My day at AVCON (anime and video games convention)

So a short time ago i arrived back home from Avcon (see title) and i miss it already. I feel lost, not really sure what i am gonna do for the next few weeks...i guess i will have uni and work but those two things are not typically what one would get enthused and excited over.

I went to my first AVCON event last year after missing out for many years beforehand. I decided to go as Goku from DragonballZ (super saiyan) and spent the moments beforehand worrying that my cosplay wasn't that good and i would look/feel like a fool. That changed the instant i arrived last year as soon as someone asked for my picture...i felt like i had found somewhere i belonged, even if it was only for a day or two. Excitement and that sense of peace are a rare thing for me so i truly value AVCON and the home that it provides those that otherwise keep there 'geeky'/'nerdy' interests private.

It was no different this year, well perhaps it was slightly. I had decided to book the whole weekend off for AVCON so i could get as much as possible out of the event. My goal was to do a bit of everything that was on offer and i like to think i achieved this goal. I sat in on a Video Game Reviewer's panel, i played alot of video games, had a look at all the various stalls and items that were on sale/offer, i went to the Madman National Cosplay competition, the Lolita fashion parade, saw some Anime (Gurren Lagann and UN-GO- both of which i recommend) amongst other things!

There's two things i LOVE about AVCON, 1. People making you feel awesome by asking for photo and appreciating what you have done and 2. Seeing the effort and enthusiasm that people have in getting into the spirit of AVCON, especially those who dress up in character. Now, im not much of an expert on Anime so there is alot of characters i won't list here however there was still so many memorable characters. There was: Bane, batman, the legoman, Mimi (digimon), Lara Croft, Fang, Goku, Vegeta, Gumby, MasterChief, Iron Man, War Machine, The Hulk, A deathnote, Sailor Moon and the other Sailor girls, Lolita girls, Dr Who amongst MANY others. I think i took something like 175 photos and can't wait to upload them to facebook sometime in the near future!

The only lowlight was that it didn't go on forever. In some sense, we were all one huge family, there just to have a good time with one another and im sure many people made new friends throughout the event. I just want to say a huge thankyou to everyone who had a hand in making AVCON what it was, the organisers, staff, the volunteers, the stall/booth operators, the special guests and most importantly everyone who attended the event itself....THANKYOU :)

PS on the saturday i went as Goku and on the Sunday i went as a Wraith from Stargate Atlantis (the special effects Makeup done by a good friend of mine, please check out her facebook page and support her like she supported me Tiffany Dean- MakeUp extroadinaire). Pics will be posted to her page in good time

ForeverConflicted

My night with The Viennas

So i've just got home after a night out supporting a friend from work and his band 'The Vienna's' and im still buzzing, im still feeling the massive amount of love that came from the gig. The venue, The Jade Monkey, was packed from the moment we got there, full within moments of the doors being open...you could tell with the amount of people there it was going to be a special night. I had never even heard of the Jade Monkey until recently and im glad that i experienced it before it is closed down. In short it is a really funky venue, it was like a whole bunch of furniture and fittings that don't belong coming to together to construct a masterpiece, something kinda like an abstract painting.

The support act got up on stage and were great, they warmed the crowd and prepared us for the piece-de-resistance, The Vienna's. Before the first note had been played, before the first lyric had been sung everyone was on their feet, at attention, ready to give the love to the guys on their big night. This was 'The Viennas' first ep launch so it was a huge night for them and personally, it was great to see so much support in the room. They had everyone swaying to the same beat, had everyone moving to the same rhythm from the moment they obliterated the silence. Looking around from time to time, i saw a lot of smiles directed at the stage, alot of 'toe tapping' and a lot of pride. This was their big night and they delivered. There were even tears towards the end as they thanked everyone for coming along, they fully appreciated us as we did with them and their sound.

THANKS FOR A GREAT NIGHT!! :)

The Vienna's fb page :)

Given up Alcohol!

As of writing this im 3 days sober, not huge but it's a positive step in the right direction.

I went out a couple of days ago to a nightclub that had a retro/school disco theme for the night. The music was old school, the bass was deep and the girls were hot, everyone was having a good time. The plan for the night was to (with a friend) simply to have a good time but also to go up and talk to a few girls, just to help with the fear of rejection i am working on. For the most part, the night was great for the reasons mentioned above, i actually had the best time i think i could of given the circumstances. Even though i left it late, i did go and up talked to a couple of groups of girls and i felt good about that...night was a success in that regard. However, when i was making my way home it hit me hard, i was hiding behind alot of excuses.

I noticed that the friend i was out with used alcohol as a reason not to get on the dancefloor where the action with and not to talk to the many girls that were around us. He didn't even try and i assume it was because he was self conscious to the point where drinking provided a much needed 'comfort'. I felt sorry for him, to allow the fear of rejection to get to that point is sad. Combined with the relatively high amount of money i spent on alcohol that night, it forced me to ask myself the question: Why do i drink?

The following points came up when i considered whether or not i should cut alcohol out of my life.

1. I never feel the need or desire to drink, i only do so to 'fit in socially'

2. It's really easy to go through money when drinking and id prefer to save

3. I don't particularly enjoy the taste

4. more often then not i will feel worse off 

5. I get the same buzz, that people get from drinking, from the music/atmosphere/dancefloor

Conclusion: I don't need alcohol and id be better off without it

Join me on my journey to conquer this enemy. Id also like to hear about your efforts or thoughts about alcohol in general :)

ForeverConflicted

I get knocked down but i get up again...

This is dedicated to all those guys n girls who despite constant rejection never give up :)


Last Saturday night (Australian time) was originally meant to be a good night out on the town. I had a few friends lined up and i had planned to go out and get over my fear of rejection. "Tonight is going to be the night, enough is enough" i remember telling myself in an attempt to build my confidence. However as that morning/day wore on, the weather turned apocolyptic and there were thunderstorms, maybe lighting and a whole lot of coldness. This was when my friends started to cancel on me, "it will be too cold n wet" or better yet, some complete non responses at all...

I will not lie, it did affect me and was a blow to my confidence. As it turned out the weather was pretty damn good for a winter's evening but still no luck in convincing anyone to come out. Fear not though my friends, i went out anyway...i was determined to conquer my fears, i had to be prepared to go out on my own, no excuses! So with the Adrenaline coursing through my veins i head out and after getting some pizza i went straight to the pool/8ball/snooker hall/club that me n my friends had went to the previous Saturday night.

An extremely attractive barmaid, that i had worked up alot of courage to talk to and have a good conversation the week before, recognised my and said hello. I was feeling good, so i walk up to the bar, i don't look completely interested and i engage her in conversation again. It was all going great, here i was talking to an extremely attractive girl who seemed genuine, down to earth, not 'stuck-up' and for better or worse i was considering inviting her to a comedy show the following week.

*massive sigh*...i then, noticing just how busy the place with say "wow, me n my friends picked a good night to come out and play" to which she reponded "do you even have any friends? because you did this last time". Needless to say my confidence was DESTROYED and i quickly went home shortly after, more devastated that my self-confidence was so low at the time that i couldn't handle the situation :(

and then i went out next saturday...


This post should help to explain the first part of my So proud post