October in a nutshell

Last month was full if events, and as we enter the twilight of the year, I can hardly wait to kick up my feet, enjoy the holidays and take a breather. 

Of course, my school work and ambitions aren't going to let me do that. But lazy afternoons like today, when I can lay on the floor with my laptop with "Cupcake Wars" babbling in the background are just enough to charge my batteries. Here's some of the things I've spent battery power on this month, getting active in the lolita and cosplay community of Hawaii. 

Miss Vamp Hawaii. I competed on October 12th in the 3rd annual Miss Vamp Hawaii Beauty Pageant. 

Though I didn't win, I found a new sense of confidence from the whole experience. I proved to myself that I can do things out of my comfort zone if I set my mind to it. Plus I made a lot of connections with photographers, entertainers, business owners and journalists, as well as countless new friends. I don't know if I'd compete again next year, but I don't regret trying!

Thank you to all my friends who came out and cheered me on, supporting me through my nerves and shakes! You made me feel like I could do it, and that made all the difference.

Also, thank you to Emismile photos and Lillikoi Photography, for helping me build my portfolio and taking stunning photos for the competition.

I am the white haired loli in harlequin tights!

HEX-con: Atelier Pierrot and Animaid Cafe.

The following weekend was HEX-con, Hawaii's Entertainment Expo. It is a conglomo-con featuring anime, Japanese music, scifi, fantasy, American comics and gaming. 

Day one I worked at Animaid Hawaii, the sponsoring Maid Cafe this year. There was a bit of a time constraint the first night, but I had fun passing out Halloween candy to con-goers, served a table of Macross cosplayers, and staffed the One Piece event.

Day two was the Atelier Pierrot Fashion show. I was supposed to work the maid cafe after I had my makeup done for Atelier, but ended up translating for the designer Ashizawa-san all day! I even translated her introduction for her on stage before the show. Having her pick my outfit, chat with me and spend the day with me was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had!! 

The designer picked a strapless black corset jsk for me, with elbow length lacy gloves, a black bonnet with red roses, and black and red diamond harlequin tights. I felt like a gothic doll! 

All the models with Ashizawa-san. I'm in the back with the bonnet. Photo courtesy of my friend, Chris.

As soon as the Atelier pop-up boutique was open, I ran over in hopes of getting my dream dress, the Eden jsk in green. Since I was one of the first ones there, I snagged it! I couldn't be happier, I have been pining for this dress since the first time I saw it. Not to mention, it's sold out every where!

Yesterday, of course, was Halloween. Since I've been dressing up a lot this month, I took a breather and opted for a sort-of vkei devil instead.

I didn't go to Waikiki, but went to a friend's house instead, for one of the best Halloween parties ever. We had so much fun laughing, eating, and playing entertaining games the host came up with. 

The table was lit with candles and he switched out photos around the house with gothic portraits of Mana, Kamijo, and pictures from our lolita outings. Before tea, we turned off the lights and watched the Halloween Junky Orchestra "Halloween Party" music video by candle light.

Now, I am dead tired. xD I'm sorry I haven't been on the ball with the last few LBC prompts, but I'm gonna get back on it. So stay tuned!

xoxo, Cherie

Opportunity knocking!

Hello darlings, and welcome to the end of Summer. Maybe some of you are Summer people, but personally I love Fall and everything about it. As I'm sure you know, my family is huge into Halloween and we've all ready begun preparations for our favourite holiday. Of course once again, I'll be away from home this Halloween, but it's fun to help my mom plan and stowe away decorations.

My mom got me a bunch of dahlias at the Farmer's Market in Poulsbo last weekend. I love dahlias, because they look like smiling faces to me. It made me think, I'd like to incorporate them into my next tattoo, which will either be on my arm and upper shoulder or maybe on my upper thigh. I haven't picked a place yet, but I want to add to my canvas... especially since in two days, I'll be home in Hawaii, and can visit my favourite studio in Waikiki.

I probably won't have time to get new ink for a while, because I have so much on my schedule! In addition to a five-course full-time college schedule, here are some other things I'm doing my first two months back at home.

August 30th- HPU Study Abroad Q&A Panel.

I'll be answering questions about HPU's Study Abroad program August 30th, at the downtown campus 11-11:45, UB 214. My friend Yasu will be there with me. So if there's any local students who would like to hear about HPU's Study Abroad Opportunities, come on down! I'd also love to answer any questions about Japan, the program, or just talk about my time in Nagoya at NUFS.

September-

1st and 2nd- Okinawan Festival, Honolulu. I'll be meeting up with a lot of my old friends there and hanging out in yukata. I can hardly wait to see everyone!

