Succumbing to Sweetness and Pained Provisions

So remember how I said I would be eating less sugar? Well, that lasted for a whole 24 hours. I ended up getting cookies while I was working yesterday. I'M WEAK. :(

It's okay, though, I comfort myself knowing that going Cold Turkey is very difficult, and I haven't had sugar in my tea at all since my post declaring it so, and I only had cookies at work. At home, I was perfectly good! Also, I did yoga today! I couldn't yesterday, because I made an unfortunate decision regarding groceries on Wednesday and ended up with knots in my shoulders the size of field mice. Let me tell you that story first:

Where my apartment is now, I can walk to the store, and as I said before, I wanted to try to walk more to save money on gas and to be healthier. Well, when I moved in, my mother (the wonderful woman that she is, thank you so much Mommy) gave me a gift card for groceries. So I went a little wild, stocking up on all the things I would/could/should use and ended up with around 30-40 lbs of groceries. I did bring my own reusable shopping bags! So I was good to the environment! But let me tell you, carrying groceries that amount to half your body weight using two bags on your shoulders, and two bags in your hands and attempting to walk about a half mile back to your upstairs apartment will NOT be good for your shoulders. Along with being pretty terrible for the rest of your body. Learn from my mistakes, people.

So I couldn't do yoga yesterday. But I stretched out my knots quite a bit on Wednesday and yesterday, so today I was in good enough shape to do a little gentle yoga today. I also stopped by my work today and picked up a glass of tea, which was a pu-erh tea (dissolves built-up body fat and functions as a gentle laxative to stimulate metabolism) blended with an oolong tea (speeds up metabolism) so hopefully that will put me on track. I am wearing my favorite pair of jeans right now and oh, man. It is a tight fit. So hopefully healthy eating and exercise and strategic use of tea will help me get back to a healthy amount of body fat that will also allow me to fit into my favorite clothing. And not just my favorite clothes that are made with liberal amounts of spandex.

I've been eating a lot better lately, which is good, because this means I don't have to eat as often because my meals are more satisfying. I still have a big bag of potato chips, but I have been trying to only eat about a handful at a time, and stop when I have satisfied my craving, instead of stopping when I feel sick.

So I need to go home and bake bread so I can take it to a friend's birthday party/potluck and I'm late late late because today is busy busy busy and I made the mistake of drinking a Starbucks drink with coffee in it and now I'm super jittery and AAAAHHHHH.

I WILL TALK TO YOU LATER GOOD BYE.

<3 div="div" miso="miso">

Reinstated Rambling

Hello everyone!

Man, it's been a while. I am gonna start up this blog again, since I have limited internet access and a LOT of time on my hands. Right now I'm taking the internet from Starbucks, because I bought a DELICIOUS THING from them. LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THIS, PEOPLE.

My friend Brandon told me about this: Ask for a Mocha Coconut Frappucino with no coffee and extra caramel. It tastes like liquid Samoas. SO GOOD.

So anyway, updates in my life: I finally moved out of my Dad's house! I am now living in an apartment with one of my best friends, whom I've known since we were 9 years old. So far it's good! It is the cheapest apartment in Chandler, but so far we have been nothing but impressed with it. We have been living there for a little under a week and we have had trouble with our closet doors--both of our bedroom closets have trouble opening and closing, and the door in front of our washer/dryer came off completely while I was doing laundry a few days ago. But aside from that, good neighbors, good parking available, low price, accommodating office people, gates close at night for safety, and the apartment itself is spacious and well-laid-out.

Another update: In about five days, I have managed to gain somewhere around 2-3 pounds (which is fine, I don't mind gaining weight, there's nothing wrong with it, and I know I'm very skinny anyway so it's not like I'm morbidly obese or anything with these extra two pounds) and I've realized that I've been eating nothing but take-out and not exercising past carrying my stuff up the stairs to my apartment. So I'm thinking I need to be healthier. And I'm gonna share my fitness goals here, so that I might be more inclined to stop being a lazy sonnovabitch and stick with it, you unhealthy slob. Here we go:

-Cook more. The more I cook, the more I'm in control of what I'm putting into my body. Take out is convenient for work (I work at a mall, so I typically go to the food court for lunches) but it is SUPER unhealthy for my body. I know the more I have nutrition-lacking carbs and fried foods the worse I feel and the less inclined I am to exercise.

