~ Otakon 2016 ~

Hi hi!!!

This past weekend I went to Otakon!!!


Otakon is actually the first anime convention I ever attended back in 2011.

I had an amazing time, went to my first dance meet up (with Dansu to Pantsu) and was completely surrounded by everything I loved at one of the biggest conventions on the East Coast for the first time!

This time I experienced the con from a different angle. I worked in the dealers room all weekend in exchange for a more affordable con. While I was extremely grateful for the opportunity to experience Otakon without crushing my bank account, the hours felt long and I didn't get to experience as much of the rest of the convention as I thought I might. I mainly went to Otakon to attend dance meet ups and see friends but had I wished to attend any of the concerts, signings or panels I would have been pretty upset.

The employees I worked with were really fun people so it helped the long hours go by and I'm grateful for them!


The travel to Otakon was long because somehow Natsuki and I ended up on the wrong bus!!!
We had each other's company and I had snacks so 12 hours of struggling to make it to Baltimore when it should have been a three and a half hour trip ended up not being so bad, haha.

(I finally wore my signed magical ban bang t-shirt!!)

On Friday after work hours I attended the DMU showcase!!!

Dance Masters United is an association of mostly English speaking, individual odorite and dance groups. They hold dance showacses/ meetups several times a year. I'm good friends with one of the head organizers Pom and through this association Ari and I were able to perform at Tekko con this year!

It was so great to reunite with my friends from awesome dance groups like Full Spectrum Kai, Abracadabra, JumpShip! , Munite, DTP and meet new groups like Ember and Haru Dance!

I was afraid that because I didn't have enough time to learn anything new for this showcase, that I wouldn't be able to dance anything, but there was plenty of room for requests! I even got to do some of my favorite dances like 4 walls, (along side Pom and Abracadabra ahhhhh) My Copycat (with fellow KuroPOP member Natsuki) and Marine Dreamin'!

(Friday outfit)

Saturday I went to DTP's meet. I think dance meet ups are becoming more request friendly,  This time both Crissy Yuki and Natsuki were with me so we got to request and dance to songs we did during out SaKURO tour like, Someone Like U by Dal Shabet and Catch Me If You Can by SNSD.

(The Pomster wearing my hat better than I do)

(Saturday outfit before I changed for DTP. No pictures of my second outfit tho...)

I don't think I've ever been so sweaty at a dance meet up before!! I kind of went all out haha.

During my breaks from the dealer's room instead of braving the heat wave outside I wondered around the dealer's room and artist alley. I restricted myself from spending as much as I usually do, but I just HAD to buy from one of my favorite artists, P-Curly!!!

I adore her fan art and original works and I can't seem to stop buying her InuYasha pieces in particular, haha.

(this is the second sticker pack I've bought since my cat chewed half of them up last time and the THIRD time I've bought the InuYasha set because I can't stop!!!!

I also saw some of my other favorite artists who also create apparel like Fangrrlz and Punimelt but I resisted!!! Maybe next time....

In the end, I'd just like to thank everyone who made this con possible for me. Thank you to  Natsuki for making it possible for me to attend, thank you to DTP and DMU for holding the dance meetups! Thank you to every person who said they enjoy watching me dance online and in person, it really meant a lot!!!

  If I can make it to Otakon next year I'd like to experience everything in full ~ The cosplay, musical guests and autographs!!

Maybe next year won't be as BLISTERING HOT either!!!!

That's all for now!

Celebrities at Otakon!!

As it turns out I am terrible at reporting things in the order that they occurred. I'm only good at talking about things that excited me as I remember them :s



Oh well!! My blog, my way I suppose!


There were several celebrities that attended Otakon this year!

There was CHEMISTRY, Japanese R&B duo:

I had never heard of them before I registered for Otakon.
They performed Friday evening and the concert hall was PACKED. I got there late because I was coming from a panel and I almost couldn't get a seat :s They're very good performers and know how to get a crowd excited!! It's not my type of music but I really enjoyed the concert :D

There's also Nobuo Uematsu  *bows*

He is best known for his musical compositions for Final Fantasy! Apparently he made a special appearance but I missed him....drat=/


Then there is the amazing Makoto Shinkai

He's known for producing, animating, directing and voice acting his own movies!! And from what my friends were saying they're all pretty good. One of my friends that came with us waited TWO HOURS in line to get his autograph and when she finally met him, she cried. It was so cute><!!  I say cute becuase I've never seen her cry before; even to this day! (I wasn't there when she cried in front of him)

Then there was....KYLEE

She's half-japanese, born and raised in Arizona and a J-rock singer in Japan. She's an honor roll student and she's only 17!!
I was particularly excited to see her. I first heard her music through the anime Xam'd and was impressed by how strong her vocals were even she was only about 15 (?)  at the time. Her singles are usually very hopeful, bright and positive and I like her colorful style. I went to her Q&A panel and she's also very  mature for her age^^

