Like The Tomato
Nothing here but my musings about daily life, books, anime, and food.
This is nothing new but I’m really not a fan of summers. I know a lot of people do enjoy the sun. I am just not one of them. When it’s sunny, people tend to go outside, maybe go to the beach, go for a walk, you know outside activities. I tend not to do that. I am a homebody so regardless of the weather, I would always choose to be in the apartment. However, I am more inclined to venture out when it’s cloudy and if it’s a bit on the chilly end of the weather. And today is another hot sunny weather. This is what the people where I’m at call nice weather. While all you can hear from me is “uggghhhh”. However, I did sit under the sun with Paco since he loves sunbathing. He was under the sun, while I was under the shade.
I am dreading this coming Thursday. I do not want to leave the apartment. But alas, I have no choice. I need to move my car somewhere else for about 8 hours because the management is doing tree maintenance on the complex. Anyway, I am thinking of just chilling in the library. However, the library does not open until 10 AM. So I would need to figure out where to go before then. We’ll see. I have to figure it out. I would have 2 hours to kill before going to the library.
No big plans today. Maybe read? Who knows. Lately, I’ve just been winging my reading, to be honest. I know, I have no discipline when it comes to this one. Same with studying. I have no discipline on that as well. I mean, these two are blocked in my calendar on a daily basis. I just never follow them. l have been in an unfocused state of mind as of late. And since these two things require focus, I often find myself having issues.
Yesterday was one of the worse nights for me. I had another sleepless night. I didn’t really feel sleepy until 6 AM today. It was bad. I was tossing and turning in bed. It was a bit hot for me last night. Paco did not help in that department at all, since his temp runs hot. We call him a personal heater for a reason. With that, my anxiety was pretty heightened. I had itchy welts all over my body. It was not a fun night for sure.
So what did I end up doing? I read. And finished a novel. Granted it was only a 300-something-page novel, but it was still reading. The novel was a reread for me, and it was one of my favorite M/M romances. I tend to reread favorites when I’m feeling a bit off. Because I need something to pick up my mood. Or to thoroughly distract me. And Rocket Science definitely did that splendidly.
Since I did not really get rest, today sucked for me. I found myself yawning constantly and I felt sick. Congested and with a headache. This normally happens when I did not get enough sleep. I did manage to nap for a couple of hours this morning. But other than that, I was mainly confined to my chair and resigned myself to being tired and irritable the whole day.
No big plans tonight. Honestly, I just want to sleep. We shall see though. But I am thinking that I would just pass out once my head hits the pillow. I’m that tired.
- Anime Title: High Card
- Episodes: 12 episodes
- Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
- Publisher: TMS Entertainment Co., Ltd.
My boyfriend picked this anime for us to watch. Not that I was not interested in it. I just simply neglected to add it to our watchlist. I am glad that we got to check this one out. We had fun.
What is this about? In the Kingdom of Fouland, there exists a secret 52 deck cards. It’s called “X-playing cards”, which give the users special abilities. Though originally held by the royal family, the cards were stolen and scattered throughout the kingdom. Fast forward to the present day, where we are introduced to Finn, a thief trying to raise funds to save the orphanage he calls home. Finn decides to try his luck at a casino to gain money quickly, where he gets into a squabble and meets people with special abilities. During this encounter, Finn learns how to use the 2 of Spades, the card he has been holding. This leads to his induction into High Card, a group of people assigned by the royal family to recover the 52 playing cards while disguised as salesmen for the Pinochle car company. Of course, High Card is not alone in this quest. There is another group, Klondike mafia family, who wants the cards for nefarious purposes. And the story goes from there.
This anime is definitely action-packed. A lot of cat and mouse chases trying to get a hold of the 52 cards – who will get to this first and all that. It was fun. This season focused a lot more on Finn Oldman and Chris Redgrave – two members of the High Card. Sure, we got to see the other members – Leo, Wendy, Vijay and Bernard – but the season heavily focused on Finn’s and Chris’ background story. Their motivations for joining High Card. Their friendship and all that.
Between Finn and Chris, it was Chris’ story that made the show for me. Not to say that Finn is not a likable character. He is – with his main motivation in doing things and eventually joining High Card to save the orphanage that he grew up in. But Chris to me is a very fleshed-out character. We were only allowed to see the surface of this flirty womanizing character at the beginning. But as the season progressed, we got to see what he was hiding behind that mask of his. Yes, it was a mask. He exhibited this noncommittal persona because ultimately as revealed in the season finale, there was no use in getting attached to anyone. And that in itself made Chris so real to me.
