Anime Banzai 2011!

So, since I've christened this blog as a place for me to talk about costumes, props and general identity tomfoolery, I think this is a great place to talk about my favorite way to celebrate costuming; anime conventions! More specifically, the convention near and dear to my heart (and my home), Anime Banzai in Layton, UT. This was my third time coming to Banzai ('08, '10, '11) and it was a blast! Such as it could be. See, I was planning on being this:

And completely KNOCKING their SOCKS off, but due to unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstances, I went as this:

Cute, right? I don't think I pull off black hair very well, but whatever. The point is, the crutches were for the costume and for necessary purposes. I think that threw people off because they thought the crutches were for real and weren't supposed to be part of my costume, so they didn't know who I was until I told them. There was one lady who overheard me say that they were also part of my costume and she piped up, "Waaaaiiiit. You're not from Mushi-Shi, are you?" I was like, "YES! I love you!" I mean, people recognized who I was when I said it, but I guess just not right off the bat. I really should have done the words on my skin.

That would have given it away, I think. There was, however, a surprising perk. See, I had entered the cosplay contest to be Neliel, but upon breaking my ankle, that obviously wasn't going to happen. So I contacted the woman in charge of the cosplay contest to let her know that I could no longer compete, but would I be able to volunteer backstage, instead? I adore being in the thick of things (I worked backstage last year, helping the cosplayers offstage safely) and if I couldn't compete, I wanted to be in the greenroom anyway. I think it's more fun than sitting in the audience, since you get to see a lot more of the costumes than just when they're onstage. It apparently really surprised the cosplay head that I wanted to work when I couldn't compete, so at then end of the contest awarding, she introduces one more award she wanted to give away. She starts by talking about this cosplayer that had grand plans to build a four-legged moving costume, only to break her ankle less than a month before the convention. Talked about the e-mail she got from said cosplayer having to withdraw, and then being completely blown away that the cosplayer would turn around and ask to volunteer. XD I'm sitting in the greenroom through all of this blushing and laughing. So then she introduced me by name, but told the audience they weren't going to drag me up onstage because of my ankle (though I kinda wished she would have let me; I'm a sucker for attention. And they had ramps instead of stairs to get onstage, which I can handle just fine!) but she was giving me the "Great Attitude" award. XD It was a custom bag that got made for all the Cosplay Contest winners (only 23 got made) and it's actually really nice. Sturdy and big and I like it. ^_^

And it had Ramune and Hello Panda inside. X3 So anyway, I think it's so cute she did that for me when I really do love to help out! Next year, though! Next year, Neliel WILL be coming to Anime Banzai! I will swear off roller blading if I have to! At least now I have an extra year to make it perfect. :D Moving on now, to everyone else.

There were a lot of amazing cosplayers, like there always are. I came with two empty 2 gig SD cards with every intention of filling them both up, but I just didn't realize how much of a pain it is to balance bags and crutches so you can take a picture, especially when you're already tired in the first place. I took a bunch when I was just sitting in the hall and resting at different times, but just not nearly as many as I wished I had. I always regret not taking enough pictures…

One thing about Anime Banzai this year is that it's theme was Steampunk. Turned out to be way fun with all the different "steampunked" versions of costumes there were. Some people went WAY out there and it was awsome. I saw SO many beautifuly elaborate gowns that pretty much made me DROOL. I came away just dying to design my own and to make it. I don't know what for or what I would do with it or where I would wear it, but it's gonna be amazing. :D

Next year's theme, by the way, is Japanese Mythology, so we'll see if I'll be able to do anything in-theme or not!

I have decided!

That I'm going to try and use this blog for more useful things that just taking up webspace and basically being an eyesore.

