I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

Without Each Other's Help There Ain't No Hope For Us

sunseenli@aol.com — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:36:52 GMT

This Sunday, ngmaster and I will finally, after at least two reschedules if not more, get around to doing that "Making Of" photoshoot that I mentioned last December. I already know some of the aspects we're going to be touching on, such as makeup, accessorizing, and posing, but I figured I'd throw it out here for suggestions: what are you most curious about regarding photoshoots? What would you love to know how we do? What's something you'd like to improve upon in your own photos? What's something you think I could improve upon in mine? What "behind the scenes" stuff are you most interested in? Throw anything out there; even if it's not something I can do, maybe it will make me think of other things I can.

But I Know The Reason Why You Keep Your Silence UP, Oh No You Don't Fool Me

sunseenli@aol.com — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:11:47 GMT

So, on top of everything else that's been going on recently, our Playstation 3 died.

This took us by surprise. I was aware that Playstations could die, because whenever I'd play Oblivion for, like, five hours until Marvel woke up, he would caution me to take a break so as not to overheat the console. And the one or two times it froze (which only seemed to happen when I was playing it), Marvel would worry, "I hope it isn't dying on me." But neither of these things had happened for months, maybe even a year. And certainly you don't hear about it as often as you do the Red Ring of Death that plagues every XBOX ever built.

But, one night last week, Marvel was playing...something (Fallout, I think?) and it just shut off. (Thank GOD it happened to him, and not me! I would have feared for my safety.) And didn't turn back on. And did what is called, apparently, the Yellow Light of Death. No more Playstation.

This is bad enough, but once we realized all of the implications we felt much worse. It's obviously out of warranty, as I got it for Marv...oh, at least three years ago now, a little after it first came out. Sony does offer to let you send in your dead PS3 and $150 and they send you another one, but the one they send you is already refurbished, so in our minds that meant it's that much closer to death (and having to go through this process all over again.) So we ended up getting a new one--the good news is, we jumped from 60 GB to 250GB, so we'll probably never have to worry about running out of space again. The bad news is, the new PS3s are oddly not backwards compatible--they don't play PS2 games anymore, which is bad enough, but they DO play PS1 games now, which is just...incomprehensible. And the new units only come with 2 USB ports, which means that if you want to play Rock Band with four people, you have to run out and buy a USB hub. Basically, Sony is making us just bleed money.

But by far, the worst part of all of this is that, due to these new consoles all being exclusively system-save, all of our saved games are gone. For some games, this isn't much of an issue--Little Big Planet is a really fun (and not very long) game that unfortunately doesn't have the greatest replay value in the world otherwise because unlocking things in each board is kind of the point of the game. For some games it's terrible--I never did beat Oblivion after putting in, oh, I don't know, let's say 50 hours, and I'm NOT up for trying again. But by far the biggest deal for me was Rock Band. At first I was kind of happy, because having to start a new band wouldn't be too bad, we could start out on the hardest difficulty now, and I'd remember not to waste my "money" redoing my hair style every other city, and remember to play the solo game to unlock outfits I would have otherwise bought.

Until I realized we had to play the Endless Setlist again.

58 songs. In a row.

I believe the last time we did this it took us around 8 hours.

Son of a bitch.

::sigh:: But, the only way through it is to do it, so we started a new band, Un Emilie 68, which we took from our favorite brand of absinthe (and I admit freely here I came up with the idea because I had just been reading NANA, and her band Blast is named after her favorite band of cigarettes), and I immediately broke my very first rule that I mentioned above, because I had created my character with black pigtails and pink bangs BEFORE we named the band, and after we came up with the name I decided she should have green bangs to match all the green outfits I'm going to give her to live up to the band name, and dear God why would that cost $130 in band money? But now I'll leave it alone, and just enjoy getting to sing again.

Incidentally, Dad finally came down and watched us play--I've wanted him to for a long time, because his biggest complaint about my voice is that it's too soft, and since playing Rock Band I've learned how to belt it, at least on a few songs. And do you know what he said? "I don't like you singing that kind of music. It's not even singing."

This is just SUCH a weird attitude for Dad to have. I mean, he lived through the 60s, when all of his parents' generation were calling rock and roll "the Devil's music" and I don't know what all else. And Dad is many things, but conservative ain't one of them. But apparently, HIS daughter's voice should only be used for...I don't know, Christmas songs and Broadway show tunes.

Well, screw him. I'm going to be a virtual rock star. :)

Work Your Cares Away, Dancing's For Another Day

sunseenli@aol.com — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:41:37 GMT

I believe I've mentioned this before, but I seem to be cursed when it comes to gothic lolita dresses.

To reiterate: I had no trouble with the first, white dress I bought; I didn't receive the second, red dress I bought on time, I didn't receive the third, pink dress I bought on time, and the fourth, blue dress I bought came at almost the last second possible. Up until now, I hadn't bought another lolita dress since, in part because I still haven't worn the blue one myself (skyesurfer wore it at my request once, and I wore it to hang out in the house with angelcarnivore, but unless I wear something to an "event", I don't count it as being worn), in part because despite the growing collection, I don't consider myself a lolita, and oh, a bunch of other reasons. But talking with persoconchii and toying with the idea of a lolita double date made me decide to browse eBay to see what was available.

You see, after the blue dress, I had decided that my next lolita dress would be green. (I don't know why I feel the need to own a lolita dress in every color when I barely wear them. But I guess it's no worse than having a closet full of goth gowns that I barely wear, or beautiful bridesmaids dresses that I probably won't wear again. If it makes me happy, I'm not going to spend too much time trying to justify it further.) I had fallen in love with a Mary Magdalene dress that I think morganskye had posted years ago, and I had intended to buy it for myself to wear for Thanksgiving that year, but by the time I had spare money lying around, they didn't carry it anymore. (By the way, forgive the funky color strip at the top of that picture--the file I have on my computer is fine, but while trying to upload by typing commands in DOS, it got FUBARed, same as what happened when I tried to download my wedding photos to my grandfather's computer. Why is that? It doesn't really matter now, though, now that I learned that Windows lets you use FTP through Windows Explorer. Good to know. End tangent.)

In desperation, I had contacted YinYinCS to see if she'd make me a recreation, since she mentions in her About Me on eBay that she's available for cosplay commissions; I figured this wouldn't be much different. Originally she responded that she'd be interested in doing it, but after I e-mailed her back to see which measurements she'd need and how much it would cost, I never heard from her again. I really can't get too upset because obviously no money had exchanged hands, but it was still annoying, and I was still out a dress.

Anyway, back to a month or so ago, I was browsing eBay for just lolita dresses (originally after not hearing back from YinYincs, I had done a search for "green lolita dress" every week or so, to see if anyone else was making something similar, or selling their Mary Magdalene one, whatever, with no luck), and I found one that I thought looked exactly like it, but I didn't have the original picture on hand (it had been on my old job's work computer, and while it was on Chii, she was broken and I was at work anyway.) I was afraid of missing out on it, so I bid on it and I won. By the time I was able to get my hands on the picture I've uploaded since, I realized that, while cute, the new dress wasn't quite like the old dress, and that made me a little less enamored with it.

Anyway, this seller also offered to make things on commission, so I figured I had nothing to lose--even if s/he said no, at the very worst I'd have another, still very cute green dress, so I e-mail hir and explained that while I had no intention of backing out of the sale, I had bid on the dress thinking it was a different dress, and asking if s/he would be up for trying to alter the dress to look more like the one I had in mind. S/he said yes, so I sent another message with the above photo attached, and asking if the price would different because of the alterations. S/he didn't get back to me, so I didn't send payment, just in case alterations would bump the price up a bit. A few weeks later, s/he filed an "unpaid item" thing through eBay, so I paid immediately and send off my measurements, and just hoped for the best.

I didn't think about the dress again for a while because Halloween was around that time and that costume purchase took precedence, so it wasn't until last Thursday that I e-mailed the seller to see what was up. And, apparently, the post office tried to deliver my package on October 29th! I was cursing because I was SURE they were sending the dress back to China, but I called my local post office on Friday, and they still had it. The trouble was, they wanted me to come pick it up, and that wasn't happening because I was going to Grandpa's that night for the weekend. And, of course, it's not even like I could pick it up after work during the week, because the post office closes at 5. I told the guy on the phone my problem, and he said that they'd leave me a notice on Saturday, I should come home and sign it on Sunday and put it back in my mailbox, and that the mail carrier would pick up my signed notice on Monday and hide the package for me somewhere in my backyard. Okay, fine.

Monday, I come home, no package. So I called them yesterday. They told me that the mail carrier had it that day. So I went home. No package. And I can't even call them today, because it's Veteran's Day and they're closed.

I just want my freaking dress. Why is this always such a hassle?

