freedom – It's Been Real!

I’m Free! Motherf*ckers!

It’s been a while, I know. 2019 was certainly a whirlwind. Last time I posted, It was in late June, early July, and I was only a couple of weeks away from moving. I moved out of my parents house at the beginning of August.

In the months preceding my move, I had a great deal of help from one of my doctors, who helped me find a dining room table and chairs, and a couch (with a queen fold out bed). I used Facebook Marketplace to my advantage and got myself a toaster, microwave, microwave stand, little coffee table and book shelves. Walmart came in handy and I got a TV and TV stand on their last sale. I was being as thrifty as I could.

My apartment went from looking like this:

Before they fixed it up for me. It then looked like this:

When I first started moving things in. This was the next phase:

Still getting situated. Finally, it came to this:

Finally, this was it looked like finished (ignore the boxes the TV is sitting on. I do have a TV stand now). I have cooking implements that were given to me by family friends. I’ve been enjoying cooking my own meals, but I only really get to do it twice a week: Sunday night and Monday night. All the other nights I work too late to cook my own dinner. This Sunday night, I have my younger brother visiting and I said I would cook Katsudon for dinner (Japanese pork cutlet bowls). I’m looking forward to it.

Anyway, I am very happy with myself and where I am right now. I have my own space, I’m engaged, and looking forward to 2020.

And on that note, it’s been real!

The Unwanted Filter

Don’t you love it when you’re trying to text people and you really want to get your point across about how you feel about a certain situation or a person. And everyone know’s the best way to do that is by the usage of curse words! I’ve done a post in the past where I discussed alternative expletives, but now, I’m talking about the actual curse words. You have to put them in the text because just typing them makes you feel better. And then you press the ‘space’ bar and that’s when one of your worst enemies kicks in: autocorrect!

It automatically changes the word to something that sounds nicer, but lacks the same eloquence that your previous word have had. So, you backspace and try again. Sometimes it works, and you can spell the ‘correct’ word and get your point across. Other times, it refused to acknowledge that ‘f*ck’ is the word you want to use instead of ‘duck’. Another one is ‘shut’ for ‘sh*t’. Then ‘mother trucker’ for ‘mother f*cker’. That and ‘mother forklift’. ‘Damn’ simply drops the ‘n’ and it becomes okay to use.

It’s very funny to watch your phone attempt to fix you as it adjusts your spelling. Quite frequently, I will accidentally send out a text with the autocorrected word in it, and then send another text with the real curse word that I managed to finagle in there. Look phone, just send the message I want to send, and don’t try to tell me what to say.

And on that note, it’s been real!

Sangawa 2015

I love these anime conventions! They’re quite a bit of fun! I first heard about Sangawa through Tekko, as it is organized and run by the same people. It is an 18+ event, as there is alcohol involved and more adult themed anime and manga. Fun, right?! However, in 2015, I was still one year shy of being able to drink, so I only really went because Vic Mignogna, a popular anime voice actor, was going to be there. My younger brother and a friend of ours agreed that we should go and meet him and get pictures and autographs.

They hold this particular convention in early December every year at a fancy hotel close to the city. It is a smaller venue than Tekko, which makes it so much more intimate. Especially after you’ve been drinking several different types of sake (Sangawa 2016/story for another day). At this Sangawa, I wore an Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood) T-shirt, and stood at the back of the room with my brother at the opening ‘ceremony’. As we were standing there, a blond man in a black T-shirt walked by us. I did a double take, poked my brother, and whispered, “That was the pipsqueak.” He looked at him closer and grinned. Vic Mignogna welcomed everyone with an unquenchable exuberance. It was infectious and it made me happy to see it. Throughout the night, we would sit on panels, go to the video or gaming room, and we even stuck our heads in the small market space. That room was definitely several sizes smaller than it is at Tekko.

Around 11:00, Vic had a private screening of one of his Star Trek Continued episodes. My brother and I sat in the front, and that was when I saw something on the menu screen that puzzled me. I raised my hand like a kid in class and said, “Excuse me?”

Vic Mignogna came over to me and asked, “What is it, sweetie?” I asked him my question about the menu and he got a slightly shocked look on his face. “Spoilers!” he said, before he covered my eyes and asked somebody to place something in front of the projector. Needless to say, I was surprised to have his hand over my eyes for several seconds. He thanked me for pointing it out when he removed his hand.

“You’re welcome,” was all I could really say. The screening was fun, but by the end, I had to call it a night. My brother, our friend, and myself returned the next day and got pictures and autographs. I got Vic’s autograph on both my FMA Brotherhood DVD’s and a poster. It was a fun time, and I am going again this year. The voice actress for Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye (FMA Brotherhood), and the voice actor for the Armored Titan (Attack On Titan) will be the guests this year. It should be interesting… especially since alcohol will be involved (again).

And on that note, it’s been real!

