Gord’s Comments (group member since Apr 06, 2017)

Gord’s comments from the Vampires, Weres and Fae! group.

Today is the final day of my vacation and it marks my tenth day of going for at least two walks each day. The only exception was last Saturday when I was a bit of a funk and only went for the one walk. There were a few days in there were I went for three walks so it all equals out.

Now I want to roll this into my normal work day routine.

My final day of vacation. Booooo

Harry Potter would be good for that.

I find myself booked solid on audiobooks all of a sudden. I have 16 hours of Harry Potter left. I then have 13.5 hours of A Darkness Absolute and then 10 hours of My Lovely Wife

Lets get this posts back on track and back to their regular schedule. Since I was on vacation the last week there will be a few things here.

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear (Light Novel) Vol. 9 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
More bear related awesomeness as I slowly reread through this series again. Just a fun cozy read for me.

Payback in Death ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I have been wanting to get back to this series now for some time but my other things have kept me busy. This week I just broke down and snagged the next book. It has been a few months and man does it feel good to come back to this series. The mystery, the characters, especially the characters, it's all just fun to read.

Isekai Walking: Volume 1 Elesia Kingdom Arc ⭐⭐⭐
This was a random Hoopla snag as the title caught my eye. The set up for this book is as bog standard as they get. The MC is summoned to another world with several other people to save a kingdom from the demon king. Of those that are summoned he has no noticeable immediately busted stats and skills so he is kicked out of the castle and left to essentially survive on his own. It turns out that the kingdom who summoned these "heroes" might not be on the up and up. Like I said, all pretty standard. Also, as one would expect in a novel of this sort, our MC does indeed have a busted skill. For every step he takes he gains one experience point and when he is walking he does not get tired. His initial step count is pretty low. For level one he needs to take 1,000 steps. Up to level ten that amount goes up by 1,000 steps. After that it starts to get a bit more difficult. After level 10 it starts to go up by 10k and after that I think it starts to go up by 100k. This is far from ground breaking and while it has a unique twist to I don't feel that the twist is fully explored. That being said this is a a cozy popcorn kind of isekai so I will be back for more.

Now for the manga

Wash It All Away 02 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Much like Hirayasumi this is another slice of life manga and I have a real hard time explaining why I like it so much. It's simply about a girl with amnesia who runs her own laundry service. It's the characters, the location, the vibes, it all just clicks with me and I am here for it.

Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 22 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
More FMA and yes, it's awesome

Don't Call it Mystery (Omnibus) Vol. 13-14 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I'm not sure if it was the break between books or this volume in particular but this book felt a bit flat for me. The first part of the book was the conclusion to the mystery at the end of the last omnibus. Once I got back into the vibe of things this was satisfying and the start of a larger mystery of who "Ant" is. The second was a smaller self contained mystery who had our MC there but he wasn't actually there. Basically one of the cops he has been dealing with found themselves in a situation where they had to solve a mystery before help arrived. To do this he channeled his inner Totonou and that is how we have our MC appear in this arc. He was basically a ghost for these section. The last section is the set up for the next mystery and this is a 20 year old case. Overall this was alright but it really felt like it lacked any of the big surprises and twists that previous volumes had. The wait for the next volume is going to be a real long one I think. These are omnibus editions collecting two volumes of manga in one. This volume covered issues 13 and 14. Volume 15 was just released in March of this year in Japan and I don't see anything about volume 16. We have to wait for that to be published, then it needs to be translated, released, etc, etc, etc. It's going to be a long wait.

As for what is next.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Still working through this on my walks. I'm about 40% of the way into this and it's a fun read.

After that I am just going to keep working through my stack of library things. I'm reading some Yowamushi Pedal today followed by some more JoJo. After that, we'll see what I want to read next.

