It just occured to me today (Being the 10th of January...), when replacing the email link on all my pages with a contact form, that I somehow managed to not update my news page for the entirety of 2006. Also note that I didn't actually post this update until 7 months after I started it (August 19th). Yes, I suck that badly.

Just to clear up confusion, whenever I say "this year" in this article, I mean "2006". (Unless otherwise specified.)

So, for my friends and family that live far away, and especially for a certain Canadian gentleman who sends me epic-length monthly correspondances, even when I never seem to have time to respond...

...this is your update.

"New Year's Resolution"
Most New Year's resolutions are a joke. People take the beginning of the new year as an excuse to reinvent themselves, or at least to fool themselves that they're going to reinvent themselves, until they realize that the changes they promise to make usually haven't been done by this point for a reason. (Like, laziness, for instance.) The most common resolution is to "eat better, and take better care of myself". It lasts about a month, then they really start to miss cheeseburgers, and the resolution is broken.

Because of this, I never really bothered to make a resolution before. So I thought that on this, my 30th year on the planet, I'd give it a try. My resolution? To stop making small decisions.

I know that sounds strange, so let me explain.

I'm a natural leader. I found this out pretty early on in life, but instead of forming a small army, I just decided keep it in my back pocket for emergencies. Whenever I'm injected into a situation where there is no clear chain of command, I step up and organize the chaos. I speak with knowledge, and with great confidence. I have no trouble making and committing to decisions. I see the choices, I analyze, and I declare one the winner... within the span of a second!

So in times of need, I can help others focus on a task, or suggest a way to tackle difficult issues, or lend objective input on a painful decision someone might be facing. Folks trust me to not point them to their ruin. Which is fine, except when these folks start losing the ability to make decisions on their own because of it. That there, is blindly following, and I'm not cool with that. It has happened, on quite a few occassions, that people I have befriended will just completely lose their ability to make even the simplest of choices, and instead ask ME what I think they should do. Simple decisions, like whether to get soy milk or non-fat in their latté.

As much as it might appear otherwise, I don't enjoy taking control of situations that any other capable person could handle without me. I've already got my own life to take care of, and frankly, it's a little overbooked. Sometimes, I'd like to be able to sit in the passenger seat and just fall asleep without having to be woken up at every intersection of life to give directions. I don't have some secret roadmap to success tattooed onto the insides of my eyelids. I know, it's hard to believe, but really, it's the truth.

Just for the record, there's a name for someone you hire to make decisions for you when you're not sure if you're doing the right thing. They call them "Life Coaches". It's a scam. Life coaches are just people with strong personalities that prey on people who are unsure of themselves. It just makes it worse and worse for the person being "coached" because they end up being completely dependant, and lose their ability to think for themselves. It's a sick industry, and a multi-billion dollar one at that.

But I digress.

I noticed this happening to the people around me, and I decided to put a stop to it. If it's an important decision, and they need to bounce their ideas off me, that's fine. But I'm not going to be the person who has to decide where to eat, and what shoes to pick, and what movie to rent, and what color looks best in SOMEONE ELSE'S HAIR. It's your life, people, take control of it.

I stuck to my resolution all year, and am still sticking to it. Maybe I'll make a new one when I'm sixty.

"Hey guys! Let's eat here!"

I really like butter. It's second to chocolate for me. I love it so much, I let it sit on the couch with me while I play Destroy All Humans.

This is how Andi looked when I first got him. As you can see, he makes a great crossdresser. ^_^

I had originally only intended to get one doll, since it was about three times more expensive than my full-sized mannequin, and I really only needed it for wig photography. Alas, these things are incredibly customizable, and therefore, incredibly addictive.

I started researching customization methods after seeing some of the optional parts available online, and did my first "face-up" (the term used for painting on the doll's face...) within a few weeks, and sold my first two custom heads within hours of listing them on eBay. Then I started making accessories, clothing, and furniture for the dolls in addition to wigs. After a lot of positive feedback on my work, I decided to open up a little side shop just for dolls.

