*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
Taking advantage of the wealth of stories this universe has to offer, Beast Complex is a collection of stories featuring various stories of different types of beasts.
We would want to assume that Legoshi is unique in his relation to herbivores in the main series, this collection really brings to light what a delicate balance is in place and how different types of beasts handle the need to be civilized when your instincts tell you otherwise. It was nice to live in this world for awhile without the threat of a murderer hiding in the wings; just normal day to day stories from kids as friends, to drama between hosts of a cooking show. If you’re even a casual fan of Beastars, this is worth checking out! 4.7 out of 5.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
Instead of listing the events, I’ll just do a quick overview.
We have a new teacher introduced, go through exams and summer vacation, and some interesting backstory with Komi’s mom and dad when they were teenagers. We also have a new kid staying with Komi’s family, Rei, for a while since her mom is in town for work.
The stories seem to be getting shorter; very rapid fire. But it still keeps up the same light-hearted, cute, slice of life nature of the rest of the series. Right now, it’s still cute that people mistake Komi’s silence for standoffishness or toughness but I can see this getting old soon. I mean, it’s great to see people warm up to Komi but I would like to see more development. But, if you’re a big reader like I am, this series and those like it are a great break from darker material. 4.9 out of 5.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
Jumping in to the future, it is now 1964 and Asadora is now 17, a pilot, and working with Kasuga at their advertising company; while also going to school and raising her younger siblings. A strange man comes around asking questions about the creature they saw destroy their hometown and the likelihood it is still around and a threat.
This is a strange little series so far. I’m totally here for it; I love Asadora, I wanna know more about the creature and what will happen next but whatever expectations I had were completely subverted. Sometimes that can be frustrating but I found it welcome and look forward to seeing how this continues. 4 out of 5.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
This graphic novel follows warlord AjA Oba, a ruthless ruler cursed with immortality from our past far into the future.
First off, the art is amazing. It’s like flipping through scenes from a movie with these beautiful panted renditions of the film. The story is smart and very creative. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes speculative science fiction and Afrofuturism.
Also, random thought with a spoiler sprinkle – there’s some random LGBTQ content in here and it’s just dropped in without being made aa big deal of. I’m on the fence as to if it feels shoved in because of how its just glossed over, or it fits because it shouldn’t be a big deal. I’ve read it twice and still haven’t decided…
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
Ko Yamori is a 14-year-old boy with insomnia that spends his nights walking around the neighborhood. One night he runs into a strange girl; Nazuna Nanakusa. Nazuna offers to help Ko get some sleep in an unconventional way.
This is a funny and interesting start to a series. Ko is a relatable kid, Nazuna is fun and entertaining, and their dynamic is cute. Nothing super unique – aside for Nazuna’s little secret that I won’t spoil but will mention when I review volume 2 – but this is just getting started. 3 out of 5.
Now, I’m still hovering around 216 pounds but that’s fine. Losing 4 pounds in 2 weeks is great and I can see if it stalls a little around the time of my period. I don’t expect dramatic results around that time.
Tomorrow is my off day and Friday I’m gonna try to get in some kettlebell. I’d like to have more toned-up arms but I’m not freaking out about it. I’m trying to do everything as easygoing as possible. I don’t want this to be overly stressful or I’ll end up throwing in the towel. No more crazy things like P90x, just simple cardio, weights, and being careful with my food.
For the rest of the week, I’ll be putting up a bunch of reviews so, be on the lookout for that!
On days when I moderate programs at work, I hit that little Wirk bike from the previous post instead of just sitting there. Granted there isn’t much resistance (and I have it at the highest setting) but any movement is better than nothing and my thighs do burn afterwards. And it gives me a chance to do more than one workout in a day just to burn a few more calories.
I know I need to get back into doing weights a certain number of days a week. I just have to decide what I’m going to use to do it. I do have a kettlebell and a few hand weights (nothing over 10 pounds) so it’ll have to be using those. I don’t have the money to buy anything else so, it’s either that or bodyweight exercises.
And speaking of money, yes, I’ll be getting back to more writing and book reviews soon. If you came here for that, I haven’t abandoned it. I just need to catch up.
It feels like forever ago when I was doing c210k and running for 5 minutes straight was easy peasy. Man, how things change in a year. But, it’s getting easier and I am down 4 pounds from when I started Saxenda. I was never a binge eater but I have noticed I’m eating MUCH less than before and I haven’t felt too weak to workout like I did when I was doing Intermittent Fasting. I think this is because Saxenda is supposed to slow digestion and decrease your appetite so I’m still getting the fuel I need to workout. I don’t feel faint or anything otherwise I’d stop using this drug.
After a 4 pound weight loss I am cautiously optimistic. Once the weight loss is in the double digits, I’ll feel better.
So, as previously stated, I’m 40 now. In my continuing efforts to get and stay healthy, I asked my doctor for a genetic test to not only determine my colon and breast cancer risk but to finally see what may be lurking on my father’s side of my DNA (since nobody knows who he is). The lab was frantically calling me and I thought “Oh shit. What’s wrong with me?!” What was wrong? Getting insurance approval for the test.
Okay. We go through what I know of Ma’s side of the family in terms of cancer and since it wasn’t breast cancer or anything that is classified as genetically related, the insurance won’t pay for the test. It will cost me $2,500.
After an interesting few moments of no heartbeat, I tell the nice woman I want the test because I literally have no clue what 50% of my DNA is. I can’t afford that. Of course there’s a payment plan or whatever but isn’t that interesting? “Hey, my genetics are a mystery and I would like to know my health risks. We don’t know enough about your genetics to qualify for insurance to pay for a test to determine your health risks and we will financially punish you for that.”
Lovely…
I need to know so, I guess I’ll just have to sell more books and stuff to make up the money.
Over the course of lockdown, I lost some weight. No, it’s not bragging because in order to deal with the stress of a global pandemic, reduced income, wondering if I’ll stay employed at all… Basically the low-level underlying fear everyone had been going through; I was running up to an hour a day trying to make my way through Couch to 10k.
Then we all got back to work and the weight came back. I didn’t have time for hour long workouts anymore. What I was doing is using my lunch hour to workout then eating lunch while I worked. If I felt spicy, I did an extra workout before bed. Going back into the library meant that no longer happened.
I’ve been trying to keep up with as much activity as I can. I got one of these:
And if I’m not running, I use this for 20-40 minutes while I moderate programs at work. I restarted Couch to 5k to get my stamina back up and the workouts are shorter. I counted calories all over the place, cut out booze, increased my portions of vegetables, limited salt… And nothing.
I had previously discussed percription weight loss options with my doctor because while everyone tells me I look fine, I don’t feel fine. I did my annual blood test and all my bloodwork is perfect. My doctor was really impressed. So, I broached the idea again because I turned 40 this year and the older I get, the more likely my weight will start to affect my health.
And part is ego because I have some nice clothes I wanna wear and I’m too broke to replace my entire wardrobe.
This time, my doctor did recommend something to me: Saxenda. My insurance company gave me the OK and I started it last week weighing in at 230 pounds.
This week I’m down to 228.
Not gonna lie, I had some side effects. Mainly nausea but a couple of pepto tabs took care of that. I can aboslutely tell I feel less hungry. I’m on MyFitnessPal so keep track of what I eat. Feel free to friend me there if you want.
I’m really nervous to share this since I’m concerned I’ll make this public only for this to fail. But, here we are. Hopefully, I’ll hit my goals this time!
