International Picnic Day!

Mood:

Haven't been to a picnic in a while. Interesting that it's an international holiday. The weather outside would probably be just right for one. Sunny and warm with a cool breeze.

In Cartoon Kat-tun, Ueda, Kame, and Akanishi were visited by a 'principal' of an all boys' school. He had a student, and 2 high school girls tagging along (no one knew why the girls were there). You could tell that they were comedians/actors. I like all the skits they've been doing. Anyways, the principal wanted to show them what makes a real 'man'. I was laughing throughout the whole bit.And the guys started laughing like crazy. They didn't care about what makes a real 'man'. Koki was kind of ambushed in the hallway by someone posing as a wrestler. The wrestler did this weird dance and ran into Nakamura and Taguchi's room. Where he surprised them, and told them why he was angry. Then, he tried to pump them up, and get them as angry as he was. It was another funny segment. 

In Hitman Reborn, Tsuna and Gokudera try to figure out where Reborn would be, and bump into the future version of Yamamoto. He's a lot more with it in the future. Apparently, Tsuna had just died in the time he was transported to. He was trying to make a peaceful agreement with an increasingly powerful rival family. But, was suddenly killed during those talks. Supposedly most of the Arcobaleno (like Reborn, Colonello, etc.) were wiped out. But, the Vongola Guardians are still around. Yamamoto takes Tsuna and Gokudera to the family's hideout, and they find the Reborn from their time. He has a hard time with the environment outside, and has to where a weird 'alien' like suit. He tells Tsuna that they were transported to just a couple of months before the usual 10 years. (Well, the usual meaning what happens when Lambo and other people use his 10-year bazooka.) So, maybe they have to wait 2 more months to go back to their time? Meanwhile, their bumbling frightened neighbor turns into a vicious leader of the rival family that killed Tsuna in the future. Really weird. Gokudera from the future had told him to kill that neighbor after Tsuna goes back in time, before he was transported back in time himself and his 'past' self appeared in his place. This is quite an interesting story arc.

Today, I started reading the manga, Akaya Akashiya Ayakashi no, or Aka Aka for short. It translates as: Of the Crimson, the Light, and the Ayakashi. Ayakashi are like ghosts or spirits. It's been very interesting. The story begins with a dream filled with red camellia, and a strange mask. The owner of the mask is Yue who lives at a temple populated with some rather unusual residents. The nearby town, Utsuwa, is holding a winter festival. Kurogitsune (lit. Black Fox), his fox spirit friend decides it's the perfect opportunity for the sheltered Yue to experience the sights, sounds, and most of all the food. Even though Yue is forbidden to leave the temple, they sneak into town. Humans all looked the same to Yue, except 2 people he met while looking at the pinwheels. Once the 'mistress' finds out, she doesn't punish them right away. Saying that the festival is always tempting. But, she said the 2 guys he saw might be special, and that he should become friends with them, then eat them. Kind of crazy.They're not even sure if the people he met were human. This is one of the few josei mangas that have caught my eye. I usually read shounen ones. Josei is aimed at late teens/adult women, and shoujo is aimed at young girls. But, josei has elements that are quite different than shoujo, and often gets confused with shounen. (I hate the stereotypical shoujo 'style'.) Shounen is aimed at young boys. (The older version of shounen is seinen. I've found some interesting seinen ones, too.) Kind of interesting. Funny thing is even if they're aimed at a certain age/gender, people are drawn to all of them. But, I guess it gives people an idea of what type of story it might be, or even where it's coming from.

Played my clarinet. Did some jazz and klezmer tunes. Sounded pretty good this time.Only made a few mistakes, and that was from miscalculating my breathing, and trying to get it perfect. When I stress too much on getting it perfect, I fumble more often. When I'm relaxed, I play much better. Have to keep that in mind.

Edited and printed off some of my 'posters' or 'flyers' for my novel, Alliance. Didn't get to writing more of my first short story for my anthology of nightmares. Figured out more about how I'm going to do my next drawing. It's a drawing that'll have all the characters from Alliance standing up next to each other, with a height measure next to them. They'll be interacting with each other. Kind of to show their personalities, how tall they are, figure out more of their 'design', and clothes. It'll probably take a long time to finish, but it sounds like fun.Going to the support group later tonight, too. That should be interesting.

