kaputt

Leaves at the cottage.


So my friends John and Kristen have gotten me hooked on Hikaru no Go, an animated series about a young boy named Shindo Hikaru who accidentally awakens the ghost of a Go master.

Yeah, I know ... it sounds incredibly dull, doesn't it? But the characters are fascinating, and the creators have done an excellent job at making the game of Go exciting. I don't know how to play, yet I find myself holding my breath as Hikaru examines the board with frightened eyes (HUGE frightened eyes, as seems to be the norm in many anime characters), about to place his stone.

And suddenly I want to learn to play Go! I almost caved when Parki and Jeff and I were in the game store under the Royal York Hotel and I saw a cheap Go board set. Realistically though, I know that once I finish watching the DVDs, my interest will wane. There are too many other things I want to do in my spare time, like write more music, learn German and Italian.

Yes, I've decided to learn a little bit of Italian. Jeff and I may be visiting Italy in a couple of years, plus my friend Luisa (who is fluent) says she is willing to let me practice on her. I hope she knows what she's in for. Reid's going to be learning as well.

My German studies plod along, and I'm still having a lot of fun. I'm working my way through reading a picture book. My new favorite word: "kaputt", which means broken. I'm also reading more about Vienna, to research in prep for our trip next month; I especially enjoy reading about the food.

In case you're wondering when I find the time to study these languages, it's mainly during the breaks I take to give my arms a rest throughout the day. I have all my language CDs on my iPod, so listen to them out in the living room while I do my arm stretches and exercises. These arm breaks only last about 10 minutes or so, but they add up over the day. I also spend a couple of solid hours here and there, usually on weekends or evenings when Jeff is working (which is pretty often these days).

Don't watch much regular TV anymore, and as a result I'm getting a lot more reading and language study into my life. When I do watch TV, it's usually the Discovery Channel or the Food network. I blame Jeff and Maya Bohnhoff for getting me hooked on the latter. Watched the Iron Chef Natto Challenge last night. :-)

November/2003 comments: Read | Post | LJ