Anime Expo 2014!

I'm not actually into any animes or anything, but like I said about BotCon, I love a good con (or expo, even)!! We found out that the exhibit hall of Anime Expo is open to the public after 4pm until close at 6pm, so we decided to go and check it out and add another con to our roster!


It was soo crowded, it was like Comic Con levels of crowdedness, and it was pretty steamy in the hall from the hot day and all the bodies. A lot of the booths had stuff that was unfamiliar to me, of course, but there were still a lot of your usual t-shirt, cute stuff booths. Not as many action figure/toy booths as the other cons we've been to, however. Their Artists Alley had a lot of great stuff, and it looked like a lot of them were doing pretty good business. There was so much to see, but we managed to see most of it in the 2 hours it was open to the public.

And there was so much cosplay! Again, a lot of stuff I didn't recognize, but some really creative stuff. A lot of people were wearing these animal footie onesie things. I don't know what they're called, but they're basically like full-body pajamas or a snuggie or something, with a hood with Pikachu, or a bear or a bunny, or whatever else. I'm sure they're really comfy, but it was so hot! I could totally see myself wearing one of those in cooler weather, though...


Of course I still managed to find a few things to buy while I was there!! There was a booth that I've seen before at other cons selling Disney pins, so I picked up a few more. I got a cute little stuffed seal in a stuffed shark, a really soft panda bag (a steal at only $20!!), and a bunny ear hat from Pawstar! It seems I'm collecting animal hats now, since I already have a cat ear hat that I got from Calgary Expo.

I was really happy to get to experience a brand new (to me) con, and it really got me into the mood for Comic Con!

So kawaii.

Surf's Up Voxbox!

I received a Surf's Up box of goodies from Influenster the other day! Here's the awesomeness included:

Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration After Sun - now that I live near the beach, I think I'll definitely find a use for this!

Sinful Colors Nail Polish in Aqua - I love Sinful Colors! They have beautiful shades and are only a couple bucks a pop at your local drugstore!

First Aid Shot Therapy (pain relief) - Um, I think I'm gonna save this for my next hangover! Or my next really intense workout.

CoverGirl Bombshell Curvaceous LashBlast Mascara - So so love Covergirl's LashBlash mascaras. I haven't tried this one before, so I'm looking forward to it!

Jamba Juice Smoothie Kit coupon - I used to drink Jamba Juice all the time, and I love making smoothies at home. Excited to try these!

Zumba!

I recently starting taking Zumba classes. I love group fitness classes, but had never even contemplated attempting Zumba because I canNOT dance, have no rhythm, and suck at moving my arms and legs at the same time. One of my good friends recently became a certified Zumba instructor, though, and has started teaching portions of a Zumba class at the gym we go to, so to support her, I sucked it up and went. I was nervous, and wasn't really expecting much, but then, I ended up LOVING it!! I had such a great time, bouncing around, dancing my heart out. It sounds cliche, but I sort of set an intention at the beginning of class to just enjoy it, go with the flow, and not be self-conscious. And it pretty much worked! I just let it go, did what I could and didn't care if I looked stupid. 

But then, I took my second class. I found myself right in the middle of the room, close to the front. In my mind, I was totally blocking the teacher from the rest of the class, so they'd be looking right at my behind to try to see her. And, not knowing any of this stuff well enough, I was not someone that anyone should be following. So I become super self-conscious, and just couldn't let loose and Zumba to my full potential. I felt really disappointed in myself and angry that I still feel this way and can't snap myself out of it. I know next time I just have to disregard all that, and do the best I can. I know other people in the class are probably the same skill level I am, and no one is really paying attention to each other anyway, and if they are and are thinking I'm a total dork... so what? I am! 

Despite all that, I am looking forward to my next class next week. I know this time I'll rock it!!

Here are a couple good YouTubes of some Zumbaing!

BotCon! More Than Meets the Eye!

