I’m at chapter 3 of 9 mangas

Hazureta Minna no Atama no Neji

The Summer Hikaru Died

Freak Island/Kichikujima

Mieruko-chan

Kindergarten Wars 

Questions Floating in the Air

Dear Friend,

A sea of faces surrounds me, yet yours has this innocent, gentle aura that I usually only see in kids. That’s what I sense every time I find myself looking at you. But I’m curious, what do you see? I don’t know, just want to know you better, I guess. Do you like having lofi beats on, or is it just the rain when you write? Or do you just jot stuff down wherever? I need rain or beats to write, though I’m sure donuts could work too. Haha. By the way, what’s being vegan like for you? And speaking of choices that call for a ton of coffee, what made you wanna do a PhD?

Night, take care!

Just finished reading

Should’ve read Out ages ago. I guess that’s what happens when you’ve got too many books, y’know? Not gonna lie, it’s one of those reads where I don’t know if I should be thinking hard or reaching for a cigarette (haha, I don’t even smoke).

 

Just finished Offal Island and I can’t even. Now, why am I even signing up for Freak Island tomorrow? smh.

Swallowed Whole

Made it to the end of Shintarō Kago’s Dementia 21 and Brain Damage. Did you know I just went in for a quick peek and ended up reading the whole thing straight through? It totally ate up my afternoon I even forgot my love of my life coffee haha.

Swallowed Hours

 

Okay, so I literally shut the windows to make it all moody in here, and only the lamp was on. I slid my earphones on, and the rain started booming like surround sound. And now, guess who’s about to binge 14 mangas, one by one? Yup, all me. Maybe a chapter or two. Okay, maybe three.

My hit list rn:  

1. Tokyo Ghoul (Sui Ishida)

2. Fullmetal Alchemist (Hiromu Arakawa)

3. Ajin: Demi-Human (Gammon Sakurai)

4. Kaiju No. 8 (Naoya Matsumoto)

5. Battle Royale (Koushun Takami & Masayuki Taguchi)

6. Demon Slayer (Koyoharu Gotouge)

7. Berserk (Kentaro Miura)

8. Fairy Tail (Hiro Mashima)

9. The Flowers of Evil (Shūzō Oshimi)

10. Solo Leveling (Chugong; art by Jang Sung-rak)

11. Dandadan (Yukinobu Tatsu)

12. 20th Century Boys (Naoki Urasawa)

13. Dragon Head (Minetaro Mochizuki)

14. Sakamoto Days (Yuto Suzuki)

By the way, you know that feeling when you’re so into a book, time just blurs? That’s what happened to me after reading Junji Ito’s Frankenstein and his other stories. TBH, I liked Neck Specter and Intruder the most, but Frankenstein’s still haunting me.

 

Yeah, yeah, whatever else is happening, I’ve got manga.

Saturday vibes: Sick? Maybe.

I’ve been sick to my stomach since five this morning, which is why I missed out on a long walk or playing in the rain today. My roommate says I should rest, and she’s probably right, but you know I always sneak around rest. If there’s a little energy left in me, I’m either reading, piling up books I’ll just stare at, or nerding out on something.

Right now, I’m on chapter 18 of Alice in Borderland by Haro Asō, and I just can’t pull myself away, even with a stack of Japanese books open on tabs. Oh, and I finished Saou Ichikawa’s book last night, and I still think I need a moment to breathe.

Sick Sunday? Yeh.

I’m spending the afternoon with rain, tea, plus Japanese comics, and I don’t even care if I’m sick. As long as I can sit, I’m gonna read a chapter or two of manga, starting with Devil May Cry (Shin-Ya Goikeda), then Jujutsu Kaisen (Gege Akutami), Uzumaki (Junji Ito), and Chainsaw Man (Tatsuki Fujimoto).

And yes, I brought donuts and lemon tea for backup. Is it just me, or does the rain outside make Sunday extra laid-back?

