EMMJAY

Everybody else my age can't be pulled away from their mental calendar as they count down the days until their education draws to a close. I on the other hand, wouldn't be able to give you an answer past "Ungh... Sometime this month?" This isn't because my legacy transcends nowhere past my Facebook page or because I have no plans for my future (Although I do on occasion partake in such carnival squander in the tongue-in-cheek way I approach 90% of the rest of my life's happenings) I've pretty much known my destiny to this point since I was in the eighth grade without any real road map to where I was well aware I'd land up. Pardon my flirting around the point. My point is, I'm shutting myself out to how much school is left for me because I don't want it to end. School ending would imply a deadline for assignments which I am slowly cranking out. I can't get out of this miserable pit fast enough and yet I hang around anyway.

On the topic of "Out of my graduating class of about 600, I'm probably one of about 50 who actually has their shit together and will probably achieve a comfortable and permanent life", Professional Development in the Arts 35: What a joke that has turned out to be! In short, I think the idea was that it would be a class to encourage students to pursue postsecondary education in the arts by crediting their lengthy, rigorous portfolio preparations. In reality, like most other classes I've had the misfortune of being in, it turns out that all that work I put into getting to University can be thrown right out the window in substitution for hour logs, research papers ("What influences your art?" Nothing. My art isn't reactionary. Its revolutionary. I am uninspired and happen to act on it. And don't dock me marks for being a smart ass), job shadowing (Remember how I was supposed to go work fashion retail for a day but that fell through because the teacher didn't want to have to organize it any further? Yeah, because thats why I'm going to University all the way across the country, to get a degree in fashion design so I can fold clothes in a sweatshop at the mall. I just happened to have an extra $70,000 kicking around my bedroom and a bizarre urge to waste four years of my life.) and a "What this course meant to me" paper (Which I'm sure, as you can see I will have no problem doing). Once again, I'm cramming my effort, my gift to the world into a metaphorical ice cube tray known as the curriculum, cutting around the edges and pouring leftover ham fat into the rest of the slots.

I should have come to expect this by now. I'm almost done and then I can at least attempt to piece myself together without my introspective conversation being interrupted by a normal curve yelling at me to find its derivative.

In other news, OtaFest happened a few weeks ago. I didn't win anything in the competition but I won 2^nd runner up, Ms. OtaFest which was nice to be recognized for all the effort I put into my Eternal Sailor Moon cosplay. I'd attempt to write a more conclusive synopsis to balance out the 60,000,000,000,000 photos taken of me that weekend but there really wasn't much to say about OtaFest this year. I think two photos will have to suffice:


Eternal Sailor Moon!


Eternal Sailor Moon lookin' up Audrey's skirt...

Far further down on the list of importance is that I graduated. Graduation is all pretty ridiculous. I think its more so a (now) customary passage of rights in combination of a celebration for all the kids who had doubts as to whether or not they would even graduate in the first place. Less long than the banquet for Benson's grad last year, but just as boring. What I liked about mine was how much everybody just blatantly talked through the banquet instead of making any efforts to conceal their dissatisfaction. Pictures ensued:


Princess Serenity and Tuxedo Kamen. Would you really expect any less of me?


Apart from me cheating the dress to look more interesting than it was and extreme impromptu back lighting, this isn't a very good photograph.

I don't think I've watched an anime in two or three years and even so, it was probably Trigun or something made before 1998. Not Bleach, not Death Note, Not Full Metal Alchemist, not name of most exciting new anime fresh out of Japan to be bastardized by North American fans immediately, and yet still, every time somebody even mentions OtaFest, I swear I get a heart palpitation.

Sure, I'm disgusted with 80% of the OtaGoers:
(The large, 15 and out of control glomp-me-I-luv-bishies whores: 40%,
the cosplaying for the novelty: 20%,
the Gothic Lolitards: 12%,
the self proclaimed /b/ prophecies: 5%,
the freaky over 30-somethings, possibly with Aspets syndrome: 3%.)
But funny how a few weeks before every OtaFest, even this year when I'm blowing all my money on hair extensions the weekend before, I have the world in common with these people; the short-term reason of my being is some anime convention.

