Leap years for life

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When I was researching leap years for my last post about the fascinating year that 2024 is, I happened to learn for the first time (that I recall) that leap years are skipped once every one to two hundred years! Coincidentally, most of us living now will not experience a year during our lifetimes in which we don’t have a leap year every 4 years.

The last time a leap year was skipped over was 1900 and the next time is 2100. Some of you who are young enough now will certainly make it to the next one, in which Feb 28, 2100 will be the last day of the month and there will not be a 29th added. Some of my peers might make it then if they are particularly long-lived, or living to 115+ becomes more regular.

I don’t know why it didn’t stick with me the first time I read that article, but is it coincidence that the leap year cycle also matches up to US has presidential election years and the summer Olympics? It certainly makes all of them easier to remember, whether intentional or not.

Also, I had never considered how confusing the term “leap year” could be — you could easily think that a leap year would be the opposite of what it is, and we “leap” over a day. But the framing is completely different and I encourage you to read the article to see how the Smithsonian explains it.

Year of the Dragon 4722

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Happy Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival! Today marks the beginning of a wood dragon year, and is jia chen dragon year in Chinese. This is all based on a calendaring system influenced by celestial and mythical beliefs, with 60 year cycles = 12 “earthly branches” corresponding to zodiac animals X 5 pairs of “heavenly stems” corresponeding to the elements.

Rather than this mythological stuff, I find this year — if you broadly consider 2024 — to be the year of the natural phenomena convergence! Take a look at some of what’s going on:

2023 closing

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Well, I managed to not post all year so I’m sneaking one in last minute. This has been the year of travel for me:

(late December to) January: Austin for my birthday and New Year’s

February: Hawaii for a friend’s bachelor

March: Austin for cat and bird-sitting while Bestie went to Wrestlemania

April: Spain & Gibraltar with the Squad

May: Austin for Bestie’s birthday

June: Canada for that friend’s wedding

July: China for my cousin’s wedding and seeing my grandma for the chest time since COVID!

August: Austin to cat and bird-sit again

September: send-off for friend deploying

October: Bonaire for diving with Ceeburticus

November: Austin Friendsgiving

December: Austin again for my birthday and New Year’s

My journey of Lu Han 鹿晗

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In February 2022, I started to watch the show Fighter of the Destiny, which had been on my radar for some time. I recalled seeing Lu Han’s profile on MDL in early Feb and not thinking much of it other than reading his profile and wondering why he seemed pretty popular. As I got further into the show, the character he played was intelligent and level-headed in a way that piqued my curiosity.

After finishing the show in early March, I eventually circled back a few days later to look him up and I basically started to stumble across his songs on YouTube. I was curious to hear him sing since his feminine face and reserved, almost timid, demeanor was intriguing. Well, I certainly got to see a different version of him in his music videos! Suddenly I found myself looking at a kid with a little bit of swag and some good dance moves. He still had the baby face and sweet voice, but also some confidence and allure.

There were some pretty funny video clips from a TV show he was on for awhile, Running Man. In one he was paired up with Dilraba and lost a heart rate contest pretty badly haha. In another, he made eating noodles in the wind look about as good as you can.

Eventually, I came across his live concerts and was fascinated by his way too pretty eyes and fun, colorful hair. Out of all the stars who act, sing, and dance, he’s one of the only ones I think is actually really good. There others who are just good, but they don’t hit me the right way and impress me. I don’t particularly like Lu Han’s songs, but I can tell he is actually a really good singer.

The songs that I did end up liking are 勋章 (Medals), which he sang as the theme song for a movie he was in, The Witness, and 我们的明天/Our Tomorrow. There’s one line in 敢 (Roleplay) that I really like — “你瘋了 boy” aka “you’re crazy, boy.” Lol, it’s the fun pacing and blend of languages that makes me appreciate it.

This concert is where he set the world record for “largest gathering of people wearing antlers” lol

At some point, I read that he was sort of like a Chinese version of Bieber, so I took to referring to him as baby Bieber even though he’s actually older haha. But look at him! He looks SO young. He apparently is so popular that he even did a song for Stars Wars, has the most comments on a social media post, and plenty of other accolades.

I find it unique too that he has tattoos, which I don’t generally seem to see Chinese stars having (or maybe they hide it really well). I think tattoos are still pretty taboo in East Asian cultures.

If you’re up for watching a full concert, here’s the one I prefer. I like the way he yells “hey” sometimes haha.

Before I learned more about him and I saw he was engaged to Guan Xiao Tong (Gabrielle), I thought he was pretty lucky. But then after I got to see everything he’s done, I feel like she’s the lucky one now! Other than the show they met on (Sweet Combat), I haven’t really seen them together. He started a vlogging series called “One Day” recently, so I wonder if she’ll make it on there eventually…

So what do you think? Is this kid worth the hype? Do you like his music and/or acting? I’m not a crazy fangirl, but I do appreciate and admire his work and talent.

The King’s Woman (秦时丽人明月心) review

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I wanted to see more of Zhang Bin Bin (after noticing him in Eternal Love) and this pairing with Dilraba seemed interesting. I felt the two of them could be a compelling couple.

Big thanks to Baidu for their summary to help me recall what happened.

Total episodes: 48, about 40 min each (watched it on Viki)

Listen to the OST on Spotify (the songs aren’t available in the US, so try YouTube music; however, that one has more of the instrumentals, so I made my own playlist) — my fav song is Qing Wei Yang 情未央=”Love Hasn’t Ended

Title in Chinese is Qin Shi Li Ren Ming Yue Xin 秦时丽人明月心:
Qin is the name of the dynasty (and my surname!), Shi is time, Li is beautiful, Ren is person, Ming is bright or understand, Yue is moon, Xin is heart. So, beautiful person of the Qin era understands the moon’s heart? Or has a clear moon heart? In this case, the beautiful refers to the FL Gongsun Li as that is her given name.

Source: MyDramaList

Warning: possible spoilers ahead!

I rated this an 8/10.

It was well done with great costumes, but what a painful storyline.

Ying Zheng is a real historical figure and the man who established the Qin dynasty. This is a fictional story revolving around true historical events and a lot of actual people and events are woven in. Our female lead Gongsun Li is made up though, and no historical records show Ying Zheng had a relationship with a woman like her. This is an interesting show to contrast with Legend of Haolan, which I watched much later and focuses on the life of Ying Zheng’s mother. The shows definitely portrayed her very differently while still keeping to certain historical facts.

