See the Shiny Light ♡

      Hello! ♡ Gosh, it's been a little while. I have been pretty preoccupied lately with cleaning, work, friends, and Harry Potter. I started rereading the books again last week and right now I am in the middle of Prisoner of Azkaban, so I have been reading pretty much nonstop! Taking a break from the internet is nice though, to be honest! 





      Last week on Black Friday (after I worked), Sara and I went to see Tangled and it was so adorable! I loved it, we both want to see it again. I worked Black Friday, and it was a really good day actually. I was in at 4AM for the store to open at 5AM, and I worked until 11AM. I like when it's busy at work, I like to always have something to do.

      Besides that, not much has been going on I suppose! I bought Epic Mickey on Friday and I have played about an hour, I really love it so far. I always make my enemies like me, Sara gets so upset because she wants me to be "Bad Mickey", haha! It's really fun and interesting and I've only just started, no wonder why it was called "The Best Wii Game" by IGN and won 15 awards at E3.

      Sara and Andrew slept over this last weekend and we went to a Pokemon tournament Saturday morning, one of the City Championships. I had a ton of fun, it was a really good day! Andrew came in second place, also! I am very proud of him.
I did pretty well, although not as well as last Saturday when I went 3-1 and had to drop to go to work, but I ran into some bad luck in my match against Sara! I just love my deck (and Sara) so much, I can't complain! ♡

      It makes me feel very proud of myself that I am gaining more and more respect from the other players for how long I've stuck with my Porygon-Z deck, and how much better I am getting. I get so flustered when I'm told by my opponents that they are scared of facing me because my deck is tough, or when I am facing a really good player and I can tell he is visibly nervous, hands shaking! That sounds awful, that it makes me feel good to have my opponents worried, but don't get me wrong, I love everyone there and they are a great group of people that I'm happy to know. There are many amazing players and I used to feel like, as a girl, that I wasn't taken seriously as competition.

Eric and I playing in top cut for one of my second place wins in 2009 Autumn Battle Roads.

       Honestly, most girls there aren't taken seriously simply because most girls that play don't take it as seriously as the boys, and they aren't very good because of it. They mostly don't have the desire or passion to get really good at the game, from what I can see, which isn't always a negative thing and that's not meant to sound negative. A lot of girls just have bigger priorities than practicing every night at a card game to win a trophy, and while they have fun playing it and hanging out at the tournaments, they don't care if they are good or bad so long as they're having fun. Don't get me wrong, I always have fun at tournaments, and I wouldn't go if I didn't. I have said many times that I wouldn't play Pokemon if the community and the players weren't as fun to be around as they are and if I didn't love the game. However, I aslo have the desire to win and get better, and I would love to have a medal around my neck or a trophy in my name, just because I love the game so much and feel so dedicated to it, I want my dedication to be rewarded by winning! That's natural for anyone who is passionate about a particular-anything!

Andrew and I playing for first and second place, in one of my only first place wins in the 2010 Regional Championships DS Tournament. I won either a Nintendo DS or a check for however much a DS costs, so before Andrew and I played, we made a pact that whoever won, we would split the money!

       A lot of girls there, and I have to add that the number of girls to guys is severely unbalanced in the first place, generally play either because of their boyfriends, or they just play to socialize and because they think Pokemon is cool (and it definitely is!). Surely, there are also plenty of guys who don't take it as seriously as some of the others, but with the guy to girl ratio so skewed, all of the best players are guys. I asked Judge Steve if a girl has ever won a National Championship or World Championships, and he said he couldn't think of any since he had been judging. I would love to be that girl! Also, I have to add that Sara and Meg are both wonderful players. Sara is great, and she has won more tournaments than me I reckon! She doesn't get to play very much and thinks about quitting sometimes, because she has a lot going on in her life between school and her career, which is understandable. Meg judges more than she plays, but when she plays, she does really well! Although I don't talk to Meg as much anymore, we kind of had a silent falling out from us both being so busy, us three gals have to stick together and be the best we can be. Girl power, anyone? ♡ 

Like I said-girl power!

      Although I started playing Pokemon because of my boyfriend, (but I did collect the cards when I was younger), I gradually began to take the game more seriously and I want to be considered a serious player, a serious competitor, and respected! It really hurts to be doing something you love, and have your opponents brush you off as an "easy win" when they are paired to you, because they don't think you're anything to worry about, just playing because of their boyfriend or because they think Pokemon are cute.

Matt in the Top 8 at 2010 Regional Championships, I am standing in the back with Andrew, Con, and Alex talking to Judge Steve!

       Now that I'm getting better at the game, thinking outside the box more, and really understanding my way around the different metagame decks and strategies, I'm winning more than I'm losing, and if I'm losing, I'm usually putting up a really good fight to the end. It feels nice to finally feel accepted and respected in the community not only as "Matt's girlfriend with the pink sleeves who plays Porygon-Z religiously" but as myself, a legitimate player who is worth respect, who will always bring a good match to the table, and whose oddball deck, that no one else plays, is admirable and actually tough to beat!

Myself at the Nintendo Store/Pokemon Center in New York City last winter.

       I finally feel like I am beginning to gain that respect I have always wanted, and I am even happier that I have stayed true to myself the whole time. I can honestly say there are no guys at Pokemon, except maybe one or two I can think of, that would feel ashamed or embarrassed to ~lose to a girl~, and that is also a wonderful feeling, to be treated as an equal among mature guys, and to be all-around respected, not just as a player but as a human being. It's nice to beat someone and hear them talking about your match to some of their friends, and instead of hearing them saying I got lucky, or some other excuse for why I didn't win legitimately or fairly, I hear them saying how awesome my deck was, how well I played, and how good I was. I feel like I've come a long way and I'm just so happy!

Con, a friend, at 2010 Regional Championships. He is also our 2010 National Champion!

      Through Pokemon, I have made some amazing and loyal friends who I couldn't live without, and I just can't imagine never playing Pokemon, it's just a great game, a great, diverse and friendly group of people, and the healthy competition makes me feel so good about myself at the end of the day. I will be deeply sad when I have to stop playing, or when all of my favorite players and friends stop playing. I imagine Matt and I will play Pokemon until we have children of our own, and then when they're old enough to read, they'll play Pokemon and we'll be a Poké-dad and Poké-mom! ♡

      I have been drawing a lot recently too, as if reading, playing video games, working, Pokemon tournaments, and hanging out with friends haven't been enough to keep me off the internet. I have always loved Rainbow Brite since I was little, and I used to draw them a lot, so I started to draw them again! Here is all I've done, and they both took me way longer than they probably should have:

Shy Violet

Krys and Rainbow Brite

      Anyway, I'm off now, it figures that the moment I decide to go online today, Tumblr is down! I recently received my first clay kit from Sophie & Toffee so expect some sweets and a review coming from me soon! ♡ Bye!