A New Opportunity - Update!

Almost 2 months ago, I posted about getting and accepting a new job opportunity. I gave my 2 weeks notice shortly afterwards and I got an interesting reaction: "Why didn't she do it sooner?" It may seem negative in that context but it was more like reacting to me finally leaving since my position has been admittedly getting stagnant. I worked in different departments and gained enough experience to do different things outside of my department but in the end, it was still a customer service position... or whichever department I would be thrown into (i.e. receptionist, administrative assistant, shipping, etc). Don't get me wrong, it was a good and steady job but I realized it was my time to leave, especially with the fact that I was nearing my 7th year of doing the same thing **cough** with no raise **cough**. 

On my last day, after I was thrown a not-so-surprise party and got a card from my fellow co-workers and supervisors wishing me well, I cried -- IN MY CAR, NOT IN FRONT OF THEM LOL. I was crying because I didn't really realize how much I contributed to the company (I was told that 2 or 3 other people would have to take over my job and, well, do their job) and that I was finally leaving to do something new.

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So how did I come across this new job opportunity? The way I found and applied for the job position was very, well, cyberstalker-ish and something I don't want to share unless I was personally asked. Sure, I'll make it sound funny but it's still some form of cyberstalking O_O Not to mention that I completely bombed the initial phone interview and second interview (OMG MATH QUESTIONS). I didn't have any connections or knew anyone at the company. I was obviously lacking the skills needed to qualify for the position. And yet, I got a formal offer. I accepted for the position of.... wait for it... graphic designer. Honestly, this was a big deal for me. I finally get to do something creative and artistic! But... I was also over my head.

I was under the impression that I would be working alongside an art director with a small team. NOPE. It was all me and I was given a lot of tasks to fulfill. There were also 2 things that I dreaded doing; Photography and Illustrator. I 'm kicking myself for not taking any interest in Photography - considering that my last job is in the freaking' Photography industry - since I got so comfortable with using my little point-and-shoot and I had this paralyzing fear that me handling an expensive DSLR camera would result in an expensive broken DSLR camera. Worse, I had to handle a Nikon and I barely know how to hold a Canon properly. Meanwhile, Illustrator was a program that I barely used since I got away with making vector-like images in Photoshop with the Pen Tool and Paths at my last job. I can safely say that after a month of forcing myself to learn both, I ended up getting used to it. I can't believe how much I could do in Illustrator! And I can hold a camera properly!

This is the shirt I designed for the company, which was given out today during our early Christmas party. I never thought I could make that design so easily in Illustrator. I'm also inspired by the message we put underneath the robot: "Push." This is a different industry to be in and a much different culture to work in. So I have to push myself and show them what I made of! At least until I pass the probation period!

Halloween 2012

Well, technically we're not doing anything on Halloween tonight (we're working) but we did get to dress up for an early Halloween party from this past weekend. He hanged out with the Teruel family the whole day and went to a costume party later on the evening. It was incredibly last minute but Vince dressed up as Dipper from Gravity Falls, which we know will become a household name like Phineas & Ferb one day.... SOON! Our friends Joel and Pam also brought lil Marceline to her first Halloween Party but we hanged out in the lower den area so it was quieter for her. We spent the rest of the night playing a new form of Uno with a confusing mod card.

I had to take off the hat and the wig 2 hours later. It was giving me a huge headache x_x This was probably the first time - in a long time - that I got to dress up AND have fun for Halloween :)

A New Opportunity

"In case I don't see you... Good afternoon, good evening and good night." - Truman Burbank

Pffft, I know this looks cheesy but I went this image to mark something big for me: a new job opportunity. It's a bit scary because I'm leaving something that's been so familiar with me but at the same time, I've always wondered if there's more that I can do. It's a whole new field but at least it'll be something I can do creatively. It's risky because I would have to start over in something new and different but I had the same reservations when I came to work here when my previous experience included food preparation and working at the movie theaters.

So, I'll be like Jim Carrey's character at the ending of "The Truman Show"and boldly step into the unknown... in 2 weeks.

