The Downward Spiral....Vanity

There was a guy named Mr. Narcissism who was young and handsome. He knew fine well he was handsome. He was boastful, knew he was better then others and deep deep down he knew it. Unlike people who have less confidences but yet boast and act all that they are better then others, they know deep down they are not but in the case of Mr. Narcissism he knew he was better then everyone. Nobody can compare to him. Mr. Narcissism was also vain, very vain. He always admired himself looking in the mirror. He was very self absorbed.

One day Mr. Narcissism decided to go for a stroll to the river bank. He laid there relaxing but something very attractive caught his eye in the river. In the river he saw the most beautiful being his eyes ever laid eyes on. He fell deeply in love with this being in the river. Everyday Mr. Narcissism would always look forward to seeing this gorgeous human being in the river. After his errands he would race to the river to talk or just look at this attractive male, the reflection of himself who he fell madly in love with. One day, he stared dreamy at this beautiful male then leaned down to kiss it but slipped and fell into the deadly river.

Mr. Narcissism drowned and he was killed.

The moral of the story, vanity a strong and vain word would always come with a price. There is a big different between pride and vanity. Vanity is pride taken too far, like a drug or obsessive compulsive disorder which leads to the depersonalisation of the human self....

Drowning in
2 feet below the surface I can still make out your wavy face
And if I could just reach you maybe I could leave this place



Listening to: Nine Inch Nails - I do not want this

No joy for me, till the day

No joy for me, till the day
i can hold my head up
King in my hand, hung in shame
Swallow me

I have been listening to this song every morning on the bus on my way to college. I know I will get through this. I will get all my essays, dissertation finished and do all the things I couldn't really do because of college work. All freaken year I have spent hours browsing cosplay photos for imspiration and forums when I should be doing my essays. I just had no motivation but now it has hit me and I will get it all done.

It is really strange that this is my last week of college for good. Tomorrow will be my final class. A couple of weeks ago, I was all thinking I can't wait to be finished and get a decent job so I can focus on my cosplays and travel but now I feel kinda sad leaving college and scared.. I was scared of the future, scared I wouldn't get a decent job or it wouldn't work out for me. I think about it now and want to think positive. Realistically as long as I am healthy that is what matters. Health is wealth.

Today was sad as I had to say good bye to one of my college mates who is from Germany. She is going to study in Brussels next year. I think it is wonderful that we stayed friends for three years, as most of the time friends come and go. She was really sad to be leaving Ireland as she felt many Irish people were open minded and accepting towards her which was touching to hear. I have come across many ignorant and narrow minded people here but we get that everywhere. We promised to stay in contact. What was also strange was on Tuesdays two of my old college mates from way back when I went to a PLC college straight after my leaving cert were in a lecture with me. When I saw them we talked for abit but then there were other times that one of them completely ignored me and the other always seemed to be in a rush which could be true. Back at the PLC college these guys were in my course, since our course was small we became a tight group, got on great and became close. Now one seems to be always in a hurry and the other wants nothing to do with me. I know most of the time college mates just come and go but it is kinda weird. I don't know.... I don't care, it doesn't bother me. In summary people are strange. You just move on, get on with the show. Just some food for thought. I would really like to stay in contact with Miriam and it would be a shame if we lost contact giving we have been friends for three years. She is a very open minded person too. I admire her for her out going personality aswell.

I guess I will miss college and it will be really weird after being in college for five years. Time really flies. College has made me a stronger, more educated and a better person. I have met really interesting open minded individuals during my time in college. I will be now in the big bad world. Welll I am hoping to do a masters in either Marketing in the same college or Advertising in DIT so I could have another year of college. The Advertising seems really interesting but I really do hope I get the Marketing as I get to spend another year in DCU. What ever happens, happens. I know life is going to get better as they are many opportunities out there waiting to be discovered.

The Happy Phantom Has No Right To Bitch...

My current desktop wallpaper.




What is yours?....

Edit: Now my current desktop wallpaper.




I am going to mimic it someday.

Listening to: Tori Amos - Happy Phantom

A woman who never bleeds.

The Saturday before the Japan Day I had abit of the cosplay insomnia. At 4am I made an attempt in styling my current Rei Ayanami wig. I still plan to get a better one which will be longer, the colour will be lighter and will hopefully look more natural. I know I need to trim the layers into my face abit more, as they don't go into her mouth. The wig looks fine and kinda accurate to Rei's hair in the front but the back is way too short and the colour doesn't come out the best in photos sometimes. The reason why I styled my current wig when I plan to get a new one is because I did it for practice, god knows when I can get the new wig so using the wig I have and trying to make it accurate would do for the moment. Unlike many cosplayers who sell their old wigs and costumes, I don't. This wig served me well and it is a great wig to fall back on in case anything happened to my new one. It would come in handy for other cosplays too.