日本語

Today I continued with more compounds for 所. 所感 or しょかん (shokan): impression, feeling. 所管 or しょかん (shokan): jurisdiction. 所見 or しょけん (shoken): view, opinion, findings. 所作 or しょさ (shosa): conduct, behavior; movements, gesture; performance (on stage, etc.), dance, acting. 所在 or しょざい (shozai): whereabouts. 所在地 or しょざいち (shozaichi): location. 所持 or しょじ (shoji): possession, owning. 所属 or しょぞく (shozoku): attached to, belong to, member. 所存 or しょぞん (shozon): opinion, intention, thought. 所得 or しょとく (shotoku): income, earnings. 

National Peanut Butter Cookies Day!

Mood:

I love peanut butter!I love almost any type of dish/baked good that has it. So, of course I'd love peanut butter cookies, too. The Aztecs invented peanut butter, but the version that is known today originated in Quebec, Canada in 1884. Oddly, I'm not as fond of whole peanuts.Have to be in the mood for it. Oh, and today is my dad's birthday! Hope she's having a great one!

I decided to go to bed earlier than I have been. Wasn't getting quite enough sleep, even when I slept in a bit. So, I went to bed about an hour and a half earlier than usual. Then, I naturally got up an hour and a half before my alarm went off. Odd, but really nice.Felt like I actually had a morning. Instead of going on autopilot and being in a daze after getting out of bed, or sleeping a good chunk of it away. So, yay! I already feel much better overall with this. 

In Cartoon Kat-tun, half the guys were interviewed by an actress/comedian posing as a journalist for a teen magazine. She loves to mess with people with her questions and skits. She's a great actress and comedian, and I love it when she gets a chance to show off more of her quirky personality. She made them feel a bit uncomfortable, yet curious about the whole thing. She asked them about what they love about themselves, what they love to do, etc. Then, she made them act out skits about how to treat girls. One was they were on a date at a restaurant, and they suddenly noticed that there was bird poop on the girlfriend's shoulder. How would they deal with that? Tell her up front about it in front of everyone in the restaurant? One of them, I think it was Koki, was very sly, and cleaned it off without her noticing. So, she had no clue. Another situation was how to deal with a girl who wants to kiss you, but you're not really interested. She was apparently drunk in this skit. I like Koki's response to this one too. He told her that she needs to take better care of herself, and wouldn't it be better if they kissed when they were sober and more aware of things. The other guys had to do skits about how to deal with annoying high school girls. She posed as an 'entertainment' manager. The whole episode was hilarious! I love when they do skits.

In Earl and Fairy, Edgar essentially tricked Lydia into marrying him. But, he saved her from being trapped in the fairy world forever. She had made a pact with Kelpie, that if he helps her save Edgar from the poison; he can take her to the fairy world. He's been pursuing her for a while. In fact, she tried to use a spell to ward him off. Sure enough, he helped her, and Edgar woke up. She left him, even though she promised she'd stay. Edgar finds out, and tricks the fairies who want him to marry their queen, and agrees. Just to get to their world, and rescue Lydia. Eventually they find each other, and Edgar proposes to her. He tells her that if she fakes saying yes to him, than Kelpie might back off, and they can get back to their world. Also saying that humans don't have to keep promises. Once they get back he says she can't back out of it now. Kind of funny, because she's already fallen for him, but denies it. She thinks he's messing with her every time he says he loves her. He looks hurt every time, too.

In Tripeace, Shiro found out about Nana dressing up as a girl. It was the only way he could advance up the ranks quickly, and she wouldn't kill him. She really looks up to strong women, so she idolized him or 'Nanako'. Now she looks pissed.He also got some of his memory back. He used to be really ruthless, and seemed to be evil. But, there were hints that he was also once a part of Tripeace. He could do powerful attacks with his hands, making them look like 'foxes'. Now, he's remembered how to use that attack, and has used it to save someone. It'd be cool if they reveal more of his past. Still don't know much about it.

Managed to play my clarinet today.Haven't done it in a very long time. Did some Gershwin tunes. Didn't sound too bad. I'll be even better once I play more often. Also, read a bit more of my Kabbalah intro book. About halfway through it, and it's very interesting. Parts of it seem too wordy, but good overall. 

日本語

Finished going over more compounds for the kanji: 重. It generally means: heavy, heap up, -fold, pile up, important. 珍重 or ちんちょう (chinchou): prizing, value highly, esteeming. 慎重 or しんちょう (shinchou): careful, cautious, prudent, discreet, deliberate. 荘重 or そうちょう (souchou): solemn, grave, impressive. 多重 or たじゅう (tajuu): multiple. 三重 or さんじゅう (sanjuu): triple, treble, threefold. 重苦しい or おもくるしい (omokurushii): heavy, gloomy, awkward,  oppressive, laden. 八重咲き or やえざき (yaezaki): double blossom. Also, reviewed some previous kanji and their compounds. Went over translating a bit more of a You Maga article on kids who have allergies, and what parents should do to help them. Read an article in Japanese on Asahi's website. It was in their opinion column about recent political ads. Very interesting. 

