HE GOT IN
HE GOT IN
HE GOT IN
HE GOT IN
HE GOT IN
Now I can shut up about it.
Any donations of cash or offer of full-time employment with a salary of three private school tuitions will be graciously accepted
Sunday, April 26, 2009
I Survived The Art Show
I am happy and relieved to report that I survived the Art Show without having a nervous breakdown or getting into a fist fight with anyone. There were many highs, some lows and some just "HUH" moments but overall, I was pleased with the way things turned out - even though our sales were down about 40-45% from last year.
It was really clear that the economy was on the minds of people who visited the Art Show. In previous shows, we could not keep anything under $50 on the podiums or the walls. People would just buy, buy, buy at that price range. This year, people would really contemplate their purchases and would not hastily purchase a $20 pair of earrings or a $40 ceramic pot. Even the $5 notecards we had sat for most of the weekend. The only "hot" seller were the $12 ocean-themed necklace that featured very beautiful and intricate glass beads and shells. Those went out as soon as we hung them.
The good thing is that people seemed very impressed by the layout of the show. Clearly, you could tell that a professional had done it and I didn't hear any of the "Oh, it looks like the Swap meet" or "I feel like I'm in Walmart" comments like I heard repeatedly last year. No, we did not hire anybody to do it. A participating artist took it upon himself to hang the whole show on his own - totally voluntary - when he saw poor LF working on her own trying to put things up. Now, if you know LF, you know she is on the petite side so this help really was a Buddha-send.
My broke famiiy still ended up buying stuff but only a bunch of inexpensive pieces. Well, except for the Professor who bought two tiny paintings - about 2" by 2" - that were $40 each! They were very nice but I have a feeling he's already lost them since I don't see them hanging in his room.
I've been asked to help out next year and in the frenzy of packing up on Saturday night, reluctantly agreed to sign on. However, in the light of today, I'm still on the fence.
It was really clear that the economy was on the minds of people who visited the Art Show. In previous shows, we could not keep anything under $50 on the podiums or the walls. People would just buy, buy, buy at that price range. This year, people would really contemplate their purchases and would not hastily purchase a $20 pair of earrings or a $40 ceramic pot. Even the $5 notecards we had sat for most of the weekend. The only "hot" seller were the $12 ocean-themed necklace that featured very beautiful and intricate glass beads and shells. Those went out as soon as we hung them.
The good thing is that people seemed very impressed by the layout of the show. Clearly, you could tell that a professional had done it and I didn't hear any of the "Oh, it looks like the Swap meet" or "I feel like I'm in Walmart" comments like I heard repeatedly last year. No, we did not hire anybody to do it. A participating artist took it upon himself to hang the whole show on his own - totally voluntary - when he saw poor LF working on her own trying to put things up. Now, if you know LF, you know she is on the petite side so this help really was a Buddha-send.
My broke famiiy still ended up buying stuff but only a bunch of inexpensive pieces. Well, except for the Professor who bought two tiny paintings - about 2" by 2" - that were $40 each! They were very nice but I have a feeling he's already lost them since I don't see them hanging in his room.
I've been asked to help out next year and in the frenzy of packing up on Saturday night, reluctantly agreed to sign on. However, in the light of today, I'm still on the fence.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Do's and Don'ts at the Maid Cafe
The kids and I (uh, to be accurate, just I) worked at the Kawaii Kon at the Convention Center last weekend. I have some great photos to post of the goings on but my IPhone is having some bizarro conflict with Oscar the Grouch's laptop so I cannot sync anything without the whole thing crashing. I think it has something to do with the major whiplash my phone took as it sailed off the passenger seat into the dashboard when I got hit on the Freeway in March. The poor IPhone got a concussion on the touchscreen (middle 1/3 of the screen won't work), ear damage (headphones won't work) and some kind of evil personality which causes the laptop to say "total memory erase" whenever I plug the IPhone in.
The problem is trying to find the time to drop the sucker off at the Apple Store and wean myself from totally IPhone dependency.