Mahna Mahna

sunseenli@aol.com — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:48:13 GMT

Funnily enough, this came up when/because Marvel was watching the first episode of the new "V" reboot on...either Hulu or ABC.com, I forget which now. To tell you the truth this has been on my mind more these days for a variety of reasons, including the upcoming The Fourth Kind movie (which I was sad to see seems to deal only with negative experiences, probably because people want to go to the movies more to be frightened than to be inspired.) At any rate, I was in the bathroom cleaning up after my workout, and I heard the priest character on "V" either say or hear something to the effect of needing to address the fear that if aliens exist, God does not. This was interesting to me because, back when I was religious, I had the same crisis of faith the night I thought UFOs had landed outside my house. With that in mind...

View Poll: Aliens VS Predators VS God

I told Marvel that I was fairly certain that I had friends who believed in both, which he couldn't wrap his head around. So I ask you this: if you believe in only one, do you think that they are mutually exclusive and believing in one is why (or part of why) you don't believe in the other? Or if you believe in the Judeo-Christian God (I don't think you run into this problem as much with Buddhism and other religions, although I could be wrong) and aliens, how do you reconcile the "God made Man in his own image" and/or no mention of extraterrestrial life in the Bible?

This is probably unnecessary but it bears repeating: I ask that you treat each other courteously in my journal out of respect for me if nothing else; I realize this is a hot button issue for quite a few people, but I have very intelligent friends and I would enjoy hearing your opinions immensely.

Fear Is The Mind Killer

sunseenli@aol.com — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:44:37 GMT

So, the culprit (skyesurfer, with a side helping of touchofgrey) has come forward, confessed, and been shrived (Maria Shrived, yaknowhaimean?), but I still came home to this and it amused me enough to share:

FWD: Application To Date My Daughter
From: Arnold Schwarzenegger <arnoldisawesome@governor.ca.gov>
To: sunseenli@aol.com
Date: Wed, Nov 4, 2009 2:53 pm

As you know, my lovely daughter, Christina Maria Aurelia Schwarzenegger, {Crissy's note: I saw this after I knew Skye was behind it, and I assumed that she had made up a daughter with a name similar to mine just to tease me. I did wonder about the addition of Aurelia, but Skye has a penchant for strange and beautiful names, and I thought she had just tacked that on to keep it from being too obvious. Turns out THAT'S REALLY HIS DAUGHTER'S NAME, and I am horrified} turned 18 this year. (See attached photo.) Therefore, I have decided that it is time I lined up some appropriate suitors for her. Please fill out and submit the following application as soon as possible.

1. Name_________________________ Date of Birth____________

2. Height _________ Weight________ IQ________ GPA________

3. Social Security # ______________ Driver’s license #__________

4. Boy Scout Rank_____________________________________

5. Home Address_____________ City/State ____________ Zip____

6. Do you have one male and one female parent? ____________ If no, explain answer _________________________________

7. Number of years parents married ________________________

8. Do you own a van? _______ A truck with oversized tires?______ Do you have an earring, nose ring, or belly button ring? _______ Do you have a tattoo?_________ (if yes to any of #8, discontinue application and leave the premises)

9. In 50 words or less, what does LATE mean to you? ____________ ____________________________________________________.

10. In 50 words or less, what does “DON’T TOUCH MY DAUGHTER!” mean to you? __________________________________________________________.

11. Church you attend _______________ How often do you attend? _______________________

12. When is the best time to interview you father, mother, and bishop? Father ____________ Mother___________ Bishop__________

13. Answer by filling in the blank: please answer all questions freely, all answers are confidential (that means I won’t tell anyone ever -- promise) A. If I were shot, the last place I would want to be wounded is in the __________________ B. If I were beaten, the last bone I would want broke is my ____________ C. A woman’s place is in the _________________________ D. The one thing I hope this application doesn’t ask is __________________________________________________ E. When I first meet a girl, the thing I notice about her first is ______________

14. What do you want to be “if” you grow up? ________________

15. Are you willing to wear an electronic tracking device? _______

I swear all information supplied above is true and correct to the best of my knowledge under penalty of death, dismemberment, crucifixion, electrocution, Chinese water torture, and red hot pokers.

Signature ________________________

Thank-you for you interest. Please allow four to six years for processing. You will be contacted in writing if you are approved. Please do not try to call or write (since you probably can’t, and it would cause you injury). If your application is rejected, you will be notified by two gentlemen wearing white ties carrying violin cases (you might watch your back).

It's A Three-Way Call And He Knows Nothing!

sunseenli@aol.com — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:26:09 GMT

_inneruniverse and blackirismetal as Mrs. Lovett and Sweeney Todd. _inneruniverse won Best Female.

shouki as, uh, the Pig from Saw, or something. (I've never seen the Saw movies.) Winner of Most Creative.

gaijinotaku and I as Beetlejuice and Lydia Deetz. Winner of Best Couple. (Many thanks to animeangelblue for the Lydia wedding gown!)

My father-in-law, Billy Batson, as a Jedi. Winner of Best Male.

oshidori's brother and his girlfriend as Indiana Jones and Lara Croft, respectively. Winners of Sexiest Male and Sexiest Female. (I never did get around to getting solo shots of them.)

And now, the rest of the contestants:

Understanding In A Car Crash.

agent0033 as an 80s Metal Dude

jenybean as Bettie Page.

"Show me the way to go home, I'm tired and I want to go to bed..."

We were saying that shouki should've stood still in a corner somewhere and everyone would've thought he was a decoration, and then he could have moved suddenly and scared the crap out of people. But see, we actually want people to stay at our parties, rather than flee screaming into the streets...

Seriously, who invited those sheep? They're degenerates, I tell ya...

"Why won't anyone give me a sandwich???"

Here's the thing about moocowzez. Every year he comes without a costume. Every year he spends the entire night picking up different pieces of various people's discarded costume bits (a wig here, a pair of sunglasses there, a wand, etc.) and claiming it's his costume. Every year as we start voting for Best Costume he starts campaigning to win--he doesn't care which category, as he puts it, "A vote for me is a vote to piss off agent0033." And every year, we KNOW he's campaigned for those votes, as EVERYONE spells his very unusually spelled name right--for example, "moocowzez" instead of "moocowsays". And every year agent0033 bursts a blood vessel, because every year moocowzez wins SOMETHING.

This year, however, moocowzez actually had a costume in mind, he was going to be, uh, Jareed Allen (I had to look that up.) He had the jersey already, and he went to Ricky's, waited on line in the pouring rain for 20 minutes (apparently Ricky's has a bouncer working the door near Halloween?) and spent way too much money on a mullet wig to look like Jareed Allen. Then he promptly forgot it in the cab and the cab driver sped off with it. moocowzez will probably never attempt an actual Halloween costume again.

I don't think there's a specific title you could give to his costume, but he had blood red contacts in that were very cool. Winner of the Male Ghetto Lou Award.

Incidentally, I did not realize agent0033 was in that picture when I took it. It was really dark down there.

halifax_slasher as Professor X. He probably would've ~~walked~~rolled away (sorry, I couldn't resist) with Most Creative if he had stayed for the voting--as it was he received quite a number of votes.

jenybean's other cousin and her boyfriend as The Incredibles.

"See you on the other side, Ray!"

unsilenmajority and oshidori as Zombie Groom and Bride.

A pair of Scotsmen.

It took me a little while to figure out what she was supposed to be, but she's a paper doll! I thought that was very clever.

Hugh Hefner, I think? Does he smoke many cigars these days?

Incidentally, I just started picturing Hef's funeral, when he goes. Do you think the Bunnies will have little widow veils attached to their bunny ears as they march in silent high-heeled procession behind his hearse? That would be awesome.

My mother-in-law, Carol Danvers, as a Communications Officer from Star Trek.

freakyarcher as Eternal Sailor Saturn.

A coworker of agent0033's and her boyfriend as a witch and, I'm thinking he's supposed to be Igor? I'm not sure. The coworker won the Female Ghetto Lou Award.

Apparently a crazed barber is more powerful than the Senshi of Destruction. Who knew?

Zombie Al Bundy.

"Excuse me, Professor Long Arms? You don't exactly fit in the picture."

"Nope, still don't fit."

"Got it now...whoops." I gave up after that.

Nacho Libre.

A very pretty Día de los Muertos chick.

A really neat decorating idea of gaijinotaku's.

I remember that he's NOT Buckethead, the musician, and that he's from a video game, but I can't remember which game. Little help?

A group of Mexican wrestlers.

One of the wrestler's girlfriend was a very pretty ladybug.

A hockey player.

His girlfriend as Little Red Riding Hood.

phalanx2525

__sailormoon__

There are at least twice as many photos as the ones I posted here, but a lot of them are duplicates--if you went to the party and want more photos of yourself, let me know and I can get those over to you.

>.<

sunseenli@aol.com — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:10:13 GMT

...okay, which one of you fuckers is responsible for this?