Youtube:

A hilarious Gintama amv:

Shavuot

Mood:

Well, I didn't stay up all night studying Torah, but was up for a while.I think I stopped at around 12:30am. Studied some of the Mishnah from a site that has compiled about half of it. Which was very interesting, but made me very sleepy. The Mishnah's a huge body of literature where a group of Rabbis debate/teach oral laws and traditions. It's also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It reflected debates between the 1st century BCE and 2nd century CE. It also teaches the oral traditions through examples. They go into great detail with things, but that makes it fascinating as well as tiring to read. I love that kind of stuff.There weren't many laws/traditions already in place for women. Almost sounded like they weren't sure what to do with them. It's separated into 6 'orders' or sections. 

I also read that for a while, women were prohibited from studying the Mishnah. Kind of disturbing.But, many Rabbis went against this, and said it was 'optional' for women. I remember in my private Jewish philosophy class that we studied a bit of the Mishnah. (Took the class when I was 14. So, quite a while ago.) Although, I was the only girl in the class. Made for some amusing times.

I've had a few dairy things too. Some chocolate milk, some milk in my oatmeal, and some creamer in my tea. It's something. I'd love to have something like cheesecake, which is traditionally eaten. But, we don't have any...It's not a must, but any excuse to have dairy stuff is all awesome to me!

On Cartoon Kat-tun, they discussed what you can order through delivery. Their guest this time loves to get stuff through delivery. They wanted to look at things that weren't food related, because that'd be too boring. Plus, most of the things they saw on the list were pretty expensive. So, they 'ordered' a quiz show, and cheerleaders. It was pretty hilarious watching the whole thing unfold. First, the quiz show people showed up. They gave everyone little buzzers and light signals. Brought in their own table, a quiz 'book', etc. It was pretty elaborate. The contestants get to choose what the prize will be, and if they want, a punishment for the loser. They said they can easily do all this in someone's apartment. Koki was losing, and halfway through the cheerleaders came in. They did a hilarious routine to cheer Koki up. He lost the game in the end, so his punishment is to be a part of a 'celebrity delivery' thing. Don't know what he'd do at someone's apartment or home. It was all a much more hilarious episode than the previous ones have been. I think they ordered more things from the 'delivery' services. It's also interesting to see what you can get. Their guest said she sometimes orders a mani-pedi.

Earl and Fairy has been interesting so far. They introduced Brownies and Spunkies. Also, talked about fairy circles. Starting to like this anime a lot. Not sure if I 'love' it yet. But, I like the Scottish folklore stuff. 

In Tripeace, they started the war against Xyece by flying and ramming their hammerhead shaped submarine, that's their headquarters, into Xyece's headquarters. Nana is now in Shiro's group as 2nd in command. Of course, he has to keep the charade of him being a woman up. Otherwise, she'll turn on him. For some reason, she seems to have a soft spot for other strong-looking women. I'm surprised that she still doesn't know that it's him and not 'Nanako'. Belial seems to have gotten himself into a pickle. Hope he can get through it.

Played my clarinet. Did more of my advanced solo pieces. Also, finally switched to a 'new' reed. I haven't switched to another one in a while. I say 'new' because we got this pack of about 10 of them at least 2 years ago. I consider them still good if I haven't used them yet. Sounded much better. My reeds tend to last for a long time. Still sounded like I needed to practice more, but it wasn't bad. 

Decided to drop The Silmarillion. It was getting boring, and it went into WAY too much detail.So, I decided that my next book from my list will be The Essential Kabbalah by Daniel C Matt. I've always thought Kabbalah was interesting. (The real Kabbalah, not the fake commercialized stuff.) It's short, too. Read that it's really a beginner's book. But, that's fine. It'll still be interesting.

日本語

The kanji for today was: 者. Pronounced as もの (mono): (rarely used without a qualifier) person. As しゃ (sha): (suf) someone of that type or nature, someone who does that. 新聞記者 or しんぶんきしゃ (shinbun kisha): newspaper reporter. 人気者 or にんきしゃ (ninkisha): popular person. 愛国者 or あいこくしゃ (aikokusha): patriot. 愛読者 or あいどくしゃ (aidokusha): subscriber, reader, admirer. 悪者 or わるもの (warumono): bad fellow, rascal, scoundrel, ruffian, (the) bad guy(s), villain. 芸者 or げいしゃ: geisha. 配偶者 or はいぐうしゃ (haiguusha): spouse, wife, husband, partner. 被害者 or ひがいしゃ (higaisha): victim, injured party, sufferer. 利用者 or りようしゃ (riyousha): user, end-user, consumer. 担当者 or たんとうしゃ (tantousha): person responsible, person in charge. 忍者 or にんじゃ: ninja. 医者 or いしゃ (isha): doctor, physician. 若者 or わかもの (wakamono): young man, youth, lad.

