Monday, January 3, 2005

   Home Again
Sorry for not updating sooner; I got back home the night before last and since then I've been unpacking and playing The Sims 2 -- it's just as addicting as the first Sims game. My flight was on time and everything went well on the trip home; I had a bit of a layover in Memphis, so I took a coffee break and had a cinnamon roll ^_^.

Anyway, I had a pretty good time at OtakuCon (the anime convention in Miami). To my surprise, there weren't a whole lot of cosplayers wandering around at the con; they all decided to pop up at the costume contest. Speaking of the cosplayers, here are a few pics I took at the convention (Long post, sorry):

Here I am as Tsukasa. This costume seems to be my most popular with the crowd so far. This pic was taken by the guy at fansview.com.


Behold, I'm squinting! This pic was taken while I was waiting in line for the costume contest. The guy next to me was cosplaying an original assassin-type character. Taken by Maboroshi Studios.


Melfina -- this was taken by my mom on the balcony of our room.


Soujiro -- taken in the hotel room before heading to the con. I was glomped (squeeze-hugged) by a group of fangirls who endearingly called me "Souji" ^^.


Now onto the pics of the awesome other cosplayers:

One of the best Spike cosplayers I've ever seen. He even got the hair right!


The outstandingly beautiful Tokyo Mew Mew group. They won "Best Group Cosplay" in the contest.


Kingdom Hearts costumes, I believe.


NARUTO!!! His sister cosplayed "Sexy no Jutsu" Naruto with him. He gave me a packet of ramen, lol.


Awesome Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha.


Rei Hino (Sailor Moon) in kimono. I helped brush her wig before the contest ^^.


Last but not least, Christmas Chii and Freya!


Whew! And those were only a few of the cosplayers! All in all, I had fun at the convention. The con was a bit disorganized (last-minute re-scheduling of events, cancellations, horrendously long lines . . .), but some of it was understandable since the con was only in its first year. The costume and cosplay contests were enjoyable, even though there was a minor dispute about the cosplay contest's "gong show" method. The costume contest was held runway fashion show style, and even though I didn't win anything, that was the highlight of the convention for me. I usually shy away from being in the spotlight, but in costume I'm such an attention whore ^_^.

The location was beautiful -- it was held at the Hilton Fountainebleu resort in Miami Beach -- too bad I was too busy with the con to hit the beach . . . But I did hit the dealers room and buy four boxes of pocky and an Ayanami Rei action figure, so that'll have to compensate ^_^.

Well, I've got to go now. Have a great beginning to 2005, everyone!















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Friday, December 31, 2004

   Happy New Year's!
I'm happy to say that I'll be returning home tomorrow morning. Sure, I had a good time here in Wisconsin, but it'll be nice to go back home. Yesterday, I saw the Imax presentation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It was so cool; the Imax theater in Milwaukee is one of the original dome Imax theaters, so you really feel like you're in the movie.

I could seriously cut the tension with a butter knife here. It doesn't look too good for my dad and step-mom. My dad's saying he's going to file for divorce on Monday -- who knows, though. The sad thing is, if he does go through with it, I'll be the only one who will miss her. My step-mom is very . . . difficult to get along with; she has some good qualities, but she treats my dad like a sack of crap, so the divorce is probably for the best. Sorry to bore you with all this crap. Here's a chocolate eclair for your troubles *hands out eclairs*.

I have some ideas for new artwork; I might try using water colors. I can't wait 'til I get back so I can start. Well, have a great New Year's Eve! I'm going to my sister's for dinner, and then we're all going to the family New Year's Eve party. I have a lot of relatives on my dad's side of the family, so they always have get-togethers for Christmas and New Years. I'll go on a major site-visiting spree when I return home tomorrow, so if I haven't been around much lately, don't fret, I'll visit your site soon. Bye for now!
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Saturday, December 25, 2004

   On Wisconsin
Sorry for the lack of updates -- I've been busy visiting relatives and the like. Anyway, the convention was pretty fun. I'll post pics and a more detailed report when I return home in January. Wisconsin is okay. It's cold, but there isn't much snow. I stayed with my sister for a couple of nights when I first arrived in Milwaukee, and now I'm staying at my dad and step-mom's house in Lake Geneva. I might have to go back to my sister's place if my dad and step-mom don't get their acts together -_-. Excuse my language, but all they do is bitch at eachother.

Well, on a lighter note, it's Christmas! No one's up yet, so I figured I could have some computer time. When everyone's up, we're going to have breakfast (Swedish pancakes and cheese eggs) and open presents. Later, some more relatives are coming over for the Christmas ham and turkey feast. Thank God for speedy metabolism ^^.

I hope everyone has a very merry Christmas, Hannukah, or whatever else! I'll try to post again soon. Happy holidays =).
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Thursday, December 16, 2004

Christmas Break
Well, tomorrow starts my Christmas journey. My mom, step-dad, and I are flying to Miami tomorrow morning, and my convention starts around 3 in the afternoon. Then on Monday, after the convention, I'm flying to Wisconsin. I'll be gone until the beginning of January, so I probably won't be around TheOtaku much.