But I digress, there were a few Japanese community organizations at the Kawaii Kon and as you may guess, we were not major draws for the cosplay crowd. I think I can count the number of people I actually spoke to about our organization on one hand for each day I worked. People would walk by and look at our anime/manga themed display but seemed to have no interest in establishing human contact. Well, at least it gave me a lot of time to people watch and contemplate what these kids looked and were like in "real life".
I have to say that I was totally impressed with the participants. They were dressed up like zombies, bounty hunters and other violent characters but the actual people were very polite and courteous. Another mom said she didn't even hear a swear word once even though there were thousands of teens wandering around. There were no fights, no stink eye, nothing. The kids would say please and thank you when asking to take photos of each other and genuinely admired the hard work their fellow odd souls had put into their costumes.
I never thought I would say this but it was actually enjoyable to spend two days surrounded by teenagers.
So, amongst the other community groups was the Honolulu Festival. They were a little busier since people were buying their happi coats and t-shirts. They were also passing out information about the 2009 Tokyo Anime tour. I picked up a brochure and cracked up when I read the rules for the Maid Cafe visits. Here's what it says (in the original Jap-lish):
What is Maid Cafe???
Maid Cafes are cosplay (costume play) restaurants originated in Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan. Their service staffs dress as elegant maids. The staffs treat the customers as masters in a private home rather than merely as cafe customers. Those cosplay restaurants and cafes have quickly become a staple of Japanese otaku culture.
Taboo @ Maid Cafe
You will be very welcomed as their Goshujinsama (master) with avoiding unsavory behavior.
Don't touch your maid
When you order, you can talk to your server or ring the bell on the table (if available.) Maids are very friendly but touching is strictly prohibited.
Don't ask private contacts with your maid.
They don't like you to ask personal information. Some maids have their official blog websites, and you might have chance to contact them from these websites.
Don't take picture of your server without permission
Basically, picture taking is prohibited at any maid cafes. You may be able to ask the restaurant or cafe to take picture of you for your memory of trip. Some cafes have picture taking service with your maid (fee applied).
Don't bring your own food and drinks.
No need to say... You are not allowed to bring your own food and drinks from outside. Let's try their signature dish from the menu!
If this appeals to you, you can call JTB and book it. There is a package leaving in May and one in June. Price is $700.
This confirms to me that men are strange. If I went to a Butler Cafe, I would want the guy to clean my house and could care less if I got to take his photo.
5 Themed Cafe's I'd Like to See:
Lunch Lady Cafe - if you are really nice, she's use a clean hairnet and pluck her chin hairs
Scary Janitor Cafe - if you pay a fee, he will announce he is coming to clean the bathroom before coming in so you can pull your pants up
State Worker Cafe - always closed and when they are open, you have to serve yourself (sorry to all my friends who are reading this and are insulted now)
Jehovah Witness Cafe - no fee to come in and no purchase necessary, you pay to have them leave you alone
Hotel Street Cafe - workers are very pretty when the place first opens, but at closing, they have sprouted five-o-clock shadow and "dangling" parts
The problem is trying to find the time to drop the sucker off at the Apple Store and wean myself from totally IPhone dependency.
But I digress, there were a few Japanese community organizations at the Kawaii Kon and as you may guess, we were not major draws for the cosplay crowd. I think I can count the number of people I actually spoke to about our organization on one hand for each day I worked. People would walk by and look at our anime/manga themed display but seemed to have no interest in establishing human contact. Well, at least it gave me a lot of time to people watch and contemplate what these kids looked and were like in "real life".
I have to say that I was totally impressed with the participants. They were dressed up like zombies, bounty hunters and other violent characters but the actual people were very polite and courteous. Another mom said she didn't even hear a swear word once even though there were thousands of teens wandering around. There were no fights, no stink eye, nothing. The kids would say please and thank you when asking to take photos of each other and genuinely admired the hard work their fellow odd souls had put into their costumes.
I never thought I would say this but it was actually enjoyable to spend two days surrounded by teenagers.
So, amongst the other community groups was the Honolulu Festival. They were a little busier since people were buying their happi coats and t-shirts. They were also passing out information about the 2009 Tokyo Anime tour. I picked up a brochure and cracked up when I read the rules for the Maid Cafe visits. Here's what it says (in the original Jap-lish):
What is Maid Cafe???