Happy Days!

Mood:

By Ai Otsuka. Kind of fits my mood for the last couple of days. Haven't posted an Ai Otsuka song in a long time! This one's kind of an old one, but it's fun and energetic. Although, a bit weird too. But, that kind of fits Otsuka. She's an amazing singer!Does a wide range of musical genres. From rock, to pop, to ballads, etc. It would be cool if she was currently more active. 

This is my wallpaper for the month. Kind of thought it was funny, and a bit awkward. It has the vocaloids Rin, Luka, Miku, and Len. The girls are apparently thinking about putting Len in a kimono. Haven't had a vocaloid themed wallpaper in a while. 

My spice calendar features saffron, which is the most expensive spice on Earth. It apparently originated in Greece. While Iran is the biggest producer of saffron in the world currently, Spain is its biggest exporter. They explain what it was used for in the past, what you can make with it, and what wines you can pair those dishes with. 

My Jewish calendar features a self-portrait, oil based painting on canvas, by Else Berg. From Amsterdam in 1917. There's also a mizrach, maker's unknown, out of paper, from Germany in 1900. A mizrach, is a wall decoration on the eastern wall of a house or synagogue in the direction of Jerusalem towards which we face during prayer. (Mizrach literally means 'east'.) Always cool to see the old stuff.

The month-long holidays are: National Asparagus Month, National BBQ Month, National Egg Month, National Hamburger Month, National Mediterranean Diet Month, National Salad Month, National Salsa (food) Month, National Strawberry Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Haitian Heritage Month, Jewish American Heritage Month, National Mental Health Month. Some are important causes, some are to make you appreciate things you may take for granted, and some are just for fun. I love all of those foods! Cool, that it's Jewish American Heritage Month! Mental health is very important. Good to raise awareness for it.

Actually got up a bit early today. Before my alarm went off.I've been sleeping in a little the last couple of days, so this was nice. 

Yesterday was the anniversary, on the regular calendar, of my mom passing away. Oddly, I didn't really feel depressed.She popped up in my mind occasionally, but I wasn't really that emotional about it. It might be that I'm still on a 'high' from publishing my book. Not only that, but getting into the 'premium' catalog really made me feel good. I think she'd want me to be happy. So, maybe it was ok to feel this way on such a day. My grandparents called mainly because of what day it was, and to see how I was. It was a nice conversation. I told them about my book, and they seemed happy for me. They also said they were proud. Makes me feel even better!Not sure if I've felt this happy before. If I have, it would have been a loooong time ago. 

There has been 11 downloads of the sample on Smashwords, so far. It's available now on Kobo, Apple, and Page Foundry. It was shipped to Barnes and Noble, I saw they got it, but they haven't listed it yet. This is so exciting!If anyone's interested, here's the link to it on Smashwords: Alliance. (Can't believe I didn't post it last time...)

Went to the support group's meeting Tuesday night. This time, since it was the 5th Tuesday of the month, we had a potluck and watched a movie. There wasn't much to the potluck this time. We brought some regular popcorn, and some Kettle Corn. There was a good red velvet swirl cake with icing, some chips, and gummy bears. I think there was soda, although I didn't drink anything. The movie was interesting, yet extremely trippy.

We went to Shari's after. I got the yogurt parfait that comes with an English muffin. They just listed it coming with a 'muffin'. That can mean a lot of things.The English muffin was already heavily buttered. Kind of looked nasty that way. Isn't it better to let your customers put as much or as little as they'd like on it? The parfait was pretty good. I asked for strawberries in mine. So, it was those, yogurt, and some crushed up pieces of granola (kind of like they took a bar of it, and smashed it into chunks. Then, put it in the parfait). Also, had my regular strawberry lemonade. 

Found out that one of the members of the group wanted me to help teach her daughter about Judaism. Her daughter's very interested in it, but doesn't know anyone who is Jewish. Her daughter's thinking of possibly converting in the future. She also isn't really sure if her daughter actually knows how big of a commitment that is. I'm more than happy to educate people. Even if it just ends up being that way, it's still cool that she's even slightly interested. I think people should be educated of others. I was always the only Jew in school (except college, and even then, there wasn't very many of us), so I have some experience in talking to people who have absolutely no idea what Judaism is about. In the past, its led to some really interesting questions and debate.