I spent a good hour or more pouring over my big sister's craft blog tonight just loving her creativity, her drive to finish projects, and her taste in pretty much EVERYTHING. Gave me an idea! Except I'm not so much into furniture and home decor as I am completely obsessed with costumes. And anime is not to blame for this! It just gives me an extra outlet. :D Ask my mother, I've loved making and wearing costumes for...a really really long time. My siblings probably remember that one Halloween that I flounced around the house in my green, crushed-velveteen elven cloak for two weeks after the silly holiday. Heh. Good times!

So yeah, here I'm gonna (try to) post about the costumes I've done, ones I'm planning, progress of others. I'm actually glad I've thought of this before I completely finished my Neliel (I know she's pretty skimpy in this picture. I'm combining it with this blouse to make it modest and cool like that. :D) costume, because now I have incentive to document every step of it! I've tried to do that, but maybe I'll do better now. Unfortunately, I don't have progress (or even proper finished pictures, besides of me wearing them in bad lighting) photos of all my past costumes.

And I'll be honest, most of my costumes now (if not all) will probably be completely nerdy and almost solely for to wear to anime conventions. Hey, you get prizes for good ones there! Though when I do finally get Neliel done for next year's Anime Banzai, I'll also be taking her to the nearest Halloween costume contest with a cash prize so I can BLOW THEIR MINDS. I may leave the green hair off and come up with a more warrior-centaur-type look (I have no problems keeping the skull helmet and just designing a completely different outfit to wear on top. Oh...ideas...) for a less anime-central crowd, but anyone can see that a centaur with moving back legs is cool.

But anyway, these are my plans for my tiny corner of the world wide web. I'll get to work scanning up the drawings I've done of designs I've made for different ones. One thing I love to do is dress up the existing character design to make it more detailed, epic or to make it formal. A couple of those formal designs barely look like the original design at all.

And hey! Maybe this will some day help someone who wants to make the same or a similar costume. I FULLY INTEND on publishing the pattern I'm going to have to draft for Neliel's jacket. Because really, that thing is ridiculous and it's nigh unto impossible to find an existing pattern for anything AT ALL like it, with its crooked zipper.

The reason I obsess...

...over anime (and have been for about five years now) is because when I get interested in something, I pretty much consume everything I can find on the subject. Anime and manga is pretty much never-ending, so it's gonna last me for a very long time.

But sometimes, that gets interrupted by something singular and beautiful, but only AN HOUR AND FOURTY FREAKING MINUTES LONG!!! Why does Tangled have to hold me in its grip so strong?! There's only a hundred precious minutes that I'm allowed to flip out over! And trust me, I do. Itunes was my hero when I got home from seeing it (in 3D!) for the second time in five days and I was able to immediately download "I See the Light." And so I've pretty much been listening to it constantly since then. Yeah. Just that one song. On repeat. That might drive other people nuts, or make others pretty much hate the song, but I can't get enough of it! I just finished watching the lantern clip from the movie about ten times over. ^_^

Obsessed? Yes indeed. But this is one of the VERY few times that I don't feel depressed by a sappy romance film. I feel more optimistic than I usually do after one of these things. I tend to be a downer about chick flicks...

So yeah, when it comes out in March, I am SO THERE! Never really wanted a DVD this badly, actually. Heh. Good times!

*boot!*

Begone, old blog entry!

So....now that's gone, I have no idea what to say. Enjoyed President's day off from school and the PHENOMENAL sale on beads and crystals they had at the craft store here. I thought 25% off was good, but nooooo, after my spending spree on that stuff the past few weeks, they had to go, "But look! Now it's 50%, but only for three days! Spend all your money at once!" *Les sigh* But that's okay, I've got lots of new patterns to play with.