Game Log

Last month, I caved in and bought myself a Nintendo 3DS (in Midnight Puple to boot).

(Well, it was more like an angry purchase because I wanted to do something for our Labor Day Weekend. After being shot down to do anything that involves driving out of town, Vince and I decided on hiking. Then his computer, "Gilgamesh", flaked out on him. Needless to say, it took up the whole weekend with shopping around to find computer parts and spending hours trying to find out what's working and what's not. Even after several coin tosses saying "NO" to buying it, I went ahead and got it. ANYWAYS...)

I chose Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance as my first game. I'm a fan of the series but only for the main story line. I have never played any of the side stories (Chain of Memories, Re: Coded, 358/2, Birth By Sleep) and I spent (wasted?) a lot of time reading up on the stories and characters. So why pick this title? Aside from the great reviews, I heard that this game actually moves ahead with the main story line. Not only that, KH: 3D graciously tied to and summarized the side stories of the previous games. Even though it's been six years since I last played KH:II, it was so quick and easy to get familiar with the game mechanics. Storywise, it was a bit hard to grasp but I'm just happy to see some progress. Sadly, I read that Square Enix is moving ahead with an HD ReMix of a few KH titles so it may be a while longer til we get KH:III.

I beat KH: 3D just in time for Pokemon Black 2. There's usually the first two games followed by a third one with extra features (i.e. Red & Blue with Yellow, Gold & Silver with Crystal, Ruby & Sapphire with Emerald and Diamond & Pearl with Platinum,). It was quite a surprise that Black and White came out with a full-fledged sequel. Even as an avid Pokemon player, I'm still amazed with how much they keep adding to the game. It's best played if you also have the Pokemon Dream Radar app too for the 3DS. Prior to getting the game, I played around with the Radar app and got some neat stuffs like items and other low level Pokemon. You can send this data to the game cartridge-- and it makes a BIG difference as soon as you start the game. After I get the starter Pokemon, I usually explore and try to catch Pokemon to add to the party before the first Gym battle. With the Radar app, I already had access to items and other types of Pokemon that normally wouldn't be available til later on in the game. In fact, I already have two of the three horrible looking legendary trio of Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus (in Therian form). 

So... Pokemon Black 2 is going to keep me occupied for a while until Professor Layton 5 and Adventure Time comes out.

Backlog:
Pokemon Conquest (3DS)
Mass Effect 3 (Xbox 360)
Sailor Moon: Another Story (SNES simulator on my Droid 3 :D)

I has a sad... and a happee

I get overwhelmed, stressed and overall depressed-- hey, that rhymes! It happens quite frequently but I try - really REALLY try - not to stay in that state for too long. So instead of ranting about what's getting me down, I'll post this image instead... followed by this image.

While things are not getting better, I try to see the bright side: I have someone by my side who is also going through the same thing but we help console and encourage each other to stay positive. We find joy in the little things or activities we get to do together.

And we have 3 cats. Ha.

Las Vegas Comic Expo

My goodness, another convention? Yup! We went to this one because of a sweet Living Social deal to buy the Sunday ticket for $9 instead of $25. Vince and I ended up having a way more enjoyable time here than ANIMEGACON, which was overpriced and too giant of a venue. The Expo was supposed to be held at the Alexis Resort but it changed venues the same week and was moved to The Riviera. I was quite surprised by how busy it was and I thought it was somewhat more organized, especially on it's last day.

We only stayed for 3 hours but came away with a bunch of stuff! For one, the exhibit floor was full of local and out of state comic books stores. The artist alley was an impressive mix of newbie artists and professionals. We even got to meet Sean Galloway, the character designer for the Spectacular Spider-Man animated show that was briefly on Kids' WB! before the Disney-Marvel merge happened. Vince bought a set of gritty TMNT portraits and J. Scott Campbell's sketchbooks. I got a Nyan Tardis shirt and Vince got a Samurai Stormtrooper shirt from Coast City Styles. We only attended one panel and that was Before Watchmen, featuring artists Adam Hughes and JG Jones and writer Len Wein. I wish I bought something of Hughes' work to sign so all I got him to sign was one of those giant Before Watchmen posters.

