Not that this really matters. But for the past six months (at least!) my Firefox browser was void of all spell-checking functions, which was insanely frustrating when blogging, because I hate (hate! HATE!) spelling mistakes... and usually I post when I am tired, which, inevitably, means poor spelling. So, readers, be happy you no longer need to deal with my tired brain butchering the odd yet wonderful English language... Because I have now activated a weapon against it.
Brutal change of subject.
Some of you (you know who you are and I love you!) have pointed out to me that I have not posted on my blog in quite a while. You speak the truth and I am sorry. I am quite happy to know that I have such loyal readers! It makes me happy to know that this blog of randomness gets some attention...
Aaaaanyways - I have not posted in a while because I was busy (very, very, very busy) with the 2011 production presented by the McGill Savoy Society. The show was called Ruddigore and it was all presented in a Tim Burton-like aesthetic. It rocked! I kid you not, the show was awesome. I wish to extend a special thanks to all the technical team (without whom this sort of production would never be possible), our awesome set designer Genia, great costume designer Victoria, our fabulous and absolutely delightful orchestra (without whom the show would really just suck!), the hardworking creative team, and my super-special-awesome fellow cast members!! (I hope I have not forgotten anyone...)
The show was awesome and we did really well! I just wish more people could have come to see it and appreciate all the hard work of the past six months. Because the show was, so far, the best show (in my experience) that Savoy has put up. The jokes were hilarious, the music was awesome, the plot topsy-turvy and ridiculous, the choreography enthralling... Michael, for once, did not have to play a sissy-boy character and rocked the stage with high energy and high notes, as well as an over-the-top ridiculous cockney accent! It was delightful. He got to play the bawdy sailor and it is general consensus that he acted with a lot of charm and that this was his best role yet... (the character was called Richard Dauntless, sailor with the Royal Navy on the Tom Tit... yes, the ship was called "Tom Tit") I also sincerely think that Ruddigore contains, by far, the most penis-jokes of all Gilbert and Sullivan shows. It is too bad if you have not had a chance to see it... but here is a small consolation: some good people have posted videos of the show online. Here are a few links for your viewing pleasure (sorry if the movies are not the best quality):
Welcome Gentry (chorus of Bridemaids and Buxom Blades, interrupted by Sir Despard)
When the Night Wind Howls (chorus of ghosts)
The Hornpipe Dance (which Michael rocked beyond all measure, watch THIS ONE and enjoy Michael's dancing gifts!)
Still related to Savoy, I have gone on a complete shopping spree with my mum, after spending a wonderful reading week in Toronto (more on that later), and purchased my dress for the Savoy formal. It's preeeeetty! The formal is April 8th. I promise pictures! ^_^ I also went to Sephora in Toronto and purchased a nice kabuki face brush, which applies powder foundation like nothing else! *happy*
I feel like I should discuss school a bit... because, let's face it, all my blog posts need to talk about school one way or other! *wink* I have completed all my applications to both Concordia's Theatre program and Dawson College's Professional Theatre program. I really hope I get in, as these are quite good schools for acting here in Montreal. Some people keep asking me if I will apply to the NTS, but I really have no interest in their teaching methods: I feel they do not have enough variety in their program. It is hard to explain, but I understand myself...
This semester, though, until graduation, is turning out to be a complete disaster! A nightmare I tell you! Very few of my classes are actually interesting... I mostly took them to fill the missing credits. I tried to take interesting courses, but they all took place at the exact same times and days of the week, so I had to make a difficult choice of which class I preferred. I ended up taking Costuming for the Theatre 2, which is absolutely awesome! I learn a lot and have a lot of fun sewing a Jacobean Scholar Woman's dress out of eggplant-coloured velvet. It is my design and all! However, the scale of the project is extremely daunting and it takes a lot of work. This class demands, at the very least, an extra 9 hours a week spent in the costuming workshop doing "sewing duty." I am very nervous because I have a lot of hand-sewing ahead of me and I am very slow at hand-stitching... And the one disappointing thing about the class is that I do not get to try on what I am making (not even in secret) because the actress for whom I am making the costume is so much tinier than I am... *pout*
The other classes I am taking, aside from Costuming, are Studies in Shakespeare (which is fun, as the prof is awesome... but a very difficult class due to its level), Materiality and Sociology of Text (I love the prof, but the subject matter sucks!), 20th Century Drama (I hate the professor AND the subject matter... unfortunately, it was the only class that fit my schedule), and Modern and Contemporary Chinese Art. This last class I am taking simply to complete my East Asian Studies credits. I was hoping to take a class concerning Japan, but none of the classes that interested me fit into my schedule. As I could not move around my drama classes (and have to take them) I am stuck with Chinese Art, a class that I absolutely detest due to the dullness of the subject and the hateful attitude of the prof. *sigh* And I have a midterm in that class tomorrow. Motivation = 0.
Yeah, this semester has been stress, stress, stress, busy, busy, busy... Which is why my posting on the blog has been so scarce (or rather non-existent).
And now to the (finally!) interesting stuff!
Last week was reading week. I went to Toronto with Michael and visited his parents. It was great fun. Unfortunately, the fun was kind of marred by the need to do homework for the return to school *pout* My professors are sadists, I swear! But Michael and I did visit the Eaton Centre a couple of times, and we went to see the movie Black Swan which is ridiculously intense and kind of totally awesome (though I still managed to predict the end long before it happened...) It is a great thriller and I will not say more about it here, or this post will be too brutally long. We also got together with Michael's good friend Meredith. I really enjoyed meeting her. She is witty and sarcastic - I like that in a person. We had brunch and it was really fun hanging out! ^_^
I also had a photoshoot for Cinched Tight Corsets (beautiful pieces!) with Kindred's Muze (amazing photographer!) while in Toronto. I was invited to the shoot on a whim and it rocked. I had a great deal of fun shooting there and really enjoyed meeting the other amazing models that were there. I hope to repeat the experience soon! ^_^ I hope to have pictures for you soon.
Aaaand last but not least...
I auditioned for the Montreal Shakespeare Theatre Company's play Titus Andronicus, which will be presented this summer at the NTS. By far Shakespeare's most bloody play, it is still a totally awesome story, with Romans and Goths and lots of good stuff (and rape, mutilation, cannibalism, etc. too!). My audition went well. The best part was that the MSTC came to my high school several times to present some adaptations of Shakespeare plays. I used to hang around after their shows to talk to them. The producer and director actually recognized me from my high school days!!! It made me squee. Also, we spent quite a bit of time discussing my high school English teacher's awesome hair! XD
After the audition, I actually got a callback!! Can you imagine?! My first "real-world" (i.e. not school, or extra-curricular, but still attached to the school) audition and I got a callback!!! I was more excited than a cat on heavily concentrated catnip. For the callback, I had to be off-book for a scene from the play: the scene where Lavinia (Titus' daughter) is about to get raped Tamora's two sons (Wikepedia the story if you do not know it... it is too complex to explain correctly) and is desperately pleading for mercy. This was the most intense scene I have ever acted out. The guys playing Demetrius and Chiron were all really kind and sweet "offstage" but when they were in character, they were downright terrifying! I just wanted to run away and cower in a corner. It made the scene so intense - I was all wrought and emotional by the end of the callback. The guys also asked me, before starting the scene, how comfortable I felt if they "manhandled" me, as they would do so. I think that made me more nervous, but the scene went well and the director said I had good intensity.
Here comes the best part, though... I HAVE A PART IN THE PLAY!!!! *MAJOR MASSIVE SQUEE OF DOOM THAT WOULD BURST YOUR EARDRUMS IF YOUR WERE WITHIN EARSHOT!* It is only a small part, I play one of the Goths named Domitia, but it is a part!! This is a really great start for me! And I understand why I would not be cast as a main character: I am only a beginner in acting (despite my love for it) and I cannot truly compete with professionals or professionally trained actors (most of them were from Dawson College, which is why I really hope to get in there...). Also, the company does not know how I work and how disciplined I am, so I understand that they are not ready to trust me with anything bigger. But the producer told me that if I did a good job on this role, it would open many more doors for me in future... I look forward to that! *big smile*
I had more to say, but a glitch in the internet connection made me forget about it... Sorry.
Anyways, other than school (which I just want to be done with right now... stupid classes!), things are going swimmingly right now. I had my 22nd birthday at Nickels with good friends and a voice extinction (yeah, I lost my voice on my birthday!) followed by a week of a really heavy cold (it sucked!) and Michael and I celebrated a wonderful and romantic Valentine's day at a really fancy and wonderful restaurant, dressed in our best clothes. I am ranting again... I guess you could say I am really, totally happy right now? If you take away all the unnecessary stress, that is! *wink*
Catch you readers later (and hopefully not in another 2 months!)! Cheers!
