Vacation All I Ever Wanted!

   Hey guys! Time for a personal post! Now, I mentioned this in another post but just in case you didn't see, I'll just talk about it here. From August 3 to August 10 I'll be on vacation!! Yay! But, this means my reaction videos for Free! Episode 6 and Attack on Titan Episode 17 [And possibly 18] will be a little late ^^'. But don't worry, I'm planning some secret videos to have up in their place and when I come back I'll return to schedule as usual [I might end up combining Attack on Titan episodes 17 & 18 though]. Just wanted to give you a heads up so you don't think I'm dead! XD

-RCUJay

No New Cons, No No No.

    So this summer is turning out to suck for me convention wise. Since January I had it all perfectly planned out; in June I would attend Colossalcon for the first time, and in August I'd head down to Baltimore for my annual Otakon shenanigans! I mean, that's not too much to ask. It's only two cons right? Unfortunately, none of my plans will be coming to fruition this summer. In May, I had to cancel my Colossalcon plans as I realized the event coincided with my graduation and its mandatory practices. And early on in June, I found out my family's annual summer vacation took place the same week as Otakon. Now, I can't really complain. After all, I am going to the "Most Magical Place on Earth!" (That's their catchphrase, right?) But I have to admit, I'm a bit disappointed. Not only is going to Otakon a tradition for me, but this year is the con's 20th anniversary, and they are really  pulling out all the stops to make this a memorable event. Some of my favorite voice actors will be there like Cristina Vee (who I totally stan for), Crispin Freeman, and the Vic Mignogna! And HOMEMADE FREAKING KAZOKU WILL BE HOLDING A CONCERT! LIKE, WUT? ASDFGHJK!

...But I digress. Anyway last year I went and had a total blast! I took so many pictures and videos and vlogged so much but...wait. WHERE ARE THESE VLOGS! They're not on my channel, they're not on my tumblr, what happened? Well shortly after the convention, I lost the SD card that everything was on ;-;. But guess what? A couple days ago, I found it!!! So ladies and gentlemen I ask you to join me as I take a stroll down memory lane~

The Cosplay

Me as Fem! Captain America

   

    Otakon 2012 mark the first Otakon in which I cosplayed! Now, I originally had planned four cosplays: Fem!Captain America, Human! Rainbow Dash, Sailor! Robin, and Fire Nation! Katara! Looking back now, I was a bit ambitious ^^'. Anyway, I ended up only wearing two; Rainbow Dash on Friday night and

 Captain America all Saturday.  I planned on participating in the MLP photo shoot that took place on Friday, but got my scheduele mixed up and ended up missing up it. However, Captain America was a huge success! I was really suprised at how many people stopped and asked me for my picture. Especially since I had started making this cosplay only two days before the con. It probably had something to do with the avengers craze going on at the time but I was still really happy people liked it so much! (Although, I still have yet to receive any photos of it ^^'). 

  As for the cosplay I saw, A+ as usual:

The Panels

   During this time, I was really abridge crazy, so I had a quite a bit of panels on my agenda. Usually, I don't go to many panels (at least I don't plan for them) so all the waiting in line was kind of a pain...

                                                                                                                                                                    

 But, was worth it! My favorite panel was the Abridge panel [duh]. It was a panel of different abridgers, including little Kuriboh, and they all just answered questions and told stories about their adventures as abridgers. Even though I don't plan on becoming one anytime soon, it was really insightful. I also caught both the Friday night and Saturday night abridge showcase and got to see some new abridged talent!

Dealers Room

Too poor for that this year.

Downtown Baltimore

So this year, I spent a large amount of time walking around downtown Baltimore, as opposed  being in the actual convention center. First off, I had to take some time out to search the shops for white tights to complete my Fem! Cap (talk about procrastination). I also had lunch at Johnny Rockets on Saturday which was delicious! Our waiter was so adorable and nice which was just an added bonus!

I've become one of those hipsters who take pictures of their food

And what's Otakon without the ice cold water guy! See you guys in 2014!

National Cherry Blossom Festival!!!

Obligatory Sakura Tree Picture

      So a billion years ago back in April, I was lucky enough to attend the Nation Cherry Blossom Festival that takes place every year in Washington D.C. It was my first time going and let me tell you I did not know what to expect. In my head, the event would be similar to those festivals you see in those typical high school anime, where all the girls are dressed up in Kimonos, street vendors are selling ramen and meat on a stick in little huts, children are playing that game where you try to catch a fish with that paper net thing, etc. It was fun but over all it wasn't that spectacular. A big problem I had was the lack of Japanese culture. Don't get me wrong, they had a lot of Japanese related showcases and ceremonies, but for example, the parade had a lot of random acts like this giant Scooby-Doo float.

Scooby-Doo

Random, but pretty cool

Because what's a parade without the Subway Sub?

Clowns.

    The actual festival gave me mad convention vibes with all the cosplay and was probably the funniest part for me. Unfortunately there was one awkward moment I had to endure. If you might recall from the videos on my YouTube channel, I attended Zenkaikon in Lancaster, PA this year. Not only did I go, but I was granted a press pass, thanks to crunchyroll, which allowed me to interact with the guests and get much better con coverage than I'm used to. One of the guests I was lucky enough to interview was geek specific comedian Uncle Yo, and boy he was a great guy! So when I spotted him hosting an event on one of the main stages, I waited patiently and when it ended, I went up to him to reminiscence our Zenkaikon experiences and "catch up." But to my dismay, he...didn't...remember me...at all. ;.; At this point, my esteem was too far gone to try to jog his memory, so I simply asked for a picture and sulked away. Now, I know he's a busy man, and  he probably met hundreds of people between Zenkaikon and the festival, but I still felt kind of embarrassed.

Me holding in my tears ;_;

Shrine Exhibit

Why did I even take this picture when there are no Sakura trees in site?

Cute Luigi and Waluigi cosplayers

  Even though I went down to Washington D.C for the festival, I couldn't pass up the chance to explore the city and all its attractions. So I made sure to set aside some time to go down to the Smithsonian Museum as well as visit some historical land marks.

Smithsonian

Monkey!

From the Martin Luther King Monument

The Washington Monument 

Me becoming a caveman

I left D.C. Saturday night so I didn't take part in any of the Sunday festivities. Also, I heard there was one of these in California. Does anyone know if that one is any better?

[Ends post]