Ah, What a Wonderful Cat Life

Mood:


Sung by the Gumi and Len vocaloids. First time I actually liked a song sung with Gumi in it. Although, I haven't heard many that feature her, yet.It's a cute song. Really reminds me of Drifter and Shana. The first 2 cats we had. Drifter was a stray, and Shana was an indoor only cat that my parents got when she was a little kitten. So, the 'rogue' reminded me a lot of Drifter. I think Shana was afraid to go outside before, too. (Later, she went outside, but it was as long as Drifter was with her.) I heard they used to coo at each other through a glass window, before we took him in. They were inseparable after that. Really was like a love story.I kind of miss them.

Sorry that its been so long since my last post!I've got to get back into this!I thought I'd relax a little by taking a bath on Tuesday. Haven't taken one in ages! I usually just take showers, but they're not always so relaxing. Anyways, some water ended up getting trapped in my ear. And, because I have an earwax problem it mixed with that, and plugged it pretty good.


Couldn't hear anything out of that ear until after I went to a doctor yesterday. Was a pain in the butt.Had to keep asking people: 'huh?' or 'What did you say?'. Not only do my ears produce too much earwax, but I have a eustachian tube problem. Yay!I had to have both ears irrigated. Apparently, the other one was about to plug up too. It's a pain at first while they're trying to flush it out, but once they get everything it's amazing!I usually can be hyper-sensitive to sound afterwards. I've only had my ears irrigated 3 or 4 times. Apparently, I should be self-irrigating every 3 months.I'm nervous about that. My ears are very important to me, and I feel I could damage them if I don't do it right. Kind of dangerous.At least I'm good for now.


Since I had that ear problem, I decided to cancel my appointment with the orthopedist. I still need to talk to him, but I'd rather be able to hear what he said. The pain in my shoulder has been gradually returning. It was great for a while after the cortisone shot. Not only is the pain slowly coming back (it's really not as bad), I'm hearing the popping sounds again.I told this to the other doctor during my ear appointment, and he gave me some pain killers that may be more effective and have far fewer side effects. They don't cause any kidney, liver, or blood problems. He said the only thing some patients may get is a rash. He said I can take it for a longer period of time, as well. We'll see how it goes.Made another appointment for the orthopedist towards the end of next month. Thought it'd be good timing then. 

Started another manga called Grim Reaper. It's a bit dark, but interesting so far. Yuuka Shinchiro is a 2nd year high school student, whose parents passed away several years ago in an accident. He has, what he thinks is, a horrible dream. He's walking through a park at night, a child's head jumps into his hands, and he's bitten by an alien. After telling himself it was just a dream, he notices he has a bite mark in the same place as in the 'dream'. The next morning, the news reports that a child's head and lots of blood were found in a park. He goes to check out the scene, and finds a ruthless man asking him about the 'abyss'. Later, the man attacks him in his own home, and calls him a Grim Reaper. Kind of bizarre, but interesting enough story. It seems to be a bit short, though. Only 5 chapters, and I'm on the 3rd one. The other manga I was reading for that time, didn't have an update. (Still doesn't.) So, maybe it's good for the time being to read something else while it updates.


Been able to play the clarinet everyday since the last time I posted. It feels so good to get back into.Today, I played mostly jazz and Beatles tunes. 


Also, got back into writing everyday. This chapter's going pretty quickly. I'm still editing previous chapters on the weekend, too. Maybe I'll finish the first novel soon!I've heard for fantasy/sci-fi novels, most new authors shoot for about 80,000-100,000 words. I'm up to just a tad over 60,000. Getting close to the bottom end. I already have an idea of how it will end. And, it will be a huge cliffhanger.This will hopefully turn into a series. There's so many directions it can go. 


Started the planning phase of the next drawing meme I'm working on. The first panel says that #4 or Zero (in my case) is having a pleasant dream. What's he dreaming about? There's many things I can draw for that. Should be fun. Hard to narrow it down though.Also, started planning out a building diagram from my story. Just to get a better 'visual' of it. 


Finished drawing Kenta's face. Looking better than my last drawing of him. Anzu's next. I might post this sheet of faces when I'm done, on dA. They're much better than my previous characters have been. I can tell I'm improving.Also, finished the current character descriptions. There might be another one I have to fill out soon. Especially with what goes on in my current chapter.