Showing posts with label photoshoot. Show all posts
Showing posts with label photoshoot. Show all posts
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, September 5, 2010
In which Michael donned a flowery kimono
Greetings to all the world wide web out there! I apologize for my prolonged absence and wish to say that no, I did not abandon my blog at all. I was just too freakin' busy to write a single syllable. And, when I say busy, I am not kidding!
The double shifts after my return with Germany were hard. Very hard. I was completely exhausted and still have back and neck pain due to the whole fiasco. And, believe me, early mornings at an airport ARE a fiasco! First of all, you get all the people who missed their flights the previous night flooding your counter with bogus excuses and, most often, tears and very overweight luggage. Then, you get everyone who has decided that they would fly out to Cuba lining up for miles inside the airport so you can barely breathe. And, as those flights are usually around 5 am, you are working very hard, very, very, brutally early.
I am sorry if I sound snarky. I do not mean to. I am just soooooooo tired. I am afraid that the black rims under my eyes have become permanent by now. I have given up on the idea of make-up and concealer. No matter what I try, I look like death warmed up. I think I should star as the next victim on a CSI episode.
... And I know I promised many anecdotes from the airport at the beginning of the summer. Truth be told, there are so many by now that I no longer know which ones to tell. One thing can be said for sure, passengers always forget to pack their brains. They left it in some corner at home and arrive at the airport illiterate, without a sense of direction or logic. It is incredible how often you have to repeat yourself sometimes. Take one example: we have these huge, four kilo boxes made of sturdy grey plastic piled up in columns all around the check-in area. We ask passengers to place soft fabric bags or backpacks (or any other kind of bag that might get damaged from being thrown down a bagage chute) to place their bags in these boxes to prevent snagging on the equipement as well as tearing and damaging of the bags. And every time you point at the pile of boxes and ask with your brightest smile: "Could you please fetch me one of those big grey plastic boxes back there. I need you to put your bag in it," you get the dumbest responses. "What, my passport?" No, the plastic box! Were you not listening? "Something wrong with my carry-on?" No! I said the BOXES behind you! "What is behind me?" Turn around and look at where I am pointing in the name of God! And then, when you indadvertantly sigh, you get a nightmarish reaction out of a passenger: "Why are you sighing? Did you hear her sigh? She has no right to sigh! You have no right to sigh! We are passengers too and you owe us your respect! I am never traveling with you again! You are so rude!" (I swear, around 6:30 pm, just before my break, that was exactly the sort of character who showed up before my counter!).
I know I must sound exhasperated, but I am mostly just tired. I still love my job. It is better than a desk job anyday! And I get to practice my Japanese. And my colleagues are absolutely awesome! But the shifts are a bummer. And the more tired you get, the more passengers can get on your nerves. But I am good. It is a lot of fun to exchange passenger stories with other colleagues. The stories that come out can be epic! It is wonderful.
But my tiredness mostly ensues from a harsh back-to-school week. I am starting my final year of my BA in English Literature, East Asian Studies and Theatre and Drama. Guess what, my classes this year are, for the most part, uninteresting and mostly filler. Basically what I am missing to complete my degree. I am stressed out about it being the end of my degree. I do not want to be done with school yet. I enjoy it far too much! I will even endure some classes for the sake of staying in school! For intance, one of my classes, a rather dreary class called Mass Culture and Postwar Japan, is given in the Birks Chapel Building. It is such a gorgeous building! Every time I walk up the stairs to my class, I feel like a Renaissance princess due to the architecture and dark stained wood-panelled walls. This is why I am keeping this class.
...
Wow, I was on a roll there. Anyways, I am very tired because, at this point, I have to balance school with work. And that sucks big time! Because I go to school, all day, Monday through Thursday and then I work Friday to Sunday, three full-time shifts. Weekends and outings? Sorry, not happening. The workload is taking its toll on me. And it is a very harsh one.
On the other hand, I spent my one day off with my mum, last week. We had a lot of fun and I finally went to get the massage I had received for Christmas (my mum had given me a gift certificate). The massage was great! But I do believe I need another one already... And my mum was at the airport today, traveling to Deer Lake (wherever that is). It made me very happy to see her. I think she misses me too...
And, speaking of mum, her birthday is coming up soon. Too soon... I work (or have school) almost every day leading up to her 50th birthday... What shall I do? Suggestions???
...
Okay, this is turning into a much more cock-and-bull post than I expected and/or planned to write. It is not too late to give up on my post and go read a chapter or two from Tristram Shandy. It might make more sense than my late-night blog ramblings.
Anyways, Michael is back in the country. It makes me deliriously happy. I have missed him so much! It feels so good to have him back (even though the bastard gave me his cold!). I like having him in bed beside me. He is the best teddy bear ever! And I have less weird dreams and nightmares with him around. Must be love, don't you think? *wink*
This is where this post's title comes into play. I hope this story will at least make you smile.
So, I was working the day Michael came back. I offered him the couch in our "quiet" staff room to sleep on until my shift finished and then we went back together to the apartment. I was really happy to have him back. So much so, I barely slept. But, during the time I spent awake, Michael was out like a burned out cellar light.
However, he must have gotten up at some point during the night. Why? Because, when I woke up, happy and bubbly at the idea to have him back, and turned to look at him and wish him a "good morning," words failed me. Instead of "good morning," I blurted out: "Why are you wearing my kimono?" Big, round staring eyes. Michael was casually wearing my pink and gold flowery kimono. I cannot describe the sight. But it was epic in its hilarity. A scruffy and unshaven man, like Michael, lying comfortably in bed in what was obviously a woman's garment... It turns out Michael woke up at some point and grabbed what he thought was his shirt. Obviously, the man has poor eyesight in the dark! (Sorry Michael!) It was very funny, but maybe you had to be there to get it.
Other than that, I have barely had time to spend with Michael because the two of us were back to the grindstone as soon as he touched ground. Work and school for the two of us. It is a pain. I miss him despite sleeping at his side every night. I barely get to see him for an hour when I wake up. He is at work when I come home. I am currently waiting up for him.
And, in completely other news, I finished three Diana Wynne Jones books in the past two weeks. And I bought a brand-new Kathy Reichs novel, as I had nothing new to read. Also, I finally got to do a paid shoot and it turned out pretty darned well, I should think. Here is the link: http://www.productionsmarcboucher.com/page2.html The photographer really enjoyed working with me. I enjoyed it too. We spent the evening on a street in the Old Port of Montreal. Unable to find the owner of an old Dodge we had found parked by the sidewalk, we decided to shoot around the car anyway, waiting for a red light so the photographer could stand in the intersection and shoot as I posed for him...
... And here I thought I had another thread of thought to follow, but I lost it at some point through my ramblings. Oh, well. Better luck next time. The good news is, with the new start of term, I will probably be blogging a lot more (probably during some dull classes, tee hee), and thus my updates will be more cohesive and will actually make sense.
I send my love to all! Even grouchy passengers!
The double shifts after my return with Germany were hard. Very hard. I was completely exhausted and still have back and neck pain due to the whole fiasco. And, believe me, early mornings at an airport ARE a fiasco! First of all, you get all the people who missed their flights the previous night flooding your counter with bogus excuses and, most often, tears and very overweight luggage. Then, you get everyone who has decided that they would fly out to Cuba lining up for miles inside the airport so you can barely breathe. And, as those flights are usually around 5 am, you are working very hard, very, very, brutally early.
I am sorry if I sound snarky. I do not mean to. I am just soooooooo tired. I am afraid that the black rims under my eyes have become permanent by now. I have given up on the idea of make-up and concealer. No matter what I try, I look like death warmed up. I think I should star as the next victim on a CSI episode.
... And I know I promised many anecdotes from the airport at the beginning of the summer. Truth be told, there are so many by now that I no longer know which ones to tell. One thing can be said for sure, passengers always forget to pack their brains. They left it in some corner at home and arrive at the airport illiterate, without a sense of direction or logic. It is incredible how often you have to repeat yourself sometimes. Take one example: we have these huge, four kilo boxes made of sturdy grey plastic piled up in columns all around the check-in area. We ask passengers to place soft fabric bags or backpacks (or any other kind of bag that might get damaged from being thrown down a bagage chute) to place their bags in these boxes to prevent snagging on the equipement as well as tearing and damaging of the bags. And every time you point at the pile of boxes and ask with your brightest smile: "Could you please fetch me one of those big grey plastic boxes back there. I need you to put your bag in it," you get the dumbest responses. "What, my passport?" No, the plastic box! Were you not listening? "Something wrong with my carry-on?" No! I said the BOXES behind you! "What is behind me?" Turn around and look at where I am pointing in the name of God! And then, when you indadvertantly sigh, you get a nightmarish reaction out of a passenger: "Why are you sighing? Did you hear her sigh? She has no right to sigh! You have no right to sigh! We are passengers too and you owe us your respect! I am never traveling with you again! You are so rude!" (I swear, around 6:30 pm, just before my break, that was exactly the sort of character who showed up before my counter!).
