A Post of Opinion

In the wake of the Texas stabbings and the Boston Marathon Bombings, a small part of me wonders - is this backlash from the gun crackdown?

Currently, I live in another country as a study abroad student. Many of the other students are from Asia or Europe - they think America's gun laws are stupid. They think that's why we have "high rates of crime".

My argument has always been that people that want to hurt someone, or a lot of someones, will always find a way. Putting a gun in someone's hand does not usually make him want to go on a murderous rampage. The people responsible are usually sick - any weapon they can get their hands on will aid their cause. In the Boston Marathon Bombings...it was two bombs.

My heart goes out to the victims of today's explosions. I am glad that so few people died - it is mostly injuries.

Game of Thrones Season 3 Impressions

This WILL contain some spoilers. If you're not familiar with the Game of Thrones series, stop here. Go find a way to watch the show OR read the books. Both if possible. It's a fantastic series and I honestly think that it should be read in senior year of high school - granted, all the sex and brutal violence might turn off most schools.

I am watching the series as it comes out and I'm reading the books. On to my impressions. Last warning for anyone who hasn't seen or read the series.

Stop, reader. 

Stahp.

You're spoiling the greatest series ever.

Okay. Hopefully that deterred any wayward individuals.

Now. Where do I begin?

Only two episodes are out so far for this season (episode 3 will air 10:00 am JST), but I'm already in love. Jojen and Meera are fantastic and exactly as I imagined. Actually, they're even more attractive than I thought. Jojen's actor, though he plays a 13 year old in the book (if I recall correctly), is actually 22 years old. It DID mention, many times, that he appears much older due to all he has Seen.

The show is already working on making you pity Theon Greyjoy. Those first glimpses are essentially what his life has become. Although, unlike in the book, he seems to have kept all his fingers. And they don't seem to be flaying him. 

Despite some added scenes, the show has introduced Margery in an entirely different light. Unlike Sansa, SHE plays the game. And she plays to win. It's already getting under Cersei's skin. 

They have added a lot more depth to Shae than was in the book, but this will add clarification for events later. I will say the same about Gendry. Both turn out to be more minor characters in the book, but they focus on their relationships with the two bigger players (Arya and Tyrion).

I'm getting disappointed with the slow progression of the series. Both of the actors for Arya and Bran are growing a bit too fast. In the book series, I believe Bran started out as 8 and Arya was 9 years old. If I recall correctly, Bran is 10 and Arya is 11 in the show. 

Hopefully, GoT will amend the aging problem by totally doubling production. But...that'll never happen.

Working toward Fitness

While keeping track of the calories I'm eating is pretty annoying, it IS helping. I am a visual person and it enables me to see the calories I'm eating (for better or worse). I will say I get antsy about it - a prime example will be days I'm bored. Like most humans, I have a tendency toward boredom eating. It is my own speculation, but boredom eating makes sense from a biological stand-point.

Back when nutrition was poor, the people who sought out food in their free time would gain nutrients and calories - both of which were not easy to come by. In today's food age, I can just grab a bag of junk and much on that. Twenty minutes ago, I devoured several fistfuls of Cheez-its while reading a book.

However, I see that in the record and I adjust my activity for the day. I do some calisthenics or walk briskly around the block.

I'm no where close to my goal of loosing a pound of fat a week, but I think increasing the speed and distance I can walk is pretty beneficial.

Rice Cooker Buying Guide

My rice cooker arrived today! I bought the Zojirushi NP-VC10 and it seems pretty nifty. It was pretty well reviewed on Amazon, but I haven't cooked with it yet - that'll be later this week.

In my quest, I couldn't help but notice the lack of buying guides in English for rice cookers. So, I decided to make a small one to help those looking for such a fantastic invention.

First and foremost, knowing a bit of Japanese will definitely come in handy when buying a rice cooker from Japan. Because the manual and buttons will all be in Japanese, unless you somehow get one specially made. It also helps to ask questions when at the store.

The first thing you need to think about is if you want a macron heating element, an induction heating element or a pressure cooker. The cheapest rice cookers have a macron heating element, but I was told it heats rather unevenly because it's essentially just like heating over a stove. The middle range rice cookers tend to use the induction heating method. The pot and the element are both metal and it heats pretty evenly. Pressure cookers tend to be the most expensive and cook the rice using steam.

I opted for an IH (induction heating) rice cooker, because I was able to find a really good deal.

The next thing you need to look at is pot thickness. It will usually be advertised in millimeters (mm), so you should be able to spot it even if you can't read Japanese. I didn't place heavy value in this, but the thicker the pot, the longer the rice will stay warm and moist (so I was told). In my quest, the thickest pots (3.5-4.0) were always considerably more expensive than the ones that measured 1.5-2.0 mm thick.

If I remember correctly, my pot is 1.7 mm thick.

Those are the important points I was told at the two places I asked. Other things you might want to consider when looking for rice cookers are:

- What functions are you looking for? Plenty of rice cookers can make other things as well. Boiling eggs, baking bread/cake, and making soup are just some of the functions I've seen.

- How much rice do I need to make? (usually made for 3, 5 or 10 servings)

- How much electricity does it use?

