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3/29/07 ~ Thursday 11:10 pm

Status: calm ~ Listening to: me typing

Con report for I-CON 2007!

[ + ] Day 2: Saturday, March 24 - Asuca Hayashi

[ + ] Day 3: Sunday, March 25 - Black kimono

3:00 am ~ Status: happy ~ Listening to: silence

Ouran in 2 days

I just finish watching the series. You know the feeling you get after watching the end of an anime...the *sigh* it's over finally, but it's kinda sad feeling? Kinda reminiscent of the 'post-con-blues' but of course different. I have that now. Feel like watching something upbeat again to cheer myself up. Hm...maybe I'll watch the reforming of the yakuza episode again. When he had the cat ears...it was too funny. And the maid outfit! lol Plus, the BL in the next episodes with all the girls moe-ing over him.... rofl Ano...I also embody the concept of 'moe'. Look it up on wikipedia if you wonder what 'moe' is. ^.^

Don't know why I didn't think of it sooner, Ouran Host Club reminds me alot of the CLAMP Gakuen series. The leader of both organizations are true gentlemen and do things from their heart...although Tamaki is definitely more huggy than Nokoru. ^.^ And of course, the 'pleasing the ladies' aspect is prominent in both series.

Ouran is definitely one series that captures the 'harem' nature of shoujo anime. I'm referring to the Love Hina complex with one male and a dozen females that surrounds him. Only in this case, it's one female and many males around her. Okay, enough fandom dissection concepts! I'm still working on the con report so it should be up by tomorrow. At least before I leave for Gospel Camp on Friday. ^^;

3/26/07 ~ Monday 10:55 pm

Status: disappointed ~ Listening to: laptop whirring

Wank: It's just a cosplay movie...only for money!

A K-pop singer, Ivy has a music video for her song 'Sonata of Temptation.' If you watch it, you'll see that the action sequences in the MV are reminiscent of Tifa and Loz's fight scene in FFVII:AC. (It's practically the same: punching, walking, the camera angles. I type 'practically' since there are some differences...like the end of the MV.) It's a high level cosplay movie, complete with CG background, outfits and even a few dancing Turks. Only it's not a cosplay movie, it's an MV.

There is exploding wank since the singer and crew didn't get Square-Enix's permission to shoot this sequence and now SE is suing them. Credit to FFVII:AC was given at the beginnning of the MV. However, a disclaimer like this is at the same level of fanfiction authors. And fanfic authors don't get paid for their work. Director of the MV explains their reason for not contacting SE about this was 'I didn't have their number.' >.<; Professionalism at it's best.

The wank over at youtube concerns the lack of resemblence of the characters to the singer and whoever cosplayed Loz. I don't think that is a big deal since Tifa and Loz are CGed characters and they did a pretty good job dressing as them. There was even a Turk that looked like Reno...kinda cute too. ^^; Contrary to many faithful fans (though I am also a major FF fan,) I thought the MV was shot pretty well with the minor changes, though the exact shots taken straight from the movie felt kinda weird. Another issue is over whether or not the song was suited for the scene. *shrugs* I have no opinion about the song. The wank got majorly offtopic when someone somehow brought up the issue of race with Korean vs. Japanese and for some reason the Chinese was also thrown in. O.o The issue isn't about race: it's about the singer inc. not getting permission from SE to do the fight scene straight from a movie.

I'll post more if I find out anything about the results of the lawsuit.

3/25/07 ~ Sunday 8:40 pm

Status: fangirling ~ Listening to: me squeeing ^^;

Post-con Comments

Physically, I'm quite sleepy and am about to drop dead if I don't concentrate on something. Overall, the convention was as awesome as expected. I did almost everything I wanted to do and had some great experiences. More on that later.... I hope to have the convention report up this week and have some cosplay pics as well (not of me.) There weren't that many cosplayers, but considerably more than NY Comic Con. Also, the convention was not crowded AT ALL. It makes sense since all the Japanime stuff was placed in two buildings: ESS and Old Eng with the Masquerade at Javits. The rest of the con was spread out all over campus. For now, I'm going to relax the rest of the day.

