Like The Tomato

You know, after all the excitement from yesterday, I think I hit a crash. I was so tired today. It was not pretty. I was too sleepy the whole day. Again, like yesterday, no reading was done. My brain failed to focus on the words. So I gave up on that pretty quickly. However, I did watch some things today.

Fan Girl (2020). A Filipino film that took a closer look at parasocial relationships. And it was good. It wasn’t scandalous whatsoever. But it did take a dark turn. An obsessed fan decided to ride the truck of her idol only for her to realize that this actor that she idolized is a real person with a really dark life to navigate. He is not perfect like how she had romanticized him in her head. Yeah. It was really good.

You (Season 4). I finally started watching this one. And after 3 episodes, I decided to drop it. This season was just not for me. So I am not going through the pain of watching the rest of the episodes. I was not interested in the “whodunit” plot that Joe found himself in. Or rather, Joe got manipulated to be a part of. So I am taking a break. I know the final season will be coming out in 2024 and that for sure I will be watching. I want to see how this series will conclude for sure.

What We Do In The Shadows. This is a look into the lives of four vampires who live together in Staten Island ala reality TV style. A coworker suggested that I watch this show and said that I would enjoy it. I found out that it was about vampires and decided that was enough reason for me to give this show a chance. And I am glad that I did. My roommate and I finally finished the whole series. And we enjoyed it a lot. It was well done. It was funny. And we cannot wait for season 6. The show is that good.

I have no real plans tomorrow. Aside from a few chores, I need to look at something job-related. And hang out with my partner. So, tomorrow should be breezy.

You know, I have not been feeling good in a long while. I got a good news this morning. And it kind of set the mood for the rest of the day. After that, I’ve been busy with paperwork. I was not able to read today. I tried. But my brain was too excited so I could not focus. So I gave up on that. Regardless, it was still a good day!

I was able to hang out with my man today. Finally. I’ve been really out of sorts. He knows this. And I feel bad but my mental health was a bitch. Anyway, we were able to watch some anime.

Sasaki and Miyano: Graduation. This was just too cute. I cannot. We enjoyed it. And that is all there is to it. I have been wanting to see what happened at the end of season one and this kind of satisfied that curiosity. Sasaki and Miyano are just too cute. Not going to lie though, I did miss the English dub. I already associate Kellen Goff with Sasaki. Regardless, it was a good movie. I love Sasaki and how considerate he is in regard to Miya. Miya’s mom was awesome. I was just giddy the whole time. I was glad to have some visuals on Hirano and Kagi.

Founder of Diabolism. My man indulged me tonight and watched the first two episodes of season 1 of this donghua. Yes, it is danmei. However, I knew that he would appreciate this one because it’s very fast-paced with a lot of action scenes. So far, he seems to want to continue on with this one. He is interested in the story. So that is a win.

We made plans to hang out again on Thursday. We would be continuing on with some anime that we had put to the side – Bungo Stray Dogs, Parasyte, and some more anime. I think we have a few more anime on the back burner. So we have some catching up to do.

Any more plans tonight? I might try to read. But I doubt it. I had a rough night last night. And I have been yawning nonstop since my hun and I ended our hangout.

Today was the first time I cooked ribs. It was good. Would it be a frequent occurrence? Not really. I don’t particularly appreciate prepping the ribs. I am not a fan of peeling that tough membrane. Too much work. However, the ribs turned out good.

I did finish Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft (Vol 1) and Locke & Key: Head Games (Vol 2). The first volume was a bit slow for me. But the second one was pretty interesting. Both volumes were creepy and intense. And totally satisfied my horror craving right now. I would be continuing on with the rest of the volumes soon.

I also started reading Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. Finally. I am so behind on reading this book, to be honest. It has been sitting on my shelves for months. Anyway, I am only in chapter three, so far, so good. I enjoyed some references to Super Mario Bros and Duck Hunt. The book mentions Donkey Kong, Tetris, and a few other games. Again so far so good.

I know I will be sore tomorrow. I have not worked out in over two months. I was very shaky during weight training. It was not pretty. I had to adjust some of my sets because my muscles felt like giving up. But I definitely felt really good after. So hopefully my lazy ass can keep it up. Well, you know what, I have to keep it up. I placed workouts back in my schedule.

I started watching Modern Family. It was funny for the most part. I love Cam and Gloria. I just finished that episode with Phil wanting an iPad for his birthday. And decided to be a baby when he found out that his wife failed to buy it for him. I mean, dude, you’re a grown-up. It’s just a fucking iPad. Your kids made you freaking breakfast. They ordered cake. You are going to have a party. Like really? What a freaking baby.

Any big plans tonight? Just read. I have 100 pages to read tonight for Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow if I want to stay on schedule. I also need to read some pages from Omega’s Destiny tonight. Because I have not picked it up in days. Shame on me. And here I am, juggling multiple books again. It’s okay. I will survive.

What else can I do? I was pretty busy the last few days. Being in SoCal with family and then getting sick when I got back to the PNW. So I’m going to try to get back to my routine. Keyword: try. Back to reading. Back to cooking. Back to working out. Like I said, I need to establish some kind of routine for myself now. I have had some issues keeping them. So I need to be a bit more disciplined I should say.

I was not able to read at all last week. Well, I was not able to read novels last week. I found it difficult to get lost in the book at my parents’ house. I could not find peace in reading those few days. However, I did read quite a few webtoons, since that seems to be what I could digest during my visit. Which was fine. I wasn’t complaining.