From the brief stuff I've read it doesn't sound like it fits me. I'm not getting these when I transition from one position to another, say standing up. I've had these while sitting down, I've had these while standing up, etc. I've also checked my BP a couple times while this was happening and it's no different than when I take them during my normal times. I also saw something where POTS mainly affects females. Not saying men can't get it of course

Pots? The doc was mentioning BPPV which seems to kind of line up with what I have happening currently

I thought I had updated that. I had an appointment on Wednesday that was kind of an interview and it went well. He asked a few question and I've now got a family doctor. I need to book my first physical for September. Honestly, I was rather surprised how it easy it went. Everything I had been led to believe made it sound like it was super hard to get a family doctor. Maybe I just got stupid lucky.

As for the dizzy spells, they've been pretty minor lately (last couple weeks) and like I said in the other thread I've gotten better at recognizing the signs and I think I know my trigger. It's made them easier to manage and I just don't feel as shitty afterwards. The problem is that the Epley maneuver is just not something I can easily perform out in public. It would look weird as shit if I suddenly just sprawled out on the floor in the middle of the conference center. If it were to happen on a walk, I can just flop on the grass. If it happens at work, well, I'm not flopping on the floor, that's just nasty, but, I can get to my chair at my desk and ride it out.

Just letting everyone know that I am home safe and sound. Just going to hide away for the next few days with my books.

Being realistic I should be fine it's the what if what worries me. I'm in a location with tons of stairs and people. This time I was fine but what about next time. What if next time it doesn't pass as easily or as clean. What if I'm left feeling light headed and nauseous. How do I get home? Sorry for being a bummer just, well, bummed

Time to fully embrace that hermit lifestyle

yeah I'm heading home.fuck my life

Fuck, fuck, fuck. I just got hit with a bad dizzy spell in a main area. It's passed and I'm safe but I'm thinking for my own safety I should just head home for the weekend. I got lucky this time but maybe I won't next time

The first thing I do is find a quiet place and start reading my book. So typical of me

I feel super awkward doing a hard pivot but... I'm now officially at the con. Costumes and nerds everywhere. I've got my pass and a coffee. Time for the weekend to start

After paying close attention to my last few dizzy spells, no matter how minor, and keeping the BPPV thing in mind, if that is indeed what I have, I think I know my trigger now. It seems like tilting my head forward, tight to my chest, is what triggers it. Now that I know what to look for and I catch it in time I can simply lift my head and things seem to pass. It's not a guarantee but it's another tool in my arsenal against this.

I'm reading Payback In Death and I can feel just a slight real world influence for one of the suspects. Oglebee feels like a real world person got stuffed into this book and it's kind of gross.

Best of July:

This was just an amazing comic with such a great message. I love that the romance took time to naturally cook. Just a great read. I also had a bunch of four star reads as usual.

Worst of July:

I didn't have anything below a three star rating and it feels kind of wrong to pick one of them. Even the lower end of those weren't bad, just average.

Looking forward to:

I'm returning to the In Death series after many, many, many months away. Outside of that I've got some exciting things coming up. The next Rockton book, a reread of Franken Fran, Lady’s Knight

Alright, enough procrastinating, time to type this up. I'm on vacation and really in the mood to read right now so I've been putting this off since yesterday morning.

The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Is there any shock at all that I enjoyed this book? Between my personal pile and waiting for the queue at the library it has been a few months since I was able to get back to this series. It just felt good to be back to this world. To witness the madness of the dungeon, Carl's antics, Donut being Donut, and everything else. I will admit that this level of the dungeon was more then a bit confusing with all the colors of trains, the stations, portals, etc but at the same time the author is very forward that you, as the reader, don't need to understand it. To basically strap in and just enjoy the ride which is what I did. I have a lot of broader questions for the series as a whole. What is going to happen on the next floor? What is going to happen with certain characters? Where are certain characters? What is going on outside of the game? Stuff like that.

Deliverance ⭐⭐⭐⭐
It has been more then a few months since I last got to this series. I was just in a mood, scrolling through my TBR looking for an audiobook, and this jumped out at me. This book just delivered for me on several story points that the previous book set up. Jordan's eventual downfall, the reunion with X, etc, while also setting up future story lines which I am very interested in.

