Threed Place

Last Friday, while other people sat at home celebrating May the 4th by torturing themselves with Star Wars films, there was a gathering of anime fans at the Japanese Friendship Garden in Phoenix for Ani-MAYhem.  And that's where I was, too.  I meant to take pictures but alas, the camera died.  Caj diiid manage to get a couple of photographs of my cosplay first, but we'll get to those in a moment.

We started with a stroll around the garden.  There were so many trees that provided refuge from the heat of the afternoon sun.  They were beautiful and exotic and I could only imagine how much work it must take to keep it looking so alive in this desert. I'm lousy with growing plants. Every time I tell Caj that I want to grow something, he tells me to leave it alone then. t_t

A few sculptures dotted the path adding variety to the scenery.  Through the center of the garden was a large pond with a waterfall towards the east end.  This was the home to dozens of koi that we were permitted to feed their special koi food - cheerios.  Just a small handful was enough to bring the fish together in a frenzy, twisting and squirming around each other in a fight to reach the little cereal first.  Fish can be so aggressive!

We arrived at the event a little late, so we missed several of the demonstrations. I did get to enjoy seeing the performances by At Your Service cafe, based off the maid and butler cafes that can be found in Japan. It looked like a lot of fun, and I couldn't help but think of them as the cheerleaders of the cosplay scene. I think it's something I'd love to try sometime, but I don't think Caj would like me calling other people "Master" while serving them. Even so, I went ahead and came up with a maid design anyway. I think as a maid I'll be called Honey-chan~!

Not long after that I noticed my friend Ally, who helped me to meet some new people there. She even convinced me to participate in the cosplay contest. Even though my cosplay wasn't quite finished and I had to grab a suit jacket from my closet and flip it inside out to complete the look as best I could with what I had - I placed Third in the competition! It completely blew my mind, but I'm really grateful. It has really encouraged me to continue working hard on sewing and performing for my next competition. The best part of the evening? Meeting Banzai Productions again! At least, I got to chat briefly with Oz and SWP, I didn't see the others. I think my nervousness during the contest was due more to me geeking out about Banzai than being on stage. Afterwards, SWP even asked me about where I got my shoes because she was looking for some just like them. It makes me feel good that I can talk to them about these things. Later, online, Oz even told me that I should try a Masquerade next time. Yay~ I believe the night could not have been more perfect.

(Okay, so I mentioned I'd post my pictures, but the camera is at school. I'll come back and edit this post with pics later, okay?)

My Calling

Caj and I teach the nursery together at church. Basically what that means is, the parents bring their 18-24mos toddlers to our class while they attend grown up Sunday School, and we do puzzles, blow bubbles, sing kids songs, and have snack time. It totally rocks! Believe it or not, we actually do try to incorporate some kind of spiritual lesson, or at the very least a spiritual story. But it's a lot of fun. People seem to scoff at it, saying sarcastically, "Lucky you!" But it makes me all kinds of giddy. I love it! The kids are so adorable.

I hadn't decided yet if I was going to volunteer for Phoenix Comicon. It really intimidates me! I always feel inadequate when it comes to any kind of work. But Caj has also expressed interest in volunteering so we can attend again together this year. After our experience last year?! I was surprised, too. But I still wasn't sure what we'd volunteer for. Until today, when PCC announced on Facebook that they're still looking for volunteers, especially for the youth programming. It couldn't be more perfect! We are fantastic with kids and probably would enjoy entertaining them more than we would interacting with the adults.

So there we have it! I've sent an email in expressing our desire to volunteer and help out with the kiddies. Hopefully I'll hear back from them soon and will see you at Phoenix Comicon!

Listen!!

So...

I've gained a little weight since I last did my flexibility trick... So the video is on hold for a month.

In the meantime, I am currently working on my first 99% handmade cosplay. So, I confess, all of my cosplays so far have either been things pulled out of my closet, bought at a thrift store and altered, or mostly sewn by a friend or relative. So I am really excited about this because this one will be completely my own and so far it's been turning out very well. Caj is joining me in possibly volunteering at Phoenix Comicon, so I really hope to debut my cosplay there!

Phoenix Comicon 2012 & Stuff

I haven't decided if I'm going yet or not. Last year was a major disappointment, and this year they've raised the cost $10? No, thank you. Although if I do decide not to volunteer or something, I might at least dress up and hang out on the sidewalk. Really, I mostly just enjoy conventions to see everyone's cosplays. I don't really like to spend money and last year there was only one panel worth seeing.

In other news, I'm working on something very special right now - a cosplay video! Even though the anime I'm working on a cosplay from is pretty old, I'm hoping it's enough of a classic for everyone to appreciate what I have planned. Mostly this is for a couple of friends who I guess are fascinated by my ability to walk on my toes. Not tippy-toe walking. I mean folding my toes under my feet and walking with all of my body weight on them. Don't try this at home, kids. But that's not all! In my video I will be adding a very special trick that nobody outside of my family has ever seen me do! So keep an eye peeled for it, I'm hoping to have this filmed and uploaded within the next couple of weeks, plus a tutorial for making a modesty body suit.

Back From Hiatus - Mid-Life Crisis

Was my last post seriously September 1st? I've been gone for six months? Wow. Waaay too long. But the family is moved into a house now, and as if being a wife/mommy/geek didn't keep me busy enough, I now work for my friend's cleaning business and have started up a little business of my own, which I will shamelessly direct you to once everything is in order. But yeah, life is going pretty good! Except for one thing. I'm getting older. Yeah, I have a while before I hit the dreaded 30, but I'm not even there yet and I feel so devastated and cheated. In a nutshell, I have never drank so much water and used so much moisturizer in my life. I am determined to look 20-something for the rest of my life (but refuse to use plastic surgery!.) On a high note, my pants are 6 sizes smaller than they were in high school! So, I guess I'll be cosplaying a while yet. I just wish I had some awesome close cosplaying friends to keep me from feeling so discouraged.