As I disappointingly mentioned in my last post about Comic Con, I mentioned that I've been preparing for it; my sister and I have. I like to write. I love literature. I love intricately plotted story-lines. I love philosophical musings. And I especially love to express myself and my thoughts through written words. My sister on the other hand likes the visual aesthetics. The curves, lines, and bends: she adores them. We both love anime. And we both love comics. And that is why we decided to create our own.
I can't really show any of it here yet, as I believe that ruins the creative process. The best things in life often come as a delightful surprise after all. Spoilers are just as they stand for, they spoil all the fun. My last work was a collection of short stories that deal with the unknown, the eerie, and the paranormal. Even my unpublished works after that revolved around similar themes. Though after reading the book "A Little History of Philosophy" by Nigel Warburton, I did garner a considerable amount of interest in philosophical concepts. Anyways, for this project I write ideas and rough sketches (using stick drawing) on my ideas notebook. Afterwards, I send pictures of them to my sister and from there, she does all the visual-art stuff. I've written quite a few and my sister's done some as well. When we received the news that it's most likely that we cannot exhibit at Comic Con, we put it on hiatus. And it's still on hiatus as I busy myself with school-related responsibilities for the time being. HOWEVER, this does not mean that we won't continue working on it! Sure we didn't get to secure a place at Comic Con this year but that doesn't mean that all we've prepared for will go to waste! I simply cannot let that happen! Before I forget, I'd like to mention that the short comic-strip ideas was inspired by a WebToon comic made by Jinsoo Bae named "Three-Strip Comic". They are brief comics that offer laughs or "too real" posts and are for anyone who's interested or really just passing the time. Click this sentence to open the comic's website at a new tab. I haven't posted about this already because I wanted it to become a surprise, both for you (basically me, because I feel like I'm the only who ever reads my own posts) and me. But what an unpleasant not-so-surprise did I receive. All the artists alley tables are filled and now I can't go there and exhibit.
*SIGH* Let me explain, I wanted to exhibit in this year's Middle East Film and Comic Convention. And renting a table at the convention's Artist Alley was going to make that dream come true. I and some friends wanted to showcase our work and possibly sell it. I wanted to let people read the novel that I made last year for my Personal Project. I wanted to get my work recognized along with all its faults and imperfections because I want to be able to grow as an artist. I wanted some recognition for my hardwork. I've been to previous MEFCCs in Dubai but I have never exhibited, nor did I cosplay. And this year, I wanted to cosplay FOR ALL THREE DAYS. But now, it's even a question on whether I can still go or not. It's very disappointing, to say the least. I was really excited for this. I've been organizing the group of friends that were going to come along with me, convincing their parents, providing them with any and every information they may ask about the exhibition. Renting a table costs a pretty penny and that's why I had to invite some other friends to share the costs as they exhibit their artworks as well. All of them are visual artists, mostly digital art. And I wanted this for them too. My sister is one of them and I wanted her to be confident about her beautiful artworks. It was a unique chance for her to finally get some recognition for her art skills but I failed them. Now there are no tables. And thus, no more exhibiting at Comic Con. Maybe I should try updating this blog more often and the night directly after the event... Hmmm... MOVING ON, before I say anything else, I'd first like to acknowledge that no matter how festive and happy people (Australians) can get for Australia Day (26 January), the Aboriginals of Australia may not share the same glee. Australia Day is "Invasion Day" (26 January) to them and I fully understand the context of which they're coming from. This is why amidst all the celebration, I'd like to remind people of the legacy and the thriving society and that is, the Aboriginals. So for the Australia Day celebration at our school, my friends/classmates and I prepared a little song cover and performed it in front of the whole school! Sounds awesome? Because it was! But most importantly, I am so proud of the whole class for pulling off setting everything up, practicing and whatsoever in such short notice. I would just like to say that I am lucky to be in the same class as these very incredible people.
We played the song Wavin' Flag by K'naan, which I admit is best known as being the theme song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, but... yeah. ANYWAYS, our little band was composed of Esther on keyboard, Mariam on cajón, Salma on acoustic guitar, Lilas, Fahad, Mustafa, Msendoo and Mary on vocals, and last but not the least, me on electric guitar and vocals. The rest of the class was either on the tech team, the people who made sure that we wouldn't have any technical difficulties and fixed them if ever one was to arise (thankfully nothing did), or the art team, the people who were in charge of setting and decorating the stage. We, the whole class, had one week to do all that we did that day. It was crazy! Everyone was rushing around, people were stressing out, nobody was getting any sleep, and some people (me) were in the verge of a mental breakdown! It really, really was hectic because we had tests, assessments, homework, and other CAS activities to attend to (the AD Golf Championship I talked about in my last post took my whole weekend prior Australia Day). It was just chaos. I felt like quitting, some of my friends felt like quitting. Actually, I really did already quit. But on the day before Australia Day, I joined my friends during their practice session, gave them advice (I'm in a choir and I've played live before so I know some stuff), and the next thing I know I was part of the performance again. Everything was just so unplanned. Thank goodness, I've had some practice sessions with them before I initially quit, plus the chords were quite simple and the melody repetitive, that's why it wasn't that hard for me to cope. But WE DID IT! We played the song pretty well, in my opinion. We received good feedback from the spectators, and thank God everything really just went swimmingly! P.S. Unfortunately, considering our very tight schedule, we don't have much pictures of the event. However, I'll be posting some pics if ever I get some from other people who might've taken pictures of the event ^_^ Ahhhhh, this post is so late. I apologize for the tardiness. So last weekend (22-23 January), my friend, Esther, and I volunteered at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship 2016 @ the Abu Dhabi Golf Club. It was a pretty cool experience. Not to mention, I got a bunch of free stuff as a volunteer. But that's not really what I came there for, was it? Haha, go figure. Anyways, it was the very first time I've ever seen a golf game, much less a championship, live. And the crowd was so different compared to other sporting fans of a variety of other sports. I can honestly say that that was somewhat of a surprise for me. I mean, I know that golf is the kind of sport only wealthy or at least well-off people usually play. The crowd was so... they just lacked the overpowering excitement of let's say basketball fans, or football fans. While I understand that the latter sports are high-action games compared to golf, I just really expected, in a way, a much more animated crowd. To add that the golfers there are amongst the best in the world: Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, and Rory Mcilroy to name a few. Nonetheless, it was a pretty unique experience and I wouldn't mind doing it again. P.S. My CAS experience reflection and pictures from the event can be found on the Reflections and Gallery pages. UPDATE: Congratulations to Rickie Fowler for winning the Falcon Trophy! Last Friday, on the 15th of January, I almost died to get my diploma. In its most literal sense, I really did. To those who know about my condition (I have an abnormality in my knee cartilages that makes me injury-prone), they also know how dangerous it could've been for me if my knees acted up during the hike. But alas, I am writing this blog post and I am alive and well. Quite surprisingly, I don't even have any scratch nor bruise on me from the trip . And I feel great! And dare I say, I feel like a little daredevil for persevering till the end and actually finishing the hike. My happiness may sound punitive or childish to any other person, but I'm actually proud of myself. I'm proud that I got through this.
But of course, I wouldn't have done it without the help of some very special people. Really, I am grateful and I hope I could be of use to them as well when they need the help. So thank you to Mr. Arshad, Lilas Shaadi, Mr. Imran, Mrs. Mei and Johann van der Linde. |
AuthorI may cry myself to sleep, but I can survive this beCAS I Believe. Archives
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