I know I must sound exhasperated, but I am mostly just tired. I still love my job. It is better than a desk job anyday! And I get to practice my Japanese. And my colleagues are absolutely awesome! But the shifts are a bummer. And the more tired you get, the more passengers can get on your nerves. But I am good. It is a lot of fun to exchange passenger stories with other colleagues. The stories that come out can be epic! It is wonderful.
But my tiredness mostly ensues from a harsh back-to-school week. I am starting my final year of my BA in English Literature, East Asian Studies and Theatre and Drama. Guess what, my classes this year are, for the most part, uninteresting and mostly filler. Basically what I am missing to complete my degree. I am stressed out about it being the end of my degree. I do not want to be done with school yet. I enjoy it far too much! I will even endure some classes for the sake of staying in school! For intance, one of my classes, a rather dreary class called Mass Culture and Postwar Japan, is given in the Birks Chapel Building. It is such a gorgeous building! Every time I walk up the stairs to my class, I feel like a Renaissance princess due to the architecture and dark stained wood-panelled walls. This is why I am keeping this class.
...
Wow, I was on a roll there. Anyways, I am very tired because, at this point, I have to balance school with work. And that sucks big time! Because I go to school, all day, Monday through Thursday and then I work Friday to Sunday, three full-time shifts. Weekends and outings? Sorry, not happening. The workload is taking its toll on me. And it is a very harsh one.
On the other hand, I spent my one day off with my mum, last week. We had a lot of fun and I finally went to get the massage I had received for Christmas (my mum had given me a gift certificate). The massage was great! But I do believe I need another one already... And my mum was at the airport today, traveling to Deer Lake (wherever that is). It made me very happy to see her. I think she misses me too...
And, speaking of mum, her birthday is coming up soon. Too soon... I work (or have school) almost every day leading up to her 50th birthday... What shall I do? Suggestions???
...
Okay, this is turning into a much more cock-and-bull post than I expected and/or planned to write. It is not too late to give up on my post and go read a chapter or two from Tristram Shandy. It might make more sense than my late-night blog ramblings.
Anyways, Michael is back in the country. It makes me deliriously happy. I have missed him so much! It feels so good to have him back (even though the bastard gave me his cold!). I like having him in bed beside me. He is the best teddy bear ever! And I have less weird dreams and nightmares with him around. Must be love, don't you think? *wink*
This is where this post's title comes into play. I hope this story will at least make you smile.
So, I was working the day Michael came back. I offered him the couch in our "quiet" staff room to sleep on until my shift finished and then we went back together to the apartment. I was really happy to have him back. So much so, I barely slept. But, during the time I spent awake, Michael was out like a burned out cellar light.
However, he must have gotten up at some point during the night. Why? Because, when I woke up, happy and bubbly at the idea to have him back, and turned to look at him and wish him a "good morning," words failed me. Instead of "good morning," I blurted out: "Why are you wearing my kimono?" Big, round staring eyes. Michael was casually wearing my pink and gold flowery kimono. I cannot describe the sight. But it was epic in its hilarity. A scruffy and unshaven man, like Michael, lying comfortably in bed in what was obviously a woman's garment... It turns out Michael woke up at some point and grabbed what he thought was his shirt. Obviously, the man has poor eyesight in the dark! (Sorry Michael!) It was very funny, but maybe you had to be there to get it.
Other than that, I have barely had time to spend with Michael because the two of us were back to the grindstone as soon as he touched ground. Work and school for the two of us. It is a pain. I miss him despite sleeping at his side every night. I barely get to see him for an hour when I wake up. He is at work when I come home. I am currently waiting up for him.
And, in completely other news, I finished three Diana Wynne Jones books in the past two weeks. And I bought a brand-new Kathy Reichs novel, as I had nothing new to read. Also, I finally got to do a paid shoot and it turned out pretty darned well, I should think. Here is the link: http://www.productionsmarcboucher.com/page2.html The photographer really enjoyed working with me. I enjoyed it too. We spent the evening on a street in the Old Port of Montreal. Unable to find the owner of an old Dodge we had found parked by the sidewalk, we decided to shoot around the car anyway, waiting for a red light so the photographer could stand in the intersection and shoot as I posed for him...
... And here I thought I had another thread of thought to follow, but I lost it at some point through my ramblings. Oh, well. Better luck next time. The good news is, with the new start of term, I will probably be blogging a lot more (probably during some dull classes, tee hee), and thus my updates will be more cohesive and will actually make sense.
I send my love to all! Even grouchy passengers!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
In which the Otakuthon took place
Please feel free to (finally) have a look at my cosplay. Here is the completed result. The photos are scanned, though, so forgive the poor quality of them. The second photo was taken from above, so the angle is a little odd... But I am glad at how it turned out!
Anyways, on with the post...
For one glorious weekend, I was back among the living. No work. No stress. Just some great fun with even greater friends.
I attended the Otakuthon, a Quebec anime convention that takes place in Montreal. Considering how insignificant the convention was a few years back, it has much improved, featuring stars of anime like the Full Metal Alchemist voice actors and the master cosplayers Sarcasm Hime and Lillyxandra.
My cosplay turned out AMAZING! For those who do not yet know, I was cosplaying the Archangel Gabriel (aka Jibril) from the manga Angel Sanctuary. The specific costume I made was actually from the second Artbook by Kaori Yuki (the mangaka mastermind behind Angel Sanctuary), called Lost Angel. Despite all my complaining and my near depression with the difficult progress of the costume, I am really happy at how it turned out! I only finished it at 4 a.m. on the Saturday, just before the convention. With bags under my eyes, but a smile, I went to the convention with a happy strut.
Quick details about my costume. It was hard to make. First of all, because my job is eating up so much of my time and I do not feel like doing anything when I get home. But it was also difficult because I had one single picture as a reference and no proper pattern to work with. I did buy a commercial pattern, because the waist of the dress seemed to suit my cosplay, but, upon further observation, I noticed that the dress pattern was entirely wrong for my purposes. I had to ditch the skirt of it and use a skirt pattern from something completely different and I also had to change some seams around to have the zipper on the side instead of in the back, not to mention all the tweaking and shortening that was done to the waist bit. Then came the really hard part. Improv. I had no pattern for either sleeve, so I just measured my arms, cut some fabric, and improvised. I sewed my left sleeve a grand total of four times before succeeding. The hood and the neck corset nearly gave me an ulcer from all the work it took. I basically did my own pattern drafting for these pieces... except without a drafted pattern. I should buy pattern paper, because improvising on your fabric can be stressful when you only have limited amounts of it. I then used a pattern for the bum-roll and completely improvised the tulle petticoat.
There are a few things I want to change about my design, but I believe I can make all those changes for Anime North and maybe absolutely rock the house there. I am even considering entering the masquerade (the costume contest of the convention) at Anime North if I manage to bring this costume up to scratch (amongst other things, I should really think of adding the wings). One thing I know for sure is that I am never using such ichy fabric again!! The main part of the dress was fine, that was not the ichy part. It was the neck corset and my left sleeve... they were made of a sheer, tulle-like fabric that iched like chicken-pox! It was driving me NUTS during the whole convention!!
I also have to give great credit to my roommate, Vanessa, who handcrafted my head jewel and the jewel on the neckpiece. She also did my make-up, as my make-up talents are very limited and the flowers on the original drawing were very intricate.
It made me deliriously happy to see my friends at the convention. We went to loads of events and had a lot of fun. I even made new friends, which was great!! And many, MANY people took pictures of me wherever I went. This has never happened to me before, but I really enjoyed it! I think about 100 random people must have asked for my picture! AWESOME! Not too bad for a first convention cosplay, eh?
My main joy to the Otakuthon, though, was a major fangirl moment, when I met Lillyxandra face-to-face. I had been following that amazing woman's website for ages, ever since I discovered her on cosplay.com (which must have been about two years ago, now). She is one of my very favourite cosplayers! She does many original designs and absolutely gorgeous fairy costumes! Her work is jaw-dropping and stunning! I got a hug from her, which made me very happy! I am also the proud owner of her autograph. The best part, though, was when Lillyxandra actually complimented me about my costume. She loved the paint-job I did on the bra and the way I had made the costume. She thought it was well made and said that she loved that outfit from the artbook and had considered making it for herself too. It made me very happy and I had a major squee moment. Then we talked for a long time. She was there on both the Saturday and the Sunday, dressed as Queen Serenity on the Saturday, and as her own Fairy Design on the Sunday. I hope to be as gifted as she is with costumes someday!
I also met Sarcasm Hime!! (She is another of my favourite cosplayer, by the way.) However, she had to run, as she was on the judging pannel for the masquerade. But she suggested I contact her by email! She was so nice!