4th- First Day of classes at HPU!

22nd- This is a bit of a secret, but I'll be doing some Pin-Up modeling for a charity calendar. I'm very excited!

October 12th- Miss Vamp Hawaii at the Hawaii Theatre

This year I'll be running for Miss Vamp Hawaii, Hawaii's first and only Vampire Beauty Pageant. Held every year in October, this is the pageant's third year, growing bigger and better every year! There is a traditional pageant, Talent Competition, and "Moon Bathing" pageant. Normally that would be the swimwear segment, but since we vampires can't go out in the sunlight, we will be modeling our elegant lingerie.

Please come on out and support me! I'll be making all my own outfits and will try to bring something new and creative to the competition. You can buy tickets at the Historic Hawaii Theatre Box Office. There are still good seats left, but they are going fast! Please mention my name, Erica A. to support me in running for Miss Congeniality.

The Miss Vamp Hawaii pageant will be held on October 12th at 7 PM.

October 19th-21st- HEXXP
The following weekend, October 19th-21st, is HEXXP-con at the beautiful Aloha Tower Marketplace. This is the second year running for the convention, and I'll be volunteering at the maid cafe, Animaid Hawaii all weekend. My maid name, naturally, is Cherie. ;D You can add me on Facebook on my maid page, here. /end plug

On opening night there will be a party with a special theme, and all of us maids and hosts will be wearing special outfits. The rest of the weekend will include regular cafe service and high tea events.

Saturday the 20th at 12 PM, I'll be running the Japanese Street Fashion fashion show. More details to come.

Atelier Pierrot's designer will also be present with a fashion show!!

I don't have much information, but it also appears that a Japanese V-kei band called NSDP will also be performing.

And those are just a few of the exciting events at HEXXP! If you're on Oahu that weekend I highly recommend checking it out!

Of course, at the end of October is the best holiday of all, Halloween! I think I'll spend it with friends in Waikiki this year, since for some reason or another, I was never able to go before. I haven't decided yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll wear my cosplay of Ruki from the GazettE, from their "Taion" music video.

Which is finally finished!

Please look forward to future photo shoots, hopefully!

And well, I have to pull myself away from the computer for a while, to spend time with my mom and brother and finish packing. I just went shopping for some back-to-school things, inspired by my last Reita post.

Distressed jeans, a cool graphic tee with butterflies and skulls, a motorcycle jacket and a purse, all for under $100. And lord knows I have enough boots to outfit an army, so this outfit is d-o-n-e! The best part about these pieces is they can mix and match with so much. I'm glad I finally got some new casual clothes haha~

Till we meet again, darlings~ Next time I see you I should be home in Hawaii! So, Aloha!

xoxo, Cherie

Added as an after thought...

I think the point of this post, was not just to tell you about all the exciting and fun things we have in Hawaii, but to prove a point... my adventure, growth and opportunity did not end with my study abroad. Going to Japan was a dream come true and I will certainly return for work and travel some day. But I see so many young people saying "It's my dream to go to Japan!" As if that is the be-all end-all to their wants and wishes. I was there too. 

But I've learned that's not what it's about. Everything I learned while I was there has prepared me for where I am now, and made me even more able to take on challenges. For example, at HEXXP we are expecting over 200 guests from Japan, and I'll be one of the few maids/hosts in the cafe who can talk with them. Even now, friends and acquaintances are contacting me with opportunities in the future, in the field of Japanese fashion. It's all so exciting! Even with the Miss Vamp pageant, I remember my experience volunteering with teaching English, and helping at the local orphanage in Japan, and that help keeps me humble. 

It makes me thankful for all of these opportunities. I'm not scared to take chances. That makes a world of difference... literally. The world feels open to me after this study abroad. Before, it was just the great unknown. 

October Wrap-Up

Can you hit the jackpot just for buying a soft drink at home?

When you use Suntory soft drink vending machines, you can be a big winner. When you buy a drink the numbers start rolling, and if you hit three sevens, you get the jackpot: a free drink.

I have yet to win, but the landlord always comes up behind me and cheers, "当たって！ナナ、ナナ、ナナ！" (Hit it! Seven seven seven!).

Why bring this up? I've had a tough past week.While taking my daily run, I tripped over something in the dark and deeply scraped my legs. Since I also sprained my ankle running last month, I've come to the conclusion that I need to stop running outdoors and try out the treadmills at the gym. Luckily, NUFS has its own gym open for students.

