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Hawaii Jedi Saber Adacemy!! May the force be in Hawaii~
So, in the beginning of December when Thuy was caught up in the hype and excitement of the new Star Wars movie, she had what sounded like an insane idea to purchase a well-made lightsaber. I’m more of a Trekkie, and Star Wars is something that I also grew up watching, but it doesn’t mean the same things to me. It didn’t shape who I am in the way that Star Trek did. I wouldn’t be the same person without it. Anyways, I digress. Savariben! She ended up ordering two lightsabers from a company called Ultrasabers, and her brother ordered two as well (one for his girlfriend and one for himself. Thuy’s…
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My Japanese Husband Thinks I’m Crazy!
I tried to imitate Grace’s style… did I succeed? It sort of ended up halfway in-between our styles, lol. I’m no master imitator like that guy who did those Sailor Moon portraits, that’s for sure! Oh, wait, what was I talking about? This is going to sound really advertise-y, but I’m not getting paid for this. I’m writing it because I want to. As in, I really, really loved these books SO much! One evening, I was especially missing Japan (I do that a lot, especially when I’m stressed-out or upset. I am increasingly thinking that I’ll end up moving back someday, but anyways!), and I was browsing Amazon for…
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Alooohaaaaaa!
Whee! I finished reading my friend Marie’s book, Bloody Annoyances. It was a very cute yaoi story (check my review on Goodreads), and I’m super-thrilled to be reading the unpublished second book, so that I can work on the cover. I’m going to be sketching out some ideas as I go through it today. I also want to work on Living Tall in Japan, which looks like it’s going to be published Mondays. I think that I’ll start out with a whole week, though! I’ll work on it this week after the cover illustration is done, and then start next week, I think! I’m so excited!!!!! Maybe I should do…
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Kawaiikon!!
Yesterday, I had a meeting with Courtney from Kawaii Kon (Hawaii’s annual big anime con, with about 8,000 people). She is such a sweetie! She was really nice to talk to. So, I want to give you all some details. I’m going to be running three panels there, as long as no changes pop up: 1) Living in Japan (what it is like living and working as a foreigner in Japan) 2) Working as an Assistant Manga artist in Japan (you know what I’ll talk about here!) 3) Making manga the Japanese way (introducing the materials and then using them to make a short manga or illustration) How cool is…
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Muggle Quidditch in Honolulu
A few years ago, I heard somewhere, somehow, that people were playing Quidditch. In real life. Like, real people, muggles like me (as much as I wish that I were otherwise), were playing Quidditch. Like, with brooms and hoops and balls, although sadly without flying. I thought that that was possibly the best idea that I’d ever heard (short of being a mangaka)! (Except for the not-flying part) So, I watched some YouTube videos about it. I looked desperately in both English and Japanese for a team based in Tokyo. Anywhere in Tokyo. For some inconceivable reason (Harry Potter is popular in Japan) there weren’t any! So, I got together…
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Living Tall in Japan, part 51
Hyaaaa—-h! That was sort of that sigh of relief that anime characters sometimes like to do. I don’t know why. I suppose that’s because things are coming together! I started to write a big life update post earlier today, but have set it aside for a while while I think about what I want to say, in favor of this. This story is still not yet over, after all! My first year in Japan. It had its ups and downs, but all along it was coming along quite nicely. I was having a great time (outside of work), and at the moment, it looked like I wasn’t going to come…
- ☆ anime/manga, ☆ artsies, ☆ being a dork, ☆ being a mangaka, ☆ books, ☆ i heart hawaii, ☆ i heart japan, ☆ life, ☆ videos
All the FEELS!
This has been a learning experience. HAS IT EVER! I’m filled to the brim with all sorts of feelings. Feels. Emotion, overflowing and tipping over the edge of ME, rendering me incapable of stringing two words together for hours on end. So this is how it feels to finish something that you’ve been working on for a year! Since I’m having trouble typing it out, let me show you instead: Is it perfect? I don’t know. John Green talked in a Vlogbrothers video about how when authors get a final copy of their book back, they immediately find a typo. That’s what happened when I got my proof,…
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Living Tall in Japan, part 50
Update: THANK YOU SO MUCH for all of your kind words of encouragement!!! *^__^* They mean so much to me! I am *still* working on the cover image, but I’m not going to bed until it’s all colored in (I only have the background to finish). I know that you guys will love it! So far, I’ve put in around 30 hours on it, I think, which is… a lot. But so worth it, even if it’s just one illustration. :3 Preorders will go up tomorrow for sure! I can’t wait! So, for the moment, let me stroll back down memory lane again with the next installment of the story…
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Living Tall in Japan, part 49
May the 4th be with you!! </geek> ☆ To see all of the parts in this series, click here ☆ Shortly after the Kimeru concert, some friends from my anime club in Phoenix came to stay with me while they toured Tokyo. It was great to host them, and I also finally had a chance to go to see Tokyo Tower! I’ve been to Tokyo Tower more times than I can count now, but I’ve still never once yet been up to the viewing platform. Every time I intend to, I balk at the price. It’s just an elevator ride, to see the sort of thing that I can see…
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Living Tall in Japan, part 48
Things are moving along nicely! For some reason, the cold makes me really tired, so I felt sluggish all day. I need to learn to not let that affect me. In any case, I LOVED being able to work on the cover, finally! Should be done soon!! *^^* I hope you love it as much as I do! And now, on to some more Living Tall in Japan! ☆ To see all of the parts in this series, click here ☆ This was my second time to go see Kimeru in concert. The first time had completely redefined to me what a concert was supposed to be– fun, sweaty, and…