Dolly Delights

OOAK necklace by OMS

Jury duty today -- cut short by the admission that I now live in Tarrant County ... Still, I got to see the traditional movie explaining that it's our duty as Americans to vote and serve as jurors. Clarice Tinsley and Scott Sams narrated, which means that it was filmed years ago ... But since the courts don't worry about ratings, they can re-play the tape until it deteriorates. Now you can get on-line and fill out your questionnaire; however, I don't know whether you can disqualify yourself on-line or whether you still need to show up ... At any rate, I was out of there before 10 o'clock.

Check out the necklace in the picture -- Joy and I make doll jewelry as lovely (and sometimes just as expensive) as full-sized pieces for people. BJD parents love to bedeck the dolls, and they appreciate the time and effort needed to build jewelry to scale. While Joy works on bracelets and necklaces, I'm working on a "thank you" gift for PG, who sent us her warehouse extras -- over 50 dolls to mod and re-make into a new vision ... We plan to transgender several of the boys ... although with the girls' heads that she included, we might not have to do much ... After all, little girls don't have boobs! (But these boys are muscular enough to be teens, so we'll have to use lots of frills and furbeloes to disguise the shoulders ... ah, a challenge!!) Alas, I had to modify the human necklace -- it's been over a year since I worked on the right-angle Dutch spiral, and I have no idea how I ended the pattern, or whether I intended the spiral to end exactly as it has ... So, I'm adding two "sea moss" extensions to finish the necklace length. I hope PG likes it.

Almost 4 weeks of summer done, and the house is still in flux. 30 years of stuff to inspect and decide whether we can use the items, store the items, or just walk away because it's too old or too dirty to salvage ... And the weather has stayed so hot that we can't work in the house after 2 o'clock. The little AC units & fans can't combat the heat creeping into the house. We shall soldier on -- there are treasures hidden amongst the junk, probably in some long-forgotten "safe place."

This week I'm reading "The Final Chapter" by Russell T. Davies ... The end of the David Tennant era of Doctor Who grows by leaps and bounds, as he demonstrates how little bits of ideas eventually grow into a character or plot. Davies juggled 3 SF series -- and now he's working on the Showtime version of Torchwood. I like three of the male characters, plus Eve Myles, so I'll watch the show. Maybe Joy won't complain as much as she does whenever Matt Smith appears as the Doctor. After all, we're not quite as invested in the series as we were in DW. Still, I wish he could've discussed the 4 different women in the Doctor's life: Rose, Sarah Jane, Martha, and Donna ... But Ben Cook asked the questions, and I suspect that question didn't interest him. He raised some good ones about writer's voice and Davies' opinions about writing ... and both books are HUGE!! I didn't mind spending money on either one ... and the pictures aren't shabby, either. I recommend it along with the books by Strazinsky of Babylon 5. Maybe I'll check out books by Joss Whedon, too. He's had a few hits along the way.

Father's Day

Peter Pan & Tink by Paulette Goodreau

Today would have been my dad's 85th birthday ... When I drove past the cemetery on my way home yesterday -- which was Fathers' Day -- I stopped by to visit. Mom is worried about the neighborhood; the apartments and homes around Calvary Hill Cemetery are decidedly blue collar Hispanic now -- but I saw many other families paying their patriarchal respects, so I didn't worry about any unexpected muggers. Planes zoomed overhead on their way to Love Field -- Dad was on the road much of his career, though usually he drove rather than flew. I suppose he might shake his head over my more recent decisions ... and I'm sure Mom and my brothers are doing the same. I remember my dad's smile the most -- and his horribly corny jokes that my brothers repeat at the most annoying times when the families are all together ... My nieces groan (just as I did) while I try not to laugh. I suppose that's one legacy to keep a man alive; that, and my brothers' determination to support their families.

In some ways, my dad held onto his inner little boy -- which probably frustrated my practical mom. I remember his sense of play -- though he worked hard on his various side businesses. Unfortunately, his plans to build a business to support Mom and him after his forced retirement never quite worked out ... In fact, he gave his life for his family, and his heart played out.

So, how does my dad tie into the Peter Pan mythos? Peter played "father" to Wendy's "mother" -- and their give-and-take mirrors my parents on one level. We never had any pixie dust, unless you count imagination to let folks soar. Jon had his music; Rob math and motorcyles; and I had writing & theatre ... and now dolls that I costume and create stories ... if I can figure out how to work the templates to build storyboards once more.

Everyone -- clap 3 times, so Tink can fly again!

After A-Kon Is Over

Angel Elf Soo in her pirate garb

Mariann in Renaissance garb

A-Kon passed in a blur or 3 1/2 days. We met at the hotel on Thursday evening to set up our tables; however, everyone was running late. This convention reminded me that someone has to make the list of who brings what and who needs a ride, etc. Sad to say, we spoke to each person in turn -- and no one made the connection that Person A could pick up Person B (and goods) so we didn't have to wait for Person C to finish her errands in order to bring Person B ... Oy!! But it all was done ... This year, I didn't have school stuff on Friday -- in 2012, alas, we go back to the first weekend, when I will have end-of-year checkout to finish before I can turn into a fangirl.

Friday sales were steady -- and, for most of the con, sales stayed steady; however, we didn't make any really big sales. We did sell 3 out of 4 Hestia dolls ... and only 2 people recognized them as Tuesday Morning close-out items. A few people bought Obitsu dolls, but no one wanted a OOAK.

