Is it really already March?
I can't believe it's already March 4th! Wow!
I'm in pain from bad cramps, so I've been usless the past few days (it's always that way at the begining of my cycle... TMI, I know) other than to sit like a lump on a log in front of my laptop. But before that I'd been feeling pretty good. I got a new interspring futon mattress that's really comfy, so I'm sleeping well, and I've started on a new vitamin and diet. So, a good night's sleep, vitamins, and a good diet seems to be making a difference. Yay! Then my cycle hits and I end up unable to sleep, I was awake for almost 40 hours straight with only a two and a half hour nap to keep me going, and I'm eating anyting in sight that looks good *LOL* At least I had a week of good health.
Luckily I've got a long weekend. I normally have three days off (today is the middle of those three) and I took a vacation day off on Friday so that I could go see "Watchmen". Yay! In fact, double yay! I can't wait.
I know that many of you won't believe me, but I spent several hours last night laying awake watching a weird white mist/shape hover around my ceiling, disapearing and reapearing every so often. Freaked me and the cats out. I swear, there's something in our apartment. And this might be doubly true soon. I've been looking at auctions for haunted/possesed dolls and items on eBay lately. I know that 99% of them are probably a hoax, but I've alwyas been sensitive to such things, so maybe I'll find a real one. It's something that's interested me lately, expanding on my natural gifts and exploring the occult/supernatural. I used to be big into such things when I was younger, but I've kind of gotten caught up in more material pursuits in recent years. Same thing with my faith. I'm Pagan. Always have been. But I was very into my spirituality when I was in highschool and college, but not so much lately. I've always known that the Goddess loves me, that she is aware of my feelings as well, so I haven't felt the need to express my faith as much as I might once have. I have an urge to get back into such things lately though.
Actually, I've gotten the urge to get into a lot of things lately. I started looking for drawing lessons this week. I gave up on my artistic abilities (or lack there of) a few years back when I wasn't getting much in the way of results. But last night I drew a tree frog that... surprise surprise... acutally looked like a frog!
Looks just like a frog, right? It's incouraged me to keep going. I've also decided to work harder on learning a foreign language. I took French in highschool and college, and have been trying to teach myself Japanese for years. None of it has worked out so far. But I downloaded Rosetta Stone last week and my French lessons have been going pretty well. Seems like I learned more than I'd realized back in school. Makes me want to go back to the University of Dayton and tell my prof (who told me once that "it's for the best" if I didn't take her next class) that she was wrong. At least, a little wrong, anyway. Odd thing is, I tried the Greek lessons and I got 100% correct for the first five lessons. I didn't even know what Greek was supposed to sound like before clicking on the lessons. Weird.
So, I'm going to spend some time working on me I think. My writing, some sketching, language lessons, and spiritual development. Sounds like a good plan, no? should be fun.
Now, on to my regular monthly book recs:
As usual, bolded titles are highly reccomended. The hearts are out of a possible score of 5.
"Winter Demon" volume 3 by Yamila Abraham and Le Peruggine ♥ ♥ ♥ 1/2
This series is from YaoiPress, which does mostly US/non-Japanese boy's love manga. This series is about a monk who falls for the demon who once raped him, reforming the demon in the process. The art is decent, and the story is sweet and sometimes funny, if a little unoriginal. The characters are likable too, and I don't just mean the main characters, because a very interesting incubus is introduced back in a short story in volume 2 (I think) and his story is continued throught the series as well.
The volumes in this series aren't all that long, and it's a decent read, so I'd reccomend this manga to the yaoi fans on my FList. Be warned though, there's lots of expicit sex, so don't leave them laying around on your desk at work *LOL* Or do, if you're looking to shock your boss. It's your call.
"Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth" by Simon R. Green ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
This is book 6 of the Nightside series. I love this series. It's one of the most original universes that I've seen created, the writing is well paced and well written, the main character is likable and the secondary characters are every bit as interesting as the protagonist, the books are dark but filled with a biting humor, and the story in each book is interesting.
If you're not familiar with this series it's about a world within a world. A secret city in the heart of London where it's always night and a person's darkest desire is always for sale, usually at a very high price. The main character of the series is John Taylor, a man who has a gift that inables him to find anything, and throughout the series he's been seraching for the truth behind the mystery of his birth mother.
In the previous book John finally found his mother, who is in fact Lilith, the mother of all demons as well as the creator of the Nightside. This book picks up moments after the end of the last book, and deals with Lilith's attempts to wipe out the Nightside so that she can remake it in her original image.
