Filler

Time for an update, since previous to my MJ remembrance I hadn't updated this journal for at least three months >___> *ahem*

SO, just to straighten things out...

- I am NOT working at Sea Life anymore, I haven't since late April. The travel to and from work was demanding on my mentally, physically and a big dip in my pay, it just wasn't the job for me sadly.

- LOTRs: Two Towers LIVE was amazing! To hear Howard Shores score come to life in person was truly astounding.

- Fozzy Live was rockin'! A little crushed and Jericho actually threw a bottle into the crowd, which I caught with my head...seriously, it was like there was a target on my forehead that it beelined for XD But it was definitely worth the bump!

- My Draenei Cosplay for the London MCM Expo was VERy successful, the body paint lasted pretty much all day! Although, my hooves unfortunately destroyed my feet after three hours, so I had to resort to my flatter, more comfy shoes I had prepared for such an event. it was SO busy, but despite that, I managed to meet folks and get plenty of fans surrounding my costume. Not sure if I'll be attending the October Expo just yet, I need to think of a Cosplay first!

Photos with my Cosplay homies!

Full length shot of me with my hooves

Woo-chaaa!

- Cali-forn-ia was a success! My sister and I survived the very busy trip spending five days in each and then greyhound busing (The American version of what Englands National Express is) our way from LA to San Diego, with plenty of photos and video footage to tell our tales. Of course the highlight was Disneyland and Sea World! I must admit, I prefer San Diego to LA, if not for the better public transport but just for the cleanliness of the place. LA really needs to do some major clean up to say it's a well known tourist spot! Such a great experience to see how different people are from West versus the East coast. (I swear I'll upload photos on here later!)
Don't forget to check out my YOUTUBE Channel for updates!

So that wraps a majority of subjects up!
I have some plans on the horizon which I am now researching into, I'll fill ya'll in when I get it all sorted out and get some definite plans in motion. Until then, have some artwork, since I still hold my pencil and paper firm in my hand :D

A Year On

I decide to update this blog today of all days, as it is a year since Michael Jacksons passing.

To memorialise this, I managed to get down to London to visit the o2 Arena with my sister and show our remembrance in our own way. We were expecting to see a few people around the arena, since there were many gatherings last year around his passing. I was really delighted to see that the 02 arena had actually dedicated a hall to the fans to pay their respects, where his music was playing and you could place cards, flowers, drawings, cuddly toys, whatever you felt to place down in respect to Michael. They had even placed the previous years tributes and walls that people had signed for people to view, along with a new wall for fans to sign. My sister and I of course left our mark, with a few doodles and words. As my sister and I lay down the sunflowers and vanilla candle we had bought on the table, we wrote our own notes and wrapped them around the stem of the flowers. I had to keep my composure when 'Remember The Time' flowed through the hall, I class that as "our song".



It was a really serene atmosphere, unlike last year, fans had time to settle and come to terms with his passing.
We ended our visit by heading to Kensington Gardens to view the Peter Pan statue (Surprisingly, I had never visited before) and found a smile creep on my face as there was a spotlight from the evening sun shining on the statue. Right alongside with the lake, there were many ducklings too ^___^
The day ended eating KFC and fanta (KFC and orange juice were supposed favourites of Michaels diet XD ) with a dessert at Garfunkel's.
This visit was a refreshing visit to London as a majority of visits "to the smoke" (As my Pa like to put it) usually feature a mass race to a destination and the subway lines being closed. But, on this visit, it was slower paced and not as busy. It also seemed like a type of closure, I understood and accepted that Michael has past, but will still be here with his voice.

You will never be forgotten,

<3 <3 Michael Jackson <3 <3

Beside the Odd Distraction

I have actually accomplished...THINGS.

One major triumph is actually landing myself a job, yes, it is part time to the extent of working weekends (Mainly Saturdays) and school holidays, but it is a J.O.B.
Where is it you ask? Well, it's actually at the Sea Life Centre, as a photographer. Not photographing anything aquatic, but usually land dwelling mammals, yep, those homo sapians. Dragging them infront of a ten foot tall plastic "Nemo" *shudders at the name that rings in her ears*, by that I mean a CLOWN FISH and getting their shot, which they will later, hopefully purchase.
The good point is, besides the many days of organisation and days without dinner breaks, I manage to get in close proximity with a majority of the sea life their at the centre. The staff room is rightabove the walk-through tunnel, so you can literally peek past a curtain to view the above tank, where the two resident sea turtles will swim upto you for lettuce, YES, lettuce.
We had a special guest recently too, a Japanese Spider Crab, who was HUGE. I am quite the fan of crustaceans, so it was a real hoot to see this guy (Or actually gal) up close. Unfortunately, they coined the phrase of 'Crabzilla' to bring in customers, which seemed pretty mean for her ego :(
Now we have two baby hammerhead sharks, who are attempting to figure out this place just as much as me. They are ridiculously cute!

So yesh, the first week was a school holiday, so me and the rest of the photographers were thrown mercifully to the (human) sharks, using every rangling skill we had, not-to-mention all the tech skills we had. Technology is never your friend in these situations. But, it has been over come and we'll see how long it lasts. In the meantime, Ebay will serve as another money inlet before the next school holiday.

Amongst diving head first into all of this, I haven't been terribly arty, nor travelling a vast extent. I have booked several little excursions and one large treat.