I thought I'd take her to a Saturday morning service first, to kind of let her have a feel of it. But, now I'm starting to think that it'd be best to just meet and talk first. So, she knows some of the basics, and she's not totally confused. Both congregations are very open to people who aren't Jewish and that are just interested in how we do things. So, I'm sure they'd be fine with it. Back in high school, I think (might have been in junior high), I took a couple of my non-Jewish friends to services. They thought it was very interesting and fun. The congregation said if there's any questions you have, just ask. So, this should be very interesting.

We went to Taprock for dinner yesterday. Mammy J had gotten another check from Smashwords!So, that was good to celebrate. I got a ciabatta sandwich with smoked chicken, provolone, and pesto. The sandwich also had some sundried tomatoes, red onions, and green pepper. It came with a side of steak fries, and a long deli pickle. Had half of it, and the other half made for a nice lunch today.

In Cartoon KAT-TUN, they had their second to last episode of the 'love' project. Which is good, because their project has lasted longer than I was expecting. And, things got tiring quickly. Although, I really loved Kame and Taguchi's parts in the project. The others I could have done without. Ueda didn't really do much until the last couple of episodes. This episode was actually a compilation of footage that they had cut out throughout the project. I think that they had the best moments. They should have kept these scenes in. Kame met some kindergarteners doing a relay outside. He talked to a little boy in the group, and asked him about love. He kept saying that the only thing he loves is meat. Kame asked him if there was anything else he loved, and he continued to bring up meat. Then, eventually he ranked his favorite meats. It was cute. Then, Kame talked to an 86 year old man, who was tending to his 'vegetable and fruit' farm. He showed Kame how to prune an apple tree. He said the only thing he loves, at his age, is tending to his farm. He started doing it when he was 18, and hasn't stopped since. Ueda talked to some middle school girls about love. That was rather interesting, too. One girl tried to confess to a boy she's had a crush on through her cell phone, but had to leave a message. Taguchi watched how animals court each other. It was cute and funny. In the last episode of this 'project' they'll do something together. And, from the preview, they look like they're brought to tears.

In Otenki Onee-san, people are starting to notice that detective Gota has a photographic memory. He keeps trying to avoid the subject, saying anyone can do it. This time, it was about a woman who suspected her ex of stalking. She got a restraining order when she thought that he was setting fires around her. Turned out, that those fires had started by using the sun's rays and making them bounce off of something like a crystal, and aiming it towards something. Like using a magnifying glass as an example. He just wanted to talk to her. Her assistant, and friend, acted like she was protecting her from the crazy ex. When it was really her who 'rigged up' those areas to catch fire. She wanted her all to herself. She thought the only way they can be together forever is if they die together, and set a fire up in a greenhouse that the other woman's family owns. Then, locked her and herself inside. They found them in time, but she was really creepy.

日本語

Yesterday, I went over some more compounds for 実. (There's a lot on the list, and I'm maybe a third of the way through it.) 質実 or しつじつ (shitsujitsu): simplicity, plainness. 老実 or ろうじつ (roujitsu): loyalty, fidelity. 充実した or じゅうじつした (juujitsushita): full, complete, substantial (meal), solid (reading), productive (day). 実しやかに or まことしやかに (makotoshiyakani): as if it were true, plausibly. 事実に照らして or じじつにてらして (jijitsu ni terashite): (exp) in view of the facts. 実のところ or じつのところ (jitsunotokoro): (exp) as a matter of fact, in fact, to tell the truth. 実印 or じついん (jitsuin): officially registered seal. 実員 or じついん (jitsuin): actual number of people. 現実化 or げんじつか (genjitsuka): realization. 現実感 or げんじつかん (genjitsukan): sense of reality. 実記 or じっき (jikki): true account. 実況放送 or じっきょうほうそう (jikkyouhousou): on-the-spot or live broadcast, running commentary, blow-by-blow report. 

7th Day of Passover!

Mood:

Only one more day. Ends at sundown tomorrow. So, I guess while we might be at Shari's tomorrow, after group, I'll have something chametz-y.Chametz is  basically things that aren't kosher for Passover. Like, breads, pastas, cakes, rice, corn, different grains, etc. (Some of those only Ashkenazic Jews take out from their diet. Calling the other 'stuff' besides the leavened things, kitniyot.) So maybe I'll have a burger, or some pasta thing, or maybe pancakes...This is the point when it becomes difficult to continue. Mom occasionally would end it a day early. But, I don't know if I want to. 