WHOSE GOING TO OTAFEST 2008?!
WHOSE GOING TO VOTE FOR ME FOR MS. OTAFEST 2008!?

So I got my acceptance latter to Ryerson yesterday. Sure I'm excited but I'm not surprised. Then again I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't get in either though based on some dumb technicality- Seldom am I ever rejected when I try my best; I usually just miss part of the big picture is all.

No more Calgary. No more yuppies. No more mom. No more stupid "Western Pride". No more lame Calgary raves. No more kids who I've grown to hate over the past six years... It would seem that I've grown exponentially and everyone else is still a selfish little seventh grader looking for their next keg.

Ever still, I have a bunch of homework to get done with. I'm still not done what was due for Spring Break given I did my application portfolio and then had my Japanese exchange students. Yet I'm still applying more effort into finishing my dress for OtaFest. This acceptance couldn't have come at a worse time- I'm not really motivated to work but at the same time, I've been riuding a creative null for a couple months.

Living in the moment produces goals, ironically enough:
- Finish homework
- Apply for more scholarships
- Loose ten more pounds for OtaFest
- Start selling jib to have money to pay for $600 hair extensions next week...
- Meet up with friends and teach them our choreography for OtaFest
- GTFO LiveJournal

I do apologize for not posting as much as I had promised [myself] to. In the fashion of Emmjay-ism, I hereby drop an excuse which is that I'm endlessly busy with Summerstock and when I'm not doing that, I'm watching Sailor Moon S. So this about that and that about all of this: Come see the show! Come scoop up the sweet, sweet guacamole of our labors and caress my ego with it, please and thank you!

And on the subject of Sailor Moon, cosplays for OtaFest '08 have been decided:
Emmjay - Eternal Sailor Moon
Sid (Ex Pudding) - Princess Kakyu
Bree (Ex Dance slave) - Black Lady
Benson - Prince Endymion

But of course, the higher power which inevitably dictates the course of my future (or rather enforces the most ridiculous rules in order to revoke me there of) has decided that no, there will not be any sewing for anybody next year so that I can get good grades so I can not pass on the desired post-secondary institution of my choice because of my cadaver of a portfolio which need be infused with the life which can only be derived from cosplay; what was once my one opportunity to create and WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. And it's not like this year in fashions where I was taken in as a special projects student who finished four out of a maximum five credits (one of which was half way finished and I still managed an 89% for) in half the amount of time as all the other Fashions 20 students and still managed to get a 97% for the whole course which if I am not mistaken is the highest mark achieved by anybody in the program next year. Next year I have a whole semester AND a spare and we all know where I will be spending that. That and Art I.B. 31 is all self directed studies and my field of study just so happens to be the culture of Japanese Fashion. But still, the woman who unfortunately breathes the same air as me insists that this is not what I want to do and that JUST LIKE HER (God knows I'm the SPINNING IMAGE of her) I'll change my mind (Because like her, I'm obviously going to university on Mommy and Daddy's budget taking a course just for the hell of it so that I can join a sorority- YIPPIE!)

But on the bright side, the portfolio requirements are quite stupid.

I think I may need a new LiveJournal layout. This one is depressing. Wave bye bye!

I’ve been putting this off far too long, I apologize. I’m beginning to think that in my absence, everybody is slowly beginning to wean themselves off of LJ. Or maybe this is once again an example of my hyper-paranoid wishful thinking which apparently surfaces when I’m too busy to tend to social networking sites amidst actual real life socializing? Who the heck knows; I sure don’t.

