I saw a tweet on Twitter the other day that I identified with. The tweet said they were sick of adults saying to grow up and give up hobbies that are deemed as juvenile, such as video games, comics, collecting toys, or cosplay. The second half of the tweet mentioned how it’s ironic because it’s usually in our 20s and 30s that we can afford to invest in our hobbies. This is so true! I have a rad comic collection because I can afford to keep a pull list at my comic book store. I wanted to talk about how, as I’m getting older, I have no plans to grow up.

When I was in middle school, my friend and I were still playing with My Little Ponies. We were made fun of, although my friend was targeted more for other reasons. I think of how silly this is now because there are Bronies, or male fans of the My Little Pony TV show. While My Little Ponies always remind me of my childhood, I’m still a toy collector. I have a few Funkos, including my Percy Funko from Critical Role Vox Machina, and superhero figures on my DC comics shelf.

One of the more expensive hobbies I have is cosplay. Cosplay can be extremely expensive, with the accessories, and if there are any weapons associated with that cosplay. I’m finding that, in my late 20s, I finally have the money to start investing in more well-built cosplays. Besides cosplay, I can now afford to travel to conventions out of state. This has been a fun experience being an adult because I can explore a new city and attend a convention. It’s the best of both worlds. While I wish I could travel on a monthly basis, I need hobbies that help me find joy in my daily life.

Fortunately, I have had many adult role models exemplify this message. My mom has Twilight posters all throughout her house. My mom read the Twilight books while I was in college and absolutely loved them. My uncle is still a big gamer; he has a Star Wars X-Wing collection and plays the game regularly. One of my best friends, her mom, still goes to the Renaissance Festival, and I occasionally see her at CONvergence when I go. I have never been made to feel ashamed by anyone close to me about being who I am and having my hobbies.

This post is a reminder to have no shame about the hobbies carried into adulthood. Life is precious, so find hobbies that make you happy, not to please anyone else.

Yesterday was my mom’s birthday. My mom is an extraordinary person in my life. She’s equally geeky like I am, and she is such a selfless person. While I have talked about my mom in previous posts, I wanted to write a more personal essay about who my mom is as a person, so you can understand why I love her and appreciate that she’s a big part of my life.

My mom was born and raised in Minnesota, along with my dad. The above picture is literally my dad and my mom as babies holding hands in the same baby carriage. My aunt (dad’s older sister) taught my mom and her sister (aka my aunt) dance lessons when they were little. While my parents knew each other as babies, they didn’t reconnect until the 80s. My dad was working in radio in California when he found out his dad died of a heart attack (my grandpa, whom I never met). My dad moved back to Minnesota to be closer to family, and that’s how my mom and dad got together.

When I was born, my mom was the breadwinner in our family. She worked full-time while my dad worked part-time to take care of my brother and me. My mom worked a stressful job and took the bus to work, so my dad could have the car. Her commutes were long, but she did this so my brother and I could live in a stable home. I admire my mom for working a job she may not have loved, so my brother and I could have a fulfilling childhood.

For those who have never read any of my posts, my dad passed away from cancer when I was 12. All of a sudden, my mom had to work full-time and raise my brother and me. Now that I’m married to my husband, I think about the pain I would feel if I were to lose him tragically. My mom felt that plus be strong for us. I will forever be grateful to my mom for raising my brother and me in such traumatic circumstances.

On a light-hearted note, my mom is geeky like I am. She loves action movies, including James Bond, any Marvel movie, and thinks Baby Yoda is the cutest thing. There are various trinkets around her house, including a Baby Yoda stuffed figure, Daniel Craig posters, and a few Twilight posters in her room. She’s fully embraced wearing geek t-shirts, including her Gryffindor hoodie, which she purchased in Orlando during a family vacation. I hope that when I grow older, I will be like my mom, who will love what she loves no matter her age.

To celebrate my mom’s birthday, we went out to dinner at a nice restaurant. After dinner, we went back to my apartment, where we played a few board games. I introduced my mom to the card game Exploding Kittens. She has asked my brother to buy her a copy, so she can keep playing.

My mom is my rock. I’m so fortunate and grateful that my mom loves me for me. She’s someone whom I aspire to be in every aspect of my life. She’s someone who has had to overcome adversity and showed me how to be independent and to get through life’s challenges. I hope that if I ever have kids, I’m as selfless as my mom. Happy Birthday to my lovely, caring, and wonderful mom.

