A huge step backwards

I don't think I have ever been as disgusted by so called 'work colleagues' in my life as I was last night. I work three jobs, this one being on a casual basis, but for no reason whatsoever should I be subjected to the humiliation I had to endure last night. Here is a post from my Facebook I would like to share with everyone:

Absolutely disgusted with work yesterday! It's unbelievable how 4 fully grown men could make the girls, including myself, carry a van and a half full of glasses, alcohol and crates of soft drinks up and down 2 flights of stairs while these same men stand there having a smoke and a drink on the job, yelling at us girls to toughen up and grow a pair while bad mouthing our efforts. People like this don't deserve a place amongst our society. If they have so little respect for women in the workplace as they did yesterday, then maybe these pigs should go back to the 1950's where they obviously belong

I find it not only atrocious that people like these still exist within today's society, but I have to acknowledge them as my colleague and work superior. The way I and a few of my other colleagues were treated was not only disrespectful to us, but exposed the sexism that is still prevalent in society. Being told to 'man up and grow a pair' by my male superiors is disgusting, considering that they themselves should grow a pair for the way they treated us. It is appalling that the women, including myself were forced to undertake tasks of manual labour and heavy lifting while the same men sit outside having a smoke and a beer (while allegedly "working"). There is also no reason whatsoever, which makes it acceptable for someone to mock me because I speak with an "Aussie Accent". I'm sorry, but the last time I checked a map, I believe that I live in this country called Australia, so isn't an Aussie accent only natural? I am embarrassed to say that I have to work with these kind of people, and it clearly shows that the ideals of the 1950's where the 'whatever men say, goes' mentality is still used in such a degrading manner today. In my opinion, bigotry based on gender and other aspects of humanity is unacceptable, and I believe that there should be no reason why I should endure this attitude in my place of employment.

I am a bit too pissed at the moment to want to discuss everything else, so for now I'll leave it there. In terms of what is coming up, I am up to episode 42 of NANA, so that will be done with in a couple of days, I am up to volume 17 or there bouts in Anatolia Story and I also have a few things to talk about with Adam Sandler's new movie 'That's my Boy"

Anyway, that's about it for now, until next time :)

The Nightmare has ended

The nightmare has ended! I never have to deal with accounting ever again. Words can not describe how glorious this feels. Hello 6 weeks of absolutely nothing. Actually I lied. Turns out the internet won't have my undivided attention as I have picked up heaps of extra work at my jobs, which makes my bank account very happy. The first thing I did after my accounting exam was sleep. How good it felt after being up until 4am the night before studying just so I could understand what the heck I had to do. The only downside is that when I am not working I will be bored out of my brains, but I'll find something else to do in the meantime.

Okay, so I have read a few series over the past few days, not that they have been long or anything. One of the series I read was Kimi no Tame ni Hiku Chopin by Nagae Tomomi. There is little information about this series at the moment, but there are currently two chapters scanlated into English and I know there is at least 4 chapters so far, but that's it. It seems promising I must say. The story is about a girl who moves from Hokkaido to Tokyo in hopes of finding a boy she remembered playing the piano with as a child. She finds him but he doesn't remember her. When he hears her playing the piano, he remembers that playing the piano can be fun, something he had forgotten long ago. In the meantime, the girl's playing, along with a pendant she received from her guardian in Hokkaido, awakens the spirit of Chopin. Because there is two chapters, that is about all there is to the story so far. The art is very cute, although it does make the female lead look like she is 14 when she is in fact a university student. I haven't used character names because what in in the scanlations and what the summary says is completely different so it's just to remove any confusion as such.

I have also read Tenshi no Hitsugi by Higuri Yuu. To be 100% honest, I absolutely hated it. I was pretty keen because as I have previously said, I love reading the tragedy stories because they usually are unconventional. However, this one annoyed me beyond belief. It is based in Vienna, 1889 and chronicles the forbidden romance between crown prince Rudolf and Lady Maria and how their life and death revolutionized Austria, and how the 'God' Sato tried to avoid the tragedy (obviously being manga, it is based primarily in an alternate reality). Luckily, it is only 5 chapters in length so it was not very time consuming. I don't really want to go into it, but the characters are beyond annoying so as a reader, I couldn't sympathize with the characters at all, hence it really can't be called tragedy. I'm actually not going to talk about this anymore because it is just to frustrating.

 Moving on, I read Honganne. Another of Hwang Mi-Ri's many series, it is complete in Korean at 11 volumes, with just 3 chapters left to be scanlated in English. I love korean high school gang manhwas. I can't get enough, but because it is a korean high school gang manhwa, it is the same to other series out there, still, it is a good read. There are a few things that differ from other works. It is probably one of the first Hwang Mi-Ri series where the main characters have families. Usually the main characters are orphaned or unwanted or have neglectful parents. This series also uses the 'sister complex' with the main character's older brother obsessively protective of his little sister to the point he hospitalizes any guy who approaches her. I kind of feel sorry for her, if I had an overbearing sibling, I would probably feel trapped to some extent. All in all, I am greatly anticipating the final 3 chapters to complete this series!

