First, the good news: I'm actually going to stay in a hotel for Anime Boston this year!! A friend asked me recently and miraculously my mom agreed. So yay, no stress over train schedules and transportation this year!!

So I have enough money for the hotel and to put down my deposit on an Artist's Alley table if I get one. (That part isn't too bad, because I'm sharing the table with friends from school)

But then there's making prints for the Artist's Alley. My local staples charges $1.26 per glossy color print. -__- That adds up after awhile. Looking around, I don't think I'll be able to find prints any cheaper. I could potentially make some money if I get a table at the AA, but I need to actually make prints first.

And I'm too busy with school stuff to get a job. xD

So the point of this journal- if I were to offer commissions, would anyone ask for one? I ask this completely seriously, don't say yes if you're not interested. I know my art is mediocre and could use a lot of work, and that there are 6549068 gazillion people on DA who offer better art in commissions. xD

Besides just sketches, drawings, and color drawings, I was thinking of offering painting commissions. Only thing is, I would have to make these really expensive if I did. As in, really expensive like in the $100+ range. I'd have to factor in things like the cost of paints, canvas, and shipping, and plus paintings take me a long time to do so I'd need a profit window.

I haven't even thought of prices yet for the most part- this is just a general inquiry. Any interest?

Wow, extremely cheesy journal title. XD I feel like everyone is making these New Years journal thingies, so I might as well too.

So I got my wisdom teeth out a week ago, and I'm almost completely recovered. I was terribly scared of the whole procedure, but now that it's done and overwith I'm really glad. Recovering wasn't that bad either; I was a little swollen for a few days but the pain wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Let's see...2009. Was there anything really special about 2009? I'm not sure there was. xD

-I suppose I started writing again last year. That's good. I didn't actually finish Nanowrimo, but I wrote more than I have in a long time.

-I made some new friends.

-I made the AMV finals at Anime Boston...

-...and my Avatar AMV won Best In Show at Connecticon!! Which was really awesome, but it would have been more awesome if I could have been there to see it. (I also never got the prize in the mail, but I don't care much about that. xD I didn't want to bug the contest coordinator about it.)

-Hmm...I got decent SAT scores. xD

What else?

To be honest, I'm not sure. Nothing overly exciting happened last year. Even Anime Boston wasn't as memorable as in years past. I'm mostly looking ahead, to 2010. I've got a lot coming for me in 2010.

In 2010 I'm going to:
-graduate from high school
-do this "prom" thing
-turn 18
-start college

o___________O

It's really scary and almost exciting that all of that will happen within the next year. (Well, I'm not so excited about the prom. Last year it kinda sucked, but that's because dances aren't my thing. And I didn't have a date, and probably won't this year either. But I like floofy dresses, so maybe it will be entertaining at least. To be honest, I'm afraid my mom is going to make me get a date, because she says I can't go to the senior prom without a date. This will get awkward. xD Unless I meet a guy at Anime Boston that is...cuz I'm not going with anyone from my school. )

But anyway, in 2010, my life is going to change more than it ever has in one stretch of time. I'll become a legal adult and go on to attend college, living away from home for the first time ever. It's scary, but it will be a new stage of my life. Hopefully next year on New Year's I can look back and say it was all for the best! n______n

Happy New Year everyone!! ^_^

I'm currently planning an Avatar panel for Anime Boston 2010. Since Avatar isn't anime, it can't be solely a fanpanel, so the panel is going to deal with the Asian influences in Avatar and its place in the anime fandom. That's the best I could get from the panels coordinator.

I have no confirmation yet whether this is going to be accepted or not; it's currently only a plan. I can't stress that enough. But the panel request form is being submitted soon, and I need to know if anyone would be interested in helping me out. By interested, I mean people who will actually be attending Anime Boston this year. I've already got one other person but it would be great to have more than just two people working on this.

Let me know if you're interested ASAP, as the form is going to be submitted soon. If you can't go/aren't interested but know somebody who might be interested, link them to this journal. Thanks!