Small(er) excursions:
- LOTRs: The Two Towers LIVE with the London Philharmonic Orchestra: WOOOO! Can't wait, it shall be, whats that? EPIC?
- Fozzy Live: Seen them once, time to see them rock once more!
- London MCM Expo: Preparing my Draenei costume as I type, getting hold of some awesome "how to build hoof" tutorials, because I want to be rockin' in my blue body paint, horns AND hooves.

And now for the trip I have booked with my dear sibling........CALIFORNIA BABY.

Yesh, this has been in the making since last year but it's finally come together ^____^ So much to see and do, we'll see what can be conquered in our time there! More info when it's not 2am in the morning.....

RAMMSTEIN

Fire. Lasers. Baby Explosions. Angel Wings. Flame Throwing Masks. These were all part of one of the most epic moments of my life....

RAMMSTEIN IN CONCERT.

Our seats were AMAZINGLY close to the front, Block 1, right next to the frakkin' stage.

Combichrist were the opening act and they were JAW DROPPING. Totally getting me in the right mood to bring me into the industrial mind-set.

The moment of complete epic shock and excitement did not hit until 15 minutes before they were about to come on stage, then, the lights dimmed and the show was about to begin. I screamed, jumped, stomped, thrust my fist in the air. I couldn't believe THEY WERE THERE.

The word epic is an understatement, since the entrance was the band members searing their way through the stage curtain, I could only expect them to top this twenty times over. I was hitting euphoria at this point, trying to tell myself not to get too excited and to pace my energy, but I had already hit barriers of emotion and screamed/roared to sound levels I didn't think were possible.

There were several moments I thought I'd actually pass out, for the first time in my life, one visionary scene being topped by another, sending me back and forth, over and over.

I survived the night, even if I had been sent to several states of pleasure I don't think I can even explain and I can honestly say, it was the best damn thing I have ever seen, it will be VERY hard to top this.

Thankyou Rammstein, you fucking rule my world.

(I am aware of how varied this entry is from my last, but ya know, thats my life)

...........

I've been suddenly overwhelmed with a state of shock and many other emotions that are under such themes.

I have just found out that a fellow vlogger, Rodger Swan has passed away.

I'm crying, crying alot.

"Why feel so attached to this guy?" you ask, well I came to know of this youtube'er before my trip to Tokyo two years ago and straight away his videos explained so much of the Japanese culture that you wouldn't get through a superficial television show, he was kind, polite and generally creating vlogs to help others. He was the same age as me, which made it easier for me to take in, I could relate.

I thus, was influenced to create my own vlogs from my own visit, hoping to share my experiences to anyone interested in the same cultural experiences I was looking for. From then on, I have been creating vlogs ever since.

He had just began his "second chapter" moving from 'Tokyo Swan' to 'Iwate Swan', which made me feel really happy for the guy, he was independent and it was totally amazing to see how much he had matured in the years he had spent in Japan.

It ended too short, his time was too short. It sucks that I have have to read this adventure of his has ended so god damned soon. I am feeling so angry that this kind, helpful and caring mans life has come to an end. WHY? Was he too good for this world? What, what is it? I just can't figure it out.

I have never directly have met him, but through watching such intimate times of his life I felt close to him. HE DID NOT DESERVE THIS. Oh man, what the hell am I trying to put forward here? I'm trying not to end this on an angry note, but it is really hard not to. I'm still crying.

Thankyou Rodger, thankyou so much for what you have inspired me to do creatively. You made such an impact in such a short time, you will be remembered through the imprint you made here on the vlogging community.

xX Rest In Peace Rodger (Tokyo/Iwate) Swan Xx

Beep

So, I feel like I should be all apologetic, or whatever?

I have become lazy with writing about my travels, my ups and downs, which sucks because I like to keep track of what I've been upto, my memory not being what it used to be, it's for reference and sharing my experiences with whoever cares. I get so dizzy from distracting myself with travels, I find that when I have a spare moment to myself, I become lost in my thoughts.

I've backlogged on some major events that happened at the end of last year...

- Berlin
- MCM Expo London
- Toronto
- Collectormania
- Disneyland Paris

I'm sure you can catch up with all of these events via my youtube, yes, I am self pimping. If I blogged about each one, I'd be here for quite sometime.

It's not that I don't want to write about them, because each event was frakkin' awesomely-tastic! It's more the fact that I enjoyed them so much, I'd write too much.

I thought it'd at least be a good start to keep track of the year, although January has already flown out the window (With many positive memories might I add), but the days and hours go by so damned quick nowadays I get kinda agitated when I have a moment to myself.

Already, I have viewed/met some of my idols....

- Henry Rollins
- Ron Clements
- John Musker
- Andreas Dejas

I could have listened to them ALL talk for hours, they never had a dull moment.
All of the above were capable because of two amazing people in my life that managed to lead me the path to them, with some very kind birthday presents. Which I am extremely grateful.

I now have booked events coming up, wondering if I can constantly top my last actions. Live each day as it comes, keeping my mind off the supposed "real issues" and all that bullcrap.

Booked events include...

- TNA Wrestling
- Rammstein

I CAN'T WAIT.

THE END.

Wait, I promised you pretty pictures. Ok, well, heres some snippets of what I didn't type about from last year, remember 2009!

Disneyland

Collectormania

Toronto

MCM Expo London

Berlin

Oops....

I admit it, I forgot about you dearest of Blog-lings and for that, you have my apology. i will make it upto you with a swift update (As swift as I can make it..) and some pretty pictures, k?