You can't always get what you want...

 Well, another week has come and gone.  I am just trying to stay cool as we continue to get one hundred degree days.  I am still working , going to the gym, and of course seeing friends when possible. 

 August 26th was women's equality day. I am definitely proud of how far we have come .But I still think women have a double edged sword in society. We are told yes we can go out and have careers, even be the CEO of major corporations. But we are still supposed to be the primary care takers at the house. (Ofcourse I realize there are exceptions to this rule. My Uncle Carl was the one who took care of things at home since my Aunt Terry had the better job.)  So if we are working, we are not taking care of things at home, and if we are taking care of things at home we are not working . So it is a forever balancing act. It's something we all struggle with. So to fellow women out there, continue being you , and doing what works best for you.

 This weekend  I ended up catching up with my friend Jenn since she was in town a couple of times. Friday  night we went to Osaka for dinner. Saturday night we had a meal at  The Cheesecake Factory. It was the first time I went to North Star Mall  in months. (When the epidemic started, I had no reason to go there especially since we couldn't for a while.) Some stores can only have a certain amount of people in due to social distancing. When I went to the Disney Store I had to wait a few minutes to get in because they where at capacity. Tonight I am going to watch Bill and Ted 3 with my friends Ian, David, and Jennie.But my meet up made me wonder if things happen or a reason or if everything is just a coincidence. I am forever convinced the universe has  a twisted sense of humor. But the universe also seems to know when you really need something too. I know at the time Jenn and I reconnected, I was in need of my friends.  However I know Jenn had no way of knowing this. Jenn just knew it was my birthday and told me happy birthday which is how we started talking again .  Either way, for whatever reason we reconnected  I am glad it did. You can't always get what you want, but you definitely get what you need. Now I am off to enjoy the tail end of my weekend. 

Take care , be safe, and stay healthy everyone

    -Donna

Certain uncertainties

 Hello all.

I know it has been a long while since I last blogged . So I will try to make it worth it for everyone. As we all aware 2020 has been a trying year for everyone. I was supposed to go to at least two conventions and shows this year which of course got cancelled because of our current situation. I , like everyone else is wondering how long the epidemic will last. I know it's the not knowing that's the hardest part of all this. I miss the little things like just being able to go meet friends for a meal or coffee , and go to the grocery store without having to wear a mask. But in the mean time , I am still working, and acting like I know what I am doing. 

I remember when I worked at Connexion Point one of my supervisors would always say the only thing constant in life is change.  Little did I know I would learn years later how true that really is.  Of course epidemic or not, change is a part of life. Every year the seasons go from winter to spring, summer, and fall. On our birthdays we become a year older., and hopefully a little bit wiser. 

But I still have got the opportunity to do a couple of things this year. I got to meet Jason David Frank who played Tommy Oliver in the Mighty Morphin Power Ranger series.  I found out he is going to local comic book around Texas to help bring them business. My mom had an event she wanted to attend in Corpus Christi the weekend he happened to be there , and proceeds go to the comic book shop, so I went to see him while he was there. Two birds, one stone. We still had to wear masks, and instead of waiting in line like we normally would, they had us take a number and download an app so we could wait in our car until our number was called. (Ofcourse you can also eat, and look around other stores while waiting.) Once your number was called, you could get in line in the store to meet JDF.  It made me wonder if I should pick up karate again because he still looked good. I also got to catch up with an old friend and we literally just picked up where we left off.

Recent events have made me wonder about the people we allow in our lives. Some are in our lives for a short period of time. Some people are in our lives for a lifetime. Others come in and out of our lives through the years. I guess the one thing I learned lately is no matter how long someone has been a part of our lives, the ones you want to keep are the one who remind you no matter what, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  Thank you to all who have given me that reminder this year.

Stay safe, stay healthy , and take care  everyone .

To Corpus Christi and back again...

I was expecting this month to be kind of low key. However, I ended up up going on a quick trip this past weekend with my mom. She was registered for "Conquer the Coast." It is a bike ride on Corpus Christi and you can register to ride 10,21, or 66 miles along the coast. My mom of course registered to ride the full 66. Friday we headed up there so mom could get her bib at packet pick up and relaxed at our friend Erick's house. 

We got up at 5 in the morning to make sure mom was at the race on time. While mom raced, we had breakfast with our friend Stephen's daughter Vanessa, and my mom finished even through she cramped up 3 miles from the finish.  After the race, we got lunch, rested, and after dinner with some friends, we where back en route to San Antonio.  Now, it is back to work.  Right now the next two events I have coming up is Texas Renaissance Fest, and Alamo City Comic Con. Then I will be going to Washington for the holidays. So here's to the adventures that lie ahead.

This weekend I am staying put in San Antonio. Tonight, it's movie night for my mom and I. We are going to dinner and to see Brittany runs a marathon in theaters because a friend of hers recommended it.  Lately I have been wondering about family and friends. I wrote a letter to my friend Devi about my time at San Japan. She was saying that I do more with friends than she does. But she has more family .to do things with. During the holidays, she always has someone to make cookies for, or get together for a meal with. Here my mom and I just tend to go to friends houses for the holidays , see a movie, or just spend the day at home. But I guess wether you have  a lot of your biological family in the area, or not , your family are the people who go to conventions with you, wake up with you at 5 am so you can bike ride, and support you no matter what. I am fortunate to have that.