-Drink more Tea. And I hear you saying, 'But LO! You are working at a TEA STORE, Minty! How much more tea can your little, over-hydrated body hold???' Well, I would have to say 'Fair play to you'. (if either of us actually talked like that, I mean. I would probably actually say 'Good point' or something equally as not ridiculously pseudo-Shakespearean) But I would like to strategize my tea-drinking a little more. Instead of drinking teas that taste good all the time, or teas imbibed with enough caffeine to wake even I from my zombie-like morning stupor, I want to start drinking teas that are good for me, and good for the health benefits that I'm looking for. Some Green teas to help me be healthy (because I can't exercise or be fit or anything of that sort when I'm laid up in bed with the sniffles), some Oolong teas for a healthy metabolism (to make up for the havoc that fast food has wreaked upon me), and if I am going to drink teas that are more delicious than they are nutritious, then they would be to prevent myself from eating unnecessarily. I'm not going to starve myself, though, let me explain...

-Eat less. Like I said before, I will not be starving myself. But one of my habits is that when I'm bored, I eat. Also, I tend to eat larger portions than I really should. So my goal with this 'Eating less' idea is to actually eat the amount of food that I SHOULD be eating, instead of the amount of food that my cravings and elastic-band pants are telling me I can eat. Also, now that I'm paying for rent AND food, food costs need to go down. I tend to impulse-buy at the grocery store, and regret it later when I realize that I spend over $100 at the store and I only have one thing that qualifies as food, and the rest being cookies and candy. Cookies and candy can be bought! I won't deprive myself! But I would like to MAKE my sweets more often instead of buying them. That will put a restriction on how much sugar I'm consuming, and also how often I'm consuming stuff that falls under the category of 'sweets'.

-Less sugar. I am guilty of adding a crap-ton of sugar to everything. All sugar, all the time. Dessert after every meal, not just dinner. Jesus, how do I not have Type 2 Diabetes already, I am an absolute feind. So I am cutting down on sugar. Natural sugars only (none of that over-processed shit like granulated sugar or Splenda) and as little as I can stand. For dessert, fruits instead of cheesecake. I really enjoy eating fruits, and they are more than sweet enough for me, so I really don't know why I haven't made that switch sooner. And finally,

-Walk more. I am very lazy and I would prefer to drive even down the hall to the kitchen. But I'm going to have have to suck it up, bring my book, and walk whenever the weather is bearable. This, in addition to allowing me to exercise more often, will save me in gas expenses, which will be a freaking life-saver. My car drinks gas like I drank that Liquid-Samoa Frappucino. Sweet Baby Jesus is it expensive.

So it's 3:06pm, my computer's dying, Starbucks misting system is working so hard that it might be aspiring to be a thunderstorm someday, and the woman sitting upwind of me has just finished her fourth cigarette. I think it is time for me to head home to leave my laptop there and then go shopping for foods that will be  commiserate with my newly-documented goals.

It was lovely talking with you again, though I was doing the talking. Comment with thoughts, feelings, advice for my fitness goals!

<3 miso="miso" p="p">

WHOA

10/10/10 10:10 PM!!! :DDD

Silly Sleepover Shenanigans

So on this blog I'm following, called Blag Hag, she (kinda) recently posted something that brought back my childhood.
The Kill, Sleep With, or Marry game. >D
I don't think I played it with those rules exactly...I remember my friend Kirsti and I would just go back and forth with 'Would you make out with BlahBlah?' and 'Would you sleep with BlahBlah?'. Of course, back then, sex was still kinda gross. But the media told us it was good, so it was kinda fun wrestling with our inner conflict between cooties and coitus. :)
So! For fun, I thought I'd list a few of my preferences (who I'd kill, sleep with or marry) from various series, books, dramas, and even real life! :D Here we go!

