Self-Care: Staying at Glen Eyrie

Photo Credit: Not Mine

I am doing something for myself that I have literally never done before. I've dreamed of it, hoped to do it, but never actually acted on it. I am going to stay at Glen Eyrie Castle for three days.

All on my own. Alone, with no work obligations and next to no plans other than to just be at the Glen, walk the trails, and spend time reading (both Biblical and fictional), knitting, journaling, and listening to Orson Welles' radio plays in my beautiful Victorian room. 

You might consider my staying at Glen Eyrie to be Self Care: Step One. 

Glen Eyrie was the magnificent home of General William Jackson Palmer, the founder of Colorado Springs, and is a now a Christian retreat center owned by the Navigators. I stayed there once before for a writer's workshop, but found myself wishing, the entire time, that I was just there to stay at Glen Eyrie with no other plans or obligations. Now, I'm finally doing it.

Read More

World Mental Health Day: Develop Relationships of High Acceptance

I'm sitting in front of my keyboard, pondering what exactly to write. I'm a little rusty, if you can't tell. The pandemic years were so difficult, in many ways, and I feel like even though I've started finding myself as a person, I lost some of the floweriness and bubbliness that I used in my writing. Or maybe that's something that just comes with age.

If there's one thing America does poorly, it's take time to rest. And when I say rest, I don't mean taking a day to try and get all the things done. Or taking a week to trot the kids to Disneyland. Because neither of those things are restful. Are they necessary and fun, yes, but restful, not in the slightest. But rest is what keeps mankind from breaking.

For me, my mental health isn't always the greatest. Exhaustion and boredom tend to go hand-in-hand with those days of emotional crisis where I just want to lay on my bed and stare at the ceiling. As an ISFP, boredom has a lot to do with it, and I'm aware of that aspect of it for myself now, more than I was before. So for me, caring for my mental health is a two-fold thing. One part is taking time to literally do nothing. Maybe read a book. Maybe watch one of my Asian dramas or a a movie in English so I can knit while watching. Maybe it's a combination of those things and then just sitting still and listening to absolutely nothing. I love the sound of silence. It's pure bliss. But, I can only do nothing for so long. The adventurous side of me needs trips up the mountain, or a drive further south, or even a day at the zoo to feel fully re-energized. Days of rest where there are no expectations and then a few days of fun are so crucial to my wellbeing.

Read More

Retro Family Lesson Time

It's so sad to me when "modern" women decide they're going to make judgement calls on women from the 30s, 40s, 50s, etc. 

Like, on a picture where the husband is sitting in an armchair reading and she's vacuuming. I heard today a comment that he's sexist. WELL, looking at the illustration (which I don't have a copy of unfortunately), it's clearly from the 1940s. Which means he's worked all day and she's a stay-at-home wife and mother. So he's tired and he's resting after being the breadwinner all day and she probably even brought him his newspaper.

The person in the conversation I was privy to paid absolutely no attention to historic context.

Read More

Book Review: Fair as a Star by Mimi Matthews (2020)

Fair as a Star

Victorian Romantics: Book One

by Mimi Matthews

2020

✯✯✯✯✯ 

I've put off reading any of Mimi Matthews' books. It sometimes happens for me that when an author is surrounded by so much hype and enthusiasm, that I end up crushingly disappointed in their work. Thankfully, that is not the case with Fair as a Star.

She handles the topic of melancholy/clinical depression with a delicate and understanding hand. There is no cure for Beryl. There are ways to help treat the symptoms of her melancholy, but there will never be a cure, and it is not her fault that she suffers from melancholy nor is it a cry for attention. It simply is what it is and what she needs most is for someone to be understanding and compassionate during her low periods because they will happen her entire life.

That compassionate approach to clinical depression is what makes Mimi Matthews an absolute winner in my book. As someone who suffers from situational depression and has a family member who has suffered from clinical depression my entire life, I strongly relate to Beryl's story. It's hard to describe what depression feels like but emptiness is a good starting point like there is a vacuum or black hole into which all of the good things have fallen. Ms. Matthews captured that reality very well.