- How big is it/how heavy is it?

New Gun Laws in the State of Maryland

I will start this lengthy rant by saying that I do not personally own any firearms, but I grew up in a household with people who do. We store our weapons and ammunition in a gun-safe. I know the location, but I can probably count the times I've seen the safe on two hands. To my knowledge, I do not know anyone who has shot and killed a person - even by accident (the only exception being a family member in the military).  I do not mind some restricting of gun ownership (for instance, a *child* should not have access to a firearm without parental supervision), but these new laws are over the top.

First, the law changes the legal age to purchase/own firearms and ammunition from the age of adulthood (18) to 21 years of age. In addition to this being very unfair to our soldiers (they can go to war at 18, but they can't OWN their guns until they're 21?), I don't think this will make any difference, especially due to the fact that most gun related violence is caused by people who don't actually own guns themselves. They obtain them from family or friends - or steal them. According to these websites ( http://www.dontlie.org/faq.cfm and http://gunvictimsaction.org/fact-sheet/fact-sheet-illegal-gun-trafficking-arms-criminals-and-youth/), 40% of criminals obtain their guns from family or friends through **straw purchasing** and another 40% of criminals obtain their guns through illegal vendors.

That said, I also do not feel as though fingerprinting people will keep guns out of the wrong hands, nor will  mental health restrictions.

I am willing to compromise with the clip restrictions. I don't agree with it, but I'm not going to put up much of a fight over it.

I am perfectly fine with training required to own firearms. In fact, I believe such classes should be a part of mandatory schooling or, at the very least, offered for free. These classes are NOT focused on how to use a gun, but how to operate one safely and how to clean one properly. For instance, plenty of people don't understand they can loose or seriously damage their hearing when near someone firing a weapon. Proper hearing protection is important. They also probably don't know that cleaning a firearm regularly will help prevent misfires, which can cause serious injuries.


*child* - In this instance, I am defining a child as someone who is not mentally capable of understanding proper gun safety and who is not mentally capable of handling dangerous situations seriously. There is no set age for this, but it will vary depending on the mental capacity and maturity of the individual.

**Straw purchasing** -  is akin to telling your 21 year old friends what liquor you want, handing them the money, and them buying it for you.

MyPlate

I am not one for diets. I am not one for fads. However, I have decided to alter my current diet (which consists largely of junk) and eat healthier. I also plan to consume roughly 1500 calories per day. I burn about 2000 calories in a day from my activity levels and 1500 calories is what I need each day to function. I plan on supplementing this with vitamins, and so far I've been on track. I backtracked yesterday because a friend pointed out that it's not a good idea to cut back on food when I'm sick (battling an epic sinus infection at the moment).

So, this said, I can already say it's going to be a problem for me. Not due to hunger (summer is coming up and I eat significantly less), but knowing what food has how many calories. So, I took NerdFitness's advice and I signed up to MyPlate on Livestrong. It's free and they have most of the foods I eat. The trick is to remember to put in drinks too. I overestimate on beverages, because I drink mostly juice.

The key here is I just want to eat a bit healthier, while decreasing my calorie intake. So, even though I'm devouring a Reese's Cup while I write this, I've been eating more health-oriented foods. Three days this week, my lunch was fresh fruit.

I wonder if I can keep these changes. D:

7 Down, 4 More.

This is a blog about life and stuff in general. Today, I have been living in Japan for seven months. I have four months of my study abroad remaining.

And I'm not sure how I feel about that. I don't relate all that well with people my age, so most of my Japanese friends are in their mid-twenties to early thirties. Many are shocked when I mention my age - I'm guessing because I seem more mature? My point is I wish I had made more friends my age, but unfortunately, my program didn't give me the chance to meet many Japanese students. 

I've grown used to not seeing my family. I've grown used to not seeing my boyfriend, my friends in America. I miss them, truly I do. But I'm not sure I want to go home. I've grown used to living alone. I enjoy the language practice. I enjoy just walking out the door and exploring. I enjoy just walking out the door and going to the convenience store. I enjoy having everything I could possibly need within 30 minutes of me. I could make 1000 excuses, but they wouldn't even amount to the feeling of freedom I get just being in a different world.

I've had a lot of firsts here. Having a job (if you can count unpaid excessive manual labor as a job). Finding an apartment. Paying rent. Paying real bills. Checking my own mail. Having to call and talk in a foreign language when something goes wrong. 

My weight has been all over the place since I've gotten here. I'm going to try hard to get it down in these next four months through a much healthier diet. I'm, GASP, limiting myself to 1500 calories a day, but I can eat whatever I want. I'm also exercising a lot more (not in the past few days, due to a two-day downpour and being sick as a dog). Hopefully, I'll look reasonable when I get back to the States.

My tentative return date is August 5th - in time for Otakon. Hopefully, all will go well.

Dreamworks Rant

Dear Dreamworks,

Why do you make such adorable male characters? D: I'm not really complaining, but it's embarrassing to only have animated fictional heartthrobs. First Hiccup the Horrendous Haddock, then it was Jack Frost and now it's Guy.

I suppose you do a good job attracting a teenage female audience (or early 20s, as I am).

That is all.