Subject: PRETTY PANTY EXCHANGE
Date: Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:15:19 -0500
From: Michelle Obama <mrsobama@whitehouse.gov>
To: Arnold Schwarzenegger <arnoldisawesome@governor.ca.gov>

HEY GIRLFRIEND!

THIS IS A “PRETTY PANTY” EXCHANGE. A WHAT???… THAT’S
RIGHT, A PRETTY PANTY EXCHANGE.SEND A PAIR OF NEW
PRETTY PANTIES TO THE PERSON LISTED AS #1 ON THE LIST
BELOW AND SEND A COPY OF THIS LETTER TO 6 OF YOUR
MOST PERSONAL FRIENDS. MOVE MY NAME TO THE #1
PLACE AND ADD YOUR NAME AS #2 THEN MAIL THE 6
LETTERS.

THIS IS NOT A CHAIN LETTER. IT IS A FUN GIRLFRIEND
THING. IF YOU CANNOT DO THIS WITHIN A WEEK, PLEASE
NOTIFY ME BECAUSE IT IS NOT FAIR TO THOSE WHO HAVE
PARTICIPATED SO FAR. A MANILLA ENVELOPE WILL MAIL
THE PANTIES NICELY AND YOU WILL RECEIVE 36 PAIR OF
PRETTY PANTIES IN RETURN. IT IS FUN TO SEE WHERE THEY
COME FROM AND THE VARIETY OF STYLES YOU WILL GET.
REMEMBER TO INCLUDE YOUR SIZE AND PREFERRED STYLES
WITH YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS.

SELDOM DOES ANYONE DROP OUT BECAUSE WE CAN ALL
USE PRETTY PANTIES. REMEMBER, 36 PAIR OF PANTIES FOR
THE PRICE OF ONE!! iT’S A BARGAIN AND A LOT OF FUN!!

HAVE FUN AND WATCH THE MAIL! THE RETURN IS
EXTREMELY FAST BECAUSE THERE ARE ONLY TWO NAMES
ON THE LIST. YOU SHOULD BE RECEIVING YOUR PANTIES
WITHIN TWO WEEKS. PLEASE DO NOT BE THE ONE
RESPONSIBLE FOR SPOILING THE FUN AND STOPPING THE
FLOW OF PANTIES.

#1 NAME: Michelle Obama
ADDRESS: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500
SIZE AND PREFERENCE: M bikini

#2 NAME: Arnold Schwarzenegger
ADDRESS: State Capitol Building, Sacramento, CA 95814
SIZE AND PREFERENCE: XXL thong

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Come on people, 'fess up. It's actually pretty funny, I've never seen that particular chain letter before. (Thank God. I'm assuming that was also made up for the e-mail?)

Pretty Soon They'll Come To Get Me

sunseenli@aol.com — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:30:18 GMT

He e-mailed me again!

"Thank you for writing in support of Senate Bill 572. {Crissy's note: He must be referring to the e-mail I sent previously. I have not written him again since--and I still reiterate I didn't really write him that time, I clicked a button. Maybe two.}
Taking the time to communicate your views is essential to good citizenship and good government. {"And I'm Austrian, so I know all about good citizenship and good government. Seig Heil!"}

I am pleased to inform you that I signed this legislation after extensive
consideration of arguments from both supporters and opponents of the issue. {Yes, I know. Do you really think I'd support a cause and then not monitor its progress?} To
view the final language of the bill, please visit the Official California
Legislative Information website at www.leginfo.ca.gov.

Again, thank you for taking the time to write. I value your suggestions on how
government can better serve the people of our state. {Oh, really? Why don't I suggest how you can best serve the people of our country...I'm thinking that you be ground up and mixed into asphalt to fix a few potholes....}

Sincerely,

Arnold Schwarzenegger"

Dude, God help him if I receive a forwarded chain letter from him. You just wait...

Older? Why Curiosity In A Loved My.

sunseenli@aol.com — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:06:51 GMT

So, I'm 29 now.

We didn't do all that much; I think I'm kind of "planned out" after the wedding nonsense, and we're all pretty tapped out what with the economy still being what it is. I saw Grandpa three weekends ago, I saw Mommy two weekends ago, and my New York family (Dad's side and Marvel's side combined) on Saturday. Maybe next year I'll do something bigger, it'll be a landmark year and hopefully I won't have had quite so many other milestones going on at the same time. :)

I keep thinking that I should do something to make the most of my last year of my 20s, but for the life of me I can't think of what. Sure, there are a lot of things I want to do before I die, but for one thing, they're more "want to do" than "need to do", for another none of them really need to be done before a specific time, and for a third thing...I'm still broke and I'm still traveling at least two weekends every month, so I don't know how I'd get around to doing them. Besides, what is it that twenty-somethings do, anyway? After nine years I still don't think I've really gotten the hang of it. Sometimes I think I'll perpetually be the awkward adolescent who's six months behind on trends and a full year behind on fashion.

::grins:: And I'd like to say that's just my pessimism talking, but I went to go get my eyebrows done on Saturday (the first time I've had them done since the wedding--I told you I've been broke and busy), and the woman asked me what I did during the day. I told her I worked for a construction company in Flushing, and she asked me, "Oh--you're not in college?"

::facepalm:: I only hope it doesn't all hit me at once. I'd hate to look nineteen, nineteen, nineteen day after day, and then BAM! Wake up one morning and suddenly look fifty years old. I hope I still rate a gradual change.

Rambling, rambling. I guess that's one thing that will never change. :)

Uptown You're Messengers And Mailroom Clerks

sunseenli@aol.com — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:30:11 GMT

This. Makes me so happy. Oh my God. I cannot wait.

Alo, Salut, Sunt Eu, Un Haiduc

sunseenli@aol.com — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:51:31 GMT

I am trying, once again, to get back to updating my websites. (I really, really need my desktop back. Even the little bit I did yesterday was such a chore on the laptop.) To that end, I updated Crimson Sky Creations yesterday. There isn't a lot, but there's a new drawing by sailormoon on Guest Art - Anime, and a new Odd Photo of the Month.

(The hell of it is, even if I do get around to finishing that drawing of Hotaru that I started what feels like a year and a day ago, I can't even scan it--my scanner is hooked up to my dead computer, Marvel's scanner was acting possessed yesterday, and there isn't a color scanner I can get to easily at work. The whole world's against me, Silent Bob, I swear to God.)

Who's That Cunning Mind Behind That Shadowy Disguise?

sunseenli@aol.com — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:32:00 GMT

One of the fringe benefits of married life is my new entertainment setup--I now have a flat screen HD TV, cable, Playstation 3, etc etc. We also have a wireless network, which means my Wii is finally online with some sense of consistency. Who wants to be Wii buddies?

My Wii number is: 6214 9936 8384 9023

Comment with yours!

Halloween Commission

sunseenli@aol.com — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:21:24 GMT

Time marches on, whether we want it to or not, and as Halloween has always been our favorite holiday, one way or the other, we're still celebrating it this year.

That being said, I need a seamstress again. (It seems like I alternate between store-bought and ridiculously complicated costumes every other year--guess which year this is.) I'd rather not say right out what costume it is here because I do enjoy my costumes being a surprise, but I will say that it is _like_ a Southern Belle dress, with a full skirt and ruffles and flounces and the like. I need it by October 31st of this year and I'm willing to pay a fair price. I've got plenty of good reference pictures (it's a recreation) for whoever's willing to take it on. Anybody interested?

A Time To Plant, A Time To Reap

sunseenli@aol.com — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:44:10 GMT

"In 1972 Princess Polly died in her sleep - heart failure, I think, but I did not have an autopsy. She was a little old lady who had lived a long life and, I think, a happy one, on the whole. I said a prayer to Bubastis, asking her to watch for the arrival in the eternal Catnip Fields of a little black and white cat who had never scratched or bitten without just cause..."

Robert Heinlein as Maureen Johnson in To Sail Beyond The Sunset

At 4 AM Monday morning, one of Marvel's oldest cats, my sweetie girl Nike (for those of you who have met his cats, not the fluffy one, not the evil one, not the boy cat, but the other one--the one who lost an eye a few months ago), passed away. It was fast, it was painless, and she went when she was nestled in between Marvel's parents in their bed, so she felt warm and safe even at the very end. I'm all right, although I'm sad, of course. Marvel and his parents are coping though of course, they're even sadder. I don't have any of my own photos of her, so I can't grieve in my usual way--posting pictures and telling stories in LJ--but I did want to say something, because I already miss her very, very much.

[EDIT]:

Thanks to my wonderfully supportive and on-the-ball mother-in-law, here is a picture of our sweetie cat, Nike. You see, we've always had this sort of running joke that her sister, the fluffy cat, Nala, was so very princess-y (and she really is), and I guess I felt bad that Nike didn't seem quite as, erm, feminine? So I must've been wearing this lovely scarf my godmother gave me for Christmas one year, and Nike was just so right there on the chair at the right time, and, well, apparently my penchant for dressing people up extends to animals as well. She tolerated it long enough for one picture--thank you, Nike. Miss you.