The one really disappointing thing about the convention happened at the very end of it. A disappointing moment aside from the moment of shock when a picture of Michael's ex stared up at me from the photography booth....
Anyways, I decided, after a long debate with myself, to purchase the complete first season DVD box set of Full Metal Alchemist. It is my absolute favourite series, it was at a reasonable price and I had wanted it forever, so it was money well spent, I think. And besides, it was my only purchase during the entire convention (except for a 10$ photoshoot).
Unfortunately for me, I put it in the only bag I had brought to the convention with me. When the time came to leave, I rummaged through the bag in order to find my metro pass. In order to make the search easier, I took out the DVDs. However, I have several friends as witnesses who SWEAR they saw me put the box set back into my bag. So how did it manage to disappear after that? Did I lose it? Was it stolen? I have already shed some tears over the lost DVDs and I am super angry at myself, because I usually never forget this kind of stuff. It is really frustrating for me, because I was really happy about it and looking forward to it until it vanished. And I have no idea what happened either! No recollection of anything. It did not turn up in the lost and found and I searched the premises of the convention myself for it. Zilch. It really ruined what would otherwise have been a great evening. I am really disappointed, both in myself and in the situation. And to put a damper on things (no pun intended), it started pouring rain when I came home, so I got drenched... in costume!
Anyways, I think that is enough updates for today. I will update again soon. I am sorry my writing is not of its usual quality, but I am super tired. I will now turn in for a good night's sleep. Please pray with me, though, that some honest soul has found and will return my DVDs...
P.S. But the Otakuthon was still absolutely awesome! So many pretty cosplays! Wish I had had a camera (which, unfortunately, I did not! *pout*)
Anyways, on with the post...
For one glorious weekend, I was back among the living. No work. No stress. Just some great fun with even greater friends.
I attended the Otakuthon, a Quebec anime convention that takes place in Montreal. Considering how insignificant the convention was a few years back, it has much improved, featuring stars of anime like the Full Metal Alchemist voice actors and the master cosplayers Sarcasm Hime and Lillyxandra.
My cosplay turned out AMAZING! For those who do not yet know, I was cosplaying the Archangel Gabriel (aka Jibril) from the manga Angel Sanctuary. The specific costume I made was actually from the second Artbook by Kaori Yuki (the mangaka mastermind behind Angel Sanctuary), called Lost Angel. Despite all my complaining and my near depression with the difficult progress of the costume, I am really happy at how it turned out! I only finished it at 4 a.m. on the Saturday, just before the convention. With bags under my eyes, but a smile, I went to the convention with a happy strut.
Quick details about my costume. It was hard to make. First of all, because my job is eating up so much of my time and I do not feel like doing anything when I get home. But it was also difficult because I had one single picture as a reference and no proper pattern to work with. I did buy a commercial pattern, because the waist of the dress seemed to suit my cosplay, but, upon further observation, I noticed that the dress pattern was entirely wrong for my purposes. I had to ditch the skirt of it and use a skirt pattern from something completely different and I also had to change some seams around to have the zipper on the side instead of in the back, not to mention all the tweaking and shortening that was done to the waist bit. Then came the really hard part. Improv. I had no pattern for either sleeve, so I just measured my arms, cut some fabric, and improvised. I sewed my left sleeve a grand total of four times before succeeding. The hood and the neck corset nearly gave me an ulcer from all the work it took. I basically did my own pattern drafting for these pieces... except without a drafted pattern. I should buy pattern paper, because improvising on your fabric can be stressful when you only have limited amounts of it. I then used a pattern for the bum-roll and completely improvised the tulle petticoat.
There are a few things I want to change about my design, but I believe I can make all those changes for Anime North and maybe absolutely rock the house there. I am even considering entering the masquerade (the costume contest of the convention) at Anime North if I manage to bring this costume up to scratch (amongst other things, I should really think of adding the wings). One thing I know for sure is that I am never using such ichy fabric again!! The main part of the dress was fine, that was not the ichy part. It was the neck corset and my left sleeve... they were made of a sheer, tulle-like fabric that iched like chicken-pox! It was driving me NUTS during the whole convention!!
I also have to give great credit to my roommate, Vanessa, who handcrafted my head jewel and the jewel on the neckpiece. She also did my make-up, as my make-up talents are very limited and the flowers on the original drawing were very intricate.
It made me deliriously happy to see my friends at the convention. We went to loads of events and had a lot of fun. I even made new friends, which was great!! And many, MANY people took pictures of me wherever I went. This has never happened to me before, but I really enjoyed it! I think about 100 random people must have asked for my picture! AWESOME! Not too bad for a first convention cosplay, eh?
My main joy to the Otakuthon, though, was a major fangirl moment, when I met Lillyxandra face-to-face. I had been following that amazing woman's website for ages, ever since I discovered her on cosplay.com (which must have been about two years ago, now). She is one of my very favourite cosplayers! She does many original designs and absolutely gorgeous fairy costumes! Her work is jaw-dropping and stunning! I got a hug from her, which made me very happy! I am also the proud owner of her autograph. The best part, though, was when Lillyxandra actually complimented me about my costume. She loved the paint-job I did on the bra and the way I had made the costume. She thought it was well made and said that she loved that outfit from the artbook and had considered making it for herself too. It made me very happy and I had a major squee moment. Then we talked for a long time. She was there on both the Saturday and the Sunday, dressed as Queen Serenity on the Saturday, and as her own Fairy Design on the Sunday. I hope to be as gifted as she is with costumes someday!
I also met Sarcasm Hime!! (She is another of my favourite cosplayer, by the way.) However, she had to run, as she was on the judging pannel for the masquerade. But she suggested I contact her by email! She was so nice!
The one really disappointing thing about the convention happened at the very end of it. A disappointing moment aside from the moment of shock when a picture of Michael's ex stared up at me from the photography booth....
Anyways, I decided, after a long debate with myself, to purchase the complete first season DVD box set of Full Metal Alchemist. It is my absolute favourite series, it was at a reasonable price and I had wanted it forever, so it was money well spent, I think. And besides, it was my only purchase during the entire convention (except for a 10$ photoshoot).
Unfortunately for me, I put it in the only bag I had brought to the convention with me. When the time came to leave, I rummaged through the bag in order to find my metro pass. In order to make the search easier, I took out the DVDs. However, I have several friends as witnesses who SWEAR they saw me put the box set back into my bag. So how did it manage to disappear after that? Did I lose it? Was it stolen? I have already shed some tears over the lost DVDs and I am super angry at myself, because I usually never forget this kind of stuff. It is really frustrating for me, because I was really happy about it and looking forward to it until it vanished. And I have no idea what happened either! No recollection of anything. It did not turn up in the lost and found and I searched the premises of the convention myself for it. Zilch. It really ruined what would otherwise have been a great evening. I am really disappointed, both in myself and in the situation. And to put a damper on things (no pun intended), it started pouring rain when I came home, so I got drenched... in costume!
Anyways, I think that is enough updates for today. I will update again soon. I am sorry my writing is not of its usual quality, but I am super tired. I will now turn in for a good night's sleep. Please pray with me, though, that some honest soul has found and will return my DVDs...
P.S. But the Otakuthon was still absolutely awesome! So many pretty cosplays! Wish I had had a camera (which, unfortunately, I did not! *pout*)
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
In which Michael has gone abroad...
I must warn you - there is nothing cheerful in this post.
I have always found writing relieving. It is somehow soothing for me. So here I am... blogging. I should totally be writing a story, but I have absolutely no inspiration.
Michael has gone. I went with him to see him off at the airport. Of course, I was thoroughly overdressed, as I do best. I hope he will remember how I looked (other than ridiculously overdressed) in the dress that he prefers on me. I actually intrigued most of my colleagues, who were surprised at how formally dressed I was just to see someone off. One of my colleagues called me a "heart-breaker".
Michael's flight for Vienna left at 8:45 pm. I glimpsed him last at the security lines of my workplace, the airport. That was five hours ago now... And I already miss him. I miss him a lot! I know this sounds extremely cheesy. However, I have been living with Michael for a full year now. In three days, our old lease will be up. And this means that, for a full year, Michael and I have been inseparable. Michael and I were like bread and butter, like coca- and cola. I am finding it extremely difficult to picture Michael not being home when I come back from work, greeting me with his gorgeous, enthusiastic and loving smile, loudly clamouring: "hello lovey-love!" (he says that when I enter the house after a long day of work). I will also miss his cooking a great deal! (lol) All those little things he did to make me happy will be dearly missed!
I do not know how I will be able to find sleep. I am so used to having Michael sleep at my side since we have been together. I am used to his warmth beside me, used to him holding me and used to his calm breathing lulling me to sleep. Tonight is going to be very difficult for me...