After I felt confident enough in my abilities, I ventured to try making a special head for Lokki. I wanted her to be winking, but was unable to get the only winking doll head in existence, so I started with a head that had both eyes closed. (Also known as a "sleeping" head...) I carefully used my dremel and jeweler's files to open one eye to match Lokki's familiar wide-eyed expression.

After finishing her face-up, I made her a custom wig, wings, and costume as well. ^_^

My second doll was a Dollfie Plus (the short one in the front...) which I named "Head". The taller one is a Luts Delf "El", that I customized into a doll version of Locke from Aesir Corp. Just to put these into scale, Locke is 55cm tall. (That's almost two feet!)

Ball Joint Dolls make wonderful models for photography too. They never blink, and can hold a pose forever! ^_^

Sakura Con 2006
I had heard many good things about this convention from my friends who used to live in Washington state, so when I was invited to attend, I was giddy, to say the least.

In true Katie form, I didn't get many pictures of my trip. I remembered my camera this time, but not batteries. (I just can't win.)

Luckily for me, other people remembered their cameras, so I have at least a few shots of the convention.

Lokki went to her first doll meet on Saturday before the cosplay. The rest of the time she hung out in ConOps, freaking out the staffers with her glass eye. -_O

We somehow got on the topic of Voltron in one of our conversations, and I was telling him about how I had the Lion Voltron (called "Go Lion" in Japan...) toys, and how I could never get into the vehicle Voltron because there were too many characters. I then remarked on how I'd never actually seen the cartoon for the "three robot" Voltron, but I'd seen an ad for it when I was a kid. Jeff was shocked that someone else knew of the mysterious "three robot" Voltron, as he had long since discarded it as some sort of anime myth. Like Minmei's virginity, or something.

In this version of Voltron, the red robot was the torso, arms, and head, while the other two each only got to be a leg. That's not very fair, is it?

Anyway, we were in luck that one of the guests at the con was like the "Godfather of Mecha" (I can't remember the dude's name...) and he finally gave us a title to go with the memory. The "three robot" Voltron was called "Uchu Taitei God Sigma" or "God Sigma" in English. It never made it to America, but the ads for it were included with the other Voltron toys. So there ya go. One more of life's pressing questions nailed down for good. ^_^

I was also informed that I had set some sort of new convention record for "Most Program Hours". Between my time spent in judging, one panel and two workshops, I had put in over 12 hours. (That's a lot for one guest.) They kept me busy, and that's the way I like it. ^_^

The workshops went well, and the masquerade ran smoothly. Jeff had never seen the cosplay before, despite the many years he'd been attending the con... He was one of the founding members! So I suggested that he at least poke his head in to watch the Masquerade for a bit.

It ended up being a really good show, and he said he was pleasantly surprised. Our Best of Show this year was probably the best cosplay skit I've ever seen. It was well written and acted, and get this, had a PLOT. All of the judges agreed that they totally deserved the award. ^_^

Three down, three to go.
It has always been pretty obvious that Mappy was the runt of the litter. He is just as old as Thing, but only half his size, and even after 6 years, never formed the standard "bald spot" of an adult male Sugar Glider.

Thing (top) has the correct coloration and markings for a Sugar Glider his age. Mappy (with his head in the bowl...), is bony, with scraggly fur.

To try to save on power, we hadn't been running the heating system at all, so the house was about 40°F when we came home Thanksgiving night. Jodon noticed, when he went to feed the boys, that Mappy was being rather sluggish. He was very cold to the touch, and nearly catatonic. I took him out of the cage, sat him on a heating pad, and tried to feed him a grape. I was sure he was going to die right then and there, but after about 10 minutes of slowly licking the grape and warming up, he sprang right back to life, and started trying to explore my desk.

