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The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.

It has been a while since I updated this thing but since my life has taken a rather unexpected turn I figured it was best I let my friends here know.  At the beginning of the year I had great convention plans that included going back to Yaoi-con.  Back to AWA and AUSA.  But now, even Otakon seems out of my reach.

I have been diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma.  Its a cancer of the lymph nodes and I am in stage 3B of the disease.  I am under going a rather aggressive chemotherapy treatment and my life has completely changed in just the course of a few short weeks.

I was diagnosed on June 20th, when I was so sick I couldn't go to work.  The doctors discovered an enlargement in my stomach that was causing my pain and nausea.  I have since spent time in various hospitols and doctors offices getting tests and treatment.  I am unable to work and have been told basically to not leave home or go anywhere where I might come into contact with anyone that is sick because of what the chemo does to my system.

So what does that mean as far as cosplay?  Well..a low white blood cell count means no public places which means no conventions and no cosplay.  A rather grim thing for a cosplayer.  I will continue to make costumes but I don't think any of them will be seeing convention wear anytime soon.

So that is my life at the moment.  Not exactly a happy cosplay filled blog entry..but maybe I can have one of those again someday soon.

Tags: Health

Come of my favorite pictures from the weekend ^^   

For getbackers pics, go here cause I posted my favs to the comm: http://community.livejournal.com/getbackers/698086.html

its deathgod02's Touda's fingers of doom against my own XD  Who would win this epic battle of the claws?

 *cuddle*

Why Kuro-puu...I never knew XD

Squee!!  *hugs*

What print was on those panties? XD

Bad guys stalking the good guys

I should do a Pepsi commercial XD

OMG Thank you Kakyou for this pic...

 

X/1999, Ouran host club, and Fruits Basket favs to come later ^^

I made it home safe from otakon. What a weekend...so much good stuff in three days should not be allowed ^^

But first..the bad. I did not get Seki's autograph *buckets of tears* I was foiled at every turn. Every attempt I made to get an autograph was met by great difficulty. I did make it to his panel on Friday and for that I am very happy because he is just made of awesome. When he was doing the voices like Yzak and Chichiri I could barely sit still XD That man is my hero and I hope he comes back to a con I go to soon so i can once again try and get his picture.

So now on to the good..in very brief:

1. Kurogane. I officially love deathgod02 forever XD When she showed up at the fountains wearing Kurogane...I will admit it here..Yes I did cry. She was not lying to everyone XD That was by far the greatest surprise ever and it made my entire convention weekend. I had ABSOLUTELY NO idea she had made the costume...and apparently everyone else did and had managed to keep it a secret from me XD Kudos to you guys XD This was how it happened:

Me (with one of our friends): What could she possibly be changing into? I thought they were doing Kingdom Hearts tomorrow.
Friend: Don't know. She didn't tell me.
Me: I wonder how long...*starts to flail* Oh my god a Kurogane! I need my camera..need my..
MAN: Can I take your picture?
Me: *in head* Damnit _< *to man* Of course *poses*>-once done with picture, realizes who the kurogane is when they get to the bottom of the stairs, runs over, hugs, immediatly breaks down-

And of course...we get asked for pictures as soon as I pull away. XD So sorry to those few because I'm sure Fai was a wreck XD

So yes..many happy Fai moments were made at Otakon this year.

2. Cain. I don't think I've ever had as many pictures taken in my life. but the best part...people's reactions when the wings were extended right in front of them XD I managed to stay in the costume for about 6 hours...much longer then I had anticipated. I probably could have stayed in it longer but my shoulder was hurting for some reason and I had to use the bathroom XD Not a whole lot broke over the course of the weekend..but in all 4 of the 6 wings are now in need of repair. Including one of the large onces which basically snapped at the joint when a huge gust of wind came up on my way to take the costume off. But the costume was a massive success..more so then I even imagined. Now to only finish it XD

3. Jyuunishi Challenge. By far the biggest year yet. Not only did we have the biggest cast (All but Shigure, Ayame, and the rooster) but we had the biggest turn out. We gave away all 13 awards and the entire cast said they would return again next year. This makes me feel good...because I want to make sure I am not forcing people into it, but that they are actually having fun at it. It really was a huge success and I thank everyone that played as well as participated. We WILL return next Otakon.

4. Subaru and Seishirou photoshoot. I swear..this was my weekend of favorite pairings. Hurray for Edgar and being able to go off and take pictures together. He was hilarious and made it very difficult for this Subaru to appear angsty. We got some great pictures and it was fun to hang out.