Ouran

I know about the series-spoiloers and everything. I have seen some episodes. However, I have never downloaded the whole thing and really watched it. (More of the filtering of anime series that I watch or else I'll end up watching everything. ^^;) Since I'm sorta in 'post-con-blues', I decided to download the entire thing (which I'm doing now) and watching it. There is so much kawaii-ness in that series. ^.^ And Honey-senpai! *fangirl squeal* Yeah, I'm still fangirling here. Need to get this out of my system somehow. ^^;

3/23/07 ~ Friday 3:55 pm

Status: excited ~ Listening to: Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria cutscenes

Last few things....

Everything is pretty much done. Since my pastor lives near a Korean supermarket, he agreed to help buy me pocky for the con. He should be here soon.... ^.^ Since the convention will officially start at 6pm, I'll be leaving around 5:30 to pick up my prereg badge. Hopefully, the line will not be insanely long as NY Comic Con. Tonight's events will last until after 1am. I can't wait!

One of the VAs that will be there is Taliesin Jaffe, the voice of Rufus from 'Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria.' I contacted Theresa-neechan (who is back from Japan ^.^) to let her know about the VA. Of course, I'll be getting her an autograph from him. (Hopefully, I'll get one today at the VA panel and another one tomorrow at the signing. ^-^)

3/22/07 ~ Thursday 1:10 am

Status: elated ~ Listening to: silence

Convention planning

First is the to-do list:

Since the anime staff did not contact me about whether or not my J-pop cosplay is acceptable, I will not be competing this year. *shrugs* It's okay. Once my hair grows long again, I'll be able to compete with my Kikyo or Chun Hyung cosplay. Or a new cosplay. ^.^ My outfits for this convention will be: blue kimono on friday, Asuca Hayashi cosplay on saturday, and black kimono on sunday. I already checked out the program and noted what I will be doing. ^-^

There is no 'Old English' building on campus....

I-Con is spread out in the different buildings on the Stony campus. The program had the building and room numbers where the different events will be held: one being 'Old Eng'. I automatically assumed it was 'Old English' and tried to remember where it was. *thinks a long time* After asking the current students at church, turns out 'Old Eng' is the 'Old Engineering' building. Opst.... ^^; lol Guess I was off campus for too long.... At least I know now and won't end up in the wrong place.

More piano playing

Tomorrow will be the start of my 4 day mini-vacation. ^-^ My first non-work activity is to practice piano. The reason why I'm typing so late is that I just got back from choir practice for next weekend's Gospel Camp. (The practice ended at 12pm. ^^;) I must practice.... Besides that and relaxing, I will also be working on the to-do list (as seen above) and playing FMA PS2 game. ^.^ Hopefully, I won't do too much.... Time to sleep! -.-Z

3/21/07 ~ Wednesday 4:50 pm

Status: busy ~ Listening to: office noise

Curry ramen!

My Japanese co-worker bought me Nissin instant curry ramen. (She got it at a Japanese supermarket.) Yummm! It was delicious. This may just be may fav in Japanese instant noodles...though I would like to try the instant curry soba noodles...and a couple others. ^.^ It was my first time seeing and eating instant curry ramen. One funny thing was that I had such a difficult time getting the wrapping off. Turns out, there is a tab on the wrapping that allows for easy ripping. ^^; Later, my co-worker told me that the tab also comes off and can be stuck on the bowl to keep the lid closed when it's being heat up. Sugoi! ^-^ Japan is always on another level of efficiency.

1:10 am EDIT ~ Status: techie ~ Listening to: me typing

connected

As P-chan told me, setting up my DSL was a piece of cake. Getting wireless on the other hand...not so easy. ^^; But the tech on the phone walked me through the process. He also took control of my laptop remotely. *stares* I've seen it happen before...just not on my laptop. Sugoi.... (Me, easily amused.) However, my network is not complete: okaasan's desktop is still not connected. Turns out, the tower is soooo old that it doesn't even have ethernet port. >.<; If it does, I can't find it. What to do.... I'm seriously thinking of getting an already configuratated tower (with up-to-date stuff) instead of buying a complete desktop set. I'll be talking to the computer ppl at church this weekend.

The status on the voip is that it has been purchased. Once the adapter comes, all phone plans will be moved over to voip with a new temp number. And once the old number is switched over, the old number will be used. Okaasan is dealing with it cause I hate doing too much at once. So busy....

