I don't think she's actually a detective, more like a secretary) cat. She said he usually disappears just before a big calamity. The villain for this season was really cool! No one truly knows how his ability works. He sends messages to his lackeys through playing certain classical pieces, so it's nearly impossible for the detectives to trace what those messages mean. He seems to never be around the people that follow him, which was another surprise for the detectives. They made him out to be slightly smarter than Dazai. He was a few steps ahead most of the season. However, Dazai did manage to outsmart him. I still don't know how they know each other. Maybe they'll cover that in future seasons. They left it open again for one. 

Tried to start watching the 2nd season of Dark on Netflix. I remembered that it seemed too convoluted by the end of the 1st season. They tried to make it more so with the 1st episode of this season. It was too much. I normally love cerebral or complex stories, but this was too out there even for me. It seemed there were too many plot holes, too. 

Started Ultraviolet on Netflix yesterday. It's a Polish mystery/detective show. Ultraviolet is an online forum for amateur detectives. They solve the cases that police won't touch. Very interesting. They seemed to work much faster than the police, too. In the first episode, the members never meet in person. Not sure if they will. The main character, Ola, was frustrated that the police dismissed a murder she witnessed as a suicide. She saw someone that was pushed over an overpass. So, she went online for help with the case. There's also a retired detective, Henryk, that is like a father figure to her; and a friend, Michal, who actually is a detective. They helped with the case, too. It's highly rated. I haven't watched too many Polish shows. Another interesting side to it. 

Finished reading the manga Mother Keeper a while ago. It was ok. Interesting concepts. Started reading Animal no Kuni or Animal Land yesterday. It's about a baby raised by tanuki (raccoon dogs) in a world without humans. I don't know if he was transported to that world or if he's the last surviving human. Before he was carried away by a river from his parents in a basket, they told him that he was a burden. This made him stop crying and give up on life. The tanuki found him, and managed to get him to cry and feel more alive. Their world is interesting. Looks like it'd be even better if it were an anime. The design of the tanuki's faces is really weird. Might take some getting used to.

International Chocolate Day!

Mood:

Yay! For chocolate!Especially chocolate from around the world. I don't know what I'd do if there suddenly wasn't any chocolate left in the world. Probably would go crazy.I could actually celebrate this one. We have cookies that have chocolate on them. It's also National Peanut Day. Those go well together.

Not feeling too well today. Felt like throwing up, fire welling in my stomach,  and not wanting to eat too much because of it. So, I'm surprised I was able to get quite a bit done.It's actually been kind of nice outside today. In the mid 70s. That's at least one good thing today.

Watched Hana Yori Dango. Rui came back, but made Makino confused when he told her how he felt. He joked about it at first, so everytime it came up, she thought he was joking. The end of the episode showed that it wasn't really a joke. Makino and Domyouji went on a double date. They found out the other guy was acting rude. Later, he was trying to talk to Domyouji, and asked him why he's going out with someone so plain. That was the last straw, and Domyouji beat him up. Makino didn't know what the other guy had said, and just thought he was too violent when she ran up to stop him. She told him that they were over. She ran outside, Rui saw her, and hugged her for a long time. Domyouji walked in while that was going on. Seems like there's a lot of misunderstandings through circumstances. But, I guess that's what makes it interesting.

In Naruto Shippuden, the team with Hinata, Kiba, and Shino go into a cave where it reportedly has a bunch of the White Zetsus. They were hoping to just gather info, until the sealing team came by to seal the Zetsus. They were ambushed by a large amount of them. Eventually, while fighting them, they accidentally set off boxes full of explosives. The team was separated. Once they found each other, they immediately suspected each other for being a White Zetsu clone. They found out, in the end, that Hinata was the clone. Later, they found the 'real' her, and she was unconscious through the whole thing. The clones now have more intel on the Allied Forces, though. 

In Hitman Reborn, they introduced Haru. She had a fixation on Reborn. Bianchi thought they had something in common, and told her that he really is a hitman. Haru had thought Tsuna was forcing Reborn to say he was, and that he was abusing him. She tried to find out if Tsuna was really powerful enough to be a mob boss, and to see if Reborn was really his hitman. She dressed up in a full suit of armor, held up a couple of weapons, and challenged him. She was barely able to stand with the suit of armor on. Eventually, she fell into a river, and with the heavy armor, couldn't swim. So, Reborn made Tsuna go in and save her with his dying will. She's now infatuated with him. 

Played some of my clarinet. Did some Duke Ellington and Gershwin tunes. Wasn't the best, but not bad. Have to keep up with practicing it.Did a little writing. 

