Last weekend I had the pleasure of driving to the cities to meet up with my best friends. The catch? We were throwing my friend a surprise party! My friend is leaving tomorrow and flying to New Zealand and I still can’t believe it. I’m incredibly happy for her, but I’ll still miss her unique laugh. She was my neighbor for at least a decade and I had known her since I was 3 years old. It’s amazing to still know someone you knew from that young of an age.
Her party was at an Irish brewery/taproom in Uptown. It’s perfect because that’s a place her mom frequently visits and my friend made a comment, “Maybe my mom will be there.” Once we pulled up to the brewery, we showed her to the surprise tap room where everyone just yelled surprise with such an explosive volume. She didn’t know what to say and was just shocked that this happened. What is there to say? It’s hard to put into words how much your friends and family mean to you.
It was great to be able to escape my college stress for a day and see my awesome friends. One of the reasons why I’m eagerly waiting for graduation is because I want to be closer to the Twin Cities. I love the atmosphere, the small businesses, and the people waiting for me. I have one last ode to my friend; have a great time and fly safe! This isn’t goodbye, but a see you later. Hopefully in New Zealand though because I need to see Hobbiton.
This whole week I have been suffering from major writer’s block. I wanted to blog, but I couldn’t think of anything to write about. In my 9:30 AM lecture class, the topic appeared in my mind and that’s my strong desire to travel. Whenever anyone asks where I will be after graduation my initial first thought is on a plane somewhere exploring an unknown area of the U.S or the world. Wanderlust is my new favorite word that accurately summarizes my feelings.
Wanderlust *noun* – A strong desire to travel.
I had a serious discussion in my head about where I would want to go and I decided to share a couple of these future travel plans today.
Universal Studios Orlando, Fl
There was no doubt that this would be #1 on this list. I’m always going to be a kid at heart and I feel like visiting this theme park is necessary. I have been looking into vacation packages and I’m serious about trying to fly here the summer after I graduate.
Seattle, Washington
Fun fact: I have never seen an ocean. This fact is incredibly sad because I’m sure oceans are really beautiful. The west coast is gorgeous and it’s right along the Pacific Ocean. Driving would be the best way to experience the West Coast even though I’m really impatient on road trips.
London
England is the home to Doctor Who, Sherlock, and James Bond, so of course I want to visit!
New York City Comic Con/A Bigger Con
I really want to go to a bigger convention. Local conventions in MN are my jam, but I would love to see some big names. I don’t have a preference about whether to go to NYCC or SDCC, but I really want to attend one in my life. The only thing that I’m afraid of is that there are so many people. I’m not the hugest fan of crowds, but I wouldn’t want that to stop me from being able to attend.
Japan
Japanese culture is really different from the U.S. In my freshman year of college, I was paired with a roommate from outside of Tokyo and it was cool to chat with her about their culture. She said at her college graduation she would wear a brightly colored kimono. As a parting gift, she gave me a traditional Japanese fan with cats on it because it’s me. I still have it sitting on my dresser. Me and my roommate talk occasionally and she’s always said I could visit and stay with her. Hopefully, I can make that a possibility.
There are so many places that are on my travel bucket list that I didn’t mention. Just typing this list makes me giddy about planning all my future vacations. I can’t wait to graduate college and make traveling a priority.
I’m a goal-oriented person. I find goals are an organized way to improve myself or improve my life in some way. Normally, the goals that I set are often personal, but I decided to change that philosophy and share my goals on my blog. Some will definitely be geek-oriented, but others are more particular to my daily life. Here are my goals for the wonderful month of October.
Pass the American College of Sports Medicine Personal Trainer Certification Test
This is probably the goal I’m most nervous about. The test itself is $300 and retakes are $150. I have been studying every day since the end of August and I feel like I’m understanding the information, but I still have no idea how this will go. If I pass that would be a huge weight lifted off my back. In 2013 when I switched my major to Exercise Science, I was unsure about what my career path would be. Flash forward to now I have found my passion in personal training. Passing this test would bring me a step closer to achieving my dream career.
2. Listen to 3 episodes of 3 different podcasts.
I have never really gotten into podcasts. I haven’t found any that I really enjoy so if you have recommendations, let me know. I feel like I’m missing out though by not keeping up with podcasts, so that’s going to change next month.