This one made it on 8 lists:

  1. Kissworthy
  2. Palace Dramas
  3. A Lifetime Apart
  4. Love Again
  5. Other Dynasties
  6. Gimme More (Dilraba Dilmurat, Vin Zhang, Li Tai)
  7. Lookalikes (Dilraba, Vin)
  8. Gorgeous (Dilraba)

Tropes/themes in this show:

  • jealous female love rival who thinks she deserves the male lead
  • male love rival who fights to win the female lead
  • main lead’s mother who is of low status and gets bullied
  • side character who also falls in love with main lead, but can never be with them and ends up accepting it
  • main lead who needs to do something completely against their character to accomplish a larger goal; in the mean time they alienate their loved ones and have a falling out
  • main lead who sacrifices him/herself to save the other
  • arranged marriage where they are resistant at first, then fall in love
  • arranged marriage that turns out to be with the person they fell in love with in a different context
  • main lead is key to the destruction of the world (or preventing it)
  • someone decides the only way to protect themselves and their loved ones is by gaining power (usually a throne)
  • childhood connection between the main leads
  • someone schemes to catch main lead in compromising situation
  • quirky old man

Show Summary:

This was back before I started jotting notes while watching shows, so the summary will be quite patchy. I also didn’t pay much attention to a lot of the political happenings and cared more about the relationships.

Ep1 Ying Zheng is a powerful man and leader, king of Qin (which is currently a kingdom and not yet an empire). He has a very tenuous relationship with his mother, who seeks pleasure in a man called Lao Ai. Man, I totally forgot we were introduced to her so early on and thought it was towards the end of the show. Gongsun Yu is a prominent man of another state and he has 3 disciples: his granddaughter Gongsun Li, younger guy Jing Ke, and older guy Han Shen. It’s a turbulent time and grandpa gets killed. Not sure when we get introduced to Han Shen, but right now it’s just Li and Jing Ke. Ying Zheng is getting coronated and recalls being saved by a boy and a girl in his childhood. He grew up in a really dangerous situation and really distrusts people, but he yearns for that girl who saved him. She turns out to be Gongsun Li, but of course he doesn’t know that yet.

Ep2 We learn about Ying Zheng’s childhood, where he grew up as a hostage prince in another kingdom. He was bullied and nearly killed. He managed to return and took the throne at 13, but his mom and the chancellor Lu Buwei (who seems to have a thing for his mom) were in control. Now he has gained control bit by bit and overthrown those in power to truly reign. Ying Zheng goes out posing as a merchant and happens to run into Li and Jing Ke. Jing Ke gets drunk and clings to Li, the first inkling of feelings. Drunk Ying Zheng ends up in Li’s bed haha and almost slips that he’s a king. He thinks she’s a man — really? Later she ends up helping him fight some attackers and gets injured. In getting her aid, he learns she’s a woman haha. Come on it’s not believable at all, she’s clearly a woman. But anyways. Meanwhile, Jing Ke had gotten chased and saved by Lu Goujian, a swords master that the disciples and grandpa had tried to learn from earlier.

Ep3 Ying Zheng sees Li’s necklace and realizes she’s the girl he’s been trying to find. She ends up leaving in a whole situation that is a test for Ying Zheng or something. There’s a bunch of political stuff happening and power vying that I mostly don’t care to summarize, but one big thing is that Ying Zheng’s brother Cheng Jiao learns some details about his mother’s death that lead him to rebel against Ying Zheng.

Ep4 The brothers are estranged now and Ying Zheng is upset. He goes to talk to his confidante Yan Dan, the crown prince of another state who is a hostage there. The inverse of Ying Zheng. Jing Ke and Li encounter Ge Lan, another swordsman’s daughter and Jing Ke begs to learn from him. Ying Zheng has 2 concubines, Chu and Min Dai. Chu vies for attention while Min Dai is reserved. Jing Ke and Li stay with Ge Lan and dad Ge Nie and the girls become sworn sisters. I’m confused by the name because they prounounce it Ge, but when I see translations, it says Gai. I went with Ge since that’s how they say it in the show.

Ge Lan
Source: MyDramaList

Ep5 Ying Zheng wants to find Gongsun Li and puts wanted posters all around the kingdom. Jing Ke gets badly injured as they get chased. Li drags him to try to get help and runs into Tian Guang, who Goujian had told them could be trusted. Li is relieved and they take him off to treat him but find he is badly poisoned.

Ep6 Gongsun Li rushes to the palace to find the king and get the antidote. She finds out he’s the merchant she met before. He wants her and she decides it’s the only way to save Jing Ke. She agrees to return in 3 months and not tell anyone about the agreement. She stays with her love Jing Ke as he gets better and then he has an opportunity to meet someone important but she finds an excuse not to go.

Jing Ke
Source: MyDramaList

Ep7 The duo gets a chance to practice swords together and have some romantic moments. They go hide in a cave when it starts to rain and Li knows her time is running out, so she hugs him and asks him if he likes her. He expresses his devotion and they end up sleeping together. He leaves not knowing it’s the last time they’ll be together. Li goes to turn herself in to be taken to the palace as promised. She then learns she is pregnant. Ying Zheng is angry and almost tries to terminate the pregnancy, but Li threatens herself and he decides to take the child as his own and Jing Ke will never know. He likes her resistance and sassiness. A bit of a masochist? Jing Ke returns and learns what Li did to save him. He rushes off to find her.

Ep8 Li threatens her life to keep Ying Zheng from terminating her pregnancy, so he decides to keep it and nobody will ever know it wasn’t his child. He makes her swear she will never leave the palace so her child can live. Li has a duel with a general, Meng Wu, and beats him. Jing Ke tries to sneak into the palace and is caught and tortured.

Ep9 Chu has been plotting for power and grand queen dowager (Ying Zheng’s grandma) wants to make her queen. Ying Zheng refuses, saying it’s not time. Li gets poisoned by medicine that could cause a miscarriage. Of course Chu was behind it, making a minor consort do it for her. Li learns from Min Dai, who grew up with Ying Zheng, that she is just there for her country. Big disciple brother Han Shen is also in love with Li and wants to rescue her from the palace. He becomes a guard and has to find a way to the harem where the women are kept.

Han Shen
Source: MyDramaList

Ep10 Ying Zheng’s mom has gone crazy after getting locked up and having her young sons killed. She ends up sneaking into Li’s room and attacking her, causing a ruckus. Jing Ke is now part of a labor camp and is saved by Tian Guang. Ying Zheng is relieved that mom and fetus are ok and tries to get her to eat but she refuses, so he feeds her with his mouth to get her to eat. Jing Ke is completely falling apart as he misses Li and just drinks all day. He is targeted and saved by Ge Lan and Ge Nie.

