Alaska Trip Photos pt. 2

Here are the photos from my iPod: 

Alaska Trip Photos

I wanted to upload my photos from our trip to Alaska to a site that I could access from school -- the ones taken with my iPod are mostly on tumblr, but sadly our network blocks the site though I agree with the block. So here's everything I have. Jump break because there are a ton of photos:

5.21 updates

I had a few posts planned out in my head, and of course I totally forgot them by the time I sat down to actually write them. Go figure. So I'm just going to talk about a few things that are on my mind and hope that suffices.

So within the past week or so, I've recorded a lot of video. About two hours based on my really rough calculation. Theoretically good, right? I have stuff to put into videos and make them interesting. But all this video is bothering me and is more of a hindrance than anything. I use my vlogs as a way to remember things, but since I'm posting them on YouTube I also want them to be interesting. And I try to trim them down in order to keep my own attention, since I tend to have a hard time re-watching my own videos during the editing process. The problem is finding the line between keeping things interesting and making the video really disjointed in order to get it to a reasonable time. I'm afraid of making things confusing by cutting out parts of conversations, but they're also not all that interesting to watch... So yeah big dilemma there.

Saturday, Chris and I went on a "hike" in a nearby ... park? Nature reserve? Big wooded area with trails. I took over an hour of video, keeping the camera running almost the entire time we were in the woods. Mainly because I was scared of what would happen if I turned it off. (I do not like being that isolated, and there were deer and probably tons of other animals out there.) But how do I cut that down to something anybody can sit through? That's a lot. ＿ﾉ乙(､ﾝ､)_     And I don't look all that good in some of the video I recorded on Sunday, so I'm cutting that part out too. If I can ever cut last Tuesday's video to under five minutes.
--> TL; DR The more video I have to edit into vlogs, the less I want to do any of it.

On another note, I also decided on a Chimecho gijinka for Otakon. It might be a little difficult (and kind of expensive, considering) but I'm excited for it because Chimecho is one of my favorite pokemon and is an essential on my team in two games.

School ends in a few weeks and I'm really looking forward to the summer. I'm still hoping to do the "no Internet for (x amount of time)" project, and also doing vlogs where I sit down with a non-moving camera and talk at it about whatever topic I can find. Easier to edit because background isn't moving. And also I'm going to find a way to sell most of my manga, trade them with someone, or stick them in a tumblr giveaway. Because I could really use the shelf space for something more useful. Like my growing collection of Happy Meal toys.

5.9 Cosplay Plans

Let me make a post about cosplay! So I can organize my thoughts.

I'm still trying to figure out what my cosplays are for Otakon. I know I want to cosplay a Flareon gijinka, but other than that I don't really have any ideas. The main problem is the weather -- it's going to be super hot in Baltimore in the middle of August. So I'm wary of any cosplays that are a considerable amount of clothes. And it kind of rules out the cosplays I already have.

I just realized I could easily do an Ash Ketchum cosplay easily if I get guy's shorts instead of jeans and maybe go for a black tank top instead of a t-shirt.

Ok so that's two cosplays. I can't think of any more that are fairly easy. Oh well. I'm planning to make a skirt for Flareon, which is going to be my first time fully making an article of clothing. Usually I just buy something and modify it. It shouldn't be all that hard, but I also need to make (or find) shorts to wear underneath it. Or I could try making shorts instead of a skirt. Plaid shorts, though? Maybe I can find some at a thrift store.

This post was kind of pointless because I didn't accomplish much. But my tentative cosplays for Otakon are:

• Flareon gijinka
• Ash Ketchum (slightly modified so I don't die of heatstroke)

Books I've Read -- April

So I'm trying something a little different this time. Instead of updating a blog post each time I finish a book, I took notes in a little notebook and I'm going to try and write all of my reviews based on what I wrote. Hopefully this'll still make sense.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling, finished 4/2. I have a strange relationship with the HP books. Many of the people I know love and followed the books and movies as they came out, but I've avoided them for the most part until recently. And I like the series, but it's not a favorite. I can see why people love it to bits. I've also seen bits and pieces of the movies and understand some of the scenes from what I've caught on tumblr or family watching the movie, so I anticipate what's coming up and it's not as fun for me to read.
--> TL; DR I like Chamber of Secrets but I finished it mainly to have something to do during a long car ride.

