Is who I feel like, seeing as how I’ve been eating piggishly as of late.  Over the past 2 weeks I’ve gained 5lbs., and it’s troublesome.

I’ve actually started jogging a couple times a week, but being as out of shape that I am, I only do it for a very short duration.  I went today when it was ~85* outside and humid, so it was rough going.  More than anything though, me ankles feel stiff as hell, so that combined w/ the heat and the mid-day sun just had me dieing out there.  Keeping the pounds off can be such a pain in the ass.

But on to less depressing topics

– Reading –

Well, I’m currently waiting for a gift certificate from Amazon.com to arrive, and I plan on using it to buy 3 new books.  I want to get another novel from Haruki Murakami (being the fan that I am), and so I’m currently deciding between Norwegian Wood and South of the Border, West of the Sun (I’m leaning towards the latter).  Besides this, I also plan on getting Yu Hua’s Chronicle of  a Blood Merchant, seeing as how I really enjoyed his other novel, To Live.  As for the 3rd book, strange as this might sound, I want to get an introductory book to genetics, b/c I find that it’s an interesting topic.  And so, I’ve decided on Genetics for Dummies… you know, it’s embarrassing to admit that I’m actually buying a book from this series, especially when it’s for a topic that I’m actually interested in.  -_-;

– Manga –

Hmmm, before I start, is it even appropriate to call American translations of Japanese tanks “manga”?  Or would “graphic novel” be more appropriate?  Anyway, it turns out that Touru Fujisawa has gone back to his beloved GTO series, as he’s started a new mini series called GTO – Shonan 14 Days.  It takes place right after the story arc involving Teshigawara-sensei, in which Onizuka has been hospitilized.  I can’t remember when the original series ended, but I can still remember just how funny the humor was, as the visual gags actually made me laugh out loud (a rare feet).

In this latest series, Onizuka is taking 2 weeks off from teaching b/c he’s been temporarily blacklisted by the school administrators, so he goes back to his old stomping grounds of Shonan and meets up w/ Fuyutsuki’s old roommate from college.  In the interest of trying to keep this concise:  he decides to help her w/ the welfare home that she’s running for neglected and abused kids, but surprise surprise, the kids act like a bunch of brats (though no where near as bad as Onizuka’s home room class was).

The “Miyabi” of the bunch is Miki, who looks like a younger version of Fuyutsuki w/ slightly shorter hair (weird, I know).  Anyway, the first 6 chapters have already been translated, and I’m liking what I read.  It’s good to see Fujisawa back to form considering how cheesy his last 2 series, Rose Hip and Rose Hip Zero, turned out to be.  The trademark humor is back (Onizuka even pees his pants at one point), though it does feel slightly more mature than before.  It also seems like Fujisawa got himself a PS3 (big Resident Evil fan).

As for Onizuka, he’s still the same tail-chasing pervert that he’s always been, however he’s no longer aiming for a school girl as a housewife (all that time w/ Fuyutsuki must’ve done it).  Likewise, this is supposed to take place within the original series, yet for some reason, Onizuka just doesn’t feel quite as nigh-super-human as he once did.  He’s still a one-man army for sure, yet he seems to take more of a beating now.

Well, as long as Fujisawa can keep it up, I’ll keep reading.  And who knows, we might even get a new GTO series after this (I’d love to see where he’s headed next).

Oh, and it seems that Yotsuba&! is finally out of release limbo!  Turns out that Yen Press has acquired the license for the series from ADV, so we’ll finally be getting Vol.6 this Fall.  Depending on how well they do, I might just check out their re-releases of Vol.1-5 (though ADV’s original release was damn fine to begin w/).

Note: I think everyone can find something to like about Yotsuba&!