Masquerades

I went to two masquerade balls this year.

One was called Devil's Night Ball 3, which took place the day before Halloween. It was held by Tragic Trantrum, a San Diego cabaret. They also performed and a friend of mine was one of their dancers. There were other performers there, including Zirk Ubu. They did some freaky circus acts, like putting a needle through an arm, having a topless girl ejaculate feathers, and showing a violent shadow puppet show. It was also fun seeing people in their Halloween costumes. I saw Billy Mays, Linguine from Ratatouille, Frieda Kahlo, Wolf from the Star Fox video game series, and Prince Nuada and Princess Nuala from Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Overall, the event was fun and I only wish that more of my friends came to see it.

The other ball was UCSD Circle K's annual masquerade ball. Last night I went there, which took place on a cruise ship. I saw alot of people from Circle Ks across California, Nevada, and possibly Hawaii. There was a dance floor, karaoke, casino games, but not enough food. Also, I was the only person from my school CK to attend. My fellow members couldn't come because they either had family-related business or other plans. Its too bad since they would have enjoyed it. Its a bit irritating though. Nowadays I feel like I'm the only one who represents my college at volunteer events and such. If only there were more active members...

The masquerade also had somewhat of a Sin City theme to it. They gave me this bag of chocolates as a thank-you gift.

Marv: "I don't know about you, but I'm having a ball."

What did I wear to both masquerades? This mask.



I went to a costume shop called Gypsy Treasure. They had a wall filled with masks and I chose the one I liked the most. Too bad I don't have an extravagant ball gown to go with it.

Short Reviews

• Last month I went to Eternal/Eterno, a goth nightclub in Los Angeles. I saw a band called Gentleman Junkie. I was actually very impressed with the backup vocalist, even though, obviously, she wasn't the lead singer. Still, they were great. Strangely, I swear, I've heard their songs before at Sabbat, and they're not even a mainstream band.
• I saw a Japanese horror film called Audition. Its pretty silly how it starts off as a cutesy romantic movie about a widower looking for a new wife. Then it goes down the creepy feministic-revange route. My friend commented saying that American movies should be more like Audition.
• My other friend wanted to celebrate Halloween with me by renting An American Werewolf in London and drinking pumpkin ale. We tried creating a drinking game but she couldn't handle the taste and stopped drinking. I guess she was expecting it to taste like pumpkin pie. (Pumpkin itself doesn't taste like anything but its often given spices to taste like "pumpkin.") I didn't like the taste either but I drank it anyway. The movie itself was amusing, especially because the bystanders near the end ran TO the werewolf instead of AWAY from it! Impressive pre-CGI makeup effects too.
  

Stickers!

This entry is all about the stickers I own. I'm not a collector, but I get them anyway and I rarely use them. Actually, I did stick them to letters I'd send to my ex until he became a...never mind!

A little recently, my sister bought me a Little Big Planet sticker book, knowing that I love Sackboys.



I love that stencil graffiti Sackboy (next to cowboy), but I don't know where to stick it yet.





There are illustrated pages of game levels that contain empty spaces. They have clues to which stickers to fill them with.



I bought these Briar Rose/Aurora stickers from the Disney Store, and they were expensive!





I got these scratch-and-sniff stickers when I saw Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs in 3-D.



Don't smell the hotdog, unless you want your nose burnt!



Here's some Naruto stickers I bought a long time ago.



From left: A sparkly Sailor Mercury sticker that's peeling off, another sparkly sticker that was a clothing tag, and shiny St. Patrick's Day stickers.



Now this is ancient. When my sister was little, she got dinosaur stickers that had a backing which could be colored and used as a bookmark. Since the picture was of dancing dinosaurs, it seemed appropriate to put the stickers on it in dancing positions. I always laugh at the dinosaur riding on top of the diplodocus (upper left-hand corner). X)



Before the release of Demon Days, the animated band Gorillaz encouraged fans to promote the album by sticking "REJECT FALSE ICONS" stickers onto public places, like graffiti. They tended to be used as public statements against the media and celebrities. I requested stickers but I never stuck them anywhere. The bottom two are of band members 2-D (vocals) and Noodle (guitar and vocals). They came from the limited edition version of their compilation DVD Phase One: Celebrity Takedown. I use to stick these in my locker in high school. I lost some other stickers there too. :(



I found the Noodle sticker attached to a dog tag my sister made me years ago. Its labeled "this is your left" with arrows supposedly pointing at the left side. This was an inside joke my sister and I had, related to the animated series Aqua Teen Hunger Force.



I get a lot of activist junk in the mail. Yes, I believe in gay rights, civil rights, women's rights, saving the environment, etc. I just don't want to pay money. From upper left: Human Rights Campaign (I have another on my car), American Civil Liberties Union, and Amnesty International USA.



From upper left: FM 94.9, an alternative music radio station I listen to; In-N-Out, my favorite fast food restaurant; and The Crypt, a gay, leather, bondage, clothing, sex shop in San Diego.

What's New, VML?

Life as been a mix of ups and downs. First of all, I want to explain what happened since my last blog entry, the one I posted back in June.

Birth control pills didn't do wonders to me. I got more acne and became more depressed. I could get into more detail but I think that's enough information to post.

I did go to Anime Expo 2009, which was in Los Angeles. I stayed with a friend on the first two days but I ended up staying in a motel during the last few days. Overall, the trip was miserable because I felt lonely. Its ironic because LA has always been my favorite city. Its just not fun going to anime conventions alone. Yes, there were some upsides to my trip. I went with a friend the first day before she left, I took a lot of photos, I got to visit Das Bunker for the first time, and I was able to see my LA friend to give him late birthday gifts. Staying in a motel by myself was an interesting experience too. Still, my trip could have been much better and I was disappointed. Next time, I'm only traveling when I know for sure my friends or travel buddies aren't going to neglet me. I don't mind traveling alone but this was a trip I planned with friends.

Other details:

• AX seemed much smaller than prior years. There were less activities going on and less companies visiting. I think its because of economical reasons. The US anime/manga industry is going down due to internet downloading, too many high-priced and unsold DVDs, and too many unpopular manga books not selling. Companies like ADV Films are shuttering as a result of this downward trend.
• Another reason AX seemed less active is because of the popularity of Comic Con. For example, Viz Media chose to show up at Comic Con instead of AX. It makes sense since CC gets more attention each year. Still, they should have visited AX since, you know, it is (or was) the biggest anime convention in the US. Then there's that other summer anime convention called Otakon...
• At one point, while I was walking back to my motel, a man in a car stopped to ask if I "needed a ride." I shook my head and died inside.
• Before I went to Bunker, I needed money. I walked to a nearby 7-Eleven while decked out in my gothic lolita dress, boots, and accessories. People stared at me, of course. Once I passed a group of teenaged guys giggling in the magazine section, they all went silent.

Life as of Now

I'm back in community college. I'm suppose to have two semesters left before I transfer to a university. I already applied to seven California State Universities. I've been eyeing CSU Northridge and CSU Los Angeles. Yet, I'm not going to make my decision until spring time, when they start sending acceptance letters to students. Who knows, I may fuck up this semester and stay in San Diego longer (which I don't want), or I may get pissed at family and friends and go to some faraway place like CSU Monterey Bay, Academy of Art University, or even University of Hawaii in Manoa.

I must say, blogging is relaxing and soothing for me, since I've been feeling stressed out and moody lately.