Where She Went by Gayle Forman, finished 4/9. WSW is a good continuation of If I Stay. Both are written with more reflection than action, which works better for If I Stay than Where She Went. Adam tended to split up the action, and it made it hard to read in more than one shot (because it's hard to read during class but I do it anyway). It actually gave me a lot of feels, too, because they had so much they wanted to say to each other but neither of them really wanted to take that leap of faith. The ending was perfect, though.
--> TL; DR Lots of mushy romance.

The Blue Girl by Charles de Lint, finished 4/10. I checked it out on a whim from school because it stood out from the books it was near and had a pretty interesting summary. And I liked it. It's not entirely plausible, but it still worked nicely. (And I think it also segued my fall into the Danny Phantom fandom OTL) The character relationships worked really well together, although maybe a little too much? Everything tied up nicely in the end, which is nice, but it's also a pretty definitive end to everything.
--> TL; DR This is the kind of stuff I daydream about.

Princesses of Iowa by M. Molly Backes, finished 4/15. I loved the realistic aspect of Princesses of Iowa. The narration sounded like a teenager, the characters sounded like humans (and were totally frustrating), and the characters were multi-dimensional. The characters didn't have this whole life-changing revelation by the end of the book, but that's not really how life works, right? Most people continue being who they are (even if they suck) and then there are a few people that decide to change their life. I also sympathized with Paige even though I probably wouldn't have for a different book.
--> TL; DR "OH MY GOD ALL THE CHARACTERS ARE SUCH JERKS AT SOME POINT" (why did I even write that in my notebook)

Famous by Todd Strasser, finished 4/16.  Famous is a quick read -- I finished it in a day. And didn't really like it. Lots of character archetypes and general stereotypes, the plot wasn't organized at all and the perspective jumped around a lot, and there wasn't even much change in the characters. Also, the ending could be predicted but also made me think "why would you do that."
--> TL; DR I don't think it was written well.

Breathe by Sarah Crossan, finished 4/18. Breathe kind of fell short of what I expected. The plot seemed to build up strangely, and I also had a hard time differentiating between Alina and Bea for at least the first half of the book. Also, a bunch of things randomly tie together and the plot built up a little strangely. It started out really slow at first, and then sped up quicker than I think it should have. The characters in the book seem to have flawed reasoning.
--> TL; DR I liked the premise but I think it could have been written better.

The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison, finished 4/23. I had a hard time with The Butterfly Clues because it's out of my normal genres and I didn't understand Lo's compulsive habits. Lo was a pretty interesting character though, being kind of predictable but also really spontaneous at times. Towards the middle I was really wondering where the story was going. The end was surprising for me, though.
--> TL; DR You'd probably like it more if you like thriller / suspense books.

Ask The Passengers by A.S. King, finished 4/25. I'm not sure how to review this. I really liked it, but I also want to talk about my issues with the characters. I liked the narration and how the "sending love to airplanes" worked, but the other characters were pushy and mean and Astrid didn't do anything about it. I wished she stood up for herself more, although I can see why she would be scared to.
--> TL; DR It's cute but the characters tick me off some.

Jars of Glass by Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler, finished 4/29. I have to admit I picked the book because of the title and cover. And I don't regret that. The book is kind of depressing, or at least sad. There are things that aren't explained well or only hinted at until close to the end. It'd be nice to know earlier in the story but it also adds to the plot so I'm not sure what I think about it.
--> TL; DR Not a pick-me-up, but still interesting.

I did it! They probably kind of suck, though. My eloquence needs improvement.