The Epic Cosplay Checklist

So, I needed to make a list, but somewhere I wouldn't lose it. Yay for the internet!

Holly and Nigel's list of what we still need for our Anime Expo Cosplay:

Cloud/Tifa:
[X] Tifa/Rinoa Wig
[X] Borrow Tifa Cosplay from Xion
[] Repairs for both costumes

Squall/Rinoa:
[] Squall Wig
[] Squall Jacket
[] White V Neck
[] Squall Necklace
[] Belts
[] Pleather pants
[] Black Gloves
[] Black Boots
[] Rinoa/Tifa Wig
[] Rinoa Sweater/armbands
[] Black V neck tank top
[] Black Shorts
[] Denim Skirt
[] Rinoa Necklace
[] Black Boots

Liz/Patty
[] Denim Pants
[] Denim Shorts
[] Two red turtlenecks
[] Two ties
[] Two weird ass hats
[] Liz Wig
[] Patty Wig

Sasuke/Naruto
[] Naruto Pants

Onward To 2011

I feel as though I should be typing up my goals for the upcoming year - I don't like using the term "resolutions" - sooo... here we go~

1. I need to draw more. I'm not going to set a specific number, as life is unpredictable and I can't make any guarantees, BUT I would like to draw more than I did in 2010.

2. I want to work on my cosplay, a lot. Granted this is something I'm already doing, but I definitely plan on continuing.

3. I want to NOT fail out of community college. It's sad that I have to make this a goal, but I'm incredibly lazy when it comes to school.

4. I want to attempt to find a job that I wouldn't hate with a burning passion. I don't think such a job exists, but it would still be nice to move out within the next couple years.

5. I want to keep blogging on a regular basis, it keeps my writing skills sharp. It's also a lot of fun.

There are soooo many other things I want to accomplish, but I don't like setting more goals than I'm capable of completing. Plus, five is a good number, I think.

On a side note, it would seem my goals get more and more realistic each year. I'm not sure if this is because I'm growing wiser, or just lowering my expectations of myself.

Ah well, onward to 2011~!

I'm Soooo Talented

I'm a lazy blogger who skipped out on writing two nights in a row. YAY!

So, today is "a talent of yours." That's a hard one. I have several things I'm OKAY at, writing, drawing, acting, etc. but nothing that really stands out from the rest. Then there are the really odd talents like my knack for researching things online or coding HTML.

I think that's part of why I have issues choosing what I want to do with my life - there isn't that ONE thing I'm really good at. But I digress...

Um... a talent... a talent... a talent...

I give up.

He's Everything You Want in a Girl

Fanfiction, oh fanfiction. Once upon a time, writing fanfiction was my hobby. http://www.fanfiction.net/ was my homepage, and within three years, I'd written over 70 different stories. It wasn't just an obsession, it was my life. I still get the occasional message from my old readers, asking if I'll ever return.

Looking back, a lot of my writing was pretty shameful, but there are the few that I still enjoy to this day. One of my most successful was an alternate universe Fullmetal Alchemist humor/romance called He's Everything You Want in a Girl. I admit the plot was far fetched, and the humor rather lame, but I was only 15 at the time, and I'm still fairly proud.

The other story that sticks out in my mind is of the same nature, an alternate universe, Fullmetal Alchemist, etc. While still plenty humorous, Summer Of Memories was a bit more serious. It was one of my longest stories, over 15,000 words, which, to my 15 year old self, was rather impressive.

I'm fairly certain the prompt was referring to a fanfiction not written by myself, but in my time I've probably written just as much, if not more, as I've read.

Don't Quote Me On That

Today's prompt is "favorite quote", and sifting through my long list of favorite quotations on my Facebook profile, I find myself most drawn to this one: "You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." - Jack London

Why? Because as an artist/author/human being, I find this to be true on a daily basis. Inspiration is fleeting, and it's a pain to hang on to, beating it into submission is the only real option.

Here are a few of my other favorite quotes:

“Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.” - C.S. Lewis

"Thank goodness I was never sent to school; it would have rubbed off some of the originality." - Beatrix Potter

"Whoever had decided that school should start so early in the morning and last all day long needed to be hunted down and forced to watch hours of educational television without the aid of caffeine." - Vladimir Tod

"I am living proof that it is possible to profit from being a high school freak." - Meg Cabot

And then, just for the lols, I throw in one of my own quotes:

"Nerdiness is not defined by what you love, but how you love it." - Holly Van Leer

Is it sad that I love my own quotes?

Four Years

Four years.

Hard to believe how quickly the past four years have passed. In fact, I'm not really sure if I do believe it.

Four years ago I was a ninth grader, just about to drop out of private school for good. I hated just about everything at that point in time, and was about to enter the worst summer of my life, followed by the worst school year of my life.

Yeah.

Fast forward to today. I stepped out of my car and thought "Wow, this is the first time in four years I've been this happy with my life." Then I tripped and fell face first on to concrete. But you know what? I didn't care. I laughed.

Which is good. I think.

I think last Memorial day weekend, exactly one year ago, was the turning point. It's when I started on my whole turning-negatives-into-a-positive kick. Since, I've written songs about everything. And I do mean everything. A little over 50 have been finished since then.

Looking over it, this post is kind of just random reflection. But it's proof that it is possible to move on. Which I am proudly doing.

What To Do, What To Do...

I've been super spacey the past couple days. This could be attributed to my lack of sleep, but I don't think so. I don't know.

I've let a lot of work for my online class build up, but it really doesn't seem all that important. I guess some things never change :)

Anyway, I'm kinda looking forward to February, not only is it FAWM (http://fawm.org/) but I get a week off between winter and spring semester, so that will be fun. Hard to believe winter is half over already, but I suppose it has been three weeks. Just doesn't feel like it.

I'm debating on what to do for FAWM. In everyday life, I randomly write songs based off whatever I happen to be inspired by at the time. (I'm a fairly spontaneous person, in case you can't tell xD) But I was contemplating having a theme for FAWM. Maybe just a word or phrase. Or maybe a story-like theme. I don't know.

I'll figure it out eventually, I suppose.