since my last update
Although I posted some of my food/cooking thoughts in my previous post, I thought I would post some additional updates here.
Blog Updates
I finally found (through the bludit forums) someone who made a fix for the snicker plugin and now I have comments. I admittedly don’t know much about current coding so I’m glad that someone took on that project.
I had archived some of my older posts (can’t remember why… possibly a temporary thing), so I’ve brought them back. Looking at my old posts is a fun reminder that I mostly write these blog posts for myself.
I spent some time this morning choosing a new blog layout and editing the stylesheet to my liking. I’ve noticed some small bugs I need to fix but for now I will live with it.
As for plans for future posts - they will be sporadic but hope to log more of my hobby things.
Life Updates
My last update in 2023 mentioned my new job (at a screenprint shop)! I’ve been here for about 2.5 years now, and still love it. There is a good work/life balance and I have been able to spend more time with myself, my friends and my family.
Momo & Poppy turned 6 last month! They have been living their best life, hanging around at home.
Artist Alleys /Vending
I vended at a few events in 2023 & 2024! It had been years since I thought to apply to artist alleys due to how busy I was. I still don’t think I would pursue this full time, and I have a lot of questions to myself on what my goal is for tabling at cons. There’s been a shift in artist alley culture in the past couple of years where there is more produced/manufactured merch, and less emphasis on print goods.
For me I think my focus is shifting to small prints, stickers & stationery items, and limited screenprinted goods. I have some acrylic keychains that I made too (my popular designs was one for all the sports series I like , haha!). I don’t think I will venture into more complicated merch, though. Mainly I don’t want to create an excess of stock that I would never personally use.
A small list of events I did:
2023
- San Japan 2023 - I applied to this on a whim as it is a lottery con, and I got in! It was the event that jump started making merch again. I met my good friends box and kumabrows through this event (fellow artists that know Tenipuri!)
- Minna Art Market 2023 - Local TX 1 day event run by an artist that I have followed for years. This was a curated show and the audience was very nice.
2024
- May Night Market - Local show that my friend Nopaulito and Weila invited me to apply to. I hope to vend again and have more filipino forward merch to carry.
- Anime NYC 2024 - I was thankfully picked by the jury for this! I do have a convention portfolio I apply with but feel like competition was very tough. I wish I had the time to extend my days in NYC but I had an event the following weekend. I took my sister with me as my helper and we had a nice sister trip to NYC. I met a longtime artist friend of mine (fish) and my sister and I met a long time online friend (mooncandy.net).
- San Japan 2024 - I was lucky to get picked for the lottery on this one. My friends box and kumabrows were at the same convention and we did a small tenipuri rally. So fun! My only challenge was that it was the weekend following Anime NYC and I was very tired.
2025
Upcoming shows:
- Catty Bat June Market - Local 1 day event - I’m glad to try this one out! I have a small 3” section, so I’ll curate my catalog to bring some of my best sellers.
- Otakon 2025 - Applied to this one as it was a lottery application process! I’m excited to travel for this and do some touristy things too.
I apply to shows a bit sporadically - so I’ll see what comes up next!
Journaling
I have not kept up with journaling regularly.
An update from my previous entry about my photo printer (Canon Selphy CP1300) - it is still my workhorse photo printer. I recently purchased a replacement photo paper/ink pack from B&H Video. Although I haven’t been journaling regularly, I did go print out important photos from 2023 and 2024 to log them in my journals.
For 2024 I had tried the MD Hibino A6 journal. I realized I don’t like the size of a small journal and barely ended up using it. I’ve recently gone back to it to add photos but not much else.
For 2025 I’ve returned to the MD Diary 1 day 1 page. It’s undated so I still had to add my own stamped dates and day of the week sticker. But I like the paper feel and size of each page. I ended up stamping the full year so that I could be all set.
Photos I have been logging:
- OOTD (if I take a picture) - I used to keep a spreadsheet log of my outfits/closet to track how many times I wear a garment (cost per wear!)
- Food Pics - both my own cooking and eating out
- Important pics - I’ve been trying to take more pictures during friend/family events just to preserve the memory in some form, though maintaining the balance of being in the moment can be tricky haha.
I’ll continue to let things be low pressure :)