Oh, This? It’s Just a Hobby…

In the ‘About Me’ part of my blog, I mentioned that I enjoyed watching anime. I also like going to conventions when they have them in my city. They are soo much fun and it’s nice to dress up and be somebody else for a day or two. Usually two. The conventions are three days long, and I try to dress as two different people on two different days. Sometimes I go on the third day, and sometimes I don’t.

I’ve been going since 2014 and it has been a blast every time. My first year I went as Korra, from Legend of Korra, the continuation of the Avatar: Last Airbender series. I got so many, “Hey! Waterbender!” I would spin around and almost karate chop somebody (just kidding). It was nice to be recognized.

My second year, my brother went with me and we did a couple sort of dress up. Some of you might know the anime, Black Butler. He was Sebastian Michaelis, the butler; and I was Ciel Phantomhive, the master. (FYI, that guy is not my brother. Just a random dude who asked to hold me.) We got recognized and stopped all day. It was superb! After that, we got an email saying there was an 18+ only convention in December for anime, that was sort of an extension of Tekko. We went to it, met a voice actor we both really loved, got autographs and pictures to remember it by.

My third year of Tekko, my brother and I dressed separately. He went as another character from an anime, and I went as Black Widow one day, and Loki in his Stuttgart suit and cane the next day. I actually got chased down by a Thor. How could you not runaway from some big, blonde dude, who screams, “Brother!” at the top of his lungs? I turned and ran. Everyone thought it was funny.

For Sangawa second year around, I was old enough to participate in the sake tasting. It was marvelous, and I was hungover the next day. Yeah… I will still be going again this year. It was fun last year: sampling sake, meeting random people, and sitting out in the hallway talking till almost 2:00 a.m. It was fun, I met knew people and my brother and I can talk to them whenever we go to these conventions. I’ll bring you guys up to date on the next convention I go to, because they are so much fun!

And on that note, it’s been real!

Lazy Day

So, I a happy person today because I had yesterday off, and today off, and tomorrow off, and Thursday off, and Friday off. I’m also off from my restaurant job on Friday night and Saturday night. I’m as free as a little bird, and I’m so happy! I can catch up this and my novel writing. I can also finish watching “The Defenders” on Netflix.

To the world, I will be doing nothing. To me, I will be doing everything important. It will be nice to wake up when I want to, and not when the alarm decides to buzz. I answer to myself for the rest of the week, and it will be nice. I hope that everyone else also has a good week, whether they’re working or not.

And on that note, it’s been real!

Last Day! Whoo Hoo!

This one is going to be quick because… today is my last day!

The schedule is short because I only have one doctor, and my coworkers want to take me out for a parting drink after work. I am feeling a little sad to say goodbye to people who have been very supportive of me the last three years. With a few exceptions, I’ve liked working with them, and will be upset that I won’t be working with them like I used to.

I cleaned up my desk area yesterday. It was a smidge depressing, but mostly fun. I like organizing and it was good to see certain cluttered areas get de-cluttered. Another thing to pick my spirits up, what girl can say no to a drink with some funny ladies?

And on that note, it’s been real!

Bleepity, Bleep, Bleep: Curse Words for Everything

This is something fun that I found at least two years ago. The Christian comedian, Tim Hawkins, did a skit where he gave Christians cusswords they can use without endangering themselves, yada, yada, yada. I watched the video and legitimately laughed my head off. Some of them were actually very close to the curse words they were replacing. After the fact, I unconsciously came up with words of my own that I inserted at appropriate times.

Author’s List of Non-Violent Expletives for Every Occasion:

Frickety mackintosh!
Schnitzel!
Juniper!
Frick, Frickety, Frick, Frick!
Balls! (debatable, but definitely better than the alternative)
Bushel Britches!
Suckerpunch!
Pond Sucker!
Farts!

And there you have it! Those are my Non-Violent Expletives for Every Occasion! Whip em’ out whenever you really want to say something, but can’t say that one thing. Hopefully, it will help alleviate the tension that always comes when people can’t properly express themselves through dirty words.

And on that note, it’s been real!

Therapy Thursday

Thursdays have become the day where I work for several hours, then leave to go to therapy. I’m not ashamed to admit that I go to therapy. I’ve been going to therapy since this year started and it’s been very helpful for me on a personal level. Talking to somebody who is not biased and has to listen is a liberating feeling. I talk to my siblings every once in a while and it is good. It’s always good to talk to one’s siblings, if you have any. I have five, but sometimes, you need to talk to somebody who doesn’t know you as well as they do. Who doesn’t know all your secrets. I can tell her my secrets and tell her my reasoning behind every secret, and everything else I’ve done and thought.

She’s such a nice woman and she’s been so kind to me. During our short time together, she has pointed out changes in me that I knew had not been there before. She has seen me grow in such a short span of time; since January. She has seen me through many ups and downs and she has been a rock I can lean on.

I am so grateful for my therapist. I can thank my brother for introducing her to me. My mental state has improved greatly since I started and I would only leave her because my health insurance ended. I will be sad when I do leave her. She has become a friend to me and I would not have improved if I hadn’t had a person telling me to improve without yelling at me or being ultra critical. What a relief!

And on that note, it’s been real!