Happy Valentine’s Day! While Valentine’s Day means a lot to some, I personally don’t care much for the day itself. I think there’s a lot of stigma still with those who don’t have a romantic partner, and I think that sucks. Happiness doesn’t equate to being in love or with someone romantically. Galentine’s Day is helping to normalize being single, but the stigma still exists. My husband and I don’t create huge Valentine’s Day plans; as a result, however, we still had a date day to ourselves.

My and my husband and I celebrated Valentine’s Day a day early because we didn’t feel like going out today. We made reservations at Hope Breakfast Bar in St. Paul. Hope Breakfast Bar is a brunch spot that took over an old fire station. I prefer a savory breakfast as opposed to a sweet one, so I ordered a spicy bagel and avocado breakfast sandwich while my husband ordered Pina Colada French toast. Here’s the weird thing: my husband’s French toast had cotton candy on the side. Cotton Candy?? Why would you have Cotton Candy underneath French toast? My husband swears the menu didn’t list this; otherwise, he would have asked to leave it off. We joked about how funny it would be to order and say, “Can you please not put cotton candy on mine, thanks”. I would definitely come back to Hope Breakfast Bar, especially because of all the breakfast options I’d like to try.

After breakfast, we drove to Nina’s Coffee Cafe. Nina’s is also located in St. Paul near the Cathedral. As a side note, St. Paul is a city with beautiful architecture and restored homes. Nina’s is in this beautiful red historic building. I ordered their special called the Love Potion, which was a latte with Oat Milk topped with a dusting of sugar and cardamon. My husband ordered his usual iced mocha with dark chocolate. We took our coffee and drove home, so we could have a lazy afternoon before the Super Bowl.

My husband and I like to exchange small gifts for Valentine’s Day. I bought my husband a Peacemaker Pop Funko since he loves the show on HBO Max. I received three mini candles with assorted scents, along with a pack of Oreos.

While I’m not big on Valentine’s Day, this was such a chill way to celebrate the day. I’m all for drinking coffee and eating breakfast food.

Late last year, I was scrolling through Instagram when I saw that NADDPOD had listed tickets for their live show in Minneapolis. I was ecstatic! Minneapolis gets skipped over, as Chicago is the bigger Midwestern city. After confirming that NADDPOD would be in Minneapolis, I immediately purchased tickets. Originally, I was going by myself because I didn’t know anyone else who listened to the podcast. My husband offered to come with me, so I didn’t have to go by myself. He’s so sweet. As a disclaimer, I think we should normalize going to events or doing activities by ourselves. I’m happy I was able to see NADDPOD live.

To start off, NADDPOD is a Dungeons & Dragons podcast. There have been two campaigns so far, with a third on the way. Their most memorable campaign was Bahumia, DMed by Brian Murphy. The campaign centers on three characters: Moonshine Cybin (played by Emily Axford), Hardwon Surefoot (played by Jake Hurwitz), and Beverly Toegold V (played by Caldwell Tanner). I credit NADDPOD as an influence for getting me into Dungeons & Dragons.

Each NADDPOD live show is a one-shot centered around their characters in Bahumia. In this show, the characters competed on a Bahumia version of Survivor. The show featured several funny moments where the characters and the NPCs were gossiping about who to vote off the show. Additionally, the characters participate in Survivor-like challenges involving dice rolling. While this is meant to be a light-hearted show, some dice rolls put me on edge. One example is when Hardwon was one of two left in a challenge. The crowd was rooting for Hardwon to get immunity in the challenge, which he did.

The show started at 7 PM, and it ended close to 9 PM. I thought that was perfect because sometimes D&D podcast episodes can get long. I rarely listen to one NADDPOD episode in one sitting, so I’m glad that their show wasn’t longer than two hours.

I’m so glad I went to the NADDPOD live show! I’d definitely go again if they ever visit Minneapolis; otherwise, I’m open to traveling to another state to see their show, too, as I’m a big fan.

Happy New Year! I can hardly believe it’s been two years since the COVID-19 pandemic. It feels like we have accomplished so much and so little at the same time. I’m looking forward to 2022 and all the adventures waiting to be had. As each new year feels like a new beginning, I wanted to write out my New Year’s Resolutions.