I kept an eye on him for the next few hours, and noticed that he had some scratches on his face and wasn't gripping anything with his back feet. Besides some overgrown toenails, there didn't appear to be anything wrong, so I clipped his nails, and separated him from Thing for the night. (Since it was undoubtedly Thing who scratched his face up.)

Mappy getting a drink from a water glass.

I kept close tabs on him that week, turned on the heater, and made sure that he was allowed to eat his food with no harrassment from "tubby". (Thing needs to lose some weight!)

On the night of December 5th, I found Mappy laying on his side at the bottom of the cage, as cold and weak as he'd been only a short time before. He didn't bounce back this time though. He was unconsious, and he didn't appear to be in any pain. His breathing just got slower and slower, until it stopped. I held him in my hands and petted his scraggly fur as he passed away.

He was so very tiny.

It had been about an hour since I had removed Mappy from the cage, and Thing was running around looking for him. (Or food... he kinda has a one track mind.) Since they are so strongly bonded, we knew we had to show Thing what had happened, or he'd constantly be calling and searching for Mappy in the room. I opened up the cage, placed the paper towel with Mappy's body at the bottom, and waited for Thing to come investigate. It was clear that he didn't know what was up at first, as he ran over to Mappy and started trying to groom him. He pulled back when Mappy was unresponsive, and paused for a second, sniffing the air. Then he slowly reached out one hand (they have hands, not paws...), and tried to wake Mappy up by shaking his shoulder. He wasn't aggressive or twitchy in his movements like he normally is; he was very hesitant and careful. It was the saddest thing I've ever seen.

Thing has been pretty reclusive the past few weeks. I've been trying to get him to come out of the cage more often, but for all his bravado around the dogs, he never would go near the humans without Mappy along. I've considered donating him to the Fresno Zoo, since they have a Sugar Glider exhibit, but I don't know how they'd feel about getting a spoiled rotten male with no papers. He might give the other Sugar Gliders bad ideas, like ripping the tags of mattresses, or jay-walking.

In the meantime, at least he's not in a room all by himself. My friend Keiko has come to live with me for a while, and she likes Thing enough to put up with his stinky ways.

There had been some discussion of doing a Soul Calibur group with some of my friends, but it was being tossed around with some other ideas, so I didn't put much stake in it. However, about a week before the convention, I heard from one of my friends that yes, they were doing the Soul Calibur skit, and "oh noes!" their Sophitia had dropped out last minute. They needed someone else to play the bubbly airhead, and since I had a mostly done Cassandra (I had originally planned to wear her at Otakon...) they thought I'd make a good replacment. They were going for a Craftsmanship award... again... of course.

If you have read my previous writings on the subject, you'll know that after the "fun" of Craftsmanship judging at Katsucon the previous year, I'd sworn off formal competitions. But they were in a tight spot, had already recorded the vocal track, and really, really, REALLY needed me to help.

It probably also didn't hurt that Thea bribed me with 7 lbs of handmade fudge. I can turn my nose up at monetary bribes, but FUDGE?! I am but a human! If you prick me, do I not ooze chocolately goodness?

ANYway, this now presented a problem. I hadn't planned to go, so I didn't have any travel money set aside, a hotel reservation, or even registered for the convention. Luckily, one of my old apprentices was going, and she said I could tag along with her and her friends if I helped pay for gas and the split-up-six-ways hotel room.

Courtney, and her cousins Kris and Kevin. Kevin was being all emo, and didn't want his picture taken. Of course, that GUARANTEED I'd take more pictures of him than anything else.

So, I spent the weekend in the company of four and a half (we barely saw the fifth guy all weekend...) people a decade younger than me. Naturally, a great time was had by all. ^_^

I hope I get to hang out with them again in the future, because they were probably the best hotelmates I've ever had at a convention. (Possibly because none of them are cosplayers... so the room didn't look like a craft store had exploded in it.)