New podcast to watch! *image is taken from Podcast for Pizza Facebook Page*
3. Turn off my phone while I’m at school/work and only scroll for 5 minutes at one time.
At first, I was going to type “Use my phone less” but what does that mean? That’s a goal that can’t be measured, so how would I know if I could cross this off my list? So I changed it by making sure my phone is off most of the day and adding a time limit. I waste so much time being bored and scrolling through Instagram when instead I could watch an episode of Grimm or read a chapter in my book. I love Instagram, but I need a break. Starting in October I’m going to consistently try to use my phone less.
4. Hang My CONvergence Art plus Billie Piper’s signature
I bought amazing pieces from James Powell’s art at CONvergence this summer. Have I hung it in my room somewhere? Nope. I see my art laying perfectly on my end table, but I haven’t done anything with it. I also have a poster of Billie Piper with her signature on it that my boyfriend bought for me as a gift. It’s still sitting up right against my book shelf. Rose is one of my favorite companions and the one who got me into Doctor Who in the first place, so her character means a lot to me.
5. Read Two Complete Books *graphic novels included*
6. Binge Watch the Luke Cage Series on Netflix.
Feel free to post podcast recommendations in the comments below, but I’m excited to track my progress with my goals in October.
As I walked 5.2 miles around both lakes in my town, I spent that time calling my friends from home. All of my friends mean the world to me. Every phone conversation I have just reaffirms my belief that the Twin Cities is where I belong. I miss them all deeply, but I’m happy that they exist to brighten my days.
One of my friends goes to an art school in Minneapolis. I am inspired by how she is chasing her dream of improving her artistic talent. I chatted with her briefly on the phone and she has started developing her portfolio and applying for internships. It makes me so happy that she’s succeeding in something she loves to do. The beauty in life is seeing how this friend has grown as a person and how I’m so proud of her. She’s an amazing soul and she’s still young at heart which is how I want to be.
My other friend is living in Minneapolis and already has a job out of college. I love her determination and her wit. She’s the person I called when I had a horrible O-Chem lab and I was bawling my eyes out because of the stress. She’s always down for an adventure and being the introvert that I am, I need someone to get me out of the house. She’s my traveling companion and I hope we travel more this summer when I’m out of college.
Finally, my neighbor is leaving for New Zealand in a month! I get to see her in October before she leaves, but it’s wild to me that she will be halfway around the world by Halloween. I’m proud of her that she’s putting herself in a new situation and not crumbling under the pressure of homesickness *believe me I would!*. I will be so sad to see her go, but that means a trip to New Zealand in the future. . . right?
I’m thankful for the friends who have been by my side all of these years. I love you all.
My birthday was last Saturday and I’m officially 22 years old and I will not quote the T-Swift song. I just got back from a much-needed vacation to Chicago which was so exciting because I had never been before. It makes it easier to visit since the boyfriend lives right near Milwaukee. So I just wanted to post the pictures that I took and recap one of my favorite weekends this summer.
When I visited Chicago, I had a checklist of tourist things to do. Willis Tower, eating Deep Dish Pizza, seeing the bean, and shopping on Michigan avenue. I was able to check off all of these places so now for the pictures.
Willis Tower is the tallest building in Chicago and they have these boxes called the sky boxes. They stick out of the building. You have to pay 22 dollars to go up and see the building which I thought was worth it. It’s crucial to do this earlier in the day though because once we got done at around 11:30, the line was so long.
I can’t go to Chicago and not try Deep Dish Pizza! We went to Gino’s East Downtown and it was so good!
Visiting Millennium Park was pretty cool. It was pretty packed since it was sunny outside, but I still got my bean pictures. There were all these different sculptures around and it reminded me of Minneapolis’s own sculpture garden.
Overall I had a really fantastic trip. I had always driven around Chicago but had never been downtown. It was impossible to do everything in Chicago, but I made a mini list of places and things to see when I go back because it will happen. Traveling is always so fun and I’m glad I got to do at least one summer trip.
*This is my third and final post summarizing CONvergence 2016*
My three-part blogging series has reached an end. I felt that each of these three blog posts really summed up my experience at my favorite con. Every time I attend CONvergence, I always end up making a list of shows, board games, and fandoms to try. This post will be quick and short as I talk about fandoms that were really prominent at CONvergence.
