Yumi's Cells

So, by moving one of the repeater things out to the conservatory, I was able to get WiFi to the shed! The bad thing about that is it won't encourage me to go to the gym (where I can do weight machines) but the good thing is I can now watch Viki shows out in the shed when I exercise on the elliptical. Anyway, I realised (as I caught up on all the released shows for Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha) that everything else I have in progress is...kinda depressing. I mean, yes, some of those shows are going to end up happy by the end, but I mean they are generally darker in tone. Suicide/Murder, Trauma Cleaning, Family Drama. And I've been feeling a bit down. We've been sick. Little dude has been super negative and grumpy. Just, you know. The blahs. They are here.

So I thought I'd try a new show that looks super cute: Yumi's Cells. 

What was that cartoon movie a number of years back? The one where about the pre-teen girl and the emotions in her head? This definitely harkens back to that. Whatever it was called. I'm too lazy to look it up. Anyway, Yumi (played by Kim Go-Eun) is 30 something and about 3 years ago very unlucky in love. Since that horrible experience, she's dedicated herself to her work. She's a bit awkward and lives in her head a lot (and we get an up close glimpse of that with the animated "cells" that are avatars of things like Love, Sincerity, Reason, Hunger, etc. So more than the 4 or 5 or whatever it was in that movie. This is a whole village. It takes a village to raise a child, right?

Anyway, she mis-reads the cues of a younger handsome guy at work over the first couple of episodes (spoiler: he's not interested in girls, either her OR Ruby, one of those chirpy sickly sweet types that also works at the office who's very interested in him). This kind of drops her back into depression, obsessing over past traumas. But Wu Gi (played by Minho from SHINee and from To the Beautiful You), the guy she had a bit of a thing for, wanted to get close to her to set her up on a date with another friend of his: Gu Woong (played by Ahn Bo-Hyun, who looks VERY different with long hair! I like it!). 

Their blind date, which she's not even sure why she agreed to go to, starts off rather tragically (Wong is basically blindsided by the sight of her and can hardly get a word out), but by the end, things are looking pretty good. But then Yumi's "Hysteria" cell takes over (Love, at this point, is stranded on an island after being swept out to sea in a flood of tears and Reason, Emotion, Fashion and Anxiety are tying to hold down the fort). But Gu Woong isn't your typical guy and isn't ready to give up.

I've already watched three episodes and it's just charming. Bright, colourful. Yes, there's some pain, but the overall tone of the show is very light. It's actually the first show in quite a long time that I didn't get tempted to click to see how much of the episode was left to go. 60 minutes blinked by. In fact, (eep), I watched episode 2 this morning while exercising and then took a long lunch and watched episode 3 while I ate. Which I would not have done if I'd realised that all the episodes aren't out yet! AGHHHHH. So I think I've only got one more to go before I'm caught up on that one too. Dammit, Janet. 

So that means I'll probably be adding one more cheerful show to the list because the next Hometown won't be for a while either. Sigh. 

Though I do wish I hadn't read the comments on AsianWiki about this one. It's based on a WebToon and it looks like she ends up with another character called Ba-bi (?) in that BUT there's a good chance based on a) all the promo materials that just show Gu Woong and b) the cast listing where that character isn't even mentioned in the main listing, but instead in the "Other Characters" list. I hope so. Woong is charming and I like him a lot. Or, maybe, she doesn't end up with the Ba-bi guy either? Very confused by all the comments. It looks like it's another of those WebToons that's still ongoing, so who knows. 

I confess I rather like just a single season. I don't really want to get invested in one relationship and then have OOPs! Here's another season and a whole other character! 

But, anyway. Enjoying the show.

Edit: I'm up through episode 8 now and I gotta say that this one is really well done. It's so realistic in the not-always-ideal reactions of the main characters -- like, Woong gets salty after Yumi gets embarrassed (& embarrasses him) so they both nearly ruin their weekend getaway. And they're running into some trouble where he didn't mention that Sae-yi, the woman he works with (who likes him, even though she's never done anything about it, but now that Yumi's around, she's meddling) moved into his building. And you can see that he didn't mention it because a) he knew Yumi wouldn't like it but he didn't want to get in a fight about it and b) he doesn't like her (now) in that way BUT then you can exactly see why Yumi, who broke up with the last guy after dating him for 7 years (!) after he cheated on her, immediately is stormy over it. Because she's craving trust over all else, after hers was broken. 

