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!