However, I have followed Michael's advice and gone out with a friend after Michael left, in order to relieve my mind of the sorrow of his departure. I went to see The Sorcerer's Apprentice... it was very entertaining, but I went to see it with a friend from work who is soon moving to Toronto. Another person to leave. It does make me very sad.
Do not get me wrong. I am very happy for Michael. I am deliriously happy that Michael has managed to succeed at getting a lead role in an Opera Programme in Germany! He will be in the most beautiful country in the world and gaining most valuable experience as a singer! I am very excited and happy for his success! What makes me sad is that I cannot be by his side. I wish I could have tagged along. I wish we could have done like the whole past year and just go everywhere and do everything together... *sigh*
The sewing hands have come to a standstill right now. Lately, because the deadline of the Otakuthon was fast approaching, I have been spending every spare minute that was not spent with Michael sewing my massive out of proportion cosplay. This is why I have been blogging so little. I have either been sewing or spending every last moment I could with Michael. I have found myself unable to sew at all tonight. Like writing, I find myself with no inspiration for sewing.
On either side of me are flowers that Michael has given me. Last night, he met me after work, giving me a single, gorgeous red rose. It is standing on my beside table, looking beautiful and fragrant, reminding me of him and his gentle love for me. On his beside table, I have placed another bouquet of flowers. These flowers are bright and the colours of summer and sunlight. Michael came home from some errands this morning, offering me these amazing flowers as a "goodbye present". They are beautiful... but they make it difficult for me not to cry right now...
It is exceedingly quiet except for my typing at the moment. The apartment lies empty of all life, except for myself and maybe another stray mouse. My roommate is out at a party tonight. As I sit here typing, for some weird and inexplicable reason, a song that I have not heard in ten years comes back to mind. It was called something along the lines of "So Weit Weit Weg" ("So Far Far Away") and I believe it was an Austrian singer who performed it. I remember my mother having this song on a cassette when I was little... she would listen to it in her car and tears would well up in her eyes when she listened to that song, while my step-father, the love of her life, was abroad in Germany, like Michael is now...
Darn it! Why can I only think of sad songs??? Michael better be writing to me, because I will be writing to him! And I will wring his wonderful neck if he does not write to me! (did you read this, my love? I am serious!) *sigh*
I think I will fall asleep looking at the flowers and holding Theophilius, the little black vinyl piggy Michael and I purchased (it is just an insanely cute stuffy)... Michael declared Theo as my guard-piggy... he is to protect me of other men who may have lecherous intentions towards me, lol. I love that Michael understands my love of stuffed animals and enjoys "interacting" with them too... I will miss that a lot.
In other news, since I have to let everyone catch up... I have a stupid summer cold! A summer cold that no ammount of vitamin C seems to be able to cure! I blame both the airport air conditionning and the passengers who have a cold and do not bother keeping their germs from spreading everywhere. I am tired of my inability to breathe!
Also, I have been to see Inception recently with Michael and some friends, and the movie was awesome! I strongly advise it to anyone who is free to go to the theaters sometime soon. Despite the movie's goodness, though, I was still able to predict the ending... I sometimes detest those Oracle abilities of mine; they ruin the best of movies! I have also been to see The Last Airbender (originally named Avatar until James Cameron ruined the title with an abomination of a movie!)
Okay, so the acting in Airbender SUCKED. They chose dreadful actors! But, for the first time ever, they actually stayed true to the original series. I was very pleasantly surprised. Sure, they rushed through some bits of it, but, overall, good job at the script writing. It caused me to re-watch the whole Avatar anime series with Michael over the past few weeks. The movie was very entertaining and the costumes and film settings were great.
I also had a photoshoot. I will post some photos soon. I have another one in a few weeks as well. I promise photos of that too.
And now, dear readers, I will try to distract myself with a movie or something. Writing no longer suffices to quell my sorrow. Michael's flight will be landing in Vienna in a few hours. After that, he has a long train ride to his destination, Weimar, in Germany. I do hope his trip goes well and that he travels safely and arrives soundly. I hope to hear from him then.
Goodnight. I am counting on a few friendly readers to keep my morale up for the coming month! Thanks all!
I have always found writing relieving. It is somehow soothing for me. So here I am... blogging. I should totally be writing a story, but I have absolutely no inspiration.
Michael has gone. I went with him to see him off at the airport. Of course, I was thoroughly overdressed, as I do best. I hope he will remember how I looked (other than ridiculously overdressed) in the dress that he prefers on me. I actually intrigued most of my colleagues, who were surprised at how formally dressed I was just to see someone off. One of my colleagues called me a "heart-breaker".
Michael's flight for Vienna left at 8:45 pm. I glimpsed him last at the security lines of my workplace, the airport. That was five hours ago now... And I already miss him. I miss him a lot! I know this sounds extremely cheesy. However, I have been living with Michael for a full year now. In three days, our old lease will be up. And this means that, for a full year, Michael and I have been inseparable. Michael and I were like bread and butter, like coca- and cola. I am finding it extremely difficult to picture Michael not being home when I come back from work, greeting me with his gorgeous, enthusiastic and loving smile, loudly clamouring: "hello lovey-love!" (he says that when I enter the house after a long day of work). I will also miss his cooking a great deal! (lol) All those little things he did to make me happy will be dearly missed!
I do not know how I will be able to find sleep. I am so used to having Michael sleep at my side since we have been together. I am used to his warmth beside me, used to him holding me and used to his calm breathing lulling me to sleep. Tonight is going to be very difficult for me...
However, I have followed Michael's advice and gone out with a friend after Michael left, in order to relieve my mind of the sorrow of his departure. I went to see The Sorcerer's Apprentice... it was very entertaining, but I went to see it with a friend from work who is soon moving to Toronto. Another person to leave. It does make me very sad.
Do not get me wrong. I am very happy for Michael. I am deliriously happy that Michael has managed to succeed at getting a lead role in an Opera Programme in Germany! He will be in the most beautiful country in the world and gaining most valuable experience as a singer! I am very excited and happy for his success! What makes me sad is that I cannot be by his side. I wish I could have tagged along. I wish we could have done like the whole past year and just go everywhere and do everything together... *sigh*
The sewing hands have come to a standstill right now. Lately, because the deadline of the Otakuthon was fast approaching, I have been spending every spare minute that was not spent with Michael sewing my massive out of proportion cosplay. This is why I have been blogging so little. I have either been sewing or spending every last moment I could with Michael. I have found myself unable to sew at all tonight. Like writing, I find myself with no inspiration for sewing.
On either side of me are flowers that Michael has given me. Last night, he met me after work, giving me a single, gorgeous red rose. It is standing on my beside table, looking beautiful and fragrant, reminding me of him and his gentle love for me. On his beside table, I have placed another bouquet of flowers. These flowers are bright and the colours of summer and sunlight. Michael came home from some errands this morning, offering me these amazing flowers as a "goodbye present". They are beautiful... but they make it difficult for me not to cry right now...
It is exceedingly quiet except for my typing at the moment. The apartment lies empty of all life, except for myself and maybe another stray mouse. My roommate is out at a party tonight. As I sit here typing, for some weird and inexplicable reason, a song that I have not heard in ten years comes back to mind. It was called something along the lines of "So Weit Weit Weg" ("So Far Far Away") and I believe it was an Austrian singer who performed it. I remember my mother having this song on a cassette when I was little... she would listen to it in her car and tears would well up in her eyes when she listened to that song, while my step-father, the love of her life, was abroad in Germany, like Michael is now...
Darn it! Why can I only think of sad songs??? Michael better be writing to me, because I will be writing to him! And I will wring his wonderful neck if he does not write to me! (did you read this, my love? I am serious!) *sigh*
I think I will fall asleep looking at the flowers and holding Theophilius, the little black vinyl piggy Michael and I purchased (it is just an insanely cute stuffy)... Michael declared Theo as my guard-piggy... he is to protect me of other men who may have lecherous intentions towards me, lol. I love that Michael understands my love of stuffed animals and enjoys "interacting" with them too... I will miss that a lot.
In other news, since I have to let everyone catch up... I have a stupid summer cold! A summer cold that no ammount of vitamin C seems to be able to cure! I blame both the airport air conditionning and the passengers who have a cold and do not bother keeping their germs from spreading everywhere. I am tired of my inability to breathe!
Also, I have been to see Inception recently with Michael and some friends, and the movie was awesome! I strongly advise it to anyone who is free to go to the theaters sometime soon. Despite the movie's goodness, though, I was still able to predict the ending... I sometimes detest those Oracle abilities of mine; they ruin the best of movies! I have also been to see The Last Airbender (originally named Avatar until James Cameron ruined the title with an abomination of a movie!)
Okay, so the acting in Airbender SUCKED. They chose dreadful actors! But, for the first time ever, they actually stayed true to the original series. I was very pleasantly surprised. Sure, they rushed through some bits of it, but, overall, good job at the script writing. It caused me to re-watch the whole Avatar anime series with Michael over the past few weeks. The movie was very entertaining and the costumes and film settings were great.