Steven’s Universe
I saw so many Steven’s Universe cosplays at CONvergence. There was even a party room themed from this show. I have heard that this show features LGBTQIA+ characters. After I finish Young Justice and Orange is the New Black this is next on my list.
Hamilton
One of my con friends would randomly start rapping lyrics from this play. I’m the first to say I’m not a broadway/play person. I would go to plays when I was younger, but it’s not something I actively follow. There were multiple panels devoted to this play. I’m going to check and see if the play’s soundtrack is on Spotify and I might give it a listen.
Sailor Moon/Watch & Read More Manga & Anime
Finally, I really want to watch more anime. Sailor Moon is one fandom that I have started getting into, but I want to watch the anime. One of my good friends has recommended to me a couple of anime series that he thinks I would like. So hopefully I can get a jump start on that too.
Thank you so much for reading about all of my CONvergence posts. I hope to get back into the swing of things and blog about gaming and/or books, but I just wanted to get my CONvergence experience into words on this blog. I’m having a fantastic summer and I love that I have more time to blog here. Comment below if you have any anime recommendations because I’m very much a noob to this.
*Also if you missed some of my CONvergence posts here are the links below*
*This is my second post regarding CONvergence and my experience*
My three-part series about CONvergence is halfway over. If you haven’t had a chance to read my recap of the convention, you can find that post here: CONvergence Post Part #1 This post will talk about what I purchased at Convergence aka my haul.
One of the best and worst things about conventions is all of the amazing merchandise to buy! It’s great because I love adding to my geek collection, but it’s really bad for my wallet. I wanted to share pictures of what I purchased from the Con.
Hades/Inside Out Print by James Powell
Artist Alley is one of my favorite places to visit at CONvergence. I actually got this above print for free because I follow James Powell on Instagram. When I saw his booth at Artist Alley, I knew I had to have this print. I told him that I commented on Instagram and he remembered me. He gave me this print free of charge. I was so astonished by how cool of a guy James Powell is.
Follow James Powell on Instagram! @james_powell_art
Linus Walking Dead Print by James Powell
This was the last print I bought from James Powell. After giving me the Inside Out/Hercules art print for free, I knew I had to buy more of his art. I love the Peanuts with a passion and even though I’m not the biggest Walking Dead fan, I really loved the mash-up. Plus my boyfriend loves this show, so it will fit right in when I hang it in our room.
Fairy Tale Mash Up Books by Camille Griep
My uncle and aunt also go to CONvergence and they were having a drink with a woman they met at the hotel bar. Her name was Camille and she is an author from Seattle. This was her very first CONvergence and she was trying to promote her books. I had mentioned that I blog for Twin Cities Geek and I would love to promote her work. So she handed me two of her books for free to review! I’m looking forward to reading them because they appear to be fairy tale-themed. The cover of this book reminds me of the first season of Once Upon a Time which I loved. I can’t wait to officially read them.
Jade Street Protection Services Book #1 by Katy Rex
Katy Rex had a booth at CONvergence. She’s super nice and let me look at her book. I purchased it for $4 and I think I will really like it. It reminds me of Babs Tarr’s work with the new Batgirl. Katy described her book as Sailor Scouts who go off to Hogwarts and get caught smoking in the bathroom. I like the punk element of this book.
This wraps up my haul post and I have a lot of reading to do.
I’m taking a break from the CONvergence wrap-up posts to write a post about how this blog came about and how I became proud to consider myself a geek.
The first time I cracked open a Harry Potter book to read is when I became a geek. As I grew older, I still kept reading various fiction novels including The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, etc. In 2012, I watched The Avengers for the first time and I was enamored with superheroes. So I started reading comics and graphic novels and I loved the medium.
When I went off to college in 2012, I had an identity crisis. I loved what I loved, yet I was insecure to share that with anyone else. I still watch cartoons all the time and I can still spend hours playing video games. I was nervous that I should give that up because I need to grow up. Eventually, I mellowed out and accepted that this is who I am.