Ep11 Li goes into labor and has a son. She names him Tianming and Ying Zheng won’t allow her to see him. He’s always going to use the kid as leverage huh? Han Shen sneaks in to Li’s room and scares her before she knows it’s him. He finds out who the real father is and doesn’t try to harm the baby. Another king, Zhao Dan, comes to visit. Grand queen dowager gives Li a task that’s really a punishment. Ying Zheng rushes over when he finds out and whisks her away.

Ep12 Ying Zheng is sad about Li’s injury. He’s very protective of her and promotes her. Chu is furious. Li and Jing Ke both separately practice the double swordsmanship that they had done together, which is sort of like a couple’s dance. Ying Zheng gets jealous but says he won’t touch her until she’s willing. He’s convinced she will. Yan Dan gets word from Zhao Gao of that kingdom that they are planning on attacking his home country of Yan. Plans backfire and Zhao Dan ends up dying. Han Shen tries to assassinate Ying Zheng but he’s prepared and Han Shen gets stabbed instead. Tianming goes missing.

Ep13 Chu was behind this plot against the baby. Han Shen was almost caught as the assassin. He goes to see Li again after he learns about the missing child. Chu is given the eldest son Fusu to raise and Li explains to her how she can’t have her own child, or she might get killed in the power struggle. Han Shen overhears some weird stuff happening in a cold palace and reports it to Ying Zheng since Tianming might be there. They find the kid with crazy queen dowager, who didn’t know who the kid was.

Ep14 Han Shen is almost exposed but Li helps get him out of trouble. People want Lu Buwei to become chancellor but he keeps turning them down. He instead meets with Ying Zheng and claims he isn’t trying to take over or become an official in Chu state. But then news comes he got a post in Chu and Ying Zheng is furious. Li plots with Han Shen to make an escape and dresses as a soldier.

Ep15 Li disappears and Chu is pleased. Ge Lan has been looking for Jing Ke and finally finds him to tell him Han Shen is bringing Li. She doesn’t want Jing Ke to know about his child. They meet and they’re both very emotional. Han Shen and Ge Lan are both happy and sad since they each love one of the couple and don’t get to be with them but they’re glad the couple gets to be happy together again. Ying Zheng goes searching for Li and hears that Buwei killed himself. Li is having a great time with her friends.

Ep16 Li’s maid Qing’er has been tortured by Zhao Gao and Min Dai comes to save her. Li knows she has to return to the palace and plans on getting Ge Lan be with Jing Ke. She is starting to feel compassion for Ying Zheng and doesn’t think he’s completely a tyrant anymore. She tells Jing Ke about her son but claims he’s Ying Zheng’s. Jing Ke is livid. Li returns to the palace alone and tells Han Shen not to go back.

Ep17 The disciple brothers fight because Han Shen defends Li. Ge Lan is really sad about this break in relations. When Li gets back, Ying Zheng locks her up and Li sees how badly her maid was beaten. The crooked eunuch Zhao Gao wanted to torture Li but Ying Zheng showed up in time to stop him and later, some servants sent by grand queen dowager.

Ep18 Li got let out and then snuck back to check on Han Shen. They are caught by Ying Zheng and Li confesses that he is her disciple brother. They set up a fight between them and Meng Wu. When Li joins to fight with Han Shen, it becomes clear they know how to fight together in a coordinated effort. Ying Zheng sets up a deal with Han Shen to stay and protect Li. Jing Ke has been drinking himself into a stupor again and Ge Nie gives him a wakeup call to pull himself together. He finally starts to think about what he’s going to do with his life.

Ep19 Jing Ke decides to go advance his swordsmanship and Ge Lan tags along. Ying Zheng wants to sleep with Li and he forcefully kisses her only to get bitten. He says he’ll come every day until she’s willing. He uses the baby Tianming as leverage to keep Li from doing anything crazy like hurting herself. Grand queen dowager sets up a trap at her birthday banquet and has Li perform a sword dance but plants assassins. It looks like she is about to attack Ying Zheng but she ends up saving him from a sneak attack and then gets stabbed.

Ep20 There’s a lot of political stirrings with Chu nation, which grand queen dowager and Chu consort are from. I wasn’t that interested in these developments so I didn’t pay much attention. Meanwhile, Jing Ke and Ge Lan came across Gao Jianli, who Jing Ke had competed with before.

Ep21 Ying Zheng decides to go to battle and brings Li with him. Jing Ke and Ge Lan get attacked by some people who want swords secrets and they end up falling into a secret chamber underground. Ying Zheng convinces Li to stay in his tent, but she refuses to share the bed.

Ep22 Li starts to see more of Ying Zheng’s caring side and she might be opening up to him. Jing Ke finds out he needs to master a secret sword technique to get them out of that cave. Ying Zheng wants a scholar Han Fei to defect to his country. The guy stutters but is very well-educated. Li and Ying Zheng get flirtatious as he chases her around. He decides to sleep right on the steps in her room.

Ep23 The ministers argue over how to handle the war situation. Jing Ke finally masters the sword technique to get them out. Ge Lan is basically starving to death. Ying Zheng sneaks in on Li complaining about him haha. He likes it and hugs her, then kisses her again. She resists, but calms down pretty quickly and seems to like it for the first time. He carries her off to bed and they wake up snuggling. He can be gentle. Jing Ke got them out of the cave and then has to fight those people again. Li gets a chance to know Yan Dan, who talks about the pains of being a hostage prince.

Ep24 Yan Dan and Ying Zheng’s relationship is strained. Ying Zheng has some nice time with Li and kisses her after saying he wants to know everything about her. Ying Zheng tries to set up Han Shen with Li’s maid Qing’er but they aren’t interested. Poor Han Fei gets framed by Chu people. Li decides she needs to help him because she believes he isn’t sinister like that. Li gets kidnapped.

Ep25 Ge Lan’s injury needed help so Jing Ke finds Tian Guang. Han Shen also ends up there looking for help to find Li. The brothers argue again and Han Shen can’t tell Jing Ke the truth about the child, or else he’d do something stupid to risk his life. They end up working together to fight some bad guys and try to find Li. Jing Ke has some sick moves now. He finds Li and saves her. They end up in a cave again and their relationship will never be the same. Sad.