Kris and Kevin had found out the previous day that I'm "famous" (or so I'm told...), so they kept teasing me by yelling things like: "Look! It's Katie Bair's half eaten muffin! Let's put it on eBay!" The muffin then ended up on Kevin's head for a while. I thought it made a cute lolita crown.

While I didn't visit the dealer's room or go to any live events, I did take a little time to walk around and check out the costumes. It's good to see that the bar on costuming is being raised, even by beginners. On average most of the cosplayers were demonstrating what I'd consider "Intermediate" sewing and crafting skills, which is a big improvement over what I'd seen just a few years before.

I gave a short interview for a school paper, ate a honkin' huge piece of lasagna, was serenaded by several waiters doing the Macarena at Buddy's Crab Shack, and generally just relaxed for the two days prior to the Masquerade. (Which was scheduled for MONDAY this year. o_0')

Although, by all reports, the AX Masquerade was run like a cattle call the past two years, it was actually run VERY well this year. (Keep in mind, whenever I say "this year" I mean "2006".) There was no backstage screaming, everyone had a place to sit, it started on time (*gasp!*), and even ended a little early.

Our group this year was mostly made up of the members of Gumu Gumu no Cosplay, who nab Presentation awards every year (with good reason!), but Thea was added on to represent for Sakura Mochi as well... who consistantly win Craftsmanship awards. (With good reason.) I was the "loner rebel"... er, I mean the last minute replacement.

The Gumu Gumu girls wanted to prove that they could do more than just be really funny, hence why they chose technically difficult costumes from Soul Calibur 3.

We rocked. Clockwise from top left: Jess as Sigfried, Shari as Ivy, Thea as Setsuka, Kim as Kilik, Me as Cassandra, and Heather as Voldo.

Jess actually handlinked her entire chainmail shirt. Her hardcoreness knows no bounds. *salute*

I'm so proud of Thea's wig too. I only gave her some basic design hints, and let her do all the dirty work herself. She's really come a long way in her wigcraft since she first came to study with me 3 years ago, and now she's ready to start a wigshop of her own. ^_^

I found this paper mask sitting on a trashcan while waiting in the line for registration. People always tell me not to pick up trash, but how can I help it when it provides such wonderful photo opportunities? (Josh flexes his "rocker muscles" in agreement!)

Kevin sleeps like the dead! I tried moving him so I could put this table next to the bed, but he's really tall and weighed a ton!

We got our turn on stage, and I realized when I got up there that I had forgotten to spit out my gum. So I just decided to add it to the "airhead" persona, and started chewing it as hugely and obviously as my little jaw muscles could muster. I heard my hotelmates yell "We love you Katie Bair!" from the audience, switched into total A.D.D. mode, the lights came up, and I played the dumb blonde for our two minutes on stage.

This was the result. (10.7MB WMV file)
(Video courtesey of Lionel Lum of Usagichan Company Search and Rescue.)

There were a lot of other funny skits this year, and we got to watch most of them from backstage. After seeing the Card Captor Captain Planet skit, and the Nintendon'ts skit, we were pretty sure we weren't going to win anything, but we were still having a great time. The other members of Sakura Mochi were doing two other separate skits as well. (No one could agree on only one series this year, and AX rules said no cross-series skits were allowed.) So we hung out with the other groups, and rooted them on as well.

And then one showed up in my fudge. This was sliced from a piece of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Fudge that Thea had brought me this Summer. I still have it in my freezer in case I get really desperate for cash and need to sell it on eBay.

I saw. I laughed. I consumed.

The Amazing Badge Factory
When I'm not in the workshop room at conventions, I'm in Artist Alley drawing custom badges for the otaku masses.

This has become a very popular item, since the badges are drawn while the customer waits, and only cost $8. When we're at a three day convention like Otakon, there's usually a crowd gathered around our table waiting to have their faces doodled, and we end up having to turn people away because we can't meet the demand. (At one point we had four artists all drawing badges at the same time, and there was still a considerable line.)

