So, we ended up volunteering at Comicon and it was a huge success. First of all, my Tsumugi cosplay was finished just in time and I couldn't be happier with my first fully self-made cosplay. I keep inspecting the jacket and thinking, "Wow, I made this. I MADE this." I don't like to brag, I'm just really happy that I'm HAPPY with something that I've done. Unfortunately, we lost the memory card for our camera and couldn't take any pictures. All I have are some lousy ones we took with my phone because we were bored while waiting for the light rail. I'll post them, but I promise I'll get something more professional soon. The main thing is, I had fun posing for the pictures. And I'm amazed with how well they turned out on a first try. Usually I have to retake a picture 5-10 times before I get one I approve of.
We had sooo much more fun this year. We volunteered Friday and Saturday in the Kids Programming. Caj helped with crowd control during Plants vs. Zombies, Ghosbusters, and Imperial Cadet Training. I spent the entire time in the art room at the coloring pages station. Kids are so funny and adorable. The Create Your Own My Little Pony presentation was PACKED and made me realize how much I need to have a little girl. Strangely though, when I was at my in-laws on Memorial Day, I was drawing ponies for my niece and before I know it, my nephew and son are begging me to draw Rainbow Dash for them. HaHa, is it wrong for me to turn Jac into a bronie? HeHe... Bronie... it sounds like Brownie. Well, it seems we did our job right because they were practically begging us to volunteer again on Sunday. I explained we had religious obligations and were unable to, but assured them we'd return next year. We're actually looking forward to Comicon now! What an improvement from last year. I guess we're just the kind of people who need to have a purpose somewhere and be contributing to something.
Because we were volunteering so much, we didn't get much time to see panels. We just barely made it to the last half of the spotlight on Colin Ferguson which I am so glad we got to see. That man is hilarious! He seemed very laid back and cool, I'm not sure how to say it, but, humble for a celebrity. Approachable! Is that the word I'm looking for? *shrug* I'll take it. Anyway, I'm a bigger fan now than ever before. I'm so glad when seeing an actor in person they exceed my expectations rather than disappoint. I've had so many disappointments... But he rocked! So, thank you, Colin Ferguson for highlighting our con experience! We also made it to the Masquerade. It was my first time at a Masquerade so I'm not sure how it compared to others, but I've heard nothing but bad things. I enjoyed it, enough, but was left hoping that surely there was more to a Masquerade than that. It seems half the contestants didn't show, or something. While I'm glad they didn't exclude walk-ons (as I'm currently a solo cosplayer, myself, and have heard of conventions not allowing anything but skits) I still wanted to see skits. I think there was one. That's it. I've heard a lot of complaints about the rules and how the Masquerade was run, so I think I'll have to look into it more to understand better. All I have to say was I totally geeked out over little Sauron. And Gir. Oh my gosh, Gir had me in a fit of giggles that I could not contain.
My poor, future children. What kind of mother will they have?
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Monday, May 7, 2012
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?)
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?)
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
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!
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!
Friday, April 20, 2012
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!
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!
Friday, April 13, 2012
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.
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.
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