They've also introduced the Babi character (who has a girlfriend but she, like Woong, is often busy with work and ditching him). He's confusing Yumi as he's sort of low key flirty but also could just be genuinely friendly. So, eh, dunno where this one is going to go. I do really like Woong, but however it winds up, I gotta admit that they're being very true to the characters and their motivations.

Edit: Eh, ok, finished it. And apparently there's going to be a second season AND it really follows the webtoon (?) so at the end of the first season, she and Woong have broken up. So. A little disappointing on one hand BUT it's all really well done and very believable so I can't really complain. I imagine I'll watch the next season when it comes out too, though I don't feel like there's much chemistry going on between Yumi and Ba-bi, so it's hard to see. 

But. Am I glad I watched it? Yes. 

Move to Heaven

I keep catching up to the last episode released in Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha and I can only watch Viki shows at the gym, so I started another show for home workout watching: Move to Heaven. 

I'd seen a trailer (or clip or something) for this one a little while ago and thought I would give it a try even though it a) looks like it will probably be a bit of a tear jerker and b) probably doesn't have much romance. There was something poignant about it that drew me. 

I'm gonna be lazy and post the summary from AsianWiki:

Geu-Ru (Tang Joon-Sang) is a young man with Asperger syndrome. He works for his father’s business “Move To Heaven.” Their job is to arrange items left by deceased people. One day, Geu-Ru's own father dies. Gue-Ru is left alone, but his uncle Sang-Gu (Lee Je-Hoon) suddenly appears in front of him. Sang-Gu is a cold man. He was a martial artist who fought in underground matches. He went to prison because of what happened at his fight. Sang-Gu now becomes Geu-Ru’s guardian. They run “Move To Heaven” together.

In the first episode (which is as far as I've gotten), you meet Geu-Ru and his father and, at the very end, the uncle, who bursts into poor Geu-Ru's life in a spectacularly rude fashion. Weirdly, the dad is an actor (Ji Jin-Hee) that I randomly followed on Instagram some time ago, so I recognised him. I have no idea why I'd started following him as I've never seen him in anything before. Maybe because he's my age? I have no idea.

The scenes with the father and son were very sweet. And also the bits with Geu-Ru and his female friend (not sure if she's supposed to be much older or around the same age--I think around the same, though the actress herself is a few years older than him). Joon-Sang is doing an excellent job portraying an Asperger's character. 

I can already tell this will be a very emotional drama and the construct seems like it will partly follow what they discover in each trauma cleaning job and, I'm sure, the easing of the asshole-ness of the uncle. Not entirely sure it'll be a good drama to exercise to, but it is what it is. At least the shed is private and I can cry in peace if I have to.

Edit: Ok, I've been getting on with this one. And it's really good. But it's really quite heavy. I expected that, but...it's hard to watch it two days in a row. I really, really hope it ends on a high(er) note. It's also a lot more about the uncle than I thought it would be.

Blue Birthday

So, since little dude decided he'd watch The School Nurse Files with me, I needed another show to watch. I was at the gym, so I picked another Viki title: Blue Birthday that I'd seen a clip or two of. It's one of the PlayList Global shows and the things I've seen from them online have all been good, though I don't think I've ever done an entire show before. They're usually just up on YouTube (and I've seen the clips on Facebook), so I was surprised to see it on Viki. Could be they're moving up in the world.

The episodes are all quite short and random lengths, which is actually kind of good for gym time. I watched the first episode (25 minutes) while on the treadmill, then did a round of all the arm weight machines, then watched the second episode (20 minutes) while on the cross trainer. 

Anyway, this one is about a 28 year old woman who's first love committed suicide 10 years ago on her birthday. She'd intended to confess to him that day (they'd been friends for 10 years) but found him with his wrist slit in the photography room -- which he'd decorated with streamers and balloons and cake for her birthday. Which seems a bit suspect...

So, she's still not over him and thinks about him a lot, especially (as you might imagine) on her birthday. On this particular one, she's back in her old neighbourhood because of her job (rescuing animals) and finds his camera and some pictures she'd never seen before at a lost and found in a shop (and the shopkeep obviously knows something). She takes it all home and, in a fit of sadness, burns one of the photos. This somehow transports her back in time to the day of that photo.

She thinks it's just a dream and is so happy to see Ji Seo-jun again. But, when she gets "back" to the present day she realises that she's now got a scar on her knee from a fall she took in the "dream" and some new memories to boot. By the end of the second episode, she's burned another of the limited amount of pictures and is back in the past again. 

