Tokyo no Yume

Ohoho...I'm back from Tokyo! There are simply too much to say yet so dificult to word them because it was what I saw which amazed me like crazy. Stupid Animelo tak bagi tangkap gambar. I think I'll beak down the experience into a few blog ranging from the room I stay in to the food I ate. Here is my itenerary though:

~I get the window seat~

Friday, 9am - boarded MAS from KLIA. Ate nasi lemak at airport = RM60. *vomit blood*
           11am - stopped at KK.
            9pm - reached Narita Airport. Argh!!! Excited till...but sleepy la. Took bus to hotel.
           12am - reached Hotel Sunshine City. Purchased a phone card but dunno how to use, panic giler.
                     - first attempt in speaking Japanese when getting help from front desk to use the card.
                     - finally managed to call home around 130am, lega giler.

Tokyo here I come!

The flight gave me a bad neck which last until the flight back which gave me another bad neck which last till today. Yup, I'm having a bad neck still. The flight was good though because we get to eat, eat, eat and eat. There's also sufficient entertainment for the 8 hours flight. Supposed to play Sohtong's PSP de but no battery...*krai*. So I played Zuma, Hang Man, watched House 1, House 2, The Simpsons 1, The Simpsons 2, Ever After, listened to yoga tunes, J-Pop and Korean Hits. Sempat watched some documentary: Mesopotamia. Watched 14 Blade half way, tak sempat see him bathe...argh!

~My pilgrimage~

Hmmm...that's the first day. I think I'll blog about my room next...and the toilets there, yessss....

Anicom 2010 - a cosplay event held annually in Sg. Wang. This event is carried out in three weekends, two winners for each week. I participated it last Sunday for the first time. The day before was GAMP. It was exhausting, I've lost some voice from all the talking and...my Sumire costume was not done yet T.T

Hmmm...I planned to cosplay this character rm Sakura Taisen since begining this year. It was one of my childhood favourite anime. I've watched their musical concert and fell in love with their stage perfomances. Love seeing Sumire perform on stage^^

Anyway...I woke up early the next day to complete the costume. Up till 1pm, I'm still not sure if I wanna go because I really don't know what to perform. Sumire is a songstress and a stage performer in the anime when she's not busy kicking bad guys' bum bum in her koubu. So I did a simple geisha dance and sang the theme song - Teikoku Kagekidan. Love that song so much.

I reached late summore and went second last to perform. Sigh...what killed my motivation was how the crowd reacted when I wanted to get back stage. All the guys were hodging the front and won't let me go through at all. It was like they scare to leave their strategic spot to catch hot chicks even for a second. I dahlah so 'pek chek' after trying to wear the180cm long kimono in the toilet. Even Kin Man who helped me to wear kena marah from me for nothing. Sorry kek cawan...I'd been nasty and mean =.=".

I was at the verge of leaving when I bumped into Asyraf and Iqbal (the Bleach twins). Then they helped me to get back stage o.O "Tepi tepi, lalu lalu. Ada contestant!" I was so sure someone was gonna break their necks...anyway, managed to escaped to the back and wait...wait...and wait summore. I felt like vomiting back stage. Just felt so...'vomitty'?

Then my turn came. I was afraid that people don't know what I was since Sakura Taisen is an old school anime. I got on stage and guess what? I forgotten the dance steps, cincai hentam the steps o.O Next, I've forgotten the intro dance so I ended up talking, talking and talking nonsense. Out of tune summore. Sigh...but thank God Fahimi, Alan Chin and several others at the front helped to stir the atmosphere. Thank you guys...it really meant a lot for me.

Oh uhm...so gao dim and run back stage feeling like puking all over again. A few minutes later they announced the winner. I went out for the consolation prize. It's another motivation for me to perform better in future. Thanks for those who support guys! Well, it's not just about winning I guess. I had the chance to see other cosplayers in amazing costume and I mean amazing costumes, props and make-up. I learnt a lot from all this^^

Ganbatte to those who are joining on the second and third week. Ganbatte, ZCDave!

GAMP 2010

Well...since it's 1:40am now, I'm gonna write a short report of the event.

Let's see, this is the first cosplay event held in IMU. After going through so much hardship, misunderstanding, postponing, frustration and heartache, it is done! There was a lot of last minute job during all forms of red tapes but we managed to pull off anyway. It wasn't great and there's lots of space for improvement but from the bottom of our hearts, we hoped those who participated had a good time. Do continue to support us should there be a GAMP 2011 yah! Please feel free to leave any comments (good or bad) regarding the event. We will look into it so that a better GAMP can be organized in future! Thanks heap~

Like any other cosplay event, we had drawing competitions, performances, solo and group cosplay competitions. Heheh...I;m proud to say that I'd convinced the Volcaloid and Bleach gang to join group cosplay. Huh? What? I didn't? At least I planted the idea, no? Lol...anyway, you all did great. Wanted to thank all those who participated. I'm really thrilled to se many cosplayer who showed up in impressive costumes. Hope the photo booths were useful for you all. Here are some of the pics taken:

A special thanks to all the performers: Band Desu, Celestia, Laveena, Shawn Ngu and ZZ Chee. You guys did great. A big thanks to all photographers who took lovely pictures of this event! Thanks for tagging too! I shall attach the links to videos and pics soon. I had fun, really. You guys are awesome!