You Know You're Doing Better On Your Own, So Don't Buy In

sunseenli@aol.com — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:43:50 GMT

I'm almost done with my thank you cards, hallelujah forever and ever amen. (No, really, it hasn't been THAT hard. Although I have two presents--no, wait, more like four--that I don't know who they came from. I'm going to have to try to figure that out soon.) I was talking to Carol Danvers about that the other day, and she said that I had plenty of time, because most brides have to wait until their proofs come back from the photographers so they can enclose wallets in the thank you cards. I was aware of that, as I have gotten them before and read about them on Etiquette Hell, but originally, I wasn't planning on doing that myself, due to a number of reasons that I also read on Etiquette Hell. Carol says the pros are that people expect them, and they might feel cheated if they don't receive one. I say the cons are, they usually just get tossed in a drawer somewhere (I certainly have never put one in my wallet), and if they're someone you're not that close to (like coworkers, or the parents's friends, or what have you) they might be like, "WTF are we supposed to do with a picture of a couple we barely know?" (On the plus side, I don't have to wait until my photos come back; they're all online and it would only take me a day or so to decide on one and print out the 100 or so that I'd need. So that doesn't factor into it.) I also think it's very much more of a regional thing--people who get married out on Long Island almost ALWAYS do this (maybe it's an Italian thing, actually, come to think of it) or NYC in general, but I've never gotten one from any of the upstate or Pennsylvania weddings I went to. But, I realized I would appreciate some more input.

You can answer this about my wedding in specific, if you came to it (or even if you didn't, honestly), or you can answer this about YOUR wedding and what YOU did, or you can answer this from the point of view of other weddings you went to--whatever. I don't know exactly how to phrase the question to encompass all of those possibilities, but at least I brought them up so you have them in your mind, so here goes:

View Poll: Wedding Wallets in the Thank Yous

Tu Vuo' Fá L'americano

sunseenli@aol.com — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:11:31 GMT

I had to come here to share this.

Most of you probably know by now that my arch nemesis is Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's not just that I find his accent ludicrous (my grandfather is Austrian and sounds NOTHING like that) and his movies eye-clawingly awful; what bothers me is that if you had to name the two most famous Austrians, most people would probably answer 1) Hitler and 2) Arnold Schwarzenegger. Poor Mozart; you lived in vain.

When Schwarzenegger was running for governor, I was apalled. Jesse "The Body" Ventura was bad enough, but at least he KNEW it was a joke, he wasn't famous enough that he had really lost touch with the Average Joe, and he was in a small state. California is friggen HUGE and most definitely influences the way national politics go...but I trusted the American voter to do the right thing. Silly me; I forgot that (most) Californians bear the same relationship to other Americans that koalas do to kumquats. When he was elected I seriously debated flying out to California to visit friends and assassinate The Governator, but was talked out of it by my family who wisely advised me that 1) My sniper accuracy is not as good as it used to be and 2) There's no way they'd be able to liquidate enough assets to bail me out of jail. Fair enough; at least he's on the other side of the country.

As even more of you know, though I don't know if I've ever come out and said it, I'm a pretty big supporter of Gay Rights. I don't really want or need to get into it, but quite aside from my own philosophical leanings, I obviously have quite a few very close gay friends, and I'm pretty agnostic/nearly atheist. Whatever. Quite a while ago (if I had a better sense of time, I'd be able to tell you whether it was several months or even a year or more), at ryuichi's urgings, I signed up with Equality California to try to do my part to get gay marriages legalized over there--I signed petitions, made donations, watched the legislation with anxiety, and despaired when it was overturned. Okay. I'm still on the EQCA's mailing list, and while I'm not making donations currently due to wedding and moving-in expenses, I still sign petitions and send e-mails whenever I can.

The other morning I woke up from a really horrible nightmare (really, it seems like I only ever have mundane dreams about everyday events, or horrific nightmares where I'm possessed by The Devil and a cult of Satanists are trying to hold me hostage) and stumbled out to check my e-mail on my laptop--my standard morning routine. I deleted some junk mail, moved some LJ comments to the appropriate folder, and stare uncomprehendingly at some e-mail with the return address of "governor@governor.ca.gov".

No. No. Surely not.

"Thank you for writing me about Senate Bill 572. I appreciate your suggestions
on proposed legislation affecting our state.

I generally do not take a position on legislation until a bill has reached my
desk because it can change significantly from the time it is introduced until
the time it is finalized. For the current session, the California Legislature
has until September 11, 2009 to pass legislation, and I have until October 11,
2009 to sign or veto proposed bills.

You may continue to follow this and any other bill under consideration by
lawmakers at the Official California Legislative website: www.leginfo.ca.gov.
You may also read my legislative messages at www.gov.ca.gov.

Again, I appreciate your interest in California's future. An informed and
engaged public is important for effective government in our state.

Sincerely,

Arnold Schwarzenegger"

AHHH FUCK ME MY ARCH NEMESIS HAS MY E-MAIL ADDRESS. HE'S AWARE I EXIST AND HE HAS INFORMATION HE CAN USE TO TRACK ME. SON OF A BITCH.

How come nobody else has these problems?

Could Everyone Agree That No One Should Be Left Alone

sunseenli@aol.com — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:36:59 GMT

Okay, change in plans, thanks to skyesurfer pointing out that Union Square seemed to have tickets again, we decided to eat the cost of the Harlem tickets we had already bought, and buy new tickets to the Manhattan theater, simply because rebuying tickets and then taking the train home was still cheaper than taking a cab home from the Bronx. So if anyone would like to join us this Thursday at The Regal at Union Square Stadium 14 for RiffTrax Live, let me know and we can see how we're going to meet up, and maybe discuss food options and what not.

I didn't update Ohtori Avatars this weekend. :( Someone give me the kick in the butt I need to get started on that again.

Sort of on that note...who's going to New York Anime Fest, and who's wearing what? Marvel and I will only be able to go on Saturday and Sunday, and I'd like to wear my white duelist Utena costume one of the days (possibly another Utena costume the second day, if oshidori is up for it and if I get together a new costume that quickly), but if the second costume doesn't go through, does anybody want to plot cosplay times with me?

Isn't It Suspicious How The World Is Now Your Friend?

sunseenli@aol.com — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:40:12 GMT

Who's free next Thursday?

gaijinotaku and I will be trekking up to the Bronx to check out RiffTrax Live. For those of you not in the know, RiffTrax is Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett of Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame, doing what they do best, making fun of bad movies. Only now instead of using puppet robots and a movie theater, most of the time they just release audio tracks of themselves making fun of bad movies for cheap download on their website. Some of their stuff has been really funny--the Star Wars Holiday Special and The Wicker Man especially.

RiffTrax Live is exactly what it sounds like, except the stars won't actually be there in person, they'll be in a theater in Nashville, but select theaters around the country will be broadcasting the "movie" live. They'll be riffing Plan 9 From Outer Space, which is generally agreed to be the worst movie ever made, so that makes it extra special. There's a list of the theaters on the link I pasted above (we're going to the AMC Bay Plaza 13 because Union Square was already sold out!), and Marvel and I bought our tickets already, just in case that one sells out too. Anyone want to join us? We might even smuggle in the flask if anyone wants to share!

[EDIT]: If anyone is still thinking of joining us...Marvel got tickets to the Union Square theater now that they seem to be available there. We figured...we were going to take a taxi back from the Bronx anyway, and that would cost more than just eating the money for there and buying new tickets over at the Union Square theater and taking the train home. So let me know if you're down!

The Sun's As Warm As A Baked Potato!

sunseenli@aol.com — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:49:56 GMT

In between visiting Ma this weekend, looking at wedding photos, and watching stupid videos online starting with All Your Base and ending with the Bad Dog episode of Beavis and Butthead (so that Ma could see why I call her dog "Dogwipe"), I managed to update Blood, Sweat, and Glitter. First off, the little updates: I added a new CG to Princess Mars, I changed a wrong name on Day Three of my Otakon 2007 report, I added a few new pictures to Umi - Other Worlds, Harley Quinn, and Eternal Sailor Mars, I added a forgotten link to The Fire Fairy page of Faeries All, I deleted AnimeNEXT from my Convention Schedule because I ended up not going, and the Commissions Links page has been updated with who made my newest costumes, including Yaten and Seiya Kou's link being moved there from the Cosplay Links page. Now, the bigger updates: A brand new photoshoot, shot right before I got engaged, that I've named Winsome and Woe, is on the Photoshoots page, and Utena - White Duelist has been moved from Planned/In Progress to Finished Costumes and has a brand new page with brand new pictures.