 

Playful Thinker

Slice-of-life

I’m sitting here watching this rainy day walk in Nagano, while nibbling on some spicy tofu cubes. Tofu is my favorite. But if I’m feeling grumpy and low-energy, it’s barbecue time. Anyway, I’m going back to my long walks and abs routine on Saturday. I’ll see if I can actually keep this up for 85 days, and who knows, maybe I’ll love it, maybe I’ll hate it. Guess I’m doing this because bribery works 🤭.

And as usual, my body interrupts my ambitions. Right when I’m about to read 20 pages in each of the 8 Japanese ebooks, my tummy growls. Okay, BRB. Bathroom calls, hahaha.

 

The Lines I Liked from These Videos

23:43 I don’t feel alone at all.

26:40 Doesn’t the scent of rain complement coffee and nature?

 

6:36 I’m grateful that I can read various books with just one tablet. It reduces the amount of luggage and I’m happy that I can read it immediately when I want to.

22:26 The future is always in the fog and cannot be seen clearly. People sometimes feel anxious about things that are hard to see. Sometimes we get lost or stop. But we still have to move forward. While checking the small happiness in front of us.

 

Feel the Bond

Went to the Korean store with my little sis for cheese ramen and some lychee-blueberry sparkling water. She even tried to pay for my drink and the seaweed. Sometimes I think she’s the one raising me.

Then there was the time at the convenience store. I remember her picking out every chocolate she liked one by one, and I’m just going, nope. Isn’t it the best that we hang out for laughs, not just the nerd life?

Breezy

I turned on the lamp and it gave off a mellow golden-orange light, then I put on a Japanese playlist and I just float with it. Before I know it, I’m dancing a little, my body and head swaying naturally. All while I’m enjoying a bit of mallows and chocolate ice cream right now. A little bit got on my white shirt, but no worries, I’ve got more shirts than sense. Honestly, even if it was my only shirt, I’d just shrug it off, and if my roommate’s not here, I’ll fling it off to see my abs, just joking, it’s flabby.

Anyway, it’s afternoon now and I’m breathing in the smoky scent from the grill. Why is it that every time I eat grilled barbecue my worries turn into Goombas I either ignore or bonk, then I move on. I don’t exactly get over worries like enlightened Buddhas do. When I feel like it I bother, nine times out of ten I ignore them, and either way I laugh because that’s what my father taught me in life.

Until next time, my friend.

Variety

Sun’s Up
Feels good walking outside in the morning, even if it’s sunny. A little sun’s good for my pale skin. I treated myself to fried rice with a chilled lemon-lime soda, don’t worry, I’m judging myself too, and then I downloaded 8 ebooks, mostly Japanese, with a British and a Russian thrown in.

 

Anime and King’s Horror
One of my guy friends is so funny and all about photos and anime, which has me wanting to sneak in some anime too, just an episode or two, then read 20–40 pages of IT or The Outsider by Stephen King before bed.

 

Breaktime
It’s break, and I’m at the window, blasting Zigeunerweisen over and over, watching traffic build up on the right and feeling everyone’s irritation. Meanwhile, I can feel the cold all the way up my fingers, and it’s just so relaxing. Earlier, I couldn’t pick between UCC strong and ginseng blend, like I should’ve just done eeny, meeny, miny, moe. Well, screw it. Got myself a glass full of ice, milk, and coffee. Though if there was tea, that’s what I’d have grabbed.

 

Story Time

 

Quiet

I nearly wrote, “If I were a room, this would be it.” Then I pictured my father, and if we were a room, this is how it would feel. Honestly, we just get how to be together without words.

 

Book-Juggler

I queued up the ebooks I’ll be reading today and for the week while on the run from my little sis. Did you know I’m a multi-book kind of person? I did 20 pages here, grabbed another there, and I was giggling the whole way through the stories.