I also had a photoshoot. I will post some photos soon. I have another one in a few weeks as well. I promise photos of that too.
And now, dear readers, I will try to distract myself with a movie or something. Writing no longer suffices to quell my sorrow. Michael's flight will be landing in Vienna in a few hours. After that, he has a long train ride to his destination, Weimar, in Germany. I do hope his trip goes well and that he travels safely and arrives soundly. I hope to hear from him then.
Goodnight. I am counting on a few friendly readers to keep my morale up for the coming month! Thanks all!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
More Pictures III...
Here are some more pictures from Friday's shoot. These are more "gothic" in their mood. You could use it for a cover to a vampire novel! (a proper one! not Twilight!). All rights and credits are to Wallsoft Photography.
Vampiress... or just pure evil
I love my cleavage in this... and I look truly evil. "There she loomed" is what the photographer calls it.
I look like I have a plan... an evil plan...
I hope you enjoyed these! Cheers!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Some photos from the Victorian Photoshoot...
So here are some photos from yesterday's photoshoot. All rights reserved to Wallsoft photography.
Two Victorian "lingerie" shots... I did my own hair and make-up. I'm quite proud of how it turned out! And obviously my favourite corset...
I think I look like Jane Austen here (or like one of her characters... I could be a new novel cover!)
Hope you enjoy the shots. The shoot was great fun!
Oh, and, regarding essay... one down, two to go! Plus a Japanese skit... but that will be easy... right? My essay on Slayers is awesome!
Two Victorian "lingerie" shots... I did my own hair and make-up. I'm quite proud of how it turned out! And obviously my favourite corset...
I think I look like Jane Austen here (or like one of her characters... I could be a new novel cover!)
Hope you enjoy the shots. The shoot was great fun!
Oh, and, regarding essay... one down, two to go! Plus a Japanese skit... but that will be easy... right? My essay on Slayers is awesome!
Friday, April 9, 2010
Chapter 19 - In which Naria distracts herself
Tonight was fun. I went to a Toga party. Unfortunately, I stood to far away from the food table and missed out on most of it. But it was really fun. I made myself a "Salome" stola out of sheer black fabric I had left over. I looked good! :P I had added some red fabric around my waist to hide my undies and my stola was held together by a huge, fake sapphire brooch... which really did make me look like the vixen seductress who could get whatever she wanted out of kings! XD I love dressing up! It was a fun party! I enjoyed talking to some really good friends, and Michael had some trouble with the bedsheet he used as a toga: it was a little short on him! He looked like a little slave boy used for... unorthodox purposes... lol
In other forms of distraction, whilst waiting for Sunday, impatiently waiting for the newest Doctor Who episode, I decided to distract myself and watch Torchwood. Torchwood is basically a spin-off from Doctor Who, featuring the lovely John Barrowman (who, despite being from Glasgow, actually articulates!) as Captain Jack Harkness; the man who seduces anything gorgeous. Anyways, I decided to watch it because I find John Barrowman hot, though I think I might prefer David Tennant (he has such a wonderful smile!). ... okay, quit fantasising about either of them and write, Naria!
So, my opinion on Torchwood... It has some good bits, interesting details. I like the fact that they do not only ever confront aliens. They also have to face other things, like the ugliness of human nature and people just turning into psychos... and faeries/mara (which, for once, are not justified by alien activity). So yeah, I really like that aspect of Torchwood. However, I hate the main character, Gwen, who, on top of having a dreadful dialect, has a gap between her teeth that would give Madonna a run for her money!! Now, I wouldn't mind so much that the main character of the series is so terrible if the show had less sex in it. Don't get me wrong: I love sexy shows! But in order for a show to be sexy, you want the GOOD looking people to be doing it!! The gap-toothed lady just doesn't cut it for me and all the romance scenes involving her do nothing for me but cause an exasperated eye-roll. I mean, I want to see BARROWMAN naked! Instead they show all these other unattractive guys in bed!!! I've watched up to episode 11 and still no sexy Jack Harkness doing sexy stuff... He's got lots of cool lines and that's about it!! It's like Russel T. Davies was really desperate when he created the show and got rid of some of his sex drive writing it... but he botched it. He forgot to give Jack the sexy parts and instead gave them all to Gwen... lame! So I'm looking forward to the next Who episode. Much more fun in general. Though I still think I'll end up watching all of Torchwood, because that's the sort of thing I do.
Finally, depending on what my plans will be for the summer, I have found a reasonable distraction... Should work keep me here in Montreal, I found where I might go during my spare time to have some fun. First of all, I have quite a few friends sticking around in Montreal this year, so there'll be plenty of get-togethers, hopefully. Then I'll move into the new apartment in June. I am definately planning a trip to a theme park, whether La Ronde or Canada's Wonderland will depend... though I would LOVE to see Canada's Wonderland, as I've never been. Naturally, Michael and I will go see Les Miserables (yes! the kick-ass, beautiful musical!) with my mum (I can't wait!!). And lastly, a cool distraction, should I have the time, would be to see Totem. Totem is a Cirque du Soleil show that has pitched it's tent in the Old Port. I don't think Michael has ever seen a Cirque perfomance (not live at least) and I will always remember the one I saw in the Old Port, a few years back. It was AMAZING! I love the MUSIC they use and how they incorporate theater and storylines into their circus! Though, I also remember that an acrobat attempted a jump when I went to see it, and she fell pretty badly (had to be carried off stage, poor thing, but the show went on). Anyways, on my last flight to Toronto, I also saw the official Alegria performance (the filmed version of it). It is FANTASTIC! I've always loved the music to Alegria since it came out (I have it on a CD somewhere) and the costumes are fabulous! Though there was a girl in Alegria, a blue-haired asian, who did really creepy contortions! She could, literally, sit with her bum on her head. It's kinda scary and gross and it leads me to the conclusion that Asians who do circus, like her, have no bones, only muscles and cartilage, lol! And there was also an awesome hoola-hoop act in Alegria! I love that act! First of all because I can't manage to keep one hoola-hoop up for more than three seconds and this girl was using 4 simultaneously on different limbs. Secondly, she had a great choreography and moved like a dancer. It was so ethereal, almost alien. I suppose that her skill will probably be more useful than other circus skills later on, because you can get a job dancing and doing choreography a lot even if you are not in shape for circus anymore... I think. Anyways... I digress. I should look into the ticket pricing. It looks fun. Their poster is great! It was all over the metro (which is what sparked the idea).
Anyways, that's it. Tomorrow will be official essay writing day. I had a fabulous photoshoot this afternoon (before I forget to tell you!) and I will post photos soon!
In other forms of distraction, whilst waiting for Sunday, impatiently waiting for the newest Doctor Who episode, I decided to distract myself and watch Torchwood. Torchwood is basically a spin-off from Doctor Who, featuring the lovely John Barrowman (who, despite being from Glasgow, actually articulates!) as Captain Jack Harkness; the man who seduces anything gorgeous. Anyways, I decided to watch it because I find John Barrowman hot, though I think I might prefer David Tennant (he has such a wonderful smile!). ... okay, quit fantasising about either of them and write, Naria!
So, my opinion on Torchwood... It has some good bits, interesting details. I like the fact that they do not only ever confront aliens. They also have to face other things, like the ugliness of human nature and people just turning into psychos... and faeries/mara (which, for once, are not justified by alien activity). So yeah, I really like that aspect of Torchwood. However, I hate the main character, Gwen, who, on top of having a dreadful dialect, has a gap between her teeth that would give Madonna a run for her money!! Now, I wouldn't mind so much that the main character of the series is so terrible if the show had less sex in it. Don't get me wrong: I love sexy shows! But in order for a show to be sexy, you want the GOOD looking people to be doing it!! The gap-toothed lady just doesn't cut it for me and all the romance scenes involving her do nothing for me but cause an exasperated eye-roll. I mean, I want to see BARROWMAN naked! Instead they show all these other unattractive guys in bed!!! I've watched up to episode 11 and still no sexy Jack Harkness doing sexy stuff... He's got lots of cool lines and that's about it!! It's like Russel T. Davies was really desperate when he created the show and got rid of some of his sex drive writing it... but he botched it. He forgot to give Jack the sexy parts and instead gave them all to Gwen... lame! So I'm looking forward to the next Who episode. Much more fun in general. Though I still think I'll end up watching all of Torchwood, because that's the sort of thing I do.