Before We Say Goodbye 😢😢😢😢
The next installment of emotional damage in this series. Yes, the series is repetitive. Yes, the lore is not really expanded upon much, Yes, there are faults with this series in general. It's so good at delivering these emotional short stories that just tug at the old heart strings though. There is something in that simplicity that just keeps me coming back for more, when I am emotionally prepared for it.

Manga/Comics

String ⭐⭐⭐
This is one I found at my library and the concept intrigued me. Our MC can see strings between people. Blue strings connect intimate partners. Black strings connect a murderer and their victims. Our MC does work with all sorts of people from cops to gang bangers. The set up for this book is that she wakes up one days and sees a black string attached to her and she has to find out if she is the killer or the victim. It's an interesting set up for a series and I think there is a lot of potential here but it just left me wanting more by the end. That's the frustrating part as there is no indication that there will be more. It's just the open ending with a tease of maybe there being more.

SAKAMOTO DAYS 17 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
More Sakamoto Days, not a lot to really say here

Girl Crush, Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐
Funny story about this one here. I was in the mood for another cozy yuri manga series. I saw this one, more specifically, I saw the title, and didn't bother looking any deeper and just requested it. This is not a yuri, not even a hint at any yuri at all. This is a story about Kpop idols or young girls wanting to become idols. The whole talent versus passion trope. This is going to be on that I am going to drop. Not that it's bad or anything but this is just not something that I am interested in. I don't like the MC and her personality. I get why she is the way she is but that doesn't make it fun to read her. I'm also not overly interested in the idol stuff. The idols themselves are fine and are talented folks. The business behind them and some of the fans that support them are concerning shall we say.

Hirayasumi, Vol. 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
There is not a whole lot I can really say about this one. It's more of what I expect from this slice of life series.

Nakamura-san, the Uninvited Gyaru Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐
Another random snag from the library and another one I am feeling conflicted about. This is an odd couples type of romantic comedy. On one side you have the introverted otaku guy who keeps to himself. On the other side we have the extroverted gyaru girl who is extroverted and loud. She needs a new place to stay after getting kicked out of her last place due to construction and forces herself into this guys life basically. We soon discover that she has a crush on him and they start to learn how to live together. There are definitely moments where this series is cute and funny. There are also moments that I'm just not a big fan of. Tropes that are old as hell and haven't aged well at all. Things like the guy walking in on the girl naked out of concern and she hits him for no reason. The gyaru in this series also feels dangerously oblivious at times which gives it some very weird vibes. I kind of want to keep reading though just to see where this goes and if it gets better.

The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was a book that I was violently strong armed into reading (someone posted about how good it was and I had to read it as a result) and it was definitely a fun read. This was another one where I didn't read the synopsis for so the whole sci-fi elements were a big surprise to say the least. I think my favorite thing about his comic has to be Cuthbert. Characters that are intentionally written to be stupid can be real hit or miss for me. It's so easy for these type of characters to be just down right annoying. Cuthbert on the other hand is just a mood and I love him for it.

What is next?
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix This is my next audiobook and the one that is going to carry me through my convention this weekend
Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear (Light Novel) Vol. 9 my current physical book
Payback in Death I am finally getting back to this series.

Outside of that I am have nothing but vacation time and a stack of things from the library. I'll see where things take me.

Rather proud of myself today. I'm on vacation right now and I know I have the rather bad habit of just turning into the biggest couch potato ever while I'm off. I set myself the ambitious goal of walking twice a day for a couple reasons. One, I wanted to get back into the habit of going for a walk. Two, I wanted to make sure I did something besides nothing while I was off. Yesterday I went out and completed my two walks for a total of about 6km or about 4 miles. Today I went for three walks. I did the one in the morning and the one in the evening that I am trying to make standard. I also had to go out for supplies today which was my third walk. All told I walked 10 km or about 6 miles today.