Mood:
Wow! It's already the 6th day!
Only 2 more days. It's been a bit difficult with making dinner during it, since my shoulder's not too good right now. There aren't too many 'easy' things I can make.
(Like from a box or something. With little prep or mixing.) We made it to both seders. I personally liked the first night's more than the potluck the second night. It was more organized, better food, better seating (although, we were still crammed in to the tables, elbow to elbow), and seemed more friendly. The only thing I really had a problem with was the rabbi's singing (I usually don't like it, anyways). Someone brought a non-passover cake for a dessert. But, that was quickly taken away. I was curious about it, so I'm glad they took it away before I grabbed a slice.
Started watching Eden of the East on Sunday. (Code Geass seemed a little too weird for me.
) On November 22, 2010 ten missiles strike Japan. The terrorist attack, later called 'Careless Monday', doesn't have any apparent victims, and is forgotten by almost everyone. 3 months later, Saki Morimi goes to the USA on her graduation trip. Just when she's in front of the White House, she gets into some trouble (trying to throw coins into the fountain from the gate, security wasn't sure what she was throwing), a naked man (who's also from Japan) with just a cell phone and a gun intervenes and saves her. This man, who calls himself Akira Takizawa is full of mysteries. He has amnesia. His phone is charged with a ton of digital money. He may have something to do with the terrorist attack, or some sort of game. Don't really know yet. It's interesting so far.
Watched the finale of Doctors. It was ok. Tied things up a little too neatly, and everyone at the hospital changed for the better. Dropped 11 Nin mo Iru for now. Some day when the rest of it is subbed, I might finish it. Kind of a shame, since it has become one of my faves. Watched the finale of Hungry. It definitely could go on for another season. I'm glad that they were able to keep the restaurant, and all of them came back to work there. They left a couple of things open. It was a really good show.
Finished Tektek-ing my characters from Alliance. Some look really awesome!
Finally posted the filled out Hetalia Heritage Meme to dA! I'm surprised I got 10 faves on it in one day!
Lots of views too! Any faves is great to me, so it makes me happy.
I finally fixed the very first paragraph of my story, Alliance. It was bothering me for a while. I couldn't figure it out, but it sounded really awkward.
I plan to get back into writing everyday. Otherwise, I may never finish this first novel.
Even if I just edit for that time I set aside, it'd be great. I'm almost done with chapter 15, by the way. I have a lot of ideas for chapter 16. But, I have to finish this first...
Started watching Acchi Kocchi or Place to Place on Monday. The serious minded Tsumiki and the pure-hearted Io feel they never want to be parted, and yet they haven't fallen in love yet. More than friends but not lovers, they develop an awkward quasi-romance. (That's how they describe it on wikipedia and anime news network.) This is such a cute, yet funny anime!
Tsumiki has cat ears that pop up when she's startled, excited, etc. Their friends have their own quirks, as well.
Went to Mom's appointment for a CT scan on Monday. I was able to ask for a CD of my images from the bone scan. The last couple of images were really cool! Talked to a nice guy at the radiology department, who really helped us. He said that most people have the same complaints about the orthopedist that I had. Nice to know I'm not the only one who felt this way.
He said it's ok to switch to someone else. Today, I have a phone appointment with my primary care doctor about what to do next. Someone has suggested that I have an MRI done. But, I have to verify that with him. Or he may order a different test. I don't know.
On top of this, I have to figure out what to do to keep my insurance. 2 years ago, they confirmed that I qualified as a dependent on my parents' coverage, because according to them I was disabled. So, now I have to 'prove' I still am. I still have most of the same stuff going on, so I guess it's just a matter of showing my records and getting the ok from either my new therapist, or new psychiatrist, or even my primary care doctor. It just piles on more stress that I don't need on me. (Plus, only have until June to get this settled, isn't helping much...
)
Made meatloaf for the first time on Monday! (Of course with using matzah meal instead of flour.) Made potato kugel and peas with it. Made some matzah brei Tuesday night. Added some dried onions, garlic, and a little salt and pepper. It was really good!
Fairy Tail has a new opening and ending theme. Kind of interesting. Tried to watch Nyarko-san: Another Crawling Chaos on Tuesday, but I'm not sure about it. It may be too 'ecchi' for me.
The idea is interesting, and I like her personality, though. I'll give it one more episode next week, then I'll make a decision about it.
deviantART faves: My Best Friend Griff You Don't Even Know I did not make these! First, another cool drawing by an artist I watch. It's of a 'pet' griffin named Griff, and his owner Tony. Second, a hilarious yet somewhat embarrassing comic based on a real life experience by another artist I watch.
Mood:
Or the first night of Passover. (5772 is the Jewish calendar year.) I can't believe that tonight's the first night!
Turns out there's a high possibility we will be going to the catered seder tonight. Yay!I was beginning to worry that I, for the first time, wouldn't be going to/having a seder this year. I'm still not sure what I'll make for dinner during the week.Kind of hard under the restrictions. Since I'm Ashkenazic, the main things I can't have are bread (well all Jews can't have bread during it...), barley, spelt, wheat, oats, rye, rice, millet, corn, and legumes. (Ashkenazic Jews have eastern European ancestry. Sephardic Jews have Mediterranean, North African, and Middle Eastern ancestry.) The Sephardic Jews don't have quite as many restrictions. Makes it a bit difficult to plan for meals. But, there are options.
It'll be interesting to see what the Pesach couscous is like, for one. Still haven't boiled some eggs, made charoset (a fruit/nut/wine mix. There's many different takes on it. Ours is a traditional and simple apple/walnut/wine mix. Symbolizes the mortar for the bricks the Israelites made for the Egyptians), and popovers. We eat a lot of eggs for lunches during it. The popovers are interesting, and they feel like actual dinner rolls.
