Maid Cafe~!

Wow...Long time since last post...I suck haha!! xD 

Over the long weekend was the long awaited Otafest!! And finally I got to do the maid cafe. I was super nervous that I couldn't sleep the night previous because I didn't want to mess up in anything! I am too much of a perfectionist... 

You have to buy a ticket in order to get into the cafe. The system is RVSP, where service has a dance included. All the profits, and all tips, went to the Humane Society which is extra nice!!

That was our space and for using a classroom, it was pretty good I though! Accept the colour of those curtains and the way the curtains hung made me think of a funeral. Lucky they drew more girls on the chalkboard so it didn't look like we were celebrating the death of a maid girl LOL!!

Here was my costume. I actually cheated and got a Lolita dress and put a heart apron over top! ;D I had no choice anyways. I was too tiny to fit in the standard sizes so I had to find a place that did custom sizing. I got the dress form Milanoo and the apron from Cosmates. In total I think it cost me around $100! I think that's pretty cheap considering I got a custom dress!

The funny thing is all my memories of Otafest has been me volunteering. I have also volunteered as a vendor as well so I actually don't know how Otafest really works, but they have a really active forum and site. My city is relatively small compared to other large metropolises, but it's gotten pretty big here. I even saw a news story on it prior to when it started. Otafest features a lot of events like contests, chess, etc. I saw that they invited a jrock band where they performed outside and in a real concert setting. I THINK the band name was Nix?? Maid cafe is basically all day, so I don't really know what the other events are like haha xD I think the vendors hall is great since you can get so many things. I got my cheap manga! This year I'm trying to collect Beauty Pop!! I didn't get all, but it was pretty good price. My sister got this "Godzilla" hat. I say Godzilla, because T-REXS DO NOT HAVE SPIKES. So it's not a damn dinosaur ok?!!! That thing is a dragon or Godzilla!!! Now, if you see ANY of your friends drawing t-rexs with spikes, TELL THEM IT'S INCORRECT. If they are drawing a stegosaurus then okay...

These actually didn't belong to her, but after trying it on, she rushed out to get one! From the place we got it, apparently each one is hand-made and it was pretty good quality! I compared to other hats and the quality was very consistent. I forgot the name of the place that she picked it up, though. 

Group picture! Since it's a small picture, I didn't bother to blank out faces ;d! The two "girls" sitting down on the left were actually guys. The furthest left was sort of obvious, but the one next to him showed us ALL up! He was so freaking cute it made you think that it was SO unfair!!!

As for next year, I don't know if I want to do the maid cafe again. I really want to Cosplay and actually see Otafest. But, I really had a lot of fun. Everyone was super nice as a whole and they are all great people...HOWEVER they lack some professionalism!! I couldn't believe how some of the girls acted. But I forgive some since they are so young...BUT the guy leading the maid cafe was WAY to nice!! Some girls came late and it was important to keep on schedule since it was RVSP basis. I would have chewed them out and make them sure they are punished. In fact, I would raise the age limit...having younger girls is completely useless and frustrating to control. But, that may be just me being a perfectionist. 

This was the dance that we did. No, I am not in this one. It's still pretty early so I tried to find a decent one xD At one point, there is the closeup to one of the maid. He was our choreographer in teaching us the dance. Enjoy!

♥ Mary

  

An Incredible Woman & Love

Today, I want to talk about a woman that I know and I think she is the most inspiring and strong woman I have ever met. I'll skip out some details because I believe that there are some things that she shared with me that I should keep to myself. However, I do want to say that every time I talk with her, I am inspired and I feel like I've been reborn as a person. Since I have lived such a pleasant life (which I am very grateful), I'm surprised to hear things that seem to be out of a drama.

To start off, this woman is the most open and caring woman ever. She loves her dogs so much, and when her greyhound had to get a leg removed because of cancer, she slept beside him on the couch because she didn't want him to be alone. She sometimes just sits in the park and talks to random people and even the homeless. She believes everyone has something they want to say and they just need someone to listen to them. I never had that kind of courage to casually talk to a stranger.

