rose_of_pain | Entries tagged with year review

Oh hey there LJ! I figured I should actually write something here about this year before it officially ends 'cause I'll be out of town this weekend and will otherwise most likely forget but also feel like I should 'cause 2016 was a pretty big year for me. While I know most folks are complaining about how awful 2016 was...it was actually a really good year for me? ^.^; Feel a little guilty there but it's true. I mean yes a lot of horrible things happened this year to the world as a whole but honestly who's to say next year is actually going to be any better? I don't have my hopes up high. But anyways...

This year started off pretty horrible. Hancock went bankrupt and decided to completely close down permanently. It was rough. Yeah I've had some horrible times working there but also a lot of good memories and it was really really hard saying farewell to the store and to my co-workers. Despite it all, we had developed a little bit of a family-like atmosphere with our group and so many tears were shed from the day Denise and I had to break the news to everyone to the very last day when we turned in our keys. It was also saying goodbye to my favorite store. Even working there couldn't ruin that. JoAnn's is just NOT the same. Though I will say it was pretty nice being able to basically not have to worry anymore about what customers might say about you at the end because pffft can't fire me if we're closing! 'Cause dude did we get A LOT of nasty customers there. A lot of really wonderful ones but also a lot of truly nasty people. I don't know what happened in their lives to make them that way but ugh. I'm just glad I no longer have to deal with them.

So yeah, while losing my job really sucked, especially since I had at the time started considering that maybe I could just stick to this job and commissions to make a living...it did force myself to get out of there. At first it was truly rough. I went out with the thought that I'd be unemployed maybe a month or two at most and well...turned it out was harder to find work than I thought. But I was determined NOT to go back to retail and stuck to that and in the end I was rewarded with a fantastic job! Its front desk at a wonderful organization that helps folks with disabilities in group homes. I love it. I love my co-workers. And it turned out to be surprisingly LGBT friendly. I recently discovered several of my co-workers are also gay and nobody is bothered with it. I also get benefits and vacation time and the work is so much less stressful! The only downside is that I did gain a bit of weight due to not being on my feet as much but I've been walking outside on my breaks and such to try to combat that.

The other big event of the year for me? Well I am now in a healthy relationship. Started dating Rae in August and so far things are pretty great! It started out long-distance but by a strange amazing turn of events, she ended up moving to Rockville due to a good friend of her having a vacancy in their house and also got a job through them. She also just escaped retail so we're both transitioning from retail to front desk together which is also nice. But yes, I don't think I've ever been happier! ...even if I have gained a few pounds. Haha!

I also got to see the Takarazuka OG version of Chicago in NYC and I'm still in a daze about that. Can't believe that actually even happened! I wrote my report on here not too long ago so won't go into details with it but ahhh still can't believe I got a photo with Wao and Komu and got an autograph from Mizu! *_* And the show was soooo soooooooo good~! Ahhh I wish there was some type of recording just so I could share the experience with everyone but sadly I knew going in that there wouldn't be, considering what show they were doing and all. And on a smaller note, I also saw the X-Japan Documentary this year and omg that was amazing too! Like I always thought waaaay back in the day that they really needed a film of some sort because their story is just so tragic and amazing and needs to be told to everyone. I heard it got really good reviews too! Can't wait til its out on DVD so I can ram it down everyone's throats. XD

Commission wise...I kinda didn't do so well this year. I thought with being unemployed I'd have TONS of time to work on stuff and so took on a bunch of projects with this thought in mind...only to have the hardest time focusing, somehow not having any time at all, and just kept being behind time and time again. I did finish 3 commissions this year. But I have 2 that are still in-progress and I'm ashamed to admit that they were both started like early summer. I've barely made a dent in one and the other I've been scrambling to get finished these last few weeks in hopes I get it out early enough to still have time for my stuff for Katsucon. @_@ My own stuff this year went pretty well at least. I did a lot more than last year but a lot of them were pretty simple. Got a bit consumed with Owari no Seraph. XD Like...5 costumes in just one year. Plus did some silly variations with them that I don't count as actual costumes (one wasn't even my costume) but technically I did cosplay like 8 total there. Which is crazy for me! Never done that many for just one series...ever. And I did it all in one year? XD Though my big project was end-game Mikleo from Tales of Zestiria and while not entirely happy with it, I'm still proud of it and I won 3rd place in my division at Otakon. Its also the only thing I entered this year lol though I don't think I'll be entering more than once a year if even that these days cause it takes me that long just to finsih ONE costume worth entering.