To the committee of GAMP, thanks for making this happen!

To Kin Man Fong a.k.a Da Sohtong, thanks watching my back and keeping an eye on me! Hugs!

To Ayase, Kikyo and Captain Jack, thanks for taking time to help us out!

To Janet who helped out the booth, thank you very much and sorry for being such a lousy shopkeeper =.="

To Miss Siew Wei Fern, thanks for showing up. It really mean a lot to this event^^

To anonymous, thanks for the drawing! I've got a souvenir! Hehe...

Hmm...for me, cosplaying has been a wonderful journey where I met really cool people. See you guys around~

GAMP

• Date: 14th Aug
• Time: 10am - 7pm
• Venue: Auditorium, International Medical University
• Attractions: Performance, food stalls, doujin booths, Photo Corners
• Competitions: Art, Cosplay (solo/group)

*Waving frantically to all cosplayer, anime/manga fans and photographers out there*

Do come and join us! I shall be giving out candies and chocolate that day...hehe...limited stock so catch me when you drop by! Nola...I'm not bribing...Cya there! Support le....

NIPS Crazy Challenge (TV3) Finale

Hmmm..where do I begin? I have a feeling this is gonna be a looooong one. First of all, I really didn't know cosplaying as Yuuko Ichihara can take me this far but I know I genuinely love this character. A lot! I started off in her Tsubasa dimension that you guys must have seen a lot in my blog. I thought of changing to her Victorian Riding version last minute so I had about three weks to complete the crazy costume. I spent about two to three hours after school to sew the costume. During the last week, I even stolen some time between lecture break to sew a button or two. I'm sure the lecturer almost hauled a table at me. This page will be a dedication to those who helped me through this.

First of all, thank God! There's so much things in between that I fear and it's not so much about Him letting me win or things like that. It's more about the time, friends, boyfriend and family supports that I have been blessed with. He gave me peace and comfort at times of turmoil, especially everytime I'm at back stage and almost puke out of nervousness. One more thing, THANK GOD THE WHIP TRICK DID NOT FAIL. Omg...that part was really a miracle despite all the practice we had.

            Mom and Ta Yi                                                            Aunt Lee and Uncle

My Mom who supported me secretly despite all the 'why-the-heck-do-you-have-to-do-this'. She worked on my wig (she's a hair dresser) a few days earlier which had entangled like *blank* after the last appearance. She wished me 'good luck' a thousand times on the day of the competition. Somehow, I can feel that she is more 'kan jeong' (anxious) than I am. Lol...it's so good to see her so happy~

Sera

Sera, my cousin sister! She is an amazing make-up artist who inspired me to do all the crazy things in life since I was a kid - art, stage performance, modeling, desinging, tailoring. You name it. She taught me how to sew according to measurement. Thank God she was back in M'sia on time to guide me in making this costume! Thanks, Sis! You're awesome! 

My uncle, the landscapist! He helped me to sculpt the phoenix on her hat. That bird is one heck of a problem. I did a lousy job and my uncle offered to help out with the touch up despite being so busy and tired. So from a 'duck' with extra long tails, it transformed into a phoenix! He is awesome in painting!

Aunt Lee and Ta Yi pula helped me brain storm with all the materials needed. I practically ransaked their shop for materials...lol. Aunt Lee made several calls just to check if I get what I needed. I'm so priviledge!

Best Boyfriend Award: Sohtong!

Fong Kin Man! The 24-7 suportive boyfriend of mine! He spent so much time accompanying me sewing and tolerated all my 'siao-ness' when I was overwhelmed by stress. He was with me back stage, front stage, makan and everywhere to keep me company. He held my hands when I was going to puke or faint, telling me to chill. I think he had faith in me more than I had for myself. Thanks, love! You deserved the Best Boyfriend Award! Hugs~

Yukito, (me), Marianne, Emily.

Next will be my two helpers! I really can't do this without them. Put me alone on the stage and it won't be the same at all. I've met them at random in cf forum and met them in person during CF09. I'm so glad they agreed to help me out. They are no other than Marianne Chong (Ame Warashi) and Yukito Jin Chong Tey (Watanuki Kimihiro). Thank you guys for making time to actually gather together for practice and thank you guys so much for alowing my imagination to run amok and put up with it. Marianne, the whip trick worked! Argh!! It worked! Thank you for being an amazing whip thrower and thank your sis (Emily) for being an amazing whip thrower trainer! Thank her for coming to support us too! Yukito, sorry for all the abuse! Thanks for being a sport~

ZCDave

Also, a special thanks to ZCDave for being such a sport to appear in our final skit. That whack on the head was a good one XD. Thank you, ZCDave! I was able to meet Ayase, Kikyo, Laveena, Sky_Fara, Celestia, Embek, Iqbal and many other cosplayers in person.