Definately worth a read. I can not tell you how much I love this series. I love reading these books! Give them a try if you're into dark fantasy.
"Torchwood: Something in the Water" by Trevor Baxendale ♥ ♥ ♥
This is book 4 in the series of books about the BBC tv show, "Torchwood". I don't think there's anyone on my FList who don't know what Torchwood is, so I'll skip the intro.
There's a water hag, a mysterious disese that's making everyone in Cardiff sick, and there might be an alien invasion. Just another day under the rift for Torchwood.
This book was pretty good. I'll take an episode of the series over a book any day, but this one worked. TW fans should probably give it a go.
"Vassalord" Volume 1 by Nanae Chrono ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
This is from the same person who crated "Peacemaker". This time it's about vampires, one of which works for the Vatican. It's not technically boy's love, but damn if it isn't close. There's a lot of unnecessary touching, biting, flirting between the main characters, so it'll appeal to the yaoi fans on my FList. The art is beautiful, the story is good, and I fell in love with the two main characters right away. A great read. Give it a try.
"White Guardian" by Duo Brand ♥ ♥ ♥
Another yaoi manga. This one about a prince who's determined to reform his country, and the handsome captain of the guard that is always at his side. Pretty art, mostly forgettable story.
"Tricky Prince" by Yukari Hashida ♥ ♥ ♥
Yet another yaoi manga. This time about a handsome prince (damn, it was a theme for me this month I guess) who attends a "regular" college and falls for a nerd that he meets there. Not as racy as it could have been, unfortunately, but the prince had such a warped sense of humor that it made the book worth it. The art was really pretty too. Read it, don't read it, doesn't matter.
"The Restaurant at the End of the Univerise" by Douglas Adams ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 1/2
This is book 2 in the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series of sci-fi/comedy books. Oh how I love this series! Funny and fun, wonderfully written, there's a reason that these books are classics. Anyone who hasn't read them should. Now! They're worth it.
"Winter Demon" Volume 4 by Yamila Abraham and Rhea Silvan ♥ ♥ ♥
The final volume in this series. It was cute, and had the payoff that the first three promissed, but it actually wasn't the best of the series. It pretty much just felt like it was done to finish off lose ends, but not as much effort was put into it as with the previous three. The art didn't even seem as good. Overall, it was a cute series, but this book could have been better.
I'm in pain from bad cramps, so I've been usless the past few days (it's always that way at the begining of my cycle... TMI, I know) other than to sit like a lump on a log in front of my laptop. But before that I'd been feeling pretty good. I got a new interspring futon mattress that's really comfy, so I'm sleeping well, and I've started on a new vitamin and diet. So, a good night's sleep, vitamins, and a good diet seems to be making a difference. Yay! Then my cycle hits and I end up unable to sleep, I was awake for almost 40 hours straight with only a two and a half hour nap to keep me going, and I'm eating anyting in sight that looks good *LOL* At least I had a week of good health.
Luckily I've got a long weekend. I normally have three days off (today is the middle of those three) and I took a vacation day off on Friday so that I could go see "Watchmen". Yay! In fact, double yay! I can't wait.
I know that many of you won't believe me, but I spent several hours last night laying awake watching a weird white mist/shape hover around my ceiling, disapearing and reapearing every so often. Freaked me and the cats out. I swear, there's something in our apartment. And this might be doubly true soon. I've been looking at auctions for haunted/possesed dolls and items on eBay lately. I know that 99% of them are probably a hoax, but I've alwyas been sensitive to such things, so maybe I'll find a real one. It's something that's interested me lately, expanding on my natural gifts and exploring the occult/supernatural. I used to be big into such things when I was younger, but I've kind of gotten caught up in more material pursuits in recent years. Same thing with my faith. I'm Pagan. Always have been. But I was very into my spirituality when I was in highschool and college, but not so much lately. I've always known that the Goddess loves me, that she is aware of my feelings as well, so I haven't felt the need to express my faith as much as I might once have. I have an urge to get back into such things lately though.
Actually, I've gotten the urge to get into a lot of things lately. I started looking for drawing lessons this week. I gave up on my artistic abilities (or lack there of) a few years back when I wasn't getting much in the way of results. But last night I drew a tree frog that... surprise surprise... acutally looked like a frog!