Today's kanji is: 太. Or: ふと.い、た、ふと.る、たい (Futo.i, ta, futo.ru, tai). It means: thick, plump, fat, magnificent, grand, daring, brazen. I already knew this one, but didn't know the different meanings to it. I knew about the thick/fat part. So, it was good to go over. 

Translated the ingredients to the chicken curry recipe I found that was in Japanese. Next time, I'll start translating the steps to it. It sounds really tasty.Went over a Japanese lesson from my book. Also, filled in more of my index for the recipes.

Worked a bit more on part of the oc meme. While fleshing out my design for my main character, Shadow, at the same time. He's looking more and more like what's in my head. I'm a little surprised by that. This part of the meme Shadow and I are supposed to be locked in a room full of Twinkies and one gun for a week. It's what happens after the week goes by. Kind of a fun, but demented, section. 

deviantART faves: Prayers From Heaven StupidFox- 78 Mark Repubblica italiana I did not make these! First, a really cool photomanipulation. This is, I think, the first one I've faved from the new group I've joined called Jewish Photographers. They accept pretty much any form of art, done by Jews. It doesn't have to be religious, either. Really interesting group. I really like the effect of this piece. Second, another funny installment of StupidFox. Third, cool pic of a cat. Fourth, a cool drawing of the female version of Italy from Hetalia in traditional wear. Oh, and dA has a very interesting vid on fanart laws. Still haven't watched all of it, but very interesting stuff so far.

Come Together

Mood:

By the Beatles. This song has been stuck in my head for a while.I love it, but it doesn't make much sense. Maybe that's it's charm? Although, I've read some verses pertain to each band member, and Lennon was inspired by Timothy Leary's campaign for governor of California titled "Come together, join the party" against Reagan. Still, no one knows exactly what the meaning is. Maybe it's just up to the listener?

I've noticed it's been slightly over a month since I got my temporary paper version of my driver's permit. They said to wait at least a month for your 'official' plastic card version. So, I tried to call our local Department of Licensing place. Everytime I did, it was busy.The operator said if I wanted to know when the line was free, I'd have to pay a fee to have them call me back. Lame. So, I tried emailing customer service about it. They said it was mailed to my address and no one's returned it. Oh joy!They said in order to straighten it out, I have to talk to my local DOL in person. I'll be going there tomorrow. Hopefully, they'll do something.

In Hana Yori Dango, Domyoji and Makino became much closer. He didn't actually tell her he loved her, but he showed her through his actions. She was very confused for a while. He asked her out, and she came hours later after the set time. He was waiting in the freezing rain for her. She wanted to make it up to him, by taking him to a cheap tea place. They got stuck in the elevator on the way. Ended up having to sleep together that night. Then, Makino's so called friend set her up. She was invited to go clubbing with the girls from school, and later was drugged by a man and passed out. She woke up naked in someone's bed. She didn't worry much about if she was raped or not. I'm sorry, but that part didn't seem very 'real'. Her 'friend' had taken pics of Makino in bed with that man, and showed it to everyone at school, which included Domyoji. He was hurt to say the least. Kind of sad. But, I know they'll clear it up. 

In Naruto Shippuden, Naruto had a talk with the kyuubi (9-tailed fox). Saying some day he hopes to erase the kyuubi's hatred as well as everyone else's. I think they came to a better understanding of each other. I feel kind of bad for the kyuubi...

In Hitman Reborn, they introduced Bianchi. (She's on the left in the pic.) She's a freelance hitman who specializes in poison cooking, nicknamed Poison Scorpion. And, she's Gokudera's sister. (He's on the right.) As soon as he sees her, he gets sick to his stomach. She tries to kill Tsuna, because she thinks if Tsuna dies, she can go off somewhere with Reborn. They're lovers. I like how quirky the characters have been so far. And, I'm already noticing that there are some differences between the anime and manga. Which is a good thing. 

Played my clarinet. (Yay! Seems like I might get back into some sort of routine with it!) Did some jazz tunes, and some tunes from my advanced solos book. Again, fumbled a few times, but wasn't bad. I'll get back to where I was soon, though. 

I'm pretty much done with chapter 17 of Alliance. Might have a couple more chapters left, and then I could be done with the novel as a whole. Still not quite up to what they say for the minimum word count for a fantasy/sci-fi novel. That's good, because there's still so much more to the story to write, and I was thinking of making it a series of novels. Hoping to end it on a huge cliffhanger too.Might post chapter 17 to dA tomorrow. Not sure if I'm entirely confident about it yet, hence the 'might'.  