As for what is next on my agenda, It is Anatolia Story, which is just a casual 28 volumes in length completed. So this one is probably going to take me a while, especially considering all the extra work that I have picked up.

Anyway, that's about it for now, until next time :)

Evening Quickie

Ok, so just a very quick update (if you misinterpreted the heading, then you sir, have a dirty mind). I just don't want people to think I have fallen from the face of the Earth.

In reality,  I have been isolated in my cave studying for accounting and I am so screwed. Night before the exam and I still don't get it. Let's just hope I get that 40% minimum pass. But as of tomorrow night, after a long catch up sleep, my undivided attention will be once again directed at the internet, so expect a super long update. You have been warned!! 

Anyways, that's about it for now, until next time :)

Weekends aren't for studying

I really hate accounting! Like with a passion, because I won't need it in the future because I have no desire to ever be an accountant. I don't understand why I have to do this accounting exam, especially when I have to spend my weekends studying. Oh I hate accounting! 3 more days until the suffering ends!

Also, thanks to a bunch of old men at the bar I work at, my bar/work name is now 'Dominica'. I have somehow been given a persona simply for working. How does this even happen. Whenever I leave for work now it is 'bye Dominica, see you later'. I am pretty sure I could be on my way to split personalities. Maybe I can use it as my stage name, Although I don't know why I need a stage name. Maybe I shall pen a book and write it under the name 'Dominica'? Watch this space maybe?

Also, I am very glad that my swannies didn't embarrass themselves by nearly losing after having a 48 point lead. I am annoyed at the number of Essendon supporters who 'blame the umpires' for their 4 point loss, but when you have more scoring shots than your opponent and you lose, then it is their own team's fault for their crap goal kicking. Honestly, with 2 goals and 15 behinds to 3 quarter time, then frankly, there is no-one else to blame but yourselves, so quit it.

Alright, so moving on, I have been reading Cinderella Fella by Kim Hee-Kyoung, which is a Manhwa series, Complete in Korean at 6 volumes and still ongoing in English scanlations, with scanlations currently at the first chapter of volume 6. As you can probably assume by the name, the story is a modern day adaption of the classic fairytale of Cinderella with a few changes. The male lead, Gyu Yun is the son and the heir of a womanizing company president who is the urge to clean anything he finds dirty. He is also the school council president and top ranked academically. His stepmother wants nothing more than to ensure that either of her two daughters succeed the company and will do anything to get rid of any obstacles. Gyu Yun meets and develops feelings for an interesting girl with an IQ of 180 who also has unkempt hair which Gyu Yun can't look away (he wants to fix her messy hair!!), who is actually quite pretty with her hair done (not in messy braids) and without her glasses. The plot thickens when Gyu Yun is told that he has a fiance (arranged of course) who wants nothing more than money and status and his stepmother takes things to a whole new level of evil when she plots the murder of Deb (Ruci's mother, Ruci is an illegitimate child of the company president) and the attempted murder of Gyu Yun himself. How will this all end? I will like to know too, but I can't read Korean, so I guess I will have to wait for the scanlations like the rest of us. The art is different from standard shoujo manga/manhwa but it is by no means bad, it is actually quite good artwork. Anyway, as I said, it is a modern day adaption of Cinderella with some changes, but if anyone who likes Cinderella should enjoy this spin-off.

I have also read Kimi Shika Iranai by Yoshizumi Wataru, which is a short series, completely scanlated at 2 volumes. As per usual the art is the standard I have come to expect from Yoshizumi Wataru, so for those who like the mangaka's art, then you should enjoy this one. The story is about the developing friendship and romance between the two leads Atsumu and Akane and the struggles they face due to Akane's relationship history. Despite being 16 years old, Akane is already a divorcee. If that's not enough, at the beginning of the series, Akane is still in love with her now ex-husband, Kyou and only got divorced because of their different beliefs on extra-marital affairs (Kyou didn't see it as a big deal) as the series progresses, Akane begins to develop feelings for Atsumu until Kyou needs to be transferred to 'A doctorless town in A prefecture' and Akane decides she will go with him. It is only when Kyou's transfer is cancelled that Akane realizes she only would have went with Kyou out of sympathy and now she really does love Atsumu. The series ends with a scene six moths into the future when Akane and Atsumu sneak away from an 'ohanami ai' (flower veiwing) where they share a kiss. The end. To be honest, it wasn't my cup of tea. Mainly because all of the characters by this mangaka seem to have some ridiculous complexes. I remember reading Datte suki nan Damon and the male lead in that was only every interested in women with boyfriends already and claimed he could never love for real. Same case here, with Akane finding it difficult to love after her divorce, which I understand would be difficult, but it's just that it feels like I have read this before with Datte suki nan Damon, but with the genders reversed.

