Pieces of me

Aye. I haven't written much about me lately. It's been a rough couple of months for me. I feel so....old.

The title of this blog probably fits me the most right now. Midlife crisis? Probably. Most likely. Definitely. No doubt about it.

My life has been rather boring these past few years. No real drama. I guess that would be a blessing. There have been ups-and-downs. Life wouldn't be living if there weren't. But lately, I've felt a piece of me missing. Don't get me wrong. I love my family, my husband, my kids....my life. But I feel that I'm missing something grand. Something yearning deep down in the pit of my heart...just aching to be let loose.

I know that my friends and family think I'm a crazy loon who has totally lost reality. Maybe I have. I didn't just one day say, "Sheree. I think you should start watching Japanese anime." I'm a white, 36-year-old female, middle class, married with 3 kids. How many of those do you know who sit hours at a time watching Japanese cartoons? Not many, if at all.

But lately, well.....I'm 36, damn it! Why should I have to act like one? I feel like I just graduated high school. My body says differently but my heart and brain think otherwise. "I'm 21, really." That's what my heart says. But then I get so depressed when my body contradicts my heart. I'm suffering from aches and pains from yoga and running. My body wants to slow down when my legs want to run. I want to run....fast. I want to run a marathon. I want the body of Madonna. Hell, why can't I? She's 10 years older than me and looks amazing for her age. And is terribly physically fit. I want to be that woman. Not her life. Just to be as creative and active as her.

I don't want to grow up. I rather detest that thought. I don't want to give up my kids or my husband. I actually savor that reality. But why does my body not want to agree? It pains me figuratively and literally.

So I sit at my computer. I write these thoughts down. What is that piece of me that is missing? I delve into the world of Japanese literature, anime, and television. I love it. I've come to discover that as an American, we are too naive in our way of thinking. We believe we are the best and no other country can compare. But are we? We shun other countries but say we will help them if they need help. In Japanese culture, the old are respected, nurtured, cared for, taken care of by their children and grand children. Love is an all encompassing thing. We Americans abuse it and squander it like it was a soiled paper towel ready to be thrown away. Love is a beautiful thing. How do the Japanese make love sound so beautiful? Look so beautiful? Smell so beautiful? Then I realize that one day I will go to Japan...to experience something. Take my family and to surround ourselves in sakura (cherry blossoms), ramen, ride a bullet train, and to listen and to feel the beauty that is Japan.

Is that my missing piece? To travel to this place that has gripped my heart with one hand and has tugged me ever since. Can this wonderful place bring my body and soul back together? Can joy come of it? This is my wish...one day. Even if it was for a day...just one day.

I want to run. I want to be young. I want so many things. The pain that grips the nerve of my left leg and glute makes me realize that I can't go backwards. I must move forward. You are only as young as you want to be. I won't let my body think it's time for early retirement. I want to be........as young as I want to be.

I know this is a bunch of misdirected rambling and pish-posh. No directive, no order. But that is just a piece of me...........

Hero/Heroine

Boys Like Girls~another good band. Another song that makes me feel good. Another song that makes me remember how it felt to be in high school, first love all over again. It makes me smile....alot.

Nodame Cantabile

Yeah, this is a first for me. I'm doing a review on a Japanese live action drama BASED on an actual anime/manga named Nodame Cantabile.

I know many of you think I'm a nut, freak, fanatic, possible loon when it's comes to the Japanese art form. LOL! I'd have to agree if it wasn't me.

This series caught my eye after watching the anime itself. For a first time female viewer of anime, this should be the one to watch! It's funny, entertaining, and heartwarming. You find yourself routing for Nodame and begging Chiaki-senpai to not give up on her. And it's wonderful because it has wonderful classical orchestra music. If you don't believe me, ask Eric. My 13 year old heard me watching it...walked over and watched it online with me. He became as hooked as I was.

If subtitles don't bother you, please watch it. It's a great experience to try new things and learn about another culture. This one anime is a sure thing. After watching the anime series, go to the live action series which follows the anime to a "T". You'll fall in love with Tamaki Hiroshi who plays the character of Chiaki Shinichi.

After watching the series, I found myself hunting movies with Tamaki Hiroshi (in Japan, the surname is first). Eric and I found WaterBoys. Loved it. That will be another review in and by itself...LOL!

Your Guardian Angel

This song is from a band called The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. Everytime I hear this, I get this tight feeling in my chest and it's so terribly hard not to tear up. This is LOVE. The kind that makes you believe in all things, we all wish for, the kind we all want, and reminds of us that first kind of young love.

The End.

It was a good game till the end.

But I will say this.....the officiating was atrocious!

Romo don't give up your heart was there...the officials were idiots.

