2010
January
Doing this lecture at DePaul made me really realize where I wanted to go with owning a small business. Professor Laura Kina seemed impressed with me and was very encouraging. Although it became a goal of mine in 2010, I got side tracked with the bread and butter of RedStar. Now that I'm moving away, I am more on my toes more than ever, and I have not forgotten Laura's enthusiasm for me. She said that I could be the female Eric Nakamura (the creator of Giant Robot), and I know I will be....except for the whole bankruptcy thing.
At this point, Mike and I had only been seeing each other once a month. His visit back in January started us flying out more than once a month, even if it was just for a weekend. I was lucky enough to get to spend so much time with my waddling Tanuki this year, despite him living over 700 miles away.
February
Who could forget Snowpocolypse? While it got my flight to DC for my birthday canceled 3-4 times, to the point where it was no longer my birthday. My mother also went into the hospital the same evening my friends were celebrating my birthday. It was awful. Worst birthday ever. Though, the following weekend more than made up for it. I made new friends, made decent money, had a great Chinese New Year dinner not made by me, and an had unexpected Valentine's Day surprise from Fristle.
March
March marked the first time I had ever had clam chowder. I was lucky enough to have it in Boston, but I still crave it to this day. In fact, I want some right now. Oh, and I also got to attend PAX East too.
April
After being in the DC trying to catch some of the spring festivities and completely missing them, it was different this year. I got to attend a lecture on the fashion of Japanese Youth Culture throughout history. I was very noticed by some of the audience around me. Since I knew a thing or two about some of the subcultures, I had a few people asking me questions (which I was really flattered by). I saw the cherry blossoms for the first time, and I also attended the Sakura Matsuri.
May
The one thing I look forward to every year is baseball. I was lucky enough to attend four games this year, and my first was at Wrigley Field (thanks to a family friend of Andrew's who got us the best seats I've had at Wrigley).
These are my girls, who danced the night away in front of thousands all in the name of RedStar. It was the most unforgettable ACEN night out of my 8 years of attending that convention.
June
I have no photos from Rochester, MN with the exception of this one. I was not there on vacation. Everyone in my immediately family (sans significant others, but including my nephew) took the road trip to support my mother in her angioplasty at Mayo Clinic. Seeing that my grandmother suffered a stroke after her angioplasty, we worried about the worst. It was a bittersweet trip, as we had not traveled together like that since I was maybe, in third grade. Though, the confined time I spent with my family made me realize how different we are now. Thankfully, my mom was okay and she could then move onto her postponed shoulder surgery.
Immediately after I returned from Minnesota, I came home to a completely empty home. My parents and my brother stayed behind. I walked into the house, grabbed my keys, and headed to the airport to pick up Mike. We had a quiet weekend with no family around, went shopping, and attended Brickworld, a Lego convention, for an afternoon.
July
For my birthday, Mike had given me a trip to SoCal and admission to Anime Expo. In a week I: got a new pair of BAPEs, went to Disneyland at night for the first time, spent just a little bit of time with Maritess and her family, wandered around LA's business district, rode in shuttles to get to the con, saw Karate Kid, went to Hollywood for the first time, got to stay a sweet Japanese hotel in Torrence, saw two different art museums and rode around in a hot Mustang. All thanks to my baby.
What would July be without making bank at Otakon?
August
This was my third baseball game of the year (and my second Nationals game)! Got to attend with Fristle, Weasel, and Jennifer. WHY can't I find nachos at any games any more?
September
I will never forget the day that Mike Krahulik told me that I did not have to wear any pants. Never.
What made Butters' wedding stand out from the rest? It was this right here. They somehow knew we were all going to be at Mitsuwa.
October
So, here is something else I will never forget. It was a fantasy for me to think that I could one day see my favourite group, m-flo, play someday, as Japan is a far away land that I cannot afford to go to. Well, here is the MC of m-flo. RIGHT NEXT TO ME. He was so amazed that I had their CD, he asked if he could get a photo of me with it so he could show it to TAKU. I even made an appearance in his blog. He later told us he was spinning at a club in the loop, invited us, and we went. It was one of the most incredible nights of my life.