Though the first time I came face to face with Kylee at Otakon it was at one of her autograph sessions. There weren't many people so we got to the front pretty quickly. I didn't have anything for her to sign so I bought a T-shirt. (It was a t-shirt that promoted her single It's You/Missing. ) But as soon as I got to the front of the line all I could do was say "Hi" at that moment my favorite song by her It's You starting playing. I shouted stupidly "Omigosh this is my favorite song!" rattling the T-shirt I had just bought in my hands. Kylee smiled at me at which point I started bawling ;A; She asked me what my name was so that she could sign my T-shirt but I was unresponsive at the moment so Ari had to answer for me. It was too surreal. She's so pretty in person!!!

*sigh* Sadly I could get a good picture of her during the autograph session. Actually Ari took this picture. I was one line, only a few steps away from meeting KYLEE :D

This was Saturday I believe. I saw her concert Sunday as well. It was so AWESOME!!!
We were allowed to take photos without flash...as if I would take the time to take photos while I was enjoying KYLEE's concert pfft!!!

Well I tried to take one.

She was absolutely radiant on stage. Though the concert hall didn't fill out like it did for Chemistry's concert by the end there was definitely a substantial increase in her fan base at Otakon :)

At the beginning of the concert there weren't many people at Kylee's merchandise table so I figured I'd just buy her new CD after the concert. BOY WAS I WRONG

The line wrapped around the hall!!

Good thing I had gotten my shirt signed the day before^____^

The front of my pick, black and white It's You/Missing t-shirt (my favorite single!)

Ufufufu♥ She signed my name.....but I covered itXD!!


The also stuck this in your bag

 It's a dual advertisement for both Kylees newest single Never Give Up (which I ordered) and the sports line adidas which Kylee also models for.



She signs "with ♥ Kylee"^^

And if that wasn't enough for a fan I ran into Kylee AGAIN. In the hotel lobby of course^^

I was in the middle of showing my friends the pictures I took of the  lolita fashion designers when her the staff just waltzed in the lobby doors. I don't really remember if the people greeting her were fans or more staff but I ran over and thanked her for coming to Otakon anyways. I remember her giving my a hug but I don't remember how ;A; 

Then someone mentioned a picture and in a rash decision I followed the large group outside. Some how I ended up in a picture with Kylee O.o Now that I think about it it looked like a staff picture so maybe I shouldn't have been in it....But I gave my camera to them and they took it the picture with ME in it after I asked so maybe it was alright...I don't know..they can crop me out of it^^

 

I'm the only one with my Otakon badge on O.o Oh well....

What's done is done I suppose^^ And I do count this as today's miracle! A picture with Kylee :) Whether I was supposed to be in it or not! 


*sigh* There are a few more things I want to report on but this is it for now^^

Cherries ♥ Lolita

I had Organic Rainier Cherries for breakfast :D

So good!!! I ate a whole bag! I don't even like cherries that much, but these are TASTY man!

Right I did  say I would be talking more about Otakon didn't I? 

Well our group stayed in the Hyatt Hotel, which is literally right across the street from the convention center making it the most convenient place to stay. (and the most expensive) Many of the special guests stayed there as well...and I ran into a few of them. The first ones being  BABY fashion designer Masumi Kano and ALICE and the PIRATES fashion designer Mitsuba
.

They're so perfect ;A;

I was just herp-derping around the lobby with Ari (who was knocked out on a couch at the time) ,waiting for my friends to show up so that we could start making our way home Sunday afternoon and I turned around to see two Japanese girls dressed perfectly in lolita. And they were so poised!!  I hadn't taken many pictures at the con so I figured. I MUST TAKE THIS PICTURE!!!

I herp-derped over and asked them if I could take a picture in Japanese. They simply exchanged glances and struck perfect poses. I took my picture and herp-derped away.
Finally a girl from our group of friends approached me to tell me that it was time to go, I guess but she asked, "Aren't those the fashion designers?"

I can't believe I just waltzed up to them without realizing who they were. They were just SO PERFECT I couldn't resist!!
If that isn't a miracle I don't know what is/ How often do you get to run into two notable figures in lolita/harajuku fashion...in America...BY MISTAKE!!






I'm a herp-derp for life you guys.

ねむい。。。。
Ciao♥

Toto

Hi Hi♥ Like my new layout? I worked pretty hard on it! I especially like the clock and calendar widgets on the side!!

I know I said that I would start reporting on Otakon but well....I haven't had time to sit and type without being interrupted even once!! And now it's one in the morning and I have to sleep. So I'll share a piece of my experience with you now :D Today's miracle :

 It's a tornado!!! In DC!!!

