Liebster Award #3 (with lots of funny pics so hopefully it’s not too boring)

I’d like to thank Kausus of Otaku Gamer Zone and Ignite18@MarvelouslyMismatched for nominating me for the Liebster Award! I really appreciate it, and you should all totally check out their blogs! (Also, I apologize for taking so long to write this up. These award posts always take me forever to write compared to my usual posts, maybe because they actually require me to write words instead of just post pictures haha.)

This Liebster Award is a bit different from the previous two I’ve received because it requires me to write 11 facts about myself as well as answer all the questions from the nominators. (This is going to be a big post, but don’t worry, I included lots of pictures.) The full rules are here:

Answers to questions by Kausus:

1. How many Conventions do you attend?

For two years in a row, I was a panelist at MystiCon, which is a fantasy, sci-fi, and horror convention. I got to talk about dragons and meet other young adult authors, so it was pretty fun. I’ve heard that there’s going to be an anime convention at my college (maybe?) sometime soon, so I may check that out. I don’t know anyone else here who likes anime, so it’d be nice to find some new people to talk about it with.

A somewhat frightening photo of the dragon panel from MystiCon 2014. I’m on the right. Photo credit goes to J. Thomas Ross.

2. Wine or Cheese?

I don’t particularly like either, but I guess I’d have to go with cheese, generally either mozzarella or Mexican cheese for pizza. I do love a good pizza. I was supposed to have pizza for an event last Monday, but it turned out to be salad and wraps (big disappointment). If you have pizza, you should totally share it with me.

But…but I’m hungry! Anime: Kiniro Mosaic | Episode: 7

3. How many countries have you visited/lived in?

I’ve only lived in one country (the U.S.), but I’ve visited 7 others in Europe.

A picture from Venice, which I included in my booklet called Poetry and Photo Travel Guide: Italy

4. What is your view on the community you write for? Be it Otaku, Gamer, Books, Sports, etc…

To be honest, I don’t know many people in real life who like anime and want to talk about it, but the people here on WordPress all seem pretty nice. I love having the chance to share moments that I find funny with the community to hopefully provide others with the same laughs I had. I’ve also been a part of the QuizUp anime community for the past couple months, and it’s a little more abrasive. (QuizUp is a trivia game that has become almost a social media-like site for specific topics. The anime topic in particular is very active.) The people in this community often debate what anime are good and bad and frequently end up in ridiculous arguments, which I find amusing. I don’t usually get involved in all that, but I do post funny pictures from time to time.

Pretty much what the arguments on QuizUp are like. Anime: Working!! | Episode: 3

5. Is there a figure, living or dead, who gives you immense amounts of inspiration?

A real person? Not so much. But there are plenty of fictional characters who give me inspiration. One such character is Sensei from Barakamon. He starts off as a workaholic city boy, but he learns how to relax in the country and finally has fun and makes some real connections. He inspires me to enjoy the little things more.

Sensei’s on the left. Anime: Barakamon | Episode: 12

6. What do you do when you hit the writers wall? How do you overcome it?

I have this problem all the time. I get bored way too quickly and lose all motivation to write (same with school and homework). Usually that’s when I decide to take a break and watch an episode of whatever anime I’m currently watching. In my experience it’s a lot easier to work in small portions. That’s actually how I’m writing this post haha. Every question or two, I go and watch an episode of My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute. It’s pretty funny so far, though I’m only on episode 4 at the moment (might be finished by the time this post is done). It references anime and otaku a lot, so it’s given me some decent screenshots. (Edit: I just finished it (the first season anyway), and I’m sad to say it goes downhill after like episode 6. Also, I’m still working on this post. Just got to the second set of questions haha. Now I’m watching Nodame Cantabile, and it’s very good so far.)

Nah, I’ll keep talking. I still have a lot of questions and facts to write… Anime: Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai (My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute) | Episode: 2

7. What is your ideal pet?

I know I already posted this, but I just couldn’t resist. It answered the question so well and I love Ayaya! Anime: Hello!! Kiniro Mosaic | Episode: 3

8. Ideal vacation spot?

What? You mean I have to leave the house? H-how will I watch anime?

Anime: Non Non Biyori Repeat | Episode: 7

Fine, if Ren-chon dragged me outside, I would say Swallow Falls in western Maryland. It’s one of my favorite places to swim in the summer.

The largest of three waterfalls at the State Park.