Ep26 Han Fei is convinced to take poison, thinking he has no way out. Ying Zheng finds Li and they rush back but it’s too late to save him. I feel so bad for this guy, who was so good and nice and got used. Ying Zheng and Li set up a trial to expose Chu consort and corrupt official Li Si, who had gotten Han Fei to kill himself.

Ep27 Li suspects there’s someone else behind the plot. Turns out Min Dai was the true culprit, but why? Turns out Buwei didn’t kill himself and it was staged. He’s secretly planning for power.

Ep28 Tian Guang turns out to be Yan Dan’s advisor. He asks Jing Ke to help him rescue Yan Dan. Li has been helping out Yan Dan too. They make it look like assassins came and sneak Yan Dan out. Then they use a funeral procession to try to sneak out of the country.

Ep29 Jing Ke ends up making some fancy moves to fight the guards and get them to let the people out. Han Shen secretly helps too. Ying Zheng brings Tianming back to the palace and he’s already a few years old. Chu consort finds out that a woman gifted to Han Fei is pregnant and wants to get rid of the child. She then makes a physician claim she is pregnant.

Ep30 Li went to visit queen dowager and happened to learn about Min Dai’s past, which made her suspect Min Dai might be behind the plot. Chu was going to pretend the baby was hers but then the woman dies.

Ep31 Chu pretends to have a miscarriage. Li is starting to see some humanity in Ying Zheng despite his ruthlessness. After all, he’s in a tough position and had a very challenging childhood and life. He talks about his regrets with his brother Chengjiao. Li sends Han Shen off on a secret mission. He goes to find Jing Ke and Yan Dan.

Ep32 Li confronts Min Dai about the plot but then Min Dai makes it look like Li attacked her. Li exposes all of Min Dai’s crimes but then they turn it on her and make Ying Zheng jealous of the time that Li was kidnapped and alone with Jing Ke. He finds out Li helped Yan Dan escape and he thinks she did it for Jing Ke. He lets her get beaten in prison.

Ep33 Yan Dan gets kidnapped and Han Shen helps a bunch of his followers to try to recover him. Ying Zheng misses Li but doesn’t know what to do because he’s still upset. Jing Ke ends up saving Yan Dan.

Ep34 Ah, Han Shen is looking for Chengjiao to see if he wants to return home. Li remembers that night as a child when they met Ying Zheng. I think she still doesn’t know who he is. But Ying Zheng overhears and now he’s all emotional and confused. Jing Ke gets drunk after hearing about how carefully Li planned things for Ying Zheng to possibly reunite with his brother. Ge Lan helps him out, he cries in her arms, and they wake up together. Han Shen finds Chengjiao with a wife and child.

Ep35 Han Shen returns to find Li beaten in prison and goes to save her. He stands up to Ying Zheng to get her out of there. He explains he went to find Chengjiao and brings out the child. Chengjiao had decided he was too ashamed to return, but he sends his son. Ying Zheng is really emotional about it all. Li ends up passing out and Han Shen carries her off, telling Ying Zheng he’s not worthy of her. Yan Dan returns home and his dad is happy but things are akward. Ying Zheng wants to see Li and goes to find her, but Han Shen fights him.

Ep36 Li can’t help but protect Ying Zheng. Ying Zheng agrees not to come anymore and to bring Tianming the next day. He feels guilty and maybe a bit defeated. Yan Dan gifts Jing Ke a nice home. Omg I don’t think I’ve seen him smile so genuinely before. Li finds out Ying Zheng went missing and goes to help.

Ep37 Li finds Ying Zheng in the woods and saves him. They go to hide in a cave overnight and he’s so relieved to see her. They then pose as a normal couple as they wait for the backup to get them. A nice lady takes them in and then Ying Zheng learns that Li is pregnant. She is learning to love him. The lady tells the story of how her whole family was killed by Ying Zheng’s troops. The next day, the troops attack the city and poor lady is stunned to find the man is the king she hated so much. She yells at him and goes to attack, but Meng Wu kills her. Ying Zheng gets angry at him for killing her. Auntie tells Li she shouldn’t stay with a tyrant like Ying Zheng.

Ep38 Ying Zheng sets up a tomb for Han Fei in his home country. Li returns to the palace. Her getup reminds me of Japanese wear. Han Shen decides to leave. Jing Ke gets recruited in an assassination plot. Min Dai finds out about Li’s pregnancy and sneaks her medicine to cause a miscarriage. Li confronts her and Min Dai finally loses her cool and reveals her true colors.

Ep39 Min Dai causes a rift between Li and Ying Zheng by making him jealous of Jing Ke again. Li goes to visit queen dowager, who is ill and wants to go home to her state of Zhao. Li convinces Ying Zheng to let her take mom home. Buwei gets a letter to queen dowager and the woman insists on seeing him.

Ep40 Li helps queen dowager meet Buwei. Ying Zheng is his son! He kidnaps her. Zhao king is forced to surrender. Ying Zheng confronts Buwei. When did he learn that Buwei is his dad? Ying Zheng doesn’t trust Buwei and ends up killing him. Min Dai is angry at the Zhao king after everything she did for him and her country. She kills herself after losing it. Ying Zheng kills a bunch of people after he recalls his childhood there being bullied. He then disappears again.

Ep41 Li finds Ying Zheng and finds out he was the kid she saved. Ying Zheng gets back in time before his mom dies. Jing Ke goes to get a special sword made for his plan. Ge Lan finds out and she’s devastated. Li goes to lead troops to protect Ying Zheng and he refuses to leave.

Ep42 The assassination needs a sacrifice and the general agrees to die so his head can be presented to Ying Zheng. Ying Zheng will not budge until Li returns and when she finally does, he runs to her. Han Shen tries to convince Jing Ke not to go through with it and finally tells him that Tianming is his child. But it’s too late, the general is already dead and Jing Ke is going to present his head.

Ep43 Ying Zheng wants to make Tianming the crown prince. Tian Guang decides that he needs to die as part of the plot. Chu got her position restored but then gets in trouble for helping with passing a message.

Ep44 Chu gets in trouble for the plot and kills herself. Ying Zheng knows that it wasn’t hurt fault but he knows someone needs to take the blame. Yan Dan sends off Jing Ke on the mission.

Ep45 Han Shen secretly meets with Li and tells her about the assassination plan. He wants to get them out of the palace. Li finds out Ying Zheng still can’t fully accept Tianming as his child. He believes he needs to get rid of Jing Ke. Li takes Tianming out of the palace to meet with Han Shen. When soldiers come to capture them, Li tells her son who his real father is. She sends him off with Han Shen as she distracts the troops.

