OH BOY WHERE TO BEGIN

Long story short I had a SURPRISE gas bill and while I'm still angry about it, it is what it is, right? So, I opened up pixel anime babe commissions and HOLY SMOKES I got way more than I bargained for!

I mean... in this case, more than I bargained for is a good thing. I'm just... gonna be drawing for a WHILE, hahaha. So, while I grind away on 10+ comms... I'm gonna post the completed ones here and just... basically make this and next week's posts little journal entries.

RoBKTA's OC Rika. Check out their music here: https://robkta.bandcamp.com/

I SIGNED UP FOR THE JLPT 5

So, for me, studying Japanese has always just been a fun thing to do on the side. It's something to do to just help me deepen my appreciation for videogames and manga.

Recently though, I have really been ramping up my study time. I think I'm averaging about 4 hours of consistent study every day at this point. I'm not sure exactly what my goals have become... only that I have friends who are actively preparing to go to language school and getting Japanese work visas and I'm tempted to try just for the challenge.

ALSO, there is a possibility of doing a Japanese tour for my band the Mountain Chiefs next year!! I don't wanna get my hopes up too much, but... it's dangerously feasible at this point.

Anyway, this has been the main focus of my life recently and I'm feeling very motivated! I have four more months until the JLPT 5 and I think I should be able to pass it even if I took it today... we'll see what happens, though. I'm fully prepared to eat my words... or watashi no kotoba ga taberu u___u

Edit: SHIT, I should have said "kotoba wo" not "kotoba ga"! I can't believe I have done this. I'm such a FOOL!

Vtubers Meat and CallieCalico for ReimuTheRock

MUSIC

I spent a good amount of time preparing for my friend's birthday party show on Friday. The Mountain Chiefs is a very demanding band to be in, musically. Everything is through-composed and we do a lot of guitar-like trickery, but on two basses! The show popped off though. We even debuted our first new song in over 7 YEARS! It's really really good and I can say that because I had 0% to do with writing it, hahaha.

Photo by Alex T. (Mal4m)

I had the fish and chips at the restaurant attached to the venue before the show and I told myself, "I will not eat all of this meal. I will take some home or at least save some for later." but you know what they say about the best-laid plans....

There's a house party show happening in NJ next week WITH A POOL that I'm extremely excited about. That's for ZAKU though, not Mountain Chiefs. I haven't been in a pool in... I honestly can't recall. Too long.

SHOES

I need some new shoes. I'm very sad that my Breana Geering Vans in maroon are starting to come apart at the sole. I'm gonna try that shoe goo stuff... but I'm not sure how much hope to hold on to. u___u

Vtuber Nellie of NellieAndGrits fame.

GAMEDEV

Well, obviously gamedev had to go a little on the backburner this week and probably next week too as I work to make back the money for my surprise gas bill... (those jerks). I did get invited to show the game off in public during a vgm show at Milkboy in Philadelphia in November, though! So, if you'd like to get your hands on it, consider coming out! I'll have more details on that show when it becomes available. Stay tuned here and on my bsky.

....maybe I should start a personal discord just so people can keep up with shows and events... I dunno. You let me know what you think about that.

Anyway, thanks so much for your continued support, I really appreciate it! Is there anything I can do to make it worth more to you? Sometimes I think I'm not giving away enough... but I'll let you decide that, as well. Stay safe, stay strong and watch CITY the Animation! It's SO GOOD.