The friendship between Finn and Chris also progressed naturally. Sure, they may not admit it outright but they are buddies. They rely on each other a lot. And the fact of the matter that these two understands each other is something so beautiful to see. Of course, the fujoshi in me wants something more to develop but I mean, that’s just me.
Season two has been approved for this anime, and I am hoping to see more of the other members of High Card. We got some background on Leo and Wendy, but I want to see a bit more. We didn’t really know anything about Vijay aside from his ability. So hopefully these characters and Bernard as well could get a more fleshed-out story in the coming season. I can also do without Sugar Peace. I cannot stand that detective. She can just be nixed in season two. She is aggravatingly annoying because of her decisions. I cannot.
This is a fun anime. It’s pretty fast-paced with action in pretty much every episode. It does have a heart as well, which elevates the plot. The soundtrack is pretty good too. I definitely love the opening and ending songs. My boyfriend did not seem to mind letting me play the opening and ending songs for almost all the episodes.
My goodness, I had issues moving around today. The soreness I got from the workout yesterday was no joke. Just standing up from a sitting position was difficult. Anyway, my man and I got to hang out today. I don’t want to risk sounding like a clingy person, but damn, almost 2 weeks of not hanging out in a long-distance relationship felt too long. Anyway, we got to watch some anime today.
Bungo Stray Dogs. The Dazai and Chuya partnership there was pretty awesome. I would like to see them together more. And no, that is not the fujoshi in me talking. I think they balance each other pretty well. Also, Chuya’s Corruption was pretty visually stunning, oh and well, it’s pretty powerful. However, for Chuya to use that power, he should put his absolute trust in Dazai to null that ability. Also, the banter between these two was just so natural.
Parasyte. I am still not a fan of Murano. Well, you know what, I just don’t like her. A character who is not needed.
Naruto. I really do love seeing Naruto learn new things, you see the dedication. Every time he reaches a goal, I cannot help but cheer along with him. I did tear up a little bit when Jiraiya shared a popsicle with him like that father and son at the market.
No big plans tonight. I might play Sims 4. Because that is what I’ve been doing at night these past few days.
Did not really do anything. Just like a regular day for us. I mean sure, we had bbq ribs and mashed potatoes for dinner. But that was the extent of this day for us. A lot of lounging and watching YouTube videos. Because it was just too freaking hot to move. I really did not understand how my neighbors were able to sit outside on the balcony all day.
Chris and I watched Being John Malkovich (1999). Well, this was a fun trip. There were definitely some cringy moments, but John Cusack and John Malkovich were outstanding in this. Actually, all of them did.
No big plans tonight. Just sit in front of the fan. Because I don’t particularly appreciate sweating and yet here I am. Sweating while not doing anything. I hate it.
I am not feeling too good. Not sick. Just meh. What I have been doing in the last few days? Either consuming YT videos, binging on movies, or just vegging in bed. Yeah. Very unproductive. I am not proud of it. My boyfriend and I were not able to hang out over the weekend. We were both not feeling well.
I did watch a movie on Saturday, A League of Their Own (1992). And my first question to Chris was, how long was the female baseball league active? At the beginning of this movie, there was a scene where older women were complaining about the diminishing gender roles when the women’s league was created. And I still cannot believe that there are still some people complaining about the same thing today. Yeah. Anyway, this movie was a lot of fun. Loved to see some women play sports. And now I want to read some books about this. I really should check my library for something.
I’ve also been stuck watching Daria. I cannot remember how much I’ve rewatched this show. But from time to time I find myself gravitating towards this show. Like how I normally would rewatch Gilmore Girls.
Regardless of how unproductive I felt today, I did work out and you know what, I would consider that as a win. My arms are definitely feeling tired right now. More on the shoulders than he arms themselves. And that is why I know that my shoulder muscles need more work.
Planning on reading today. I have been reading a lot of webtoons. Which is fine. But I have not been able to sit and just read a book. Honestly, I just really need to continue on with Heaven Official’s Blessing. No point in taking a break and trying to pick up another book if my interest lies in Xie Lian and Hua Cheng’s story.