2014.08.03

I went out to eat with a few friends at Strings in Chinatown. It has been a while since I had a decent meal due to being stressed out and what not. (╯︵╰,)

 We also tried the Stringeria, which I think is perfect for summertime sipping. Very fruity ❤

I didn't get enough pictures with Sandra before she left! I loved her outfit and shoes!

My Bowl. Miso Ramen with Pork

SO jelly that I don't have and orgasmic egg in there!! Would have loved to trade it with my corn lol.

 After moseying around in Chinatown and totally missing the snack shop due to closing hours, we headed to Alan's hotel to chill for a few hours.

PARTAY TAIMU

I haven't seen Alan since... last year I think? I thought I would have had to wait to next Acen to chill with him. But I am glad that wasn't the case!

It felt really good to break away from thinking about work and what not and staying indoors. Thanks you all! I really appreciate it. ^w^) Until next time~

Natural Hair Progress

I have never been the one to over perm my hair, or do it frequently. Maybe a few times a year and especially for summer to help combat the humidity on my hair when I style it.

A few years back, I had to take a hiatus on styling my own hair due to a mishap with some over bleached hair and a relaxer. Let's just say that the damage was not sexy at all!

No more blonde bangs, no more relaxing my hair, and eventually, hiding my hair away from using heat a lot so my hair could grow out.

Back then, my hair was barely past my collar bone.

So You Ballsy, huh?

Recently, some guy from some college went "ballsy" on his resume, and BAM! Job offers!

Good for him. But how does that really work in normal life though? Resumes get tossed or overlooked for whatever reason. I get it, hundreds of people trying to fill a couple of positions and a lot will get the boot. A lot of people get rejected. Thats a lot of time searching for the "right" candidate with a piece of paper and words doing the talking for them.

So, if someone else were to take that risk, not make things sounds good or whatever, would they get the same treatment? Or just get their resume tossed in the can instead? Will more companies start looking for this sort of thing? But then things will start to get very monotonous and drab because EVERYONE trying to be "trendy" with their resume. (this is going beyond networking I am assuming too, just resume/cover letter submissions.)

Messages come to me in my life with this sort of thing:
 "Be yourself!" But not really, lol.
 "Believe in yourself!" But not too much. Don't want to seem like a cocky bastard or whatever.
 "Put this on your resume!" Nah... maybe not. Irrelevant shit.
 "This will make you seem interesting!" Or just weird.

I did. Maybe I am not being "ballsy" enough. Or not making things seem that interesting. But, this is for normal people life. Not anything eccentric or artsy. Not companies that will care if I can make content for Youtube or a blog, or draw a pretty picture. (maybe I should be my weirdo self and find these places out or something that would appreciate this!.......)

Even for things eccentric or artsy, I feel that things just don't go "right". Indian guy looking for an assistant, thinks I'm Italian because of my name and the way I sound on the phone, sounds disappointed upon hearing I'm Black.
Try to fit in like its fuckin high school or something with people totally out of my comfort/economic/status zones, and it backfires in my face.

But I keep smiling away, and try to! (imagine eye twitching too, like in animes or something)

I get it, rejection is part of the process. Eventually something will come through. Things don't happen overnight. They wanna see if you will crumble and give up. Eventually it will be the other way around and I will be the one making the choices. Keep truckin. The universe will work itself out. I can laugh about this stuff when I am 30 or 40... But...

wtf. Am I not supposed to do what they say or what I read or something? I took those classes on how to speak to people better and network and listened to what some people had to say to try to do better in situations I am not familiar in and level up on my skills and when I practice some of it.... I feel naive... especially for concentrating more on portfolio pieces. Humans can be so damn confusing sometimes!

I don't want to jinx myself for the future as I am getting sabotaged anyway, but IDK. Normal life, reality.... just kinda sucks up my energy right now and makes no sense, and its tiring.
There is too much to do, too many ideas in my head swirling about, and I am aching.

I wonder if things would have been different if I went out of state for college or something? Left Chicago for a different city or leave the USA all together after graduating?  Or didn't act like myself in job interviews? Or sent out a wacky, ballsy resume to companies.... What if What if What if...

MAN! The possibilities of different paths that could have happened are endless!

