Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Katamaris in my eyes

Since sometime in the early fall of last year (2015), I started to get a weird tiny lump in my eyelid, and I mean in it, like on the underside. It wasn't a stye or pimple or something.  I ignored the one that appeared under my left eyelid since it was small, mostly unnoticeable, and it didn't hurt or impair my vision.  Then later in the fall, close to winter, I noticed another one had appeared, and next thing you know, I entered 2016 with a third bump on my right eyelid.  I realized that I probably should see a doctor about this lumpy business.

I went in January this year to the eye doctor, of course, after researching the shit out of lumpy eyelids, and came away with the seriousness of the situation being none to CANCER.

When I went to the eye doctor, I had my vision and the physical status of my eyes checked out.  Everything was fine.  The eye doctor felt my lumpy eyelids to see if they hurt, and they didn't.  He concluded that these were harmless lumps.  They apparently happen when oils and other dust and dirt collect under the eyelid.  If you wear contact lenses, then it's more likely to happen.  (And I do.  I had been wearing them a lot more often than before and cursed my recent obsession with color contact lenses.)  So yeah, and it was funny because I kept calling them もの and 小さい玉 (things and little balls), and then I noticed the eye doctor called them 塊 (かたまり), which is katamari, as in KATAMARI DAMACY.


Sunday, February 7, 2016

A teen cyborg is our only hope against the moon people

Cinder


Summary

Taken directly from the author's website:
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless Lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

So yeah, we got a Cinderella cyborg, who is quite a flawed heroine, but I think it makes for a more relatable and human teen character.  She really just wants out of her messed up life but ends up being way more important to the situation of the moon people wanting to take over the Earth.  This book isn't going to be the next classic to be read in future AP English courses, but it's really fun and engaging and filled with interesting characters.

Monday, February 1, 2016

Thinking Too Much Again

This is Major Dara to Ground Control,

Hiiiiiii!

I just did an all-night karaoke session Saturday night, and Bowie's "Space Oddity" has been stuck in my head all weekend and this Monday morning.  Ah, Bowie, I wish I could have seen you perform, rest in peace,

Anyways, I've been thinking about a bunch of ideas I have for YouTube and this blog, and I really really wish I could get some feedback, just anyone to bounce ideas around with.  You see, I'm still trying to figure out my groove, and like, before, I'm wondering at the purpose of each of the social media I use....like should my YouTube be reviews of books (BookTube) and shows while my blog be about my daily life in Japan and while my Twitter and Instagram just be snapshots of each?  Should I teach Japanese on YouTube or like tips for working in Japan on YouTube or only here on the blog?  Should I have different channels then for each topic on YouTube to better organize what I'm doing?  Does any of it matter at this point with like five people tuning into this blog and my channel?  What could I be doing to maybe make better content or to start more conversations with the people who do look at my stuff?  Is this a conflict of wanting to make things for others versus for myself?  Am I overthinking everything again when I should just stop and just make whatever I feel like making?  And once I find the things I like to make, then everything else will become clearer as far as how to organize my stuffs?

Yeah, maybe I think too much instead of just doing...