The End to a Pretty Sweet Week

Hello readers,

 Hope things are good for you wherever you're sitting right now. I just got done my first week of full-time upgraded teaching (from part time) and it's very nice to finally be on a set schedule that isn't changing every time I turn around. Of course, things have been pretty tough financially for us up until now, but I'm happy we stuck through it because now that Brian and I are both teaching we hope to get ourselves back on our feet.

 Being broke can have its advantages when you have high speed internet. I've been spending a fair amount of time stretching and doing yoga, learning more Japanese and wasting a buttload of time surfing some interesting sites on the internet. Well, I suppose it's not really a waste if you feel like you're getting something valuable out of it. I mean, I seriously reduced my facebook time in an effort to try to stay on facebook less than ten minutes a day (seriously, I need to achieve this because I'm becoming addicted.) To be fair, facebook is my only connection to friends back in the US right now (plus those that have skype) so I do spend a lot of time on there, but do I REALLY need to be spending more than an hour? Absolutely not. I might as well begin grafting my brain into a laptop because I am seriously concerned with how much time I can spend on the internet sometimes...

 Thus has begun my effort to try to use the internet more as a research and blogging tool (which I should be doing anyways, sorry readers!) rather than wasting time strolling around on facebook.

 This week I learned some neat things and found some cool gear around the interwebs that I thought I'd share with you. Highlight #1 = They're making Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Words cannot describe how awesome I hope this game is. If you haven't played the 2nd one, you can pick it up as an online download on either PSN (for PS3 users) or XBox Live. I highly recommend it even if fighters aren't your fave. Here's the trailer for those interested:



The first is googling "What's the longest running anime series of all time?" Believe it or not, I was acutally guessing the Dragon Ball series' to be the top contender for this, but it was not even close to the winner.

 Doraemon is the story of a robotic cat who travels back in time to help a young school boy. Together they go on adventures and it's been a family favorite in Japan since 1973.

 Anime News Network says, "Doraemon is the top dog of all time, having over 2000 episodes on its resume. Sazae-san comes in a close second with over 1700 episodes, even though the series has been on the air longer (since 1969, versus Doraemon in 1973). Some thirds (though they're hardly close in count) would be Dragon Ball/Z/GT with 500 episodes, Detective Conan with 400, and Pokémon with 400.
The longest running manga title is Kochikame (Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kouenmae Hashutsujo) by Akimoto Osamu and has run for over 110 volumes in Shonen Jump." - wow....talk about a lot of episodes!!!

  Dragon Ball: Ah Yes, Dragon Ball. It's a series that I watched when I was about 10 years old in the US, making it pretty much the first series I watched in entirety (yes, even through GT). It follows the story of Goku and his friends (and then Goku's offspring and his friends) as they journey to collect all 7 dragon balls before anyone else can - making sure that the wish granted by the dragon is a good one that will keep the world safe from evil. The only real problem with this series (admittedly, it can be a big problem at times) is that it has way too much filler! Some episodes occur in which literally nothing progresses in the story line and you see characters go Super Saiyan and yell at each other for a solid 20 minutes straight...and it can get...excessive. But yeah, I was a kid when I started watching this, so I loved it at the time. Filler didn't matter back then. Now, I press fast forward...a lot.

And speaking of Dragon Ball, Brian and I caught this hilarious photo on the Friends of Irony blog.

Manga = Truth? lol.

     Among my other finds on the internet this week was some really sweet stuff from Etsy - the craft version of Ebay where people can sell their home-made goods. It's a really great site, and if you haven't browsed it you should really have a look. 

 Awesome Steam Punk Ring. Check out those gears! It's all about the detail here folks, and steam punk can be pretty fancy and cool at the same time!

 Really adorable Strawberry Teacups that look like cakes when you flip them up-side-down. When in use they rest on those adorable strawberries. So cute! I really want a set. My BFF back home and I have a thing for Ichigo (strawberry) glasses, and this has taken that cute concept to a whole new level!

 
This is Hand Blown Glass Pendant with a cute fake robin's egg nest in it! I absolutely adore it but it's a little out of my price range ($57.50 USD). Saw it first on the "Must Have Cute" blog and had to give it a glance though! The "cute" blog and Woodland Belle (where the necklace is from) are both sites worth checking out with some really cute stuff. 

 S'pose that's enough for now. I have to get up and teach tomorrow morning. 5 different levels of English lessons on Saturdays to give!
 I'll write again soon,
 Lady Jones