Also a big thank you to Remaja TV3, NIPS sponsor and the fellow judges for making all this happen. It's nice to see Saifudean, Deqwan and Kudin there too. Thanks for being so helpful! A big thank you to all those who messaged me through phone and fb as well. Thanks for all the support! Hugs! 

Here are the videos of our skits:

1. Semi Final

2. Final

Results:
1. Celebriti Malaysia
2. Marianne_C

Bon Odori 2010

Through my eyes.

This is my second Bon Odori. I remember attending last year and vowed to return this year with a proper yukatta. Heheh...I also remembered that I reminded myself not to wear anything red or pink. I must have got recalled the wrong information when I was purchasing the cloth for my yukatta.

So Kin Man and I headed to Shah Alam around 6pm. Thanks to my over acurate information, we ended up at Shah Alam Stadium. Thank God, Matsushita Stadium was only 15 minutes away. Nevertheless we took an extra 30 minutes due to the massive jam. Cars were flooding in from every direction at a roundabout. There was zero parking nearby so Kin Man dropped my off first.

I was late and there wasn't any fan left for me :( but when I started to dance for the first session, a group of ladies gave me a fan. I think they thought I was a Japanese girl who was late and didn't get any fan a.k.a kesiannya... And evil me, I just smiled and said 'arigatou'. Evil! I know, I know! I'm sorry but it sure felt good to 'be' a Japanese for a day. Lol...

This year was crazily packed. The songs and dance moves were the same as last year so I caught up pretty fast. I only saw my cousin brother and a high school fren there - Su Woan. Oh and Anthony Lee too ^^. Thanks for the pic as I didn't really take any picture. Sigh...menyesal.

It was a full day for me. Dance ---> buy drinks ---> dance ---> buy food --->dance ---> bye bye. I saw lots of silk yukatta that can be purchased from Mines Wonderland and these:

1. Girls wearing super high and pointy heels (I wonder how many times they got stuck in the mud).

2. Girls wearing super short 'yukatta' like those from 'toys' shop (still the photographers love them, whatever).

3. A guy actually cosplayed like a vampire!?!?!?!?

4. Several guys brought katana. I wondered what were they thinking when they decided to lug that thing around the whole day.   

All in all, it was fun! I thought of making time to go Penang next year. Hmmm...surely no more pink and red next round.

Thanks for accompanying me ^^ I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do. Hugs~

Moral Lesson on Vainity

 I went for the elimination round with a friend from my batch in 2008 IMU Cup. Apparently, many representatives from Med were there too. While waiting for my turn, I saw this kid who looked darn familiar. The reason why he caught my attention in the first place was because he was talking so loud, trying to entertain a group of girls with jokes that I find...lame? Oh well...anyway, he reminded me of some nerd I used to encounter in almost every inter high school quiz - Science, General Knowledge, Chemistry, Biology, Add Math et cetra... Ahh...not to mention debate too. Okay, the reason I'm always there made me a nerd too. Fine, fine, I'll take that. Anyway, that quiz guy was smart alright but definitely not attractive to me, not in that way.

So later when I had the opportunity to encounter this medic guy I said, 'Hey, you looked familiar.' Before I could continue by asking, 'are you the prefect who represented your high school in most of the science quiz' he gave me a disgusted look like he just saw a slimy frog talking. He interupted almost without consideration, 'many girls said the same. I know I leng chai, always use the same line'. Erk! Naik kejang leher aku.

He walked away and I let him because if I were to open my mouth next, I might start cursing his father, his father's father and his father's father's father. Sheesh...leng chai my bum bum. Which part leng chai!? He is neither tall nor dark nor handsome. Nothing attractive physically and now that he opened his mouth, totally turn off. Sheesh...I was screaming for a mirror! So, last sem I saw him again in the hospital. He saw me too and gave me the smirk, still hallucinating that he looked like Jae Joong. I wished I had a banner with me that says: LOSER. So VAIN. PERASAN.

Just to make a comparison. I went for a trip this round and saw another fella who looked like one of the guy who joined the crowd in Talent Fashion Outbreak 2008. Learning from past experience, I cut it short and get straight to the point. 'Hey, are you one of the participants for Talent Fashion Outbreak?' He appeared startled for a while then smiled, 'I don't think so. No...my friends mistaken me for some other people too.' He is better looking, polite and HUMBLE. This is the kind of guys that girls don't mind pulling a few pick-up lines with. At least I still have respect for this guy rather than the first.

Another moral lesson: self praise is no praise.