Hm I meant for this to be a short quick entry and somehow I started rambling. Oops. So I'll stop there. Probably had other things to talk about this year but I don't remember. Besides I've had like nothing on the brain other than Yuri on Ice for the last few weeks too so that is also consumed me this year. XD

But Happy New Year!

~Lyn

Current Mood: happy

This year was an amazing year for me and for two main reasons. My trip to Japan and X-Japan.

I almost gave up on going to Japan several times, mainly because the idea of going alone was terrifying, especially since I never travel alone even here at home. But I did it and it was the single best decision of my life. I have absolutely no regrets (well except that I do wish I had had more time to do things while there, I suppose XD). I know I've been gushing about the trip a lot but it was seriously such a wonderful experience for me. I know feel confident I could go back too and be able to navigate around. I spent several years saving up for the trip with the intent of going there during Takarazuka's 100th anniversary. I saw Takarazuka live finally! After being a fan for 10 years, I finally finally got to live the dream of seeing them live. I was incredibly lucky to get to see Elisabeth (still my favorite show), got to see my favorite sienne Chie up close, and even got to see my first love Osa in concert! All within a week. It was seriously the dream trip for me and it was a truly magical experience. I smile every time I think about any part of it. And chance are you will all hear me continue to talk about it for years to come, so apologies in advance. XD

Since this year was the 100th, I did go a little crazy with the zuka and I think I'm justified with that. lol My collection nearly doubled in size from it all. @_@; But it was just so hard to say "no" especially with all the neat little anniversary things they released. I also went a little overboard with shows I watched. All together I saw around 50 shows in some form or another. XD I'm going to try to calm down a little next year though but we shall see how that goes.

I also got to see X-Japan live in Madison Square Garden, which was another huge dream come true. I almost didn't go because I thought I couldn't justify it after spending a lot of money on Japan and taking so many days off of work but in the end I decided to go and sooooo glad I did. I would have forever regretted it. I saw them live when they came to the US in 2010 but it was a much smaller venue. This really made a difference because they were able to bring their full set and it was just...EPIC. I just wish I had decided to go earlier on so I could have gotten a floor ticket. I spent a good portion of the concert eyeing the open part of that section, wishing there was some way to upgrade to it. Especially since I felt a little lonely up in my nearly empty row. But despite that I still made sure to rock out. XD I also got to see Yoshiki perform a piano concert at Otakon which was another huge event for me. *_*

Cosplay wise...I made only 3 costumes total for myself which is the smallest amount I've done in a very long time. *sigh* Granted Der Tod took up most of my year and then I got focused on Japan so didn't have much time or money to do stuff. Though honestly I'm not sure if I'll be making much more than that from this point on cause its proving harder and harder to find time with work and I'm also picking bigger projects with lots of details that need many hours. Hell I'm not even entirely sure what costumes I'm making next year but most of the ones I want to do are pretty time consuming.

Commissions...were almost non-existent. And once again it was because I just didn't have much time for them. I didn't get many inquiries and when I did, I had to turn a lot of them down due to timing or I'd simply forget to reply and I feel pretty awful and embarrassed by that. I've never been so awful about responding before. But I think its just that my mind had a hard time focusing. I only did 2 commissions this year and they were both only parts of a costume (a Harry Potter robe and pants for one of Corey's costumes). I did a few patches but only during the first half of the year. Didn't get any requests after that, but that's probably a good thing. I closed shop and haven't quite re-opened yet but I did take on a few commissions that I had put to the side so hopefully doing those will get me back in gear. Though I might never fully re-open since I honestly would prefer to spend most of my time on my own costumes now. I get very little profit from commissions and they're very stressful. So I might just pick and chose a few select ones here and there instead of opening up fully.