On Sunday, I went to BotCon in Pasadena! BotCon is a con dedicated solely to everything Transformers. I have little to no experience with anything Transformers, so I was a bit out of my element. But hey, I love conventions, so I wanted to go! I was happy to see there was at least one person there who shared my aesthetic sense: 

In case you're confused, those are Transformers made to look like cats, and it says "Transformers: more than meets the cat's eye." Perfect.

Luckily, several of the booths were selling other stuff than just Transformer stuff. For example, I bought a Crimson Typhoon Pacific Rim figure (the last Jaeger I needed to buy), and I also got an "Enhanced

Galadriel" action figure from LOTR that I'd never even see before.

I also saw some cool Godzilla action figures, like this MechaGodzilla here:

Why didn't I buy this??

I also randomly saw some Frozen dolls in one booth. See, there's something for everyone! 

We went to one panel - a retrospective of the old Transformers cartoon. Hal Rayle, Michael Miconnohie, Jack Angel, and Samantha Newark were on the panel. Samantha voiced Jem in the incredibly awesome 80s cartoon, Jem & The Holograms. So classic. And check out her pink hair, just like Jem's! It was a really great panel, fun and irreverent. I enjoyed it even without having seen the cartoon before.

Pink hair!!!

Exhibit floor - so many goodies!

Back to the Future at The Theatre at the Ace Hotel

This weekend I saw Back to the Future for the 7th or 8th time in the last few years. This screening was held at the United Artists Theatre at the Ace Hotel downtown as part of the LA Conservancy's Last Remaining Seats series.

Before the show began, they had a slideshow of all the places in LA they had worked, and were working, to preserve, like the Capitol Records building, the Century Plaza Hotel, Johnnie's Coffee Shop, as well as a lot of other buildings I didn't recognize. They want to not just save decrepit old buildings, but rather to preserve and revitalize historic places that make Los Angeles unique. Check out their website and see all the different places they are working to save, it's actually really interesting!



The Theatre at the Ace Hotel was once such place they saved. In 1927, Mary Pickford asked the architect to build a cathedral to movies, and it truly does look like a cathedral. It's so ornate and beautiful; my pictures really don't do it justice.

Before the movie, Leonard Maltin (noted film critic as well as the guy we shared a plane with back from New Mexico with last year) hosted a Q&A with Don Fullilove (Mayor Goldie Wilson - progress is his middle name!), Claudia Wells (the first Jennifer, who we've seen at at least 2 other Q&A sessions), and Lea Thompson (Lorraine, who we've seen once before at a BTTF Q&A). 

Timehop - a different kind of Throwback Thursday!

There's this really cool app called Timehop where you link all your social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, FourSquare, etc.), and each day it shows you all the things you posted a year ago, 2 years ago, even all the way back to 6 years ago! It's a pretty cool way to be reminded of the fun stuff you did, or just what was going on in your life at the time.

For example: Last year,  I was at a superfun film festival called CapeTown watching a Kurt Russell do a Q&A. 

2 years ago, I was talking about an event I had planned for work.

3 years ago, I was complaining about something at work.

And 5 years ago, when I was unemployed, I posted that I had just woken up at noon.



Oh, the difference 5 years can make.

Welcome to Disneyland Tour!

My boyfriend and I just renewed our annual passes to Disneyland, and decided to make the next 365 days the year of Doing Tours! Disneyland offers several tours: Cultivating the Magic (about the botanicals and architecture of the Resort); Discover the Magic (a scavenger hunt thing for kids); Walk in Walt's Footsteps (a pretty involved look at the history of Disneyland); and  the Welcome to Disneyland tour. There are also seasonal tours for Halloween time and Christmas time!









On Sunday, we went on the Welcome to Disneyland tour. This 2.5 hour long tour helps you make the most of your trip to the Disneyland Resort, no matter how many times you've been. I did learn a couple fun new facts along the way, like what the Hyperion theater (where the Aladdin show takes place) is named for. We also saw the Muppets 3D show, and got to go to the front of the line on Pirates of the Caribbean! At the end of the tour, they gave us an envelope with fast passes to 2 rides (Star Tours and Soarin' Over California), and 2 special tour pins, in addition to the special lanyard they gave us at the beginning (to identify ourselves as tour members, I suppose)! They also made reservations for us at a restaurant and gave us priority seating at a show. It was for sure worth the $25, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the other tours are like!