Found a few more songs. Also, wrote out the kanji for the days of the week on my calendar. Just to remind me and practice. If I see it all the time it sticks more. So, since today's Thursday, it's 木曜日 or mokuyoubi, which can be shortened to 木 or moku. Also, got back to being active in the forums this last weekend. Another person faved my Hetalia meme this week! 


Went to a Friday night Shabbat service. (Which is kind of rare.) It was nice to see people.Most of the food was good. There was a kid next to me who was a bit weird, but she's known to have some sort of issue (not sure what), so it didn't bother me too much. I know she didn't mean anything mean by what she said. In fact, I could tell she was trying to comfort me in some way, but it didn't come out right. Poor kid.Anyways, they also had these really addicting chocolates that had a dusting of more chocolate. Really strong, but also had the consistency of fudge. The bowl kept moving around the table while we ate dessert.


Didn't feel like going to Saturday morning services that weekend. Which meant I also got to sleep in. Yay!I'm thinking of going this time. Plus, Shavuot starts that night. And, they're doing a Torah study thing with both rabbis from both congregations in honor of it. It celebrates the giving of the Torah. We're supposed to eat a lot of dairy foods. So, there's also a dairy potluck. There's already going to be a 'blintz'-fest.Dad said she'd like to go, but she might not be able to eat much. (She hates cheese.) Maybe she can have something small beforehand, and then see what's there. The tradition is to study Torah throughout the night. But, we'll stop at the synagogue at around 10. Maybe I can keep it up or something at home. 


Managed to go to the cafe on Wednesday like I usually do. But, it was just before my doctor's appointment, so I could barely make out what people were saying. But, I'm glad I was able to see everybody again. Since I wasn't feeling very well, I just got some bottled water there. Not my usual tea, mocha, or hot chocolate.


Naruto Shippuden's getting good again. Naruto's continuing his training. Apparently, rasengan, is really a 'tail-beast bomb' jutsu. The fact that his father passed it on to Jiraiya, and then to Naruto amazed Bee. They talked more about the reanimation jutsu, which obviously Kabuto was leaving things out when he told Madara. The Shinobi Force found a bunch of the white Zetsu clones, and blew them up towards the surface. Looked pretty spectacular seeing thousands of them 'erupt' from the ground. They all looked surprised. Not sure if that was part of the other side's plan, though. Not sure what they really can do. But, that's what makes it fun to watch, finding these things out.

They finally updated Dear! One of my faves, but takes forever for each chapter. I guess it's worth it, though. Some demons (in the pic) are after Chiruha. Kurenai and Carol are fighting them. Carol left Chiruha unconscious with Purino and Komomo, at the Captain's place. They broke in, though. Chiruha was hoping to go on a journey to find a cure for Kisara.

日本語

I've been going over a new kanji everyday. But, I'm also writing out most of the previous ones on its own line for practice. Just writing them over and over again, until I get it, or it's the next grade level. Speaking of which, I'm up to reviewing/practicing grade 2 stuff. Wahoo! (Most of it I know, but don't really have 'cemented' yet.) The kanji I worked on today was 後. It can be pronounced as あと (ato), のち (nochi), うし.ろ (ushi.ro), おく.れる (oku.reru), ご (go), or こう (kou). It means [depending on how it's pronounced] behind, back, later, the rear, after, afterwards, since, remainder, more (i.e. five more minutes), butt, consequence, delayed, or overdue. 

deviantART faves: T-Shirt Need More Coffee I did not make these! First, a funny comic by an artist I watch. It's true, I guess it would be hard to search for a 3XL shirt online. Second, a funny T-shirt graphic from an artist I watch. I don't think he needs more coffee...

youtube:

A cool song sung by the Kaito vocaloid. He's one of my fave vocaloids:

National Apple Pie Day

Mood:


This was actually yesterday. One of my fave pies!Cherry tops it, though. Apparently, the first apple pie recipe was in 1381 in England. Dutch apple dates back to the late 15th century. The only difference at the time to the English recipe was a scoop of ice cream on top of the pie before it was served. Kind of interesting. 