Ep46 Dang, Li has been in the palace for 10 years now. She admits to Ying Zheng exactly what she did to protect her son. Jing Ke and co arrive in the city and get ready. Jing Ke and Li arrange to meet privately. He hugs her after years apart.

Ep47 Li tries one last time to convince Jing Ke to back down, but he’s too far in. Han Shen has Tianming hide and he fights to the death. Ge Nie and Ge Lan come to help. It’s too late for Han Shen but they save Tianming. Aw man, Han Shen was my fav! Ying Zheng knows about the plot and wants to face Jing Ke head on. Li wants Jing Ke to miss the event and has her maid give a sedative to him.

Ep48 Jing Ke arrives as the envoy. Li was being held under house arrest and fights her way past dozens of guards. Turns out she got a sedative. Jing Ke confronts Ying Zheng to make him jealous. Jing Ke’s powers are limited because he got poisoned. The two duel it out and Jing Ke is badly injured but makes a comeback. Ying Zheng’s guard Li Zhong protects him and then Ying Zheng uses him as a shield, then straight up tosses him aside! Ouch. He then kills Jing Ke this time. Jing Ke’s last sight is a blurry view of Li rushing in. They carry his body out and he dies in front of her. She then confronts Ying Zheng and finds out he never trusted her, but he says he loves her. She says she’ll finish the job Jing Ke couldn’t and now they run at each other with swords. Just as she’s getting close, she turns her sword around so just the scabbard touches him. His shock as he watches it happen but his momentum stabs her… and he realizes she never meant to hurt him. He asks why and she says she wanted him to feel what it’s like to lose your most loved. This way he could empathize with his people. She wants him to be a good ruler. Well, now he managed to kill both the buddies who saved him. Was it worth it?

A season of rebrands

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The first half of 2021 was full of rebrands for companies that I use/buy from. I found this interesting, so here’s a look back at the changes that had occurred, as it seemed like suddenly all the companies I was aware of decided to refresh their look and missions:

Quickbase, January 25 2021

The entire color scheme changed with this rebrand and everything felt a little retro. The pixelated logo is reminiscent of 8-bit graphics and the colors are a throwback to the 70’s, especially if you go to their website. They also changed the styling of their name from Quick Base to quickbase or Quickbase. My favorite color is purple, so I was sad to see the change, but it did mean a pretty cool new cream hoodie, camper mug, and white water bottle that were available at the 2021 Empower Conference.

CAUSEBOX –> Alltrue, May 18 2021

This was a pretty major overhaul, with a completely different name in addition to a new font and color scheme. The choices here also remind me of Quickbase’s, with pastel colors and a move away from all caps. I like the color scheme here, which is softer and includes my favorite with shades of purple. The products they provide are as great as ever and I’m a happy subscriber who often wishes this was bimonthly instead of quarterly, because I’d love to get them more often!

GlobeIn, June 24 2021

I like the new boldness of GlobeIn’s change. They sort of did the opposite of the prior companies (particuarly Quickbase) and went from a softer palette to a bright, vibrant one. Their logo is spunky and does remind me of the products that you get from their boxes. I like that it’s also a reminder of the people behind the products, which is a big part of their marketplace.

The Grommet –> Grommet, June 27 2021

Some versions of the old logo have even more stuff on it, so it’s nice that they chose to simplify. Now it’s very bold and geometric. The connected m’s make it a unique look. They also went for a flatter, bold look like GlobeIn. And they seem to be dropping the “the” from their name and refer to themselves as just Grommet now.

All in all, I like the rebrands, though I’ve always been a person who enjoys change and something different. It’s interesting to see two of the brands choose to go pastel with cute serif fonts while the other two went bold with stronger, cleaner lines. What do you think of each of their choices?

Three dozen years

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Man, when I realized that I had basically forgotten it was my zodiac year this year, I was pretty disappointed, but my dad made a good point that I still have a month yet, since Chinese New Year isn’t until Feb! So I’ll be sure to make the most of this final month in the Ox year, wearing some extra red, finding some of the various oxen items I have, and generally just remembering that it is my year.

It’s been insanely rainy here the past two weeks, so I’ve been holed up at home staying dry and spending time with the cats. I’m catsitting Zephyr again and she and Smokey have both learned which side of the house is for them, so they don’t even go looking for each other. I try to make sure both of them get a fair share of attention, so there’s some switching back and forth between the sides.

Today I got a chance to get in a nap with Smokey, which was nice, since she was in an unusually happy mood that made her snuggly. By mid-afternoon, I cooked some food but before I could eat it, I had to get ready to head to my parents. They got tickets to see Shen Yun and we were going to eat dinner together first. The food was really tasty and I enjoyed all the dishes, feeling very satisfied and full. We got to the event with plenty of time and got a chance to wander around before settling in. I’ll review the show another time, but overall impression is that it was a quality performance that gives a good glimpse into Chinese performances. If you can’t make it to China to find something like this, it’s a good intro.

And just like that, I’ve returned home to hungry cats (and now, self). It was a nice relaxing day for me, just the way I like and I really enjoyed not thinking about work. That’s one of my favorite things about my birthday, I never work and refuse to. It’s my one sacred day.

Contrived phrases

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I’m generally one to avoid saying things that feel contrived*, which to me is just about any situation (often a holiday or celebration) where you’re expected to say the same things. Case in point:

Happy Thanksgiving! I’m so thankful for you.

Happy Veterans’ Day! Thank you for your service.

It’s not that I’m not grateful, but it feels so forced and fake when you all have to say the same thing at the same time. I know that this can make me seem like a grinch but I really hate insincere things and when I feel obligated to say it, then it’s not exactly wholehearted.

I much prefer when things come naturally – something happens that reminds you of why you care for someone or are grateful for something, and you express it. Why wait for a certain time to year to do that?

I understand that it’s a reminder to think of things like that, but in that case the holiday probably doesn’t come often enough. Shouldn’t we apply thoughtfulness, reflection, and appreciation in our lives more often? I really struggle with a set time that everybody says the same things but who knows how much they actually mean it.

It’s a similar vein of thought that leads me away from gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, or holidays. It started sometime in my teens, when my parents and I came to an agreement that there was no need to wait until my birthday each year for them to get me certain presents that I could start making use of sooner. So instead of gifts on those days, it’s more about spending time together and doing things together. Meanwhile, throughout the year we are cognizant of gifting as appropriate based on various other factors (need/desire, sales/deals, etc.). While it’s nice to take advantage of holiday sales, the timing doesn’t always make for a practical decision.