In the summer of 2013, I went to my first con, CONvergence. I met so many individuals who loved what I loved and I felt really at home. For those 4 days, I was in a safe place to express my interests and to see other geeks come together. This is why CONvergence is so important for me. It paved the way for self-love and acceptance of what I love and to love myself no matter what
I have always wanted to blog about my geeky interests so I took initiative and created this blog. At first, my name was going to be the Geeky Ice Skater. My friend came up with Bizarre Brunette and I knew that was what my blog name would be. Now I can share anything I want on here including my book reviews, board games, video games, and my con experience. I’m so thankful that people follow my blog and post comments every now and then.
Happy Fourth of July! After my hiatus from last week, I’m here to share a lengthy post about CONvergence a con I attended last week. Let me tell you something, con depression is certainly real as I feel a little sad that CONvergence is finally over. This post is pretty long, but I tried to sum up my happiest moments at the con. This post has helped me relive my most fun memories and I can’t wait for CONvergence 2017 because yes, I will be there. Also, I will be writing two other CONvergence-themed posts: CONvergence Haul & Fandoms I’m, Diving into.
Thursday, June 30th, 2016
The theme for CONvergence this year was focused on traveling in different fandoms. This includes the Tardis, Millenium Falcon, and other ships or ways to travel in media. Thursdays are usually the most relaxing day of the convention as I find it’s a bit slower-paced than the other days.
Friday, July 1st, 2016
I cosplayed as Robin for the entire day on Friday. I found multiple Batman cosplays throughout the day.
Shortly after seeing the Batman cosplayers, I found a Scarecrow outside. I had to take a picture with him because it looked really good, it kind of freaked me out. Right before Con, I started replaying Batman Arkham Asylum and it was cool to see an accurate Scarecrow cosplay.
Saturday, July 2nd, 2016
This was my last day of Con and I cosplayed as Sailor Saturn. Now is this cosplay really accurate? Meh. Though I’m proud that I helped make my own cosplay. I had a lot of help, but still, I’m proud of myself. I chose not to wear a wig. I understand that would help make my cosplay more accurate, but I didn’t really want to. Wigs irritate me at times and I didn’t want to be uncomfortable all day.
I’m not sure if other cons do this, but at this con, you can collect ribbons. Ribbons can be handed out by other con attendees or you can get ribbons for volunteering. I try to collect as many as I can throughout the con.
On Friday and Saturday nights, there are more adult panels featuring comedy shows or other types of entertainment. We were waiting for a panel titled Drinking with Geeks which basically had comedians drinking unknown bottles of alcohol and the audience could hand alcohol to the panelists. It was funny and I’m glad I could witness, but not actually drink the liquor myself.
Look at this BB8! I found him in a Star Wars party room. Party rooms are these hotel rooms that are decked out in a theme. You can have alcoholic drinks in party rooms, but you certainly don’t have to. Unfortunately, if you aren’t 21, they won’t let you in so this was a fun new experience for me being 21.
This was from the Futurama-themed party room.
My CONvergence experience was really fun and I had a blast. I would even go as far as saying that this one was my favorite out of the other two I attended. I will be writing up my CONvergence Haul & Fandoms I will be diving into posts pretty soon after this so be on the lookout for that. Cons are so fun and I’m glad that I went.
Unintentionally, I have become busy this summer with a bunch of little projects. First, I’m working on a cosplay for Sailor Saturn. Hopefully, I’ll make a post in the future about what I learned from sewing a cosplay. I have also been writing various articles for Twin Cities Geeks like always. I’m also still a barista making coffee drinks and drinking bottomless cups of coffee. My latest project is signing up to be a contributor for Nerd Out.
Nerd Out is an app that posts geeky/nerdy events around the U.S and Europe. No matter where you are, you can find an event to attend that will meet your interests. These events are uploaded by contributors in that area. As soon as I find out about an event, I email it to our head person and they post it on the app. I’m trying to get other geeks aware of events in Minnesota so they will more than likely attend.
Another bonus of being a contributor is free stuff! Some of the contributors have been getting free geek swag from different fandoms. I haven’t received anything yet besides my nerd-out t-shirt and business cards in the mail.
Becoming a Nerd Out App contributor was super easy and it doesn’t take up much of my time. If I do get some awesome geeky free stuff, I’ll definitely write about it on this blog. For now, I’ll get back to the constant sewing of my cosplay and editing various geek articles.
Bizarre Brunette 