Limited Edition FMA! As it was meant to be. ^-^

If you recall my 2/16 entry, I mentioned that my cousin is suppose to bring back something...and she did! I got the Limited Edition FMA Movie! *dances with glee* (It didn't arrive until otousan left Taiwan so he couldn't bring it with him. ^-^) The Taiwanese version is the same as the Japanese: the packaging is a box with 3 dvds with a separate book and postcards. The menus that were shown are also fantastic. ^.^ I didn't need to pay $80+ for the Japanese version so I'm really happy. *hugs dvd box*

I also got my manga covers and spent almost an hour covering the rest of my manga...English, Chinese and Japanese. Now to get the rest from my aunt's house.... ^^;

3/19/07 ~ Monday 11:10 pm

Status: happy ~ Listening to: Trust You're Truth Ashita wo Mamoru Yakusoku - Triangle Heart (Sweet Song Forever)

Me as authoress....

My co-worker's boyfriend is a comic artist. His drawing style varies from Marvel, newspaper comic variety and even manga styled. He of course wants to get published professionally. (Some of works have won competitions and have been featured in some online sites.) I mentioned Tokyopop's annual 'Rising Stars of Manga' to my co-worker. Winning enties are published in an manga anthology and the winners get to pitch a manga series to the company. Basically, its a way to get recognition as well as the possibility to get Tokyopop to do your series. Why bring this up? My co-worker's bf said that he would like me to write a story and he'll draw it. O.O His reasoning is that he doesn't know what is popular now and feels that I would be best to create the story.... O.O *faints* For real? It's like a dream come true, really!

You guys know that I've always wanted to have my writings published and that I also hope to draw a manga. (It's like the first thing I mentioned to Alby-kun... "Hi! My name is Rai and I want to become a mangaka....." ^^;) But my art is not good and I draw too slowly to be productive in any way. Ever since I read Akizuki Koh-sensei's afterword in Fujimi Orchestra, I got some hope. She wrote that she 'drew too slowly' and became 'easily frustrated' so she stuck to writing. Her Fujimi novels are wonderful and for the 10th year anniversary of the novels, mangaka Sei Goto-sensei created a single volume manga for the series. lol If you guys read my latest story, 'Chained', you'll see that I used that as a plot device. ^^; (Don't understand? Well, read my story if you dare...to be confused! ^.^)

Basically, I'm contemplating if I should create a story worth drawing. If it was for myself, I would want my old story 'The Gold Locket' to be placed in manga form. But since this is in collaboration with someone and will be placed in a competition, I want it to be the best of my best. It's still not definite whether or not I should do this. But it's something worth thinking about. About my recent story inspiration...concerning the content, I doubt my co-worker's bf would be drawing it. ^^; I'll also be checking out his perferred drawing style in order to create a story. Of course, it'll be easier if his art was manga styled, but if he doesn't like to draw that way, I'll create a story that fits with his style. ^.^ Ganbatte, Rai!

3/16/07 ~ Friday 5:10 pm

Status: amused ~ Listening to: office noise

Only at this job (only with these co-workers... ^^;)

During our I-need-to-call-a-client-but-I'm-'resting' moments, one of my male co-workers gathered me and two others (one male and one female) into a conference room. "I need to ask about something and since it's a not appropriate...." "About what?" "Female hygiene." O.o Okay.... We're in the room anticipating something gross/funny/irregular and than he saids: "It's kind of personal, but I don't know what kind of maxipads you use..." Both me and my female co-worker responded with "Always." He continued with, "You know on the Always pad where you peel off the plastic, it saids 'Have a nice period....'" *.* *pauses* *stares* *laughs loudly* Yup, thats what he wanted to talk about. lol Pointless but worth remembering. ^^; *goes back to work*

3/15/07 ~ Thursday 10:10 pm

Status: down ~ Listening to: me typing

Tadaima! (I'm home!)

Today has been one of most depressing work day EVER. (Capitalized for emphasis.) I work with DV clients. However, client's issues never really effect me. I empathize, but as professionalism goes, I'm always able to think clearly and not be caught up in their feelings of sadness/depression/anger. Even if a client is in tears and I end up feeling like crying, I'm still able to know what I can and cannot do and am able function well. Today was very difficult. I functioned well enough, but the sadness of the client got to me. It was a difficult case and she was an old woman and...lemme just write this: P.A. SUCKS TO HELL! I'm more sad than angry, but enough about work....

