Link of the Day [2.02.17]
I’ve been reading today’s link through Google Translate. It’s a website dedicated to sakamichi series and Nogizaka46 more. It’s because they have some serious articles about my favorite idol group. Really serious articles. Enough that I wish I could read kanji enough to understand what is being said.
Link of the Day [1.31.17]
I am a-religious at the moment, but I still adhere to some tenets of faith which I grew up in, Catholicism. I believe the current GOP practices religion in a way which goes against the preachings of Christ. They say they are Christians, but their actions mark them as not. Their blather about their religiosity is nothing but bogus talk. I don't think they understand what it means to be a follower of Christ. The current occupier of the White House even more so, because he doesn't believe in anything but himself.
http://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2017/01/28/i-was-stranger-and-you-did-not-welcome-me
Resolved [Week 05]
Here’s the post wherein I look back at the first month of my New Year’s resolutions.
It’s happening. I’m really going forward with it, and while some of them don’t seem to come, others are going along just fine.
Health
- Progress was swift. I weigh 222 lbs as of yesterday. That’s 8 lbs lost since the 1st of the year! Perhaps I am losing it too quickly and when summer hits I will gain back the weight. Need to keep progressing.
- I think my blood pressure medication has flipped my measurement. The last time I checked it was 133/85 when it used to be 124/90. No idea how. Need to monitor this better.
Exercise
The Apple Watch has been helpful in tracking and keeping me motivated to workout.
- 6/5 rowing workouts. I am trying to keep to every third day schedule. And I ice down after every workout to keep the elbow from feeling like shit. I need to row longer as I want to target the weight loss zone.
- Walks: did more than 10 but they were shorter than last month. I probably averaged around 28 minutes.
- Stopped doing workouts besides cardio. That 7 minute thing made me feel sad because I couldn’t even do it all.
- I hope it warms up enough to ride the bike.
Professional Life
- Doing a little bit more at work. Somewhat like a new title, but I am not pursuing it with enthusiasm. Not sure if it’s because I don’t want to or because I don’t have to.
- Picked up a book on node.js which is JavaScript. May be using this at work.
- Blogging has just been good. By a rough count, I wrote about 20 blog posts this month and they were interesting stuff.
- I have been cooking more, but the meals aren’t as good tasting. Not sure why. But I still have to eat the dish I created.
- Japan is a bridge too far for now. I was gung ho early on. Now I feel the dread. I really want to but can’t think about it for traveling alone. Perhaps a week in Tokyo?
- I really need to pick it up on learning Japanese, but I get too lazy about it. I have plenty of Japanese books, but need to apply myself more. A little rigor would do.
- I did spend less on dining this month versus the same period last month. It may be 25% or more. But still it is very easy to want to drink lattes.
Bookstore Haul II: Volume3 — The Fox God
The Fox God has smiled on me today. I found the Funko pop for Su-Metal at my local bookstore. She now joins Moa-Metal and Yui-Metal on my mantle. I’ve had the other 2 since the end of 2015, and I have been on the lookout for the lead singer of BabyMetal since then. It’s taken me a year but she finally popped up. Unsurprisingly, I there were more Moa-Metal and Yui-Metal figures there. I was almost gonna give up, but checked around the store once more and found her, staring me in the face. The Fox God is good.
On another note, Su-Metal is Nakamoto Suzuka. Her sister, Nakamoto Himeka (Himetan), is an idol in my favorite thing, Nogizaka46, and it was just announced that she will go on hiatus because of unspecified health reasons for the latest 17th single. I am more of a fan of Himetan because I am more of a fan of Nogizaka46. It will not be the same without her lovely and energetic Himetan Beam. The 5th Year Birthday Live is going to be a tad bit sadder. I am hoping she has a speedy recovery so that she can continue to deliver her Himetan Beam.
Su-Metal by Funko
Zepp Diver Sometime in 2014
Awesome live from Nogizaka46. Judging by their uniform this was around KidzuKata, their 7th single. They did the full version of the song rather than the short 3 minute versions. It’s hard to find a live of the full version, so consider yourself lucky, and you can even catch a glimpse of Yada Risako who was a kenkyusei for a short time.
Greek Yogurt Coleslaw
On Sunday I went to the grocery store for this week’s meals. Now, I know I bought too much, and I didn’t have any idea of the menu. I just haphazardly shoved stuff into the cart. I knew I wanted to make a salad. I left the groceries with romaine, red cabbage, onions, plum tomatoes, and carrots.
I made a salad earlier in the week which featured these ingredients. It was delish! But now I have too many vegetables in my fridge. I need something different.
So with the cabbage and carrots, I made a coleslaw. I’ll have some for breakfast, some for lunch, and maybe some for dinner. Now I have too much coleslaw in the fridge! (And still too many vegetables!)
Quote of the Day [1.24.17]
Fuck the police! Comin’ straight from the underground
A young nigga got it bad ‘cause I’m brown
And not the other color, so police think
They have the authority to kill a minority
Fuck that shit, ‘cause I ain’t the one
For a punk motherfucker with a badge and a gun
To be beating on, and thrown in jail
We can go toe-to-toe in the middle of a cell
Fuck The Police — N.W.A.
Bookstore Haul II: Volume 2 — Useless Things
I should’ve made ‘buying books I don’t read’ one of my New Year’s Resolutions. I stopped into the old B&N and bought a couple of books. I wanted to pass the time and rack up some steps, but I ended up with a couple of books.
The first book is trying to get me to learn Japanese so that I can talk to my idols, Nogizaka46, at one of their handshake events in Japan. I would like to encourage them to do their best: 頑張って! I’ve bought several books. And have yet to apply myself to reading and learning. At least I’ve got a little bit of hiragana and katakana, but without a vocabulary it will be difficult to understanding anything. Hope this book starts me off.
The second is learning about node.js. We’re using it at work. And I’m trying to figure out what it is. Will I be able to read it?
Japanese For Beginners by Sachiko Toyozato
Learning Node.js: A Hands-On Guide to Building Web Applications in JavaScript 2nd Edition by Marc Wandschneider

