Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.

This is a James Dean quote. Hi! Well, today I feel like crap. I'm still sick, maybe feeling more sick than yesterday. I for some reason feel really down in the dumps. My contacts just aren't fusing very well today. Luckily it will be better tomorrow, because they called and told me that the new ones are in. These will actually be my prescription, and made for astigmatism. Plus, they said that it should feel much better. I got up late today too, because I was starting to feel pretty bad last night, in fact it took me a while to fall asleep. I'm hoping this is just a fluke, or I just over did it today. Since I woke up late I didn't really have a chance to do much. So, this will be short and sweet. :)

I watched a little of a kids' show on TV Japan just to hear a more simpler way of speaking. It was a weird show. ^_^" Also, watched the exercise program again. It seems like they are different each day, but still very doable. Kind of nice. :P I tried to watch more of Today's Menu, but apparently they were airing something different than what was supposed to be on. Also, on Have a Good Day they visited a couple of rural towns. One that was known for their uni or sea urchin, I think the eggs of it, that's a delicacy. They ate it like icecream. o_O It looks nasty to me but if I were given it I would try to eat it. It's almost an honor over there if served it, so it would be rude not to. Also, they went to a place that's known for their, I think paper mache animals and masks. There's a woman in the shop who's 92 and still making these. She likes to do the tigers. The hosts or anchors of the show tried to paint 2 of the tiger figures. The lady made a hot pink one with hearts all over it, which the older woman wasn't too sure of. The guy made a white tiger, she liked that one a lot more and said why don't you stay and work for us. :P It was cute. I also caught a glimpse of the show Tokyo "kawaii' TV. I kind of hated it. They were showing a group of girls from Spain who were really into Japanese fashion. They looked really weird. x_x When they visited Tokyo, they went nuts over the 'kawaii' or 'cute' things. I'll be honest, I like some cute things, but what the girls thought were cute were absolutely ugly. That's about all I've watched today on it, and they were just part of these shows. So, even less time.

Dad was kind of mean to me earlier, but I think it's because he's in 'work' mode. (Sorry, about writing about you again. I just felt like putting my feelings down.) He's hard to approach when that way. He kept saying I really need to converse. Funny thing is they say you don't need to converse with a native speaker face to face in order to learn the language. It's nice, and it might help, but you don't 'have' to do it. I'm learning a lot from watching TV Japan, the MLC (Megumi Language Center in Tokyo) site that prepares you for the JLPT, penpals, eventually I'll find a chat and chat in Japanese with someone in Japan, and figuring out what some of the words mean online, grammar lessons online, and more. I'm learning enough for the level 4 (most simple) test, by using all of these things. I'll learn in other ways, after the test. For now it's only about the test though. :P I get to learn the basics of conversation too on all these things. I feel like when he says things like this, he's pushing me too hard. I'm already working my butt off on it, so it kind of pisses me off. I also realize things get to me more if I'm feeling down, so nice going for me. :(

I played a bit of Fate too. I love that game. They say that it's similar to Diablo. You get to explore a vast dungeon, which has more than 45 levels going down underground. Eventually you get so far underground that there's fire spewing from the floor. o_O (Yes, you can die on this. You get to see Death and he gives you choices on how you want to come back to life.) You also get to go on a bunch of quests that the townspeople give you. There's lots of surprises and the items seem pretty random. You also get to take a pet with you. Either a dog or a cat. They level up also, and can transform into things. They transform into spiders, wolves, wraiths, and other things. It's really cool. Also, you have the choice of being a girl or a boy. Most games make you play as a guy. I like having the choice. :3 This time I played as a girl with a cat. I think I'm leveling up quicker and finding cooler items than the last time I played. I haven't died yet, and I'm at level 7 of the dungeon. So fun! I might see if my Prey game will load better on my computer than laptop. It was horrible on my laptop. I tried looking at Fable last night on my computer, and it didn't load too well on it. The scenery was mostly white, and it's supposed to be green and look like a forest. Also, some of the ponds looked yellow. Very odd. I just won't play that on here.