5. My roommates. I know I was a bit of a pain in the ass XD But you guys...you all are excellent minions friends. Argent and Susan, thank you so much for helping me get into Cain. 2 hours and 15 minutes worth of work to get ready but without you guys I never would have been able to do it. Susan, thanks for being my wing extender ^^ You both make excellent wingmen ~_^ Kakyou, you rock. Plain and simple. I don't know why you stayed with me as long as you did XD Thanks for holding my half eaten apple after every bite when I kept getting asked for my picture. Thanks for being my stool carrier and photographer. Just..thanks. And Sanzo, thank you for being there. For the pictures and the memories and for hanging out. I know I had my grumpy moments but you still stayed by my side and helped keep me company. Thank you for the apple. Cain needed the energy ^^ I hope the pictures I took for you came out just as you imagined. Your new costumes looked great and I hope you enjoyed yourself.

6. Getbackers. Hurray for slowly gaining more members ^^ Kakyou as the great Kagami and Xana as the awesome Akabane make the 2 happiest bad guys ever XD And of course deathgod02 as my excellent Ban-chan who will forever protect me from Akabane XD I love all our new getbackers pictures.

I know there is so much more...but I really can't think of it at the moment.

So simply...thank you everyone..thank you for such wonderful memories.

Quote of the weekend:  The new Hotness!

XD

hehe..okay first I am amused by the "yeehaw" as a mood XD

 Anyway, OMG Otakon!  Its so soon! I can't wait ^_^  Mostly I am very excited and can't stop fangrilling over the idea of seeing Seki XD  I will be at every panel and every autograph session.  So glad Otakon put out there schedule so I can plan my day ^^

Cosplay schedule looks like this:

Thursday; Subaru Sumeragi from X/1999

Friday: Hatsuharu Sohma from Fruits Basket, Dominic from Eureka 7, Tamaki from Ouran Host Club

Saturday: Cain from Trinity Blood, Fai from Tsubasa

Sunday: Ginji from Getbackers, Axel from Kingdom Hearts

 Whee! Can't wait!

I'm excited about Otakon because I get to run the Jyuunishi Challenge again.  This will be our 4th year doing it.  We took a small hiatus last year because most of the original members didn't want to participate.  But with several new members being very enthusiastic about the event, this year proves to be fun and exciting!  We have almost the entire cast and this is our biggest group by far.  I can't wait!

Don't know what the JC is?  Well here is our official announcement:

Hello Otakon goers! I am pleased to present...

Jyuunishi Challenge 2007!

After a one year break, the Jyuunishi Challenge returns to Otakon! Once more the Fruits Basket characters are going to be taking over the convention ~_^ Here are the basic rules of the challenge for those that are going to be taking part for the first time, or as a refresher for those that have participated in it other years.

There will be Fruits Basket characters running around with white, black, or red bands around their arms that say JC on them. If you hug the characters wearing these bands then you will receive a pin of their animal form. Find all the characters in the challenge (including Tohru and Akito) and at the end of the day, you will receive a special surprise!

 Each time you receive a pin, the jyuunishi character will write down the time and their initials on a card. You will receive this card from the first jyuunishi you glomp on Friday. Its a lot of fun and we hope to make it bigger and better then previous years. Some of the jyuuinishi handed out nearly 100 pins last time!! We thank all those that participated!

This year the competition will be run on FRIDAY. It will start with the opening of the convention and will end at 5 PM. At the end of the day we will meet at the fountains, up those stairs behind them near the statue. There we will hand out the prizes. There is a limited number of prizes, so try and be one of the first to get your hands on all the pins! Plus, the VERY first person to get all the pins gets an extra special prize. You don't necessarily have to receive all the pins though to get a prize. We will award prizes to the people with the MOST pins at the end of the day.

In order to get a prize you MUST have your challenge card initialed by the jyuunishi each time you receive a pin. At the 5PM awards gathering we will collect all the cards and figure out the winners. Make sure you put your name on your card!!

Thats all there is to it. Any questions, feel free to ask. I'd love to hear from those that took part in it in previous years and also those that are interested in doing it this year! This years characters involved are:

• Hatsuharu (me ^_^)


• Ritsu


• Rin


• Kyou


• Kisa


• Akito


• Tohru


• Hiro


• Ayame


• Momiji


• Kagura


• Hatori


• Yuki

And you'll have to keep your eyes open all the time because there are some very difficult characters to find. Some are in the summer uniforms, some in the winter uniforms, and some are in artbook outfits. Just watch out for those JC armbands!

Good luck to everyone!

I've always been a little curious by the rating system on this site.  It seemed like a good way to get a person's feelings dashed.