Aside from not being clear with the scheduled panels and workshops, overall it was a pretty fun atmosphere to be in! I know I keep bringing up ANIMEGACON because it really was quite boring in comparison and we were only there for Linda Le aka "Vampy." Here, we saw young and old comic book fans and some pretty decent cosplay. Hopefully, this convention will get better in the years to come!

Birthday Weekend

Friday 9/21

We picked up our friend Dan at the butt crack of dawn, just before 6 am. Made a short pit stop at Barstow and made another pit stop at Chino for some breakfast at IHOP. Then it was straight to Anaheim from there. We encountered a bit of heavy traffic before noon due to reports of the Endeavor Shuttle flying over Disneyland. There were people standing by the sidewalks, at the top parking garage and at the roof of Paradise Pier, hoping to catch a glance. It wasn’t until we were waiting in line to buy the tickets that it flew over us. It was quite a sight to behold as everyone cheered as it flew over and the mass stood still for a few minutes to update their statuses and upload their pics (I only recorded a few seconds of it). Vince got to see the redesigned Carthay Circle Restaurant and admire his work. Of course, he won't get credit can't put it in his portfolio :/

Originally, I wanted to try doing the day hopper but we settled for Disney California Adventure since I’ve never been to it while Dan and Vince haven’t been there for a few years. In no particular order, we rode at Radiator Springs, Tower of Terror, Monsters, Inc., Goofy’s Sky School, Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, Grizzly River Run and Soarin’ Over California. We checked out the Frankenweenie exhibition, Sorceror’s Workshop and the Aladdin Musical at the Hyperion Theater. We met up with Corinne and ate at Tortilla Jo’s before riding Goofy’s Sky School. By then, most of the rides were full. Although we missed World of Color, we got to catch the fireworks at 9:45 pm over at Disneyland. I bought my first pair of ears, something I didn’t do when I first got to Disneyland.

Saturday 9/22

One minor bday gift was seeing pics of Jim Carrey as Colonel Stars for Kick Ass 2! This day was somewhat more laidback. We drove to Torrance to eat at Capriciossa for Lunch. It’s an Italian/Japanese restaurant that I use to frequent on Guam. Vince and I had to black ink squid pasta (family size) and it was well worth the price and trip. Next stop was Little Tokyo, although we took an odd turn and ended up in the bad part of China Town before we got to the right place. The Japanese Arcade that Dan and Vince talked about was… okay. We eventually made our way to the Kinokuniya bookstore and Marukai market. We checked out a little art exhibit/show called Tokusatsu and bought a few shirts. There wasn’t enough time to check out other places so we ended up grabbing some White Castle burgers from Stater Bros and playing some SNES games.

Sunday 9/23

Woke up early and had a big breakfast at Original House of Pancakes before going to Downtown Disney. We only stayed for less than 3 hours for the free parking. I bought a Tokidoki shirt from D Street since we were not able to go to Tokidoki at Melrose and we enjoyed an Apple Pie Apple from Marceline’s Confectionary. Well, I did but Vince's stomach didn't. We drove home to check up on our girls. It looks like they survived not having any human contact for a full 2 days. We weren’t able to get anyone to watch them at the last minute. It was a short weekend but it was a good birthday weekend :)

More pics and/or video to be uploaded soon!

Missing Gravity Falls

I swear, this show is doing such an awesome job in appealing to us kids who grew up in the 80's and 90's. Last week's episode of Gravity Falls not only featured some old school gaming nostalgia with a Street Fighter inspired character, they even got the artist for the "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World" video game to do the animation for Rumble McSkirmish... from the USA! I'm seriously impressed with the fact that the creators of my current favorite shows (Adventure Time, Regular Show and Gravity Falls) all came from The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, a show I stubbornly refused to watch because I thought it was trying to rip off from SpongeBob SquarePants.