Also, I'm a part of a new guild on Gaia. It's called Religious Tolerance and Information. It's really interesting. Plus, after I joined a lot of the people I knew on the Jewish guild I'm on joined too. :P They want at least one person designated to give info on their religion. Also, they want to debate and talk about what your religion means to you. They don't want to put down anyone's religion, just to inform people and show that there are different views and beliefs out there. It really is a new guild having just opened August 27th. ^_^ I'm very interested in this one, I love learning about other people. Also, I don't think they designated anyone for the Jewish info. It would be weird if I stepped up. It will probably be Divash, who seems to know everything about Judaism. That person is pretty awesome. They're like a fountain of knowledge. Well, hopefully tomorrow I'll feel better and get back to things.

Ogenki desuka?

This means how are you. Hi! I'm still feeling sick, but I decided to kind of ignore it today by trying to pack my routine up. I think I over did it a bit. I started coughing so hard in the middle of the day, I thought my throat would give out. x_x But, I still had some fun today!

I watched some of the program called Health for Today. At first, I thought it was about blood clots in the lungs. But, I looked up the kanji I wasn't sure of and it was cancer spots in the lungs. They talked about how there's new technology out today that will take care of them. They said they can now stick lasers down into the lung that's affected and take out the cancerous tumor, with little discomfort. I'm not sure if I really believe that, it sounds kind of weird.

After that, I read some of Naruto. I read the part when the Sandaime Hokage dies and how Orochimaru loses the use of his arms. (Happened at the same time.) Now Orochimaru can't use his arms for all the jutsus he's been collecting. (Although, I know later things change.) It's kind of fitting for him, considering he wants to know all of the jutsus in the world and to have the tool to do it with, be taken away. Also, I like how Naruto was able to beat some sense into Gaara. (Literally. ^_^) I got to the point where Jiraiya and Naruto set off on a trip. I know from the anime this is where he trains with Jiraiya. It's also the trip where they meet Tsunade. Tsunade's just awesome! :P

I watched a bit of a program called J- lit. It's about old and new Japanese stories. The funny thing is when they were interviewing (I think the author, could just be a critic.) someone, they spoke in Japanese. When they read parts of the book they spoke in English, even though I could clearly see the book was in Japanese. o_O Kind of confusing! This program was only about 5 minutes long. I think I'm noticing that either the general public of Japan have short attention spans or they feel like they need to have more topics or shows during the day? At least to feel like a full day? I don't know, it makes for an awfully weird schedule though. That's another thing, I had to really search online for this channel's schedule, because they mix everything up and don't have the right times when you go to the programs' descriptions. Plus, they put in a little corner towards the bottom of their homepage a link for the schedule. Hard to see!

Later I watched Have a Good Day! Apparently, September 1st is Disaster Prevention day. They were still talking about preparing for earthquakes, fires, etc. This holiday marks the day in 1923 (?) when a huge earthquake hit much of Tokyo, Yokohama, and other surrounding cities. I think they said it was a 7.9 on the Richter scale. It killed 140,000 people. So, in memory, they educate and prepare people for disasters. They showed drills across the country, at companies, stores, schools, etc.

I watched their TV exercises for today. (It was only a 5 minute program. I think the one for Saturday is 10 minutes.) They mostly move their arms around. But, it was nice to see them showing that someone sitting down can still do them. Kind of doesn't help the legs or the rest of the body though. :P I heard a while ago that the whole country stops what they're doing to turn on the radio at a cetain time, and start these exercises. I don't think you have to do them, but they're strongly encouraged. Next, was Hello From Studio Park. This one was about an actor's life and the people that have worked with him. Also, they were promoting his movies through out most of the show. I don't think I liked it much. That's the good thing about watching these things first, I can pick and choose. Chances are I probably will have a lot less programs I'll want to watch once I figure out the normal shows. :P