On top of that, I finally caught the cold that was going around. The only good thing was the vocabulary I learned to describe my symptoms and read medicine bottles. (Guess what the word for runny nose is? 鼻水 [hanamizu], literally nose water.)

My point is in spite of this, my friends and family cheer me on anyway, no matter what it is I'm going through. They inspire me and help me make it through.

October ended with NUFS' University Festival, and naturally, Halloween. 

University Festivals are unique to Japan... or at least, my college in Hawaii never had anything like this. Different classes, clubs and sports teams set up their own booths to raise money for activities. It's a really big deal, and not only students attend, but everyone in the town.

More under the cut!

Bewitching Boz

Yesterday my friend and I headed down to Sakae, since Angelic pretty advertised a Halloween special on their Nagoya blog. 

The deal was, if you spend 3,150 yen you earn a free "Original Print Candy." On the train, we speculated over what it could be... Kira Imai wrappers? Tricky Night hard candy? Melty Moon chocolates? ...things that would make good gifts for friends, or prizes for a contest. 

But as it turned out, the special candy was just the lollipop in the picture (I should have guessed!). 

My friend and I agreed it wasn't worth it; especially since at the time, AP didn't have any Halloween items for sale. (I didn't get a glimpse of the new witch set until I got home, and my friend showed me on Facebook!)

So AP was a bust. We made our rounds about the Nova Lolita floor, since we were there. 

Maya and Aiji from LM.C were visiting the Kera shop...

They're playing Budokan on January 8th, and my friend in Tokyo invited me to go with her. That'd be fun, I hope the tickets aren't too expensive! 

We passed the Atelier Boz shop, and noticed they had Lucky Bags for sale, for a great price. I was so tempted to pick one up. The friendly shop tenant chatted with us about the new Evanescence album, then filled us in about the lucky packs. 

I told her I couldn't buy one that day, but she said that was okay, because they were on sale until the end of October, when they would host a three-day Halloween event...

And everyone who came to this little party would receive a free gift. 

So of course, my friend and I decided we have to come! But what to wear to a Lolita Halloween event? Especially for Boz, which is so clean-cut and lovely?

I think I'll attend as a Lolita witch. It's a Halloween classic, and this old school Meta set is just right. 

The Meta Jsk and Cape set was cheap at Violet Blue. It has long tiers, buttons up the back, corsets in the front, and has cross embroidered lace. 

The petti underneath is a treasure from Black Peace Now. I'd like to hitch up the front of my Jsk a bit so you can see the lovely layering.

I've been smitten with the long aristocratic look lately. The local Lolitas and Kodonas I've seen wear just as much Aristocrat as they do Sweet Lolita. 

Yesterday on the escalator out of Nova, I saw two girls in Moitie with a kodona. They were beautiful in cobalt blue and monochrome! Seeing it worn in action like this really turned me on to aristocrat; it seems so flattering on everyone.

Maybe I will end up getting a lucky pack one day, they're such a good deal, and usually have great starter pieces.

I can hardly wait to get all dressed up for the party now...

How to Halloween

October is my favorite month of the year- ideal weather, the gradation of scenery into deeper hues, Halloween tack in abundance.

Some families claim the right to hosting Christmas parties, or Thanksgiving Dinner, but in our household, we own the Halloween Party.

My father is a self-proclaimed Pumpkin Master, and never ceases to impress with hand-drawn stencils and things you never thought you could do with a gourd. My mom has hand-made costumes for the whole family since I was born.

Or as my Dad has said in less words, "We're Halloweiners!"

This is the first year I've been away from my family on my favorite holiday. I wasn't expecting much Halloween festivity here in Japan, but much to my pleasant surprise, I'm being proved wrong.

The hyaku en stores are stuffed with capes, witches hats and home decor; the lolita shops in the Nova building have decorated for the occasion. I pass by restaurants on the street and see orange pumpkins on the registers, or along side the plastic display food.

In Apita, the local department store, a frightening favorite rattles on in the background.

And down stairs, a display that will make any little girl scream (with delight).

Even the karaoke place is getting in the spirit. At Shidax, they have Halloween themed dishes, including Pumpkin Pasta (with kabocha, what you can call Japanese pumpkin.)

I wasted no time getting my ghoul on. As soon as October first came around...

To top it all off, San-X celebrity Rilakkuma and his posse have teamed up with Lawson conbini marts this month, with a slew of adorable bear goods. The other night I ran in to pay my electric bill, and couldn't resist this "Strawberry Yogurt Dessert".

It was more like creamy strawberry jello with strawberry puree at the bottom. I just wanted the mug anyway, so I am satisfied.

Till next time,

Cherie