I've been working hard lately (as always ^^;) but it's more like overworking too much. This past week, I've been coming home later than usual, leaving the office at 7 and sometimes 8pm. Today leaving the office at 6:50pm was the earliest I left the office this week. ^^; You know, I find myself wishing I can sleep at the office and not come home some times. Set up a futon and sleep in the conference room.... I'm not the first one in the office to think this way. (I guess we're all workaholics.... ^^;) Gomen ne for rambling, but I've got too much work stuff lately.

Rai signing out! *falls asleep*

3/14/07 ~ Wednesday 12:15 am

Status: calm ~ Listening to: Saigo no Yume - The Third OP

What have I been doing all weekend? Besides not sleeping much....

New stuff, yay!

First off, I got vol. 4 of Clover by CLAMP. ^.^ I totally love this series. The style, art, story...sugoi.... This is one of CLAMP's more unique stories since the art design is based on white and black colors, negative and white space. Its so simple which puts alot of depth into the story itself. Perhaps the reason why they consider this series unfinished since Kazuhiko still has the leaf in his hand at the end.... No other spoilers from me. ^-^

More happiness includes me getting the playing cards that were supposed to be included in the limited edition FMA manga vol. 13. The Taiwanese version also had the playing cards, but otousan was not able to get the cards. I bought the cards separately. More expensive, but I want them. Not to play with, of course...just to stare at. lol Japanime hobbies are just as expensive as other collection-type hobbies: we buy stuff to stare at. *ahem* Like cels.... ^^;

After many days of downloading, I finally have the complete series of Kyou Kara Maoh for my godsister...who just happens to be in Japan this week along with my other godsister. ^.^ I gave them the 411 on all the Japanime hotspots, though they only have time to hit a few. They went on a tour that includes Tokyo Disney. I can't wait to get back to Japan. ^.^

'projects'

Still putting finishing touches on my Asuca cosplay...though I still don't know if I'll be able to enter it into the I-Con contest (J-pop entries have to be pre-approved and I'm still waiting for an answer.) I think my next cosplay would be Princess Tomoyo's dress from Tsubasa. I really like her character and I fell in love with her dress when I first saw the series. I don't really want to cosplay her until my hair grows longer, but sewing always takes time. ^-^

Besides spending time on my FMA game, I've also been thinking about writing another story. Ever since I went on a writing hiatus (or stopped writing continuously,) all my inspirations come in pieces. I feel pressured to change my style and the quality totally suffers since I don't have the complete picture of how my story is suppose to 'be.' Confused? Me too. ^^; If I do end up writing another story (that would be the 3rd in 2 years,) I might end my hiatus and start writing again seriously. (Was I ever 'serious' with my writing?) For now, all I can say about the upcoming story (which may or may not be written) is that it will be very different from what I ususally write. I doubt it will be happy story, but from what is coming out right now, it's different. ^.^

3/11/07 ~ Sunday 11:00 pm

Status: happy ~ Listening to: Bravin' Bad Brew - Venus Versus Virus OP

usher + cleaner + recycler + all around mover + etc = volunteer

After church, I rushed to Stony in order to assist in the 1st Annual Asian-American Cultural Festival of Long Island. *looks at event name* I didn't even know what event it was until I read my name tag. *blushes* Okaa-san's friend asked for volunteers and of course okaa-san picks me. ^^; I spent the evening memorizing tables, moving tables, chairs, food around, sitting around observing and eating. ^-^ Of course, I met some awesome people (the other volunteers) and we conversed about our hobbies...Japanime. ^^; The wide range of our experiences include some in college (one in Stony,) one dude married with 3 children O.o (he looks as young as Alby-kun...if not a bit older...he is 31 O.O) and others are working. It was hilarious working with them. Than again, everything is fun for me.... ^^; *too much sugar* Oh yeah, the cuisine for the evening was fusion Italian and Asian. Yummy!

