Godspeed
First off, don't worry, guys. I swear I'm not about to get religious on you.
Godspeed is the speed at which God works. Or for those of you who don't believe in a higher power, it's the speed at which God would work if he was real. Whther God's really involved or not doesn't matter to me; it's a word that describes when things occur with inexplicably perfect timing, and it's something that I feel my family has been blessed with.
I believe that joining the JET program and sticking with it for 2 years was definitely the right decision, but the fact of the matter is, I don't want to stay way out in rural Gunma, and I especially don't want to remain a teacher. I'm pretty good at it, and I love interacting with the kids, but my real dream is to do cosplay related work (whether costume creation or PR) in the heart of Tokyo. So! I'm quitting my comfy dead-end job and moving blindly into Tokyo, hoping to make enough money to survive and also find a company that'll help me extend my work visa.
I try to hide it well, but it's immensely terrifying. At the end of next month my contract WILL end, and I WILL be moving into Tokyo, but I have absolutely no idea WHAT I'll be doing there and how to get my foot in the door...but then there's Godspeed.
I've spent the past month or so trying to figure out how to write my Japanese resume and have been making a list of companies that I have an interest in, even though they don't list anywhere that they are hiring into their costuming/cosplay divisions, much less hiring foreigners! So as much as I feel that I have some good skills to offer, there's no way of knowing if they desire that skill set at all. Again, it's terrifying. I have days where the only reason I eat anything is because I know in my head that I need food, not because I'm hungry. My stomach is churning with too much nervousness about my situation for me to actually feel hunger.
I feel like this weekend, things might have turned around and started moving in a very good direction for me. Months ago I created a sort of online art and cosplay portfolio, Amyused. It was found by a staff member of a brand new anime culture event in Tokyo called MoeCul, and Paula and I were asked to join as foreign cosplay guests and to perform on the main stage both Saturday and Sunday. Naturally, we jumped at the rare opportunity to get involved at a Japanese event, and this past weekend we performed.
There could not have been a better opportunity for me (and Paula too, actually) to network. Among the foreigners invited was Ed Hoff, a researcher of otaku culture, who has been assisting the World Cosplay Summit in Japan for the past 10 years. He introduced me in turn to Inui Tatsumi, who was one of the early staff members working with the cosplay community Cure and has stayed with the company through all sorts of company ownership changes. If there is any company that might desire foreign cosplay enthusiasts on their staff, there's a good chance this guy will know! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to talk with either of them as much as I would have liked, because we had to leave to meet an appointment regarding future apartments, but maybe that means I talked to them just as much as I needed to. It was a good meeting, and like I keep saying there's Godspeed at work.
So, in spite of having a really amazing time at the event and having met a lot of really amazing people, I was feeling quite agitated when I got back to Gunma last night. I couldn't help but wonder if I'd missed any good opportunities by leaving the event early. So, as soon as I got home I started doing some follow-up, finding people that I met at the event and sending out messages of thanks etc. While clicking around Cure, trying to find cosplayers whom I'd met, I somehow stumbled upon the page of Jacky B. Goodie. That's the user name of the man who's the Asia area director of cosplay.com, a supervisor at Cosmode Magazine, official rule director of the WCS, and more! Although I won't be getting any personal introductions, this most definitely a person who could help me out, if I can make an appeal to him.
But that wasn't the end of it. See Godspeed isn't just about things falling into place, it's about a sense of peace with the pace at which things are moving. Today, I got a letter in the mail from my good friend Meri-tan. I'm not sure how long it was sitting in my mailbox. In some parts the ink was smudged from all the storms we've been having, but anyway, I read it today, and I've never felt so encouraged.
