It's Not All Gumdrops & Unicorns

How's it going my gumdrops? I'm sure that most of you are really busy, since today is Mother's Day. My presents for Mother's Day and my uncle's birthday are all wrapped.

Because my mother said she needed more containers, I bought her 2. She doesn't really care about what people buy her. If I had more money, I would've bought my mother some clothes.

Then again, her bedroom is overrun with clothes, which was why she wanted more containers.

Since my grandmother loves wearing hats, I bought her a white hat to wear to her church. I'm sure you're wondering about my uncle's birthday present. He's so picky about what everyone (including me) buys him.

My uncle has an ear wax cleaner for his birthday gift. The man should like his present, since he always loved cleaning his ears with Qtips and dropping them on the floor. As if everybody wanted to stare at his dirty Qtips, when he lived with us years ago.

With today being Mother's Day, I thought about sharing a Shojo Anime, which happens to be a Funimation Entertainment cult classic. Some of my gumdrops are familiar with Fruits Basket. It has been years, since the time I watched it.

Years ago, I did my senior thesis at Carthage College on Chinese Fortune Telling. It was mostly about comparing Chinese and Western Astrology.

During my research, Chinese Astrology seemed more complex than Western Astrology. I don't have my senior thesis in front of me. However, I remember reading about the different Chinese Folklores and the zodiac signs.

In 1 of the research books I had, it explained how all 12 animals had their own zodiac signs. The Buddha, who was originally a sage from India, roamed around Asia. I can't remember everything about his destinations.

Although, I do remember that Buddha was about to die and he called all the animals to meet with him, including the cat.

There is 1 folklore, that said the rat was supposed to wake up the cat because he was going to take a nap. By the rat forgetting to wake him up, the cat missed his chance at having a zodiac named after him.

As all 12 animals ran to meet with Buddha, the rat said he was tired and didn't feel like running as far. This led to him riding on the ox's back.

After all 12 animals made it to Buddha's house, the rat jumped off the ox's back and ran ahead of him.

If the ox didn't allow him to ride on his back the entire way, the ox would've been granted the 1st sign of the Chinese Zodiac rather than the 2nd. The rat is usually considered to be a cunning animal and zodiac sign.

When you really think about it, the rat screwed over both the ox and the cat.

The main difference between Chinese and Western Astrology is that Chinese Astrology is based on people's birth years, whereas Western Astrology is based on the month and day we were all born. Below is the order of each Chinese zodiac sign:

Chinese Zodiac Signs:

1) Rat

2) Ox

3) Tiger

4) Rabbit

5) Dragon

6) Snake

7) Horse

8 ) Goat

9) Monkey

10) Rooster

11) Dog

12) Pig

13) Cat 

I was born on June 14, 1982. Based on both Chinese and Western Astrology, I am an Aquarian Gemini and a Water Dog. In Western Astrology, my element is mostly air. In Chinese Astrology, my element is water. Isn't that interesting?

I only wanted to give you all a somewhat brief explanation about about Chinese Astrology and how it was developed based on 1 of the Chinese Folklores.

If you continue to watch the entire Fruits Basket series independently, you will have a better understanding about each character and his/her zodiac.

As for the Shojo Anime, Fruits Basket, it begins with the protagonist, Tohru Honda. Tohru is a high school orphan girl.

Her mother was recently killed in a car accident and her father died, when she was a little girl. Tohru was living with her grandfather.

Because his house was being renovated, she moved out and chose to live in a tent on The Sohmas land.

In this beginning episode, she happens to meet 3 of The Sohmas, Shigure, Yuki, and Kyo. Shigure is a dog, Yuki is a rat, and Kyo is a cat.

In case you do not watch this entire series, I want you all to know, that I chose to share it because it shows how much Tohru Honda really loves her mother. Anyway, here is Fruits Basket for today's Cartoon Sunday.

Fruits Basket: Episode 1 (2001)

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL THE MOTHERS!!!