Posing with the one interface. I still never found the other interface which I lost at the IFI Anime Film Festival.



Please excuse my messy eye make-up. Bear in mind it was 4am or after and I wasn't bothered.













I just realised that the outfit I am wearing does suit Rei especially the top. I wasn't thinking at all about what I was wearing when taking these photos as they are not really cosplay photos, just photos showing my updated styled Rei wig. I also tried styling her fringe as she does have some little bits of hair across her fringe. I have also decided to give the red contacts a try. I use to be terrified of putting things into my eyes, I was even terrified of eye liner and now I can't really live without it. If I am going way out to do the plugsuit Rei cosplay I would want everything to be perfect, the hair and the eyes. I think if you wear contacts in your cosplays it gives you so much freedom and you don't have to worry about photoshopping your eyes which can be a pain.

Sure one of my mottos in life,
Try everything once.

Listening to: Jack Off Jill - Vivica

Of Interest...

Growing number of [Japanese] men have no close friends

Tuesday 09th March, 08:25 AM JST

“What if I die and nobody comes to my funeral? What if my wife dies and I’m left all alone in the world?”

Such thoughts keep Keiichi awake nights. They’re usually associated with the elderly, but Keiichi is
38. Having lately lost his job, he has come to realize how isolated he is. His wife alone stands between him and utter friendlessness.

It’s not an uncommon predicament, says Spa! (March 9). It’s a wide and busy world out there, real and virtual, and most of us know a lot of people, but friendship is another matter. Polling 300 men in their 30s, Spa! finds 35.4% of them have not a single close friend.

What does “close friend” mean? “Someone you can open your heart to no matter what the situation” is the answer most favored by survey respondents. If family trouble weighs on you, or you’ve just lost a job, the first thing you need might be a sympathetic listener. The need is not merely emotional, as the magazine points out. Recent research has shown friendlessness is unhealthy. The immune system slackens. Depression and Alzheimer’s become more immediate risks.

“I have lots of close friends,” boasted one Spa! writer as the editors batted around ideas for the feature.

“Good,” said an editor. “Test them. Ask them to lend you money. See what happens.”
Not without compunction, the writer cooked up a story about needing money for a parent’s medical emergency. He approached 11 friends. Nine passed the test—sort of. “I can lend you some, but not much,” they said. “Not much” meant 30,000–50,000 yen. The assumption seemed to be that the writer would never pay the money back—which rankled.

To return to Keiichi. He was an introverted child and had no close friends at all until college—golden years, but they soon end and college friends are easily lost sight of. Then came work, with its daily grind that leaves little time for anything else. A series of transfers in rapid succession left him a perpetual stranger. He married, and there was no one to invite to the wedding except relatives and a few company colleagues.

Then his employer went bankrupt and he was out of a job. He and his wife now get by on day labor, earning between them 100,000–200,000 yen a month, with no better future in sight. “If I had a friend,” he muses, “maybe he could introduce me to a prospect.”

Then there’s Eiji, 37 and job-hunting. He has more than 1400 “followers” on Twitter, but they’re hardly friends. His family moved around a lot when he was a child; then he had to leave college early owing to illness. He got a job at the post office, which, as he tells it, “doesn’t exactly have the sort of atmosphere where everybody goes out drinking together after work.”

There were several short-term company jobs after the post office, until finally a recurring illness put him out of work.

“It’s not just money you don’t have when you’re unemployed,” he says. “It’s contacts.”
So he twitters. It’s better than nothing but, he says, not really satisfying. But though he wants friendship, he seems uncertain as to what he seeks in a friend. That’s why he shies away from meeting his Twitter mates offline.

“I tend to be guarded about my feelings,” he says. “And isn’t a friend someone you’re supposed to be upfront and honest with?”

Source: http://www.japantoday.com/category/kuchikomi/view/growing-number-of-men-have-no-close-friends

It would of been interesting if the study compared it to other countries as it seems to be a problem common place. People tend to prefer socialising on the internet then real life eg facebook and twitter that is one of the reasons why I don't like social networking sites. I can relate myself abit. I only over had one close friend when I was in my teens and after that all I had were acquaintances but we do get on well. Sure who knows I could develop a close friendship.. The night is young. All my times in college I had somewhat close friends but we don't really talk anymore and that is normal. You just lose contact with people. As life goes on we meet more like minded people and I see this with the Eirtakon, anime, manga, lolita and cosplay. I can be hard to get to know and develop a close friendship but once you get to know me like the Germans or maybe the Japanese and other, I could be a friend for life...

