Mega storm

There's a lull in the huge storm outside (tornado warnings and all), so now I'll fill it up with the clacking of my keyboard. No silence for me! Not since Megacon, anyway.

Oh man...now THAT was a totally worth it weekend. From Friday to Sunday, it was non-stop action with all the costuming, photographing, posing and BUYING that Ryan and I did! There are so many elements that make up a great "comic" convention: awesome artist's alley, good panels, great celebrities, fun activities other than just panels, nice location, high level of costume participation and good vendors/booths. There are more, but these are the most important to me as a con-goer and Megacon has all of this in spades. Ha...it sounds like I've been going for years upon years, but this was my only my third Megacon ever. I think my sister has been to more than I have; she's the one who convinced me it was worth the drive and the ticket cost my first year. Now, I look forward to the next year the day it's over!

This year was our first year attending all three days of the con, too. I couldn't have asked for anything better. We also finally attended my sister's Dr. Horrible "picture show"; it was fantastic! They did such a good job! I know it's only going to get better every year and I can't wait to see them get the recognition they so rightly deserve.

Our costumes on Saturday were definitely my new favorites, even as much as I love my Sunday costumes. On Saturday, Ryan and I were Kaylee and Jayne to match my sister as Inara and her friends as Wash, Mal, Simon and River, all from the TV show "Firefly" and its sequel movie "Serenity." Being part of such a large "Firefly" group (who were all TOTALLY in character) was endearing - not just to me, but also to everyone who knew what we were portraying.

Sunday, Ryan and I were Lilith and Mordecai from the "Borderlands" video game from Gearbox Software:

I worked like a slave monkey getting things together for them last year (the year the costumes were created and first worn to Megacon); I love them and we look great in them, but the "Firefly" costumes suited our personalities perfettamente! Ahh...memories. But enough about us and on to my next favorite part: ART!!!

This year, I refused to buy any toys (except for mermaids and that Kaylee maquette I've been dying to find - neither of which I found, sadly) and only spent money on art that I loved. Oh yeah! Ditto for Ryan. No silly baubles for him, either. All art, all the time. My personal favorites (from whom I purchased art/books/etc. this year) are: Mike Maihack, Michael Dooney, Christian Slade and Gene Gonzales.

~I've been following Gene Gonzales on his blog since I saw his name and art on the Megacon website last year. This year, I actually bought his book of pin-ups and fell in love with his work all over again. He's a prolific blogger and I love checking his practically-daily postings. His style is so clean and pretty!!!!

~Michael Dooney I just learned about this year and I was crazy impressed with his sketchpainting and quick sketches in Japanese marker pens. I bought a few little books of his and he showed me a great sketch of Inara that he was working on there at the con. Oh wow...intricate and entrancing. She was just as lovely as she was on the show and even had Serenity flying off in the background. Maybe one day he'll sell it... ^_-

~Christian Slade was once a Disney artist and his drawings of dogs (especially Corgis) are absolutely adorable and awesome at the same time. He designed and drew this amazing series called "Korgi" that I am in love with. They're about these fairy/gnome-like beings called Mollies and these magical Corgi-like dogs called Korgis. More specifically, the books are about the adventures of one young Mollie named Ivy and her Korgi cub, Sprout! I just LOVE Sprout!!!! He's absolutely adorable! I can't wait until the third volume comes out - hopefully in time for Megacon next year!

~Mike Maihack is an artist who draws adorable comics and an awesome webcomic called "Cleopatra in Space"...now let me ask you something: HOW ON EARTH DID I MISS THIS LAST YEAR!?!?!??? I have been absolutely head-over-spleen in love with Ancient Egypt since practically my birth and I miss a giant banner with the lovely Cleopatra and Khensu (A SPACE KITTY!!!!!!) on it during my one day jaunt to Megacon last year?!?!!!! What is my world coming to? Where was my head? Oh yeah...it was that itchy but beautiful pink wig...AND the facts that we only came on Saturday, got there later than we wanted, it was absolutely packed and we could hardly walk 5 feet without stopping for a picture (because last year was Borderlands' big year). Oh yeah. That's how I missed him. Well, now that I know and have purchased both Cow & Buffalo comic books along with "Ash: the Time Travelling Kitty" and the printed version of the first chapter of "Cleopatra in Space" (and Ryan bought a crap-ton of absolutely squee-able prints), I'm considering myself a fan...and next year, I'm totally bringing way more cash. Underestimated that this year. <3

*phew* Completely committed to doing this again next year and Ryan agrees. This will be our big outing for the year (excluding any trip to see a Duran Duran concert, of course) every year and we're excited about it already.

Back into the storm...

A view of standardized testing in Florida, from a student who had to deal with it.

