Tapping the sign

Kinokuniya gave me a gift card and it was clearly a trap because now I suddenly have three books (and a pen) despite having finished none of the books I already have.

I can’t think of anything I miss more about Japan than public transit. Trains and busses arrived when they said they would. Here, some days it’s a miracle if they show up at all.

To say nothing of cleanliness.

Today’s ADHD tax took the form of me forgetting my jacket at work…with my house keys in my pocket. Thank god I left spares with a friend.

Ringotan keeps me honest in my studies whether I like it or not. There’s no “close enough” where I can just dismiss a flashcard I didn’t really learn. If I write a character wrong, I’m stuck rewriting it all week until it finally sticks.

(Looking at you 約、機、and 式…)

Prime time for Cat TV!

Doing a museum themed stamp rally for WHA at Denver Fanexpo!
Here's my prize piece, based on Monet's "Bridge over a pond of water lilies" :D
I think it turned out rather nice <3

One of my aikido senpai noticed my beard for the first time today, and it was the most gender-affirming thing that’s ever happened to me in Japanese 🥹

数ヶ月会っていなかった合気道の先輩が、今日初めて僕の髭に気づきました。本当に嬉しかった！

when you're trying to get your cat's attention and you can see their ears swivel and you know they hear you and are just ignoring you

#sciart
Night Sky in Cobalt & Viridian
10”x10” Oil on cradled wood panel

A handwritten list of aikido techniques in Japanese

Off the mat in aikido for a few more days but finally made it back to the dojo. Started off my note-taking with a “motivational” list of everything I have to learn for my next kyu test.

数日はまだ合気道の稽古ができない。でも、今日は道場に戻った。
次の級審査に向けて習得すべき技リストを書きた。

Really happy with how this turned out :D
Excited about the anime <3

#WHA

My first month of undergrad was dedicated to learning hiragana. Sensei was determined to have us drop romaji as quickly as possible. There were snack bribes involved (“you can have a pocky if you can recognize one of the kana on the package”) 😂

A handwritten to-do list in Japanese.

Today’s low-effort study activity: wrote my to-do list in Japanese for the Japanese books I need to finish cataloging.

今日の「ゆる勉強」アクティビティ:日本語本を合集するやることリストを書きました。

It's far too early for me to be awake and start my day without being offered a croissant and a forehead kiss from a brave warrior who has sworn to protect me forever

At the Last Supper Jesus declares that One of you will betray me, four will get book deals.

Happy Easter

Stay tuned to find out if this is the year where I finally give into the annual Easter temptation to write homoerotic Jesus/Judas fanfic.

If I memorized a kanji every time someone started making an app instead of putting in the work to learn the language, I'd be a hell of a lot closer to reading fluently...

I discovered recently that I've been writing 年 wrong for years. Somewhere over the last decade, I mixed up the stroke order. Fixing that error in my brain has been difficult!

As a librarian, it's been so exciting to have more Indigenous authors to recommend, and more books to put on display! I hope the abundance continues!

I look forward to reading in Japanese more once life stops kicking me in the teeth. I’ve got a stack of books waiting for me.

How wonderful, too, that my grandmother’s night nurse and her hairdresser were in attendance as well. Every person who knew her, loved her, and was loved in return.

The bagpiper outside the church was unexpected, but a lovely touch. It was the same piper who played for her on St. Paddy’s Day, which she adored.

My beloved grandmother had eight children, twenty grandchildren, and one great-grandchild, all present to see her off to her final rest on a beautiful sunny morning. It’s hard to imagine a better farewell.

There are many things that get easier the more you do them. Funerals are not one of them.

Cat lying inside a crumpled Taco Bell paper bag with caption above. Transcribed Text: “Gave my boy catnip for the first time last night. He ended up passed out in a Taco Bell bag. Couldn't be more proud.”

Thursday

It is 2026. It shouldn’t be such an unreasonable request to have my preferred name added to my medical records. If your system doesn’t have a field for that, you are out of fucking date.

You need to go do your art or something