In Alice in Wonderland terms... maybe I have to fall down a different rabbit hole for this to make sense or something.

/rant over.

Please enjoy my next post on hair and my newest Youtube tutorial in normal people hours.

Golds Infinity on Yesstyle + Review

Review!

Sleeveless Lace front Dress

The soft colour of Chocobo feather

I was super scared putting this thing on my head.
 I didn't want it to fall off and break. D:

Though I usually don't use these words to describe clothes I own.... this dress is super cute, girly and flirty! I LOVE IT. I was tempted to wear and get the black dress while I was at Anime Expo, but decided against it. 

Being a one size fits all item, I was worried that it would not fit my boobs, rib cage area, or the straps wouldn't fit my arms and shoulders too well like with a lot of other clothes from Golds. But with this item, that wasn't the case! The chest area is snug enough to combat chest jiggles too which is a plus. 

As part of a wide array of gyaru brands, they are also pretty affordable compared to some of the counterparts in girly wear.

Con: The zipper gets a little stuck while unzipping when its on, but I think maybe a little wax rubbed on the zipper's teeth should fix that problem. 

It does need a bit of ironing to knock out some of the wrinkles.

Doesn't get much bigger than this size... yet...

~~~

So IF you all didn't know, Golds Infinity is now linked on Yesstyle.com as of June!

Check it out here! Golds+Yesstyle

There is also a 20% off sale on select items throughout the webshop 

and free shipping on orders over 25 bucks too!

My Picks!

Ciao ciao~

B-b-but... You're Black!!!

Every so often, after however many months float by, similar questions always pop up in groups dedicated to gyaru fashion. These questions and concerns are not even limited to that niche group either. Even til this day, and maybe even for many years, it will still be a concern for Black people or POC who choose to express themselves beyond what is deemed "normal" for us. Even beyond hobbies and fashion.

Yes, people will wonder why you are into something that is not Afrocentric or considered "Black" or appropriate for Black people to do.
There is a huge world with a lot of things in it. Why limit yourself?

Yes, even our own people will wonder why we aren't acting or dressing "Black".
Being "loud" and or "ghetto" are the only ways we can be in this day and age?

Yes, people will probably think that you are ghetto for dressing differently or having unnatural shades in your hair.
Black people just can't win sometimes with some people!

Yes, people will think that Black people cannot be cute or kawaii, listen to things outside of rap or hip hop. Or shouldn't do anything beyond what is expected of us.
See above.

It sucks, it really does. But, are you going to let a few people and their shitty comments keep you from dressing like a Kawaii Cutie or Fabulous Gal? This even extends to the Cosplay community, or any community where Black people or POC want to branch off into.

Brittany-Chicago

Junko and Junji-Los Angeles

Kamilah-Chicago

Erica

Amira-Chicago

Miyabi-North Carolina

Amber-New York

So, gal, lolita, cosplay n00b$, if people try to mock you or say mean things to you because you are black and trying to do your thing, you get those doubts playing in your head over and over, pay them no mind, and rock your shit!

Go check out the tags with Black Lolita/Cosplayers/Gyaru and be inspired. 

Much thanks to those who submitted their pictures or let me use them!

Wicker Park Block Party

Some of my old crew from my high school days and I went out to Wicker Park on Saturday to show some support to one of their friends from Columbia. I haven't been to the Silver Room since sometime last year for an art show.

Maybe its just me, but I noticed that they tend to carry a lot of Afrocentric goods there 

 along with jewelry and art pieces. 

Though there were various other "stages" at the back of the Silver Room, I stayed over here chillin with friends. 

"But did you do it for the Homies?"

The Crew! Aerin (dreads) looks very mischievous here. lol

After grabbing a slice of pizza and chatting it up with friends, we rode to Second City to watch two of my classmates do some sets. While waiting for them to go up, I wanted to see if I could do something like that one day. But then I remembered I am not a comedian, LOL. 

This place has birthed and helped sculpt a lot of todays popular and well known comedians.Some of them are Tina Fey, Joan Rivers, and Steve Carrell just to name a few.  If you want to laugh or make others laugh, defo swing by here with friends! 

No lens cuz I ran out of cleaner.

Coord. Denim Casual

 Silver Room 

1442 N Milwaukee Ave, 

Chicago IL 60622