I also made a big decision involving my BJDs. Because honestly I was beginning to fear I was losing interest in the hobby. I didn't even touch any of my dolls for several months straight. After my trip, I went over and starred at them for a while and no, I definitely haven't lost my love for them. I just got focused on other things. I've just decided to take a new approach to them. Up to this point I had been basing what dolls, clothes, accessories, etc I buy on what I needed for the story I had going for my dolls. I only ever bought dolls if they fit a character in the story, which was great in a way since it kept me from buying on impulse. But I also would spend hours searching for the right outfits and spending hundreds of dollars on stuff I didn't necessarily really want but because it was what was needed for a specific scene. Then I'd spend hours setting the scene up and taking photos. But honestly it hasn't felt worth it. I love my story but only a few other people are even slightly interested in it and pretty sure if I stopped doing it, none of them would be upset. So why bother right? So I've decided to just do what all my friends in the hobby do, and just buy what I want regardless of if it fits the story or not. It still exists. I'm just not doing photostories anymore unless one strikes me that I just really WANT to do. Also means I'm going to probably sell a bunch of stuff I don't need anymore. But yeah I think this will result in me enjoying it more. Though I may still write up some summaries of the story if anyone is interested in knowing how it was going to go (since I did kinda have most if planned out already).

I did not get a new job this year. BUT I have taken a step forward finally. I wrote a new resume and with help from Ren, made it all spiffy looking. I just gotta figure out who to send it to now and start looking for actual potential jobs. I still have no idea what to really look for though but I just know I can't do retail anymore. Even though my boss has tried to offer me an increase in pay, I told her honestly that even the max they could give me there wouldn't be enough to be worth it. I am glad I had the experience though. I was promoted to Assistant Manager in the spring and I was even offered the position of Store Manager even though I turned it down. So hoping at least the experience will help gear me towards...something. But once I at least get my foot out there and try a few things (I don't expect to stick with the first job I get, I know I'll probably end up going through several, etc) to get a better idea of what I'd like to do, I then want to move forward and start paying my own bills and seeing exactly what I have to do to be able to survive. I will admit my parents pay for a lot of my stuff but I plan to gradually change that. Not all at once so not to overwhelm myself but here and there. So ideally this time next year I can start looking into the prospect of maybe moving out.

My 10 year high school reunion happened this year as well. I did not go to the actual reunion because I did not really enjoy high school and there were too many people I would rather not see. So paying to see the grand total of like 3 or 4 people that went who I would have been okay talking to...just didn't seem worth it. It also didn't seem like a setting I'd be very comfortable in. So instead ended up talking to the small group of friends who helped me get through those horrible years and we agreed we should do our own mini reunion. I really enjoyed it and everyone we invited actually came, even if only for a little bit. Most of them I hadn't seen in all these 10 years so it was pretty nice, especially to see that I could still socialize and relate to them even after such a long time. Granted I did have to remind myself a few times that these are my high school friends and not my college friends and thus they aren't going to respond the same way or know the same things, even if it started to feel that way. So I had to remind myself NOT to be surprised by the shocked looks I was getting at my ability to identify nearly every 90s/early2000s animated series theme song. I was confused why they couldn't identify them like I could. ^^;; But then I remembered that's my college crew that was a bit more obsessed with such things. Oops.

The one bad thing about this year is that I did go uber-hermit and I think I hit a mild case of Depression that comes and goes. I was a bit bawfled by this considering I couldn't understand how that could happen when I had such an amazing year. But emotionally wise I'm going through a lot of complicated things right now. I have a very hard time talking about it because I have a hard time forming it into the right words but also cause I don't want to upset/offend anyone since it mostly deals with friendships.

But hey, I did say last year that I thought 2014 would be a great year for me and it was! So huzzah!

~Lyn

Current Mood: accomplished

2012 overall was a rather tough year for me and I'm very glad its almost over. I'm optimistic about 2013 though. Mainly because I feel like it can only get better from this point on. Not immediately but over time, I think.