Watch at least 3 different Anime Series (by EOY)

A few months ago, I purchased an ongoing Funimation subscription that I barely used. Anime is something I want to dive more into. For this resolution, I want to watch at least three different anime series. I will probably start with a more popular series, such as My Hero Academia or Demon Slayer, to at least get an idea of what I like before diving into other anime.

Start Watching Mighty Nein Critical Role’s Second Campaign

I’m on Critical Role’s first campaign, Vox Machina. I’m almost halfway through. I hope to finish Vox Machina this year and move into their second campaign, Mighty Nein.

Attend an Out of State Convention I Have Never Been to Before (excluding: Gen Con, C2E2, and Planet Comic Con)

I love traveling to a convention. It’s a perfect trip because I can explore a new city and go to a convention. I have a few ideas of which cons I would like to attend, depending on whether the dates work out for me to go.

• Emerald City Comic Con (Seattle, WA) August 18th through the 22nd
• Rose Comic Con (Portland, OR) September 9th through the 12th
• Baltimore Comic Con (Baltimore, MD) October 28th through the 30th
• New York Comic Con (New York, NY) October 6th through the 9th
• Phoenix Fan Fusion (Phoenix, AZ) May 27th through the 29th

I’m hoping to attend Emerald City for sure, and with Phoenix Fan Fusion being Memorial Day Weekend, that could be another convention I could potentially attend.

Play and complete 4 Different PS4 or Console Games (includes: Nintendo Switch, Xbox, etc.).

I have a few games lined up to play this year. I’m currently playing through Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, which so far is pretty fun. Additionally, I have Far Cry 4 waiting to be played. I’m also behind in Life is Strange, too, so I’m hoping to play through that series sometime this year as well.

Play through Marvel’s Spider-Man on a Tougher Difficulty

My final resolution for this year is to replay Marvel’s Spider-Man on a tougher difficulty. The sequel should be released in 2023, so I want to have a fresh playthrough in my head before the game comes out.

I’m ambitious for 2022. I have been trying to be better about time management, so I think I can fit everything in for this year. Let me know what your pop culture New Year’s Resolutions are in the comments section below.

Last weekend, I went to C2E2, a comic book convention in Chicago. I’m fortunate because one of my best friends from college lives in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago, so I can stay with her while I attend the convention. C2E2 is a convention I always look forward to attending. C2E2 is organized, there’s a lot to do and see, and I always seem to run into someone I know.

Getting to C2E2 can be a trek. Driving in Chicago can be stressful, which is why I have never driven downtown, and I don’t plan to. Instead, I take advantage of Chicago’s public transit system. Beginning the journey, I drive about twenty minutes to one of the stops on the Blue Line that runs from O’Hare International Airport to downtown. After reaching downtown, I have to get off and switch to the Green Line, which runs to McCormick Place, where C2E2 is always held. In total, it’s about two hours for me to navigate to C2E2, although it’s always worth it because I can relax before attending the con.

While meandering through the convention floor, I was able to meet two of my favorite people in comics! The first was Jason Muhr, who illustrated By the Horns, one of my favorite comic series released this year. I was able to connect with Jason as he told me what inspired him to become invested in this comic series. The next artist I met in person was Kami Garcia, the author of the Teen Titans Young Adult graphic novel series. I read her Teen Titans: Raven graphic novel last year, and I loved it! I picked up Teen Titans: Beast Boy, which Kami signed for me. Kami also commented on my Captain Marvel cosplay and recommended I check out the Margaret Stohl run of Captain Marvel. I’m still in awe thinking about how I met these two at C2E2.

Besides the conversations, I attended a panel called “The Five Things You Need to Know Before Creating a Comic Series.” I have no interest in writing a comic because reading comics is a big hobby of mine, and I don’t want to ruin that. I went to the panel more out of curiosity. At the beginning of the panel, the moderator asked us where we were from. I shouted out Minneapolis because of my Minnesota pride. The couple behind me shouted, “Us Too.” I turned around and realized I recognized them through my work at Twin Cities Geek. It’s a small world. The panel was fascinating regarding what it takes to pitch a comic until it is released by a major publisher.

C2E2 is one of the best conventions that I go to. It’s organized, features lots of cosplayers, and there is always something for everyone. I’m sure I will keep attending C2E2 every year, as I know I will always have a blast whenever I go.

My “mini-moon” series is coming to an end. My first post was focused on the day trip to Disneyland, my second post was dedicated to LA, and now I’m writing about San Francisco. While planning this trip, I didn’t know much about San Fran. I knew about the Golden Gate Bridge and the hilly streets, but that was about it. My husband was adamant about spending the majority of our trip in San Fran, and I was okay with that. Exploring San Fran was one of the highlights of our trip.