Maid Cafes are cosplay (costume play) restaurants originated in Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan. Their service staffs dress as elegant maids. The staffs treat the customers as masters in a private home rather than merely as cafe customers. Those cosplay restaurants and cafes have quickly become a staple of Japanese otaku culture.
Taboo @ Maid Cafe
You will be very welcomed as their Goshujinsama (master) with avoiding unsavory behavior.
Don't touch your maid
When you order, you can talk to your server or ring the bell on the table (if available.) Maids are very friendly but touching is strictly prohibited.
Don't ask private contacts with your maid.
They don't like you to ask personal information. Some maids have their official blog websites, and you might have chance to contact them from these websites.
Don't take picture of your server without permission
Basically, picture taking is prohibited at any maid cafes. You may be able to ask the restaurant or cafe to take picture of you for your memory of trip. Some cafes have picture taking service with your maid (fee applied).
Don't bring your own food and drinks.
No need to say... You are not allowed to bring your own food and drinks from outside. Let's try their signature dish from the menu!
If this appeals to you, you can call JTB and book it. There is a package leaving in May and one in June. Price is $700.
This confirms to me that men are strange. If I went to a Butler Cafe, I would want the guy to clean my house and could care less if I got to take his photo.
5 Themed Cafe's I'd Like to See:
Lunch Lady Cafe - if you are really nice, she's use a clean hairnet and pluck her chin hairs
Scary Janitor Cafe - if you pay a fee, he will announce he is coming to clean the bathroom before coming in so you can pull your pants up
State Worker Cafe - always closed and when they are open, you have to serve yourself (sorry to all my friends who are reading this and are insulted now)
Jehovah Witness Cafe - no fee to come in and no purchase necessary, you pay to have them leave you alone
Hotel Street Cafe - workers are very pretty when the place first opens, but at closing, they have sprouted five-o-clock shadow and "dangling" parts
Surviving the week from crafting heck
It is 9:30 on Sunday morning and I sit here amazed that my body and more importantly, my brain is still intact. It was a totally insane week (do I have any other kind) and now it is over. Well, except for having to drive over to The Professor and the Diva's school to pick up all of my unsold leftovers.
This is the first year that I've actually had anything left over so it's kind of a kick in the pants to me. A little disappointing but expected. After hearing the disasterous results from other arts and craft venues - sales down 70% or so, even with great promotion on all mediia. I was expecting the worse. It wasn't as bad as I expected but if the economy continues going down the toilet, I will seriously have to reevaluate whether it is worth it for me to devote so much time to crafting.
At past Art Shows, anything under $100 would fly off the podiums or the grids. People would not even blink at a $20 piece of jewelry or a $10 set of cards. This year though, people really, really thought about their purchases and usually ended up either putting the piece down or returning at the end of the evening to buy it. I don't think we had to call anyone to replenish their work this year because nobody sold out - well, except the people who had one piece under $50. We sold a lot of $12 necklaces but $18 ones did not move at all. I wonder if it had to do with the psychology of $12 being perceived as $10 while $18 was viewed as a $20 purchase.
I knew I would not sell any of the pricier dolls I do since they were $60-$80. I wasn't counting on selling them but was hoping to get a commission request. So, I had the kids pack them up and go home early. They looked so pathetic just sitting there on the ground. Like that really ugly puppy at the Humane Society that just seems to know it was never leaving the joint.
I have no idea how I did at the Craft Booth. I know I didn't do as well as past years because I have never had to pick up any unsold inventory. This year, I have to pick up my work. Again, I wasn't surprised about this since I knew that $30 was a lot for most people. However, I didn't want to undercut myself and sell everything for cheap.
What really sucked though was somebody ripping off what I do. The kids said that there were dolls just like mine but smaller and 1/2 the price. They said that people would pick up my dolls to read the stories, see the price then buy the smaller one. Since these rip-off dolls did not have any labels on them, I am concerned that people may have thought they were mine but the kids said you could tell they were of lesser quality than my work and not as creative. I hope the people who know my stuff bypassed these but it's hard to turn down something that is 1/2 the price - even though you know it is a fake. It's like buying those $40 tokidoki rip-off bags from the swap meet instead of the $100 real ones at Sportsac.