I say this because I posted a picture of me wearing an Axel costume standing next to a friend of mine as Roxas and not a few minutes later...it had a rating of 1.  Ouch...I didn't think I looked that bad o_O 

It makes me wonder...do you rate the picture content? The costumes accuracy?  The overall image?  What exactly are you rating?

10 is the highest...I understand that because I've seen the little leader board thing.  But what is the point in pitting people against each other like this?

I have a feeling there are people that go around and just rate others that are wearing the same costume as them very low since it is "competition."  There might also be vindictive people out there that just go out and rate everyone very low.  That is why having this rating system kinda worries me.

I'm always so paranoid about whether I look okay in costume and whether I have a good pose and this that and everything else.  And I know I shouldn't care but when I'm proud of something and I get smacked with a 1...I feel a little hurt U_U

All costumes deserve a 10 in my opinion.  You are out there having fun and working hard on your outfit, regardless of how easy or difficult it is.  Therefore all cosplayers should have a 10 on the leaderboard.  This isn't a competition.  Its our way of having fun.

I know Roxas and I had fun yesterday wearing the outfits ^^ And that is all that matters.

Okay so the battle option on this site amuses me greatly XD

Battle Royale of cosplay images.  I spend many hours..yes hours...clicking away on images of random people.  What is so amusing about this feature?

Maybe its the idea of Cardcaptor Sakura taking down Pyramid Head XD  Or an adorable Chii defeating Harry Potter. 

Perhaps I am far too entertained by this crazy little toy.  But it is an interesting thing that I can see some images many times and others only appear once.  And I have just discovered that you can pick different categories to do battle! 

Okay, I am far too easily amused XD  I want my pictures to come up so I can say: "Whoo!  I just defeated Sora with my Tamaki!"  Its like some strange pokemon ripoff fighter card game XD

Okay..first..the moods are hilarious XD  I was tempted to put the durnk one just because it was there XD I still haven't figured out what the points are on the "My Page" section O_o  I just don't understand this place XD This will take a lot of getting used to I guess...Lets see, I suppose I should do a blog of introduction since that is what everyone else I see is doing ^^

So for those that don't know me, I'm Tohma! Hello!  Everyone calls me that unless they are family or co-workers XD  So if you see me at a con and yell out "HEY TOHMA!"  I'll totally respond...probably be very suprised...but I will at least wave back XD

Don't expect me to run up to you at a con unless i know you though ^^;;  Sorry...i'm not being rude or mean or anything.  I just have this fear of meeting people XD  I'm incredibly shy around new people and that makes me become very very quiet.  And then I get to know you and I never shut up XD  So please, take the first step cause otherwise I'll hide in a corner! ^^

I recently lost my most loved of all jobs for reasons that were beyond my control and not of my fault.  But that is corporate life.  So I am now a waitress (as of right now I'm into my 2nd week of terror!) XD  But I really like it and hopefully when I get the hang of it I can make lots of money XD  At least until I figure out what I want to do with my life.

So you could say I'm at a crossroad in my life (25 is a little early for mid-life crisis right?)  I don't know what I want to do with my life but I want to make sure it doesn't interfere with what I enjoy doing (conventions and horse shows)

And no, going back to school is not an option.  I graduated college 3 years ago and would probably go crazy if I had to sit in classes again XD  So I have a lot of soul searching to do and maybe someday the light bulb will turn on and I'll figure out my life.

Anyway, Love cosplay.  Started at Nekocon 2002 when the anime club decided to go to the convention and all dress from the same series.  What series you ask?  Why "Gravitation" of course!  I had just recently finished it and was in love with Tohma and his sense of style XD  We had pretty much the entire cast and we even painted up our cars as the "Nittle Grasper Tourbus" and "Bad Luck tourbus"  It was great fun and I was hooked ^^

Since then I've made far too many costumes and have gradually been pushing myself into more difficult ones.  I completely handsew all my costumes so it takes me a lot of time to complete one that is very detailed, but it also gives me a way to spend my free time ^^

I am single...and you will all call me a freak after this but...I've never even been on a date with a guy. *shock*  Mostly because I'm too afraid to even talk to most guys XD  Wait..guy..where? *runs away*  You can all laugh at me now XD

I do ride horses and although I don't do it as much as I used to, I do enjoy it a lot.  I've riden English, Western, Dressage, Gymkana, Jumping, and my 3 year old Paint filly is currently in training for Reining so I'll get to learn that soon.

I have 4 horses (2 morgans and 2 paints) called Thunder, Hoppy, Zippy, and Pheonix...and yes those are the barn names.  Their real names are much more difficult XD

Wow..okay this has gotten really long so I'll cut it off here ^_^  Congrats to those that made it to the end!  Part II of my life story may come at another time XD