Tea pouring synchronization

A Chinese tea ceremony group was there and they had 3 tables set up in the front (stage) with two adults (m/f) on on side with 2 tea sets, a woman in the middle with flower arranging and two kids (g/b) on the other side with 2 tea sets. The 5 of them poured tea and arranged flowers to music, slowly and in synch. I don't think I can even explain the interesting effect of the performance. The little kids were not even 8 years old (from what I can tell) and they were so solemn and serious pouring tea, resting their hands oh-so-gently on the table. *stares* Sugoi.... And everything to music. *stares some more*

I have pics of some of the volunteers that I hung out with...but right now I need a shower. ^^;

3/10/07 ~ Saturday 10:15 pm

Status: exasperated >.<; ~ Listening to: FMA PS2 game

VoIP info...please?

Since okaa-san wants to talk to her family overseas indefinitely, I am now looking into obtaining a voip phone plan for both local, long distance and international calling. Which was why I signed up for verizon dsl just a few hours ago. After staying up until 4:30am in the morning (which was why I woke at 4pm this afternoon ^^;) I have my voip choices down to 2...italkbb and revos. Revos seems easier to sign up and use, but I'm not sure if they're even operational yet. (You can't seem to sign up for anything just yet. <.<;) Otherwise, italkbb seems to have been around a long time, but the phone portability things takes awhile. *sigh* I hate this...can someone just tell me which to sign up for and I'll just do it? Researching on this just gives me a headache since I mention a plan and okaa-san is like 'Can it call cells in Taiwan?' BTW, both of the above plans can call China (cells included) and Taiwan (cells not included) as well as U.S. (cells included.) I rather be sewing than dealing with this. *slightly peeved*

3/9/07 ~ Friday 4:35 pm

Status: cold ~ Listening to: youtube ^^;

NY Comic Con - Youtube style

All these clips are from the Tsubasa panel. I wish someone got the clip of him commenting on Kurogane. ^^;

3/8/07 ~ Thursday 10:30 pm

Status: estactic ~ Listening to: okaa-san on the phone

My cels are here!

My two Princess Princess rilezus have arrived! *dances around the room* It took me a good 10 min. to open the package, remove all the tape, bubble wrap, a plank of wood (for support ^-^) until I got to the production envelopes. *holds breath* The cels look awesome! ^-^ The ED rilezu is a large pan cel and the OP cel is a standard cel. Both are already matted in a partial frame. I'll be leaving them both that way (airing them out once in a while. ^-^) Of course, the dougas sketches that came with the cels are gorgeous as well. Shall I post up pics? Perhaps...later! ^.^

Belated fish pics

I promised you guys fishie pics right? Gomen ne.... With so much going on, I didn't have time to take pics. ^^; These pics aren't that good, but let me introduce you to:

~ Ariel: Why are there so many flashing lights?

~ Flounder: Our owner wants to show us off....

Hajime maste! (Nice to meet you! ^.^) I would take a pic of the snails, Sora and Sunao...but they're kinda busy procreating at this moment.... ^^; (BTW, the water is yellow because I have the lamp on to help the plants at the top of the water grow. ^-^ The usual color of the water is a kinda beige.... ^^;)

3/7/07 ~ Wednesday 11:00 pm

Status: tired ~ Listening to: me typing

Compliation of NY con update!

Since I had enough material to make a semi-full report (oxymoron ^^;) I decided to place it on a separate page for easier viewing. I combined and edited all my updates as well added pics. Not that many since I didn't take many pics. (The pics on the report aren't mine anyway. ^^;) Read if you haven't read my previous report, or just go and stare at the pretty pictures. ^-^ Enjoy!

3/6/07 ~ Tuesday 1:15 am

Status: sleepy ~ Listening to: Flavor of Life - Utada Hikaru

Must take vacation!

Since I can only 'carry over' 5 vacation days after March 31, I need to take a vacation prior to that date or lose the excess. O.o Looks like I need to take a vacation...in one of my busiest months too! *weakly complaining* ^^; Since I-Con is the weekend of the 23th, I'll most likely take two days (Thurs. and Fri.) to polish my cosplays. Again, I'll be in the hall cosplay competition with my Asuca Hayashi gown. I'll probably take the last week of March off (except for monday due to an appt. ^^;) in order to use up the vacation days.

What happened to Togashi-sensei?