Had a fantastic time at the first-ever anime con this town has ever seen. It was tiny (about 75 attendees, or so) but I'm so proud of them for putting one on! That, and with so few people, when you enter practically all the contests, you tend to win stuff. ^_^ So I got a poster and some anime DVD's. And the Anime Dating Game was pure hilarity. The first round, anyway. Picture this: Tristan from Yu-Gi-oh, Alucard from Castlevania and Kurtz Webber from Fullmetal Panic all competing for the hand of Ritsu from K-On. It was hysterical. And the guy playing Kurtz hadn't even seen Fullmetal Panic, it's just that we were in need of cosplayers to make the game work, so someone suggested Kurtz, gave the guy a brief description of his character and there you have it! He did a GREAT job of being in character! I dunno if that says something for him as an improv artist, or the fact that Kurtz has a terribly flat and cliche' characterization. Probably both. Anyway, it was fun. Then I won in the next round a "date" with Snake (from whatever video game he's from. I have no idea) as Witch Hunter Robin, but I'm pretty sure it's just because I was the least weird of the three bachelorettes. It was me, that gaming chick from Invader Zim, and Sunako from Wallflower/Perfect Girl Evolution (who is obsessed with horror and gore). Sunako was played by my roommate (this was her first convention, even!) and she did AWESOME. She just had a freaky (yet hilarious) character. XD So anyway, that was fun, and I'm looking forward to their expanding in the future.

So this was a good weekend, besides the fact that I didn't find out in time that the art building would be LOCKED today (since it's a holiday. Policy and all that) and that I should have grabbed my paint and brushes on Saturday but didn't. So I'm borrowing brushes to finish a project, which I HOPE to be able to show off soon. I'm really excited about this one. ^_^

Anyway, babbling about life, I just got tired of that blog entry. Happy President's Day!!

Goals!

I really never have much to say here (always too lazy to type anything up) but I thought I'd share something I've been thinking a lot about lately.

I've been doing surprisingly well with Weight Watchers since Mom got me started on it at the end of August. This has been the first time I've made an active effort at losing weight and I guess I never expected it to go this well. Then again, I don't think I ever expected myself to have this kind of commitment and self-control (though homemade sugar cookies and frosting sitting out on the counter REALLY like to test that last bit) to make it all work, but it has!

This last Tuesday, when I weighed in, I finally made my 10% goal with the group here in Rexburg. I've actually been hovering around that thing for a while (Christmas threw it off for me. Mmmm, monkey bread! Among other things) but now that I'm back at school, I made the goal and it's gonna stay gone. Got a nice, shiny keychain too. Then, I realized that if I were to lose another five pounds in just this week (the most I've lost in a week has been 4 lbs, so I really think I can do it. I'm focusing a lot more on the health guidelines, making sure I'm getting more veggies, and I've been out to play ultimate Frisbee and go ice skating, as well as my normal walking to class routine. With the added veggies and exercise, I'm really looking forward to Tuesday when I weigh in again) then I'll have made the 25 lbs mark, in which I get a little charm for my brand-new 10% keychain!

Then it occurred to me; right now, (not even counting the 5 I'm working for this week) I'm only 20 lbs away from the weight goal that I set for myself with the WW leaders here. I'll probably want to push past that once I get to it, but the point is to have a goal that you can shoot for. As it is, I lost 15 lbs last semester (with Thanksgiving even thrown in there!) so I really think I can do this, with the right determination. See, the thing is, the leaders and the WW members here in Rexburg have really been a great support. We're getting to know one another, we're helping out, and I've been glad to be meeting goals there. This past week, one of the leaders sent me a congratulations postcard. Made me feel special. ^_^ So another big reason for this 20 lbs thing is that I would love to hit that big mark while I'm here with the people that have been helping me all along. I actually think I would feel guilty if I hit it right after leaving Rexburg for the summer, or something.

So yeah, that's my vain rambling. Maybe now that I've got it out of my system, I'll stop telling other, poor unsuspecting souls. Like I said before, losing weight is kind of a novelty for me, so I'm constantly surprised that it's actually working, that my pants and blouses aren't fitting like they used to, yadda yadda. So I guess we'll see how Tuesday goes with this week's goal, and then, on to TAKE OVER THE WORLD!