It's also April Fool's Day. DeviantART actually had an interesting idea, that'd be kind of cool if it were real. It was about a dating site related to deviantART called deviantHEART. Saying they can match you with another artist through their questionnaire, and what you'd like to see in a match. Cute idea. Of course, since it was an April Fool's thing, they match you up randomly.Some people were matched with deactivated accounts. Some got artists who rarely put stuff up. Mine was a guy from Spain, who apparently has an obsession with Avatar: The Last Airbender and South Park. Much younger than me, too. I tried to fill it out a few times with different answers, and it always paired me up with this guy. Interesting though. I kind of like what they did last year more. With the cat 'empire' taking over. That was fun.And, there were contests, changes to avatars, cat art work everywhere, etc. Like they put a lot of effort into it. The one this year seems kind of half-baked. Oh well. Next year might be fun. 

Started up this week with doing 20 sit-ups twice a day. I think I'm going to try adding 10 to both times each week, instead of what was the norm of just 5 to both times each week. Might catch up to what I was doing much quicker. And, may even see results faster. Did my normal 2-mile walk today, too. Felt good to get back to it.It was really sunny out, so that was nice. Decided that since the sunsets are at weird times now, I'll do it a bit earlier. It's still beautiful out, if I do it at the time I did today.Couldn't wear my sunglasses, because apparently there's a crack in the frame. Part of that crack has actually cut through, and if I were to wear it, it'd be cutting into my cheek. Not cool.Once the holiday is over, I'll be able to eat more normal. So, I can get back to what I was doing before. So, it feels great to be getting back to my fitness stuff. 

In Cartoon KAT-TUN, the guys were on tour. One of their stops was in Sendai. They arrived a day early, not really knowing what was in store for them. Started off as a punishment game for Ueda and Kame, or as the new 'nickname' for the pair was dubbed KameDa. They lost at a cooking competition against the other guys. Their punishment was to be an AD, or people that essentially do everything for the band. Like hold up cue cards, make restaurant reservations, ask in person ahead of time if they can film in various places, get drinks and food for the band, carry the bands things, etc. Only they of course made it especially hard on KameDa. They tried cow tongue, visited a shrine (one of the other tourists thought they were a rock band named TOKIO. Kind of funny to see their reactions to it), were welcomed with leis (KameDa didn't get them, though), got drinks at a local stand somewhere (they didn't even know exactly where), etc. For the cow tongue, KameDa were forced to cook it for the band, and themselves. Then, through janken, or rock, paper, scissors they decided that Nakamaru would be a new AD. Ueda was able to get out of it. Kame was forced to stay as one. In the preview, Nakamaru was forced to deal with his fear of heights by bungee jumping. That should be interesting. I like these sort of 'specials'. A lot more than what they were doing the last few episodes. Even more than their normal stuff. It's fun to get a view of what life may be like in these areas. They speak to real people, many of whom don't know about the band; go to some interesting local attractions, and get a sense of the culture in the area.

In Hitman Reborn, it was the last fight for the rings of Vongola. Hibari vs. Mosca. Mosca's really a robot that was supposed to be indestructible. Hibari proved it wrong. The fight was over in a matter of minutes. Hibari is freaky! But, cool. Tsuna's training more. I just know he'll have to fight Xanxus soon. Even though Tsuna's 'family' won, and he's already disqualified from fighting, Xanxus will try something. In Mix Vegetable, Hanayu realized Hayato really did feel something towards her. But, he tends to do stupid things around people he likes, and that confused her. I'm glad that they might get back together. Simply because they're interesting as a couple.

Practiced my clarinet today. Did some Mozart. Still sounded rusty, but better than last time. I'll get there. 

Printed out chapter 20 from Alliance. Read a little bit over it in that paper form, and already found some mistakes. I like that 'process' of looking at it again this way. I catch even more stuff. I took down all the chapters I had on deviantART and AnimeCrazy forums. Those were the last 2 sites that had the chapters up. I made sure to make a copy of some of the constructive criticisms and nice comments from deviantART before I deleted those deviations. That way I know what they commented on before. I loved having feedback from people on it. Helped quite a bit. I never had all the chapters up, either. It ended up being 174 pages in Word, or about 348 in normal book form. Interesting, not sure if it sounds like a lot or normal for a fantasy/sci-fi novel. Might be less or a bit more after I edit a lot of it. 