Yes, DC...The con was in Baltimore, but we had some time to kill Sunday afternoon before the bus ride home and decided to do a bit of site seeing. Our DC friends (our meaning me, Ari and my two high school friends) took us to the Capital. We were about to take a picture in front of the Washington Monument and it just appeared out of NO WHERE!! 

It tore down a dirt road for about twenty; thirty feet and then just vanished!! I only caught the end of it. It wasn't as big as the one that blew Dorothy, Toto and their house into Land of Oz (thank god) but it looked big enough that you could stand in its epicenter with room. It was pretty big....

Also, we saw ducks!!!

(I'm a city girl okay? I don't see ducks that often....except in Central Park.)

And they were fishing^^ It was pretty funny to see their tails wag in the air as they ducked down under the lake's surface for food.

 (Haha, my friend said I should call this picture Sasuke because his hair looks like a duck buttXD!!!....yeah....)

We fed them spicy peanuts..which was weird they REALLY liked them but kept drinking massive amounts of water after each bite. But they don't like lettuce...I had a burger from McDonalds and they ate the bread but no the lettuce =/

I hope that's not considered animal cruelty 0___0

Meh....I'm sure they're fine^____^

Overall I had a lot of fun even outside of the con. And I'm glad I went! Soooo want to go next year!!


Okay pictures of the ACTUAL con next time I promise!!! I've got some celebrity pictures to show :D
But right now my camera is dead ;A;

Good night♥

Progress

Well this will be the outfit I wear on Friday for Otakon...or at least the top anyways.

I'm still working on it and there are a couple of things to sew but once it's complete I'll show you guys for sure!! The other costume are still missing pieces that I need to pick up tomorrow. This is a rather last minute put together but I've had harder ANY time to this between work and family events and such. I haven't even been able to practice dances like I want to. D:

It's pretty late so I'll also have up the set list by tomorrow as for what I'll be dancing. ( I still need to figure out what new dances I can fit in for sure) But I'm going to do my absolute best to make sure I give a good show!!

It all comes down to tomorrow!! Wish me luck♥




Oh! And btw I have a ustream account! I did a live yesterday but I need a much better camera see:

Just me trying to figure out Ustream haha :p
It was so much fun! I sung for about an hour :3 This is the link Jpop Karaoke Time ♥
I understand the title is a little unoriginal but it gets the message across I guess :p
 I'm going to watch the S/mileage auditions for a bit before I go to sleep (even thought it's so late;A;)

That's all for now!
Ciao ♥

Haro♥

Good morning!

Yesterday was a lot of fun^^

Otakon is in a few days so I went to Ricky's yesterday to find a proper wig. This is the one I found.

 Not bad huh? I really like it :D

I went out with my brother and Ari and we went to eat after I finally found the right wig

The portions were pretty small (and expensive too :s) But it was very good and I must have not been very hungry because I was quite satisfied afterwards :)


I also went to the pool this weekend...for the first time in about ...five years? Lol

It was alright, when I came back my skin was dry, I had water in my ears and my eyes were irritated by chlorine but it was overall pretty fun!

I had a good weekend..how was yours?
Ciao♥

*Yawn* Work? pffft!!!!!

At work and I am EXTREMELY bored!!! So I'm going to make a check list for Otakon instead^^

So far I need a total of six outfits; 3 dancing outfits and 3 casual outfits. I'll already be spending a lot of money just to get there and for hotel so going all out for costuming is already a no. I'll be pulling together costuming with stuff from home and things from fabric/ costume stores/ outfits. But here's what's going on so far:


Dancing Costumes:Material lists

• Uniform shirts (assorted sizes)
• uniforms skirts (I actually only have one of those for now)
• Fabric for bows (I'll be making bows for a decora styled outfit, (That should be fun^^)
• Cat ears ( Ijust wanna wear themXD!)
• Bright accessories (collecting those now)
• School shoes (for the uniform look)
• false lashes (If I can find the right look)
• dancing sneakers (in case the shoes don't work out)
• What else????

So it looks like so far I'll be making a decora styled outfit and a uniform styled outfit. I already have most of these items so it won be so expensive. But I do still need one more...suggestions?

Casual Costume: Material list

This actually doesn't need a material list because I already have my sailor fuku (which I unfortunately can't wear as a costume because it's a little tight (Darn you wide shoulders;AAA;) all the others will be bright color themed so I'll at least stand out. I'll post some pictures or potential outifts soon. But it's time for lunch and I needs to get outta here=/ No miracle today since I'm at my desk....Ciao!!! >3>


P.S. In response to Mini's question!

No I haven't tried circle lenses but I think my eyes are too slim for them. When I smile my eyes almost close so I don't think I could pull them off=/
Thank you for commenting on my blog :D