Feels good. But I really miss being on LiveJournal. To say I feel "disconnected" would be the exact word--I miss my other job of giving my opinion on anything and everything I'm asked about, and on some things I'm not. I miss hearing your opinions, I miss asking ridiculous questions, I miss not getting to ramble on about everything in my life. In short, I miss you guys. Don't forget about me, okay? I'm sure I'll reach some sort of balance eventually.

Now I'm Bathed In Light, Something Just Isn't Right

sunseenli@aol.com — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:21:01 GMT

Aww. No one likes Abbott and Costello, really? They're my second favorite. Surely more of you know "Who's On First"? But I have to say I'm surprised so many of you like The Marx Brothers. No one ever seems to reference them.

Wedding photos are coming along--most of them you guys have probably seen on Facebook, and since Chii is FUBARed right now I haven't been able to save them and reupload them yet. I'd share some of the professional photos, as I have about half of Laura's now, but I have my "personal" versions without the watermarks, and considering how hard she worked on them I'd really like to wait. :) Any promotion is good promotion at this point. But while we're on the subject, a few of you suggested that I should post people's LJ names next to their photos from my wedding, so a few of you can friend each other. Does anyone have any objections? You can leave me a screened comment or an e-mail (sunseenli@aol.com) if you'd prefer saying "Not me!" in private.

The apartment is coming along even more, now. We have cable TV (I still don't really watch it), a sleeper sofa, even a recliner. However, I've stopped moving more of my stuff in, as Dad has promised that his official wedding gift to us (his unofficial wedding gift to us was a fire pit for the backyard, which to be honest I was perfectly happy with and I wasn't expecting anything more) was for more furniture, so I've stopped buying mismatched cheap shelves and loading my crap on it in the expectation of getting nice matching shelves to load my crap on.

I'm upset with Macy's, though. The wedding was only a few weeks ago and already some of the things we registered for are discontinued. I don't WANT pink placemats and napkins (who would??), I want them in WHITE. I really, really thought these pattern-hating registry-bashing days were behind me.

I updated my website, though! Just Crimson Sky Creations, so it wasn't a very big update and it really only took a half an hour or less, but it's still a step in the right direction and it makes me feel better. There's a new Odd Photo of the Month--I'm sure you can guess what it is. :) I also moved a few of the older updates to Old Updates.

Do you know what's been the most weird? How not-weird living together feels. Maybe it's because I barely moved at all (I'll explain that at a later date), maybe it's because we spent every day and most weekends together anyway, maybe it's because we're still "playing house" without realizing it. But we've had our first fight already (it wasn't even that bad, we've had non-living-together ones that were MUCH worse) and while there are still plenty of things we're trying to hammer out (I have yet to remember to charge my cell phone at anything like regular intervals)...we're happy. We're really, really content. It's nice. :)

Like Martin And Lewis, They're A Perfect Pair

sunseenli@aol.com — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:40:23 GMT

View Poll: Old Time Comedians

ConWedding Shoutouts!

sunseenli@aol.com — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:28:38 GMT

Groom
gaijinotaku: I don't have to change my username to something Marvel-related now, do I?

Okay, let me start over. Uh..let's see, here's the first anime con shoutout I ever wrote to you; but we were together already by then (I apparently wasn't doing shoutouts after BAAF 2003) so it's not AS ironic as it could be:

"Who would've thought that Rei-chan would end up with Motoki-oniisan?"

Who indeed? Although looking at the photos, it was more the wedding of Sailor Mars and Legolas than either Motoki or even Vash.

"::kisses:: Seriously, thank you for being a Sailor Moon cosplayer with me, and for letting me drag you along on all the photo shoots I wanted to do, and taking almost all of the photos we got that day, and just generally being a good con-boyfriend, and a good boyfriend overall."

That...applies pretty well to the wedding too, actually. Thank you for marrying a Sailor Moon cosplayer who was secretly in cosplay and who had bridesmaids in non-matching dresses and non-bridesmaids in matching dresses and family who thinks your name is either Frank or Anthony (and who thinks my name is Kathy) and who flips out about not having spinach dip for the impromptu rehearsal dinner but somehow kept her cool when she found out there was no music about five minutes before the ceremony. Thank you for posing for pictures, and following me around to greet family members you're not going to see again until the next family members is baptized, married, or buried, for making me eat when I didn't think I had time to eat, for making me dance when I didn't think I had time to dance, for making me laugh when I wanted to cry, for being a good con-boyfriend, a good cheerleader-boyfriend, a good hospital-boyfriend, a good baseball-boyfriend, a good best-friend-boyfriend, a good tanning-boyfriend, a good horseback-riding-boyfriend, a good boating-boyfriend, and so far, the most wonderful husband overall. I'd tell you I love you, but considering the four months of hell I just voluntarily undertook just to announce it to the world that I love you, "Officially!", I'd say it was redundant.

Oh, hell. I love you. 'Til the end of the world, handsome.

Bridal Party
agent0033: There isn't much I can say to you that I haven't said over the years--thanks for not slapping me for the awful things I said and please try to remember some of the wonderful things because there's a good many of those that I did mean. And you covered it in your best man's speech and in some of the mushier things you've said to me over the years, so basically, you’re going to get a mushy post dedicated entirely to you at some point when I have more time to fiddle around on the computer. I’m sure you’re waiting with bated breath. =]

denomic: Lunchbox, I am SO SO SO SO SO SO glad you were there on Marvel's big day. You and Shouki and Myshella were THE biggest part of his life for well over a decade; you're part of what shaped him into who he is. I know I'll never be there for the first, "Are you gonna eat that?" but I'm awfully glad I'm here now for the Thanksgivings we share and the Otakon lunchdates and the silly CGs and the occasional movie nights and whatever else the future may bring. You're my brother now too and I love you for it and just know there's always a couch with your name on it in our living room. <3

dessysmommyxoxo: Baby Mama, thank you so much for everything you did to help us prepare for this wedding, from designing us the beautiful wedding invitations that absolutely everyone gushed over, to convincing me to make "backup" purchases in case small, last-minute details fell through (ha, ha), to providing a hair dresser to make some of my girls look astounding (instead of the normal "breathtaking" you all usually are. ^.^) I'm so glad I have a sister-in-law in my life now after years of being surrounded by boys (stupid, stupid boys...) and NOW IT'S YOUR TURN, MWA-HA-HA! But seriously, whether it's five weeks from now or five years from now, it doesn't matter to me--you're family and I'll always love and support you, the way you have loved and supported me. <3 (And don't let me forget my bridesmaid gift for you the next time I come to New Jersey! I can't believe I forgot it that day!)

shouki: "Wove, Twue wove..." Seriously, Shouki, you performing our wedding ceremony made it perfect. I would've put up with words about God and duty and...whatever else is in those services, I've forgotten already, if that's what it took to marry Marvel, but you turned it from a suffering into the most beautiful ceremony of my life. Every word you said came straight from your heart, and hearts are what truly unite us (Marvel and I especially, yes, but Marvel and you also, and you and me too in a different way) and I think that's stronger than God or fate or destiny or whatever you want to call it. As I said to Lunchbox above, you are a big part of what made Marvel the man (boy? guy? Man sounds so old, but moving on) he is today, and I am so thankful for that. I love you very much and I guess I can finally forgive you now for not going out with me in the first place. =P (Note to others: Long story, not necessary to go into here.)

skyesurfer: A lot of what I would want to say here I already covered in the friggen novel I wrote in your card (you poor thing, could you read all that? On top of everything else my handwriting is terrible), but I will say this: You got me through eighth grade. You got me through high school. You got me through an awful lot of romantic relationships and through somehow even more heartbreaks. You're one of the few people who have seen me cry, and you're one of the few people I can make laugh. There isn't a single part of my life I don't immediately want to share with you, and I don't know if it's because I rely on your quiet strength or on your hysterical laughter, but I need you and that's all there is to it, so...thank you for always, always being there for me.

tilly_cat: Again, I kind of waxed poetic in the card I wrote to you, but there are a few things I could say here: I was only kidding when I told Marvel we should get married on July 12th, 2009, but, well, stranger things have happened. Being there with you girls throughout the engagements and weddings and babies has made me realize that getting married and “settling down” doesn’t mean you have to give up your identity—particularly if your significant other is not the “settling” type. It means a LOT to me that our wedding dates have (extra) meaning, and it means something extra-special to me that you and I have (what I think are) matching engagement rings. I know I don’t show it enough but I’m very attached to your family in general and you in specific, so, really, thank you for loving me—I can never love you back enough. <3

People Who Were There
__sailormoon__: Wow, okay, so weddings? A LOT of work. I’m kind of sorry I didn’t go through it myself first so that I could’ve been way more help to you at your wedding, because mine was so much less formal than yours was, I can’t even IMAGINE how much it took to put your shindig together. We’ve gone through a lot of the same things at the same time now, I guess that’s something the Universe (God, fate, whoever) wants us to share. I’m glad I could be a part of yours; thank you for being part of mine.