That adage that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery is cow poop. Let's just say that karma is a b-yotch.
This is the first year that I've actually had anything left over so it's kind of a kick in the pants to me. A little disappointing but expected. After hearing the disasterous results from other arts and craft venues - sales down 70% or so, even with great promotion on all mediia. I was expecting the worse. It wasn't as bad as I expected but if the economy continues going down the toilet, I will seriously have to reevaluate whether it is worth it for me to devote so much time to crafting.
At past Art Shows, anything under $100 would fly off the podiums or the grids. People would not even blink at a $20 piece of jewelry or a $10 set of cards. This year though, people really, really thought about their purchases and usually ended up either putting the piece down or returning at the end of the evening to buy it. I don't think we had to call anyone to replenish their work this year because nobody sold out - well, except the people who had one piece under $50. We sold a lot of $12 necklaces but $18 ones did not move at all. I wonder if it had to do with the psychology of $12 being perceived as $10 while $18 was viewed as a $20 purchase.
I knew I would not sell any of the pricier dolls I do since they were $60-$80. I wasn't counting on selling them but was hoping to get a commission request. So, I had the kids pack them up and go home early. They looked so pathetic just sitting there on the ground. Like that really ugly puppy at the Humane Society that just seems to know it was never leaving the joint.
I have no idea how I did at the Craft Booth. I know I didn't do as well as past years because I have never had to pick up any unsold inventory. This year, I have to pick up my work. Again, I wasn't surprised about this since I knew that $30 was a lot for most people. However, I didn't want to undercut myself and sell everything for cheap.
What really sucked though was somebody ripping off what I do. The kids said that there were dolls just like mine but smaller and 1/2 the price. They said that people would pick up my dolls to read the stories, see the price then buy the smaller one. Since these rip-off dolls did not have any labels on them, I am concerned that people may have thought they were mine but the kids said you could tell they were of lesser quality than my work and not as creative. I hope the people who know my stuff bypassed these but it's hard to turn down something that is 1/2 the price - even though you know it is a fake. It's like buying those $40 tokidoki rip-off bags from the swap meet instead of the $100 real ones at Sportsac.
That adage that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery is cow poop. Let's just say that karma is a b-yotch.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Yes, I'm still alive and to prove it, come see me this week
For those of you who have been wondering if I've crawled into a fetal position and am living underneath the Mad Cow's plastic fire truck bed due to stress, the answer is "NO" (but it does sound kind of appealing to go into an advanced state of brain-dead hibernation right now). I've just been my usual cho-jo overachieving type-AAA self getting ready my sock thingy's ready for the 'Iolani Fair and helping out with the last minute stuff for the Fair Art Show. Yes, I know that I swore to Buddha that I would not get involved in any way with the Art Show after the wonderfully emotionally draining experience I had last year but to quote Sylvio Dante quoting Al Pacino in Scarface, "Just when I thought I had gotten out, they pulled me back in".
So, I will be at the Collectors' Preview for the Art Show tonight. We open at 5:30 pm and close at 9:00 pm. I will also be there on Friday from opening until 2:00 (gotta remember not to forget to pick up the Mad Cow from school).
Something very cool happened though. I will also be at the Fishcake store on Thursday night from 6 pm to 8 pm. One of the tea ceremony senseis saw one of my Kichigai Kids sitting on my desk at work on Monday (I made four of them for each volunteer station so the new volunteer information binder wouldn't wander off into the black hole of administrative paperwork) and asked my co-worker DI if I would be interested in participating in their recycling show. The only glitch was the show was on Thursday. The good thing was I have a lot of Kids at home since I hadn't tagged or priced anything for the Fair.
I did madly tag and price some last night and this morning. I shouldn't do it while watching Korean soap operas or being hungry since the stories and names have a definite foodie and mean girl theme to them.
Hope I'll see you this weekend somewhere.
Oh, we'll know on Saturday whether the Mad Cow gets in and whether every meal for the next 13 years will consist of 1/2 a pack of Top Ramen each.
So, I will be at the Collectors' Preview for the Art Show tonight. We open at 5:30 pm and close at 9:00 pm. I will also be there on Friday from opening until 2:00 (gotta remember not to forget to pick up the Mad Cow from school).