San Japan 2019

Well everyone, San Japan 2019 has come and gone. Most of the pictures have been posted and the theme for next year-Horror has been released. This year I got to do a few things I didn't get to do at previous conventions. I roomed with my friends Jennie, David, and Ian. We actually all had our own bed to sleep in this year, which can be  rare at anime conventions so , yeah! lol

Here is how my weekend went. Thursday night,  the four of us checked into the hotel. Friday morning after the four of us had breakfast at the hotel , we did a quick photo shoot for David in the hotel lobby because he was dressed as hotel.com's Captain Obvious. He even had a sign that said "if you can read this, you can read," and I made him one that said "hotels.com it's on the internet" because , it is on the internet my friends. :0)  Jennie was dressed as Flo from the Progressive.com commercial. Ian was dressed as Setzer from Final Fantasy Six , and I was dressed as Relm from Final Fantasy Six. As soon as we got to the convention we met up with our friends Bethany, Laura ,and Jeremy who where also dressed as Final Fantasy Six characters. Laura was Opera Celes, Bethany was Terra Branford, and Jeremy was Locke. 

After we all met up , we looked around Artist Alley. I tried to find an online comic book artist that a friend of mine in Washington really likes, but to no luck.  Then it was time for ballroom dance lessons. After ballroom dance lessons, Laura, and I got our tickets to the masquerade ball that evening and headed to Rivercenter mall for lunch . Laura ended up treating us all to pizza because it was more worth it to get a whole pizza than individual slices. So, yeah for friends and free pizza at Lucianos.  Then we joined the rest of our friends back at the convention and looked around the dealers room some more. I drove Bethany crazy by pointing out all the Godzilla merchandise I saw. Slowly but surely we made our way to the photo booth so we could get a group photo of all of us in costume.  

Our Final Fantasy 6 group shot. :0)

After that it was time to get ready for the masquerade ball. So I walked back to our room, changed , and walked back. The masquerade is a formal ball they hold at the convention. Formal wear and a mask is required to get in. After dancing for a little bit, I ended the night with playing Cards Against Humanities with my hotel room mates. 

Day 2

Saturday after breakfast Ian and I went to the Zelda meet up  where we got to see Bethany and Jeremy dressed as Link and Bethany was dressed as Zelda :Twilight Princess. If you haven't seen their photos yet, you need to- they look fabulous! 

After the photo session, Ian, Bethany, Jeremy, and I went to see Triforce Quartet perform. If you haven't seen them perform, you need to. They use traditional string instruments ( the violin, violin, violla, and cello) to play video game music. My friend Celine told us about them because she has heard them play before, and I could see why she enjoys their music.  They where entertaining, played beautifully , and it was clear they enjoyed what they do.

Not too long after hearing them play, I had lunch with my friend Selma at the YardHouse. After lunch I learned it really is a small world after all. It turns out Selma met Lorenzo who worked with me at Holiday Inn Club Vacation.  We chatted, ended up in a random dance number right outside Artist Alley because it's not an anime convention unless something like that happens, right? lol After dancing, I caught up with Laura and it turned out she won the hall cosplay contest for her costume, 

Jinmi from Ashes of Love. Not too long after that, Jennie and David said they won the hall cosplay contest for the costumes they wore Friday, Flo and Captain Obvious. So I had not one, not two , but 3 talented friends getting an award for their work at the cosplay show later that night. :0)

 

Selma let me rest in her hotel room until it was time to get dinner , and  head to the show. After watching Jennie, Laura and David  accept their awards at the cosplay show, Ian and I ended the night playing battleship. Ian bought it as a prop for his Sunday cosplay , But I wanted to play it again for old times sake because it has been years since I played battleship.  Yeah for friends who let you nap in their hotel room, and yeah for friends who give in and play old childhood games with you for old time sake.

Day 3

On the last day of the convention, Ian, David, Jennie, and I started the day with waffles. That happened because Ian , David, and I all felt like having waffles because it was the last day of the convention , and when Jennie saw that we all had waffles, she decided to have one too. ( When in doubt, follow the crowd  right? lol)  After breakfast we got into our Bill and Ted cosplay. I was Ted because I have dark hair, Jennie was Bill because she has curly hair, Ian was Death because he already had a reaper outfit, and David was Billy the Kid. A few people actually knew who we where.

Then we ended up going to the panel Anime in America, took some group photos, and went to a panel on advanced sewing. 

Once the panel was over, we took one last photo , and it was time to leave the convention. As always when an event like that comes to an end, it was good to get home, but sad things had to come to an end at the same time.  Now it's back to work, or pretending to work. 

Shortly before the convention, I got a reminder that the first time I went to San Japan was 7 years ago. I just know it now as the convention where I get to hang out with my friends. Here's to more cons, more cosplays, and many more years of friendship. 

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!