Speaking of vacations.... My friend at church, fellow HunterxHunter fan keeps asking me what's going on with Yoshihiro Togashi-san, mangaka of said manga and the wonderful Yu Yu Hakusho series. The HxH series is either coming out super slowly or is on unofficial hiatus. My friend asks me since I seem to spew out random Japanime news every once in awhile...though not this time. ^^;

Why mention this? Well, I ganked this the wonderful world of wikipedia....

'(translated from the Japanese Wikipedia article) Since the phenomenal success of Hunter x Hunter, several major changes have been made at the offices of Shonen Jump, specifically to accommodate Yoshihiro Togashi. He receives longer vacations and bigger advances than any of Shonen Jump's other mangaka, and this situation has come to be known as "Togashi-ism".'

Perhaps Togashi-sensei is on an extended vacation. ^^; You know, perhaps my situation (being forced to take a vacation...what a tragedy! *sarcasm*) should be called 'Rai-ism.' lol I'll ask my office if I may coin this phrase...but I doubt there will be any result. Okay, too tired must sleep.... Ja! ^.^

3/3/07 ~ Saturday 11:30 pm EDIT

Status: still cold ^^; ~ Listening to: Panorama - Gakuen Heaven ED

where are thou moon?

I couldn't find the moon tonight so I didn't catch the eclipse. ^^; Someone must have it on youtube somehere...if not this eclipse, but perhaps another one. lol Youtube is so convenient....

XXX firsts (in Japanime ^^;)

For my own posterity sake, here are some Japanime firsts, from past to present. (You'll know what I mean when you read ahead. ^^;)

Sailor Moon

Ranma 1/2

Yu Yu Hakusho

Boku no Sexual Harassment

Of course, this isn't an exhaustable list of everything XXX I came into contact with in Japanime. Nor does it include slashable and shonenai Japanime. I can't remember when I first read a yuri lemon fanfic, but I know it's also a Sailor Moon fanfic. My Japanime hobby started when I was very small with Doraemon, so you can say Doraemon is first perverted anime I ever watched. ^^; If I can remember anything else, I'll update this entry.

2:40 pm ~ Status: cold

Lunar Eclipse

There will be 'total lunar eclipse' tonight. Details about where and when it will occur can be found in this article. I'll be situated in my apartment's parking lot staring at the sky. Hopefully, the location would not be too crowded. ^^;

3/1/07 ~ Thursday 11:35 pm

Status: happy ~ Listening to: Shift - Sachiko Tsujimoto (Gundam Evolve OST)

calendar pimpage

My co-worker reminded me to change my calendar today...the Japanime calendars that I created. Let me just say this: Kazahaya and Rikuo is so cool in this pic. I love my March pic. It was so hard to modify since it had the Gonhou Drug leaf icon at the lower right and it was tough to photoshop it out. Besides that, though.... *drools* If you haven't done so already, head to the viable section and download the calendars. ^.^ Just pimping my calendars with hot guys on it.... (BTW, large pics = good resolution = slow download. But if you think about it, it's worth waiting a few minutes to stick smexy guys on your wall. ^^;)

Trinity Blood seiyuu/VA info

Ion Fortuna's seiyuu is Junko Minagawa-san, who is also the voice of Ritsuka Aoyagi from Loveless. Her voice is awesome in both series. ^.^ BTW, the english VA for Ion is Aaron Dismuke, the VA for Alphonse Elric from FMA. I finally saw Trinity Blood in english when I was in Boston and I totally loved his voice from it. He started when he was 11 years old (as Al, FMA) and his roles were so serious at times. Ion's role is definitely serious and dark. (Especially the blood sucking part...I can't wait to watch that in English. ^^;) He is soooo cute. Currently 15, he is almost legal...just a couple more years. ^^; *fangirl squeal*

The seiyuu for Esther Blanchett is Mamiko Noto-san, who also voices Hitomi Shinonome from Loveless. ^.^ Her voice as Esther is alot clearer than her whispery tone as Shinonome-sensei. Also, I truly enjoyed the dynamic relationship between Ion and Esther. ^-^ English VA is Colleen Clinkenbeard, who also voiced Riza Hawkeye from FMA.

Although Funimation came out with some VA misses, animes like FMA, Trinity Blood and most recently Tsubasa have an awesome cast. The dubbing industry may reach a whole new level of improvement. ^.^