I really struggle to do enough to satisfy common courtesy so people don’t think I’m being rude, yet not spouting out fakeness that makes me uncomfortable and feel fake. I hope it comes off ok.

*Also, side note that in writing this I almost wrote “contrite” a few times before I caught myself, which led me down a tiny rabbit hole comparing contrived, contrite, and trite:
1. contrived = not natural/spontaneous, but created or artificial
2. contrite = remorseful, feeling guilty
3. trite = overused, unoriginal

Love and Destiny (宸汐缘) review

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I had heard that this was loosely related to the Eternal Love universe, so I put this next on my list after watching Eternal Love of Dream. I did like having the same kind of world, but I found this couple to be weak. I actually much preferred one of the secondary couples in the show instead. I saw that a bunch of reviewers loved the chemistry of the main couple, but I didn’t get it at all. Plus, the main male seemed a bit old? (Sorry dude.)

Thanks to Drama Slot’s summary that was useful in putting together my own summary.

Total episodes: 60, about 40 min each (watched it on Viki)

Listen to the OST on Spotify (my fav song is Yun Shang De Sha Gua 云上的傻瓜=fool in the clouds, which is an upbeat song that reminds me of the secondary couple that I like in the show)

Title in Chinese is Chen Xi Yuan 宸汐缘:
Chen = imperial, Xi = night tide, Yuan = fate. In this case, the chen refers to the male lead Jiu Chen (九宸) and xi refers to the female lead Ling Xi (灵汐), so this is the story of their fate together.

Jiu Chen & Ling Xi
Source: MyDramaList

Warning: possible spoilers ahead!

What I like about the storylines in this show is that they really cover a lot of ground with interesting situations, like disabilities and possible gender dysphoria. Also what one may do when faced with the romantic pursuit of the person who (kind of) caused the death of your beloved.

This one really only made it on more lists because of one minor character, but hey:

  1. Magic
  2. Palace Dramas
  3. Gimme More (Yuan Hao)
  4. Lookalikes (Yuan Hao)
  5. Gorgeous (Zhang Zhi Xi)

Tropes/themes in this show:

  • star-crossed couple who can bring each other (or the world) danger by being together
  • jealous female love rival who thinks she deserves the male lead
  • male love rival who fights to win the female lead
  • main leads who need to stay away from and/or be mean to each other to protect each other
  • main lead who needs to do something completely against their character to accomplish a larger goal; in the mean time they alienate their loved ones and have a falling out
  • main lead who sacrifices him/herself to save the other
  • main lead is key to the destruction of the world (or preventing it)
  • childhood connection between the main leads
  • quirky old man

Show Summary:

Ling Xi is an immortal who lives in the peach blossom forest with her dad, a doctor. She’s a free-spirited girl and her dad just wants to keep her locked up at home all the time. She sneaks out though and ends up falling into an ice cave and finding a frozen body there. She inadvertently awakens/unfreezes him; he’s the god of war, Jiu Chen, and he’s been stuck there for a very long time. Ling Xi gets into some trouble with the heavenly palace and ends up having to stay there to be Jiu Chen’s maid, so she can help him recover his health.

He is also curious how she was able to awaken him and has his aide, Shi San, keep an eye on her. At one point, he starts to turn to ice again and Ling Xi ends up saving him from completely freezing back. Jiu Chen is still suspicious of Ling Xi’s background and tries to get answers from her dad Le Bo but he won’t say anything. There’s got to be some backstory to this.

Yuan Tong, a female general, is excited to hear Jiu Chen is back and goes to visit him. She seems to have a thing for him, but her mom blames him for leading her son and others into the battle that killed them.

Yuan Tong
Source: MyDramaList

Jing Xiu, who is the main advisor for a bird tribe and has a cool tattooed head, goes to the heavenly palace for some business and bumps into Ling Xi. Then there is a confrontation with Jiu Chen and a magic needle/nail thing attacks him. It was Yuan Zheng’s (Yuan Tong’s brother) relic and it makes things seem like Jiu Chen might have been a bad guy who let his people die.

Jing Xiu
Source: MyDramaList

The ruler of the bird tribe, Ling Yue, had lost a child many years ago during a conflict and she comes across an item she had left with the baby. You know she’s going to go down that rabbit hole to try to find her child.

Ling Yue
Source: MyDramaList

Yuan Tong has proof from her brother Yuan Zheng (in a letter) that would absolve Jiu Chen of any accusations related to his people dying, but she is advised to burn it to protect the reputation of her family. It would implicate her brother turning bad instead.

Meanwhile, Jing Xiu is found to be doing some dark magic and sacrifices. Ling Yue tries to stop him and finds out her father Yuan Du isn’t dead but has been stuck in an abyss. Or was it Jing Xiu who found it out? I can’t remember who it was a surprise to. Jing Xiu’s father had been killed by Yuan Du and Jing Xiu had been forced to sell him out as a child to survive.

So, funny little story about Shi San, she used to be a male soldier with Jiu Chen and then during the boss’s slumber, decided to become a woman. She’s some sort of fish spirit that can choose gender it seems. She starts to fancy Si Ming, the immortal of fate.

Shi San & Si Ming, the couple that never really was
Source: MyDramaList

Le Bo shows up to try to take Ling Xi back but she won’t go. Jiu Chen is put under house arrest for destroying evidence about the war that put him in his slumber. He did it to protect the Yuan family, but others think he was trying to protect himself. He sends his younger disciple brother, Yun Feng, to the old battleground to investigate the current situation. It is creepy and oozing with bad energy.

Bao Qing is Ling Xue’s adopted daughter and has been in love with Jing Xiu, but Ling Xue doesn’t approve. Bao Qing finds out her mom is looking for her biological daughter. Ling Xue eventually learns that her daughter is alive, but doesn’t know any more than that.

Ling Xi goes back home to the peach blossom forest to try to find medicine to help with Jiu Chen’s illness. She’s pretty dedicated to trying to help him and puts herself at risk (and of course he comes to save her).

Qing Yao, Le Bo’s disciple and Ling Xi’s older disciple sister, is a no-nonsense kind of lady who is dedicated to her craft of medicine. Ling Xi goes to try to restore the evidence Liu Chen burned and Yuan Tong finds out. When she confronts Ling Xi, they fight and Ling Xi gets pushed into a pond that is very dangerous for immortals. Qing Yao finds her and saves her.