Looks just like a frog, right? It's incouraged me to keep going. I've also decided to work harder on learning a foreign language. I took French in highschool and college, and have been trying to teach myself Japanese for years. None of it has worked out so far. But I downloaded Rosetta Stone last week and my French lessons have been going pretty well. Seems like I learned more than I'd realized back in school. Makes me want to go back to the University of Dayton and tell my prof (who told me once that "it's for the best" if I didn't take her next class) that she was wrong. At least, a little wrong, anyway. Odd thing is, I tried the Greek lessons and I got 100% correct for the first five lessons. I didn't even know what Greek was supposed to sound like before clicking on the lessons. Weird.
So, I'm going to spend some time working on me I think. My writing, some sketching, language lessons, and spiritual development. Sounds like a good plan, no? should be fun.
Now, on to my regular monthly book recs:
As usual, bolded titles are highly reccomended. The hearts are out of a possible score of 5.
"Winter Demon" volume 3 by Yamila Abraham and Le Peruggine ♥ ♥ ♥ 1/2
This series is from YaoiPress, which does mostly US/non-Japanese boy's love manga. This series is about a monk who falls for the demon who once raped him, reforming the demon in the process. The art is decent, and the story is sweet and sometimes funny, if a little unoriginal. The characters are likable too, and I don't just mean the main characters, because a very interesting incubus is introduced back in a short story in volume 2 (I think) and his story is continued throught the series as well.
The volumes in this series aren't all that long, and it's a decent read, so I'd reccomend this manga to the yaoi fans on my FList. Be warned though, there's lots of expicit sex, so don't leave them laying around on your desk at work *LOL* Or do, if you're looking to shock your boss. It's your call.
"Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth" by Simon R. Green ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
This is book 6 of the Nightside series. I love this series. It's one of the most original universes that I've seen created, the writing is well paced and well written, the main character is likable and the secondary characters are every bit as interesting as the protagonist, the books are dark but filled with a biting humor, and the story in each book is interesting.
If you're not familiar with this series it's about a world within a world. A secret city in the heart of London where it's always night and a person's darkest desire is always for sale, usually at a very high price. The main character of the series is John Taylor, a man who has a gift that inables him to find anything, and throughout the series he's been seraching for the truth behind the mystery of his birth mother.
In the previous book John finally found his mother, who is in fact Lilith, the mother of all demons as well as the creator of the Nightside. This book picks up moments after the end of the last book, and deals with Lilith's attempts to wipe out the Nightside so that she can remake it in her original image.
Definately worth a read. I can not tell you how much I love this series. I love reading these books! Give them a try if you're into dark fantasy.
"Torchwood: Something in the Water" by Trevor Baxendale ♥ ♥ ♥
This is book 4 in the series of books about the BBC tv show, "Torchwood". I don't think there's anyone on my FList who don't know what Torchwood is, so I'll skip the intro.
There's a water hag, a mysterious disese that's making everyone in Cardiff sick, and there might be an alien invasion. Just another day under the rift for Torchwood.
This book was pretty good. I'll take an episode of the series over a book any day, but this one worked. TW fans should probably give it a go.
"Vassalord" Volume 1 by Nanae Chrono ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
This is from the same person who crated "Peacemaker". This time it's about vampires, one of which works for the Vatican. It's not technically boy's love, but damn if it isn't close. There's a lot of unnecessary touching, biting, flirting between the main characters, so it'll appeal to the yaoi fans on my FList. The art is beautiful, the story is good, and I fell in love with the two main characters right away. A great read. Give it a try.
"White Guardian" by Duo Brand ♥ ♥ ♥
Another yaoi manga. This one about a prince who's determined to reform his country, and the handsome captain of the guard that is always at his side. Pretty art, mostly forgettable story.
"Tricky Prince" by Yukari Hashida ♥ ♥ ♥
Yet another yaoi manga. This time about a handsome prince (damn, it was a theme for me this month I guess) who attends a "regular" college and falls for a nerd that he meets there. Not as racy as it could have been, unfortunately, but the prince had such a warped sense of humor that it made the book worth it. The art was really pretty too. Read it, don't read it, doesn't matter.
"The Restaurant at the End of the Univerise" by Douglas Adams ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 1/2
This is book 2 in the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series of sci-fi/comedy books. Oh how I love this series! Funny and fun, wonderfully written, there's a reason that these books are classics. Anyone who hasn't read them should. Now! They're worth it.
"Winter Demon" Volume 4 by Yamila Abraham and Rhea Silvan ♥ ♥ ♥
The final volume in this series. It was cute, and had the payoff that the first three promissed, but it actually wasn't the best of the series. It pretty much just felt like it was done to finish off lose ends, but not as much effort was put into it as with the previous three. The art didn't even seem as good. Overall, it was a cute series, but this book could have been better.