Due to popular demand, I've decided I will post pictures of the convention when I return. Have fun during the holidays, everyone.
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Sunday, December 12, 2004

   Arrrgghhh . . .(Rant Alert)
Someone just pooped all over my fanart by voting "No" on almost every one of my pics, dragging my composite rating down from 80 to 78. Not that I really care about my rating, but these negative voters suck! So much! It's perfectly fine when someone doesn't like a fan art; it's no big deal - everyone's entitled to an opinion, and I know my art isn't that good compared with all the awesome artists on this site. But please! Isn't voting "No" on every single pic in an artist's gallery (just 'cause one can) a pretty low thing to do? ARRrrrrgghh . . . sorry, I just needed to get that out of my system. If you read this monstrosity, here's a cookie *hands out chocolate chip cookies*.

Q of the day: what's your biggest pet peeve?
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Friday, December 10, 2004

One More Week
Just one more week until the semester ends and I can go to my anime convention! I had my final exam for Comp I last night, so that's it for college classes until January. I think I did okay; the exam was just an impromptu essay.

A week from now I'll be walking around Miami Beach in costume (fun stuff ^^). Here's the site for the convention if you're curious:OtakuCon.
I'm bringing the Tsukasa and Soujiro costumes, but since I won't have Rei finished, I'm not sure what my third costume will be. I'm thinking I might end up being Melfina. Anyway, I'm entering as Tsukasa in the costume contest. I don't expect to win anything, but I think it will be a good experience nonetheless. Then after the convention, I'm going to visit my dad and everyone else in Wisconsin; I'm not looking forward to the cold, especially since my dad sparsely turns on the heat and keeps his house like a morgue -_-. Goodbye green Christmas.

That's about it. Fan art will probably be on hold until next year. I might post one more during the next week; I'm not sure yet. To all you guys out there, have a good holiday break!

Question of the Day: have you ever been to an anime convention?
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Saturday, November 27, 2004

   New Fan Art --
Wow, it's been a while since I last submitted fan art. Anyway, I decided to start drawing a series of characters representing the elements; so far, I'm considering drawing fire, air, earth, water, light, and darkness. The one I posted today is ice. I tried my hand at drawing an original character, and surprisingly, it was much easier than drawing a pre-existing character. Tell me what you think; constructive criticism is always appreciated.

Q of the day: what's your favorite series to see fan art from?
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Thursday, November 25, 2004

   Happy Thanksgiving!
The day of the feast has arrived; have a great turkey day, everyone.

I haven't been doing much around here. My Rei costume is on hiatus at the moment. I made the base bodysuit only to realize the fabric I used was not stretchy enough (I used a polyester/spandex fabric). So it's back to the drawing board.

I made some new greeting cards durng the past couple of days, and I intend to make some more today. I would have made more yesterday, but I was summoned to bake some Thanksgiving goodies. I didn't mind; I like making dessert ^_^. I made a pumpkin-cheese cake (which is just a pumpkin pie with a layer of cheese cake) and a batch of molasses cookies (they're crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside, and just really, really good).

As for anime, I've been watching Hellsing recently. I really like it so far; its got action, an intriguing plot, cool characters, and a really unique ambience for an anime, in my opinion. I'll watch the last DVD today.

Q for the day: what's your favorite Thanksgiving dish? My heart belongs to the sweet potato casserole ^_^.

Once again, have a great Thanksgiving!
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Tuesday, November 16, 2004

   I Dyed Yesterday!
I received the wig dye yesterday and right away I set to work on dying the Ayanami wig. I also finished the sync clips that clip in her hair. Here's a pic if you would like to see how the wig came out . . . be warned, though; the pic features an extreme close-up of yours truly . . . O.O
Rei Wig.

I'd just like to thank all of you for replying to my last post. I'm in a much better mood today. Oh yeah, question of the day . . . what's your favorite ice cream flavor? I like Ben & Jerry's Oatmeal Cookie Chunk.
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Sunday, November 14, 2004

   Today's Forecast: Cynical and Partly Overwhelmed
Yep, just that. I'm just a bit frustrated that I can't seem to find the right material for my Rei plugsuit. Since hurricane Ivan came through, all of the fabric stores around here have a very limited selection. It sucks, 'cause I have nothing else left to do on this fine Sunday but work on my costume . . . but I can't -_-.

At least I received the wig I ordered, though. I'm really happy with it; the style is perfect for Rei. Now I'm just waiting for the wig dye (which I also ordered online) to arrive. As soon as I'm done with the wig, I'll post a picture so you can see how the progress is coming.

Okay, I've babbled about cosplay long enough. I cannot stop stressing about college today. I'll be graduating from high school this coming spring, and I'm overwhelmed that this time next year I'll be living on my own. Am I the only one out there who doesn't want to leave home?

Anyway, due to the topic in my post, the question for today will be college oriented as well. What was (or will be) your major in college? I'm thinking about architecture.
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