So I waited and waited and waited for UPenn's early decision, and they have said the following:


Dear Rachel,

After careful consideration of your application to the University of Pennsylvania for the Class of 2014, the Admissions Selection Committee has decided to defer its final decision until the Regular Decision notification date of April 1, 2010. I realize that you must be disappointed by this delay, but I want to assure you that you are still being considered for admission to Penn.

The Admissions Committee chooses this action when we wish to have more time to evaluate your application. While we are clearly impressed by your accomplishments, we must be cautious with the limited number of spaces Penn has available. Because we want to give your candidacy the fullest consideration, we ask that you send us a mid-year report of your first semester grades.

If you have any questions, or if this office can be of any assistance to you during the coming months, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

Eric J. Furda, C'87
Dean of Admissions

So yeah...I'm disappointed. In fact, when I read the decision at 3:00 I went and took a two hour nap. Not the news I was hoping for. >_<

I'm not sure how much more I could have done. I'm second in my class with SAT scores of 2300. I guess now all I have to do it wait.

Waiting four more months is going to drive me absolutely crazy. I was hoping to get accepted now so I wouldn't have to stress anymore, but that's just not happening.

I guess, on the bright side, they didn't reject me...with a school that only takes like 17% of applicants, I guess I'm lucky to even get a "maybe." I still have a chance, even if it's a small chance. Their FAQ says that 10% of defered applicants get in. Let's just hope that I'll be in that 10%.

I find out the final decision the day before Anime Boston. Haha, irony. xD

I'll send out my other applications tomorrow. Wish me luck! :3

((Speaking of which, I need someone 18+ who is attending Anime Boston and has already or plans to preregister soon that would be willing to be my official panel coordinator for an Avatar panel I plan on doing. I'll do all the planning, I just need a middle man for the 18+ rule, and said person also has to do the panel with me, for legal reasons and whatnot. Message me ASAP if you're interested.))

Two journals in one week? Geez, am I becoming...active again? XD

Well anywho, a few updates.

I'm almost done writing my college application essays. Another month, and (hopefully) I won't have to worry about college applications anymore. Apparently, they notify ED candidates for Penn online on December 11, so I have officially ONE MONTH of waiting left to find out whether I get into my top school.

The other day I babysat for a girl down the street. I brought Spirited Away with me, and she watched it. She loved it, too. xD That was pretty epic, getting payed for watching my favorite movie. ^__^; I should do this babysitting thing more often (and corrupt America's children with ANIME, hahahahahahaaa)

Also, I've become a huge fan of Prismacolor markers. They're AWESOME. My art teacher ordered a set of them for the art classes at my school, and I've used them a few times to color stuff. Again, they're so epic. The bad part about it is that the ones at school are running out of ink pretty fast (people forgetting to put the caps back on doesn't help, ugh >_< ) and now I want a set of my own. I wish they weren't so freaking expensive. Here I am trying to save up money for Anime Boston...*cough*, I mean, college, but I really want the markers. Ah well *shrugs.* Maybe I'll buy a few sets but not the whole bundle. I'll have to see. I'm not about to ask for them for Channukah because my parents are getting me a laptop for college. I don't want to sound greedy.

By the way, I'm still up for some serious art critique and suggestions, if I do end up doing the Artists Alley with Tokyo Club.

This may sound pathetic, but I can't stop thinking about Anime Boston. Seeing as this may possibly be my last year going for a while (since as of yet I have no idea where I'm going to college, and if I do end up going to Penn traveling to Boston will expensive and a pain in the butt), I have lots of plans.

I'm going to try and run an Avatar panel, but we'll see how that goes. The panels coordinator told me I *could* make something like that work as long as the panel centered around the anime influences in Avatar and the Asian culture, stuff like that. I could live with that. Though of course, god forbid the panel be ONLY about Avatar. XDD But if they let me do it, I'll make it work. And it's going to be a bit of a pain applying, since I'll still be 17 in March, but I've got someone over 18 who can officially submit the panel application for me.

I'm also entering the AMV contest again. I really hope I make the finals again this year, cuz you bet I'm going to try and get Avatar in there. It won't be all Avatar, unfortunately, but I've got an epic multi-anime romance AMV in the works that I plan on submitting, and it has some kataang in it. YAY rulebending.

Dang, it's been way too long since I've gone to a convention. I need to have some fuun. :3