日本語

Today's kanji was 親. Or: おや、おやｰ、した.しい、した.しむ、しん (Oya, oya-, shita.shii, shita.shimu, shin). It means: parent(s), dealer (cards), familiarity, intimacy, closeness, friendliness, founder, to befriend, close relative. Also, went over some compounds with the kanji 引 in them. (By itself, it means: pull,  tug, admit, refer to, install.) Here's some: 引見 (いんけん or inken): audience, interview. 引責 (いんせき or inseki): taking responsibility. 引退 (いんたい or intai): retire. 引用 (いんよう or inyou): quotation, citation, reference. I'll do more compounds with this kanji tomorrow. 

Searched for more recipes in Japanese, since I translated the previous one a while ago. Nothing interesting so far.Might find something next week, though. Went over another Japanese lesson, as well. 

Worked on the drawing meme. After this section of the meme, I'm going to fill out a text-based one. It'll give me a break. And, yet I'll still be thinking about my characters. The drawing meme I'm working on at the moment is very long. But, I thought it was a good challenge for me. Good to step away from it for a bit. I can fill out text-based ones much quicker, anyways. 

Typed up more of my index for my very long recipe list. Yes, just listing the things I want to make, it needs something like an index.Can't find anything otherwise. It's become like a book. Hence, why I stopped searching for regular (not in Japanese) recipes for the time being. Going through the list, I got more of an urge to cook. So, I think my shoulder might actually be getting better, and that I might try to start cooking again.Simple stuff, though. Don't want to hurt it again. Nice to ease into it, too. Shoulder still has some waves of pain at times, but those times seem to be less often. So, we'll see.

Lag B'Omer

Mood:


This is the 33rd day of the Omer. According to traditional Judaism the Omer's a time of semi-mourning, and all restrictions are lifted on this day. People plan weddings, parties, listen to music, and get haircuts. This is if you're very strict. I'm not, so it's not usually a semi-mourning period for me. But, it's interesting.Regardless of how religious you are, a lot of people have picnics and other outings with their family. There's a tradition that people practice archery on this day too. Another common thing people do is have a big bonfire.


My dad got a huge basket full of stuff from her coworkers yesterday. And, apparently all the stuff they got for it, couldn't fit into the basket so they gave her the rest today.It's things like lots of chocolate, teas, aroma therapy candles, incense, lotions, etc. I think we're planning on splitting it up eventually since it's either too much for one person, or she doesn't care for some of it. It's quite overwhelming what we're getting from people.Got a card from my new therapist and psychiatrist. It was sweet, but I didn't expect them to send anything.


In Naruto Shippuden, they finally started the war. So far the first fight has been cool to watch. Right now Kankuro's unit is being attacked by Sasori and Deidara's. They're basically zombies that have their souls put back in their reanimated bodies. So, they still think and behave the same as they did when they were alive. The only thing is they can't 'die', and if they disobey Kabuto he'll take control of them. He's 'brought back' all the big players in the story. The kages, most of the akatsuki members, Sai's brother (who he has been searching for), and various others. Plus, Kabuto made about 100,000 Zetsu clones that are wandering around underground.The Allied Shinobi Force (the good guys) have about 80,000 shinobi and samurai. The other side's kind of overkill with their 'army'.


Finished reading the overall story of Ao no Exorcist. There's an extra chapter, so I can't say I'm totally done with it. I wish it kept going. They could do so much with it.Like I've read online, the anime was very different. Different ending, different type of story halfway through, etc. I like the way things were in the manga more. It would have been even more epic if they did the Impure King arc in the anime, too. Oh well. Different perspective to the story, I guess.


Played a little of my clarinet again. This time I went through my Klezmer, Mozart, and some of my solo books. I'm getting back into the swing of it. Sounding better too.


Finished translating a recipe that was in Japanese, which was for chocolate and walnut scones using a pancake mix. It sounds so good!Somewhat simple, too. They even give tips on 're-crisping' the leftovers. Interesting.


Looked up some salad dressing recipes online. Here's a few: citrus dressing, sweet and sour dressing, and lemon dressing. They sound pretty tasty too. Worked a bit on the index to my recipe list. Yes, I have so many recipes in the list that I need something like an index. -_- But, I like knowing that there's so many choices. I started this whole thing thinking I wouldn't.

Garlic Day!

Mood:


I love garlic!To have at least a day devoted to it is pretty awesome! It's also Yom HaShoah or Holocaust Remembrance Day. 


Met my new therapist. He was very nice. Seemed a little tired, but that could be because it was so late in the day. He facilitates an anxiety and depression group. They actually set goals each week, talk about them, and some become friends through it. There's 2 other groups under the same program that are at different times and days. He said those groups don't do as much as his, though. I might think about it.Especially because they're not doing stuff like saying 'oh, woe is me!' He seems very positive. Also, a bit overwhelmed with what's going on in my life.