I spent Halloween in DC. I played Costume Quest and carved this awesome pumpkin. I also dressed up as a ninja cat and attended two different parties.
November
Since I decided that Ohayocon was a con I was going to cut out of my yearly regimen, I still wanted to make a point of visiting Columbus, OH. Three of my favourite people live in the area and I wanted to see them. Arnell was gracious enough to house us and Patty was a great guide. I was also ecstatic to see Tommy (who I watched the Kanye "film" with)!! It's extremely rare that I drink 'til I'm sick. This photo here was taken the day after a night of projectile vomiting. Thanks for the hangover gift, TF!
I have a secret to tell you. Mike shooped his bare foot out of this picture because we actually made and ate Thanksgiving dinner without pants on.
December
For some reason, Nickel City is open on Christmas Day. While it snowed small, fluffy, white animals, we observed our friends eating Chinese buffet and then spent some flashback time the arcade. I spent some time with family in Wisconsin earlier that day, but this was galaxies better. GALAXIES. I was thrilled to show Fristle where I had spent a good couple of years of my life. A week later, we had a barrage of friends stay with us for New Year's. We held a fun party and were in the company of great people.
It's 2011 and I've spent most of my year...sick. I'm still congested and it slowed me down a bit, but I got some gaming and film watching in. I also got to see some friends at Mitsuwa yesterday and I look forward to seeing Steve Weibe try and break his Donkey Kong record this weekend. My parents are going out of town for ten whole glorious days starting next week, and next month is Katsucon. I don't have everything planned out yet, but whenever I look back, I realize how lucky I am. The people in my life are my greatest blessing. Words can't describe how much I love my friends, who make my life a blast. I also am so thankful to have Mike in my life, who is a sweet, loving, witty, and beautiful genius. As I continue to pursue life as an entrepreneur and spend more time with the people I love, I look forward to the new year.
God, I want clam chowder.
Doing this lecture at DePaul made me really realize where I wanted to go with owning a small business. Professor Laura Kina seemed impressed with me and was very encouraging. Although it became a goal of mine in 2010, I got side tracked with the bread and butter of RedStar. Now that I'm moving away, I am more on my toes more than ever, and I have not forgotten Laura's enthusiasm for me. She said that I could be the female Eric Nakamura (the creator of Giant Robot), and I know I will be....except for the whole bankruptcy thing.
At this point, Mike and I had only been seeing each other once a month. His visit back in January started us flying out more than once a month, even if it was just for a weekend. I was lucky enough to get to spend so much time with my waddling Tanuki this year, despite him living over 700 miles away.
February
Who could forget Snowpocolypse? While it got my flight to DC for my birthday canceled 3-4 times, to the point where it was no longer my birthday. My mother also went into the hospital the same evening my friends were celebrating my birthday. It was awful. Worst birthday ever. Though, the following weekend more than made up for it. I made new friends, made decent money, had a great Chinese New Year dinner not made by me, and an had unexpected Valentine's Day surprise from Fristle.
March
March marked the first time I had ever had clam chowder. I was lucky enough to have it in Boston, but I still crave it to this day. In fact, I want some right now. Oh, and I also got to attend PAX East too.
April
After being in the DC trying to catch some of the spring festivities and completely missing them, it was different this year. I got to attend a lecture on the fashion of Japanese Youth Culture throughout history. I was very noticed by some of the audience around me. Since I knew a thing or two about some of the subcultures, I had a few people asking me questions (which I was really flattered by). I saw the cherry blossoms for the first time, and I also attended the Sakura Matsuri.
May
The one thing I look forward to every year is baseball. I was lucky enough to attend four games this year, and my first was at Wrigley Field (thanks to a family friend of Andrew's who got us the best seats I've had at Wrigley).
These are my girls, who danced the night away in front of thousands all in the name of RedStar. It was the most unforgettable ACEN night out of my 8 years of attending that convention.
