How was your New Year? Did you celebrate at midnight? I remember NY Eve celebration being such a huge thing when I was growing up. I just think that NY Eve celebrations were so huge in the Philippines. I do not know if this is still a thing though, most likely. Filipinos love to party. I kind of dialed down by a lot. I mean, even when I was still in SoCal, as I got older, I just found myself not really doing anything. So now, that I am far away from family, I literally just stayed home in my sweats. Just reading. I cannot complain, it was awesome.

I finished Guilty Pleasures last night. And my god, I forgot how much I enjoyed that book. It was a really good introduction to the world of Anita Blake. What she does, who will most likely be the repeat characters as the series goes along. I laughed, I smiled, I swooned, I cringed, I got annoyed, I got livid, I got my heart broken. Let’s just say that I enjoyed the first installment of the series. 

I do have a few books in mind that I want to start reading. But since I seem to be on a vampire kick right now, I plan on continuing with the Anita Blake series – The Laughing Corpse. Being a mood reader can be difficult. I have a few unfinished books on my bedside but those will need to wait. I need to ride the vampire wave right now.

Anyway, today was lazy. Since I did not go to bed until almost 4 in the morning, I was really sluggish when I woke up. It was fine. I did not really need to do anything today. I did manage to hang out with my hun to watch some anime. 

The Case Study of Vanitas. We watched episodes 9 and 10. Really good episodes. We got some action sequences, we got introduced to Roland, and we got to actually see some of Vanitas’ backstories. And the episodes connected pretty well with the premise of the anime. Awesome episodes. We enjoyed it and I loved them. And then episode 11 came, and 40 seconds in – I had to stop it. I mean granted, I really need to give the episode a chance since it might be important to the story. But come on when you open with “Vanitas, we should go on a date”, that raises red flags to me for unnecessary fluff that the anime does not need. And this is how I feel about this anime. IT DOES NOT NEED A ROMANTIC SIDE STORY. You give me amazing two episodes, action sequences, dark themes, and amazing characters, and then you give me fluff next? The anime is not even that dark and heavy for it to need a palate cleanser. I don’t know, I’m still debating if I just want to drop this anime.

Haikyu!! Yeah, we are really enjoying this. We just ended up watching six episodes of this anime. We love the Karasuno team. Most members are likable, granted we are only getting the main members of the team. That did not matter though, even the team members from opposing teams are likable. The character development in this anime is just so amazing. It is really enjoyable to see Hinata’s progress and how he adapts to hurdles on the court, with the help of his teammates. Honestly, the fact that even the members of an opposing team also cheer him on is really refreshing.

Tokyo Ghoul. We finally decided to continue on after a weird hiatus. We just rewatched season 2 episodes 6 and 7 for a refresher. I will probably have more to say once we actually watch some more episodes. One thing that really stands out to me with this anime is Kaneki’s internal struggle. It’s just so hard to watch since you know that he is trying so hard to not let the ghoul be in control. It’s hard to watch but honestly, it’s what draws me to the anime.

So I have been struggling with my PMS today. My head was hurting the whole day, my low back pain was a bitch, and of course, I was irritable. I managed to survive work. But it was a struggle for sure.

I got home, thinking I would just be lying in bed and pass out. But I decided against it. I wanted to hang out with my man. I mean, we were only able to spend some time together on Tuesday this week, which was not acceptable in my book.

We ended up watching a couple of episodes of The Case Study of Vanitas and three episodes of Haikyu!!

The Case Study of Vanitas. I do not know what it is about this anime, but I am struggling to be engaged with it. I mean Vanitas and Noe are good enough for sure and their dynamic is pretty interesting. I mean they are not friends whatsoever and they have a level of dislike for each other so I want to see the progression of their relationship as they work together. But the story is just so slow for me, at least at the moment. We are eight episodes in and I feel like there is nothing happening. For lack of a better word, the anime seems fluffy. Or there’s too much fluff that I do not really need. I mean this is a vampire anime, so I have expectations coming into it. There were some dark parts, which I liked, but there was just not enough going on right now. I would be really pissed if all the freaking story and action and all that stuff will be revealed in the last six episodes or something. The artwork is really good, the animation is really great, but damn, the story is dragging for me. Now, if they can just hit me with darkness and maybe little fight sequences here and there, I would be happy.