Qing Yao takes the evidence and eventually shows everyone, including madam Yuan, who has been so bitter towards Jiu Chen all this time. She is shocked to learn the truth. Man I hate when people are like her, feeling so self-righteous judging others when they don’t have a clue what the truth is. But then again, from a mother’s perspective, what else was she to believe? With the truth out, Yuan Tong gets her position stripped and she has to start at the bottom again.

Yun Feng starts to like Qing Yao but she is cold and disinterested. She apparently had a husband before, or someone she loved.

Jiu Chen takes on punishment on behalf of his soldiers who had died, and he is gravely injured. Yu Li, the medicine lord’s daughter, also fancies Jiu Chen and shows up with some things to help in his recovery. She is jealous of Ling Xi who gets to stay with him.

There’s a bad guy Zhong Hao who wants to release the demon king that was sealed when Jiu Chen last fought. Somehow Ling Xi has the ability to help unlock the seal.

Ling Xue goes to visit Le Bo because her late husband, Mo Huan, was his disciple brother. She wants to find out more about where her daughter might be.

Qin Yuan, evil Zhong Hao’s adoptive son, goes seeking revenge thinking his father was killed by Jing Xiu. But Zhong Hao is a demon now and Qin Yuan needs to get him a magical cauldron. He goes asking Jiu Chen for it but Jiu Chen doesn’t have it, it’s with Ling Xi.

Yuan Tong starts practicing dark magic. Oh boy, that can’t be good.

Yun Feng has been pursuing Qing Yao and she angrily tells him about a mortal man that he inadvertently caused the death of a very long time ago. He is confused as to why she cares so much about that story and situation. Only later did he find out that that man was Qing Yao’s husband in the mortal realm when she had visited to help heal people.

Jiu Chen takes Ling Xi to the mortal realm and she acquires a cute immortal pet along the way. Somehow she and Bao Qing get into a fight and Ling Xi ends up at Jing Xiu’s. Jiu Chen then tests his theory that Ling Xi has some sort of special power or connection to the demon lord and confirms his suspicions. It flashes back to when he fought the demon lord and saved a little baby.

Jiu Chen takes Ling Xi back home to her dad and Le Bo admits he saved Ling Xi from the aftermath of the battle. Ling Xi doesn’t want to leave Jiu Chen and even kisses him when he leaves, but he has to keep her at a distance to protect her.

Zhong Hao started capturing girls who were the right age to be the one with the powers he wants. He doesn’t know it’s Ling Xi of course.

At a banquet, Ling Xi sneaks in nearby and happens upon a sad beast they had captured. She frees it and fights with Zhong Hao. The beast eventually is killed and Jiu Chen shows up to take Ling Xi to his secret hideout, which might be at the south pole. Yuan Tong follows and finds out where she’s hiding, then exposes her.

Ling Xi is tested for demonic energy and shows none. But now Zhong Hao knows it’s Ling Xi he’s been looking for and he tells Qin Yuan. Qin Yuan captures her and Jiu Chen has to go rescue her. By then, Yuan Tong had tattled on Ling Xi and gets her in trouble again. This time Ling Xi is sentenced to death. Jiu Chen wants to retire from his position and keep watch over her at his hideout, never to be seen in the world or pose a risk again, but they won’t let him.

Qing Yao makes a concoction to make everybody pass out and she saves Ling Xi from execution. Yuan Tong kills all the sleeping guards to frame Qing Yao, how evil!! On the run, Le Bo protects Ling Xi with his life and gets killed by Yuan Tong. Ling Xi has a powerful energy activated and wards off Yuan Tong. She then collapses and gets drawn to the demon king’s evil energy, but Jiu Chen stops her.

Yuan Tong gets imprisoned at a special tower that houses a lot of demons and she figures out a way to manipulate others so that she can look like a hero. She is reinstated in the army, that cunning woman.

Ling Xi gets sent to the mortal world to go through a trial, I think it’s supposed to help cleanse her soul of any demonic energy. She is born into a family deaf and named Lin Mo now. She had given her hearing to Jiu Chen at some point when he was in danger, so that continued through into her mortal version. She has a younger sister Lin Zhan who bullies her, but she’s still got a sweet personality and a very close relationship with her mortal father, who is also a physician. Lin Mo is very much into medicine growing up.

Yun Feng follows Qing Yao to the mortal realm and shows her the reincarnation of her husband. He is happily married with a pregnant wife now, which is bittersweet for Qing Yao.

Lin Mo is supposed to get engaged to a family friend’s son, Song Ziyu, but Lin Zhan is jealous because she wants to marry him. But then the crown prince falls ill and somehow all girls born on a certain date are considered inauspicious and related to causing him to get sick, so guards start hunting down all these girls. Of course Lin Mo is one of them, but her father Lin Shaohai hides her and explains how he had actually been adopted by him so that wasn’t her real birthday. His wife faked a pregnancy, or had a miscarriage I think.

Shaohai has to choose between his beloved daughter or the rest of his family, so he reluctantly pushes Lin Mo to float in a river and eventually drown. She doesn’t and returns home to learn the truth. She decides it’s time for her to go live her own life. She runs into Jing Xiu along the way and is kind to him. Jiu Chen sets up a place for Lin Mo to stay and has Si Ming secretly guide her there. He plants a tree there that will heal her senses when she eats its fruit.

Jing Xiu then shows up Lin Mo’s new place with injuries and stays to recuperate. He was blinded and has nails in his body to suppress his powers. They fall into a rhythm and eventually the tree bears peaches, but Lin Mo doesn’t eat them and makes wine to sell instead. Lin Mo then becomes an apprentice with Sun doctor, who had helped treat Jing Xiu. Eventually, Lin Mo is able to help Jing Xiu remove the nails in his body, but that is something only someone from the phoenix tribe is supposed to be able to do.

Yuan Tong is shunned by pretty much all of the heavenly clan and nobody trusts her. The only person supporting her is Du Yu, who she was engaged to.

Ling Yue, the leader of the bird tribe, is being controlled by Zhong Hao now. I think he has her drugged? Her daughter Bao Qing has been captured and is being kept to use as bait or leverage later.