Why I'm rating only 4 stars instead of 5 is because I do feel that a few things were wrapped up too quickly. Like the ease of Beryl and Mark ending up together. Henry doesn't seem a very forgiving sort of person, so I was surprised at how forgiving he was in the end. BUT, I probably do him a discourtesy. He's not a truly unpleasant man but has had to be pragmatic and ruthless in order to save the family farm, as it were. And while I like Mark immensely (he's a curate so of course, I like him), I do wish we'd had a chance to know him in a deeper way.

Beryl is wonderful and I love her hobby of whitework embroidery. I didn't even know that was a thing until this book and now I'm curious. My sister embroiders but I don't think she's ever done whitework.

Overall, an excellent novel with a little bit of a Sense and Sensibility vibe. I've read novels this short before, but unfortunately, the authors tend to chop their story so ruthlessly that there is no heart left. Thankfully, that's not the case here. I've already placed more of Ms. Matthews' books on hold at my library and can hardly wait to give them a try. What I'm truly eager for, though, is the second book in this series.

Read More

Japanese Drama Review: Seigi no Tenbin, Season One (2021)

Seigi no Tenbin (The Scales of Justice)

Country: Japan

Year: 2021

Episodes: 5 episodes, 50 minutes each

Genre: Law, Drama, Crime
Starring: Kamenashi Kazuya, Nao, Oshima Yuko, Omasa Aya, Kitayama Hiromitsu, Satoi Kenta

My Rating: ★★★★★

Click to read more of my reviews for Japanese entertainment. 

Watch Seigi no Tenbin through the fansubber's site, MiaMaw Fansubs. You can go the softsub/raw method or you can join her site as a member (go here) for access to the hard-subbed episodes. Respect the fansubber, though, and don't spread the subtitles around online, upload onto thief sites, or claim as your own.

Nao-san playing Saeki Mei-san in Seigi no Tenbin

When one division of a particular law firm loses its chief to an unexpected death, his daughter attempts to step in and fill his shoes, much to the doubt of the partners in the firm. Unfortunately, this division has never made much money, certainly not to the same extent as the other "rooms" in the firm, and the first thought is to close that division down permanently. Except that Saeki-san, recently deceased chief, already had plans to bring in new blood, and his daughter, also Saeki-san (Nao), acts on his prior decision. Takano Kazuya-san (Kamenashi Kazuya) is a fireball, bringing with him heat, passion, and a thirst for excitement in the criminal law arena. The firm partners agree to let Takano try his hand at bringing the division back up to speed, a challenge he relishes but one that won't be entirely easy since, counting him, there are now only 5 lawyers instead of the previous 14 or 15. Quite a few jumped ship after Saeki-san's death.

Read More

When an "ISFJ" realizes they're truly an ISFP

Yamapi dancing at a party, which, yeah, of course I had to.

I retook the MBTI test associated with the 16 Personalities website, and here are the incredibly accurate and helpful results.

Okay, so there is nothing weirder than an ISFP spending more than a decade being mistyped as an ISFJ. These two personality types are on opposite ends of the spectrum. I actually thought I was just a crap ISFJ and spent so much time and effort for years trying to get better at being one. Turns out, I'M NOT ONE! I'm an ISFP, better known as the Adventurer, and oh my gosh, friends, it makes so much bloody sense!

Read More

Watching F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers: Episode 2 (spoilers)

 

F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers

Episode 2

Country: Thailand

Year: 2021 

Watch F4 Thailand on YouTube with English subtitles.

Read my post about episode 1.

Thyme starts to realize that not everyone can be bought or placated with money in the place of an apology. It might just be one of his first encounters with real people in real life. Boy, does he live in a silver palace.

The kidnapping scene bothers me because everyone seems to think it's fine and dandy and Thyme looks so sexy when the car door opens (a lot of people's words, not mine). But from Gorya's perspective, and viewers not familiar with the story, it's terrifying. Because we don't know his intent. It could just as easily have been rape and murder. So yes, it's funny that he gives her a car, a makeover, a fancy dress, and enough diamonds to sink the Titanic as a means of NOT saying he's sorry. It's even funnier when she refuses him and kicks him where it hurts. Because he deserved that 100%. But Thyme's behavior is not okay and it bugs me that fans of this franchise just think it's adorbs.

However, Gorya getting lost in that huge house WAS funny. Tu is an amusing sort of actress, so she makes me like the character.