Solitude

Fri, August 15
What’s your usual wake-up time like? My roommate and I are super close, but my morning officially begins the second she leaves to unleash her extroversion. Some days I meditate in bed, some days I sit cross-legged with a blindfold on. Once in a while I go for long walks. Other times, I just lose myself in rain videos.

Since I’m in no rush to end my solo time, I’ve settled in with The Stand, munching on free toast and slowly enjoying my lemon-mandarin tea. Gifted by none other than my lovely roommate. 💝

Sat, August 16
I’m right here by the window, watching the rain slip down the neighbor’s mango tree. Sometimes I wish there were more trees around, or that I lived out in the countryside. But I’m happy with what I have now. Went up on the roof deck for a bit, and oh man, the cold rain hitting my skin is everything. Makes me wonder what it’d be like to have a backyard where you could just run and run. If I ever ended up with one, I’d keep running like Naruto, arms stretched back, leaning forward. I might tumble in the heavy rain, but I’d just flop in the mud like a fish hehe.

So yeah

Any time I sit down to eat, breakfast or lunch, I end up watching these videos of people just walking around in the rain. I guess you could say I’m a pluviophile, or an ombrophile, if sounding posh with words is your thing. I don’t bother with that.

The rain’s out there, and I just write and write, as though the words are a bridge from the past to this moment. Every word is me walking across it like a long-lost lover meeting her first love all over again.

Wait, let’s just take that out real quick. I’m just here, writing while rain falls across the screen.

 

 

Who needs ghosts when you have my sister lurking?

So somehow I got pulled into watching Stephen King’s Rose Red yesterday. Halfway through, my little sister flicks the lights off to scare me. Can you believe it? We both just lost it laughing. She has no clue I’m bingeing The Tommyknockers and Storm of the Century tonight, and sneaking bites of my BBQ chips on the side. Shhh.

☔

When I think back on everything I scribbled down, I can’t tell if I feel awkward or just laugh that I even thought of it. Lately-ish, I’ve been feeling a bit different about it, like I’m slowly moving away. I guess it’s that feeling of letting go of the old. Sort of like a caterpillar, not quite a butterfly yet, but you can kinda feel it changing more than see it. All that scribbling was me figuring things out as I went. I have no clue what’s coming, and really, I don’t want to know. I like to just wing it and see what happens.

But then, out of nowhere, someone showed up like a surprise rainbow. 

Monday + Tuesday

Monday — Lofi Beats on a Partly Sunny Afternoon

Have you ever thought about writing your own novel?

I was lost in thought when my cheese bread rolled onto my black shirt, and I straight away pictured a sticky mess. Oh well, I just smiled like I planned it all along. It’s partly sunny today. The perfect mood for lofi beats and some ice-cold coffee, and the fan’s right in my face because, well, it’s a hot day. Now, where was I with that question?

Tuesday — The Tortoise and the Hare

To my ever-playful sister,

I’m sorry I didn’t help you at all with your skeletal system quiz and wasn’t very patient when we tackled your A.P. It’s not your fault though, I’m just more drawn to math. But now I get that helping you matters more than how much I like the subject, and that’s what being the ‘older and wiser’ sister means, you know, putting you first.

 

Wait, rewind that, did I really just say wiser? Between you and me, you’re racing ahead like the hare, and I’m just the tortoise, rocking the slow life.

The Quiet Ones

Watching silent vlogs is like leaning over a mug of fresh coffee, and just breathing it in. That nice, slow space where you could sit for hours, not because time is passing slowly, but because I’ve forgotten there’s such a thing as time at all.

I keep thinking one day I’ll be like the quiet ones I really feel connected to. The type who like to just walk around, zigzagging through the streets, hopping from one coffee or tea spot to another, and chill with a book or scribble down some random thoughts, as the day fizzes and sparkles like cold Coca-Cola on a hot afternoon.