Scanned the last 2 panels of the drawing meme. So, after I edit them in Photoshop, I can paste them on the meme and submit it to deviantART. It'll be the 'individuals' section. I like that the artist decided to have broken up versions of the original meme. Each section can be submitted by itself. Otherwise, it would take me forever. Also, in the future, I might color it.

日本語

I worked on the last compounds for 事. 工事 or こうじ (kouji): construction work, construction. 食事 or しょくじ (shokuji): meal; to eat. 人事 or じんじ (jinji): personnel affairs, human affairs, HR, human resources. 知事 or ちじ (chiji): prefectural governor. 判事 or はんじ (hanji): a judge. 無事 or ぶじ (buji): safety, peace, quietness. 返事 or へんじ (henji): reply, answer, response. 物事 or ものごと (monogoto): things, everything. 用事 or ようじ (youji): tasks, things to do, errand. 理事 or りじ (riji): director. 事改めて or ことあらためて(kotoaratamete): (expression) anew. 見事 or みごと (migoto): splendid, magnificent, beautiful, admirable; praiseworthy act, feat, commendable deed. As お見事 or おみごと (omigoto) it's: well done!, bravo! Next time I'll move on, and work on 2 'new' kanji. One of them has some compounds listed too. Certainly not as many.

National Artichoke Hearts Day!

Mood:

This is actually on Saturday, not sure if I'll post then. Plus I love artichoke hearts!So, why not celebrate it a little early? We got some marinated artichoke hearts not too long ago. Good stuff. 

Got up pretty late yesterday, and felt SO much better than the day before.Today, I slept in a little bit (definitely not as late as yesterday), and feel even better. I don't have the aches in my ribs/neck/etc. I can breathe a lot easier, too. When something affects my breathing, it worries me a bit. I've had 2 scary life-threatening illnesses dealing with my lungs. But, like I said, it's a lot better. So I'm not as worried anymore. Still think it was just a side effect of the antibiotics leaving my system. Stomach is still doing this weird spasm-y thing every so often. But, it's better too. I think Rosie, my cat, could smell the antibiotics on my skin. (Probably from sweating it out or something.) Every time she went to lick me, she had the same face she gets when she smells an orange or something else that's strong, and starts to sneeze. Today, she's back to licking me like usual. (She loves to 'clean' me.) So, she's kind of my personal detector, too.

I decided on saying yes to the invite for my high school reunion. They just put out the ticket price. Looks pretty expensive, and they said the price will probably go up even more as we get closer to the date.There's been quite an uproar from some people on the Facebook group, about the price. Also, the menu seems kind of too 'fancy'. (To put it nicely...) I know it's a reunion, but some of it sounds like too much. So, now I don't really know...It'd be interesting to see everyone, but the price and food seems odd. We'll see. It'd be cool if they gave an option to just go to the 'family picnic' potluck thing for free or a small fee. So, if people can't afford the night one, they can at least see people the next day.

I came up with the list of stuff I need for Passover, yesterday. It took a while, but it's done.I might make a Passover meat pie from Rhodes. It sounds tasty. I'll probably make the matzah granola again. It's really good.I can eat that even after the holiday, so I'm not worried about making too much for myself. (It has a long shelf life.) I was going to make my mom's almond torte, but it's a bit more complicated than I expected. It would be perfect for our seder. I might try, but it could be a flop. I guess there's no harm in trying. 

Also, since Dad and I decided that we'll do a seder for one of the nights, I made sure to write down stuff we'll need for that. We're going to need a lot of eggs!Crazy! Mainly for baking, and making hard boiled eggs. Some of the hard boiled eggs are eaten during the seder. Kind of like as an appetizer, along with gefilte fish. (Gefilte fish literally means 'stuffed' fish. But, it really is a fish loaf or ball usually eaten cold. We usually get them in jars.) Some of the hard boiled eggs, are used to make an egg salad for matzah sandwiches for my lunches during the week. There's also matzah brei, which is good as a brunch. It's essentially matzah, eggs, and some seasonings cooked up together. There's a ton of variations out there. We usually make a savory version with salt, pepper, chopped onions (sometimes dried), and garlic added to it. Tasty stuff. 

I decided to not make the matzah toffee this year. It's so messy to make. Plus, the recipe makes a butt-load of them. Even if I halve it, it makes a lot. But, there's plenty of other sweets we can have.If I 'chicken out' of making the almond torte, I might pick some sort of Passover dessert mix. They're very easy, and there's a large variety of them. Brownies, cakes, cookies, muffins, etc. Kind of funny what people can come up with, and still follow the rules. Some of it tastes even better than their non-Passover counterparts. And some, taste a lot worse. Depends on what you go for.Might make a Passover potato kugel from a mix at some point. 