Something very cool happened though. I will also be at the Fishcake store on Thursday night from 6 pm to 8 pm. One of the tea ceremony senseis saw one of my Kichigai Kids sitting on my desk at work on Monday (I made four of them for each volunteer station so the new volunteer information binder wouldn't wander off into the black hole of administrative paperwork) and asked my co-worker DI if I would be interested in participating in their recycling show. The only glitch was the show was on Thursday. The good thing was I have a lot of Kids at home since I hadn't tagged or priced anything for the Fair.
I did madly tag and price some last night and this morning. I shouldn't do it while watching Korean soap operas or being hungry since the stories and names have a definite foodie and mean girl theme to them.
Hope I'll see you this weekend somewhere.
Oh, we'll know on Saturday whether the Mad Cow gets in and whether every meal for the next 13 years will consist of 1/2 a pack of Top Ramen each.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
INSANE IN THE MEMBRANE
For those of you about to work, I salute you
It has been about a month now that I returned to the workforce. While I love my job and the people I work with are really really wonderful folk (it is probably the first time I've ever worked at a nonprofit that I have worked with people who are there because they take the organiation's mission to heart), what semblance of order that I kind of maintained at home has fallen to pieces.
As I stated before, this whole Supermom thing is not for me.
I remember when I was a teen and there was a perfume commercial for Enjoli. It was a cheesy song which included the line "I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in the pan, and never never never ever let you forget you're a man, cause I'm a woman (Enjoli)". Yes, the commercial was as bad as the lyrics but it is emblazoned in my long term memory drawer like all of the characters on Gilligans Island. I really think a lot of women felt pressure to be an Enjoli woman - work a demanding job then come home and be the total domestic goddess in the kitchen and hot hoochie mama in the kitchen.
Maybe that's why I never used Enjoli. Too much pressure. I didn't even use Charlie since I knew I never would be as tall, as thin or as blonde as Shelley Hack. Now, if they came out with a perfume called Roseanne that smelled like Cheetos and old laundry, that I would use.
Oscar the Grouch, knowing the type A typical Japanese chojo that I am, kept warning me that I needed to drop something from my life before I took on an additional 19 hours of responsibility. I told him, in a moment of temporary insanity, that I could handle it since those 19 hours are unaccounted for anyway. He just shook his head and I knew that he was contemplated how he would clean up the place when everything in my life shattered into tiny, bloody drops of stress.
It hasn't gotten there yet, No huge explosion but it's more like little trickles of water coming through. Like Chinese Water Torture...
My major screw up has been forgetting to sign the Diva up for her usual Summer Session at Musical Theatre. This year, the kids who are in the performing group could sign up early in March and I (in the middle of trying to meet 200+ volunteers and somehow remember names, faces, place of work, etc) blew that early deadline. No problem the deadline was extended to April but I blew that too. So, I planned to do it this Monday which was the first official day for the public to register and as I had to go into the office on my day off, I forgot. I continued to have a mental lapse until yesterday when in a panic, Oscar and I realized we had both forgotten to sign the Diva up.
Of course, there were no more spaces available. This class usually fills up the first hour tha registration opens up.
Oscar offered to take the bullet but the Diva realized that as all of the responsibility for Summer School (from requesting brochures to pick-up at swimming) falls on me and thusly, I was the one who screwed up. If you know the Diva, you can picture the environment that was at our house last night - I did not dare turn my back on her for fear that she'd launch a thousand stink eye shirikens at me if I was even in her line of sight. I guess being overly hostile is tiring since she went to sleep early but claimed that she could not sleep soundly as she cried in her dreams over her horrible summer.
As is the case with the Diva, EVERY class in the universe that she was even remotely interested in was closed so I spent this morning going through every summer school website trying to find something that she was interested and mostly, trying to find something in our vicinity. Thankfully, there was an opening in an Earth Science class that is "hands on" with trips to the beach and mountains.
And I live to see another day - until she reads this post and learns that her Summer School classroom does not have air conditioning.
Just bury me with my many cans of cremated rabbits and Lana, okay?