One of the first impressions I had about San Fran was how walkable a city it was. My husband and I walked to a different coffee shop every day to get breakfast and relax before starting our day. Our first day in San Fran included walking to the Ferry Building. The Ferry Building is a historic building in San Fran right along the pier. Inside, there were various coffee shops, cafes, and a bookstore. After the Ferry Building, we took an Uber to see the houses in Full House. I never got into watching Full House when it aired, so while I liked seeing the houses, I wasn’t blown away either. The houses themselves are neat because it fits into San Fran’s aesthetic with the hills and the houses planted on them. Now that I have seen them, I wouldn’t go see them again.

One of my favorite things to do when I travel is going to a local comic book store and/or game store. After seeing the houses, we walked to a nearby comic book store with a neighboring game store. Comix Experience was the comic book store we visited. It was a small shop with a surprisingly big selection of graphic novels. There was a labeled section for comics written by women, along with an LGBTQIA+ section. I ended up purchasing the first volume of The Weatherman, which I had my eye on for a while. After stopping by Comix Experience, we went to Gamescape, which was right next door. This was a game store with a huge board game selection and a specialized table for painting minis. I was running out of room in my suitcase, so I only purchased dice. Supporting local stores is incredibly important to me, so I wanted to make a purchase at both stores.

As we explored the various parts of San Fran, we stumbled upon a small museum highlighting cartoons. The Cartoon Art Museum is located near Fisherman’s Wharf and highlights the history of animation and comic art. While my husband and I were there, they had an exhibit about the history of Wonder Woman. There were several Wonder Woman comics on display, along with a prop from the Wonder Woman films. After visiting the museum, my husband and I made our way to the Golden Gate Bridge. The Golden Gate Bridge is massive. We walked the 1.7 miles on the bridge before finally settling on having a celebratory beer at a brewery.

On our final day in San Fran, my husband wanted to go to Alcatraz. Alcatraz is on an island, so we had to purchase our exhibit tickets, which included the ferry to get there. Alcatraz was a prison until it was shut down by Robert F. Kennedy in the 60s because it was too expensive to maintain. Since then, Alcatraz has been restored and has become an exhibit to explore. When my husband and I arrived, we were handed a remote that had an audio tour. The audio tour was well worth it. It was easy to follow and highlighted the experience of both the prisoners and the wardens. Visiting Alcatraz is something I would recommend while visiting San Fran.

I’m glad that my husband and I were able to go on a trip to celebrate our marriage. Europe is still a long-term honeymoon trip that we want to take, but it was nice to be able to get away.

Happy Monday! Before too much time passes, I wanted to write the second post in my “mini-moon” California trip series. My first post was about my trip to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. As someone who has never been to any of the Disney parks, I had a blast. Before visiting Disney, my husband and I took some time to explore LA and the surrounding areas.

When my husband and I landed in LA, I made a comment about how I didn’t realize LA was surrounded by mountains. That sounds like such a silly thing to say, but I genuinely was surprised. Once we checked into our hotel, the first place my husband and I visited was In-N-Out, located near Hollywood Boulevard. I have never been to In-N-Out, so I never understood all the hype. In-N-Out was delicious! I never knew banana peppers could appear on a burger. I’m a big fan. I would say that I think the fries were okay; it was the burger that solidified In-N-Out’s status for me.

As we finished lunch, we took some time to wander Hollywood Boulevard. Wandering through Hollywood Boulevard was okay. Seeing the Hollywood stars was fine, but a lot of the stars were dirty, so they were hard to read. One highlight of Hollywood Boulevard was the Funko Pop store. My husband and I had a lot of fun roaming the store and taking pictures with the life-size figures.

One place that my husband wanted to go see was the Griffith Observatory. It’s an observatory high above downtown LA and it’s a great place to take photos. The view was well worth the drive and the Uber cost to get there. Me and my husband took many photos and selfies with the Hollywood sign in the background.