Not sure if this is going to end happy or what...the shopkeep (who she also sees during her first trip back to the past) makes it sound like meddling will cause trouble and there's a fair bit of rather heavy-handed hints about how living in the past isn't good. So, we'll see. The acting is good. The story is interesting. I do hope it ends happy-ish. Can she save him? I dunno. But I have some strong suspicions that his death wasn't a simple suicide. It'll be a good one to do when I go to the gym.

Edit: Have watched a few more at the gym and, at the end of the last episode, she apparently managed to save him (!) and he's in the present day...but in doing so, she managed to kill her friendship with her former best girl friend. There's more episodes but...I'm kinda like...does she try and go back again to fix the friendship? Girl, don't mess around! You literally brought the dude back from the dead (so apparently it was a suicide and the hints it was something more weren't true??). You KNOW that when you go back and meddle, things change. But is trying to get a friendship back worth someone maybe losing their life again? Just try and fix it in the present day! Or give up! 

The School Nurse Files

So...since Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha isn't fully released, I knew I needed another show to watch alongside it. Apparently continuing on with my theme of picking a show with an actor I just watched, I thought I'd try The School Nurse Files. It's got Nam Joo-Hyuk, who I just saw in Start Up, as well as Jung Yu-Mi (the aforementioned nurse).

The first thing I gotta say is that this is one weird show. It might be the strangest Kdrama I've seen yet. Actually, wait, it definitely IS the strangest Kdrama I've tried. That's not a bad thing. Is there an anime of this? Because I could so see this being an anime. 

So. Story. Ms. Nurse has been able to see "jellies" since she was a kid--monster-y creatures that either are or are fed by human desires. Think Odd Thomas-like abilities. She can combat these jellies that no one else can see with a plastic light up sword and a bb gun. Yep. You read that right. Teacher Hong (Nam) is a Chinese language teacher and the grandson of the guy who opened the school. He's got some special aura/energy bubble around him that Ms. Nurse can use to help her fight the jellies. 

The first episode was a WILD ride. Just going to summarise it as I feel it wouldn't make much sense if I went about it as it was shown. Basically, the school was built on a location where there used to be a lake that jilted lovers threw themselves into and drowned. And monstrous things fed upon those poor unfortunate souls and it got to be such a problem that officials (?) filled the lake in. There's a stone that marks a spot in the basement of the school and Teacher Hong had been left instructions that the basement has to be "fumigated" every 6 months by a particular company...but it hasn't been done in a year (they've gone out of business? out of contact? who knows.). Which is presumably why the jellies are taking over and things are gettin' weird, yo. 

Literally kids are about to fling themselves off the school roof and into a crazy sinkhole at the end of the cliffhanger episode 1. I was, like, where the heck do they go from here if this is episode 1!?

So, obviously, the plot is going to be about Ms. Nurse and Teacher Hong teaming up to save students and combat the jellies and presumably figure out what's up with the school. I don't think there's going to be a ton of romance in this one. Maybe a hint. And I only say that because Nam Joo-Hyuk is in it. 

The acting is fiercely bizarre by everyone. Not in a bad way -- it's purposeful. Things are WEIRD, man. I don't actually even want to try and really describe what's going on because I feel like it would cheapen it somehow. It's inexplicable. I also would say that it doesn't make total sense -- like, why does Teacher Hong immediately go from "this woman is mad as a bag of frogs" to "ok, let me fight with you against these things that only you can see"? It feels like there are story beats missing. Maybe they're in the source novel? I dunno. Maybe they just want to keep you off balance? Because certainly this show is decidedly off-kilter.

At any rate, I'd say I'm enjoying the spectacle of it. I've just watched two episodes so far. Will update later, though I'll definitely not be doing any kind of recap on this one. It just wouldn't do it justice. It's like Stranger Things meets Odd Thomas meets The Dead Zone...but with all the colour of Moulin Rouge.

Edit: Re-watched the first two episodes with little dude. He liked it, though his immediate reaction was basically What did I just watch? which, you know, fair. So I'm going to save this to watch with him. 

Edit: Okay, literally months and months later (May 2022) and I finally finished this one. My general thoughts are that I liked it but I didn't love it, though I suspect it is one of those shows where, if you haven't read the manga/manhwa (I'm assuming there is one), that you're bound to be confused. Some of it seemed rushed. Some of it was a bit muddled. Some of it was a bit underdeveloped. 