_inneruniverse: You’ve been helping to make my wedding kickass since I got engaged, but especially at my most rocking bachelorette party. It’s so funny how two people can meet in this world, but I can’t tell you enough how thankful I am that I met you. Thank you for getting me into Phoenix Wright, thank you for sharing my Harry Potter and other geeky obsessions, thank you for being there for me when I’m going through rough spots, thank you for always being up for everything. We should be the proud owners of a couch soon, and as soon as it’s in place we are officially on for another Chinese and bad movie night: may I suggest Death Bed: The Bed That Eats?

aki_reinii: OPIB4EVER! The photo of the four of us together is one of my favorite pictures that was taken at the wedding, in part because let’s face it, if we don’t know how to take a good picture by now, then we’ve wasted the last three years, but also because of what you girls mean to me. Whenever people try to argue that oh, cosplay is too much drama, I think of you girls and try to explain that it’s not the cosplay, it’s the people—and I have found some of the best people to cosplay with. Whenever we’re together we always have a ton of fun, and I’m glad we’re starting to branch out and share not only conventions, but also major life events together—both the good and the bad. I’ll always be there for you girls the way you have always been there for me. I don’t care what we’re doing in the future, as long as we’re doing it together.

avian_firefly: OPIB4EVER! Much of what I said to Reinii above applies to you, but then even moreso, because without you, there would be no Outer Power, Inner Beauty, and I might never have met you girls—or, if I had, it would’ve been only briefly, and I can tell you that my life would have been a lot less rich for it. The three of you are some of the sweetest and kindest and most talented and certainly the most supportive girls I’ve ever met; we’ve gone beyond “a cosplay group” and become…I don’t know what to call it, but it’s everything I always thought a sorority or a club should be, the warmth, the feeling of belonging, the support, just…everything. It meant a lot to me that we could all be together on my wedding day, and it really meant a lot to me that you got to meet Mommy, she’s been looking forward to that for a long time. Just, thank you for everything, I can never thank you enough.

blackirismetal: As I said to _inneruniverse above, I am so thankful I met you guys, AND I’m very much looking forward to finally hosting Chinese Food and Bad Movie Night sometime soon (we’re getting a couch soon! And we have a table and chairs already), but I also gotta tell you, did you hear that whole exchange my dad and I had down the aisle? Yeah, you partially inspired that—Dad was SO jealous of your hat that he really wanted to wear his. I told him he could wear his at the reception, but he misunderstood me and thought I wouldn’t let him wear it at all. So next time you come over, wear your very, very snazzy hat, and we’ll invite Dad to hang out with us for a bit and he can wear his captain’s hat with you, and that will make him happy. Seriously, though, thank you for wearing exactly what I wanted all of my wedding guests to wear: formal clothes that really showed who you all were, because all of my friends are really unique and funky and cool individuals, and you were the perfect example.

chienverde: I’m sorry we didn’t get to hang out more at the reception, I really wanted to take a picture wearing the masks with you, since the whole masquerade first dance thing came out of a conversation you and I had in LiveJournal a while ago, do you remember? Of course, all of our conversations usually include the “We should hang out more!” sentence, and it’s true; I’ve known you for so long and I’ve watched you grow so much and I’ve always been proud of you but my pride grows every year. We may not be able to get together in person much but just remember I always care about you and I’ll always be here for you if you need me—and I know you’ll be there for me, too.

djranmas: Oni-san, what can I say? You’re the very first cosplayer I met in person, do you remember that? We posed for pictures in the lobby of a hotel while a wasted foreign tourist stared at us in amusement. It’s got to be one of the odder bases for a relationship but given the type of people we are, I wouldn’t have it any other way. You’ve been looking out for me since day one, always willing and ready to watch over me, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. We’ve been through a LOT together during the years, and I just could not imagine having such an important milestone in my life without you there. Thank you for the dance, it meant a lot to me and I’ll remember it as long as I live. <3

docthestampede: You’re right; when I was hugging you, I didn’t want to let go. <3 Doc I don’t know if I can begin to tell you what you mean to me. Just being around you makes me feel like everything’s going to be all right; maybe that’s the hidden meaning to the “Doc” nickname; you make things all right. And I’m not just talking about the way you fix computers, although that is pretty awe-inspiring itself. (Almost as amazing as my talent for breaking them.) No matter what we’re doing in an evening, whether it’s computer work, a photoshoot, a dinner in Baltimore, or watching awesome Japanese movies, something about you makes my life slow down, it lets me pause and catch my breath, it makes me feel stronger and more ready to face the rest of the world, and given what my life is like, I guess you can imagine how much that means to me. I don’t know how you do it, but I can never thank you enough for it, although if you’re going to be around for a while, let’s say the next fifty or sixty years, I’m sure going to try.

dressdragn: Honey thank you SO MUCH for coming out to my wedding after the like fifty other events you had to do that day! I’m sorry if you had to run around a lot but I really appreciate it, my own day was a bit hectic too but one of the great parts of it was seeing you (in your TOTALLY COOL OUTFIT I am SO JEALOUS of your wardrobe almost every time I see you and the wedding was no exception!) being here, there, and everywhere on the dance floor, among the guests, just everywhere. Thank you for bringing some much-needed color and beauty to my life.

fory_san: Fory-san, I cannot believe you flew in just for my wedding, just to have to turn around and fly back at the start of the reception! I’m not complaining, if anything I was just worried that it was too much travel on you, and I would never ask you to risk your health and well-being for me, but all that aside, I have to admit how happy it made me to see you there. We’ve known each other a long time (pre-LJ, COSP mailing list days, can you imagine?) and we’ve shared a lot of triumphs and an awful lot of heartbreaks along the way. You have to be one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met and I just know great things are waiting for you in the future, and I can’t wait to be there for you cheering you on the way you’ve always been there for me.

halifax_slasher: And the prize for best wedding gift goes to…! Seriously, when Marvel and I opened up that most awesome clock of all awesomeness, we almost DIED of laughter—tears streaming down our faces, body shaking, almost literally rolling on the floor laughter. My life has been blessed with so much more wonderfulness since meeting you, from our more serious philosophical discussions (although I always feel like I’m just barely hanging on by my toes, your mind works a LOT better than mine does!) to our more ridiculous moments, it’s like you have an instant light switch for even my darkest days. You have to be THE coolest guy I’ve ever met, and I’m going to hang on to you tooth and nail. And just WAIT until you get married, I think Marvel and I are going to start shopping next week, because seriously, it will take YEARS of research to even match that clock…

harleyquinnade: After the wedding, people kept asking me, “Who was that incredible girl with the red lipstick and the black and white tattoo?” You, my dear, were a hit. =D Not that I’m surprised; since the day I met you I’ve been inspired by you, you are an incredibly sexy woman and really, I don’t know how you’re as wonderful and nice as you are, because personality is usually inversely proportional to beauty; in your case, it’s almost a perfect match. You are wonderful and gorgeous and kind and beautiful and I wish we could’ve danced and just generally had more fun at the reception together but I guess that’s what Crew events are for. At any rate, thank you SO much for being there, we really do both love you a lot.

jenybean: My darling girl, one of my few regrets from my wedding day is not walking down the aisle to your beautiful voice. It’s no one’s fault, and I know in a way it was probably a bit of a relief for you (well afterwards, The Goalie told me that you had woken up with a sore throat and were a little concerned), but I just know that song was written with your voice in mind and that you would have ROCKED it. And it would have been a lovely personal touch as well. All of that aside, it still really meant a lot to me that you were there, supporting all of us in every way you could think of, just like you always have. I’ll never forget the way you’ve flown to my side to help me out of jams in the past, and whenever I’m in trouble I know you’re one of the few people I can really count on for not only emotional support but anything else you can think of. I’m so glad we’ve gotten closer over the years, and thank you for letting me steal your husband (and for dancing with mine) for one dance that night; I’m only sorry we didn’t get a dance of our own. (We could’ve done Lady Marmalade!) Here’s to many more Crew events to come!

ladyterentia: OPIB4EVER! Thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU for being my long-distance auxiliary bridesmaid. Folks, if there was anything you saw at the wedding that you liked, you probably have ladyterentia to thank for it. Thank you for helping me find my cake toppers. Thank you for helping me find my gloves. Thank you for helping me pick a song to toss the bouquet to. Thank you for the one million and one suggestions you made that I can’t think of all of them now (those three were just the most recent) on things that I was feeling COMPLETELY overwhelmed about, that you always had an answer for. But, most of all, thank you for keeping me sane—for commiserating with me when things went badly, for laughing with me when things couldn’t get any worse, for celebrating with me when everything worked out all right in the end. I could never have gotten through the planning process without you, I love you so much, thank you so much.