But anyways, I digress... again.

The point is, since we started doing this a couple of years ago, I've personally drawn several hundred badges for people, and I've gotten pretty good at it. But every once in a while, I get one that throws me for a loop, or was just so silly I had to get a copy for myself.

I started requesting that people send me scans of their badges if they get a chance. I actually drew a badge that had Cobra Commander from G.I. Joe on it in 2006. The whole point is that it's an I.D. badge, so I normally draw the person's face. ^,^'

Also, when that whole "Kult of Katie" thing was going about, I told you guys how a few people asked for special "Kult of Katie" drawings. Well, I got a scan from one of those, too. ^_^

I think the most exciting mishap was when the owners of one of the local parking garages switched the sign indicating the closing times partway through the day, leaving about 100 people trapped outside the garage with their cars trapped inside. (Us included.)

We were fortunate enough to have someone in the area who could drive us home, but there were plenty of people who had just been in town for the Yankees/Orioles game, and had no place to stay while the cops tried to get ahold of the building owners. (Who never responded, btw.)

The police were cool enough to drive the stranded tourists to their hotels within the city limits, but many of the people didn't have hotel rooms, and between the baseball games and Otakon, there were NO vacancies in all of Baltimore.

Since I was robbed of the chance to see Superchamp's "123456" mark (much to my incredible dismay...), Jodon let me witness his car's "123456" as a consolation prize. He called me as the car was approaching this "Great Moment", and pulled over so I could come drive it the remaining 6/10ths of a mile to see it roll over.

That's right. The way to my heart is through encouraging my borderline obsessive fascination with sequential numbers. If anyone is in the house at 12:34am or pm, I screech at them to look at the digital clock with me to witness the "1234"... I just don't want them to miss it! ~_^

. . .


Oh, but it gets better.

One of the contestants this year took a big chance by choosing to sing a song as her performance. She sang the theme from Princess Mononoke in both Japanese and English dressed as San from the movie. Normally, Masquerade crowds do not react well to Karaoke performances during the cosplay, and all of the judges were starting to get nervous when we heard the murmuring behind us. (We were in the very front row, with our backs to the audience.) The murmur quickly grew to a roar, and I was about ready to turn around and shoot the whole room with my eye lasers for their rudeness. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the reason there was so much noise was that everyone was in awe of the impromptu light display the audience had created by slowly waving their illuminated cell phones screens back and forth to the music.

The contestant ended up winning my personal award for best audience reaction. I was just so proud of the audience for not being jerks. *sniff*

So, I moved in to this apartment in June of 2003. As soon as I moved in, I went to Office Depot and got two large plastic floor protectors to put on the floor in the studio. This was because I didn't want wig hair, glue, or other craft stuff to get ground into the carpet while I worked.

I didn't invent Wig Dye until 2004, and even so, I always make sure to spray it on while over the protected area, just in case it drips...

. . .

...Sooooo, when you're working with pigments in mist form, be aware that those particles travel much further than you may expect. Also, if you are planning to continue using these types of things for several years in a row, you should probably do so in a room without carpeting. Additionally, if a non-carpetted room is not available for use, consider shampooing the carpet on a very frequent basis. Like every day.

I had no idea the carpet was so stained until I lifted the plastic mats to use the Rug Doctor. (Normally I only sweep and vacuum in the studio, but Ike had been sneaking in there to pee, so I had to shampoo the carpet.) The "white" is the color the carpets were when I moved in.

Note that Ike's pee stains (which apparently picked up some of the pigment from the dye...) are still there after the shampooing.

Is there such thing as too much cake? No.

But there is such thing as "not enough milk".

I know, 2007 is nearly over, and I don't have anything about that up here. Well, 2007 has been... eventful, to say the least. I've got lots of pictures, and lots to talk about, but for now, it's time to sleep. z_z