Made out of matzah meal. (Ground up matzah.)
This is my wallpaper for the month. Thought it was kind of darkly cute, and it has a nice warm feeling from the colors.It's another Gaia online based wallpaper. It has the watermeat aquarium fish, and a ghost from zOMG. The fish is supposed to be super expensive (apparently everyone wants one), and I don't remember seeing the ghost on zOMG. I haven't played that game in a long time. Things have probably changed.
Anyways, it's a cute one. Found a couple more Gaia-themed wallpapers, so look forward to those.
My Jewish calendar has an oil painting titled 'Burning of the chametz the day before Passover', by Martin Monnickendam from Amsterdam in 1940. The smaller pics are of seder plates. One that's porcelain, from around 1850, and they don't know where it originated from. The other one is pottery and glaze, from Delft, Netherlands. From around 1750-1800. Kind of cool to see the really old stuff.The painting's kind of interesting. Traditionally, Jews gather up all the 'chametz' or leavened bread from their houses, and burn it the day before Passover starts. Not everybody does it though. The problem with cleaning out our 'chametz' from the house, is Dad isn't Jewish and doesn't follow the dietary laws. So, it makes it difficult to follow. We just try to keep the Pesach (or Passover) stuff separate.
My regular calendar, has an Easter theme. For an 'herb' calendar there aren't very many herbs in the pic.
It mostly just has rosemary. The rest of it has some roasted hens in the shape of a rooster and a chicken, eggs, and some flowers. Kind of feels like a weird theme to me. Although, it is very spring-ish.
Here's the month-long holidays: Brussels Sprouts and Cabbage Month, Celebrate Diversity Month, Cranberries and Gooseberries Month, Frog Month, International Guitar Month, Jazz Appreciation Month, National Decorating Month, National Garden Month, National Kite Month, National Pecan Month, National Poetry Month, Tomatillo and Asian Pear Month, National Soft Pretzel Month, National Garlic Month. Some are important causes, some are to make you appreciate things you may take for granted, and some are just for fun. A lot of great causes and foods being celebrated this month. Jazz and diversity are definitely something to celebrate. I love garlic!
I think the people who were reviewing my scan forgot about me.Mom called them, and they were surprised by how long it had been. They said they didn't see anything wrong in the bone scan. So, the next step might be doing an MRI, since it might be soft tissue related instead of bone. But, I first have to talk to my new orthopedist about it.
Mom was so anemic, that on Tuesday she had to have a blood transfusion. (We were at the clinic for 6 hours!
) It makes it feel more 'real' or 'raw' for me now that this has come up. Plus, I can't do much for her, because of my shoulder. I think she has a CT scan coming up to see what's going on. One of the nurses said they may have to drain some of the liquid in her abdomen, thinking maybe it just needs to 'pop'. But, Mom feels it's just the tumor getting so big it's messing with her organs. Ooooh...Just great.
Watched the Kill Me Baby finale. It was ok. Better than most of the series has been. They could have done so much more with it.
Managed to design a few more characters out through tektek. They're turning out better as I go. I have such a clear image of most of my characters, except the main and Junko. I might think more about their design/look. If I can't convey them well to myself, I don't think I could for potential fans.
Watched the finale for Daily Lives of High School Boys. Really hilarious, and I'm really hoping they do another season. I'll miss it. They hinted at the end that they may come back someday. Kind of similar to the way Gintama 'ended'...So, we'll see.
Got back into playing my clarinet. Good way to relieve stress. Sounded pretty good.
Watched the Phi Brain season finale. It was a good ending, but honestly, I don't think I'll watch the next season.
It kind of dragged, a couple of characters annoyed me, the art was a bit odd at times, too much angst during some episodes, etc. But, it had a good story, funny at times, a couple of characters I really liked (Ana, for example), and the puzzles were interesting. So, it was mixed for me. Not good enough to keep me for another season.
In Fairy Tail, Lucy found out that her father died while she had disappeared for 7 years. They were finally starting to reconnect. Natsu and Happy's safe is missing, so they don't have any money for food. Makarov 'talked' the loan sharks into backing down. Macao will apparently stay as the 4th Guild Master.
Naruto Shippuden was basically pointless. About Sasuke and Naruto meeting each other when they were kids. That was back in the previous 'series', why do they need to rehash that? If they needed a 'filler' make it interesting and new. I heard they won't go back to the main story until May. Kind of frustrating. The new opening's better than the last one, but not great. The ending's not bad.
I'm thinking of watching the rest of Pandora Hearts today and Saturday. Sunday, I hope to start another 'old' series, that I haven't seen before. I'll look at Code Geass first. Then, it'll be some new shows starting next Monday. Some have already aired recently, and some are coming up. I'll probably try Naruto SD, Acchi Kocchi, Shirokuma (Polar Bear) Cafe, and Nyarko-san: Crawling Chaos first. Interesting mix.
Found and translated a Japanese recipe for cold tomato soup. Sounded pretty tasty, and somewhat easy. Couldn't find any more Pesach recipes.
deviantART fave: The Capybara and the Guineapig April Fool's nom nom nom I did not make these! First, an interesting comparison between a guinea pig and a capybara. Second, a cute and dark drawing from an artist I watch. Third, a cool drawing, related somewhat to the theme dA did for April Fool's.
Youtube:
Funny collection of clips showing Gray's (from Fairy Tail) habit of unconsciously stripping. I didn't realize Cana, most of the time, is the first to notice when it happens:
One of the funniest clips from Gintama, of Sougo counting corpses instead of sheep:
Another hilarious clip from Gintama:
