Kiku's Online Blog

[Kiku Honda]

>username : oishimaguro
>password : ******
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Today my home is officially equipped with internet service. As suggested by my mother I shall be creating and maintaining an internet blog starting today. This shall serve as a diary and a means of staying in touch with other people. It will also serve as a way for me to get more affiliated with the internet itself.

After studying other blogs and familiarizing myself with the way they operate I have come to learn the word 'LOL'. It is an abbreviation of the phrase 'laughing out loud'. Apparently the internet is chock full of things like these. Sigh. It looks like I have a long way to go. The internet is certainly an interesting place. It shall certainly take me awhile to familiarize myself with common terms used here.

Ah. My mother also said you should write about what you did during the day.

Nothing terribly interesting happened today... I did find a very cute cat with Mingxia on my way home. Hmm... Mingxia is a very dear friend to me yet lately I find myself wondering if it's anything more than that. Oh. I hope she doesn't see this particular blog post now.

I suppose that's it for now.

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[Kiku Honda]

>username : oishimaguro
>password : ******
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It was a holiday today and as such I didn't have school. So today I spent most of my hours cooking with my mother. She taught me a new recipe today and I spent most of my waking hours trying to perfect it. Unfortunately, I could not. It was very frustrating to be honest. I kept practicing however I could not get perfect. My mother said to just keep practicing yet when I said I would try and work on it the rest of the night she told me to prepare for bed.

Indeed, that was probably the right decision yet it pains me to know there is a recipe I haven't mastered yet. I suppose I must endure it until tomorrow when I come home from school. Ah. I suppose I should at least share what the recipe is. Perhaps if someone were to read this they could, by chance, be familiar with it and share a secret technique. ...Such wishful thinking is unbecoming of me. I must master this on my own.

In any case, what I was attempting to make is called Pochero. It's apparently a traditional Filipino dish that was popular in the Philippines. I was told that the archipelago country was one of the first to sink when the world 'ended' so I wonder how exactly my mother got this recipe in the first place. I was unable to locate any references on the internet. Indeed a mystery.

*****
Well, the ingredients were:

1 cup dried chickpeas
1 (3 lb) chicken, cut in serving size pieces
1 lb pork, cut in large cubes
2 chorizo sausage, cut into 1″ pieces
1 large onion, sliced
4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
4 tablespoons oil
10 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 ripe tomatoes, , peeled and diced or1 small can whole tomatoes
1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 bok choy, cut acrossin 2″ sections
8 green onions, cut in 2″ lengths

The procedure, which I keep messing up at one point or another, went something like :

Wash chick peas and soak overnight (or use a can of Garbanzo beans).

In one pan put in the chick peas chicken, pork, chorizo and add water to cover.

Add sliced onion, salt and peppercorns, bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer until meats and chick peas are almost tender.

In another pan heat oil and fry garlic with the chopped onion on low heat, stirring frequently until golden brown.

Add tomatoes and cook to a pulp.

Add meats, stock and sweet potatoes.

Simmer until potatoes are nearly cooked then add cabbage& green onions for the last few minutes.

Serve broth as soup and the meats& vegetables as a separate course.
*****

Well, if anyone has any luck with perfecting this recipe then you definitely deserve my praise.

Hmm... I believe my mother should be asleep at this point. I'm not one to disobey her but I suppose there's no harm just this once if I'm not caught in the act. I'll just have to keep it down. LOL. ...That felt strange.

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[Kiku Honda]

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I have been confined to my room for the time being. It is of my own foolishness, after all. I was attempting to perfect the recipe last night. I did not succeed, unfortunately. To make matters worse I really did end up trying all night. It escaped my mind that my mother likes to wake up at five in the morning. When she saw me cooking she understood immediately and I said I was not to leave my room for the day.

Ah. Please do not think badly of my mother. She said she'll bring my meals at the appropriate time and I did disobey her. But now I am left with nothing to do for the day. I suppose I should just study for my upcoming exams.

Please excuse the uneventful entry in this blog. I am without anything to do, after all.