9. If you could live at one convention, which would it be and why?

To be honest, I’m not a big crowds person, so conventions aren’t exactly my favorite thing in the world. I can enjoy them for a while, but living at one forever would probably end up like a nightmare for me. Plus it would make it difficult to watch my anime with all those people there. (Side note: I thought I was going to have to go back to Lucky Star to find a picture of anime girls tired of conventions, but then I watched the next episode of My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute and bang: convention episode.)

Even anime characters who love anime hate the crowds and lines at conventions. Anime: Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai (My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute) | Episode: 4

10. Do you like what you do now? If not, what would you change?

If by what I do now, you mean watching lots of anime, then yes, I definitely like it.

She gets it. Anime: Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai (My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute) | Episode: 5

11. Do you like these sort of questions?

Hmm, I’d hesitate to say I like them. They’re certainly a nice change of pace, but they take a lot of time and effort to answer (at least for me). Still, I’m happy to do it, and thanks again to my nominators!

Answers to questions by Ignite18@MarvelouslyMismatched:

1. Are you a ninja or samurai?

I’m probably more of a ninja. When I was a little kid, I thought I had the ability to go invisible if I concentrated hard enough. Sadly I no longer have that power.

It’s always a good idea to bring snacks if you have a really good hiding place. Who knows how long you’ll be there? Anime: Nichijou | Episode: 20

2. If you won the lottery, what would you do?

I’m one of those boring people who would probably just save or invest it, but I might use some of the money to actually buy anime stuff. I feel bad for always watching it for free, especially when the anime calls you out on it…

They know how to guilt viewers into giving money haha. Anime: Joshiraku | Episode: 1

3. If you could witness any event of the past, present, or future, what would it be?

You mean besides watching what my crush is doing right now?

Anime: Gugure! Kokkuri-san | Episode: 1

Hmm, I guess I’d say my future wedding (assuming I have one), so that I could have some idea of who I’ll marry. Of course, knowing how these things usually work in TV shows, I would only see myself and the guests, and the bride’s face would be covered by a veil so that her identity would still be a surprise…

4. Would you rather get lunch with Harry Potter or Ron Weasley?

Is Hermione not an option? Out of the three of them, I definitely liked her the best because I identified with her character. Between Harry and Ron, though, I guess I would choose Ron. Obviously it would be awesome to have lunch with Harry Potter, but I already know a lot about what he thought of everything. Ron may be a somewhat mediocre character, but hearing the story from Ron’s point of view might provide some interesting insights (plus he might bring Hermione along since they’re married and all).

Anime: Barakamon | Episode: 2

5. Are you more of a night owl or a morning person?

I’m definitely more of a night owl. My preferred sleep schedule is going to sleep at 3 or 4 in the morning and waking up at 11. Unfortunately since I have class at 10 each day, I can only stay up until like 1.

I’ve posted this one before, but this girl really gets me. Anime: Girls und Panzer (Girls and Tanks) | Episode: 3

6. If you could read minds, whose would you want to read?

It’s always a bit dangerous to read peoples’ minds all the time. There’s a lot of stuff I don’t want to know about people haha. If I could, though, I’d want to read the minds of girls I like. I can never tell how they feel, unfortunately, which often leads to awkward situations. If only real life was like an anime like this:

You can’t get more direct than that. Anime: Futsuu no Joshikousei ga [Locodol] Yatte Mita. (Normal High School Girls Tried Being Locodols) | Episode: 11

7. If you could live in a book, TV show or movie, what would it be?

I’d have to go with either Pokémon or Fullmetal Alchemist because it would be totally awesome to be able to catch pokémon or to use alchemy.

No one can beat my squirtle gang. Anime: Pokémon | Episode: 12

8. If you could have one superpower, what would it be and how would you use it?

My power would be to tell if fruit is ripe just by touching it.

Anime: Love Live! School Idol Project | Episode: 2

I’m just kidding. I’d actually want to be able to fly because I just think it would be a totally awesome feeling. It would also mean I could fly to school instead of driving, which would be very helpful.

9. If you could time travel, would you go to the past or the future?

Whenever I think about time travel, my mind instantly goes to Steins;Gate. I feel like it would be really cool to hang out with those characters, assuming I didn’t have to worry about SERN.

Serious situation? Gotta make a perverted joke. Anime: Steins;Gate | Episode: 3

But to answer the question, I think time traveling to the past would be too risky. I wouldn’t want to accidentally change something to alter the present. Traveling to the future would be the better option, but it should probably be a one way trip so my knowledge of the future doesn’t cause me to alter the future in a bad way.