Second City

1616 N Wells St. 

Chicago, IL 60614

Moving On

It’s been a weird couple of years. Though a lot of activity from my part has slowed down, save for attending some anime cons and a few events here and there and some blogging and article writing for Galvip and pix for a site I was formerly associated with, I plan to do a bit more for a lil while I think...

With about 7 derpy years under my belt in the gyaru comms, the highs and lows of (gyaru) circle life and trying to keep it together (I get really passionate about things at times :P ), the highs and lows of young adulthood regardless of being in a subculture, not knowing what I REALLY wanted to do in college or out of it{professionally speaking}, helping make events and promoting them while at times tiring out, its still a bit to process even after all this time. Allthewhile doing so, I am still trying to push forward as fast while wondering if I should try and slow down and rest. Some days, it feels as if I am living a double life! Bold fashioned gyaru life and normal out of college life.

I was told to (and also a part of me wanted to) stop with all my extracurricular activities and focus on my art career.{what am I, a lil kid still? haha}

That would mean:
NO blogging
NO events
NO gyaru related anything
prolly no more conventions

But then a part of me wants to still do it, but tie it into what I've learned at Columbia  I can see it, a faint vision, kinda fuzzy still, a bit patchy. It makes me smile, but then I wonder if its even worth it or just start over.

A few pictures of gal me2s over time, from about '09-'14

I know things will not be the same as the highs during those years, that maybe circle life just isn't a thing, but they were cherishable memories to me. Time moves on,things change, people come and go, shit happens, you learn from it, even if some of the memories still sting, you try and get over it.

Its no use livin' in the past, though I find myself doing that maybe all the time. So, I try to focus on the present and look forward to a brighter future. What does the future bring?  Maybe its one that sparkles and shines like rhinestone studded nails that barely allow you to function, and more glamorous than any sujimori-ed weave to grace any gal's head.

Wish me luck, gals!

Breaking the Habit: No More Workoholic, More Beach

Besides the Watertower, I really like this building.

After reading a few article about Workaholics, I had to take a step back to evaluate my naughty habit of trying to keep busy almost all of the time. Yes, the first time I tried to relax during a month break from work and being officially done with school I had a panic attack. Lame, right?

Even an old teacher had asked why I wasn't taking a year off to do practically nothing after college. And all I could think of  was 'that is bizarre... why would I do that?' You do that before you graduate, then you bust your ass to try to pay off everything. 

But...did I miss a memo or something?

Fall lip colour test

So, on Wednesday, I decided to just chill in downtown Chicago. I checked out the WaterTower mall first after a quick lunch. Katie wanted me to try a purple/lilac lip shade from Smashbox. After trying various purple shades, I settled on a natural shade, "Sugar Cane".  I might also see what the fuss is about non drugstore make ups! 

A doorman/security guard wanted me to come into the jewelry

shoppe that was near Oak Street Beach. 

Some of the pieces were beautiful, and their main motif is the quatrefoil for good luck, prosperity, health, and love. I favored the pieces with black onyx. 

Glass art and timepieces.

Bountiful clovers.

 I grabbed their catalog to check out their pieces while I am at home.

I really liked their bag. I am a sucker for nice shopping bag design. 

Rather be doing some sort of work. LOL

Human Gazing

 As I buried my feet in the cool sand, I gazed off into the sky or watch kids play catch with a football. 

I could get used to this... I think.

Stopped here for a little Italian treat.

Choco + Hazelnut gelato

Being busy (or "busy") all the time isn't a good thing. You are most likely wasting energy and maybe just doing filler if you can't stand doing-nothing-at-all time. I know from experience. Its nice to take a break every once in a while and recharge and cool down.

Ciao Ciao❤

Anime Expo 2014

Anime Expo 2014... Gee whiz. I met a lot of people again, familiar and new faces. I didn't do as much exploring the convention floor this year but that is ok. This year was a lot to take in all at once for me! 

Being from Chicago, the land of hotdogs and pizza, I had to try out Tokyo Doggie Style Hotdogs topped with savory curry and tart, crunchy pickled horseradish (?) on top. OMG, SO GOOD! ;-; 

Shop Staff!