Barber you're a babe.

T.O. kicks butt.

Ware more power to you.

Witten can't get any better than he already is.....because he's the best.

The Texas girl's heart goes out to all the fellow die-hard fans like me and to the players who didn't give up......

Spelling Bee..........a pet peeve.

Okay people. If you are going to blog or post or write a book, check your spelling. I can't stand it, having to read elementary school mistakes that an adult should know better.

Now, I understand typos. I understand missing letters (from a typo). But an all out spelling error makes my teeth ache and eyes bleed. Yes, the English language can be complicated but it's not overly hard. You've been speaking it (most of us born in an English speaking nation) since you learned to say "mama", "dada", or "dog".

There is this thing called a d.i.c.t.i.o.n.a.r.y. Use it. Hell, use the spell check on your computer. If you don't have spell check...get it! Geez!

Here are a few words that I've noticed that I see lots of people using improperly or misspelled.

Sense, Since, Scents-it's not spelled scence (not a word), sence (means "temple" in slovenian), scense (not a word). Sense-Any of the faculties, as sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch, by which humans and animals perceive stimuli originating from outside or inside the body. Since-From then till now. Scents-A distinctive, often agreeable odor. See synonyms fragrance, smell.

Their, There, They're-are the most commonly used words I've seen abused. Their-A form of the possessive case of they used as an attributive adjective, before a noun: their home; their rights as citizens; their departure for Rome.
There-In or at that place (opposed to here): She is there now; At that point in an action, speech, etc.: He stopped there for applause. They're-They are. Duh.

Mabey-no,no,no! It's maybe. Geez!

Oh, there are other words that I could name but I haven't got the time or the patience.

I don't mind slang words like "ain't". As long as they are spelled correctly. Come on. Sometimes I wonder how people graduated from school. Now I understand why the state of Texas is as hard as they are on these stupid tests. If my sons or daughter graduated from school and couldn't spell a seemingly simple word......I'd die from humiliation. Now I'm not expecting perfection for complex words that even Bill Gates couldn't spell...just simple every day to day words used often in sentences.

If you can spell onomatopoeia without using the dictionary....kudos to you!

Circa 1993

Sheree.....a long, long, long time ago!

Prince of Tennis

The series is primarily set in Tokyo. Ryoma Echizen, a tennis prodigy, attends Seishun Academy (青春学園, Seishun Gakuen?), or Seigaku (青学) for short, a private school famous for its strong tennis club and talented players. Ryoma quickly defeats numerous upperclassmen shortly after entrance to secure himself a spot on the regulars team. In pursuit of their ultimate goal of winning the all-Japan junior high tennis championship, members of the team make new friends while learning and mastering increasingly complex techniques.



Background
Ryoma is a first year student at Seishun Gakuen Academy ('Seigaku' for short), which he attends immediately after his arrival in Japan after formerly residing in the United States. Although only a first year in middle school, Ryoma had already earned notoriety through winning four consecutive titles in the American Junior Tennis tournaments – all in a little over a year. Due to his nearly invincible tennis play, Ryoma has earned the label 'prodigy' by the age of twelve. His looks and confidence make him highly popular with ladies, although he seems not to notice, having his focus exclusively on tennis.

He is an all-court tennis player with many special shots and abilities. One of Ryoma's greatest talents is his ability to learn new techniques after only seeing them performed a few times. He also has an amazing amount of stamina and does not sweat as much as the other players. Along with fellow Seigaku regular Eiji Kikumaru, Ryoma is known to have an exceptional talent for seeing moving objects. He does not go easy on himself and pushes himself more, rather than letting himself rest.

Although he is left-handed, his famous Twist Serve is only effective when delivered from the dominant hand of his opponents (i.e. he uses his right hand when serving against right handed players). He occasionally plays tennis with his right hand as either a handicap for weaker opponents or a way to test his opponent's abilities. When the need for returning at a difficult angle or distance arises, Ryoma also incorporates the use of "nitōryū", or ambidexterity.

Ryoma also demonstrates prowess in other sports, such as bowling, table tennis, and billiards. His abilities in beach volleyball, however, may be questioned.; when the Seigaku students go to the beach during the anime series, Ryoma plays well when paired with Kaidoh. However, he plays quite poorly in the OVA when paired with Tezuka, so much as to be taunted by the other Seigaku students and Rokkaku Chuu students alike by having his "Mada mada dane" returned with "Omae danna!", which translates roughly into "You do!" In the same event in the manga, Ryoma, paired with Rokkaku's Kentaro Aoi, plays decently only after activating Muga no Kyōchi.

His favorite subject is Science, though he is better at English because he was in America for three years, which his classmates admire him for.