Sadly, I think I might end up missing the show this weekend. Gonna be pretty busy for the weekend of 9/22 :)

My First Cosplay

Anywho, this was my costume for last month's ANIMEGACON. This is what I learned from my short experience from cosplaying as Wendy from Disney's Gravity Falls:

- Must be a ginger with freckles (or at least have light skin and and use a pencil eyeliner for the freckles)

- Must be either completely or somewhat accurate with costume (I didn't have her muddy rain boots)

- Must wear contacts (Wendy's not a hipster sporting fake nerd glasses... except I really needed the glasses)

- Must have and properly maintain wig (Not gonna lie, the wig became a tangled mess in 3 hours)

- Must cosplay in a cooler environment or a more comfortable weather (it was over 100 degrees)

Also most importantly...

- SMILE, DON'T SMIRK. 

Oh and also, have fun :D

Day 3 of ANIMEGACON 2012

So! Las Vegas’s 2nd anime convention was… well, small. Their whole “GO BIG OR GO HOME!” attitude and determination to make it a veteran con-goer experience was for the most part, too ambitious for them.  All we saw were giant rooms with very few people in there and no moderators for the panels. Seriously, for their “Mega Events” Rooms, they had a big stage with a table and no chairs. The previous panel had their guests sit on top of the tables!  As for the cosplayers, we saw a few good ones and some that look like they either bought their costumes online or did it at the last minute. As for me, I fall in the latter because I was cosplaying for the first time. I was Wendy from Gravity Falls and the only thing I had to make the look complete was the teal plaid shirt, dark skinny jeans, boots, a furry aviator hat, the orange wig (which was uncomfortably hot and tight) and her name tag. Only one person recognized my costume and happily admitted that she was a big fan of the show. Maybe by next year, we’ll see a few more Gravity Falls cosplayers?

We only went on Sunday for Vampy’s (Linda Le) panel and that alone was worth the $25. We saw Vig Mignona with a very petite but attractive girl cosplaying as Felicia after his panel ended. We saw Quinton Flynn happily talking with Vampy before he went on stage for his panel. We went to the exhibit hall and saw a few venders and their artist alley. The notable venders were ABCTOY4ME (with an amusing sign begging customers to support their online gaming addiction) and J-List/J-Box. I only bought a Funko Chococat figure and Neko Tamago keychain from those two. Other venders included someone selling Nazi-type uniforms, gothic Lolita costume, Yaoi dounjinshi comics, those Necomimi ears, the usual weapons booth and other smaller vendors selling almost the same things. Their gaming hall was huge and we only played a few rounds of SSMB Brawl. We walked by the card game room and it smelled awful! Didn’t get to experience the maid café but their servers were very cute-looking.

Overall, it was an all right experience but it literally pales in comparison to Anime Vegas. I remember the first one when it was just a small room from the Cashman Center. Each year, they grew bigger and better with their events and guests but had recently settled for the Alexis Resort as their venue. Animegacon still has a long way to go and hopefully they can do it without controversy (http://jezebel.com/5933319/anime-convention-bizarrely-offers-established-cosplayer-a-stripper-gig-in-exchange-for-200-and-snacks)

Academic Advice

So my faith in enrolling Ai of Pittsburgh (Online Divison) has greatly dwindled. Again. It's a pretty low reservoir mind you. Thanks to some sound advice from my "academic counselor" who was nice enough to let me know that he's switching teams and I might get a new academic counselor. What was the advice? It was regarding finding work before I graduate. I said I have been trying to apply for internships but I needed a certain number of credits to do so. He recommended 99Designs.com. It sounded pretty promising until he mentioned spec work... SPEC WORK.

SPEC-F*CKING-WORK.

From there he talked elaborately (or read off a script) on how I can do some freelance work and get some extra cash on the side. I just have to put my watermark on my designs and if I get picked, I can get paid for it. I could brag (lie) to that I've worked "internationally." Yeah, I really want to fill up my portfolio with that. My "academic counselor" even recommended Zazzle.com! Really? I would've expected notable websites to apply for internships. When I had my portfolio reviewed at San Diego Comic Con, I was recommended to try applying at smaller studios like BentoBox or Titmouse to get started. This guy tells me to make t-shirts and mugs.

Thanks man. Really.