Wednesday night:
With my last day of school for the week behind me before my five day long weekend commences, I find myself slaving away at my sewing machine ever still adding “finishing touches” (such as sewing almost whole garments together) to Sid and my cosplay costumes before fake nails would render me incapable for the night . To the dismay of the previous deadline, I received a parcel from CosWorx which I did much fretting over for the weeks leading up to OtaFest (the Anime convention) seeing as I had ordered it a month and a half in advance however it didn’t get shipped out until about a week before OtaFest (problematic because international shipping takes “up to five business days to arrive… or more”; how specific) In this box came three wigs (Sid’s, mine, Sid’s friend’s), a Styrofoam head with it’s nose pushed in, two wig caps and a pair of white Candy 100s… with a irreparable zipper. So on numerous occasions before Saturday, I took them to shoemakers and I guess they couldn’t be repaired unless they tore out the zipper so in short, Sid ended up wearing my precious Swing 815s and I wore the old pair I ordered back in February. So the long and short of the matter is that for the rest of the night I was styling wigs. The sewing just stopped happening.

Thursday:
Benson’s grad, Benson’s grad, Benson’s grad, Benson’s grad, Benson’s grad, oh gosh yes! If there was any time for me to break down and insert an emoticon in one of my journal entries, it would be here and it would be grinning with a CAPITAL D. Mark my word. This commenced with me getting all the hairs on my head dyed blonde by that kooky, Vietnamese hair dresser guy who every time he goes to the back room, comes back with the scent of liquor on his breath. Anyway, I have acne but I looked cute and my eyebrows rock but not as much as Benson’s and liquid honey tastes excellent in tea and I was the only person who really understood why that honey was there in the first place and why do teenage girls all look the same? Anyway, the highlights of the actual grad included playing with the plastic spinning stone on the floor that defies all laws of physics, periodically making “trips to the facilities” in order to escape the ceremony so we could talk as loud as we wanted to, writing back and forth to each other on the program to keep ourselves awake and mentally stimulated and any whispered banter along the way. Long story short (and oh how I do mean long), we left something ridiculous like four hours early to go to China town; where everything was closed but was still more entertaining than what ever it was that we were doing before. Now despite having left at 8:00 or 9:00, I still managed to convince the school that I should have the next day off seeing as I would be in no condition to attend classes the next day as a result of copious alcohol consumption because that’s how I have a good time for sure fatigue. We actually stayed up until two or something playing Pokémon.

Friday:
Excellent sleeping accommodations hardly permitted any prolonged amount of sleep, what with OtaFest on Saturday (costumes still not done at this point) and a whole day to spend with Benson ahead of me. We went back to China town where I decided that I needed more sexy nurse figurines and obnoxious strawberry paraphernalia in order to make my life complete but did not obtain them as a result of leaving any means of finance back at my place or origin. I regrettably don’t remember any specifics of what went on this day but do remember that I had much fun and didn’t return until late at night after Summerstock, exhausted and still not done my cosplay. I eventually finished (at 5:00 no doubt) and then submitted myself to slumber in some unnatural position for two hours.

Saturday
As you should already know, I woke up nice and early to get to OtaFest to be about twelfth in line to be admitted. Fortunately, along came Sid so through the duration of the line to get into vendors (alternately, the other reason apart from cosplay that I actually go to OtaFest; to buy more useless Japanoholic crap I have no use for), slowly became a most smashing Puding. Then others I know (many who I resent the existence of because of their overt interest in anime fan culture in combination with a lack of social skills needed to associate with any higher form of being other than the Otaku folk) joined in the locomotion line of anticipation which most favorably included the lovely Bree (One of our dancers for the cosplay competition later that afternoon) I figure I may as well get this out of the way now seeing as it’s so interesting to myself and anybody else enthralled with my life enough to wade through tedious lists of my purchases, so here goes. Everything I bought at Otafest:

Manga:
- All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku
- Black Knight 1, 2 & 3
- Fake Fur
- Gals! 1
- Gerard & Jaques 1 & 2
- Gorgeous Carat 3 & 4
- Gorgeous Carat Galaxy
- Hero-Heel 1
- Hybrid Child
- Ill Gatto Sul G 2
- Innocent Bird 1
- Juno Romantica 1 & 2
- Kissing
- Little Butterfly 2 & 3
- Lost Boys
- Loveless 2, 3 & 4
- Lovers in the Night
- Only the Ring Finger Knows
- Our Kingdom 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5
- Rin! 1, 2 & 3
- Same Cell Organism
-Seven
- The Moon and Sandals 1
- Time Lag
- Wagamama Kitchen

