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.

Ninja geese

This looks like the midwest, doesn't it?
Not that I would know...

But in preface to this last picture, I will write a haiku:

Sneaking behind geese
I took some pictures of them
Can you spot the goose?

(hint: he's under the bench!)

Deluge

The ground in waterlogged and duck ponds are springing up out of people's front lawns.
My sister-in-law and her family went home today,
so now I get to spend more time at my home - and I think it is proper for me to call it home now, because that's what it feels like it is, finally!

It's beautiful, yes?

On a side note, I have been translating French for Matt while he's playing Chrono Chross, cause Harle tends to throw out some French phrases when she talks and he doesn't know what they mean.
See what good my one semester of middle school French did me? Now I'm hungry to learn more...

Stormy weather

This is how spring is:

blossoms are up for one week, then they get blown away in the wind.
Luckily I got the chance to snap a few pictures before they went.

Or is it Thanksgiving time?
I swear, I'm getting my seasons all confused now!


But the boy turkeys do like showing off their feathers to the girl turkeys, so maybe it is spring after all!


I don't remember the last time a "storm" meant rain, but the lawn around this tree and picnic table got all flooded, and some ducks moved in. Fancy ducks, I might add!


Did I also mention that I heard my first ever gunshot a while ago? From my house?
But gunshots aren't scary when you live in the country. Although it does cause all the animals to be afraid of people, which prevents me from being able to get close-ups of turkeys.
Oh well, c'est la vie!

I know, I know...

I have an apathy for social photography right now. Which kind of makes social networking not as fulfilling right now... "How have you been?" "What have you been up to?" I don't know, not much, but here's some pictures of geese and wild turkeys and the pond as it changes faces during the seasons. Heh heh.
I also love visiting historical Sacramento for the copious amount of candy stores. I am now becoming familiar with which flavors of saltwater taffy are good or not (chocolate chip cookie is good, guava, bad).
Pre-occupied right now with playing with my twin nieces (!) and life is good at the moment.
What's your favorite saltwater taffy? :)

Inner Peace

So here's the deal: Internet companies don't go out to the country, so I use Internet on my phone. And although the iPhone had the biggest screen out of all the phones I could get, it is still extremely cumbersome to blog on. I am sorry dear friends, it appears I will be a delinquent blogger once more!
Moment of truth: I think this is quite possibly the most traumatic move I've ever made in my life. I've moved many times before, but mostly when I was either too young to remember, or just moving across the border of neighboring towns where I didn't have to change schools or anything. I miss Utah! It's crazy, but sometimes it feels like it was all a dream, all those joys and sorrows and adventures. So far away and so different from here.
My current occupation now is figuring out my health problems. It's really quite frustrating and depressing. But I do have a lot to be grateful for, because after all, I think there is a high chance that someday I can be completely healthy again whereas for lots of people they can't.
We were reading in Matthew the other night, about Jesus healing the sick, the blind, deaf, dumb, and lame and it really hit home to me. At this point, I've all but given up on doctors and medicine. Doctors can be really discouraging sometimes, and a lot of times I feel like they treat me like I'm crazy! But you know what? It's not time to give up on hope. In Christ, there is hope. With his help I will get to the bottom of this!
Another moment of truth: I'm really a sucker for inspirational quotes. Even if they look like they're the kind of stuff people put in chain emails and they're on websites that look like they've been designed by 60 year-old ladies, they really pick me up when I'm down. You can't help but wonder though, who writes these quotes? They sound like some sort of sage, or even better, Yoda. Do these people realize how awesome they are or do they still have insecurities, like the rest of us?
So, I guess this post is pretty random.
This post brought to you by jetlag.

Tough Girl

I am constantly reminded of Miyazaki movies when I'm cleaning the house,
because you know how they all have a girl in them,
who's normal at first, but later proves herself to be tough, and how usually there's a scene of her cleaning a house that is ridiculously and unnaturally filthy?
That girl is me!
I can't help but grimace in disgust whenever I look at the work I have to do,
but I've learned that sometimes it doesn't help to be a girly-girl about it and scream for your husband to kill a centipede, because then that just results in a dead gross centipede in front of the doorstep that I have to look at everytime I go inside, and I realize it would be much better for me to kill it myself and dispose of it in a way where I wouldn't have to see it.

Anyways, so this post is waaaay overdue,
the place is almost done now,
I mean we're already living in it but it's still not quite 100% done yet, you know?
It's been over a month that we've been living out of suitcases and not really situated,
which makes my head kind of disoriented and makes me really unproductive and want to do nothing but play videogames all day.
Oh, I love videogames....
Pics soon, I promise!