Laura: From the moment you arrived you made my wedding weekend awesome. I’ll never hear the theme song to the Fresh Prince of Bel Aire the same way again. You helped me run errands, you helped me keep the warring factions at peace, you helped me make the fun functions more lively, you helped make me calm the night before the wedding—calmer than I have been since I got engaged, in fact. And, oh yeah, you shot the most gorgeous photos of me and my girls that I’ve ever seen. I think the best thing about weddings (aside from spending the rest of your life with the one that you love, but I still say I could’ve done that without the giant party, but anyway) is that for one time in your life, you get to mix all the different aspects of your life together in one room, and you were there for all of it. I can never thank you enough for everything you did for me, but I’m going to try by writing you the best testimonial I can (and Marvel is an aspiring writer, so his ought to be even better) and plugging your services (wink wink) everywhere, and someday I’ll be able to say, “Laura Vasilion? Oh, yeah. I was her first wedding” and that will be my own little claim to fame. (And then someone will no doubt point out that you shot J’s, and then I’ll have to punch them in the face. Making me the victor.) Anyway, again, thank you, thank you, thank you. <3

lonesheep: Much like every con we’ve ever gone to, I didn’t get to spend NEARLY enough time with you. I’m so sorry; we just kept getting interrupted by family members, and the DJ, and the wait staff, and just everyone in the freaking world seemed to want me to do something that I didn’t really get to do the things that *I* wanted to do, and hanging out with you (and getting to know your sister) was definitely one of them! But it really means a lot that you would come so far to be there, and I promise you that the next time we’re at the same place at the same time, I’m treating you to lunch. And hey, any time you want to come up to New York City, you can stay with us! We can watch Buffy and play board games and do touristy things or really, anything you want. I just needs me some Sheep time.

loudnbothered: Apparently where you lead, I will follow. Two geek weddings in one year; if only we could find another really cool nerdy couple to complete the trifecta. At any rate, I’m sorry I didn’t get to hang out with you more, but I’m totally loving the pictures of you guys especially because it reassures me that even if I didn’t get to ensure it personally, my guests managed to have a pretty good time. Thanks for telling me to believe in the Tee who believes in you; turns out you were right all along.

madmistersmiley: You never read this, but I’m going to put this here anyway. A lot of people who hadn’t seen you in years (mostly members of my family) mentioned how cool it was to see you again, and how you hadn’t changed at all—my cousin actually wanted to go over to say hi, but she wasn’t sure you’d remember her. (I told her we used her as a limbo pole, it’s kind of hard to forget something like that.) She still remembers you being able to do a sideways split between two chairs, but anyway. Now people (again, a lot of members of my family) are really noticing you because they’re really loving the photos that you took of everybody—notice how I almost always know to look at you when you’ve got the camera? ::grin:: At any rate, thank you for being a really great friend and for always putting a smile on my face.

makeitepic: Last night, I asked Marvel, “So, does that mean she’s Our Tiny now, instead of just My Tiny?” and he replied that you had always been Our Tiny, as you jumped up into his arms every time we see you, and then we discussed whether you weighed 60 pounds or if you had been stressing yourself out and had dropped down to 55. All kidding aside, you and George are some of our favorite people and I keep kicking myself to really learn how to drive (as opposed to just passing the road test, which is a separate issue all together) so that we can make it out to L.I. once in a while and hang out with you guys. And please know that you two always have a standing invitation to our house, as well—there are a lot of VHSes and DVDs here with your name on them, and dinner’s on us so long as you don’t mind either Chinese or diner food. :) (Actually, Marvel isn’t a bad cook, if you catch us on a weekend.) Anyway, I just wanted to say, we both love you lots.

myshella: So a black kid, an asian kid, a white kid, and a Spanish kid walk into high school…seriously, is there any part of our lives (yours, mine, Marvel’s) that hasn’t resembled a television show? As I said to denomic and shouki above, you guys shaped who Marvel is today, and you probably had the biggest influence. It’s been a long, strange ride, that took twists and turns that none of us could have expected, and there’s probably no way I could put it into the words (I’m not the writer, after all, if anyone should give it a shot he should) but I think the song that played during one of Marvel’s favorite dances of the night (here’s a hint: it was with you) probably describes the happy ending perfectly. I guess what I’m trying to say is, thank you for everything, but most importantly, for being Cool. <3

neoangelwink: Marvel holds this deep and unshakeable belief that you’re not a real girl after all; there’s just no way anyone could be as adorable and as sweet and as cute and as nice as you are. I think his most recent theory is that you’re some sort of fairy? I don’t try to argue with him, for one thing, I never win, and for another thing, he’s got a point: you ARE adorable and sweet and cute and nice and thank you for always sharing your darling ways and your sunny smile and your warm heart with me, you never fail to cheer me up when I’m down. Thank you.

ngmaster: As I start to write up these shoutouts, I realize that I’ve met people in a lot of interesting ways. Who would’ve thought that the Sailor Jupiter (and wow, is that weird in and of itself) that you photographed at AXNY would turn out to be the girlfriend of one of your coworkers? And then it just took off from there. We’ve been through an awful lot together, we’ve shared so much about ourselves, from our funny embarrassing stories, to our otherwise unvoiced sadness, from our proud successes, to our silly secrets. I’m really proud that I’m one of the people that you can talk to, and I know I can always go to you with anything, too. I’m glad we’ve moved past the cosplayer and photographer relationship to the really close friend thing we’ve got going on now, and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for us. (Next up: a trip to Mommy’s!)

oatmeal_queen: I remember a long time ago we promised we’d go to each other’s weddings, now the pressure’s all on me. :) If I had all the time in the world, I couldn’t tell you what you mean to me, but every late night IM conversation we’ve ever had is embedded in my heart. If I close my eyes I can see the glow of the computer screen, with you on it, with my sketchbook on my bed behind me, we wouldn’t even have to be talking, we’d both be drawing at the same time, and feel like we were together. Since then we’ve had opportunities to draw together in person, to watch anime, to swap pictures, to play dressup, to celebrate birthdays, to mourn deaths, to encourage each other to keep trying, both in art and in the myriad of other things that seem to come up at one time or another. Don’t think I don’t know how much you extend good energy and wish and hope and pray and make your will manifest to keep me safe, I feel it and I appreciate it and I wish I could do 1/10th as well for you. You’ll always be my site-sister and my heart-sister, and I love you and I always will.

oshidori: EVERYBODY, THIS GIRL MADE MY WEDDING DRESS. SERIOUSLY. THERE IS NO TOPPING THAT. Oshi, without you, my dream wouldn’t have come true. I never daydreamed about My Perfect Wedding, but a few details I did know: I knew what my first dance would be, I knew what song I wanted to walk down the aisle to, and I knew what I wanted my dress to look like. Silly stuff, I know, but when there are only a few things you’re adamant about, it makes them that much more important. Without you, I wouldn’t have had my dream dress, it’s as simple as that. I know how hard you worked on it and I’m so sorry it was a cause of stress for you, but I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it—although I can try, there’s a check here with your name on it, we just need to fill in the amount. My father was SO proud that I wasn’t wearing just another off-the-rack sale, and someday when you have the fame you so richly deserve, I’ll be able to say that for once in my life, I had a designer brand, and not only that, before anyone else. I appreciate it more than words can say.

phalanx2525: Okay, so it was nowhere NEAR as nice as yours and __sailormoon__’s, but did you still have fun? I now have a newfound appreciation of just what you two went through, although I’m sure I only went through about half of it because there were too many things I just threw up my hands and said, “F^ck it!” about. Hopefully you guests didn’t notice. :) At any rate, I hope you had as nice a time at my wedding as I had at yours, it really, really meant a lot to me that you were there, and I’m so happy that you finally got to meet Grandpa, he’s been wanting to meet you for ages! I’m only sorry I forgot to bring you over to Mommy so she could see your “Mark Recci eyes” in person—next time!

ragamuffinz: My pretty pretty pretty girl! For a girl who doesn’t believe in love and other like nonsense, you sure made us feel special! I loved your dress, and I can’t tell you how many of my coworkers fell in love with your necklace, and I thought it was so sweet that Dave brought you a corsage, you two looked like high society! And oh my goodness but did you spoil us, I wasn’t expecting all that! I’m glad you got to dance and I hope you had a nice time and Marvel really enjoyed getting to talk to you since he hasn’t really had much of a chance before, and we definitely all have to hang out together again soon (don’t you think Marvel would make a pretty good Nobuo?) Thank you so much for being there.