If you're reading this, Melissa, thank you. I'll write you soon, and let's see if we can't work out a good time to see each other down the line!! ♥
So the bottom line is, even though I don't have any interviews or job offers lined up, I'm finding networking potential and encouragement at every turn, and with that I'm keeping confidence that I'll still manage to land the perfect job. ♥
Godspeed is the speed at which God works. Or for those of you who don't believe in a higher power, it's the speed at which God would work if he was real. Whther God's really involved or not doesn't matter to me; it's a word that describes when things occur with inexplicably perfect timing, and it's something that I feel my family has been blessed with.
I believe that joining the JET program and sticking with it for 2 years was definitely the right decision, but the fact of the matter is, I don't want to stay way out in rural Gunma, and I especially don't want to remain a teacher. I'm pretty good at it, and I love interacting with the kids, but my real dream is to do cosplay related work (whether costume creation or PR) in the heart of Tokyo. So! I'm quitting my comfy dead-end job and moving blindly into Tokyo, hoping to make enough money to survive and also find a company that'll help me extend my work visa.
I try to hide it well, but it's immensely terrifying. At the end of next month my contract WILL end, and I WILL be moving into Tokyo, but I have absolutely no idea WHAT I'll be doing there and how to get my foot in the door...but then there's Godspeed.
I've spent the past month or so trying to figure out how to write my Japanese resume and have been making a list of companies that I have an interest in, even though they don't list anywhere that they are hiring into their costuming/cosplay divisions, much less hiring foreigners! So as much as I feel that I have some good skills to offer, there's no way of knowing if they desire that skill set at all. Again, it's terrifying. I have days where the only reason I eat anything is because I know in my head that I need food, not because I'm hungry. My stomach is churning with too much nervousness about my situation for me to actually feel hunger.
I feel like this weekend, things might have turned around and started moving in a very good direction for me. Months ago I created a sort of online art and cosplay portfolio, Amyused. It was found by a staff member of a brand new anime culture event in Tokyo called MoeCul, and Paula and I were asked to join as foreign cosplay guests and to perform on the main stage both Saturday and Sunday. Naturally, we jumped at the rare opportunity to get involved at a Japanese event, and this past weekend we performed.
There could not have been a better opportunity for me (and Paula too, actually) to network. Among the foreigners invited was Ed Hoff, a researcher of otaku culture, who has been assisting the World Cosplay Summit in Japan for the past 10 years. He introduced me in turn to Inui Tatsumi, who was one of the early staff members working with the cosplay community Cure and has stayed with the company through all sorts of company ownership changes. If there is any company that might desire foreign cosplay enthusiasts on their staff, there's a good chance this guy will know! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to talk with either of them as much as I would have liked, because we had to leave to meet an appointment regarding future apartments, but maybe that means I talked to them just as much as I needed to. It was a good meeting, and like I keep saying there's Godspeed at work.
So, in spite of having a really amazing time at the event and having met a lot of really amazing people, I was feeling quite agitated when I got back to Gunma last night. I couldn't help but wonder if I'd missed any good opportunities by leaving the event early. So, as soon as I got home I started doing some follow-up, finding people that I met at the event and sending out messages of thanks etc. While clicking around Cure, trying to find cosplayers whom I'd met, I somehow stumbled upon the page of Jacky B. Goodie. That's the user name of the man who's the Asia area director of cosplay.com, a supervisor at Cosmode Magazine, official rule director of the WCS, and more! Although I won't be getting any personal introductions, this most definitely a person who could help me out, if I can make an appeal to him.
But that wasn't the end of it. See Godspeed isn't just about things falling into place, it's about a sense of peace with the pace at which things are moving. Today, I got a letter in the mail from my good friend Meri-tan. I'm not sure how long it was sitting in my mailbox. In some parts the ink was smudged from all the storms we've been having, but anyway, I read it today, and I've never felt so encouraged.
If you're reading this, Melissa, thank you. I'll write you soon, and let's see if we can't work out a good time to see each other down the line!! ♥
So the bottom line is, even though I don't have any interviews or job offers lined up, I'm finding networking potential and encouragement at every turn, and with that I'm keeping confidence that I'll still manage to land the perfect job. ♥