I actually accomplished my New Year's resolution for the year, which I think is a first. I got my driver's license. Granted I did cut it close, as I didn't manage to actually get it shortly before Christmas. I had intended to get it a lot earlier but I kept having scheduling issues. The first time I meant to schedule it, I realized my permit was going to expire before the test date so I had to renew my permit first. Went to do that and failed the eye test for the first time ever which resulted in me getting my very first pair of glasses (haven't worn them since though but being the geek I am, totally intend to use them for future cosplay purposes). Scheduled the test again only to have my car not past inspection. And each time it was at least a month's wait before I could get a date in. So yeah. But despite all my freaking out about it...I passed on the very first try of the actual test. Like I did so good I was in denial for quite a bit at the end. I got even the parallel parking down absolutely perfect...better than I had done in any of my practices. Though makes me wonder if the actual test spot may have been bigger than what I was practicing with. But anyways, getting my license is such a huge accomplishment for me so I'm truly proud of myself for it.

I however did not accomplish my "cosplay resolution" which was to make several of my dream costumes. I did at least START Hades but that's about it. Instead I got barely any cosplay done this year and several of them were below par of my usual standards due to time restraints. Ah well.

But anyways, onto the points of this year...

Real Life:

+ Got promoted to supervisor at work.
- Lost two managers in one year, resulting in a rather difficult and chaotic time at work, which still isn't over right now. But hopefully things will finally get better soon and I've learned a lot from this experience and earned quite a bit of respect from my district manager due to me stepping up to take over a number of things at work that had been slacking.
+ Gay marriage was legalized in Maryland. Twice. They tried to take it away from us but we held on and were able to keep it through this most recent election. I've never been more proud of my state.
+ Re-connected with one of my childhood best friends that I hadn't talked to in many years and was delighted to find out that she is a major supporter of gay rights, which really touched me even though I still haven't been able to find the right words to tell her this.
- Had some major bouts of depression. I didn't tell many people about it but I got. Really. Bad. I don't want to get too much into it but for the first time in my life, I actually did have borderline suicidal thoughts. Don't worry though, it wasn't enough for me to ever actually consider it and it scared myself that I even had these thoughts, even if it was briefly. But there was quite a long period of this year where I really just didn't want to exist anymore. There is still some of this that lingers but I'm definitely getting better.
- My Dad had heart surgery which was unexpected and resulted in a very stressful time for my family but the outcome was all good. It was preventive surgery so that Dad won't have a heart attack any time soon since they discovered that he was at high risk. So it was a very good thing to have the surgery even if it did make things very difficult. Dad's recovering and hopefully will be able to go back to work in the next few weeks. But it was very scary seeing him so weak as Dad really is the backbone of our family and we all rely perhaps a bit too heavily on him. Even my brothers who are all moved out and married, still rely on him for a lot of things. My oldest brother almost passed out at the sight of Dad post-surgery and took it the hardest of my family. Oddly enough I found that I was able to deal with it better than the rest and made sure to crack jokes and keep everyone's spirits up as that seems to be my role as the little geeky sister these days.