Besides downtown LA, my husband and I took a trip to Santa Monica. Santa Monica was one of my favorite places to visit while staying in LA. Santa Monica Pier is right along the Pacific Ocean, and there’s so much to see. My husband and I walked along the pier, including taking a pit stop to drink some fruity cocktails. We ended up taking a long walk along the beach, and I felt we could truly experience the California culture. There were skate parks everywhere, surfers carrying their surfboards, and street performers selling art or dancing to music. We took some time to watch the skateboarders and saw a kid who couldn’t have been older than six years old skating around. Santa Monica is a place I would love to come back to.

I’m glad I was able to visit LA and the surrounding cities. I will say, I enjoyed the surrounding cities more than LA itself. I think part of that is because we visited more tourist spots in LA versus trying to find areas that were where more locals would hang out or recommend. If I were ever to go back, I’d like to stay in Santa Monica or not right in the heart of LA. My next post will be summarizing San Francisco, and it will be the final post in my California “mini-moon” post series.

Last week, I was in California with my husband. While our full honeymoon trip will be to Europe sometime next year, we still wanted to take a trip to celebrate our marriage. As we were debating where to go, we decided on California because neither my husband nor I had ever been there. I plan on writing three posts for this trip: one for Disneyland, one for Los Angeles, and one for San Francisco. I decided to write about Disneyland first.

Growing up, my family never did a Disney trip. When my husband and I planned a trip to California, I made it clear that I wanted to go to Disneyland. My husband and I stayed in downtown LA, so we planned on taking the Amtrak train from LA to Anaheim. It was so slick. The Anaheim Union Station was only ten minutes from the park. We arrived at Disneyland around 8:15 AM to wait in line.

The first thing I noticed entering the park was the spooky decorations. I was in love with all the pumpkin Disney characters that lined the park. Any Halloween enthusiast like myself would love the park during this time. My husband and I ended up taking various selfies of the pumpkin characters as we didn’t want to wait in line for a professional photographer to take our picture. As we entered the park, we sprinted for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge as we wanted to do this first before it became busy.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge was mesmerizing. Immediately upon entering the park, I ran to Kylo Ren’s TIE Echelon ship and forced my husband to take my picture. The ship looked like it came out of the movie and was on display at the park. After staring at Kylo’s ship, we meandered to the life-size Millennium Falcon. To no one’s surprise, I ran over to this ship and again politely asked my husband to take my picture. The Millennium Falcon ride was epic. We were with a family of four who fought over who got to pilot the ship, so my husband and I took the less coveted positions of engineer. It’s clear that a lot of thought went into making a realistic Star Wars theme park, and it shows.

As I walked around Disneyland, I was debating what I wanted to purchase as a souvenir. I had way too many t-shirts, and I wanted something that I could look at to reflect on my trip. I ended up settling on pins. At the Disneyland souvenir shops, they sell lanyards with collectible pins. Pin trading is a big deal where you can trade pins with people at the park. I liked the concept of this because I could hang my lanyard on the same hook as my other convention badges. I already had a special place in my head as to where this would go, so I knew this was what I wanted to purchase. I purchased pins that represented a movie or franchise that held a special place in my heart. This included pins from Hercules, Monsters Inc., Belle, Star Wars, and Inside Out. Since getting home from our trip, the lanyard is exactly where I wanted to place it. I can look upon it and reflect on my time at Disneyland.

Once 1:00 PM hit, we were able to park hop over to the Disneyland California Adventure park. This park features the brand new Avengers Campus. One of my husband’s biggest complaints was not being able to buy a beer. However, once we entered Disneyland California Adventure, we were able to purchase cocktails at Pym Test Kitchen. My husband was happy. Avengers Campus was fun! We didn’t ride any of the rides as the Guardians of the Galaxy ride was one of the drop rides, and I’m not a fan of heights. We did get to see a brief show of Spider-Man climbing the buildings. I think Avenger’s Campus has a lot of potential to grow into something bigger than it is right now.

While Avengers Campus was neat, I did like Pixar Pier. Pixar Pier, as it sounds, is where most of the Pixar-themed rides are. The ride I see most often on social media is Toy Story Mania!, where you sit in carts and shoot things. This was one of the longer waits we had for a ride; however, it was worth it. Of course, my husband scored more points than me. I blame this on his experience playing first-person shooters. Once we hit Pixar Pier, my husband and I were exhausted, and soon after we ate, and left the park.

Disneyland was everything I hoped for it to be. It was seeing my childhood coming to life, along with reminiscing on various Disney or Pixar movies that meant a lot to me when I was younger. I’m fortunate that after this long pandemic, Disneyland was my first trip, and it was worth the wait.