Haikyu!! Now, I am enjoying this anime a lot. The two main characters are great. Two different ends of the spectrum when it comes to attitude and volleyball experience, but I find myself cheering for them with their little successes. It’s character development in practically every episode. And I love that. I was laughing, I was cheering, I was clapping. I was engaged from the beginning. I find myself looking forward to how Hinata and Kageyama would overcome their difference to be an unstoppable duo in their volleyball team.

I also got to set up my reading spreadsheet tonight. Just a simple reading tracker in excel that can track whatever I want. I might want to use Notion for this too, but I just need to visualize it first before I consider creating a database for all my reading stuff. We shall see. Sounds like a big undertaking.

Today is the last day of my PTO and I would need to go back to work tomorrow. I am not happy about it. Because I really do not like going to work. Not that my being at work makes me any less lazy. Because it actually makes me lazier. Actually me not wanting to do anything. So, my work days – though I get shit done – are normally spent debating if I actually want to do anything or not. As I said, I get shit done, but begrudgingly.

My hun and I finished Castlevania and The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting. We continued watching The Case Study of Vanitas. And we started watching Haikyu!!

Castlevania. OH GOODNESS. Episode 9 – The Endings was so good. I mean, I already knew coming into it that the episode will be full of action sequences. Jesus. I was so happy to see my favorite trio back in action. Trevor, Sypha, and Adrian as a whole just work. I still love the fact that you can leave Sypha alone and she will carry her own in a fight. I love it. The ending of the episode was a shock but I was okay with it. Episode 10 – It’s Been a Strange Ride was more of a clean-up. And it was a really clean ending, wrapped in a bow. I think the only thing that I was missing was Isaac. We did not see him in these last two episodes. I mean I wanted to have a more concrete path for him since I personally think that he has the most character development in the entire series. Overall, I did enjoy the anime. I was engaged the whole time, and it was one of those things where I keep thinking “I want to know what will happen next”. I have a feeling though that this is the last season for this arc since Netflix announced Castlevania: Nocturne which is set in the future. Oddly, I am okay with it. Adrian is back with Sypha and Trevor, with a new path to move on to, Sypha and Trevor are going to be parents and decide to stay in a new village with Adrian. So I cannot complain. 

The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting. This anime was a surprise. It was a ride. I came into this anime thinking that it will some kind of fun relaxed slice of life. And it was but damn, I was not expecting it to pull on my heartstrings. The last two episodes did hit hard for me. Toru Kirishima’s journey of finding who he is, accepting his past, and being okay with it – damn. Yaeka Sakuragi breaks out of her shell and starts to open up her world to other people. The anime is just so wholesome that it’s difficult not to feel for these two characters. I enjoyed it a lot, there were a lot of laughs, and there were tears. It was good. I do want a season 2. And it needs to be now. I feel like there is still some stuff left hanging by the end. No – there are definitely still some situations that need clearing up.

The Case Study of Vanitas. The anime as a whole is fun. I enjoy the backstories for sure. The fact of the matter is that this anime just goes from light-hearted to dark real quick. And I enjoy that, I’m just there for the ride. A romance seems to be blooming between Vanitas and Jeanne, which I am a little bit on defense about. But that is because I see Vanitas with Noe more. Them together make sense to me. I am still trying to understand what is going on between Noe and Domi, sure they were childhood friends but I don’t know. There was some consented blood drinking between the couples and I have no idea what made me so uncomfortable. But it did. Considering that I don’t shy away from those, it was a shock that I got really uncomfortable fast.

Since my hun and I finished Castlevania, he needed to pick a new anime to suggest. The first one that we tried was The Daily Life of the Immortal King. That didn’t last long. We stopped it five minutes in. My hun did not like how the female character was introduced – I’m assuming that she would’ve been an MC. So he decided to give Haikyu!! a chance. It was interesting. I mean you can already tell that it would be a character development anime. I mean, you have one character who kept on practicing volleyball even though his junior high had no volleyball team. And you have one character who has to learn how to play with a team. So I am excited about that. I mean, for the most part, these two characters are the ones who need to work together – a setter and a spiker. So we shall see. The anime for sure has promise.

I am still reading Guilty Pleasures. I am taking my time with it. But my hun suggested, if I am enjoying it, just keep on reading. So that’s what I’m going to do.

The only thing out of the ordinary that happened at work was that I ran the daily huddle for the first time in over a year I should say. And how did that go? Record speed of 3 minutes. Honestly, I think daily huddles shouldn’t be any longer than that. I got a message afterward saying “You’re the best speed huddle human ever”. And I shall take that as a compliment.

I went home to experience heavy traffic and stupid drivers. So that was annoying. I hate driving. Well, not the act of driving but rather I do not want to deal with reckless drivers. 