Her story alone makes me feel she is what it means to be a woman. She is a much older woman, about 20 years my senior, but she treats me like an equal, as if there is no age gap at all. We talk boys, dating, things in our lives, just about anything. I have a quiet life and just about what you call uninteresting, but she always listens to me with full attention. I feel she is what is to be a woman because she is so strong, yet so gentle.  

She had a child at a younger age (not in her teens as far as I know). The father was not a very good man, and was always drunk. Even with death threats hanging over her head, to protect her daughter, she withdrew from her life to support her daughter and sacrificing everything to make sure her daughter will have everything she needs. However, the most incredible thing to me was that she never talked about the father as if she loathed him. She never once had any malice in her voice when talking about him. To me, I get this feeling she instead wants him to get some help. She protected and became a support without having to rely on everyone around her. She believed that that the duty to protect her daughter was hers alone. I thought about how strong her maternal feelings were and wonder if I could ever be like that. I wonder if I could throw everything away just to protect something. I vowed to myself I would after this.

To me, one of the most inspiring things is that she was never afraid to love. She always looked straight ahead. She told me about all her love stories as if she was telling a woman of her age. She didn't leave any details and treated me like I was a mature adult. I've always been treated like I was immature because I look younger then my age, but I was very pleased that she would even talk about her love relationships like this with all the details. She's been hurt and she's shed many tears, and yet, in the face of love, she still has the courage to try.

I wish I had that kind of courage. Me, who has never even been in a relationship before, is a coward. I don't know if reading manga and watching dramas have warped me to think that some idealistic guy will come around and sweep me off my feet, but I can never bring myself to look at a guy and agree to myself that it is okay to date him. I actually don't think that some prince will come, I've grown out of that. I do want to find a nice guy, date him and eventually get married, but I'm scared. I'm scared that if I try, it will fail. I'm scared I can't handle that type of breakup. What if I agreed to date a friend and we break up? Can I act like nothing has happened, but that may be insensitive to him. Generally, I'm pretty good at getting over things when it concerns me alone, but if it concerns another person, I don't know if I could get over it without feeling like I've done something wrong to him. It'll depend on circumstance of the breakup, but I don't want it to fail. I want my first boyfriend to be my last boyfriend. Is that too idealistc?

I've talked about my first crush before, and I'm slowly giving him up after liking him for so long. The ironic thing is that when I finally say to myself it's time to move on, I meet a nice guy I thought I would love to date, but he already had a girlfriend. I'm really trying to make the effort to meet people, I really am. I'm getting closer to this one guy who and he's super super nice and we get along, but he's very short and tiny. I don't think mentally in a relationship that would be good for both of us. I just hope, hope, hope that we can just be really good friends, but sometimes I get the feeling he wants to progress a bit further. Even if I could get over it, my mom would never. I want to please my mom as well. I guess I am a big mama's girl, but I can't help it. I feel like I'm already dried-up at the age of 20, which is really sad. Even at an old age, the incredible woman still is able to keep on loving and trying. I feel so pathetic looking at myself.

I really want to become like her. A woman who looks at herself with no regrets, and love herself and others so wholeheartedly. I always sit and dwell and think, 'oh I wish I did that.' or 'I shouldn't have done that.' I want to look forwards and be optimistic, not the pessimistic self that I am currently. I want to be open like her. I thought I was already open, but there are some things that I'm still so immature about like my ideals of a guy that he should be older and taller,etc. The incredible woman doesn't care. What race, height, status, etc. she is open to them all. I want to try to be open like that. I want to be a woman like her. A strong and gentle woman.