Later, we had dinner at Carthay Circle at California Adventure! They have both a lounge area and a full restaurant. We'd never been before, so it was another first for us! We just sat in the cozy lounge area and had a couple drinks and some appetizers. The deviled eggs were so delicious (though so expensive!), and my drink, the Derby, was lovely. They have a pretty extensive cocktail list, including Walt's favorite drink, the Scotch Mist.

Look at this yummy rice krispie treat shaped like Maleficent that we picked up for a mid-day snack!!

We also saw some HUGE geese. I've NEVER seen geese in the park before - ducks, yes; cats, sure! But enormous geese were a first! The picture doesn't do it justice, it was like 3 feet tall. And it's babies were following it around!  

Orange is the New Black, Season 2!

There's nothing I like more than a good binge-watch. Netflix makes it too easy by releasing all episodes of a season at the same time. June 6 marked the return of Orange is the New Black, one of my favorite shows. I watched the first season twice, that's how much I enjoyed it. I really loved this new season; I watched it all in about 3 days!

I love how the characters are so complex and multi-faceted. No one is so one-dimensional that you either love them or hate them. Just like with real people, they all have their strengths and faults. For example, Fig is just the worst, and most of the time you have to hate her, but I felt sorry for her when she found out that her husband was gay, and her career was ending. Or Healy, who's kind of a dick who has it out for Piper, but I felt so bad when no one showed up to his Safe Place group. Or Crazy Eyes, who was my favorite character last season, made some... uninformed choices this season that had me reconsidering. I know she's kind of crazy, but like, still. Even Piper, the ostensible star of the show, is quite often so self-centered that you want to smack some sense into her. 

Oh, and in case you were wondering who my new favorite character is, it's Poussey. She really stole the show for me this season, standing up for her principles and getting drunk on prison hooch to mask her pain.

I might need to rewatch it all now, it all went by so quickly!

Oh, and check out this amazing Funny or Die video featuring Uzo Aduba (Crazy Eyes herself) auditioning for every character on the show.

May Gray, June Gloom

May has been one of the weirder months I've experienced recently. I was plagued by a bout of bursitis in both my shoulders, rendering me able to do very little besides sit and scream internally from pain. A shot of cortisone in both shoulders cured me (after an interminable 3 days), and just in time for me to start packing up my apartment (that I'd lived in for 5 and a half years!) and moving to a new one that I'll share with my boyfriend. 

June is also looking to be jam-packed with such super exciting things as unpacking, putting things away, and more unpacking. It just doesn't really feel like home until my action figures are on place and a couple stuffed animals are on my bed. At least there's cable and internet.

Anyway, as a result of all these things, I've had to put a lot of stuff on hold, like writing, reading, pretty much doing anything fun or anything else that I need to be doing. Fortunately, I guess, this has all distracted me from the fact that I turned 30 on May 24th. I still feel too young to be this old.

Well, after all this stuff is done, I'm excited to return to my regularly-scheduled life. It's time to start setting new goals and smashing them!

Calgary! The place in Canada and also the Expo!

It seems odd, but the only other country I've been to is Mexico (that's because all you need is 'Murica, y'all). This past weekend, I finally got to add another location to that list - the exotic land of Canada! We went to Calgary, in the province of Alberta, to attend Calgary Expo. Apparently, Calgary is Canada's Texas, because they were all about rodeos, horses, and country. It was SO weird. I was like, stop appropriating my culture. This must be how Native Americans and Indians feel when girls wear feather headdresses and bindis to music festivals or whatever.



We flew in on Thursday. After cabbing it to our hotel, we went to the market across the street, which was on my list of places to go in Calgary. It ended up being pretty lackluster, but it DID have a convenience store where they sold candy! Canadian candy! OMG is the chocolate so much better there, for serious. I thought Cadbury only made those chocolate eggs; turns out, they make all kinds of yummy chocolate bars!!