The Friend and the Falling Rain

Dear Friend,

On a rain-soaked bench,
drops hop and land on my lips.
Though I wear my favorite raincoat,
the raindrops still cling to my hands,
as though the earth shares a secret handshake,
for those who pause, who feel
the subtle, cold kiss of air.

And in moments like these,
I remember to inhale the fragrance—

Lost in the hustle,
I forgot my home isn’t a science lab on Mars,
but a vibrant Earth,
exhaling life.

Seeing you write
felt like a wink
between friends
on a rainy day.

 
 
 
(Just one of the many musings the rain has inspired.)

A Page from a Secret Diary

My dear interlocutor, may I sit here by your side and spin you a metaphorical tale?

It all began that day…

There you were, bathed in the soft morning light that found you through the open window.

The wind teased your hair, carrying scents of rain and earth.

Around you, the cheerful chatter of birds filled the air,

blending softly with those who wander and sway.

In this warm, hushed glow, you quietly hold the moment, and I melt into your shadow.

Call it what you will, poetry, prose, or simply a love letter.

Dear Friend (6)

Unplanned Rain
I ended up taking a full-on rain shower on the roof deck today. Moments later, I was having the time of my life, flinging water left and right with a tired old dustpan, just trying to stop the flood from turning the stairs into a slip-and-slide. Before I forget, I just wanted to say I really enjoyed your journal entries, especially the one where you described running barefoot in the rain. You made it sound like running away from homework. Now I just hope my little sister doesn’t read this and get ideas hahaha.

 

An Unplanned Pause Where Only the Heart Listens
I didn’t expect violin music to heal me today, but it did. Paganini’s Finale, Mozart’s Adagio K261, and Sarasate’s Caprice Basque. Listened once, then again, then again. And somehow, it washed over me, like standing in the rain and realizing I don’t want to run for cover. Do you like the sound of the violin? Have you ever, perhaps, fallen in love with a solo? I fell completely to Vivaldi’s Presto from Le quattro stagioni, and somehow, I never quite recovered.

 

I’ll write to you next time!

Dear Friend (4)

Last night, my roommate and I couldn’t stop laughing like little kids. We shared a cup of ‘Why did we buy this?’ tea and desperately tried not to gag, but let’s just say it felt like we were sipping what Socrates drank, only without the dying part. And blimey! As if we needed another trust issue on the table, she brought out heart-shaped biscuits so bland, I flashed back to eating paper in kindergarten!

 

I wonder if someone ever shared your space and, without saying it, became your favorite. One person emotionally trademarked that title for me, even though we're polar opposites like coffee and sleep.

 

Nighty night, my friend.

Dear Friend (3)

Around Breakfast Time
Since it’s sunny out, I leaned in, opened my laptop, and turned on the sound of rain. Something about this feels like lighting incense before I even sit cross-legged. With the rain sounds on, everything else just quiets down except for the toast. I’m just sitting here, munching slow.

 

 

In the Heat of the Day
Earlier, I squeezed a glass of calamansi juice while my roommate went all in with a pitcher of four seasons. I’m sitting at my study table, swirling the glass, enjoying the soft clicks of the ice cubes inside. It’s a quiet habit that never grows old.

 

 

Another Day Folded into the Dark
Just showered again and let myself stay cold. Is this what being a penguin feels like?

Dear Friend
You always have your notebook.
You’re always writing,
like it’s how you make sense of things.

A doctor of words,
with a well-loved notebook.

I tried it today, writing my day out.
Kinda messed it up, but I liked messing it up.

You’re the writer.
I’m the dabbler.

Dear Friend (2)

I sometimes wonder if I only exist in the rain. It’s strange, but I feel most alive when it rains, and outside of it, I slip away like I was never real to begin with. I try to find it in the sunlight, but it never feels the same. What comes up in you when the rain begins to fall?

 

P.S. I’ve saved your letters for breakfast. After that, I treat myself to some good old-fashioned equations. Oh, and I might be writing a novel too.