♥ Mary

2AM = ♥ & Music Rant

I don't really like Korean music because they tend to sound the same, especially among the girl/boy groups. The style between Girl's Generation to TARA, or Big Bang to SHINee is pretty similar in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I think some their songs are really catchy like SNSD's "Gee' and TARA's 'Mister,' but to be honest, those are the one song I actually like to listen to. I actually came upon 2AM from a friend's facebook post. I like the song a lot. This was my first song and only one that I had for years. I never bother to look up more.



One day at work I really needed to listen to something as it gets pretty creepy so I type in that song and find a playlist full of 2AM song and from there I fell in love C:! Their voices are amazing! Especially Changmin's voice! For a ballad group, I really love all their songs, even the excessively auto-tuned one:



I have no idea what they are singing, but as long as it's catchy and I remember the tune to it, I'll listen. I know a lot of people always think that other people's music suck. I dislike those people who laugh at anyone who listen to "mainstream" music. I also dislike those who will listen to a band and will stop listening once they go "mainstream." It's the same for those "rockers." Seriously, you will look down on a "rocker" if he/she listen to other things too? It makes me laugh when I hear music arguments because it's always them trying to tell each other that "their" music is better. Really? It's YOUR music? xD

Personally I will listen to anything and everything as long as I think I like it. I range from punk to classical. My friend has already told me my playlist is pretty weird and he thought his own was weird. XD!!! I won't say your music sucks because it is completely your style and preference. It's like me dissing your entire fashiong preference. I'm only ranting because I was really irked when my big sister told me, "your music sucks - listen to my ipod instead." I generally don't like my sister's selection, but it's not like the music itself "sucks." It's just you don't prefer it. Excuse me if I don't really like your One Direction and Beiber, but it's not like it's completely horrible and it doesn't mean you have better music than I do. do you ever have friends who are like that? I know one of my friends always get ridiculed because she really likes anime music. What's wrong with that??? Personally, I love the songs to some animes! I really like some endings and openings from Naruto.

Then there is the issue of downloading or purchasing. In my opinion, if you really like an artist, you will probably end up buying their album even if you download some of their songs. I compare this analogy with manga. I still read lots of manga online, but for those that I really love, I got out and buy it. It's like a tester! However, sometimes it's really hard to support some artists that I love. 2AM is an example. I want to be able to go out and buy their album, but being in Canada, that sort of is impossible. I could order it online, but sometimes you can't find what you're looking for. 2AM is not a problem, but there is a Chinese band I simply adore called Convenience Store, but their CD does not exist ANYWHERE on the net. That is a huge problem especially since I would pay to get their CD! To be honest, for 2AM's albums, I'd wait to go to Korea again and but it in a store, but they recently relased a new album called "F.Scott Fitzgerald's Way of Love." For those who don't know, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby, which I'm pretty sure you study in School. The inspiration in this album is very apparent especially when you know the story.

This is one of my favourite songs in the album, but in truth, I like them all:


2AM is my first ballad group and I'm in love with their songs! I'm glad I decided to search them up at a good time. They were actually on Haitus for a while! 2AM also made me love the show Star Golden Bell. It's a really funny gameshow with Korean celebrities. I admit, I only watched it because I was searching for more 2AM videos to get to know the group better. There was another game show something to do with these guys becoming their moms - that was really funny too.

Anyways, that's enough about 2AM for now, but please support them! C:

♥ Mary

Boku to Star no 99 Nichi

I just finished watching this drama and it's left me wanting more! Like Hataraki Man, it makes me want more episodes to come out!!

It is not the best drama I have ever watched, but this one is pretty good. The reference to stars and the way they connect it is very predictable, but it is a cute idea. The main characters Namiki Kohei ( Nishijima Hidetoshi) and Han Yuna (Kim Tae Hee) really bring the characters to life. I also like that this drama is kind of joining Korea and Japan together.

The plot is pretty much predictable, but the drama really encompasses what it means to go after your dream. It's that typically bodyguard falls in love with his mark story, but the comedy really makes up for it as well as the supporting characters that create more story. What I thought was most interesting is that the drama has a drama inside of it. The drama, "White Memory" is part of the plot, but I love how they use lines of that drama to relate to the actual drama, Boku to Star.