Oh, just looked. Apparently it was based on a novel. I imagine some of the things I was all "what...?" about are expanded on in the novel. The romance wasn't really a romance either -- more a strange tension between the two leads. Did they like each other? Love each other? Feel drawn to each other? It's hard to say. Both of them played it very subdued, but that's also partly due to the story. I mean, it's a strange story. And I'm a person that writes strange stories. Literally, that's my career. So, yeah, this is a really weird one. Of course, that's the part that I really liked. It literally oozes weird. 

So, am I glad I watched it? Sure. Would I watch it again? Probably not, unless I go search for the novel and then want to re-watch to have a more fully rounded appreciation of it. 

It's definitely not a show that I would recommend for newcomers to Korean drama as it is unlike just about anything I can think of. Maybe a little bit of the Uncanny Counter? Nah. That one was a lot more straightforward. 

My fav thing, actually, was the main theme song. I really wish I could find it somewhere other than YouTube. It was just as weird as the show and sticks in your head.

A Witch's Love

Nuts. So. Went to the gym the other day and I can get WiFi there...so I thought I'd try something on Viki instead of Netflix (I can only watch downloaded stuff out in the shed as the WiFi doesn't usually reach). And I saw that A Witch's Love (aka A Witch's Romance) with Park Seo Joon was now available. And I'd wanted to watch it for a while because a) noona romance, b) Park Seo Joon. 

It's an older one (2014) but I was all excited. Then I started watching it and I'm, like, ummmmmmm why is this storyline so familiar? And, yeah. It's a remake of the Thai show Queen of No Marriage. Which I hated so much that I didn't even finish the first episode.

To be fair, the acting in this Korean version is MUCH MUCH MUCH better even from the 30 minutes or so of it I watched. But...I still really didn't like the character of the female lead (not her acting or the actress, but the character) and the story seemed pretty much dead on for the other one (other than it didn't, thankfully, open with the scene with the mother flagellating herself). I didn't get any farther because I only did 30 minutes on the elliptical and the rest on the weight machines. But...I dunno if I'm going to watch any more of it. The Queen of No Marriage left such a bad taste in my mouth that, eh, not sure even Park Seo Joon could take it away.

I have seen clips of this version though (obviously from later episodes), so maybe I'll give it another go. Or maybe I'll just watch something newer with Park Seo Joon in it instead.

Hometown Cha Cha Cha

So, yeah, I just watched Kim Sun-ho in Start Up where he was the victim of Second Lead Syndrome. And I saw that there was a new show with him in it, as well as Shin Min-ah (who I usually like a lot) called Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha so I thought, hey, what the heck, I'll try it. I'm through episode 4 now.

And, ok, even though it's breaking my rule of not watching a show until it is fully released, I am enjoying it. He's just a joy. But let me start over with the story...

Min-ah plays a Seoulite dentist who winds up quitting her job when she argued with her boss about her boss' practice of overcharging patients. She's very big city, but she winds up visiting Gongjin (a sleepy seaside town) on her dead mother's birthday as she is reminiscing about a holiday they took there when she was young. Then she gets stuck in town when her car breaks down and an outage nearby means her phone isn't working and all ATMs are out. 

This is when she meets Sun-ho, who is the local Everything man (literally -- he does just about every job and is even the town "chief"). She's polished, he's comfortable and cozy. She's never touched a squid & seems to barely tolerate people (even though she's out a job because she stuck her head out to make sure someone wasn't getting scammed), he's friends with all the grannies. 

Long story short, she winds up moving to Gongjin and opening up her own dental clinic. However, she immediately puts her foot in it in episode 2 by alienating everyone in town by being rude and standoffish. This is a bit of a quibble for me...they spent the first episode showing her being pretty nice (standing up for her patients, patiently helping some local kids, etc.) and then in episode 2 she undoes all of that by being sort of purposely socially dense and prickly. This is through the next couple of episodes actually -- she's trying to start a business here, IN A SMALL TOWN, and she does idiotic rude things A LOT. It doesn't really make sense.

Anyway, Dentist Lady spends more and more time with Chief Hong and they're obviously beginning to like each other, even though she (and possibly he) are nowhere near admitting it. Sun-ho is an absolute joy in this one. You totally just want to hug him. And I was thinking, oh, yay, there's not even a love triangle! ...but then I started writing this and went to get an image and...well, looks obvious that there's gonna be one. The other dude in the picture is the manager (?) of an Idol. They've just arrived in town at the end of episode 4. Dentist Lady had previously met the Idol in her clinic in Seoul. So far, from the brief glimpse, Manager Dude seems okay. But I came here for Sun-ho, so of course I'm rooting for him (and given the press photos and the show so far, he's definitely the main lead). 

