Recovery and Departure

[davetheanalyzer]

After 2 months, I’ve finally recovered from my persistent cough. It seems I needed 2 or 3 rounds of prednisone with a cough suppressant in between before it abated. The antibiotics had no effect whatsoever. Judging from meetings with my lung doctor, it appears this prednisone regiment was how my last couple coughing episodes were resolved. At least I restarted my writing routine and got more or less back on schedule. I believe I’ll keep going to bed an hour early though, since I feel much less sleep deprived that way, especially sharing a room with a snoring brother who’s a literal dead weight for a couple hours and shows not much interest in addressing the problem. I’ll start catching up on the missed writing days tomorrow, every Wednesday and every other Tuesday. If and when I catch up, I might consider extending my weekday writing to 4 hours a day, since I desire to be published and if I can, I should be writing more to get to my goal sooner. 

In the meantime, my job search and mentor program are on hold. Unfortunately, my current mentor won’t be returning and during my half year meeting earlier this month, I consented to finding a backup. I wish she was honest she wouldn’t come back when I called her but oh well. Hopefully she has a good life. I got chided for contacting her and won’t do that again. I delayed my DMV appointment again and also my transcribing tests. Like I said before, I’m thinking of working 2 hours with transcribing per day, so I can have some income while concentrating on my writing. Mom has offered to help me learn to drive but I wonder when my new mentor arrives if I could learn to drive with them as well. I’ll see how that shakes up.

Since I was still recovering, I decided to watch Ghost Cat Anzu on HBO Max last week. I made a list of anime and other animated films from other countries and looked for those that had positive reviews. I had no idea what the film was about going in. I found it simple but pretty good. It was adapted from a manga but since it was 1 volume, I decided to see the film version anyway. I knew some cat might be involved but I was unsure when he showed up if he was a magical creature or a guy in a costume. It turns out this is a world where yokai and similar beings are everyday occurrences. Anzu gets pulled over for driving without a license but there’s no way to accommodate him getting 1 as a nonhuman. Karin feels abandoned since her father leaves her to pay back some loan sharks. Her loneliness and listlessness was well-depicted and I can see how 1 in that situation can resist social connections. She puts off Anzu’s attempts to be friendly. I read some critiques of its uneven pacing, but I didn’t mind that since it explored the world and characters, including expanding Anzu’s yokai friend circle and at times Karin’s. I did like Frog and thought he had some romantic chemistry with Anzu. Frog and the other yokai are trusting, since they believe Karin’s story about being abandoned.

I was confused and a bit annoyed Anzu said she was lying, since it isn’t beyond the pale a parent could abandon their child. It seems she wants connections so much she would bend the truth to get them. A individual’s struggle isn’t always pretty. At least Anzu compromised with Karin looking for her father by accompanying her to Tokyo. Even when Karin reunites with a classmate, he doesn’t seem interested in her. Her focus shifts when the God of Poverty attempts to cling to her and she uses him to get to the afterlife to reunite with her dead mother. She brings her back to the living world, leading to Oni chasing them. I did like the yokai defended Karin, even if it didn’t amount to much. Karin seems so lonely she was willing to accompany her mother back to the afterlife and I like her mother pointed out she had much to live for and those who care for her. It’s Anzu’s efforts to help her in the finale that appeared to finally let her warm to him. I do like how they get along at the end, even if I disliked the fart jokes. Karin’s father does come back but by now, she’s grown fond of living with her grandfather and Anzu, so stays with them. There’s visible peeing, fart humor, and a tanuki’s genitals are visible briefly in the finale but if this warm, toony film sounds up your alley, feel free to see it.

That’s all for now. Free Palestine. Stop the war on Iran. May Trump and his ilk fail and all those who enabled him face justice. Until the end of April, see you!