Jing Xiu drinks the peach wine and regains his eyesight. He realizes this woman he fell in love with is Ling Xi. Jiu Chen goes to visit and the two guys secretly battle it out while Lin Mo remains pretty clueless haha. But then they both try to claim her and she just wants to be left alone. Jiu Chen ends up having to fight a beast later and Lin Mo helps treat him. He’s a lot weaker these days because he had a sacrifice a stone that was keeping him alive to try to protect Ling Xi and give her a chance to be demon-free.

Yu Li and Yun Feng get mistakenly engaged when the elders think they like each other, but Yu Li was just trying to find out where Jiu Chen was. Bao Qing is let out by Qin Yuan, since he likes her and doesn’t want her to die.

There are some mortals wandering around and one of them, Zhu Zizai, sees Jiu Chen and Jing Xiu fighting. He immediately wants to become their disciple lol. He eventually comes across injured Jiu Chen who had to fight a beast and because he saved the guy, he and his disciple are taken in as a disciples (reluctantly). They are random little comedic relief guys.

Yun Feng has been proving himself worthy by fighting all sorts of bad creatures. Qing Yao finds out and she softens towards him, eventually realizing she likes him. When he gets badly injured once, he gets her to confess haha, but of course she gets mad when she finds out he was exaggerating his injuries.

Jing Xiu finds out Bao Qing was gravely injured while escaping and goes to heal her. He needs some special pill.

To protect Lin Mo, Jiu Chen has to use magic powers and it raises suspicions. He tries to help her remember him and says some sweet things and kisses her. She has mistaken him for Song Ziyu, her fiance, this whole time. She learns from the Song family that he is not the right person and questions his true identity. She doesn’t believe he’s an immortal and they have such a long history together, so he makes up a new story.

Yun Feng and Qing Yao finally got together, but then her old flame returned. He had been stuck reincarnating in the mortal world, unable to get through his love trial after his relationship with Qing Yao. Si Ming gives him a boost and he is finally able to break free and return to his former life as an immortal himself. Now that he’s back, he and Qing Yao catch up and Yun Feng is jealous. One day while discussing it, she’s teasing him and he gets all flustered, then she gives him a kiss on the cheek to show him where she stands and he’s stunned haha.

Yun Feng & Qing Yao
Source: MyDramaList

Lin Mo is supposed to undergo one final trial that would allow her to return to the immortal realm, but Jiu Chen has a tough time leaving her as he should. Jing Xiu is worried about Lin Mo and goes to take her from Jiu Chen. Jiu Chen has to fight off bad guy Zhong Hao, which gives Jing Xiu a chance to leave with Lin Mo.

The demon energy that was sealed back in the last epic battle tries to recruit Yuan Tong but she refuses even though she was drawn to him. She is given defective pills by Qing Yao and eventually notices, so she frames Qing Yao for soldiers’ deaths by giving them the pills and sending them towards the demon. She then looks like the hero emerging again at the end… wow, her conniving really is impressive.

Qing Yao gets in trouble but then Yun Feng pleads for her and she is let off easy while he is turned into a statue to reflect frozen for 1,000 years. Qing Yao is heartbroken and goes to visit Yun Feng, making sure his statue form is cared for.

Qin Yuan decides to rebel and lets Ling Yue go so she can open the abyss. To prevent herself from being misused for evil purposes, she jumps in and finds her father Yuan Du at the bottom. They have some grudges because he killed a bunch of her loved ones when he was against her relationship with Mo Huan. Now they team up for the same cause, to prevent the abyss from getting opened.

Lin Mo is found and Yuan Tong wants to kill her, but the demon lord needs Lin Mo to break free of his seal. When Jiu Chen shows up, Lin Mo is sad that he seems to love Ling Xi and not her (though they are the same person so are they really that different?), so she gives up the pearl that was keeping her alive and dissipates.

Back as an up-leveled immortal, Ling Xi gets caught up on what happened. She has been cleansed of the demonic aura and has her true form as a phoenix. She finds out about her mother and goes to see her. Jing Xiu has been keeping Ling Yue in a coma. He won’t kill her since she’s Ling Xi’s mom. Ling Xi and Qing Yao find something wrong with the medicine, so Qing Yao works on her own concoction. Ling Yue eventually wakes up but Jing Xiu secretly kills her when Ling Xi goes to get help.

Yuan Tong had the demon lord’s spirit take refuge in her when Lin Mo died and then she gets banned after they find out how she lured soldiers to their death. Now she has to find the next host for him.

After a complex situation with lots of people getting killed and Jing Xiu’s secret almost coming out, but then framing a maid, the truth eventually surfaces. He runs off and Yuan Tong convinces him to take on the demon lord work. She then goes to the abyss and when they sense the disturbance, Jiu Chen goes to fight. He would get trapped there so he gets Yun Feng released and he’s supposed to pretend to be Jiu Chen locked up in his room drinking. He wants Ling Xi to give up on him since he’s never coming back.

Ling Xi was getting ready to get married to him after they finally got a blessing from his master and had one happy night. Instead, she is now told he claims to be unfit to be a husband. She eventually figures out the man behind the screen is not Jiu Chen and forces Yun Feng out to tell the truth. Ling Xi jumps into the abyss to be with Jiu Chen forever.

Jing Xiu goes too and is forced through the portal. Jiu Chen goes in after him and tells Ling Xi she must seal it after him. He promises to find a way back to her.

300 years later, Ling Xi has a daughter and they are at Jiu Chen’s retreat at the pole. Shi San had turned from human back into a fish to recover from an injury and they are waiting for her to regain human form. She has no memories when she’s back. At the retreat, mother and daughter are at the entrance when Jiu Chen re-emerges. And thus the family is reunited (but no explanation??).

What I learned: czar

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Last weekend I was having trouble sleeping and somehow thought about czars and czarinas, so I started to read about them again. That led me into the typical rabbit hole I was expecting at first, but then I came across an unexpected other meaning:

a person appointed by government to advise on and coordinate policy in a particular area

I mean, I guess I’d heard of a “drug czar” before, but I never really thought it was a legitimate title! These folks are appointed by the executive branch and sometimes even undergo Senate confirmation. That’s pretty official.

In the US, we have not just drug czars, but also intelligence czar, terrorism czar, cyber security czar, and even war czar (according to Wikipedia). It’s sort of fuzzy how and why they came to be, but it’s definitely an established practice to have these folks who have a topical focus but may be restrained by resources.

At work, we decided this would be fun to adopt, so I dubbed myself the business czar, which my colleagues quickly turned into a hilarious pun: the biz-czar (sounds like bizarre, haha). I decided our head of IT should be the tech czar and our boss could be the tsar czar. What do you think?



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