Harry Potter
Kill: Dolores Umbridge
Sleep With: Fred Weasley (pre-death)
Marry: Also Fred. Or George, since Fred died. :'(

Twilight
Kill: Victoria
Sleep With: Jacob :)
Marry: Jasper <3

Artemis Fowl
Kill: Opal
Sleep With: Butler
Marry: Artemis Fowl

Atashinchi no Danshi
Kill: Tokita
Sleep With: Sho
Marry: Satoru

Coffee Prince
Kill: Mr. Ku (the butcher)
Sleep With: No Sun-Ki
Marry: No Sun-Ki or Hwang Min-Yup

Hana Yori Dango
Kill: Sakurako
Sleep With: Hanazawa Rui
Marry: Mimasaka Akira

Hana Kimi
Kill: Hanayashi Hibari
Sleep With: Nakatsu
Marry: Sano Izumi

Tumbling
Kill: Hino Tetsuya
Sleep With: Tsukimori Ryosuke
Marry: Mizusawa Taku (if he wasn't gay) or Kiyama Ryuichiro

In Real Life:
Kill: Sarah Palin, Racist People, People that talk to me like I'm stupid
Sleep With: Kim Jae Wook, Antonio Banderas (before he started looking like Santa Claus), Hero
JaeJoong (sp?)
Marry: Seto Koji, Kim Jae Wook, Yanagishita Tomo, Yuki Shiido (oh, wait, we're already married! :D)

Those are my lists!! Feel free to call me a nerd. XD But that was really fun! Comment with your lists of who you would Kill, Sleep With or Marry. You can use the series I used or you can come up with your own. This is fun! :D

Recreational Recommendations 1.1

Alright, so it's kinda late, but here's the second part of my Recreational Recomendations posts. This will be the drama list!! :D
I'll try to keep it short, and not babble too much, since I've watched a LOT of dramas, and just putting the list on here will make it long enough. XD Although, looking through all the dramas on various websites, looking for the dramas that I have watched, I found a shocking amount of dramas that I haven't watched. This must be amended. >D
Get ready for Recreational Recommendations 2.0!
But until then, here's the list of dramas that I have watched so far, and a rating from 1-5 on whether or not I liked it. :)
*(KOR) means it's a Korean drama. If not marked, it's Japanese.

Abarenbo Mama (4) Very cute!
Absolute Boyfriend/Zettai Kareshi (4) Cute, but weird at times.
Akai Ito (2) Didn't finish this one--VERY DRAMATIC
Akihabara@Deep (2) Didn't finish--confusing...
Antique Bakery (KOR) (500000) BEST MOVIE EVER WATCH IT
Atashinchi no Danshi/AtaDan (5) Cute, funny, enjoyable
Bad Guy/Bad Boy (KOR) (2) Good premise, weird execution
Coffee Prince (KOR) (5) Cute, heartwarming, lovable
Death Note Movie (5 if you're a Death Note fan, 2 if not)
Ghost Friends (3) Not bad. Nishi was cute.
Hana Yori Dango (JP) (5) Great! So cute and fun.
Hana Yori Dango Season 2 (5) I was surprised to like a sequel series this much.
Hana Yori Dango Final Movie (5) Cute ending to a lovely series. :)
Hanazakari no Kimitachi e/Hana Kimi (JP) (5) Great! Definitely a must-see.
Happy Boys (1) Little to no story. Just an excuse to say 'Oh, look at Seto Koji! So cute!'. As much
as I love him, I'd like a story, please.
Hard Gay (3) He's a comedian. Very funny! But it's a weird sense of humor.
Honey and Clover (Drama) (5) Cute! Love it. :)
Kamen Rider Kabuto (2) It's a kid's show. Hiro Mizushima is MUCH too dramatic.
Kamen Rider Kiva (2) A little better than Kabuto, but Seto Koji is kind of a wimp. :/
Koizora (drama) (3) SO DRAMATIC!! But I kinda liked it all the same. Seto Koji's in it! :)
Lovely Complex (5) SO GOOD!!! Cute, funny, incredible. Lovely Complex is a good manga, too, if
you're interested!
Mei-chan no Shitsuji (3) Not bad. Kinda weird. Hiro Mizushima was OVER DRAMATIC. But
cute.
Moon Child (?) I've never watched this myself, but apparently it's a must-see. Watch it alone, cuz
it's kinda ridiculous.
MR. BRAIN (5) SO GOOD!!! It's one of those mystery shows like House or Monk. So funny!
Nodame Cantabile (5) I nearly peed myself laughing at this one. SO GREAT!!
Otomen (4) Enjoyable. Cute. Never finished watching it.
Pink no Idenshi (?) I only watched one, and it was kinda crap.
Rinne No Ame (5) So good! So sad, though. Psychological.
Room of King (?) Never watched more than 3 episodes. Not very exciting.
Seigi no Mikata (5) So funny!!! The main girl reminds me of my friend Alyssa. :)
Tokyo Dogs (5) Great! Oguri Shun is magnificent, and even Hiro Mizushima's awkwardness fits
in really nicely in this one.
Tonari no Yaoi-chan (2) If you're a yaoi fangirl, or if you know any yaoi fangirls, you might find
this amusing. But in and of itself, it's not that great.
Tumbling (3) Dramatic! It's a sports drama, so there you go. Prepare for fits of masculinity and
shirtlessness.