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[Kiku Honda]

>username : oishimaguro
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I feel conflicted today. Whether I am happy or sad. I managed to perfect the recipe. It was such a feeling of accomplishment. But as my mother always says good things are always balanced out with bad things. And likewise, bad things should be balanced out with good things. The night my mother said I had done the recipe perfectly I had a horrible nightmare.

It was strange because to this point I can remember every detail of the nightmare. Usually, good dream or bad, I tend to forget the dream after a few hours. Indeed, it is quite troubling.

The nightmare first put me in my home. It didn't look like my home but the nightmare told me this was my home. After a short while I heard a loud siren. I was the only one in the house. I then had this strong impulse that I needed to get out of the house and find shelter. I had learned of something called the World War in school. Nations would send these flying vehicles called airplanes to drop explosives on enemy nations. The targeted nation would then ring a siren to alert the people so they could find shelter in underground bunkers and the like.

If this was done a few times then surely the method of protecting the people was satisfactory. Otherwise, the targeted nation would have thought of another way to protect the people from the explosives.

In any case, in the nightmare, a radio sounded and said it was advised to take shelter. However after a while they retracted the advise saying it should be okay. So, feeling relieved, I started to prepare dinner.

After a while I heard a very loud boom. And everything went white. When I awoke, I saw my 'house' had been completely destroyed. I was covered in rubble. I pushed the rubble off and looked at my surroundings. Everything had been engulfed with fire and ruin. All the surrounding houses were blown away, like it was merely a house of cards. The people, if not dead, were crying out for help. I could not move, I could not help them. That's when I woke up.

It was all so vivid. It makes me uncomfortable just thinking about it. Perhaps I should try a new recipe to take my mind off of it. Ah. Now would be a good opportunity to look for new shoes for Berwald. I suppose I should arrange when I'm to go back to the Lowerlands as well.

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[Kiku Honda]

>username : oishimaguro
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I would like to apologize to my blog. I'm not very certain there would be anyone who actually reads my entries but I feel like I should apologize to my blog for not posting an entry in a few days. I told myself that I would attempt to make it a habit yet I've betrayed my words.

As to where I've been the past few days I'm afraid not long after my last entry a cockroach made its way into my room and onto my head as I was using my computer. Uhm, though embarrassing to say, in my panic I accidentally destroyed my computer with my wooden sword. I just got it back from the repairs today. I was especially lucky because of my work in a computer company. My superiors were nice enough to put priority on the repairs of my computer. If by some chance they end up reading this I thank you sincerely.

I have an extreme dislike of cockroaches, I'm afraid. There is just something about them that makes me lose my composure. I fear it will someday be a major hindrance in a very important endeavor in the future.

...I'm uncertain what to speak of now. Mingxia is very adept at keeping good conversation. Or perhaps I just like listening to her speak. I really do like her voice. Oh. Another entry I hope she doesn't see.

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[Kiku Honda]

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My nightmares have become much more frequent. I'm afraid my nightmare visits me nearly every night now. I haven't been able to get much sleep. Even as I type I'm quite sleepy but I'm afraid if I sleep the nightmare will haunt me once again. The nightmare is so vivid and real. I have it almost every night yet each time I see the nightmare its as if its the first time. I'm in no control of the vision whatsoever.

Though recently I've set my sights on a solution. Lucid dreaming. It seems that there is a type of dream wherein you know you're dreaming and thus, can manipulate the dream according to your imagination. I'm going to start training myself so that I'll be able to control the nightmare and bend it to my will.

I do realize this research will lead to more sleepless nights and I'm already at my limit. But I suppose it should be worth it for me to be able to sleep soundly again.

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[Kiku Honda]

>username : oishimaguro
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It has been quite some time since I have posted. I'm afraid I was too caught up in trying to solve my sleep problem. Also, I'm afraid my efforts were in vain. Or rather, the circumstances have changed. While I was working on dream recalling, and failing miserably, sometime in the past week the nightmare changed. ...It's something more like a very strange dream. This new dream, however, is still an unpleasant one and is still hindering REM sleep.

The dream puts me in a very cold place. It is always snowing. I see many different people, their hair thick to protect them from the clothes. However, their most defining characteristic was their clothes. The patterns and the designs of the long clothes they wore had bold line and swirl patterns that went along the entire piece of cloth. I look behind me and see many different strange creature's skins and fur mounted on a wall. The creatures I saw. They looked like how books would describe animals that went extinct long ago. Near their hides were spears and sticks.