Are teachers this wimpy in real life? I'm guessing yes since this drama was made in 2021 so it's at least somewhat relevant to today's youth. But it's depressing watching a teacher do nothing when her students have written nasty slurs against Gorya on the chalkboard. I can't even . . . Bullying only happens when people do nothing, and that's exactly what is continuing to happen in episode 2.

A Jdrama that I LOVE that deals with a similar cyberbullying chatroom scenario that we encounter in episode 2 is Koko wa Ima kara Rinri desu (or From Now on We Begin Ethics). I've reviewed it HERE and it is a drama well worth your time in watching. Yamada Yuki is phenomenal as the ethics teacher. The drama does something useful and tries to give explanations and advice on how to handle these types of situations instead of just, well, using them for plain old entertainment purposes. Herd mentality is a terrifying thing.

The pressure to like Ren is increasing. The problem being, of course, that in his indifference and his attempts to maintain his own serenity, he does come across as "nice." I don't know if he really is, but the actor, Dew, has excellent chemistry with Tu who plays Gorya. So yes, I see where folks are claiming second lead syndrome. I'm feeling it a bit myself, hence the gif set below. Yes, I made them, enjoy. But I still don't think he's genuinely nice. I think he's apathetic 90% of the time and the 10% that he's not, he's only helping because Gorya is interesting, not because he's emotionally invested. Maybe I'll be proven wrong later on. But he is cute and he's not beating people up with his fists which is why I'm battling liking him.

  

 

One positive change from the Japanese series is that we FINALLY have members of the F4 wanting to cancel the red card bullying trend. I have to give MJ props for speaking up. I didn't actually think that would happen where one of them might almost admit that maybe giving red cards and letting kids get pulverized was a bad idea. But he doesn't like it and he's outspoken about it which means he is now the member of F4 with the most common sense. Not common sense with girls, but that's a whole other thing. Viewers can tell that MJ and Kavin are not into the red card thing anymore (if they ever were), and at the bullying scene near the end (it's not pretty since I hate seeing girls bullied by boys), even Thyme seems to realize he's making judgement errors that are really hurting people. Not just people, but girls, and he's beginning to understand that it's not an okay thing to do.

Ironically, Ren doesn't seem like he's actually against it. Like, it doesn't seem to turn his stomach the way it does with MJ and Kavin. So that's a little funky. If I were to sort him into a Harry Potter house, I think it might just be Slytherin. Just the vibes I'm getting right now, with his apathy, his obsession with one particular girl (meaning Mira not Gorya), and his roundabout approach to the bullying issue. Don't assume that if Ren is a Slytherin that it makes him bad. I'm a Slytherin myself, and there's just a way that Slytherins view the world that makes me feel like it might fit him. We'll see. He could also be a Ravenclaw or he might have one or the other as a secondary house.

Ironically, there's a good chance that Thyme is a Gryffindor. Probably burned or stripped. All the things. If you're curious where I'm getting these words, it's the Sorting Hat Chats personality typing.

I'm really loving Gorya's courage. She doesn't just give Thyme what he wants, meaning, she doesn't cave in and apologize to him so he can save face. The girl is willing to shave her head to save her friend rather than be pressured into an apology she doesn't feel and knows would be wrong to give. But she's not foolish either, the way the heroine was in Hana Yori Dango, rushing in where fools dare to tread. Gorya knows it's dangerous, but she can't do nothing, even if it means getting hurt.

Mira is also pretty awesome. She's promising and I can see why Ren thinks she's amazing, and clearly Gorya has every reason to admire her as well. She's a tough cookie and she won't just let bullies get away with their behavior. I think she and Thyme should have some words at some point.

Speaking of Thyme, his obsession with Gorya is getting scary. Because it's beginning to affect his friendship with Ren. I mean, have these two ever fought before? EVER?

I like episode 2 better than episode 1, or rather, I may be understanding the flow better. Thailand tends to take stories that other countries have made and give them a more serious bent. They did it with one of my favorites, Let's Fight, Ghost, and they're doing it here. There's a bit more realism of emotion than what I was expecting. The red card scene in this episode really hits home because the viewers can see (like actually tell) that 2 of the F4 guys know what's happening is wrong. BUT, the only one who puts a stop to it is Ren, and only by talking about something completely unrelated to what's happening. So they're not to the point of addressing what's going on and acknowledging it as "wrong" to the entire school, but maybe they're heading in that direction. I don't know, but I'm hopeful.

Read More