Fandom/Hobbies:
+ Saw more movies in the theater in one year than I have in any single year EVER. I usually only see like 2-3 movies a year. This year I saw The Avengers (twice), Dark Shadows, Brave, The Amazing Spiderman, The Dark Knight Rises, Wreck It Ralph, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Rise of the Guardians, and Les Miserables. In other words, there were a lot more movies that meant something to me this year than there's been in a long time, including a movie based on one of my favorite books and one based on my favorite musical. For the most part I loved all of these movies and also find myself wanting to buy most of them, which is another thing as I rarely buy movies.
+ Got very obsessed with The Avengers, which I did not expect to happen. I got fully consumed by the fandom and I still am. It even led me to actually reading some of the Marvel comics, when I usually am not a fan of American comics.
+ Bought two BJDs in one year. I try to keep to only one BJD a year, if any and I totally broke that this year. ^^;; And both were new sizes for me. Got my first tiny, an Angelheim Jin named Jasper. And got a Junior Delf Terra named Uriel.
- Experienced the longest wait I've ever gone through for a doll. The company Angelheim went under after I placed my order and I did not hear any contact at all for over a month. I didn't even know if I'd ever get the doll. Another company took over and offered us all a choice of a refund or to wait for our orders and I decided to wait and I'm glad I did as I love the doll dearly but it was a very stressful issue considering this was a very expensive Tiny. Uriel also ended up being a longer than expected wait but nowhere as bad.
+ Watched 40 some Takarazuka shows in just one year. XD Bringing myself up to 70-some shows. Plus a few OG shows. Really finally feel like a better fan as I managed to learn a lot more siennes. My collection also got A LOT bigger. I also bought two brand new DVDs, which was a first for me as I've only ever bought things 2nd-hand before. Also found myself becoming a Hoshigumi fan, which surprised me as in the past they were the troupe I was never very interested in and I've always been devoted to Hanagumi but I really don't know the current Hana at all while I've come to truly love the current Hoshi.
- Experienced 3 top star retirements in one year, which was a bit painful. Seeing Kiriyan and Yuuhi go felt like the end of an era. And I only just got to barely know Kimu and then she retired as well. And also saw two of my favorite members of Hoshigumi leave at the same time, Toyoko and Remi. I still can't get over the fact they're gone. I thought they both had a good shot of being top stars.
+ Did my first real cosplay at a midnight premiere for The Hobbit. Felt very dorky. XD But glad I did it.
+ Made 6 costumes for myself + 14 commissions for a total of 20 costumes. Also did several alterations.
- ...which is actually really low for me. ^^;; That's 13 less than last year. But this is because several of these commissions were VERY big projects that really took a lot out of me. Captain America and Princess Peach were the two most difficult commissions I've ever taken on. Lollipop Chainsaw also was a big challenge. And Link took a lot more time than I thought it would. That and work got chaotic and made it a lot more difficult to get things done. I didn't enter any contests because I had no costumes of my own worth entering as everything I made for me this year was something kinda small and several of them were not up to par with my usual skills, sadly.
+ Princess Peach was the biggest costume I've made EVER and I'm really proud of it, eve if it wasn't a costume for me.
+ Saw Mix Speaker's Inc live and they revived my interest in J-Rock and brought back memories of PLC.

So what's my resolution for 2013? Well I'm going to really try hard to save money and plan out my hopeful trip to Japan in 2014 so I can see Takarazuka live for their 100th anniversary. I'm a bit nervous as I've never planned a trip on my own so I'm going to have to do a hell of a lot of research. But I do plan to ask the fandom rather soon about how best to go about what I'm planning to do...and to see if its even possible. lol I also plan to work to get myself more comfortable with driving so I can get my butt in gear and look for other jobs that will give me more of a future than retail. And I know I'm most likely going to have to drive myself to work wherever it ends up, so I need to work at getting used to it and battling my fears.

Annnnd I'm going to finish Hades dammit! XD And hopefully at least start Der Tod. I just don't know how much I'll be able to make anymore with work and commissions. I'm going to aim to be smarter with the commissions at least as I think now I have a better idea of how long it takes me and so I can schedule things better so I'm not overwhelmed or stuck with small time restraints, which happened a lot this year.

~Lyn

Current Mood: content

I totally just typed "2010 in Review" at first...lol I don't even know what year it is! XDXD Been a few times where I thought it was 2012 and referred to next year as 2013 too. Pfffft. Anywho!

...what did I do this year, anyways? XD I guess this year wasn't that eventful if I can't even think of anything in particular off the bat but here goes...