'Hunters.' kept popping into my mind during the dream. The men were telling tales about the gods of the mountain. Challenging those they determined to be strong by sending 'white death'.

That's where my dream ends. Those words; 'white death.'

I've now abandoned my goal to master lucid dreaming and decided to try and understand the meaning behind this new dream. I know I shouldn't push myself any further. A few days ago I collapsed in the middle of walking in the hallway. I do not wish to cause any of my friends any worry. Especially Mingxia. She worries the most for anyone. I suppose I shall try getting some rest.

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[Kiku Honda]

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I have been making frequent visits to the library now. I am almost certain that both my dream and nightmare had something to do with the past. So far I have yet to come across anything regarding 'white death' but have found more information on the three world wars. The only mention large bombs where in world wars two and three. Most of the books cover the same information but are in pieces. I'll need to read all of them to learn more. So far the only relevant thing I've learned is the involvement of something called the atomic bomb. Nothing more.

To change the subject, I have finally found a good pair of shoes for my friend, Berwald. I accidentally set his shoe on fire and ruined it. Its certainly my responsibility so I got him a very nice pair that should fit him. The only problem, however, is actually getting the pair to him. Berwald is a very modest man, I'm almost certain he'll refuse if I offer him the shoes directly. I know his work address so maybe I can try giving leaving it there for him to find. Then again, that's not 100% sure to work either. I'll be going to the lowlands tomorrow, I suppose I shall make my choice on the way.

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[Kiku Honda]

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My teacher in creative writing class gave us an assignment. We have to write a joke involving the word curse. I have decided to write a fairy tale joke. I am still working on it but here is the first part.

Once upon a time there was a girl. She was a beautiful princess with hair as black as night. Sadly, this princess was cursed. If she ever stepped foot outside the castle, she would die. She could only talk to the people inside the castle and look at those passing by. Many moons and many suns came by and she aged into fine woman. Her heart was as innocent as it was on her day of birth, not knowing anyone outside of the castle.

One day, she wrote a message of whimsy. Asking anyone who found it to lift her curse. She folded the paper into an airplane and let the old parchment fly outside her stone window, not expecting anyone to answer her call.

But sure enough, a young prince, braver than any knight and wiser than any king, who was visiting the town found the paper and read her letter. He immediately went for the castle. When he arrived there he met the princess, and they fell in love. He wanted to free her of her curse but he didn't know how.

Seeking a way to free his love, he set out to find a wizard that was fabled to possess great power.

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[Kiku Honda]

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The fabled wizard was said to live in a far away land. Where even the strong were said to have fallen during their journey. The young prince resolved himself to travel to the wizard and ask for his help in curing the princess. He bid a temporary farewell to his love and set off on his finest horse and three fortnights worth of travel supplies.

The journey was indeed hard. The wizard was said to have lived far east, past the kingdom, a land where white frost drops endlessly. The days came and went. He endured strange weather, rabid creatures and bandits. His finest horse died of exhaustion but eventually, after overcoming even the brutal cold, he found the old hut where the wizard lived. The wizard welcomed him with hospitable arms.

After resting, he asked him if there was a way to fix his love's curse. The wizard got giant old book and turned the dirty old pages to a page that had been torn slightly. Almost as if someone had tried to rip it off before stopping. The wizard told the prince that he would help him for a price. The young prince had to kill a dragon that was threatening his home.

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[Kiku Honda]

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I have finally completed my joke.

The young prince suited up and battled the fierce dragon and emerged victorious. He brought the wizard the dragon's head as proof and the wizard used a holy spell to free the princess of her curse. The young prince went back to the castle and told his love that the curse had been lifted. Happy she was finally free, the princess stepped out of the castle doors. But sadly, for reasons unkown, as soon as she stepped outside of the castle she crumpled and died.

Grief stricken, the young prince went back to the wizard and turned his sword on him.

The wizard looked shocked. With tears in his eyes he said, "I am deeply sorry my young prince! Fix her curse? I thought you said fix her purse!"

And that is the joke. Ba-dum Tss.

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