June
I have no photos from Rochester, MN with the exception of this one. I was not there on vacation. Everyone in my immediately family (sans significant others, but including my nephew) took the road trip to support my mother in her angioplasty at Mayo Clinic. Seeing that my grandmother suffered a stroke after her angioplasty, we worried about the worst. It was a bittersweet trip, as we had not traveled together like that since I was maybe, in third grade. Though, the confined time I spent with my family made me realize how different we are now. Thankfully, my mom was okay and she could then move onto her postponed shoulder surgery.
Immediately after I returned from Minnesota, I came home to a completely empty home. My parents and my brother stayed behind. I walked into the house, grabbed my keys, and headed to the airport to pick up Mike. We had a quiet weekend with no family around, went shopping, and attended Brickworld, a Lego convention, for an afternoon.
July
For my birthday, Mike had given me a trip to SoCal and admission to Anime Expo. In a week I: got a new pair of BAPEs, went to Disneyland at night for the first time, spent just a little bit of time with Maritess and her family, wandered around LA's business district, rode in shuttles to get to the con, saw Karate Kid, went to Hollywood for the first time, got to stay a sweet Japanese hotel in Torrence, saw two different art museums and rode around in a hot Mustang. All thanks to my baby.
What would July be without making bank at Otakon?
August
This was my third baseball game of the year (and my second Nationals game)! Got to attend with Fristle, Weasel, and Jennifer. WHY can't I find nachos at any games any more?
September
I will never forget the day that Mike Krahulik told me that I did not have to wear any pants. Never.
What made Butters' wedding stand out from the rest? It was this right here. They somehow knew we were all going to be at Mitsuwa.
October
So, here is something else I will never forget. It was a fantasy for me to think that I could one day see my favourite group, m-flo, play someday, as Japan is a far away land that I cannot afford to go to. Well, here is the MC of m-flo. RIGHT NEXT TO ME. He was so amazed that I had their CD, he asked if he could get a photo of me with it so he could show it to TAKU. I even made an appearance in his blog. He later told us he was spinning at a club in the loop, invited us, and we went. It was one of the most incredible nights of my life.
I spent Halloween in DC. I played Costume Quest and carved this awesome pumpkin. I also dressed up as a ninja cat and attended two different parties.
November
Since I decided that Ohayocon was a con I was going to cut out of my yearly regimen, I still wanted to make a point of visiting Columbus, OH. Three of my favourite people live in the area and I wanted to see them. Arnell was gracious enough to house us and Patty was a great guide. I was also ecstatic to see Tommy (who I watched the Kanye "film" with)!! It's extremely rare that I drink 'til I'm sick. This photo here was taken the day after a night of projectile vomiting. Thanks for the hangover gift, TF!
I have a secret to tell you. Mike shooped his bare foot out of this picture because we actually made and ate Thanksgiving dinner without pants on.
December
For some reason, Nickel City is open on Christmas Day. While it snowed small, fluffy, white animals, we observed our friends eating Chinese buffet and then spent some flashback time the arcade. I spent some time with family in Wisconsin earlier that day, but this was galaxies better. GALAXIES. I was thrilled to show Fristle where I had spent a good couple of years of my life. A week later, we had a barrage of friends stay with us for New Year's. We held a fun party and were in the company of great people.
It's 2011 and I've spent most of my year...sick. I'm still congested and it slowed me down a bit, but I got some gaming and film watching in. I also got to see some friends at Mitsuwa yesterday and I look forward to seeing Steve Weibe try and break his Donkey Kong record this weekend. My parents are going out of town for ten whole glorious days starting next week, and next month is Katsucon. I don't have everything planned out yet, but whenever I look back, I realize how lucky I am. The people in my life are my greatest blessing. Words can't describe how much I love my friends, who make my life a blast. I also am so thankful to have Mike in my life, who is a sweet, loving, witty, and beautiful genius. As I continue to pursue life as an entrepreneur and spend more time with the people I love, I look forward to the new year.
God, I want clam chowder.