Concert Report! ♡ Franz Ferdinand

Hello bats! A little while ago my boyfriend and I went to see Franz Ferdinand! I used to love them as a teenager but lost interest after I finished high school. I started listening to their newer material during the pandemic and got super into them again. I'm kind of sad that I never saw them live with their original lineup, but I still really like them after the lineup changes. I've also had a crush on Alex Kapranos since I was like 12 hahaaa (ꈍᴗꈍ) They're only playing their biggest hits during this tour, so the concert was a huge nostalgia bomb for me ♡ That being said, I was a little sad because it basically guaranteed some of my favourites wouldn't be played, so I'll have to wait for another tour to hear some of my underrated faves like You Could Have It So Much Better, Jacqueline, This Boy, Love and Destroy, 40'...oh well, maybe next time around  ᴵˈᵐ ᵒᵏ(ᵕ̣̣̣ ͜ ᵕ̣̣̣ ˶ )

The concert was scheduled on my day off, so I finally got to wear clothes that rarely see the light of day because they're not work-appropriate. I wore a Nina Hagen shirt from Stigmata, my trusty Moitié beret, a long leather skirt with a slit, Docs, and this ridiculous vinyl crucifix choker. I hadn't worn that choker in so long that it was literally gathering dust...

We loaded up on the dinner of champions (deep dish pizza and beer) and headed over to the concert hall. They were super strict about security - I got patted down and had to go through a metal detector. We ate dinner a bit slower than expected so we got there just as the opening act was saying goodbye -thankfully, we still managed to get a good spot! We were able to stand on an elevated platform behind the accessible seating and VIP area, which was pretty close to the stage and gave us a really clear view over people's heads. I'm so used to being completely body-blocked by taller people so it was amazing just being able to see for once!! ╰(*´︶`*)╯

Anyway, after we found our spot, Franz Ferdinand started right on time. I didn't cheat and read setlists beforehand, so I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. They opened up with No You Girls and Darts of Pleasure. They also performed Walk Away, one of my favourite FF songs, but I didn't like this particular rendition very much...felt a little bit low-energy for such an upbeat and dancy selection of songs. But everything else was great! I think I enjoyed their performance of Michael the most. It always throws me hearing the NSFW version of the lyrics haha. It was probably the most energetic performance of the evening - as it should be, since that song is super hype.

Overall the concert was tons of fun! I think that this is one of the rare few bands that sounds way better live than on recording. They're super energetic and interacted with the audience a lot, with lots of sing-along parts. The whole audience was dancing, jumping, and clapping along. To be honest, I was  bit too full of pizza to feel like dancing much, haha! Alex's voice still sounds really good, even on the high notes, and I wasn't expecting him to be dancing and jumping around as much as he did when he was younger but I was pleasantly surprised. Julian is very fun to watch too.

Thankfully they also ended on time, so we managed to get home at a decent hour to get some much-needed sleep. Gone are the days of staying out until 3am on a work night with no consequences...  ٩(ˊ〇ˋ*) و That being said, my boyfriend ended up getting sick afterwards even though we both had our fourth booster shots a few weeks ago. He's was feeling very poorly but is on the mend and I somehow avoided it altogether, so I consider ourselves quite lucky...

I'm going to several more shows in the next couple of months, so I'll be back soon with another concert report! ♡

[Current Music: Holygram - Odd Neighbourhood]

Concert Report ♡ Lebanon Hanover, Wingtips, and Traitrs

Hello bats! Last night I went out to see Lebanon Hanover, Wingtips, and Traitrs. It was my first time going to a concert since early 2020, before all of the covid lockdowns took effect. I went to work first so I couldn't go too crazy with my outfit. wore my Moitié beret, denim patch jacket and a Strawberry Switchblade shirt that I kinda belted into a dress. I got the shirt from a punk guy from Japan who hand screenprints all sorts of obscure band logos onto old shirts and sells them.

It was nice outside so I ate my dinner in the park. I had a smash burger from my favourite burger restaurant and Iron Goddess milk tea with tapioca. The local colour in the park gets sort of weird in the evenings...I was sat next to a guy wearing a plastic green St. Patrick's Day hat and got awkwardly hit on no less than 3 times by passerby in the 15 minutes it took me to eat. There was also a big dude rapping aggressively at the small children in the playground for some reason.

I also got my nails done! I got two different colours of cateye nail polish with chains and studs ♡

I got to the venue early, so after I raided the merch tables - I bought a shirt for each band, a shirt for my friend, a canvas bag, and an enamel pin - I set up camp in a nice spot near the front but off to the side of the pit. The playlist running during the bands' setup time was so good! I knew most of the songs since they were standard goth night fare like Skinny Puppy, Joy Division, Nitzer Ebb, etc. but I wish they published a list somewhere, haha.

It wasn't overly crowded but I've always hated having people in my personal space and even moreso after covid. I wear earplugs to help with the potential sensory overload of having so many people talking nearby. I also wore my N95 since I'd been wearing it at work anyway...not sure if that really matters when people are screaming all around you, though. There was one very drunk, very loud woman near me who wouldn't stop shouting directly into my ear that covid was fake, she never got sick even though she never wore a mask or got vaccinated, sheeple, Trudeau sucks blah blah blah...like jesus lady, quit killing the vibe, nobody cares!