Finally, depending on what my plans will be for the summer, I have found a reasonable distraction... Should work keep me here in Montreal, I found where I might go during my spare time to have some fun. First of all, I have quite a few friends sticking around in Montreal this year, so there'll be plenty of get-togethers, hopefully. Then I'll move into the new apartment in June. I am definately planning a trip to a theme park, whether La Ronde or Canada's Wonderland will depend... though I would LOVE to see Canada's Wonderland, as I've never been. Naturally, Michael and I will go see Les Miserables (yes! the kick-ass, beautiful musical!) with my mum (I can't wait!!). And lastly, a cool distraction, should I have the time, would be to see Totem. Totem is a Cirque du Soleil show that has pitched it's tent in the Old Port. I don't think Michael has ever seen a Cirque perfomance (not live at least) and I will always remember the one I saw in the Old Port, a few years back. It was AMAZING! I love the MUSIC they use and how they incorporate theater and storylines into their circus! Though, I also remember that an acrobat attempted a jump when I went to see it, and she fell pretty badly (had to be carried off stage, poor thing, but the show went on). Anyways, on my last flight to Toronto, I also saw the official Alegria performance (the filmed version of it). It is FANTASTIC! I've always loved the music to Alegria since it came out (I have it on a CD somewhere) and the costumes are fabulous! Though there was a girl in Alegria, a blue-haired asian, who did really creepy contortions! She could, literally, sit with her bum on her head. It's kinda scary and gross and it leads me to the conclusion that Asians who do circus, like her, have no bones, only muscles and cartilage, lol! And there was also an awesome hoola-hoop act in Alegria! I love that act! First of all because I can't manage to keep one hoola-hoop up for more than three seconds and this girl was using 4 simultaneously on different limbs. Secondly, she had a great choreography and moved like a dancer. It was so ethereal, almost alien. I suppose that her skill will probably be more useful than other circus skills later on, because you can get a job dancing and doing choreography a lot even if you are not in shape for circus anymore... I think. Anyways... I digress. I should look into the ticket pricing. It looks fun. Their poster is great! It was all over the metro (which is what sparked the idea).
Anyways, that's it. Tomorrow will be official essay writing day. I had a fabulous photoshoot this afternoon (before I forget to tell you!) and I will post photos soon!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Chapter 15 - In which there were fun times and a visit to the Doctor
Today was a wonderful day... especially weather wise!! I mean, 27 degrees? In April? REALLY???!!! O.o That's a true gift from God right there for Easter (or rock solid proof of the mysterious and little known phenomenon called "global warming"...) Anyways - blue skies, bright sunshine and warmth (and high heels that have peep toes!!)!!! Fun times!!
Alright, my grammatically incorrect phrasing is done now. ;-P
So, today, the day started with a wonderful photoshoot. It was a lot of fun!! I got to wear my wonderful faux-snakeskin dress and I got to pretend to be a superhero! And Michael got to dress up as the cutest explorer ever (move over Shia Laboeuf for the new, improved version of Indiana Jones' son!! XD )... And the photographer had the cutest cat ever!! It's name was Fritz in the name of Fritz Lang. It was a black and white kitteh, with an entirely black face, save for the whiskers and it's "lips" which made it look like it had an epic milk-moustache! It was a really playful and curious cat! It made me squee a great deal...
After the photoshoot, we headed out for food, to a place called Tequila Tacos. It is a tiny (and I mean TINY - only about 10 tables) Mexican restaurant. We had absolutely to-die-for-delicous tacos and I had a Pina Colada with a dash of Midori in it. YUMMY!!!! It was sooooooo delicious! My taste buds went into a Mexican Mariachi dance!! And it just made me think: cocktails are better enjoyed in the summer. No, honestly: this explains why I drink so little alcohol in the winter. Cocktails just REQUIRE warm weather, sexy high heals and glaring sunlight. They are so refreshing and remind you of the tropic so much that, should you have one in winter, you would immediately sink into a huge depression because you're too broke to afford the ticket for that next flight to Costa Rica. ... Actually, my mouth still waters at the thought of the food and drink from this afternoon...
Then we had a nap at home (because we did get up horribly early for the photoshoot) and we woke up just in time to go to the "Eleventh Doctor Premier Party." Indeed, one of our good friends planned a little get-together, all in the honour of this great, awesome, out of this world, kick-ass show. Now... I was very concerned before we started. Following all appearances, this new, young bow-tie-wearing Doctor would not be able to live up to David Tennant's standard as the Doctor and that the show would go downhill too quickly and die. I WAS SO WRONG!!! It was AMAZING! This new Doctor (though not in the least equipped with David Tennant's good looks) is charming, literally BURSTING with energy, HILARIOUSLY funny and, as every doctor is, a bloody genuis. The new companion is fun, and super cute and a redhead... What can go wrong?? This episode was well written and absolutely a JOY to watch!! The new Doctor enjoys his fishsticks dipped in custard cream by the way... (eeewwww!!)
So yeah - absolutely a wonderful, great episode! I feel really bad about how harshly we judged Mr. Matt Smith (the new doctor) before we saw the show... He did have extremely big shoes to fill, but he rose to the challenge extremely well and did admirably. I am now looking forward to the next episodes (next one comes out next Sunday... I can't wait!) The next episodes look fabulous... in the short preview they gave of the rest of the season it looks a) positively hilarious, and b) full of awesome storylines!! Here are only a few: Van Gogh, Stonehenge, the return of the "Blink" angels, some form of vampire-aliens, cybermen, and, of course, our beloved Daleks (exterminate!!).
If you get the chance, WATCH the new Doctor Who!! It is really worth it and totally funny! The episode is called "The Eleventh Hour" and it is the first epsiode of season 5. Today was the first air date.
And the get-together ended with me in total fangirl mode over a book called "The Tudor Tailor." I found out about it via a British costuming website and it can only be ordered online here... But today, I finally laid my hands on it. Victoria, the wonderful person who organized the party, had borrowed it from a library!!! It is truly an amazing book! I squeed very muchly (yes, "muchly").
So yeah. That's it for the news today... YAY FOR DOCTOR WHO!!! I WANT TO SEE MOOOOOORE!!!
*Edit: for those who believe Matt Smith still has to work hard to really be the doctor, I'd like them to consider that a) though David Tennant is absolutely awesome and wonderful, filling his shoes is hard when you loved the wonderful scotsman, so give Mr. Smith a break...
and b) He wouldn't have been chosen for this role if he wasn't capable of doing it! Get used to it!
Note: his name is Raymond Mayland (I hope I spelled it right), the painting is called "Dream II" All credits go to him.
The concierge lent it to us, in the hope that it will get him some more exposure and that he will be able to sell some of his artwork. His abstract work is absolutely stunning! He gave us a little exhibit. It was absolutely wonderful! He's got an amazing eye! Too bad we didn't know this before!!
Alright, my grammatically incorrect phrasing is done now. ;-P
So, today, the day started with a wonderful photoshoot. It was a lot of fun!! I got to wear my wonderful faux-snakeskin dress and I got to pretend to be a superhero! And Michael got to dress up as the cutest explorer ever (move over Shia Laboeuf for the new, improved version of Indiana Jones' son!! XD )... And the photographer had the cutest cat ever!! It's name was Fritz in the name of Fritz Lang. It was a black and white kitteh, with an entirely black face, save for the whiskers and it's "lips" which made it look like it had an epic milk-moustache! It was a really playful and curious cat! It made me squee a great deal...
After the photoshoot, we headed out for food, to a place called Tequila Tacos. It is a tiny (and I mean TINY - only about 10 tables) Mexican restaurant. We had absolutely to-die-for-delicous tacos and I had a Pina Colada with a dash of Midori in it. YUMMY!!!! It was sooooooo delicious! My taste buds went into a Mexican Mariachi dance!! And it just made me think: cocktails are better enjoyed in the summer. No, honestly: this explains why I drink so little alcohol in the winter. Cocktails just REQUIRE warm weather, sexy high heals and glaring sunlight. They are so refreshing and remind you of the tropic so much that, should you have one in winter, you would immediately sink into a huge depression because you're too broke to afford the ticket for that next flight to Costa Rica. ... Actually, my mouth still waters at the thought of the food and drink from this afternoon...
Then we had a nap at home (because we did get up horribly early for the photoshoot) and we woke up just in time to go to the "Eleventh Doctor Premier Party." Indeed, one of our good friends planned a little get-together, all in the honour of this great, awesome, out of this world, kick-ass show. Now... I was very concerned before we started. Following all appearances, this new, young bow-tie-wearing Doctor would not be able to live up to David Tennant's standard as the Doctor and that the show would go downhill too quickly and die. I WAS SO WRONG!!! It was AMAZING! This new Doctor (though not in the least equipped with David Tennant's good looks) is charming, literally BURSTING with energy, HILARIOUSLY funny and, as every doctor is, a bloody genuis. The new companion is fun, and super cute and a redhead... What can go wrong?? This episode was well written and absolutely a JOY to watch!! The new Doctor enjoys his fishsticks dipped in custard cream by the way... (eeewwww!!)
