San Antonio RAW

On Thursday January 24th ,2019  I went to the RAW artist showcase because my friend Carrie got selected to showcase her salon there. (Woot, woot! lol)  There where 60 local artists, dancers,designers, make up artists, and photographers   from the area show casing their work at the Aztec theater that night.  Carrie and her models for the night got to display their salon in the front of the lobby, and I got to see them walk the stage later that night. It was crowded when I first got to the theater. I was elbow to elbow with people. But, there was something to look at or check out the moment you walked in.  They had the booths in the front of the lobby and in the theater. Throughout the night,  they had performances  on the stage and everyone who performed or had a showcase there was from here in San Antonio. Tonight I went to dinner with my friends Rachel and Ian to celebrate Ian's new job which starts tomorrow. ( Woot woot!)  It was definitely a reminder to continue being creative , and to continue doing what you love.

Pre Martin Luther King schennanigans

January is slowly coming to an end. Today is Martin Luther King Day,  and  Valentine's Day merchandise is in stores everywhere now.

I ended up at PAX South yesterday. It is a festival for gamers to celebrate gaming culture. It focuses primarily on computer and board game showcases and competitions.  There, you could attend seminars on getting into the gaming industry and see what kinds of games are coming out now.It was interesting to see how much has changed. I noticed a lot of virtual reality type games are starting to come out.  I still remember when the original Nintendo game out. The first game I remember playing on it was Super Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt.  I never liked the dog in the Duck Hunt . The dog would pop up from behind the bush and laugh at you when the duck on the screen got away. I would be the person who would then try to shoot the dog , making myself miss the next duck that came on the screen. (I know, the cycle, and the struggle was real. lol)
I also learned that word of mouth really is the best form of advertising. I went with my friend who is a Zelda fan.  As we where walking through the convention, we saw a whole bunch of people with Zelda posters. Naturally, we asked where they got the posters. (It was at the booth across from the retro game station.)  As soon as my friend bought some posters from them, other convention goers started asking us where we got the posters!  It reminded me of when I worked the Home and Garden shows .  I remember almost everyone that walked by our booth had mops because whoever was selling them had a two for one deal. I also learned that as much as I worked and gone to events with friends, I still need to have a check list for when I leave the door. I decided to wear my Rinoa outfit , but I forgot the blue skirt for her outfit and did not  realize it until I left the house. ( I know get it together Donna-right? lol)
Today I ended up going to dinner and a movie with people from run group. One of the girls that had dinner with my mom and I said she would like to go to the conventions I go to with my friends. So maybe like Hannah Montana I can have the "best of both worlds."

As PAX comes to an end,  as most have heard, the government has been shut down for the past 30
days with still no sight of coming to an end. As the debate over the wall continues,  I have to realize I still have a bit of a wall myself. Recent events have made me realize that when it comes to something serious , or when  I am not exactly sure of what to say, I try to dodge the question.  But is it a wall I will be working on for a while. But I know it is because I like to keep things light, fun , and bubbly because that is the kind of person I am.  After all, like the gaming industry, things will grow and change. But some things will always stay the same.
Take care everyone!

Cold never bothered me anyway...

Happy 2019 everyone!

I know it has been a while since I have blogged.   One of the things I want to do in 2019 is to continue to write. So, I promise to write a blog once a week from this point forward about what is going on.  I will start with what I was up to right at the tail end of 2018.  December 29th 2018 I headed to Austin , Texas  for Ikkicon, an anime convention there with my friends Laura, Jennie, and Ian.   Ian, Laura and I dressed up as characters from Final Fantasy 8 . (I was Rinoa, Ian was Irvine, and Laura was Edea.) Jennie went as Merida from Brave.
After getting to the convention , we met up with my friend Selma briefly, and our friend Celine.
We ended up doing a photo shoot outside.  I was wearing a sleeveless duster sweater, along with Lily, another friend who was also dressed as Rinoa from Final Fantasy 8.   Lily and I where taking turns trying to keep warm when we weren't posing for pictures because it was cool outside. After the shoot, we decided to walk around like the characters in the game . Since Celine was dressed as Squall, the main character in the game, we walked where ever she walked. By the time we where done, we realized 4 other people followed us just because they saw us walking around.
I ended up staying the in night in Austin, and got up at 4:45 the next day. Me, and a few other members of USAFIT San Antonio volunteered to work at a race there. First we directed traffic, and then we passed out water or gatorade to runners.  It was 39 degrees , and it was raining off and on , which made it seem colder. My mom was the only one who did not have to go in one of our cars every now and then to keep  warm. After the race, we got  lunch on the way home, and after taking a shower, I slept  the rest of the day.
But ,the main thing I got out of my last weekend in 2018 is that we can do more than we think we can.  My Rinoa costume the first costume I actually made for a convention. I made it because I saw that her costume would be 80.00 if I bought it online . Somehow I put it together in about a month.  Also, despite the rain and cool weather, me , along with the other USAFIT members still made sure the runners who needed gatorade or water  when they passed by our station so they could finish their race. (Yeah!)
Now it's back to work, and we will see what lies ahead in 2019.
Take care everyone!