+ Got a Job
- Its only part time and its only retail but I had gone into such a bad depression in 2009-2010 and being unemployed for over a year was a big part of it. So having a job really did get me out of that rut and got me being a bit healthier. I even managed to lose all the weight I had gained due to the depression so that was nice.
+ Went to Dragon*Con
- I supposed its kinda sad that I consider that probably the biggest thing that happened to me this year. But I've wanted to go to that con for over 5 years now so it was a pretty big deal and I REALLY enjoyed it. I want to go back really badly but I'm nervous about taking off from work again that weekend since I'll probably still be working at Hancock's by then and I know its a huge sales weekend. But the con was a nice break from the usual anime con antics and it was a nice change to see things from the non-cosplay point of view. And of course I got to see some big guests like Carrie Fisher and Star Wars was my favorite thing as a kid and I always loved Princess Leia so seeing her in person was pretty fucking amazing. Also getting to TALK to Mercedes Lackey was another little dream come true. I felt like a teenager all over again.
+ Distant Worlds FF concert during Otakon
- Seriously so glad I went to it! It was amazing and I got to see Nobou Uematsu sing One Winged Angel.
+ Won 1st Place Craftsman at Otakon
- It was only for Friday and wasn't a Best of Show or even a Best Overall Friday...but it was still the biggest award I've won so far. I mean yes I also won Best Craftsman at Nekocon 2010 but there was like only 3 or of us in that category and it was a much smaller con. So I feel like the Otakon award is a much bigger deal. And Takuto really did use up like every skill I've ever gained through all my cosplay years to put together so I'm pretty proud of that costume.
+ Cosplayed a Girl
- XD Which anyone who knows me...is a pretty big deal. And I never said I'd only ever cosplay guy characters. I actually planned to cosplay Utena when I started cosplaying but didn't have the skills and then never got around to it. Its just that the females I'm willing to cosplay is a very small list and its more to do with what I'm comfortable wearing than the gender. I just feel more comfortable in men's attire for the most part. And in anime, I tend to identify more with male characters. But I love Utena and I felt it was about time to finally do it.
+ Made 33 Costumes total
- 24 Commissions + 9 Cosplays for myself, slightly more commissions than last year (and one commission that is almost done but I'm not counting since it'll be done in 2012 even if I did most of the work in 2011)
+ Got a new DOC doll
- DOC Cyma, my little Gabriel, which now brings me to 6 dolls total XD
+ Lots of Zuka
- Saw probably more Zuka shows this year than I have in any one year. lol Been going through quite the binge lately and most of them just in the past month or two.

Resolution for 2012:
+ Get my license! I keep saying I'm going to do it and I'm working on it but I've spent way too much time saying that and not really trying to get it. So I'm determined. This year its going to happen. And early in the year. I'm not going to let myself go all "well I have til the summer before my permit expires..." No, I'm going to do it as soon as I can. 'Cause while I still don't believe that getting it will magically change everything like my parents seem to think, I have realized that I can't take the next step forward until I do. Its sad and frustrating that one needs something like that so much to do so but its true. At least where I am right now. If I was in a city, maybe not as much but yeah, I can't really even start looking at other career ideas until I know I can drive myself to them. So once that is done, THEN I can truly figure out what the hell I'm doing and if I should go back to school, or at least try to find a place that has classes I need (though I have a feeling the only schools that do are out of state, blah, I'm just trying to avoid the cost of living on campus and all) so I can try to pursue the theater thing further. But at the same time, I'm starting to think logically and consider other careers too 'cause I do at least have a degree that could help me a decent office job. I just...have no idea what type to even go after. Or maybe even consider just taking classes on editing and maybe pursue that 'cause I don't dislike the idea of being an editor. I just...don't really have the skills for it as I stupidly stuck to Literature classes and never really took anything on grammar and such.

Cosplay Resolution:
And if they world does end in 2012, then I plan to at least go out fabulously~ This is the year of BIG costumes for me! Which also means I probably won't be making that many as all my time will go to the big ones. But yeah, knocking out some dream costumes this year. Mainly Hades and then Der Tod at the end of the year. Possibly remaking Cain out of actual wool and maybe Dietrich if I can fit him in somewhere. Also want to remake like...ALL my Cloud costumes and I may start with Crisis Core. Thinking of waiting til 2013 to redo regular Cloud as I want to save up for a really good wig for it (or maybe even try to do it myself? I dunno, still scared XD But I have been reading a lot of tutorials and I think I might be able to do it myself if I just go the two wig wefting route).

~Lyn

Current Mood: okay

I've seen folks talk about this being the end of a decade but really...2009 was the end of the decade. XD So I missed my chance to do "last 10 years in review". Oh well. XD Didn't think about that last year. But it has marked 10 years of convention going since I did start going in 2000. Course now that's 11 years. But anyways, so 2010...

The year gets a rating of "ok". Wasn't terrible but wasn't anything spectacular but definitely a step up from 2009 for me. Life is getting a little better. Just little bit at a time.