Dollakon started on Saturday ... Joy got to see a few panels, and she bought tickets in a raffle to benefit Japan relief ... She also won first prize for the Angel Elf Soo that Sara costumed this year as a pirate wench. We have to plan for 2012 in order to compete once again. One lady brought her daughter to us -- the little girl wanted a BJD, and we told her how much she'd need to save for one. She had the money, but we didn't have the dolls. We sent her to the other dealers ...

Saturday afternoon also marked a performance by the ballet company. Steph worked sound tech & video while I oversaw the costumes. Hope's MC this year had prepared patter, so the quick changes weren't totally insane. Still, there were costume pieces all over the section of the restroom where I stored our costumes. The con patrons just had to move through the section -- It seems that there was a Japanese fashion show rehearsing at the same time as we performed ... and no one from Department A had communicated with Department B. We managed, but it left a sour taste ... luckily, we were able to pass the hat and collected around $100. Erin, our youngest dancer, said that there were some scary-looking people at the con ... and she didn't see the worst offenders!!

Sunday afternoon was the first slow period; we signed up for A-Kon 23 ... Joy discovered that she'd won a doll and a Gracefaerie pattern. We said good-bye to our out-of-state friends ... and A-Kon 22 was history. How time flies when you're pushing dolls & baubles.

On a side note -- about a dozen Sunset students who were my original anime club members showed up for A-Kon 22 ... My mundane soccer niece came with a friend ... but the biggest surprise was finding out that 3 other teachers had worked the con! I knew one was supervising one of the games on the 3rd floor, but 2 others had worked for a games exhibitor. At first, I thought I had imagined seeing them ... but on the second trip to the frieght elevator, we spotted each other. How weird ... I guess SHS is a better fit for my personality.

Mavs Mania

It's a disease, I swear. People who didn't grow up in Texas don't get it. Why do you care about sports teams when you don't really follow sports ... Don't ask me. I am not really a sports fan, but last night when I turned on the TV and Game 4 of the NBA finals was on ... Well, I stayed up to find out whether the Dallas Mavericks won Game 4 ... It reminded me of the time that we stayed up until 2 A.M. when the Dallas Stars won the Stanley Cup in 1999. By the way -- the Mavs won! The series is tied 2-2 ... and Dirk (their lead scorer) played with a temperature of 101; he sounded sick when they interviewed him after the game. That reminded me of Mike Modano of the Stars; when reporters asked if he wouldn't play after he broke a bone in his hand (or arm), he said he would ... They could strap him into his glove and he'd play. He would heal after they won the cup. (And they did!)

Marion Zimmer Bradley hated Texas because the lives of small Texas towns revolve around 3 things: God, family, and football (and not necessarily in that order). When she became a popular science fiction writer, she refused to come to Texas conventions until the 80s or 90s. Why -- bad memories, I suppose, although you'd think that she would realize that the people who go to SF cons are very different from the good ole boys back in a railway town in West Texas ... I suspect her experience would mirror that of an outsider stuck in the small town of Friday Night Lights.

Don't get me wrong. I don't hate sports ... and I understand how people find them fascinating, though I prefer other physical activities. Besides, an athletic scholarship will pay for much of my niece's college education. (I pray that the boyfriend thing doesn't interfere ... so many girls lose everything because they don't put books before boys.) I just prefer science fiction (and its related romantic cousins) and fantasy ... until the "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" series made reading fashionable to teens (well, teenaged girls), we fans were the geeks ... and series like "Big Bang Theory" reinforces that stereotype. Ah well, that's life. Over 12, 000 anime geeks and freaks and fans will descend on the Sheraton Hotel and its environs this weekend. So much to see and do ... and I get to sit behind a table and sell jewelry. With 5 of us there, we should get a turn to see panels and check out Dollakon 1. Sayonara, ya'll!

Graduation, Redux

The third niece graduated from Sachse HS last night;she's the one who has an athletic scholarship in soccer (hence the photo) ... The ceremony was familiar, yet different, from the ones that I ran for RHS and worked for SHS in DISD. Shoot, even the program -- and the paper the program was printed on -- had a familar format. The one time that a principal of mine tried to deviate from that formula, he was informed by our asst. superintendent that she didn't like it and that we must return to the old tried-and-true format. This was definitely the "family thing" that threatened to make me revert to a sulky teenager, since every personal plan was put on hold ... My mom wanted to make sure we got there in time, so we arrived an hour before we were supposed to go to supper with the family ... Then they delayed another hour because my nephew (poor guy) was laid low by a virus and couldn't come ...

Many cultures mark the official end of adolescence. My Latina girls have their "15" or Quinceneras; there used to be "Sweet 16" parties. I swear some guys mark it by siring a child; since so many don't stick around to raise the resulting child, I can't say that they're a "father," even if they claim to be the "baby daddy." Still, most kids suffer through the graduation ceremony -- and it does mark the end of 13 years of education. Who knows? Some may have learned something about life ... or will realize that we tried to teach them something about life later on. A high school diploma is the first important piece of paper on the way to a career ... and some career paths don't recognize a GED since it generally shows that you didn't finish the standard HS curriculum.

So long, and Godspeed, Classes of 2011 ... as Mom reminded me last night, school is over (ar least until August). Time to move on.