So yeah - absolutely a wonderful, great episode! I feel really bad about how harshly we judged Mr. Matt Smith (the new doctor) before we saw the show... He did have extremely big shoes to fill, but he rose to the challenge extremely well and did admirably. I am now looking forward to the next episodes (next one comes out next Sunday... I can't wait!) The next episodes look fabulous... in the short preview they gave of the rest of the season it looks a) positively hilarious, and b) full of awesome storylines!! Here are only a few: Van Gogh, Stonehenge, the return of the "Blink" angels, some form of vampire-aliens, cybermen, and, of course, our beloved Daleks (exterminate!!).
If you get the chance, WATCH the new Doctor Who!! It is really worth it and totally funny! The episode is called "The Eleventh Hour" and it is the first epsiode of season 5. Today was the first air date.
And the get-together ended with me in total fangirl mode over a book called "The Tudor Tailor." I found out about it via a British costuming website and it can only be ordered online here... But today, I finally laid my hands on it. Victoria, the wonderful person who organized the party, had borrowed it from a library!!! It is truly an amazing book! I squeed very muchly (yes, "muchly").
So yeah. That's it for the news today... YAY FOR DOCTOR WHO!!! I WANT TO SEE MOOOOOORE!!!
*Edit: for those who believe Matt Smith still has to work hard to really be the doctor, I'd like them to consider that a) though David Tennant is absolutely awesome and wonderful, filling his shoes is hard when you loved the wonderful scotsman, so give Mr. Smith a break...
and b) He wouldn't have been chosen for this role if he wasn't capable of doing it! Get used to it!
P.S. Why are interesting discoveries only made when you are about to leave someplace? We are officially moving out of out apartment, and it turns out that we found out, on Thursday night, that the concierge of our apartment is actually an AMAZING self-taught painter!! Here's a picture for you all to see:
Note: his name is Raymond Mayland (I hope I spelled it right), the painting is called "Dream II" All credits go to him.
The concierge lent it to us, in the hope that it will get him some more exposure and that he will be able to sell some of his artwork. His abstract work is absolutely stunning! He gave us a little exhibit. It was absolutely wonderful! He's got an amazing eye! Too bad we didn't know this before!!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
More Pictures II...
So here are some more pictures from Fischer Fine Art. They are gorgeous! The shoot turned out really great!
Robin Hood and Maid Marian... before he leaves for Sherwood Forest... (^___^)
And again, thanks to Fischer Fine Art for the fantastic photography work!!
Robin Hood and Maid Marian... before he leaves for Sherwood Forest... (^___^)
My new, absolute favourite! This could be the Lady of Shalott (except that I need to be inside a boat if I really want to look like a Waterhouse painting, lol!)
Hope these are appreciated!
And again, thanks to Fischer Fine Art for the fantastic photography work!!
Oh, and because I've changed my image up at the top, for nostalgia's sake, here's the Snake from the book of Genesis picture!
The Serpent in the Book of Genesis (or Lilith, however you wish to see it). It's basically a personification of Temptation, my first self-sewn costume, that I made for last Halloween (2009).
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Some pictures from last Saturday's shoot...
So here is the first batch of picutres from Saturday's shoot! They turned out really nicely!! I am really impressed by the added effects that give the whole setting a little more of a medieval feel... ^___^
All credits for the photography go to Fischer Fine Art. Thanks a lot Gordon!!
This was taken in Westmount, Montreal... great setting!
I think this is my favourite so far!
And this one was taken by the really nice looking Church at the location!
I hope you like them!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Chapter 11 - In which Naria has no idea what title to give
Yeah, sorry about that. I wanted to call the chapter "in which a nice day was spent," but that's just too fromage for my taste. I did, however, have a truly wonderful day. I have a bit of a sore throat, which would put a damper on things on any normal day, but today was a really relaxing, enjoyable Saturday... so no harm done by the sore throat.
First things first. I did not sleep in today. So if any of you like to fancy that I enjoyed my day because of sleep you're... not entirely wrong. I woke up at 8:30 this morning, but I had a replenishing nap around three in the afternoon... Which was just really, really nice. But, aside from the nap...
I woke up at 8:30 this morning at at 9:00 I went out for breakfast with Michael to a small deli around the corner of our place. Since we decided to make it a nice day, we decided to eat out for breakfast, as we rarely ever do that.
After that, we went home and got ready for my photoshoot. That's right, a real photoshoot! I have recently put up my modelling profile and a photographer contacted me for a shoot. It wasn't a paid shoot - sadly - but as I am still a beginner, I don't mind. Eventually, I'll ask for a salary. But I can still do a few shoots for free to embellish and perfect my portfolio. It was a really cool shoot. Remember the medieval gown of awesomeness?? Yup, that's right! It was a shoot all about that dress!! We shot at a super nice location in Westmount, close to the mountain, where there are these really nice old buildings made of stone... the gold and red of my dress really popped against that scenery! It was GREAT!! As for my hair, I "italian taped" two strands on either side with some ribbon... it looked really pretty. It reminded me a little of Juliet in some classic presentations of Shakespeare's famous (cheesy) tragedy. (No offence, Will Shakespeare! I love your work, but seriously - you could have done better on R&J, they are the two biggest twats in the history of theater!)
Okay... I'm veering severely off course just now... ^__^ To get back to the shoot, it was really fun. Quite short and sweet to be honest: we only shot for about an hour, max an hour and a half. Unfortunately, it turned bloody cold. Considering yesterday was about 10 degrees and today was windy and overcast (and slightly rainy) with only 5-6 degrees celcius... I sorta froze my cute butt off. But it was well worth it. I think we did some good work. I'll post some pictures up soon (we need to take out some anachronisms (i.e. cars and streets lights) out of the background). Too bad it was so cold or I think I could have done the shoot even longer!
Then I got home and had a nice long nap... of two hours I think...
And then I found this online, careful, fashionistas and fans of vintage clothing: you may have to severely squee upon seeing this website. This is my new website of what I want and covet: http://www.pinupgirlclothing.com/pinupgirsigl.html
Check out the evening wear, but the day wear - all the cherry clothes and sailor clothes - are my favs! Absolutely gorgeous! And they match some of my high heels too!! I totally want some of these dresses for the summer... *sigh* Why must I be so broke? *cries*
Anyhoots... conclusion of this extensive, yet wonderfully random post, I had a really great day today! <3
First things first. I did not sleep in today. So if any of you like to fancy that I enjoyed my day because of sleep you're... not entirely wrong. I woke up at 8:30 this morning, but I had a replenishing nap around three in the afternoon... Which was just really, really nice. But, aside from the nap...
I woke up at 8:30 this morning at at 9:00 I went out for breakfast with Michael to a small deli around the corner of our place. Since we decided to make it a nice day, we decided to eat out for breakfast, as we rarely ever do that.
After that, we went home and got ready for my photoshoot. That's right, a real photoshoot! I have recently put up my modelling profile and a photographer contacted me for a shoot. It wasn't a paid shoot - sadly - but as I am still a beginner, I don't mind. Eventually, I'll ask for a salary. But I can still do a few shoots for free to embellish and perfect my portfolio. It was a really cool shoot. Remember the medieval gown of awesomeness?? Yup, that's right! It was a shoot all about that dress!! We shot at a super nice location in Westmount, close to the mountain, where there are these really nice old buildings made of stone... the gold and red of my dress really popped against that scenery! It was GREAT!! As for my hair, I "italian taped" two strands on either side with some ribbon... it looked really pretty. It reminded me a little of Juliet in some classic presentations of Shakespeare's famous (cheesy) tragedy. (No offence, Will Shakespeare! I love your work, but seriously - you could have done better on R&J, they are the two biggest twats in the history of theater!)
Okay... I'm veering severely off course just now... ^__^ To get back to the shoot, it was really fun. Quite short and sweet to be honest: we only shot for about an hour, max an hour and a half. Unfortunately, it turned bloody cold. Considering yesterday was about 10 degrees and today was windy and overcast (and slightly rainy) with only 5-6 degrees celcius... I sorta froze my cute butt off. But it was well worth it. I think we did some good work. I'll post some pictures up soon (we need to take out some anachronisms (i.e. cars and streets lights) out of the background). Too bad it was so cold or I think I could have done the shoot even longer!
Then I got home and had a nice long nap... of two hours I think...
And then I found this online, careful, fashionistas and fans of vintage clothing: you may have to severely squee upon seeing this website. This is my new website of what I want and covet: http://www.pinupgirlclothing.com/pinupgirsigl.html
Check out the evening wear, but the day wear - all the cherry clothes and sailor clothes - are my favs! Absolutely gorgeous! And they match some of my high heels too!! I totally want some of these dresses for the summer... *sigh* Why must I be so broke? *cries*
Anyhoots... conclusion of this extensive, yet wonderfully random post, I had a really great day today! <3
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