Went to that cafe, the one I usually go to on Wednesdays, on Friday. By the way, it's called Poulsbohemian. The gorgeous weather started that day, so it was wonderful looking out onto the bay and seeing the boats.Got some hot chocolate, even though it was warm out. I just needed my chocolate!Someone was nice enough to drive me there. It was a member of the mahj group that meets there, which Mom was a part of. They moved it to Friday, because everyone had conflicts that week. Which is weird, because I don't remember them ever changing the day like that.


I got some stuff done there, too. Worked on my Japanese lessons book, transposed another Irish tune, and did some crosswords. 


On Saturday, I managed to go to services in the morning with Dad. It was nice. In the afternoon, I met an old friend who I haven't seen in at least 9 years. We spent some time at the waterfront, while her dog played in the water. It was fun, and we got to catch up a bit on what was going on in our lives. She insists that the next time she's going to take me to lunch, and that it'll be her treat. Really nice of her.It was also a nice day, weather-wise. 


On Sunday, to do something for Mother's Day and kind of to honor her, my dad and I went to the waterfront. Another great and warm day. After we walked on the boardwalk, we had some ice cream. I got a dulce de leche waffle cone, and she got a coconut one. Mine was awesome!(Messy, but awesome!) Then, we perused the shops for a bit. It was nice all in all. 


It's been even warmer today. Almost 80. Perfect temperature. Also, makes me feel a bit lazy and sleepy. But, I managed to do most of the stuff I wanted to for the day. Played a little of my clarinet. Did some pieces from my solo book, Beatles songs, Duke Ellington tunes, and a little Gershwin this time. Quite a bit done in such a short time...

Started watching Toshi Densetsu no Onna, or Urban Legends Woman. Detective Tsukiko Otonashi works for the First Investigation Division team led by Ichio Tannai. She is obsessed with urban legends. She even claims she became a detective because of an urban legend. (Something that happened to her. She was 'spirited away' when she was little.) Whenever she comes across a case, she immediately wonders if it has anything to do with an urban legend. Meanwhile, forensic investigator, Hiroto Katsuura falls in love with her at first sight. He seems to have OCD, and is constantly trying to put things in order, clean things, adjust, etc. Bad when at a crime scene. It's interesting so far. I'm not sure if it lived up to my expectations yet though.I guess I'll see after watching more episodes. 


Started to type out a You Maga article. It's about parenting in the US, and people learning/teaching kids English. Very interesting. Read a newspaper article, put out by Asahi, online. It was kind of depressing.Apparently, they have predicted that there won't be any children alive in Japan in the year 3012. That's disturbing, but they said the birth rate has declined drastically. 

日本語

Went over another lesson in my book today. Mainly about how ある (aru) and いる (iru) are used to express possession as well as existence. They can be used for animate/inanimate possession. When the possessor is the topic, it's marked by には (niwa), and the 'what' is possessed is the subject marked by が (ga). The 'new' words that were introduced were: 立派な (rippana) or magnificent, 今 (ima) or now, and 常連 (jouren) or regular customer. Got most of the practice sentences correct!

Also, decided to look over the joyo list of kanji, and to see what kanji I should work on next. The joyo list is a list of all the common kanji, which is currently 2,136 characters. (As of 2010.) It's put out by the Japanese Ministry of Education. Normally, native speakers are taught 1,006 characters in primary school, and 1,130 in secondary school. I probably should have focused more on this system before.A lot of foreign learners use it as well. Found a pretty easy to look at version on wikipedia, of all places.I'm starting from the beginning (1st grade stuff), and have noticed a couple of 'holes' already. Good thing I found the list then.I've been pretty good with kanji so far (even on the JLPT), but I definitely have room to improve. The way I've been teaching myself them has been kind of haphazard as well.

Anyways, I went over the 字 kanji. It can be pronounced as じ (ji) or あざ (aza). Most of the time it's じ. Which means: letter, character, word, handwriting. It can be used as a counter for letters/characters as well. If pronounced as あざ, it's a section of a village. Also, wrote it out numerous times to try and let it sink in. Funny how they use this character in the word 'kanji' or 漢字. Appropriate, I guess. 

deviantART fave: Apple Pie I did not make this! Beautiful looking sweet. It's white chocolate, with an apple cider filling. They were testing their new airbrush. Looks tasty. (How fitting for this post!)