I watched Today's Menu. I kind of like it for some reason. The host seems a little corny, but cheeky. The hostess has a funny personality herself. (Kind of sarcastic.) Today they were cooking Thai food. They started with serving mango juice. I think the next thing was called Tomayamachan. I could be wrong, because I don't think I've heard of it and can't find it anywhere online. It's a shrimp, potato (I think, although I could have sworn the hostess said it was garlic. But they looked too huge to be garlic. o_O), curry, tomato, and hot peppers soup. They called the next thing Taifunyakisoba. I think it's a play on Thai food and the typhoon season starting, and of course it's a type of Yakisoba. Kind of funny. :P It had aburaage (Made from soy beans. It's basically deep fried tofu cut into thin slices. Often, they're called tofu pouches. And in folklore, it was the favorite food of the fox.), bunch of veggies, ramen, hot peppers, hoisin, and mirin. Next, they made broccoli tempura with a 'sweet' sauce (didn't catch what was in it, but saw it said amai which means sweet, it was also red.) and sprinkled edible flowers over it.

I know all day is like Japanese to me now, but I still need some time to go over things and learn why they say certain things on my own. Also, helps to slow things down a bit. ^_^ So, I was writing during some of the shows some of the kanji I don't know and some of the words they were saying that I wasn't familiar with. (And some I just needed a review on.) Later, I looked up some of these characters. Some of them are really weird looking. So, now I know 8 characters of Kanji pretty well, and I think there was only one or two of them I knew of already. I learned the words for ground, rice field, generations, district (or ward, section), plan, precious stone (or food containing eggs, or an abbreviation for King [Shogi]. Kind of a weird one.), chief (or leader), and country. They are: chi, ta, sei, ku, kei, gyoku, chou, kuni. (Following the same order.) If you can see Kanji on your computer, they look like this: 地, 田, 世, 区, 計, 玉, 長, 国. If you can see it, you know how weird they look. :P I'll look up more of the ones I have from today's shows tomorrow.

I also watched some of La Corda d'Oro second season. It was mainly about showing the guy who stopped playing his intrument, that he shouldn't worry about what others think and play from the heart when he plays again. It was quite a sappy episode. I liked that towards the end they had the ensemble play. Apparently, Hino was asked to play a solo, but they're showing that in the next episode.

I also watched some of Hetalia's second season. Wahoo! They're still making them. There were talks about stopping it last season. (Look for it in previous posts, I talk about the first season. Just so you have some background.) It's still as funny as ever. :P And again only 5 minute episodes. I wish they were longer. :( One of them was about Russia. How he thinks he can fall from any height and safely land on the snow like it was a giant pillow. He falls out of a plane shouting Vodka all the way down, and later breaks a few bones but that didn't phase him at all. Everyone's terrified of him, even the 'Baltic' countries. Latvia appears to look up to him, but he really thinks Russia's a bully and is trying to hold his country back. They focused a bit on the Anglo- Japanese Alliance that was signed in 1902. (I think that was the year.) England visits Japan, and is amazed by the nature of Japan. For instance, Mt. Fuji. He's also especially interested in the folktales. Eventually, he gets so exhausted he ends up believing these folktales and sees 'spirits'. What really happened was he was talking to himself and passed out. They also talked about customs each country has for Christmas. I like how Japan said it's just a commercialized holiday and doesn't mean much. (He was happy to get presents, although he said he wasn't Christian. I think it's funny.) Also, how Russia said they celebrate it on a different day and make dolls that come to life on December 25th. :P I'm now caught up to the newest episodes. Next one should be on the 7th. It's supposed to come out every Monday.

How to Enjoy Art Museums was interesting. (Another show.) It's about how they are set up in Japan. They have like separate buildings for each exhibition. I think the one the showed had a samurai theme. It had wide open spaces and was in a forest. Very interesting artwork too. I like the paintings that were split into 2 panels. One side being half of a mountain scene, and the other continuing it.

Started watching a concert that was full of singers. When they sang, there was the letters they were singing on the screen below them. So, I could follow along, even if I didn't understand some of the words. That was an awesome learning tool for me. Had to stop for our local news and dinner. :D Sorry, if this is too long. I'm kind of excited, and this can also serve as a record for what I've done. Kind of fun that way. I love comments or feedback though. Always nice to hear peoples' opinions on things. :3 I'm actually very happy right now, although a little drained because it's like info overload, but it's still good.