Do you remember sitting in your class, learning about how to pass the FCAT? I do. It was awful. We had to learn processes and tricks for passing a test that didn't really measure how we could comprehend different subjects. It touched on various things, didn't go into depth and was so touch-and-go that anyone with basic comprehension could pass, but that wasn't what was bad.

What was the worst about this test was that our lessons took a turn away from things that could really spark our interests and curved into the boring world of learning how to pass standardized testing. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who really get a thrill from filling in those little bubbles with nicely sharpened No. 2 pencils, but I remember taking them in middle school and hardly any of us enjoyed it. Ditto for every other standardized test.

My favorite parts of the tests were the reading portions. Not because they were easier for me, but because they were slightly interesting. Thinking about it, I just pulled up a third grade FCAT sample and read through it, answering the questions as I went. Ugh. Granted, I did really well, but I could tell the exact questions I would have problems with, were I to take this back when I was in third grade. (They were mostly math questions without hints as to how to solve them; you just had to know what formula or procedure was used for that type of question.)

I was lucky. FCAT testing didn't go into effect in elementary schools until after I was out of there, but we did do Florida Writes. I've always liked writing, but writing like that was torturous. Of course, that's the type of writing that gives you a good hint as to how to write a basic report in middle school and even high school (if your teacher didn't care too much), but it's strictly awful. Beginning, middle, end. Bam, bam, bam. And every final paragraph ended with something like, "and that's..."
...why I would like to become an astronaut.
...how grades are important.
...why you should always eat your vegetables.
...how violence on TV affects kids in school.

You could get either an expository or a persuasive type of prompt and then have to write about it in a way that was clear and concise without too many grammatical errors. Florida public school students still do this in the fourth, eighth and tenth grades. I hated it and I have always liked writing. Heck, I even liked writing reports, but I STILL hated doing the Florida Writes tests. I know I always did well, but I still hate them. To this day.

I hated the classes where we sat, learning how to plan for these "essays." I hated the predictable way in which you had to write these monstrous pieces of expository/persuasive drivel. ...I guess that's just a personality flaw on my part.

Ugh.
The reason all this hatred and these unpleasant memories are being stirred up in my head is because our lovely new governor, Rick Scott, is "anxious" to sign new legislation to base teacher pay on student performance, to be measured by standarized testing. I don't know about you, but I knew plenty of kids who struggled through regular lessons just to pass the FCAT because they had to. Something clicked and they got through. But, afterwards, they were right back to their disruptive and "say no to learning" ways. It in no way reflected the way our teachers taught, because the students who wanted to learn and the ones who were at least open to learning were doing well, but the ones who refused (obviously) weren't performing. AND THEY DIDN'T CARE!!!

I know now that this is somewhat a reflection of their home situations. Most kids can't just leave home at home; it doesn't work that way. If their parent(s)/guardian/grandma doesn't care, then why should the kid?

"Why you teachers always calling me about my kid? When he at school, he your problem! Deal with it!"

I just don't understand how this should factor into the pay of a Florida public school teacher. Oh, and did I mention that these poor Florida teachers have some of the lowest pay grades in the nation, compared to teachers in other states? No? Well it's true. How is threatening to cut their pay because the children of today are dealing with awful examples and terrible home lives going to help? It's not.

Something tells me that the stress of this added pressure is going to be a big issue. And the kids of Florida are going to suffer because the teachers will be suffering even more.

Ongoing cycle

You drive down the street in your beat-up Oldsmobile and it fits right in; you, on the other hand, don't. They see that in the instant the sun beating down on your windows reflects the right way. Slowly, very slowly, they amble out of the path of your oncoming rustbucket. They make sure that they see the whites of your eyes and you can either meet their steady gaze, or look past them. Today, I'll meet them head-on. They can gauge you in an instant and they have no obvious fear; you shouldn't either, or you might be in trouble.

Today, though, they're young, not even coming into their own yet. Their grammas and mammas still hold heavy sway, but they're on a porch talking it up, unseeing, down the street. These kids, maybe 5 or 6 of them all together, stand smack in the middle of the road, daring any oncoming traffic to hit them, honk at them, give them the finger, anything. They want me to do something when they see what I am. You can see a sneer or a look of unbridled confidence in a few of their faces. My music's up and I don't hear words, but a couple open their mouths, miming words that I can tell are curse words that their parents/grandparents and other, older siblings and cousins use frequently. One, a bold boy on a bike who can be no older than 9, reaches over and smacks his small hand on my car as I ease past. I resist the temptation to brake; that's what he wants. He wants me to be afraid that I've hit one of his friends or even him. Then he can laugh and point at me, a 20-something white girl. He sees that I don't care and dismisses me with a wave of his hand, like he's slapping me out of his sight. I can also clearly see that he uses a four-lettered word beginning with 'f' in what he exclaims as I continue past his group.