Anime:
- All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku Dash! boxset
- Kizuna 2
- Peach Girl 1

Everything else:
- OtaFest ’07 T-Shirt
- OtaFest ’07 lanyard
- 4 5” G-Taste nurse figurines
- Dance Dance Revolution 2^nd Mix for Playstation
- Gothic Lolita blouse and crinoline by Body Line
- Strawberry shaped purse with wings

So, not as much as last year, but still a darn good amount for under $800 and I still had some money left so I haven’t gone through my annual, post OtaFest onset of depression yet.

For the most part afterwards, I paced about in search of people to take pictures of me, back and forth between vendors and anybody who I knew, all the while estimating how little effort some people put into their costumes (in Canada, to cosplay means to half-ass your rendition of your favorite ‘bishi’ at the moment while spending as little money as humanly possible, totting along a plushie of their alleged gay lover and consuming from your limitless stash of Pocky that must be worth more than your embarrassingly small cosplay on your size 18+ frame) The fun in that went on for pretty much ever, or at least until everybody doing the cosplay competition got summoned into the prep room.

And then came the cosplay competition.

Apparently, this was the longest one ever in OtaFest history because of everybody’s complete disregard of the two minute (slightly enforced) time cap so by the time group 42: The Midrange Vocal Noise Makers were due to make their appearance, a quarter of the audience had gotten up to leave to go home to watch Bleach/Naruto/Full Metal Alchemest/Death Note/Final Fantasy: Advent Children/any of those quality examples of animation whose fans will abandon the series as soon as the next Inu-Yasha comes along (or disregard my bitterness but the only stuff you can buy in China town is all basically from one of those Animes so I have reason to weap)

So we go up, do our little Space Channel 5 skit (Pudding’s revenge, Ulala saves some cosplayers, go, go, go, go, Space Channel 5, left shooting, right shooting, sexy, Ulala, yeah, the top of my microphone flies off but apparently nobody notices, everybody does a dance that was never once rehearsed with all five of us in attendance and then we strut off, Spaaaaaaaaaaaace Channel 5!!) and we win first runner-up for best in show (Best costumes and performance) for the journeyman category. Happy Emmjay.

AND NOW I POST ALL THE PICTURES
( Because like I said, it has been two months since I started this entry and I don’t remember what happened at all )

Eh he heh. I guess I haven’t been around these parts of the woods lately, huh? But as I’ve gathered from my friends page, nobody has been going all out either so it’s safe to just leave my mind at the ease that without me, you have no valid reason to post because you just do it for me. Any of you. All of you.

I would love to spare you an explanation for both time’s sake as well as conserving my words as an elaborate measure to get you to read my super exciting portfolio writing assignment but I will briefly jot down a few excuses for my unintentional absence from LiveJournal (self satisfaction ensued):

- Now Pokeyman games. Bought both of them on their release. Have almost (if not) sixty hours banked in game play so far. Taking over my lyfe so hard.
- OtaFest is in seventeen days or something like that. HA HA HA COSWORX, WHERE IS ALL THAT SHIT I ORDERED MORE THAN A MONTH AGO FROM YOU, HUH?
- The fashion show.
- A moderate degree of attention has been paid to homework as of the late. I’m such a good student.
- Benson.
- Benson is actually on the phone with me RIGHT NOW. Holy gosh!!

Anyway, as expressed in the last comment, I had better tie this up quick because I now officially have something better to do that devote any more time or energy to this entry. Under the cut is an elaborate remake of this story which I submitted for portfolio writing in grade nine which was based on a manga I wrote, illustrated and actually finished in grade eight. I wrote this part all here tonight. Obviously not done but feel free to tell me what you think so far. Also, although the endings and general plot aside from the premise are going to be way different in this one, I would advise not reading the original if you tend to shit bricks at people who spoil stuff for you.

( READ MY DAMN STORY EVERYBODY )