His catchphrase in the Japanese anime is "mada mada dane," literally meaning "no, not yet" or "not good enough." In the Prince of Tennis English dub, this is translated as "You still have a ways to go." Having been brought up in the United States, Ryoma is fluent in English, and in the manga and the match with Sanada in the anime, he says "You still have lots more to work on" in English.

In the Prince of Tennis movie Futari no Samurai, Ryoma supposedly has an older brother named Ryoga Echizen, but the latter is later revealed to simply be a child that Nanjiro took in a few years ago.


Personality
Ryoma can be quite cocky and arrogant at times, but is always able to back up his statements with his tennis skills. He is usually distrustful of other tennis players, and Ryoma often provokes his opponent before a match. In the beginning of the series, Ryoma is not taken seriously by the other students at his school, especially at the Seigaku tennis club. It is only after he beats two of Seigaku's regulars (Kaoru Kaido and Sadaharu Inui) that he gains respect from fellow club members.

Ryoma is quiet by nature, but always stands up for himself and others, even if it involves confronting an upperclassman. He is unafraid almost to the point of recklessness, but rarely gets angry or out of control. Most of the time, he is serious, quiet, and not talkative. In the TeniPuri Family chibi episodes, Ryoma is the oldest son of the family and always gets into all sorts of mischief.

At the beginning of the series, all of Ryoma's tennis skills are a copy of his father's. With the help of his team captain, Kunimitsu Tezuka, Ryoma realizes his need to develop his own style of tennis if he intends to reach his goal and defeat his father. The kanji that make up Ryoma's family name, Echizen, fits well, as "越" means "to surpass" and "前" means "the above".

With each match, it becomes apparent that Ryoma not only brings his potential to the front, but that he is constantly reaching a new point in the state of self-actualization – especially so during crucial points in a match. Although he views each opponent as a stepping stone of advancement, Tezuka soon becomes the wall that Ryoma has set up for himself in order to achieve actual greatness.

Although Ryoma has a rather tunneled vision as to whom he considers a rival (Tezuka and his father), there are many that view the first year as just that. One of the more notable examples of this in the anime is Kevin Smith, the son of the tennis coach George Smith, who was defeated by Nanjiro Echizen in defense of George's pupil Rinko Takeuchi, who becomes Ryoma's mother, fifteen years ago. Kevin appears later in the series in the "friendly" match between the U.S. and Japan. Kevin became obsessed with wanting to play Ryoma because of their pasts, whereas in the beginning Ryoma regarded Kevin's threats with a rather unconcerned attitude until he saw him play against Yamabuki's Jin Akutsu in the streets. Tezuka was unimpressed with Ryoma's attitude toward the matches, and as a result, Ryoma was forced to earn his place as a reserve player.

Sakuno Ryuzaki, Ryoma's friend and coach Sumire Ryuzaki's granddaughter, has a crush on him, but because he is so aloof and she is so shy, he does not recognize her feelings for him and treats her much the same as he treats the other freshmen students. However, in the manga, Ryoma shows signs of jealousy after Sakuno befriends Shitenhōji's Kintarō Tooyama. A running-gag in the anime was Ryoma often commenting on her tennis form by telling Sakuno that her arms are too bent, her knees are to stretched and her hair is too long.

2007....rewind.

Reverie. Reflections. Pain. Sorrow. Remorse. Those words summarize this past year in a nutshell.

I did have some good times though. The family and I spent loads of money on vacation and had the time of our life. Discovered the love of the beach and how beautiful life is there. Corpus Christi beckons me back.

My kids suck me in bone dry into the world of Japanese anime. I'm so hooked that I watch a new anime almost immediately after watching another. Naruto will always have my heart and soul. My new fave is Prince of Tennis. I've discovered I can watch the RAWS (anime without subs or dubs) and understand the gist of it. Does this mean I understand Japanese? Mada mada dane (still not yet, eh.) Soon I'll be begging Bobby to ask for a transfer to the far east. Why not. I know we would love it there.

My grandma discovered she had breast cancer the last week of this past year. The doctors have stated that they think they got it all. She will be referred to a specialist this week. I lost my dear cat Ben in the same week. He was 14 years old. Smokey, my oldest of the cats, has definitely noticed him missing. He seems very lonely, I think.

This year, we hope for no more pet deaths. No more family sicknesses of the severe kind. I hope for new seasons of my favorite animes. I hope for a new home. I hope that my kids have an easier school year. I hope that this year, that all goes smoothly and is less of a stress of the last month of this past year.

I hope to have no back pain. I hope to lose my last few pounds. I hope to be financially stable. I hope for nothing to break down. I hope........well, I just hope for the best.