I am still watching NANA, I am currently about half way through the anime, and it is deffinately inspiring me to attempt to read the manga again. Future readings are slim pickings at the moment, with my random number generator selecting the corresponding numbers of manga series that are only a handful of scanlated chapters, thus making it hard to offer an opinion on the series (this is why I don't read oneshots).

Anyway, that's about it for now, until next time :)

I Nearly have my Free time back!

YES! Another exam is over and done with and now I only have one more to go! Words can not describe my happiness that by next week, I will no longer have to do accounting. So what am I doing to celebrate? Working! But enough of the boring stuff.

I have finished reading quicker than anticipated, which is another bonus!! I have finished Arata Kangatari by Yuu Watase and as I said previously, despite it being a shounen series, I absolutely love it! I had kind of given up reading shounen series, but now I might be willing to start reading them again. For the record, the only other Shounen series that I am currently reading is Magico. I guess I liked Arata Kangatari because it does hold resemblance to many of Yuu Watase's other works despite being aimed at a different demographic. I like the sci-fi and supernatural themes as well as the art, although different from shoujo style, which usually has a lot more toning and definition in the features of the characters and such, it is still very eye catching. I guess because the style is something that I enjoy, it even attracts the female audiences. I also like the action scenes when there is all out fighting, which sounds violent, but the way it is done is suspenseful. It also addresses many issues that are relevant in today's society, the most obvious being bullying, which is highlighted particularly in the first ten chapter. Anyways, I plan to read this series now whenever it is updates  (added to my favourites >.<) and look forward to reading more of it in the future. It's just so good!

I have also finished reading Gokinjo Monogatari by Ai Yazawa, and it was so good! I like how the main characters from "I'm not an angel" made a little cameo appearance and I am looking forward to reading the sort of sequel 'Paradise Kiss'. Oh I loved the fashion context of the series, I do quite like my fashion, so I absolutely worshiped all the cute outfits the characters wore (I wish I had those outfits). I like how it was nicely summed up. The initial story is left quite open ending with an image of Tsutomu and Haruhiko at the airport, but the extra chapter was a nice summary of how the characters ended up in their journey through life. Oh my, the only negative I have about it is that I wish it were longer, although in saying that, i felt that the story was thoroughly planned from page one and it didn't rattle on or fall into the trap of cliche`s like other series which have exceeded the best before date. Anyway, I could just go on and on about how awesome the series was. Just a warning, anyone who hasn't read it and is planning to, you may find the female lead Mikako a bit annoying, she is very dependent and can do little on her own when making life choices. Thankfully though, this is addressed towards the latter half of the series. So yeah, get on it guys.


Anyway that is about it for now, until next time :)

Winter Nights

Are damn cold!! I am in a state of torment as to whether or not it would be socially acceptable if I took my blankets with me just so I can say warm. What can I say, I am not made for the cold. Oh well, the hot chilli sauce in my cupboard keeps me warm through its sheer spiciness.

Anyway, I went bowling with a couple of friends tonight. Unfortunately, I didn't win either game, came second in both games :( but it was a memorable night for many reasons. Firstly, when I got there, my friend kind of broke the window of my car and now it wont wind up. My solution to this was to use my umbrella cover the open window so people don't break into the car and to keep out the cold and tie the umbrella handle to the steering wheel using headphones so no-one stole my umbrella because it was my good umbrella. Anyway, I took a photo of the situation because this could only happen to me:

not the best photo but it was night time so what do you expect? As I previously said, I came second in both games. I took a photo of the scoreboard for one of the games and edited it slightly for privacy purposes

   I only lost by four points! And yes, the score is correct 'Friend 1' really only did get 13, and we cheered whenever they hit the pins.

At the moment, along with watching NANA, I am simultaneously reading two series: Arata Kangatari by Yuu Watase, which is ongoing at 15 volumes and Gokinjo Monogatari by Ai Yazawa, which is complete at 6 volumes. So two series by two very well known and respected Mangakas and thus far I am enjoying them both. I am actually surprised how much I am enjoying Arata Kangatari because it is a shounen series, which I rarely read, but that is never a bad thing I must say. I hope to have finished both series within the week if my schedule allows it.

Anyway that is about it for now, until next time :)

Oh, Hey There!