I was able to hang out with my love tonight even though we had a very rough beginning. I mean, my discord was being a dumdum. His discord was being a dumdum. A lot of pauses and disconnections. Yeah, rough but we managed. Crunchyroll was down so we could not watch Sk8 the Infinity and I had to pick a different anime available on Hulu instead, The Case Study of Vanitas. We did watch Castlevania as well.

Castlevania. We finally got to see Isaac. And boy he had changed. And I think it was a good development for him. I mean we saw him struggle with his ideals – to kill every human alive. But now, it seems like he is leaning more toward justified killing. And this is definitely his. Not just following Dracula’s. Which is refreshing. 

Adrian, again, will be used it seems like. By whom this time? Fucking Saint Germain. God, I knew this person cannot be trusted. I cannot with all the people trying to use my Adrian for whatever it is he doing. It’s like come on! Can this guy get a fucking break? And now another female got introduced… And I’m already annoyed because I have a feeling that Adrian will latch on to her because she will give him a purpose – to help them save the people in that village that freaking Saint Germain set up to be attacked by night creatures. Uggghhh Saint Germain needs to die in the most anti-climactic way – like tripping and hitting his head on something and never waking up OR maybe my hun’s idea, choking on a bun.

The Case Study of Vanitas. So far we only watched the first episode. But I am interested. I mean it’s too early to tell. We watched the dubbed version, but I think we will try watching the subbed version next time. I need to check out the first episode in subbed and see how the subtitles are on that. The font size on Hulu was a tad tiny. Anyway, the reason why I chose this one is because it is about vampires. Well, it’s about a young vampire named Noe who meets a human doctor named Vanitas who wants to cure all vampires. I mean we shall see how this turns out. 

I am on PTO tomorrow. Thank goodness because I’m tired. I just need time to just be with myself. Actually read for the day. That is all that I had planned for tomorrow. But I might squeeze in some visual novel games as breaks. We shall see.

Aside from the weather being annoying, my day went pretty okay. No hiccups aside from having to drive slowly because of icy roads. But honestly, despite that, there were still drivers on the road who just kept on speeding. Such recklessness to be honest. Anyway, I did go home early just because with the snow, I really did not want to risk it. I got home though and continued working and lost track of time. I ended up working a lot longer than I wanted. A lot of excel sheets to make and reformat for 2023.

Anyway, my hun and I ended up hanging out a bit earlier today since I did not have to drive home after work. We finished Moriarty the Patriot and we watched two episodes of Castlevania season 4.

Moriarty the Patriot. I mean I really do not need to say how much I loved this anime. But I really love the fact that my hun enjoyed the anime as well. He gave it a 9/10 and said that it was one of the best anime he watched this year. I personally just loved the Moriarty brothers. Sure that William might be the heart of the group but to be honest, for his ideals to go to fruition, he needed his brothers and what they have to offer. Not to mention the side characters were also really likable. I know that this is not a BL anime and there really is nothing in this anime that suggests otherwise, but just because I am me, I am shipping Liam and Sherly. They make sense together. 

Castlevania. Well, we see Sypha and Trevor grinding. Power couple! And Sypha is just OP. I am actually really thankful that her character just doesn’t stand there and wave her hands. Watching her fight sequences has always been a delight. But I do think that this power couple needs some well-deserved sleep and rest. 

Adrian now is known as The Alucard of the castle. He also has more lawn decorations this time! In all honesty though, I want him to break this cycle. Reminds me too much of how his father instilled fear among the people. I do not think that’s a good route. I do think that he is a teenager still looking for his purpose, and I think this letter that he received would give him the instructions he needs.

Well, let’s see Hector seems to be doing well. I mean sure, he is imprisoned in the castle, but can freely roam around even in the daylight. I was correct to assume that whatever Lenore did to him at the end of season three was the best outcome for his situation at the moment. But he seems to be plotting something. I mean he is smart and if chose to, he can play this game with the vampires as well.

No Isaac these two episodes. I wonder what happened to him.

And then there’s Carmilla. That is a vampire Karen with her entitlement. I cannot. At the expense of sounding like a broken player – she needs to slip and fall on a stake already.

I’ve been sleeping soundly these past couple of nights because of the sleeping pills that I’m trying. My problem? I am having issues waking up. And I really do not like that. I feel heavy. So tonight, I am not planning on taking anything. We shall see if tonight will be rough. I plan on reading a bit before going to sleep since I did not get to read last night.