(no subject)

( Brain Quiz )

Updates, Updates

Even though my first vein blew after the initial tube of blood was drawn, and my body did it's usual panic attack, I handled the second draw smashingly, hopped out of the doctor's office after a few deep breathing exercises, and walked home with a quick stop at Ballard Market. The organic strawberries there are delectable today, so if you get the chance, swing buy and pick up a couple of pounds. I nearly ate the whole thing because each strawberry was naturally sweet and the flesh gave way as though biting into a lover's lip. *purrs* After a tuna, tortilla chip, salsa, pickle, and strawberry lunch (not all at once, of course), with the apartment all to myself, I danced topless in the living room to some Heart, and stretched out cat-like on my bed to finish reading the last two chapters and epilogue of Gridlinked; I even managed fifty minutes for a rest. Despite the earlier panic, I felt fabulous, and I was very proud of myself for not turning and running, for not fighting. I whimpered a few times, but considering how hard I've fought nurses before on blood draws and the like, I'm finding there is much I handle better than I used to. In a few minutes Isaac will be walking through the door, and I'll need to take him with me to pick up Ana, just as I did yesterday--Jennifer is working late at one of her translating assignments again.

Kalinda is in the capable hands of jodawi who stopped by last night to check her out, and is currently backing up all her data. (Thank you, thank you, thank you.) He suggested he'd take her out later to a diagnostician who can figure out what is causing the shut downs from before, and what might need to be fixed or replaced to get her back to her usual self. At least nothing is lost, and I may be able to borrow a laptop from said savior for a short time, so that I can at least work a bit on my writing projects. Only four months left before my mother's deadline, and imminent withholding of birthday presents.

This morning, I asked Ana what it said on her pin, and she actually sounded out the letters enough to figure out it was her own name! *bounces* I'm so excited for her.

Much love to all and be well!

Blog Questions & Japanese Language

Ok, I've got an idea to make Think Kink even easier for me to update and utilize, AND make it easier for readers to use as a resource. The problem is, I don't know how to implement these ideas (and until Kalinda is fixed, I have no means to implement them, ha!). You see, I was thinking if I did it in the form of a blog, it might actually have some better merit for my casual style and to gain readership. I stumbled across Accidental Hedonist (a name I wish I had come up with for my own) while looking for info about this year's Ballard Seafood Fest. Not only did I love the concept for it (and the resources), but I also liked the look and feel of the layout. The problem is that I have absolutely no notion, not even a foundation of knowledge for how to format and run a blog that doesn't already come from a fixed platform. How does one create a blog with its own name, layout, and look so that the blogger can update it with ease, the link for the entry get added to some archival calendar, etc., etc.? Are there web sites or books that explain how to begin such a project? Does someone have platform models I could use like shareware to adjust to my needs? I really have no idea how these people go about creating these beautiful blogs. Hence why I rely so heavily on LJ (of course, the communities, networks, and friend pages help to give me a constant digest of daily socialization and information, but there are many limitations to using this form when trying to create something usable for Think Kink).

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Since Ana seems so eager to learn what I have to teach her, to absorb this knowledge I offer her sponge-like and thirsty, I talked with her about languages. I laid before her four languages that are pertinent to her family life and/or daily life that she could choose from to be her first language: French (because it was the first one I learned besides English, and we have French roots), Spanish (since Isaac and Jennifer speak it frequently already, and many public schools teach this first), Japanese (because of Reiko *and* Ana's future job market), and German (because of Mom/Steph and our visits to Germany and our German heritage). She chose Japanese, but with the understanding that we needed to focus on German for at least three months prior to our next visit to her Nana and Nopa. She agreed to this, so I called my father up tonight to ask that he and Reiko compile some suggestions for phonics-based (I can't decipher kanji yet) Japanese children's books and language tapes or songs. They agreed to do this, and we also had a rather pleasant conversation. I also got a heads up on when to expect their next visit (thank the gods). I liked the sound of astonishment he made when I mentioned how many books I'm reading a month. I think his jaw hit the floor. *wicked smirk* Anyway, he also mentioned that my young cousin Charlie, who is probably in his sophomore year in high school (or will be soon), already has two years of Japanese under his belt, and I know that Rosemary is aching to have him do something responsible like babysit Ana (she mentioned she'd gladly loan him out sometime to her). Since Ana LOVES Charlie, and he could use some additional responsibilities (according to his mother, being the baby of the boys in our family has gone to his head), I think I'll tap that resource as a Japanese tutor for Ana after she's progressed a little. *second wicked smirk*

As a side note to my mother: since I insist she learns German, too, if you and Stephan could recommend songs, videos, and books that she might be able to use to learn German, I'll take a look and see what's at my library. I've already put some on my reader's list that are sound recordings and children's books in German. She can wait to learn her beloved Mandarin in third or fourth grade when I might have money give her the additional incentive of visiting China for New Year's festival as her reward for studying the language.

For now, though, the three is enough: English, Japanese, and German. It makes the best sense considering her current family life. I'm just still so proud of her--she added carrots and subtracted them for me today, AND she read her name phoenetically for me even though she didn't know it was her name when first I showed it to her. She's on her way to reading! *bounces*