I feel like I kind of neglected my blog for a few days because life has been rather busy! But that's is good, it means there is a lot to talk about :)

All I can say is that I am so, so happy that I have completed one of my university exams. Just a shame that I still have another two to go :(. But I feel that I did well, I am very proud of the fact that I got to use the metaphor 'Some people are hermits', lets just hope it all turns out well :)

I was fortunate enough to go on a rampage in the city on Friday, which means I got some more manga and anime. I even got to make some onigiri, here is how it turned out

Pretty good for a first attempt if I do say so myself. Anyway, I bought the last two volumes of Chiyou yo, Hana yo (Butterflies, Flowes) by Yuki Yoshihara, mainly because I love her work and the last two volumes won't be scanlated because they are licensed. I am so happy to say I now own a Yuki Yoshihara manga, I love it so much, and this one is no different. I love the comedy and the pervertedness of her series, I always have to expect the unexpected. I won't say too much about this series, I have already posted a comprehensive summary of the last 10 chapters from my mangafox account, so click >>HERE<< if you want to read my spoilers for Chiyou yo, Hana yo.

I also bought the anime for NANA. I have only watched the first three episodes so far but I am so far enjoying it. I had a hard time reading the manga and gave up because the undertones were quite heavy and I just found it too depressing, but considering how great everyone says it is, I hope the anime will enlighten me so I can re-attempt to read the manga. Yes I have succumbed to peer pressure, what of it? I think I will have a lot more to say about NANA in the near future.

As I said in my previous post, I did read Crazy Girl Shin Bia and I have to say I absolutely loved it. I quite like historical series, and I liked how this was set in an alternate reality that was a reflection of history. The story begins with Shin Bia, an orpahned school girl who is the Jjang of her current school. She is targeted by a rich kid, who tries to get his cronies to attack and rape her. At the same time in an alternate reality, Celestial Bia predicts her death is near, and says that there is a way to make Ju prosperous without her, that is to transfer the other Bia to the world where Ju is. Back to the real world, Shin Bia jumps out the window to a certain death to avoid the rape scenario, which at that same time, Celestial Bia jumps off a cliff in her world to allow Shin Bia to take over the life of Celestial Bia. Trouble ensures, with Shin Bia having no clue of palace rituals, as Celestial Bia is engaged to the future emporor Yoo Baek, who Shin Bia dislikes. There is also Yiu Hoo, Yoo Baek's half brother and Mo Yeung, the hostage prince of Ah Jin who plots to take over Ju, who both love Bia as well. Most of the story is based on the relationships Shin Bia develops in Ju and the journey she goes through to become stonger than the original Shin Bia and lead Ju to ultimate victory over Ah Jin. To fill you in, Over the story, Shin Bia and Yoo Baek fall in love with each other, Bia's maid, Ka Yeon is a spy from Ah Jin working for Prince Mo Yeung who she loves, Bia tries to escape to her original world and has secret rendezvous with Mo Yeung to do so, Yiu Hoo's mother does everything she can to kill Yoo Baek and Bia to make Yiu Hoo the emporor, Some princess (don't remember her name) comes to try and break up Yoo Baek and Bia, Bia gains the powers of the original Bia and then some, Ka Yeon tries to kill Bia, but almost kills Yoo Baek instead, Bia is blamed for it and nearly killed, Yoo Baek uses his last bit of life to clear her name, he dies but Bia revives him with her power, Everyone finds out that Bia is not the Celestial Bia, causing a fight between Yoo Baek and Bia, When Yoo Baek realizes he loves the new Bia instead of the old one, Bia gets kidnapped by Mo Yeung, War breaks out between Ju and Ah Jin, Mo Yeung's betrayals are revealed and becomes obsessive with Bia, Yoo Baek gets imprisoned by Ah Jin when trying to rescue Bia, Ju defeats Ah Jin, Yoo Baek and Mo Yeung have a battle to the death, Yoo Baek wins, Mo Yeung is still alive and forces Bia's sword saying that only Bia may take his life, Ka Yeon poisons herself to die with Mo Yeung, Yoo Baek is crowned emporor and Yoo Baek and Bia marry and as a result Ju becomes the most prosperous nation in the past 1000 years. There is a 60 page epilogue set  a year after Yoo Baek and Bia get married and it is about how Bia wants to explore more but Yoo Baek wont allow it and how Princess whats-her name wants to marry Yiu Hoo. The epilogue ends with Bia and Yoo Baek travelling the world together and princess whats her name and Yiu Hoo getting married. There! 19 Volumes of manhwa condensed into 1 paragraph. Sorry if it doesn't make sense lol.

Moving on, my footytips are done and dusted for the year, after another shocking round where the teams that should have lost didn't. I have to say, very happy with my Swannies, 92 point winners, that's one good thing to come out of this round :)

Anyways, that's about it for now, until next time :)