Oh, and take a look at Canadian money! It's like it's not even real, it's made of plastic or something. And it's clear! WTF, I can't take this seriously. Anyway, we also walked around the nearby Chinatown, and had dinner at the Barley Pub.








Friday was our Expo day, the only day we got tickets for. It was the first day of the convention, and they kicked it off with a cosplay parade from our hotel to the convention center! It was a really cool, unique idea, and a great way to showcase all the myriad cosplayers. They were separated into theme groups, movies/tv, anime, Star Wars, superheroes, steampunk, zombies, video games, and a few more I can't remember. Anthony Daniels (C3PO!) was at the head of the parade, followed by some other minor celebrities (ish), including Felicia Day!

The exhibit floor was split into a few different locations in this fairground thing. There was a lot of really cool stuff, but I couldn't indulge too much since anything I bought had to fit into my carry-on luggage. I did end up getting a cool laser-etched glass (I got one with the white tree of Gondor on it), a Iron Man/Hulk shirt that says Science Bros from WeLoveFine, and a cat ear hat which really came in handy and I wore almost immediately. 

We went to one panel called Aliens and Beyond with Mark Rolston and Jenette Goldstein, who played Drake and Vasquez (rocking the best ladyarm game in the history of cinema, rivaled only by Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2). And then continuing with the Aliens theme of the weekend, we went to a spotlight on Bill Paxton panel. He was just as charming as he was at WonderCon! I feel like he's really enjoying his stint on the con circuit, he just seems so happy to be up there on stage.

Calgary Expo also hosted a few outside events in their EXPO-sed series. That night, we went to Middle-Earth EXPO-sed. Mark Ferguson (who played the elf Gil-Galad in LOTR) was the host for the evening. Richard Taylor, head of Weta, the special effects company in charge of doing basically anything cool-looking in LOTR, was there and talked a bit before spending the rest of the 2.5 hour evening making a guy into an Orc. It was pretty amazing. Then they brought out the special guests from LOTR: Billy Boyd (Pippin), Sean Astin (Samwise), Craig Parker (Haldir), and Sadwyn Brophy (Arwen's son that she sees in a vision). They talked for a while about how incredibly awesome LOTR is, and then they went backstage and the special

guests from The Hobbit came out: Jed Brophy (Nori and the IRL dad to Sadwyn [side note: I literally just found that out while looking up people's names for this post. Mind=blown.]), Manu Bennett (Azog), Mark Hadlow (Dori), and Dean O'Gorman (Fili). The whole night was like a variety show - in addition to the panel-y part, they did some improv games, several songs, and some swordplay demonstrations! It was a very fun night.




On Saturday, some cold white stuff started falling from the sky; I was told it is called 'snow'. We decided to brave the elements anyway and check out some sights. We went to Calgary Tower (side note: what's with all these cities having towers? What is their point, besides being a tourist attraction? They seem to have no real function.). It's 191 meters tall - wait, what's a meter? In American, that's 626 feet tall! It was built to celebrate Canada's centennial in 1967, and it's the tallest structure in Canada except for whatever's in Toronto that's apparently taller. So I guess maybe like second or third tallest, then. It's got this cool clear floor, so you can step on it and feel surprisingly scared looking

straight down to the ground. They also have a restaurant at the top that rotates, but unfortunately it was closed for a private event that night so we didn't get to eat there. 













Oh, and this is how I made it through the cold cold day with all the snow:

Cat ear hat, scarf around face, tucked under sunglasses. Oh yeah.


Saturday evening, we went to another Expo-sed, this time for Aliens. It was the largest cast reunion since the premiere in 1986! Everyone was there: Sigourney Weaver, Paul Reiser, Bill Paxton, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, Carrie Hehn (Newt's now a school teacher! She says no one knows she was in Aliens, it's like her secret double life!), Jenette Goldstein, Mark Rolston, and Ricco Ross (who was on our flight!).



On Sunday, we took a walk around Prince's Island Park, which was right next to our hotel. It was pretty beautiful, and there were tons of dogs having dog parties. Then, it was back to warm and sunny LA!