I'm on the next block and, in the rearview mirror, I can see that they're continuing what they were doing before my rumbling presence broke their mid-street confidences. Capri-suns, Coke cans and juice boxes are tossed to the sides of the road where, in future years, they will mutate into 40 oz. bottles, beer cans and little plastic baggies. It's not unavoidable, but it will happen just the same. Their parents did the same to different drivers when I was their age, living in that same neighborhood.

Life lessons from "The First 48 Hours"

So, I'm having a good weekend and spend all Saturday cleaning the house and painting flowers on my Kaylee costume jumpsuit. My throat hurts a little, but I don't think much of it, thinking it's prbably due to my breathing in the dust and stuff when I was cleaning; it's happened before. Sunday morning, I'm sick. Throat enflamed, fever oncoming and sneezing. Monday, I'm out of work with a nice fever and sleep most of the day. I wake up only to eat, drink more Gatorade and take my medicine. Ditto for today, except I'm feeling good enough to be awake for at least half of the day. Now my throat is better, but I'm so stuffy I still can't hear very well or breathe through my nose, but at least it's going away.

Today, when I woke up around 3, I felt like laying on the couch to watch something fun on Netflix...not a movie, just something like a show that I could watch and turn off at will to return to sleep if I needed it. I saw that Netflix had "The First 48 Hours" on instant and I love it. I watched some of this show when I had TV back at my parents' house, but it's been awhile since I've seen it. It's so...educational. Here's what I mean.

Things I've learned from "The First 48 Hours":

~Lord, save us from dope fiends and other unsavory characters with nicknames like Peanut, Noodles, Chocolate, Teeth, Baby Mike, Big Pat, Little Pat, Lil E, etc.

~Life as a male of any race from the ages of 19-23 must be terribly difficult; they're the ones getting murdered, doing the murdering or are at least suspects/accomplices.

~Don't sell drugs, don't do drugs and definitely don't videotape other people selling drugs.

~Nobody ever sees or hears anything. Even if they were two feet away from the smoking gun being held by the hoodlum who just pulled the trigger.

~Don't make friends with someone with a nickname like Peanut, P-Head, Noodles, Teeth or Chocolate; they're only gonna be trouble.

~You should never stay in a neighborhood with a nickname like "Pork 'n Beans" or "Little Havana."

~Do be suspicious when your friend wants to bring a shotgun with him on your joyride.

Costume Hijinks!

This is going to be a good month...I can tell. Not only is it my little sister's birthday month, but I also get to wear three costumes for different events!!!

That's one of my favorite things to do: dressing up and "becoming" a character for an event and/or party.

Last night, I was able to dress up as Princess Aurora of "Sleeping Beauty" for a Holiday of Hope event at Shriners Hospitals for Children - Tampa. It was absolutely great! Though I'd dressed up as Aurora before (twice, actually) for fun writing days with my mom's second grade class, last night, I think I perfected my "character." Not only did I have a wig this time, but I also WAS Aurora.

In preparation, I watched a few videos of kids and adults meeting Princess Aurora at the Disney Parks. I listened to her voice and the types of things she said and modeled my Aurora after her; I LOVED IT!!! ...and so did the kids! Even the adults had a good time talking to me as Aurora! I was nervous at first and afraid that I would look silly with the wig on, but man, it really pulled the whole princess look together, much moreso than the other few times I'd dressed as Aurora with my own dark blonde hair. I think the wig really added that Princess feel to it for some reason; maybe it's because the girls at the parks all wear wigs and wigs are perfect for the most part - not (too) frizzy, nicely curled, one straight color, etc.

I felt the part, everyone said I looked the part and the kids loved my Aurora. I had a real ball.

Of course, I'm exhausted now and I think I'm slightly allergic to the nice eyeliner I wear to make my eyes look more cartoon-ish, but it was all so worth it.

As for the other two costumes I get to wear this month, well, I'm dressing up as Kaylee Frye from "Firefly" and "Serenity" and Lilith from the video game "Borderlands" at Megacon in Orlando! (No eyeliner involved for either, I'm happy to say.) I'm so excited!!! I can't wait to be Kaylee because I've never been her before. She's a plucky, girly spaceship mechanic whose actress, Jewel Staite, shares a birthday with me. I'm also excited to reprise my Lilith with a better holster. Oh, and both of these costumes will be accompanied by my male counterpart, Ryan, playing complimentary characters: Jayne Cobb, the mercenary on "Firefly," and Mordecai, the sniper/hunter from "Borderlands." And, to top it all off, my little sister is joining our pair with two more complimentary characters: Inara Serra, the companion on "Firefly" and Mad Moxxi, the lovely mistress of the Underdome in "Borderlands." *sigh* I'm going bonkers with happiness just thinking about it!

Please forgive the jumpy nature of this post...I'm just still in the waves of euphoria from last night's party. The kids loved it and that just brightened my whole year. <3