There's my drama list! I didn't babble too much! I got a little more talkative toward the end, but I think I did okay. So there's my general opinion of all the dramas that I've watched! (and some others) Me and a friend have also started a drama review blog, and so I'll be working on that, some, too. Go see if you want detailed reviews of dramas, and some recommendations! :)

<3>

Recreational Recommendations 1.0

So I recommended a few dramas to a friend the other day (Kristen! :)) and I suddenly got the urge to make a big drama list for all of the dramas I've seen and recommend, or the dramas that, in my opinion, are not that interesting. Most of them are the former, fortunately. :)
I really enjoy comedies, personally, so a lot of these are comedies. Some have other elements, but for the most part they're pretty funny.
This post is kind of half-planned, half-off-the-top-of-my-head, so if I think of anything more to add, I'll post another of these with amendments, additions, etc.
This will be a very long post, so I'm splitting it up into two parts: Tips for Choosing Dramas and Actors That I Like, and Recommendations of Dramas That I Like.

TIPS FOR CHOOSING DRAMAS:

1. Figure out which genre you like: Comedy, Romance, Horror, etc., and search for dramas that are under that genre. You probably won't like everything you find, but don't give up! There's a good chance you will like something in that genre.

2. Find an actor that you like. Be warned, though: THIS IS NOT FOOL PROOF. Seriously. This does not work all the time. My favorite actor is Seto Koji, (I may have mentioned this once or twice) and I like MOST of the dramas and movies he's been in. Not all. MOST. Often, this is a good way just to find new dramas, no guarantee if you will like them or not, but if you want to find a new one, this is an alright way to go about it. Sometimes certain actors will act in very similar dramas (typecasting) so if you liked one drama they were in, you'll probably like the rest of them. But sometimes, some actors act in a huge variety of dramas, which is good if you like variety, but bad if you like the same thing. I've used this method quite a lot and it works some of the time, and other times, it sucks. It's kinda hit-or-miss.

3. If you go to any drama websites (links at bottom of post) they usually have recommendations and new dramas that are out. These are always great options. The list of new dramas is, once again, kind of hit-or-miss, but the recommended dramas are usually good.

4. Talk to people! Word of mouth is a great way to find out about new dramas or movies. Friends are a great source, since lots of times your friend has the same or similar taste as you. Even if you have opposite tastes (i.e., they like horror, you like RomComs) they may recommend something you like, you might recommend something they like. Share the love!

4.5. Forums. This kinda goes with the above one--talking to people. Personally, I've never really been into forums, but they are great places to get recommendations, to talk about dramas you're watching now, to rant because OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT HAPPENED!!!11!!1!, or just to connect with other people who have the same hobby.