Highlights of the year for me:
+ X-JAPAN!!! Definitely wins as the biggest highlight of the year for me. Still makes me smile and go "squee!" every time I just think about it. I still can't believe I actually saw them live. Seriously still one of the best moments of my life. Meant so much to me and I'm so happy I was able to attend and spend it with good friends.
+ Getting my commission business really going. This was really my first year of real commissioning. Some of it was quite stressful but overall I'm glad I started doing this and plan to continue to for as long as I can without it killing me. XD
+ Sweeney Todd. So I only got to work one show this year but it was an amazing show and still so happy to have been a part (even if it was a very small part) of it. Also was so worth going out in the terrible snow to see it (thank god for having a friend who's really good at driving in snow!)
+ Got back into doing skits. Well it was only 2 skits but its been years since I really did any and it was a lot of fun to do again. And I finally got to do a dramatic Angel Sanctuary skit which I've wanted to do since I started cosplaying. Even if I didn't get to see what it actually looked like and it was reaaaaaally tiring but overall fun and I still thank everyone for help putting that skit together.
+ Got to see: Chiho Saitou, NOIZ in concert for the 2nd time, Yamaguchi Kappei, Kazuhiko Inoue, and Yuji Mitsuya
+ Got a DOT body and completed the newest addition to my BJD group: Raphael, a DOT Dream '09

Cosplay of 2010:
+ Made 27 costumes total
- 18 of which were commissions (though I also have 3 in works right now, 2 of which are mostly done)
- 9 of which were my own costumes (though one was just closet cosplay, and technically 10 if you count the Oz costume I was put in XD as I did do a little work on that too)
+ Costume of the year: Chopin, which is currently rivaling Ciel as my two most complex and time consuming costumes. Also one of my favorite costumes. Hell, I just love wearing the thing as I feel damn swanky in it. XD Also the award I got for it helps too.
+ This was the year of remakes. Remade Lucifer and Yosuke entirely. Remade a bit of Gil and Len and in general kept doing a lot of fixing and adding to costumes all year. XD; And Cloud's still a work-in-progress.
+ Entered and won in the Gaia Online cosplay contest. ...lol XD So geeky but it was fun.
+ Favorite prop of the year: My Lucifer claws XD

Lowlights of the year? Well I spent a good amount of the year being quite poor and I haven't had an actual job since February but hoping that will change. But at least I have had my commissions and other items I make to keep me going. But I am optimistic about the upcoming year.

Oh and my resolutions for 2011? Get myself to wake up a bit earlier. XD So I can get an earlier start on my work each day. Working at home makes you really lazy and I've gotten really bad. And hoping that this year will be the year I get myself together and start heading in the direction I need to.

~Lyn

Current Mood: calm

Everyone's doing these so of course I need to do mine too. XP Though in comparison with 2006, this year was not nearly as eventful. In fact I'm having to go back into my LJ calendar to even remember what happened this year. ^^;; And I wonder if its sad that all my "big" events are all anime, cosplay, or doll related.

( By Month )

All in all, not much really. I think the biggest event of the year was getting Lucifer. Since he is my dream doll and all. *_* Got to meet a number of awesome people, most of which I already knew before but didn't really get to know-know til this year.

But anyways, Happy New Year's, everyone!

~Lyn

Current Mood: thoughtful

Hadn't really been doing much online since Magenta was here so I was busy. She went home today after spending the last few days with me in Gettysburg for a while. 'Twas fun. Really glad I was able to go in the end. I got to see everyone again and it was spiffy. We had some Gettysburg touring time for Jamie's Sweedish bf and Magenta since they'd never been there before. And there was fireworks after midnight came. Also got to show her Elisabeth on Monday right before we went back to my place. ^^ I was happy to get to see it again. Aw, such wonderful goodness.

But yes, Magenta finally decided on a name for her boy. It's Julian and he got to meet Dietrich so that was cool. I will post those pictures later when I get around to finish resizing and uploading.

Anyways, it's now 2007 and of course I totally missed the right moment to say Happy New Year's and all that. Ah well. And now that everyone already has done their year reviews, I shall finally post mine.

( 2006 )

~Lyn