Anime Shopping in Taipei, Taiwan

About 2 years ago, I posted my very first item on the "wish list" category. Mind you, when I write something on the wish list, it usually means I can't afford to get it, or that it's a rare item that I will no longer be able to find.

Why then, I wonder, was I able to get something like this Saber figure by Gift?!

Not that I'm complaining, but oh my Taiwan, I love you forever!

Taiwan has a lot of shops in the Taipei Underground Mall that allow anime collectors to rent a space to sell their anime figures, cards, and other things that they may no longer want. You can get to that mall very easily by taking any of the exits on the MRT labelled "Y". It was at one particular shop near the very end of the mall... Y28 exit if I'm not mistaken, where my brother-in-law and I stumbled upon this lovely gal...

...at a price that I'd gladly pay double for.

The item wasn't bad at all for a second hand. There were signs showing that the box had been opened before... like the scratches on the stand she's on. There was also some oil on her skirt, but that wiped off clean pretty easily.

I had to hand carry her home though, since her box was pretty bulky. Brother-in-law insisted we get another box at the post office so that she wouldn't be damaged. We were going to buy one, but the post office we went to was a small branch, so they weren't selling any boxes... they gave us one for free instead.

And such a cute box it was too...

More of my shopping rambles later~ For now, I need to run off and try to make some money~ :D See you guys later~

Fun Taiwan!

Yesterday, I took a plane ride to Taipei, Taiwan to visit my sister and my brother-in-law. I've always wanted to see what Taiwan was like, as I always get my manga from there... whenever the sister's in the country, of course!

I took Cebu Pacific and I have to admit, it wasn't as bad as I imagined it to be. The flight was pretty smooth sailing, though the immigration officer in the NAIA Terminal 3 was pretty mean. "Where are you going?" "Where's your visa?" "You think you can get in Taiwan with only this?" >.>;;; Ayiyi, such a horrible nightmare she was!

But at least the immigration officer in Taipei was such a cute bishie!!! >o<;;; Why didn't he ask me more questions instead of that creepy girl who I first thought was a man? ;_;

Oh, and there was a cute little girl wearing a Hello Kitty jacket on our flight too, so that helped erase the nightmares of NAIA. Heh~

Airport food is highway robbery though... a bottle of mineral water cost me P115 (US$2.50). Dx!!! I hate you Terminal 3. T_T

I should remember to tie some ribbons to my luggage when I fly back though... So many people have the exact same one! I almost took the wrong luggage but it was a good thing we had different locks! @_@;;; When I got mine, I checked the combination and ran off to the exit... which was another surprise because... Where was my sister?! Hahaha... I looked around in the waiting area and there was hardly anyone there! I walked around for a few minutes before they arrived~ Which was ok, because I was already expecting that! ^^

My first meal was prawn salad, kung pao stir fry crab, prawn roll with almonds, radish cake, corn soup, and shi mi lu! I wasn't eating well all day because I was too excited about my trip, but dinner was so heavenly delicious that... I was in heaven! I will post pictures later if and when I have more time~ Heh~

Oh, the cab driver was super nice too. He asked me if I liked Hello Kitty and I mentioned that I used to work for her. Haha~ He showed us a small cafe called "Hello Kitty Sweets" and I swear, I squealed. xD Even if I don't like Hello Kitty all that much, that place looked really cute! My brother-in-law promised that we'll go there when it's open, and I'm super excited! >3<;;;

Got home pretty late so we slept the morning away... I think my sister and brother-in-law are still asleep, so I'll raid the fridge for the left overs... I think there's some pork chop rice around somewhere. 711 is right downstairs too, which looks a lot like Hong Kong's...

Did I mention I'm staying in Holiday Inn's Executive Suite at a fraction of the actual cost?

Photos to be posted on another date! xDDD

Adding Asuka to the Mix...

I didn't think I would do it, but I did it. ._.;;;

By which I mean, I didn't think I'd buy the Asuka Langley version of the UCC Milk Coffee set seeing that I already have Rei's... but I was in a strange mood on the day of my dad's birthday. And seeing that lonely can of Evangelion UCC Milk Coffee on the shelf made me feel sorry for it. *_*

Did I mention I was in a weird mood that day?

Even more surprising is that I actually opened and drank the darn thing... despite being warned that it is not the best of milk coffees out there. =.=;;;

Sadly, the Internet didn't lie. It wasn't very delicious... it kinda tasted like watered-down-condensed-milk. ~_~ Good thing I ordered UCC's Coffee Jelly dessert... that was bitter enough to counter the sugary, sweet taste in my mouth.

I suppose they were targeting the younger fans and coffee drinkers for these, but dear gracious... I felt like I was going to get diabetes with each passing sip. =A=;;; Coffee should still taste coffee-ish even when you add milk to it, please and thank you!

...though I am now thinking of drinking that Rei Can I have sitting on my desk. The can's worth keeping, maybe, but the drink inside? I'll probably mix an additional spoonful of black coffee to it.

The art is gorgeous though. No denying that. ♥

Fangirling Over Kuroshitsuji Things

I'm finally completing my episodes of Kuroshitsuji and stumbled upon the OVA the other day... Now I'm just totally confused. The series was pretty vindictive in showing that revenge is everything in this world, and then the OVA dictates the exact opposite. It seems that Ciel learned this lesson from the children in the audience... in a way, Sebastian also taught him that. If that were the case, then why did Ciel end up dying in the end of the anime series?

Too many questions left unanswered... but despite the OVA being an overall disappointment, their depiction of Hamlet was pretty hilarious~! I'm guessing they wanted to do something different for the OVA.

That also reminded me that I haven't even posted this yet:

I like this and I don't like it at the same time. ~_~ I'm not sure... maybe it's because it looks too typical of Ciel to look like... well, Ciel? xDDD;;; It just seems like I copied it from an original piece or something. =.=;;;

I need to draw him and Sebas-chan together~ ♥ I wonder what season 2 will hold in store for us? New master, now butler (even if the new butler sounds like Sebas-chan); this should prove to be very interesting indeed. >3

Happy April Fools~ xD!!!

Artist for Hire

Because I am now a starving artist, I've decided to put up commissions. For now, these are the services offered, but I will update my Deviant Art Commissions Information if I think I can handle any more.

Yes, I'm serious... even if it is April Fools today. xD;;;

Portrait Commissions: US$15 ($7 for each additional character)

* waist up
* full color
* minimal to no BG only

Samples:

Chibi Commissions: US$10 ($5 for each additional character)

* full body
* full color
* minimal to no BG only

Samples:

Color Commissions: US$10-20

* price depending on difficulty
* lineart must be provided in high resolution
* minimal to no BG only

Sample:

If interested, please send me an email with the following information:

Name:
E-mail: (your PayPal email)
Commission Type:
Description of character:
Art style: (you can choose any style from my gallery)
Link for reference of character:

RULES

- I reserve the right to post commissions on my websites.
- Sketching will begin only after the commission has been paid either in 50% down payment of preferably paid in full (PAYPAL ONLY).
- Please give at least 15 days before issuing a follow-up.
- Corrections will only be entertained during sketching stage.
- The final artwork in its highest resolution will be emailed to the commissioner in JPEG format (unless requested otherwise).
- No hentai, yaoi, or yuri.
- Allowing the artist a bit of leeway for the poses is preferred.

If you have any questions, comments, requests, and suggestions, please do let me know~ ^_^ Thank you very much!