So, lots of stuff to look forward to. Might be going for the bulk of all this on Friday. If I go out much later than that, most of the Passover stuff will be gone. There's usually like a mad dash to get all the Passover stuff once they open that area. It's especially bad once it gets really close to the holiday. Surprisingly, it's a QFC that has one of the largest selections in the area for it.  Our local market has a small section, but it's not too bad. I think it's actually growing every year with new stuff. It's interesting that they have that, which is their regular kosher section the rest of the year, in the international section. Next to the Asian, Hispanic, British, and Indian (they have this one separated from the other Asian countries) aisles. I guess we're considered to be exotic or 'ethnic'. Although, British stuff kind of seems odd to squeeze in there, to me. Anyways, I've already noticed that they have 'holes' where their popular products have run out. It's kind of sad already.

In Cartoon Kat-Tun, they're going on assignments to figure out what love really means. The back story to this segment was odd and hokey, but I like what some of them are finding out. Kame has gone out to Aichi prefecture to ask people he meets on the street what they think it really means. Some of the responses and people have been very interesting. Koki is finding out what type of love a collector has. The collector that came in collects a bunch of stuff. He showed him some of his old postcards, hats, rubber snakes, and other collections. It was interesting, too. Ueda doesn't seem to really have an assignment. They just show him working out. (I guess he's just fan service.) Nakamaru, I think, has the most difficult one. Learning about 'adult' love. The person he's learning from is telling him what adult women like, think is sexy, and what they want to hear. A bit tense. Akanishi has a weird one. He's investigating why some women have affairs. And, Taguchi has an interesting one. How to write a 3-line love letter. He also saw what a love between an animal and human is like. I like that they're exploring different meanings to it. Not just the 'romantic' kind. 

In Fairy Tail, Lucy was brutally beaten by Minerva, a member of Sabertooth. She kept beating her up, even after the ref called it. This sparked even more fury from Fairy Tail. Since the amount of teams was uneven, Fairy Tail had to pick the 5 best mages out of all the members from both groups to form the final team. Which ended up being: Natsu, Gray, Erza, Laxus, and Gajeel. Makes sense. The fight after that was with 2 members of 'Wild Four' vs. 2 members of Blue Pegasus. I was surprised Ichiya was so powerful. But he is supposed to be one of the most powerful mages in that guild. I think he tries to act weak most of the time, so in his eyes, he stays handsome. (He's really not. It's a running gag.) The person in the bunny costume that was his teammate was an Exceed, named Nichiya. He's the counterpart or doppelganger of Ichiya from Edolas. It was kind of creepy. 

In Tripeace, Nana went to investigate the reasons behind a war between Kongo and Pakon. He asked the people in Pakon on the streets about the war, and ended up fighting in a duel against the prince. He didn't reveal his identity until after Nana passed out and he took him somewhere to rest. He thought Nana was a spy sent from the other country. Once he realized that wasn't the case, he asked for Nana's help to end the war. Shiro went to search for Nana, because this was supposed to be a job geared towards her level, not for someone in the lowest rank of Tripeace. She ended up trying to complete the job at the same time. First, she checked the front lines of the battlefield. She didn't see Nana, and assumed he went to Kongo, so she went there. She ended up 'bumping' into the princess of Kongo. She had also hid her identity. The princess asked for Shiro's help. This sounds like it'll get interesting.

I wrote more of the final chapter of Alliance. I was stuck for a while today. Just staring at the screen, trying to figure out where the story went from there.Lots of ideas, but it's different when you're in writing mode. And, some things wouldn't make since if I just 'inserted' it in certain areas. It has to flow. Anyways, after a little while, I had amazing ideas for that point and on for the story. I couldn't stop writing. In fact, after I closed out of it, and went on to something else, my mind was coming up with what to type next. At one point, I had to go back to it. Wrote a little, then decided if I have more ideas I'll just write them out in my notebook, and add it later. But, it's always an amazing feeling when it comes back like that.Maybe I'll finish it quickly if I keep it up. Makes me even more excited about it.

日本語

The kanji for today is: 次. When pronounced as じ (ji) it's: (prefix) next; hypo-; (counter) order, sequence, time(s). つぎ (tsugi): next, following, subsequent; stage, station. つ.ぐ (tsu.gu): to rank next to, to come after. The one I'll do tomorrow, is one I tend to get confused with on its meanings. So, hopefully it can be cleared up with this 'new' way of looking at it. Its helped with a lot of other kanji I had issues with in the past.