Hikikomori

A new word I learned: "hikikomori" - a reclusive person who has chosen to socially withdraw from the world, isolating themselves in their room/house.

Used in a sentence: "It may seem like Jin is a hikikomori because she rarely interacts with people outside her family, but she is really not."

I've been seeing that word a lot lately. I find it intriguing. Kind of silly to say about a word, huh? But it's true, I find it... interesting. The implications, and such.

So here's how I'll format this post. You know how in Japanese magazines, sometimes they have an interview with a celebrity and they'll include in a corner a tiny picture of: a) the book/manga they're currently reading, b) the anime they are currently watching, and c) the album they are currently listening to a lot? They'll usually just have the pictures and titles, they won't have these descriptions, but I thought I'd include descriptions since these aren't very well known titles. This is what would be on my interview page:

The Alphabet of Thorn by Patricia A. McKillip.

I've always liked Patricia McKillip books for their elegant and intricate imagery, so I decided to pick this book up at the library. I had never read this book before, and I wasn't expecting anything much different from her other work, just a good solid read, but I am absolutely in love with this book.

The love story is amazing (bittersweet, but amazing), and that is not something that fantasy books are known to be good at. It's epic and thought provoking, and I find the setting rather unique - the main character is a transcriber, and she's transcribing a story about 2 ancient rulers that nobody knows the end to, for some reason and... I can't really say any more without spoiling it. But it's really good!

Rozen Maiden

I saw a trailer for this show on one of our anime DVD's and I couldn't stop saying, "They're so cuuuute!!!" So I started watching this show, and they ARE so cute! It's about dolls who come to life with help of a medium, and they have to fight each other to win a game so they can meet their creator. When they lose a fight, they're supposed to take the loser's life essence so they are reduced to just a normal doll again, but the main doll is not following the rules of the game. I haven't finished the show yet, but it is so cute, and sometimes I am embarrassed to be watching it because it's so cute and silly, but I love it.

*Also, this is where I first heard the word "hikikomori," the main character in this show is a hikikomori.

Symphony X - Paradise Lost

We bought this album just 2 days before we saw Symphony X live in LA earlier this month. So naturally, after I see them in concert, I want to listen to Symphony X for the rest of the month. This album is based on Milton's Paradise Lost, and the music is progressive metal. I've been obsessed with the song "Paradise Lost" for while, firstly because they performed it so beautifully at the concert, and also because of the lyrics:

Looking down from ethereal skies,

Silent crystalline tears I cry

For all must say their last goodbye -

to paradise

So amidst endless resume revisions, job applications, and finding a turtle on our way to church on Sunday, that's what I've been doing. Wish me luck, it is NOT looking good out here in terms of jobs, but we'll see. May God's will be done, and place me where I need to be.