OTHER THINGS I HAVE FORGOTTEN SINCE GOING BACK TO WORK
1) To pay my California Bar Dues (I'm probably on some soon to be disbarred list somewhere but I have no idea where I put the darn thing)
2) To feed the dogs breakfast yesterday. Poor Tiger had to dig through the garbage and eat stale marshmallows that had been in the fridge since Rysen was born
3) My work telephone number - for the life of me, I cannot remember what it is
4) The names of anyone and everyone I've met since working who I do not see every day
5) Where I am driving to as I am driving
It has been about a month now that I returned to the workforce. While I love my job and the people I work with are really really wonderful folk (it is probably the first time I've ever worked at a nonprofit that I have worked with people who are there because they take the organiation's mission to heart), what semblance of order that I kind of maintained at home has fallen to pieces.
As I stated before, this whole Supermom thing is not for me.
I remember when I was a teen and there was a perfume commercial for Enjoli. It was a cheesy song which included the line "I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in the pan, and never never never ever let you forget you're a man, cause I'm a woman (Enjoli)". Yes, the commercial was as bad as the lyrics but it is emblazoned in my long term memory drawer like all of the characters on Gilligans Island. I really think a lot of women felt pressure to be an Enjoli woman - work a demanding job then come home and be the total domestic goddess in the kitchen and hot hoochie mama in the kitchen.
Maybe that's why I never used Enjoli. Too much pressure. I didn't even use Charlie since I knew I never would be as tall, as thin or as blonde as Shelley Hack. Now, if they came out with a perfume called Roseanne that smelled like Cheetos and old laundry, that I would use.
Oscar the Grouch, knowing the type A typical Japanese chojo that I am, kept warning me that I needed to drop something from my life before I took on an additional 19 hours of responsibility. I told him, in a moment of temporary insanity, that I could handle it since those 19 hours are unaccounted for anyway. He just shook his head and I knew that he was contemplated how he would clean up the place when everything in my life shattered into tiny, bloody drops of stress.
It hasn't gotten there yet, No huge explosion but it's more like little trickles of water coming through. Like Chinese Water Torture...
My major screw up has been forgetting to sign the Diva up for her usual Summer Session at Musical Theatre. This year, the kids who are in the performing group could sign up early in March and I (in the middle of trying to meet 200+ volunteers and somehow remember names, faces, place of work, etc) blew that early deadline. No problem the deadline was extended to April but I blew that too. So, I planned to do it this Monday which was the first official day for the public to register and as I had to go into the office on my day off, I forgot. I continued to have a mental lapse until yesterday when in a panic, Oscar and I realized we had both forgotten to sign the Diva up.
Of course, there were no more spaces available. This class usually fills up the first hour tha registration opens up.
Oscar offered to take the bullet but the Diva realized that as all of the responsibility for Summer School (from requesting brochures to pick-up at swimming) falls on me and thusly, I was the one who screwed up. If you know the Diva, you can picture the environment that was at our house last night - I did not dare turn my back on her for fear that she'd launch a thousand stink eye shirikens at me if I was even in her line of sight. I guess being overly hostile is tiring since she went to sleep early but claimed that she could not sleep soundly as she cried in her dreams over her horrible summer.
As is the case with the Diva, EVERY class in the universe that she was even remotely interested in was closed so I spent this morning going through every summer school website trying to find something that she was interested and mostly, trying to find something in our vicinity. Thankfully, there was an opening in an Earth Science class that is "hands on" with trips to the beach and mountains.
And I live to see another day - until she reads this post and learns that her Summer School classroom does not have air conditioning.
Just bury me with my many cans of cremated rabbits and Lana, okay?
OTHER THINGS I HAVE FORGOTTEN SINCE GOING BACK TO WORK
1) To pay my California Bar Dues (I'm probably on some soon to be disbarred list somewhere but I have no idea where I put the darn thing)
2) To feed the dogs breakfast yesterday. Poor Tiger had to dig through the garbage and eat stale marshmallows that had been in the fridge since Rysen was born
3) My work telephone number - for the life of me, I cannot remember what it is
4) The names of anyone and everyone I've met since working who I do not see every day
5) Where I am driving to as I am driving
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