Sure the old saying goes, Friends will always pass you by but sisters would never leave you. ;-p

Listening to: Jack Off Jill - Underjoyed

The Japan Day - Farmleigh House

The Japan Day was good fun and I really enjoyed helping out. We were all blessed with the weather. The place Farmleigh House was so nice and scenic, it is hard to believe it was Dublin or not far from Dublin. It was such a beautiful day and there were lots of people at the event. I unfortunately forgot my good Nikon camera as I wanted to take photos for my Eirtakon essay, so we had to make do with the compact camera.



There were many people in pretty kimonos and yukata which was nice to see.



This child is adorable. There were a few kids in yukata too which was cute.



Now the cosplayers. That is Chiang on the left cosplaying as Chrono from Soul Eater, Jenny as the female Kikashi from Naruto, Roisin as Terra from one of the Final Fantasy series and myself cosplaying as C.C. from Code Geass. Surprising enough there were no other cosplayers there.

Some poses.









I really like this photo below. It really shows what cosplay is about.





Being cute.



I was trying to do the same pose my C.C. figure does at home. I know why I have not seen another C.C. cosplayer do this pose as it is physically impossible for a real girl to do it.



Again posing with another attendee. Yeah we were pretty popular and it got worse after the presentation. ;-p



Now we are on the stage. We were pretty scared going on the stage as there were so many people but the stage wasn't high up so it wasn't too bad.



This was funny. We all first thought that the MC was going to introduce us, then interview us individually about our costumes but no we got on the stage he introduced us and then ask us if any of us cared to tell the audience about cosplay. Everyone looked at me and I had go up to the mic and talked about cosplay. I was kinda put on the spot, as I ran out of things to say but it went fine.



One of the guys sitting behind me in glasses was my Japanese lecture back in first year of college. I wonder if he recognised me, I hope not. ;-p



The rest of the cosplayers standing there and looking pretty.



Doing a twirl.



The guy with the shades was one of the volunteers I think. Nice fellow.



In the crowd.










After the event, when I got out of my costume we sat outside on the green infront of Farmleigh House. It really is a very picturesque place.


The day was fun but I felt there could of been a lot more at it. There could of been more stuff on Japanese pop culture, Geisha and Japanese theatre arts. The same events ran over again but still it was a very enjoyable day. I would like to get involved again next year, perhaps do a cosplay presentation and maybe do a performance. It was funny after my speech, the MC asked were we going to do a performance and I was like, eh no we had nothing prepared.

Listening to: Fear Factory - Zero Signal

Living the dream..

Would that be nice.

Eirtakon Wins Best Event 2009 at the DCU Clubs and Stocs Awards!!

I am still shocked over this. I was at my college Clubs and Societies awards Wednesday night, which was on in the Helix. . Everyone in Dublin City University (DCU), knows that every single year it is either Drama stoc's plays or Style Stoc's fashion shows who always win best event, as they are the college's biggest societies and always gets lots of press and media attention. We were talking to a friend and she says, just once can they please let an event from a DIFFERENT society win.



We were all sitting down facing the presenter as he read out the nominees for the best event category. We all had the same thoughts, "ah sure it is obviously going to be the fashion show who will win." When the presenter shouted out that Eirakon won best event,  I looking at each another frozen and jumping with pride and joy as we came on the stage to collect our trophy. This is a massive achievement for us as so much hard work went into this convention and it is wonderful to see a niche, non mainstream event win for once. We had over 1000 attendees and it really makes me feel really rewarded when we hear nice feedback from the attendees and especially winning an award. Not only the committee should feel proud but the staff and attendees should feel it too, as Eirtakon would not have grown to be a great success without you all. Winning this award is very much motivating me to work hard and to give everyone a good time. I will do my best to promote cosplay and get people involved.



So there you have it, the hard working committee posing with our trophy. Yeah I know I am the only girl but meh, I have become used to it. ;-p They really all are a nice bunch.

For the ones who don't know Eirtakon is an Irish Anime and Manga convention which started in 2005. Over the last years it has grown to be a bigger convention and we are having the convention in the fancy Helix this year. We had to move venue as space was becoming an issue. That really goes to show how big the convention has gotten.;-)