10. What fad do you wish would come back? Which do you feel should stay gone forever?

One fad I wish would come back is the one where half-naked girls hide in closets. I only have clothes in my closet 😦

Anime: Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka? (Is the order a rabbit?) | Episode: 1

Seriously, though, I’ve never been one to keep up with fads, so I don’t really know how to answer the first part. However, one fad that I think we don’t need is all the ridiculous selfies. I don’t mind when someone takes a selfie in order to share their appearance or to document their presence at a location or event, but I have seen way too many stupid ones that all end up looking exactly the same.

11. What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

The craziest thing I’ve ever done happened last March. I started talking to a girl on a dating app, and we started dating (even though we had never actually met). After talking for about a month, I flew down to stay with her in Florida for a week during spring break. I had a really good time, but then I had to leave again since classes started up again. Well on Thursday of the next week, I got a text after I got out of lab that said that something had happened and the girl did not want to be alone that weekend. Now I’m not generally a spontaneous person and I don’t know what she was expecting since I lived a 2.5 hour flight away from her, but when I got back to my room, I bought a plane ticket and flew down that night to spend a 4 day weekend with her. My friends (and family) all thought I was crazy, but I had a fun time. She broke up with me soon after, but what can you do? This girl actually was part of the reason why I got into anime. Prior to meeting her, I had only watched Pokémon and Attack on Titan, but she kept talking about how she had loved Inuyasha as a child and how it was such a big part of her life.

Definitely a kid-friendly show when one of the main characters is constantly hitting on women. Anime: Inuyasha | Episode: 16

Since I wanted to share such an important interest with her, I started watching it, and we watched a bunch of episodes (and one movie) together when I went down there. It wasn’t my favorite show ever, but I enjoyed it. After she broke up with me, I moved on to Steins;Gate and Fullmetal Alchemist and haven’t stopped watching anime since.

Facts about me:

I apologize in advance for the lack of pictures in this section. I’ve been working on this for about a week now, and I think I should probably just finish it up already.

1. I went camping this weekend with the other grad students in my department, during which I realized that I’m the only one who stays up relatively late. Must be a habit from watching anime all night haha.
2. I’ve apparently known that I wanted to be a scientist since I was in preschool. I didn’t know this was the case, but I found a graduation booklet from preschool that had a bunch of random facts about me.
3. My favorite color is orange (same as in preschool too, guess I haven’t changed much.)
4. I also still like cereal. If I’m at home all day, I generally end up eating 3-4 bowls of cereal.
5. My favorite type of cereal is Honey Nut Cheerios.
6. I always drink whole milk. The other milks are just not up to par in my opinion.
7. I do sometimes like to eat other snacks, though, besides cereal. When I got back from camping, I decided to make sugar cookies. They came out well, thankfully, even though I had to cream the butter by hand since I don’t have an electric mixer.
8. Getting away from food, I have a tendency to look at/pick up shiny objects that I see on the ground.
9. I always pick up coins I find, even if it’s just a penny in the middle of the road and cars are coming.
10. Every so many months, I roll up my spare change and take the rolls to the bank to exchange them for bills. For some reason it makes me feel like I’m making money haha.
11. A few years ago, I gave each member of my family a really old roll of coins (you can find them pretty cheaply on eBay). They had a lot of fun opening them to see what they got because it was kind of like opening a treasure chest.

Finally finished all the parts about me. Now moving on to the nominees, and then I have to make up some questions of my own.

Nominees:

1. Kuro Sama Reviews
2. Citrus Anime Reviews
3. Mekakushi Megane
4. Jamie Talks Anime
5. Otaku Highschool Life
6. That Baka Blog
7. Aniwhat? Aniwho? Anime.
8. Wanimu
9. Daiyamanga
10. UNOTAKU
11. Doop Anime

Questions for the nominees:

1. Do you have any unusual hobbies?
2. Which is your dominant eye?
3. If you lived during the Middle Ages, what occupation would you have assuming your only objective was living as long as possible?
4. What is your favorite image?
5. Do you believe in any superstitions?
6. What is your favorite holiday?
7. How late do you go to sleep?
8. What is your personal record for the number of episodes of a TV show watched in a single day?
9. What is your favorite type of cookie?
10. What is your ideal weather?
11. Which anime are you planning to watch during the Fall season?

Well I finished it. If anyone actually made it all the way to the end, congratulations! I hope you enjoyed the post, learned a little about me, and maybe even had some laughs. Have a nice day (or night, I’m about to go to sleep as soon as I post this)!