That's all I can think of for tips as of right now... I'll put up more next time if I think of any! :)

ACTORS THAT I LIKE:

First off, since this list is shorter than the drama list, I'll put my list of actors. Order is not from best to worst or favorite to least favorite, it's just alphabetical. They're all great! :)

Horikita Maki- one of the few female actors that I really like. She is SO PRETTY, and she's got pretty strong characters. She acts in a wide range of dramas and movies, mostly dramatic pieces to my knowledge, and is pretty enjoyable to watch.

Kim Jae Wook- My current crush. :) He is HAWT. Oh, and he's a good actor. Heeheehee. He is the only Korean actor on my list, but he speaks Japanese because he lived there for...7 years, I think? He was SO lovable (in a manly way) in Coffee Prince (KOR) and he was SO PERFECT in Antique Bakery (KOR), which is the show that made me fall in love with him. :) And he's not gay! I have a chance.... ;)

Matsumoto Jun- This guy gets a lot of hype because he's super OMG hawtness, but personally I think he's a bit arrogant in his acting. He is attractive, though, and he's definitely not a bad actor, so go ahead and check him out.

Mizushima Hiro- Hiro was my first HUGE crush on a Japanese actor...(Look him up! His EYES...-faints-)...but then he got secretly married to the singer Ayaka, and my fandom kinda faded away. I couldn't even hate her for it....she is a really good singer, and she's got Graves Disease, so she's got sympathy points.....ANYWAY. Hiro is a pretty good actor, really awkward sometimes, but really, really, cute. His dramas are kind of hit-or-miss, some being really good and some being really, horrendously bad. :/ Go ahead and check him out!

Mukai Osamu- ...is a hottie. :) That's pretty much it. He's a pretty good actor. He was adorable in Atashinchi no Danshi. Oh, by the way, I don't know if I mentioned...HE'S HOT. :) He's also a good cook, so he's been in a few cooking dramas.

Oguri Shun- Awesome actor, but I really haven't seen too much of his work. He's been amazing in everything I've seen so far, though, so definitely check him out. He's also been moving into directing lately, so if you follow directors, check him out.

Okada Yoshinori- Amazing actor. Very versatile. He's pretty much played every kind of character, and played it perfectly. (My blurbs are getting shorter and shorter...sorry! I just hate repeating myself and they're all pretty much awesome actors, which is why I like them so much.)

Seto Koji- LOVE

Yamamoto Yusuke- Once again, kind of arrogant in his acting, but he's really become popular lately, and he's been in quite a few dramatics and comedies of various quality. He really does put a lot of himself into his characters, and (even though he's kind of arrogant now that he's popular) he is a relatively honest actor and is pretty enjoyable to watch.

That's all for the actors that I like! Or if I don't like them, at least they're popular and worth checking out. Please keep in mind that these are MY OPINIONS on the actors. I'm not trying to personally offend you or anyone who likes them, and I'm not saying they're BAD actors, I'm just giving my take on them from my point of view as an avid drama-watcher/ex-theater student. Check them out! If you don't like them, that's totally fine, I won't take offense, I promise. ;)

Links for drama websites:
www.dramacrazy.net
www.mysoju.com
www.dramafever.com (kinda glitchy)
If these don't work or don't have the dramas that you want to watch, try looking on
www.veoh.com
www.youtube.com

Tomfoolish Terms and Tasteful Tumbling

WHOA. That has got to be the hardest alliteration that I've ever come up with. There are no good words that start with 'T'! :P

I really just wanted to talk about Tumbling (タンブリング), but I really did make up a stupid word today. It was 'conspirating'. I was trying to say 'conspiring'. Yeah, embarrassing.

SO ANYWAY. Back to Tumbling! :D
Tumbling (or タンブリング) is a new Japanese drama I'm watching (which is why I keep writing it in katakana) and it's about a men's rhythmic gymnastics team. I know what you're thinking: GAY. Well, yes. At least, one of them is. But it's really not that bad...
...
...okay, it is that bad. It's worse. It's pretty terrible. It has every single cliche of a sports-related all-male-cast drama. WAY too much testosterone, lots of shouting, fighting and crying, and the one, perfect-but-not main character that somehow makes every problem disappear or be okay. But there's a lot of GREAT actors in it, almost everyone in this drama is attractive (especially the boys :9) and it's oddly addictive once you get past the first few episodes.