Also enjoying the side stories with Dentist Lady's best friend (who moved with her and is her hygienist at the clinic) and a local police officer. She's played by Gong Min-Jung, who I've seen in Sweet Munchies, before I gave it up). And the divorced couple, with the wife played by Lee Bong-Ryun, who I just watched in Run On. Both seem to play those Always the Bridesmaid types so it's nice to see them getting a decent storyline of their own.

I'm definitely enjoying it more for the Chief Hong character than Lady Dentist, but overall it's a good show and low on stress. Which is good. Got enough of that in life!

Edit: Finished episode 5 today. I gotta say, they're really drawing it out with the love triangle. At this point, Chief Hong has met the new dude and there was a hint that the guy knew Lady Dentist back when she was in school (and dating someone who really put her down...back then she was far from a fashion plate, which is probably one of the reasons she's got such a hang up about social status/presentation now). But still no sign of him meeting up with her! There's also been a hint of some kind of dark past/sad incident in Chief Hong's life (presumably during the five years after he graduated from uni in Seoul but before he came back home). Still enjoying it overall. 

Edit: The love triangle is kinda in progress now -- though Producer Dude is keeping it a little too close that Lady Dentist has no clue -- she just thinks he's nice to everyone (and, indeed, so far he seems to be just that, so I don't blame her). If he keeps that up, it'll definitely be a bit of Second Lead Syndrome in this one. Chief Hong's tragedy looks to maybe be a wife and child dying tragically, which explains his reluctance. He keeps getting on Lady Dentist about how she can run hot and cold, but, honestly, I think she could say the same thing about him. But, anyway, still enjoying it! But bummed about being caught up!

Edit: Just watched episode 9, which is the one where Hye-jin's dad and step mom show up unexpectedly and Chief Hong sort of pretends to be her boyfriend (because parents overheard the gossip-y lady saying some juicy things). Also got to see some more glimpses of Producer Dude & how he liked Lady Dentist way back when but had bad timing. They're obviously setting him up so that his second in command (An AD?) is his consolation prize and that's all okay. She's nice. Though, like every drama with serious Second Lead Syndrome, he's a really nice guy that actually feels like a good fit for Hye-jin. I mean, I like her and Chief Hong -- but the one thing that he's really got going for him with her as a couple is that he really pulls her out of her comfort zone and challenges her. And that's not a bad thing, but Producer Dude's way isn't a bad thing either. So, yeah, I think this'll be another big SLS drama. It's kind of like She Was Pretty where the second lead guy is, in many ways, a better choice.

Edit. Whoopsie. I finished this awhile ago but I've been so busy on this freelance project (which I should be working on right now) that I haven't updated anything here. So. Quickly. It was good. They killed the grandma character in the end which felt a little unnecessary but it's easy to see why they did it -- they needed an emotional note to end on and that's where it came from. Chief Hong's tragedy was very vanilla, actually -- he had been a financial advisor and a security guard that he'd told NOT to invest too heavily in something instead even borrowed money and invested in something that a guy Chief Hong had referred him to had told him to. And then a big crash. And the guy was desperate, Chief Hong told him to have patience and he'd get back to him, but he didn't call right away and the guy tried to commit suicide but failed. And, on the way to visit the guy in the hospital, Hong and his best guy friend get into a car wreck and the other dude dies, leaving behind a wife and child. So, really, nothing at all that was remotely his fault, though he feels huge guilt. And one of the people working for Producer Dude OF COURSE happens to be the son of the security guard. But, all of that aside, the show itself was good, all the characters were lovable, there was a decent amount of time allocated to all the other stories (which was nice) and everything wrapped up well. 

Weirdly enough, Kim Sun-ho was involved in a huge scandal right after -- which a) shouldn't have been a scandal or news at all but b) looks like it is finally clearing up. His ex-girlfriend claimed that he'd promised to marry her and had *made* her get an abortion. Which, honestly, even if it was true, why in the ever loving hells would you air that laundry? Though now all the Korean sites are leaking text messages and exchanges between the two (more violation of privacy) and she seems like the crazy one. I feel bad for Korean actors and idols. I don't get the fans. I mean, yes, there are things that are "cancellable" offences (looking at you, Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein) but the stuff that most (not all) of the Korean stars seem accused of isn't at that level at all. Most of it is stuff that isn't anyone's business. It's a cultural difference, I guess. 

But, anyway. The show was good. Fluffy. Shiny. Would recommend it. Would I watch it again sometime? Hm, maybe. 

The exhaustion of the first week back to school...