sailormoon: I stare at the screen and I try to think of what words I can possibly choose that could somehow sum up everything we’ve been through and everything we mean to each other. We’ve been friends for a long time and we’ve seen each other through, God, SO much—how many boyfriends (and girlfriends) each? How many heartbreaks, how many adventures, how many secrets, how much drama (hur hur), how many fun times, how many zany times, East Coast, West Coast, I really think the only thing we haven’t done is try out living in Middle America, but that would be pretty boring. You help me out of my shell, you always make sure that I’m grinning and happy, whether you have to scream out random words at passers-by, doing bizarre little crab dances, or just snuggling up next to me at a con and putting your head on my shoulder—that might be my favorite thing in the whole world. You keep me going and you always inspire me to never give up, and nothing, nothing I could ever say could thank you enough for that, but I’ll try: Thank you.

silverphoenix: First off, let me start off by apologizing, and saying, “I OWE YOU A DANCE!” As I’ve mentioned above it seemed like everybody and their mother wanted to boss me around that day, from the bridal captain to the DJ to members of my own family, and I didn’t get to do nearly even HALF of what I wanted to do, and I really, really wanted to dance with you, I just missed my chance, and I truly, truly regret it, and I really want to make it up to you, we’ll have to go out sometime! But I just wanted to say thank you so much for being there, and for being the life of the party—everytime I looked up you were here, there, everywhere, and so many people came up to me later and asked how I knew you because you were so nice (my cousin says hi! And that she’s sorry she didn’t get to dance with you either—next time!) Just thank you for everything, and I remember I owe you a dance.

starchild_295: Thank you SO MUCH for stepping in and taking care of almost everything that popped up in front of you! You looked gorgeous in my dress, I only wish I had had enough time to dig out that really cool eyeshadow that matches for you—we’ll have to get together and play dressup sometime! (Ruthie will LOVE that!) Hanging out with you and Laura the night before my wedding was SO COOL, it almost reminded me of the times we used to go to the diner with Ma upstate. And thank you for helping so much with the little girls the morning of the wedding, and then running to their (and my) rescue on the way down the aisle, and then just basically taking charge on the way in to the reception, you handled everything perfectly. And Mommy said for me to tell you that she recognized you first out of everybody in the bridal suite, you haven’t changed at all, except for your hair. She was really happy to see you again, and as for me, I’m always grateful for the chance to spend time with you. It’s sad that it’s kind of rare and far-between, but know that you and your little girl are always in my heart. Thank you for loaning me THE best ring bearer EVER.

supertonic: I am SO SO SO SO SO SO sorry for the mix-up with the music! I’m sure it’s all my fault, I tried to do too much in too short a time and I probably got all of my signals crossed, I’m lucky I even showed up on the right day. (That’s probably more due to my kickass bridesmaids than anything on my account.) I know you worked really hard to get ready and I’m so sorry more of my family didn't get to hear how talented you are—I’ve heard, and Dad’s heard, and my aunt has heard, and Marvel has heard, so I guess that will have to suffice for now. I really appreciate everything you did and we’ll just have to make it up to each other some other way—I haven’t forgotten that we still want to do that “Lounge Lizard” photoshoot together! I hope you know that you (and most of your family, really) have a place in my home any time, for however long. I can never hope to make my house as warm and welcoming as yours always has been, but as long as there’s some liquor in the kitchen and the Star Wars Holiday Special in the computer, you and I are set. Anyways, I just wanted to say that I love you, and I miss you, and I can’t wait to hang out again soon.

ttstarfire: My dear, you looked so pretty! I’m sorry we didn’t get to hang out more, but I hope you had a good time—you certainly look wonderful in all of the pictures I’ve seen so far! I’m so glad you could come, we haven’t kept in touch lately due to both of our EXTREMELY busy lives but I hope we can rectify that soon. We definitely have to hang out soon, that’s for sure. And hey, it’ll be your turn next, right? ^.~

tyrus: Really Marvel should be typing up this shoutout, because he told me after the wedding just how invaluable you were that morning, and I said to him, “I know! That’s why I wanted him there!” None of the other boys had ever been in a wedding party before, so far as I know, and some of them might not have ever really been to a wedding for that matter, so having you around to say, “No, dumbasses, cufflinks go here” and at the same time snap the photos that would document the entire process was just a Godsend—and I’m sure a little bit of social lubrication didn’t hurt, either. :) You’ve always been incredible to both of us and there’s no way I could ever thank you or the Mrs. enough, and OH MY GOD but do Marvel and I want to steal your baby. Don’t get nervous, if we were going to, there would’ve been a baby-shaped lump under Marvel’s tuxedo coat that night, so we’re safe we promise, but oh my God, most adorable baby EVER! (Okay, so yes, I know, I feel that way about a lot of babies, but that doesn’t make it any less sincere.) I’ve kind of gone off on a tangent here (you know, for a change) but I just wanted to thank you for being SUCH a good friend for so many years, I know I can never repay you but I do want you to know how much I appreciate it. Just…thank you for everything. <3

unsilenmajority: There is so much I want to thank you for—thank you for playing chauffer, thank you for letting my monster of a dress take up your entire entranceway for I don’t even remember how many months anymore, thank you for chasing down Mr. Softee with me that night, thank you for never minding that like half of our friends think of you as “Mr. Oshidori”…I guess what I’m really trying to say is thank you for everything you’ve done to support us, without you, we couldn’t have done it.

People Who Weren't There, But Need To Be Thanked For Obvious Reasons
charmedseed: People could not BELIEVE my jewelry was handmade, and they REALLY couldn’t believe that it was handmade by a FRIEND. It looked THAT good. I’m proud and happy that I could be a walking talking advertisement for Charmed Seed Jewelry, and I hope that in some way I contribute to the success you so richly deserve, I’ll certainly try my best to throw more business your way. Remind me to get you some photos to use on your website, if you want, and really, thank you for helping me look the way I long dreamt I would on my wedding day.

moradoshinigami: SHE MADE MY VEIL, EVERYBODY. EVERYBODY, SHE MADE MY VEIL. Can you believe it? Your veil set off my dress perfectly, everybody said so. Something about the length of the dress and the length of the veil and the length of my hair all together looked amazing, and I hope I don’t sound conceited saying that, because I know I had nothing to do with it, it was all your (and Oshi’s) talent. It was so wonderful having a truly unique veil (Dad loved it, even though he got a little confused at the rehearsal when I told him there was no blusher, but I’m glad of that, I’m not exactly the “blushing” type) and I told everyone that you made it for me. I’m so sorry you couldn’t be there, but you were there with me with every step I took—I didn’t take off that veil until we got to the hotel room that night. And I’m going to make sure I get to wear it again. Thank you so much for making that for me, and making one of my wedding dreams come true.

ssfseiyakou: I could thank you for sitting there and being a guinea pig for moradoshinigami, but you did more than that. Thank you for talking with me every day, for keeping me sane, for keeping me out of jail when I wanted to murder people for their shenanigans, for keeping me laughing, for keeping me loving, for reminding me there is a life after The Wedding—and a life that includes cosplay, praise the Lord and pass the sewing needle! I would’ve broken down a long time ago if it wasn’t for you. Thank you.

Everyone Else
Thank you so much for all of the wedding shoutouts and well wishes and posts, both in my journal (I'll respond to comments when I can!) and in your own. And I'm (a little) sorry that my wedding kind of flooded the interbutts; what with all of the recaps and the photos it felt a little bit like a con! Well, why not? But seriously, I wish I could have had everybody there. Just know that I felt your love and support throughout this entire ordeal, and I really appreciate it and I can never thank you all enough and I can only hope that I can be there for all of you the way you guys have always been there for me. Thank you.

All we hear is Radio ga ga, Radio goo goo, Radio ga ga

sunseenli@aol.com — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:33:55 GMT

Why the radio silence?

Well, a number of reasons. Wedding busy-ness leading up to and including the day of, of course. Post wedding busy-ness the next day. Away on honeymoon with no internet connection for the next week. A HUUUGE wedding post that I'm still working on. When I got back, Chii (my computer) refused to turn on, and up until recently we couldn't figure out how to connect Sumomo (my laptop) to our wireless network. And, when I got back to work, a mild e-mailed warning from my boss that tech support said I was spending too much time on the internet, especially my "personal blog." Since I don't want to add in "looking for a job" to the huge list of things we're trying to tackle at once, I have to behave for a while.

But the wedding post is coming! I promise! I'm sorry I haven't been commenting--maybe once my life settles down (please, please, please tell me life settles down) I'll be able to schedule in some internet time.

IMPORTANT QUESTION!

sunseenli@aol.com — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:33:59 GMT

OF VITAL IMPORTANCE!

View Poll: SRS BSNESS!

And why?

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

sunseenli@aol.com — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:00:39 GMT

You know, I see so many of you with Otakon room problems, and putting aside my MASSIVE JEALOUSY THAT I'M NOT GOING, I figured I'd try to help out.

Post here if you:

1) Need a room

or

2) Have a room you need help filling

Maybe some of you can help each other out. <3