So here's the general synopsis:
There's this main-character ruffian type (played by Yamamoto Yusuke) named Wataru. He's arrogant, likes to fight a lot, and he's kinda really stupid. Some dramas are cast just so perfectly, am I right? So anyway, Wataru is this stereotypical yankee (a lot of people translate 'yankee' as 'gangster' but it's not--a japanese 'gangster' would be a part of the yakuza. Yankees are just ruffians who behave something like American 'gangstas' and may be a part of a gang, but are not yakuza) who spends his days fighting huge, choreographed battles with other gangs alongside his side-kicks: the blonde playboy and the young goofball. He is going happily through his life being rebellious, with his red hair--scandalous!--and his M.C. Hammer pants. Then, all of a sudden, there's a stereotypically really pretty and super-sweet new student who transfers into his class! So he obviously instantly falls in love with her (this is Mari-chan, by the way) and of course she is completely oblivious to his feelings and the fact that his personality goes through a complete 360 when talking to her, as opposed to when he talks to (read as: "threatens") other people. So he quietly and comedically pines for her for a while, until we find out that Oh My Good-Golly-Gosh! Our dear hero Wataru is missing a few credits from his 2nd year in high school, which can of course be fixed by joining a club.
OH BY THE WAY, while all of this is going on with Wataru, we've also been watching the comedic patheticness of the school's Men's Rhythmic Gymnastics Team, which JUST SO HAPPENS TO BE A CLUB. OH, I WONDER HOW THAT WILL TIE IN WITH THIS STORY? So to summarize their situation: the captain of the team, Yuuta (played by Seto Koji *LOVE*) is desperately trying to get together a sufficient Men's Rhythmic Gymnastics Team so that they can enter a team competition, which has stereotypically been his dream since childhood. They have had to go through lots of hardships: they don't get very much funding, they kind of suck, they have a bumbling comic relief on their team, they wear the gayest costumes imaginable, they have to live in the shadow of the effing gigantic and way-super-cool, award-winning Girl's Rhythmic Gymnastic Team, and they don't have a noisy red-haired guy to yell at them until things go oh-so-conveniently right.
Gosh, I wonder how this is going to play out.
So, after Wataru goes comedically through every single club on campus, ending up fighting in every single one, he winds up watching Hino (played by Nishi from AAA) who is the only one who is actually really talented on the whole Men's Rhythmic Gymnastics Team, do his routine and is really impressed by it, despite the fact that it is probably the gayest thing I've ever seen in my life. Seriously, the ending pose? Come on, now. He might as well print the word 'HOMOSEXUAL' on his leotard. Anyway, Mari-chan (remember her? Don't worry, I forget about her all the time, too) also was watching Hino do his routine and was also very impressed by it, and says that guys look really cool when they do gymnastics. Conveniently, at the same time, the rest of the Men's Rhythmic Gymnastics team walks into the gym. Just in time for Wataru to make a huge, noisy scene, and to join the team. Yaaaaaay. Wasn't expecting that!

Overall, it's kind of a ridiculous drama. Everything is INSANELY over-dramatic--someone cries in every single episode, somebody gets in a fight, and there is some huge 'We accept you for who you are!' after-school-special moment in EVERY SINGLE EPISODE.

But it's strangely addicting. The first episode was really hard to get through, first because it was a really long starter episode, and second because it was so ridiculous, but after that all the episodes have been pretty okay. I really loved Episode 5, because I WAS EXPECTING THAT and this guy always plays the gay character.
OH NOES, SPOILERS!!! Come on. It's a Men's Gymnastics team. I'm sure you were expecting SOMEONE to swing another way, too.
But I won't spoil anything else for you--you'll have to watch it! Get through the first episode, and it's bearable, trust me.

So there you have it! My review of the new drama Tumbling! I hope you think it's as charmingly ridiculous as I do. Now, off to be productive! :D (I wish)

<3miso>