#yes I like to dress my nendroid over the top

[wool-string]

Made some mini bouquets today. With Kei n min modeling them~

[celebistar]

@a-rumbly-in-my-tumbly​ said if we're interested we can and I'm shirking work (when am I not lol) so yay? Idk who to tag, honestly I feel that creates a negative atmosphere b/c then the people who aren't tagged are like wtf. So feel free to do if you like talking about about yourself!

What’s your age? A lot older than most people probably think I am; I have mentioned it here and there casually, but as of this post, I'm 27.

What’s your current job? I am a UX (user experience) researcher, but with an emphasis on data privacy/security in the future. I also do UI/UX design sometimes, though I am not terribly great at it. Some of my work also goes into data science territory. 

To those outside the field it probably sounds super boring and technical, but I've discovered that I actually enjoy doing research and I'm pretty good at it. Also, my boss is really cool and let me deck out my office with all my otaku stuff (he himself actually spent his middle school years in Japan so he's bilingual, and has a fondness for the 80s era shounen shows, like Fist of the North Star)

What are you talented at? Hmm, well drawing fanart/writing fanfiction? I dunno if that's really a talent or a hobby considering only a small handful of people only actually give me feedback so *shrugs* I would probably put writing a bit higher than drawing though. Other than that, I've been told I can bake uncannily well; several of my classmates in college commented that they would legit shell out money for my baked goods...

What is a big goal you are working toward (or have already achieved)? Material-wise? Publish my own anthology did that twice already (woo hoo), next up maybe making a cosplay photo book?? Perhaps going to Comiket one day WITH cosplay... also I connected with the Hisa-works cluster in Japan and I got the chance to meet several of them in Japan and now we're friends and it's awesome. Also meeting Masato Hisa sensei for the autograph session and events for the last Nobunagun volume...that definitely ranks up there as a 'once in a lifetime chance'.

Philosophical-wise, it's probably to learn to be kinder to myself and love myself more; I think it's only been recently have I really been aware of my own thoughts and personality type, and I know that often I freak out over the smallest things and stress when I really don't need to. So, I'm working on that...

What’s your aesthetic? When I was in high school/college it was like Japanese goth/punk (yeah, Hot Topic and all that...) Then I was briefly into lolita for a bit, since my sister got really into it, and I used to twin with her (either ouji or goth), but nowadays I honestly can't be bothered to dress up beyond a (decent) t-shirt and fitted jeans. If it's cold, I'll likely be wearing some sort of practical outwear like The North Face and a scarf. Basically, I'm practical. Like, really, that's it. Of course part of it is that I work in the super-casual Silicon Valley and tbh nobody gives a shit what you wear so long as you can do your work.

If I have to go to a fancy meeting with a client (especially the government), then I'll usually wear dress pants with a nice top and blazer jacket. You will almost never catch me in skirts/dresses unless it's a special occasion (and even then not guaranteed). Also 75% of my wardrobe is black.

Do you collect anything? Oh god...I always joke that I am a hoe for Miku Hatsune, but it's true. I literally collect like every single nice PVC scale figure that comes out...okay, not that many, but quite a few. For example, I have every single Racing Miku except for the very first one (which I seriously might get just to complete it) and so far most of the Snow Miku nendroids. Basically, I have a serious figure collecting problem and it ain't going away anytime soon. Especially since I much prefer scales to Figmas, the costs can definitely add up...

(this is a pic of my office btw; well, part of it)

What’s a topic you always talk about? Nobunagun (laughs) if you're willing I could talk your ear off about it. But other than that, I'm alway interested in otaku/fandom communities, and specifically the social constructs that revolve around that. Yeah. Considered getting a PhD in "virtual communities and societies"...that's still not out of the question yet.

Also I can talk to you about my cat.

What’s a pet peeve of yours? Having things repeated to me like 3+ times, especially verbally. I mean look, I get that you just want to make sure I understand, but the thing is, I grasp things pretty quickly, and being told the same thing over and over again makes me think that you are either an indecisive fuck or you think I'm stupid. Nothing gets my blood pressure higher than being told the same thing, and then having it repeated to me 5 seconds later when I just told you my answer/response.

Good advice to give? Hm. Perhaps to love yourself more. I think many of us are so used to being beaten down and striving for perfection that we forget that it's ourselves who matter the most, and should come first.

Also, especially for those youngen's out there, please know that yes life is hard and it sucks, especially in your 20s, but as someone who has gone through a lot of it (and is still going through it) you gotta trust me when I say it will get better. Because in the future, you are 100% for sure going to deal with more painful, much harder decisions and so the struggles you face now are to help you get better at dealing with them. If you give up now, I'd hate to think how you're going to handle those events later in life.

tl;dr: I graduated college with a degree that I don't even use and basically became a NEET for a year before finally landing a job through a friend, got laid off after 2 months, decided then to apply to graduate school in a completely new field with 1 month before the deadline (so I studied/took my GRE/wrote my application in the span of a month), got my job back, got accepted into graduate school, and after 2 years of schooling managed to put myself on the track I am now. So yeah. Don't think you're the only one who struggles. 

What are three songs you’d recommend?

"Big Machine" - Goo Goo Dolls

"feel the wind" - Janne Da Arc (I have too many Janne songs to choose but this is the first one I heard and it pulled me in ever since. Also how I discovered @a-rumbly-in-my-tumbly because she used to do translations and I was always like 'ommggg y dis lyric so gooooood')

"Time & Confusion" - Anberlin