This week is the back to school week. Back to "normal" week. House guest(s) gone. Back to work. Exhaustion week. Man, getting up before 7 AM sucks rocks. Little dude and I are both not morning people. At all. I never have been, to be fair, but the older I get, the harder it is. The tired goes bone deep, man.

It's been a bit since I really blogged anything other than updating drama posts. So I feel like I need to do a little catch up post even though I should be working. But it's weighing on me, so gonna do it anyway.

I took the summer off, mostly, to spend time with little dude and my niece who came to visit from Florida. She stayed with her sister in London part of the time and some of it with us. We did get out and about a lot, which was good -- a bit in London, but more wandering manor houses and English countryside towns. It was nice, though pandemic is still not over. Little dude can't get vaccinated yet, so he's still a bit stressed going out.  So we didn't go far, but at least we did get out a bit. It was nice.

Now for the kvetching and  annoyances -- one of the doors to the conservatory shattered (but didn't fall out of the frame) randomly a couple of weeks ago. Maybe 3? Heck, nearly a month now. I called and emailed all around. Couldn't get anyone to come out (we also want to put in a dog flap) or even call back. Finally got a guy who came right away and, honestly, he felt slightly dodgy but seemed okay and I did find some stuff about him online. So he says he'll do it. Orders the glass and we give him a bit of the money up front for that...he asks if he can do it one day, but hubster wants to be out that day so I schedule him for another day (yesterday). He says noon. Doesn't show. Call, text, etc. One message that he'll be over after he finishes another job and then nothing. So, now, I'm, like is he just a scammer? But if he were, why did he bother responding at all after he took the money for the glass? Do I need to try to find someone again (argh, so much luck with that the first time around...)? So it's annoying. I guess I'm going to leave it until tomorrow and see if I hear from him. If nothing by the end of the day, will start calling around again and just accept that I lost a bit of money. But, also, the door looks ready to shatter everywhere at any moment and it's the one we have to use to get outside.

In personal-ish...I've gained almost all the weight I lost back. Quite a bit over summer, actually, though I'd been slowly increasing this whole year. We were eating out a lot with the niece and also drinking a lot more than normal (especially me, as I'm normally a once a week kind of drinker). So I need to get back to eating less and exercising more. I went to the gym today and did the elliptical there (harder than the one I have at home, at least based on sweat levels!) and a round on all the arm weight machines. And I've just cut out drinking at all since the niece left. :-) That'll help. Alcohol is just empty calories. Maybe I should cut out my coffee a day too. I dunno. I feel like a slug. A plump slug. 

Though all I wanna do is sleep.

BUT! After months of stagnation with my writing, things are finally popping again. A bit. I guess I can't call it popping. Percolating? 

I picked up a new freelance D&D project for the same people I did the last one for. It's interesting, though less structured than the last one, so a little bit up in the air and confusing. That'll be work through October, maybe into November. Not loads of money, but probably another $3K or so. I'd partly said yes as I was still waiting on book 2 revisions for my middle grade series.

Though now, of course, I've finally (after 14 months) heard back & have the editorial letter for the book and a date (February -- much better than September 2022, which was the last date I'd heard as a possible). The edits seem doable and I don't disagree with any of it. After all, I wrote that book mostly right after my mom died. I figured it would need even more help than what they want to change. So that's good. Though I've gotta figure out exactly when they need my revision back. They had to get a new illustrator too (third time is the charm, I hope). I'd preferably like to wrap up the freelance thing first, so I can just do one thing at a time. Which means that after basically a year of going er, what should I work on? it's now yikes, I need to get moving! Which is very hard the week school starts back up. My brain feels like it is in second gear. I've had lots of ideas, but am having trouble getting stuff down.

In other exciting news...the kind of news that doesn't really feel real and may come to nothing, the agent has wrapped up the negotiations with the people who want to option one of my books for a movie. So I'll at least get the option fee (which isn't a lot, but every bit counts). IF a movie is actually made, it can be a bit game changing. Maybe or maybe not life changing. Certainly more money than I've made from all of my books together so far. But I know that a lot of options are purchased and very few movies actually get made. So I'm trying to not be excited about it. I feel like if I dream big, it'll get nipped in the bud and nothing will happen. That seems to be what usually happens. But, I can at least be excited that someone was interested at all. There was some early interest in my first book, but it didn't really go anywhere (probably also because I didn't have an agent then and had no idea what I was doing). 

There's other stuff. But that's more or less the big things. I'm even behind on my Kdrama blogging. 

I need to wake up.