All the characters are well developed, my favourite being Takanabe. I also adore Mitsy, which I'm sure she is there for comedic relief, but still, while watching, you really care for all the characters. Taecyeon (2PM) also appears as Han Yuna's brother, and let me just say, wow is he nice to look at C: He doesn't appear much, but it makes sense as he is not the focus of this story.

The ending I am dissatisfied by, but I am typically a person who likes a closed-end. However, looking at it at a non-biased way, the ending is very reasonable as there was a big focus on accomplishing dreams and not just another love story.

I actually didn't know who Taecyeon is to begin with. I know 2PM is pretty popular, but after this drama I decided to listen to a few of their songs and frankly, I didn't really like the songs at all. They had not bad beats, but the vocals were sort of weak to me and there was no depth. However, this makes sense, seeing as 2PM is marketed as a dance music group. Their dances are pretty cool. I actually love 2AM a lot better...which is my next post C:

♥ Mary

Asmama!!

I love Korean accessories. When I went to China and Korea, there was a huge difference in the stuff you could get - Korea was SO MUCH NICER. China stuff seemed to really tackily designed or cheaply made with nasty material. I bought this cute heart outline earring & a bunch of other stuff from a random Korean shop for $2!!! It was sterling silver too! O:! But then I had to go and lose one. I was very sad ): However, I remembered LeN who does Asmama orders. I love her!!

This was to replace my old ones:

And other stuff:

She even gave me a freebie! She always gives freebies <3

♥ Mary

7 Facts?

I was tagged by Nana to my surprise. Came out of nowhere. I just thought who is this cute girl, with this cute blog?? Must read her stuff and lo and behold I come across the post about 7 facts and my name. At first I was like Mary? Huh, so she shares my nick...okay....CLICK! AND YO WTF IT'S ME HAHA. After skimming through her post I think it's a fun blog to read! I also really like the Popteen and Liza Lisa scans :3 Go take a look! She's also doing a giveaway at the moment so all the more reason to click Nana's name, right? C:

So...I guess onto the facts??

1. I'm a bitch. No, really. I don't like to sugar coat words and I laugh at your pain (well...to be clear, if it's the pain where you stub your toe or something, I WILL LAUGH C:) Maybe I'm sadistic haha xD

2. I get touched easily and I will tear up. I used to never be this way until I grew up. I thought it was the other around. When you grow up, you toughen up, but guess not! I will give advice to the best of my abilities and I will be there for you if you need it. I guess even though I'm mean, I'm sympathetic at the same time?

3. I like nail art. But I always keep my nails short. It's bothersome and crap gets stuck underneath. It still looks okay, right?

That's currently what I like to do for my nails. Kind of reminds me of Tiffany's & Co. don't you think? Probably because of the colour. xD

4. I like day-old popcorn. I also eat pizza by eating the toppings first, then the crust. If I don't like something (etc. OLIVES EWWW!) I will pick it out and eat it first quickly. I like to savour the good taste. So if I'm eating something quickly first, it means I loathe it.

5. I've never been to a bar. Ever. Or a huge party. Or a Club. Not my kind of scene. I rather sit at home and read a book. I am currently reading Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, and I realize that my Book 2 is missing 2 pages...WTF MONEY BACK PLS I:<

6. I rather wake up early then sleep late.

7. I'm straight, but I have girl crushes. Well, who doesn't? If she's cute, she's cute. If she's hot, she's hot. Why can't I think that too? O:

Well, that's it. If you read up until now, you are TAGGED. I don't know who actually reads my blog, but HELLO DUUUUUUUUR (stalker eyes *w*).

♥ Mary

Happy Pi Day~!

Happy Pi Day! I am now 20 years old. I want to be a teen for life ;_;

♥ Mary