I rewatched the Heaven Official’s Blessing anime (or donghua since this is a Chinese anime) while I was in SoCal. I watched the English dub this time. And it was fun. It was a good dub and I enjoyed it. The dub was definitely sassy. The second season of this anime was released on Wednesday, and yes, I was all over that episode 1. And it seemed like an episode would be released weekly. Normally, I would wait until the whole season is out so that I can binge the anime. But I am making an exception for this one. Because it’s Xie Lian and Hua Cheng.

I also binge-watched season 1 of Founder of Diabolism. And oh boy. Yeah, that anime (again, donghua) had me at the edge of my seat since episode 1. I told myself to watch just a few episodes but I got sucked into it. And couldn’t stop watching. It was so good. And yes, I already bought the first book in the series, and yes, I will read it soon. I also started reading the manhua for it. Because I can’t help myself. Anyway, planning on continuing on with this series as well, currently there are 3 seasons of the donghua up so I have some catching up to do.

I plan to read Locke & Key before I pick up Heaven Official’s Blessing Vol 6. The graphic novel has 6 volumes so that would be easy. This would be a reread for me. I listened to the dramatized audiobook years ago, and I kind of forgot what happened in it. And since I haven’t read the actual graphic novels, I would like to give it a try. I did try to pick it up before, but I felt that the story was too recent in my head. And I was having issues reading some full-colored graphic novels before. I always thought that the colors on the page were too busy but I am hoping that having read a lot of full-colored webtoons has trained my brain to think otherwise. We shall see.

Oh goodness, I feel like I am having an anxiety attack the closer my trip to SoCal is. A lot of it really stems from the fear of being in a plane. Despite being used to traveling by plane, I am still pretty uncomfortable while on air. I’d really rather be asleep during the flight. We shall see if my brain will let me sleep during this flight. I am also having anxiety with all the “move back” comments that I no doubt be hearing from my parents and Chris’ parents, maybe some relatives as well. I never really like to partake in that conversation and a lot of times, I just ignore the statement OR I say “No”. Whatever. It is just a 4-day visit. So I’ll endure it.

I started reading novels again after taking a break for a few days. I decided to continue on with Heaven Official’s Blessing Vol 5. I really cannot express enough how much I am enjoying this series. I am only a hundred-something pages in and so many things happened already. Some revelations. Some chaotic yet enjoyable confrontations. Some SUS moments. And overwhelming cute interactions between Xie Lian and Hua Cheng made me smile and my heart fluttered. This series is just so good! Also, BB Hua Cheng is so fierce and soooo cute.

Rant Incoming: I did read some more manhwa. And I came across a BL manhwa that I really cannot stand. I had to stop reading and give it up. Because NO. It gave me anxiety. And a lot of wtf moments. After 20 chapters, all I could think of was “why the heck am I still reading this”. It was no good. Look, I am okay with some red flags, I am okay with a few dubious consents. However, if there is no plot, the MC is naked for most of the time because he has no choice and all the encounters are non-consensual, then I have issues. Did I feel like I wasted my time? Yes. I mean, I read 20-something chapters. I had some hopes. Only to be let down. After all the shitty stuff that I read, I drew the line when the MC became entangled with a sadist. That’s a hell no for me. No way in hell I would subject myself to a non-consensual BDSM. End of Rant.

Anyway, I have not watched anything recently aside from live streams on Twitch. I was just pretty much consuming some manhwa. No really big plans today. Just read and do some chores before I leave for SoCal.

Well, I cannot do much. I was too tired the whole week. My cramps were bad. No energy at all. So my solace was to take naps. My reading has suffered this week. Sort of. I managed to read 4 novels at the beginning of the week. And for the past few days, my attention has shifted to webtoons. I need a quick break from novels, just for a few days. I would resume with them on Monday. I need to take a breather from my shifter novels and Heaven Official’s Blessing.

Anyway, I started reading this webtoon called Ghost Gate. And yes, it’s horror. With ghosts and all that. I guess I am in a horror mood. However, despite the bad translation of the manhwa, I know I’m not stupid because for some reason I am having issues understanding what the heck is going on. I mean, granted that could be a factor but I just feel so lost. I have no idea what is happening. All I know is that there is a ghost in the office that takes the form of the MC’s manager. But said ghost also invades dreams. MC seems to know the ghost from maybe they were kids. And there seems to be another ghost haunting the MC and the actual human manager. I don’t know. Like I said, I am so confused. I don’t know if I want to read the 40 chapters again. Or just wait for the new chapters to be uploaded. But my god, I have not been this confused. I had to peruse the comment section so that I could see if the readers came up with a more concrete explanation of what was going on. And like myself, seems like everyone was confused.

Anyway, I recently watched American Vandal. It has been on my radar for a while and I’ve been wanting to watch it. And I finally did! I was glad I did. Because that show was good. And I am annoyed that Netflix canceled it after only two seasons. It was interesting. It was funny. It was smartly done! Such a good satire on true crime shows. It was good. Really good. And yes, I marathon’d the seasons in one night. I also started watching What We Do in the Shadows. Also really good. It was very enjoyable. Granted, I am still on season 1 but I will definitely continue on.

No huge plans today. Just go downtown. Read some more webtoons. Hopefully hang out with my man. And then read some more webtoons. Because why not?