Narrowed down some ideas of what I might work on for drawing. A meme that's really long, but tells an interesting story with a lot of my original characters. Another meme based on what certain oc's might like for different genres of music. Like, do they like rock more than classical. And, to draw them in certain clothes for it. Like if they like punk, make them have a punk look. Kind of interesting.Also, after I'm done with drawing my dragon (which will be soon), I might work on a cover page for my manga. Or, I could work on the landscapes from the story. Plus, I didn't like the way Junko came out the first time, so I could re-draw her. So many choices!I've also kept up with my writing. I'm close to finishing my current chapter already. Just mainly editing it at the moment.


I'm thinking of actually going through my long recipe list, to search for things I might be able to make next week. I realize the thing with my shoulder will still limit me, but I'm sure I can find something.It might be easier to go through now that I'm making an index of it all. It'd be fun to do something like one of the drinks or breads. Not sure what I can really do.


Speaking of my shoulder, I have that orthopedist appointment next Tuesday. They'll give me a shot of cortisone then. I'm hoping it works really quickly, so I can get back to things sooner.When I feel better, I'm hoping to re-tire my bike and get a new helmet. I really want to get back into it, plus play some basketball, and do more walks. Stuff I used to do all the time.Maybe I'll get more in shape. (Plus, losing even more weight would be great too.) 


A few days ago I found a hair straightening lotion. It's really been great so far. Doesn't totally straighten my hair. Which is great, because I don't want it to. I would still like some 'body' or waves to it. Also makes my hair feel so soft, and smells nice.


Youtube:
A hilarious clip from Gintama:

Breathe

Mood:


By The Prodigy. This is another old fave. But, I think I'll always like it.It's older than I thought. It was released as a single in November of 1996. This was a huge international hit. The band started in 1990, and are still going. Their an English band. They're credited as being pioneers of the big beat genre. Sold over 25 million records worldwide, and won many music awards. I really like a couple of their songs, the others seem kind of boring, honestly.But, I can still recognize how talented they were, not too sure about now. Stopped hearing about them at some point.



I was able to play my clarinet today and yesterday. Not for the full amount of time I would have liked, but it's something.Played some jazz today. 

日本語

Went over another lesson in my Japanese sentence patterns book. This time it was about how い(i)-adjectives used as predicates behave like verbs. When 新しい(あたらしい or atarashii) is used as a predicate, it means 'is new', not just 'new'. So, in informal speech you can drop the だ (da or 'is') at the end of the sentence. But, if it's polite speech, you'd still use です (desu) at the end. な (na)- adjectives used as predicates behave like nouns. So when 有名な(ゆうめいな or yuumeina, or famous) is used as a predicate, the stem form (without the な) must be followed by だ or です. Kind of interesting. And makes a whole lot more sense to me now.Also got the practice sentences correct. Yay!The words they went over were: 若い(わかい or wakai) or young, 冷たい(つめたい or tsumetai) or cold (to the touch), コーヒー (koohii) or coffee, 正確な(せいかくな or seikakuna) or accurate. 

Also, went over a kanji. It's 現, which can be pronounced as: あらわ.す(arawa.su), あらわ.れる(arawa.reru), うつつ(utsutsu), or げん (gen). It means actual, existing, present, indicate, reveal, emerge, materialize, reality, consciousness, current, now. For some reason, I have trouble saying the arawareru. But, I'm getting there.

Found 2 Passover recipes. One's for meatballs, and the other one's a non-alcoholic drink called Orange Cream. They sound so good!Hope to find more Passover recipes next time.

Kill Me Baby had one of the most humdrum episodes yet.Almost fell asleep. Apparently, next week will be the last episode. I thought it'd be like a more demented Azumanga Daioh or something, but it really flopped. It wasn't so bad I couldn't watch, or hope for it to get better. But, it's still sad. 

In Buster Keel, Keel and Lavie's souls were sucked into a gourd, because they wouldn't get out of the way of 2 'adventurers'. They wanted to kill the Bird of Paradise monster. The bird's protecting the village and its treasure. The adventurers had told the villagers that the bird was poisoning their water supply. The adventurers were just after the treasure, which if moved, the volcano would explode and wipe out the village. Keel's soul shown his true form as a dragon ape. Keel crushed the soul eater inside the gourd. Then, their souls were spewed back into their bodies. Blue and Keel beat the crap out of the adventurers. The adventurers were the ones who poisoned the water. They revealed their true form at the end. They're actually Gold and Silver of the Ayakashi group.

deviantART faves: Best Friends Ming Dynasty 2 I did not make these! First, another great drawing from an artist I watch. He usually does a lot of flash kind of stuff. Second, an amazing drawing of China from Hetalia in clothing from the Ming Dynasty era. Really cool. It's odd that a lot of fanart of Hetalia is better than the original art... I've been noticing that lately.