...um, I mean, lose 20 pounds. I don't know where that came from, it just popped into my head. XD

Watchin' Weight

I'll try to catch up on those spiritual blogs soon, but I have something I've been dying to say.

I have been on a diet. I didn't wanna announce it here because my mom hadn't told my family and Thanksgiving was kinda my big reveal, you know? But now that's over, I kinda wanna gush. See...background:

The night before I flew home at the end of my mission, I had to weigh my luggage to make sure it wasn't over 50 lbs, right? Well, to do that, I had to weigh myself, and then pick up my luggage and then subtract the two numbers. Needless to say, I had to do that a LOT and consequently, how much I weighed that night has been burned into my BRAIN. Upon coming home, I overheard my dad at one point talking about how much he weighed and much to my horror, I was really close to the same, and my dad is not a small man. I was fairly disgusted with myself and begged my mom to get me started on Weight Watchers, which worked extremely well for her.

Long story slightly shorter, this past Tuesday (BEFORE Thanksgiving, mind you. Haven't weighed myself since then. We'll see how things turn out tomorrow at my meeting. I kinda expect it to be ugly) I weighed in at a Watcher's meeting near my grandma's house and I have lost a total of THIRTY POUNDS since my mission! I've actually been surprised as I've been going to the meetings and I've been successfully losing weight. I guess I'd just never really tried before, but I've really been surprising myself by this.

Is it vain that I'm posting an entire blog about how much I DON'T weigh anymore? I'm by no means skinny but I've just been feeling really good about myself because I've lost a pants size (granted, that was before Thursday. I haven't tried those jeans on since. XD Hopefully, I'll be able to get back into my new jeans in a week or so. Yeah...that's embarrassing...) and the fact that I've been actively trying to make myself better and it's actually working. Hasn't really happened before, so I'm kinda happy. Just thought I'd say that.

Oh, but here's the clincher. I'm finally getting to the point where I can look at foods and estimate fairly accurately how much I should eat and how many points they are (Weight Watchers works on a points system. All foods, depending on their calories, fiber and fat content are given a certain point value. I am given a number of points a day to spend on whatever I want, so long as I don't go over) and then I get an e-mail today that they're CHANGING THE WHOLE SYSTEM. So now, I've gotta start all over. *sigh* I guess it's to keep me on my toes. Best not to get too complacent, right? I think it's funny that they didn't introduce this change until after Thanksgiving. Coincidence? I think not.

Yeah, I'm sorry for being so vain. I'll move along now...

I've been thinking lately that I haven't told you guys anything about my mission, and that makes me sad. I got an idea the other day, inspired by my friend Heather ho posts an inspirational journal every Sunday. I decided to do something like that; to share a little tidbit of my mission experience once a week. Hopefully that'll keep my blog from rotting anyway.

The first thing I thought I would say was a question I was frequently asked (besides where I'm from.) There were a lot of people that would ask me why I wanted to go on a mission.

A little background, here. For missionaries, it's common for the local congregation to volunteer to feed them dinner (even lunch sometimes) to help ease the financial burden of feeding themselves (stateside missionaries get $150, or less, a month for the essentials like food, laundry, postage, etc. Sometimes, it just doesn't go very far) and it also helps the missionaries get to know the people. Well, when I was little, I remember my mom having the missionaries over on a fairly regular basis. And whenever they would come by and we were sitting around the table, I always remember asking them to "Tell a missionary story!" That also applied to my dad and no matter how many times I heard the same stories, I thrived on them.

So of course, I grew up always thinking that I was going to go on a mission. In church our teachers would talk about going out and telling people about Jesus, we'd sing little kids' songs, and I would collect pictures of Sister missionaries. In college, when I was nearing 21 and could finally submit my papers to sign up for a mission, I practically avoided guys, not wanting to be distracted. Heh.

Well, that's basically why I wanted to serve a mission. I grew up on "missionary stories," especially loving anything my dad could tell me about his mission in Norway and the things he learned about there. I'd always wanted to, and so I did.

^_^