Traitrs went up first and got the crowd super hyped up and dancing. They sound so good live! Just as good as their recordings, even the vocals. I was really happy that they played my two favourite songs, The Lovely Wounded and Thin Flesh. Wingtips went up next and they were a little more chilled out at first and the crowd calmed down a little, but their last couple of songs were more danceable and brought the energy back up again. I haven't listened to a ton of Wingtips lately so I wasn't familiar with everything that they played but I still had a ton of fun dancing. Minimalistic sounded really good live! It felt a bit more intense and aggressive than the album version. 

Lebanon Hanover went up last after a bit of a wait. I was pretty exhausted by this point but still had a little energy to dance. Everyone got super excited when they started playing Gallowdance (of course) and when they started to dance on stage. Larissa is just so, so cool and elegant. I'm really happy I finally got to see them live!!

Man, how the hell did I do this all the time as a uni student? I'd have like 10 hours of class, work a half shift at my shitty job, rush home to do my makeup, and then haul ass to the club to dance or watch a show...then crawl into bed at 2AM and wake up for 6AM. Or simply pull an all-nighter to do my homework or play video games...and suffer no ill effects the next morning. To this day, I've never experienced a hangover.

Oh, to be young and irresponsible again ( ´ ▽ ` )b

Anyway I headed home and just chilled a bit before going to bed. I was super zonked out but I got a notification on my phone that the new Then Comes Silence album, Hunger, had been released!! I had to listen to it before going to sleep. It's solid. I'm not sure if I feel like writing up a whole album review but...just go listen to it. I love how each album sounds distinct, but you can always tell that it's TCS. My favourite tracks are Rise to the Bait, Tickets to Funerals, and Blood Runs Cold.

, it was a great way to start off a long weekend. The past few weeks of work have been pretty rough so  I really needed a break.I don't have too many plans for the weekend; I'm going to finish importing all of my lolita wardrobe into Notion, do some longboarding, and go out with one of my friends for a Sunday brunch! I'm also going to sign up with a local yoga studio so I can learn to relax a little bit haha...

I'm also going to play lots of Final Fantasy XIV. I bought the game in 2012 but never really played it. One of my good friends recommended I try it again and I fell in love with it. I swear this game is the thin thread holding my sanity together right now haha ( ˊᵕˋ )♡ I'm playing an Black Mage but I'm also levelling up my Bard and Dragoon jobs at the same time. I am super excited to unlock Red Mage - they were always my favourite job in the Final Fantasy games.

I used to be a hardcore MMO player - mainly Lineage 2 and Ragnarok Online in the past, and TERA Online in more recent years - but now that I'm working longer hours I really like how laid-back FFXIV is. I'm not super interested in running statics and grinding endlessly to craft best-in-slot stuff anymore. The storyline is solid, and it's fun to just chill and relax ingame with my friends. There's so much fun stuff to do that I don't feel pressured to speedrun the main storyline so get to the endgame. Anyway, I'm playing on Cactuar if anyone wants to play together!

[Current Music: VR SEX - End Vision]

Insert exciting post title here

Hello bats! I've had a really rough couple of weeks with a serious illness in the family, quarantining, narrowly avoiding covid, struggling to finish all of my coursework, getting swamped at work... but I wrote my final exam last week! Chel is a free elf...for the summer at least ( ´ ▽ ` ) I celebrated (admittedly several days early) by buying myself tickets to the Interpol + Metric concert coming up this summer!! I'm beyond excited. I was a huge fan of Emily Haines and Metric as a young teen, and seeing them together with Interpol is basically my 14-year-old self's dream lineup. I also preordered their new album on vinyl because I was totally blown away by the two singles they released. I've been listening to Something Changed on repeat for days.

I also have a new obsession: Coca Cola Starlight Zero. It's really hard to find here for some reason, and it's limited edition so I feel like I need to hoard it. I've been obsessed with it ever since it came out...it tastes so weirdly chemical and artificial, yet delicious. I would describe the flavour as a mixture of Diet Coke, cherry, raspberry, cotton candy, and aspartame. Nobody I know actually likes it but I can't get enough of the "space" flavour - I am an alien, after all.  ♪:.(◡‿◡✿).:♪ Also, I love how the pink/red/purple colour scheme perfectly matches my new Outre wig!

Now that school isn't hanging over my head, I can work on some of my big spring projects. One of my major tasks is that I want to clear out my lolita wardrobe as well as my daily wardrobe. A friend introduced me to the Notion app and helped me set up a wardrobe page, so I've been steadily chipping away at it and assessing what I actually own - I have a lot more pieces than I thought I did! My style has changed a lot over the past few years but my current wardrobe doesn't really reflect that. I have lot of things that are hanging around for no real reason aside from sentimental value and my inability to let go of things that are still useful - even if I no longer have a use for them myself, or if I don't find myself wanting to use them.

A lot of my clothing was only really suitable for clubbing and events...I don't need that much PVC at this point in my life, haha. I still like going to goth nights occasionally but not as regularly as I used to (and of course I haven't gone out dancing since 2020) but I'm more interestested in attending concerts, and I tend to just go in my work clothes. I'm not really fond of my edgy Lip Service type of stuff these days. And I've kinda moved on from the romantic goth look too - it's a bit too femme for me. I prefer my more androgynous looks. Can't wait to get rid of all of this stuff on Depop. I can't believe how much zoomers will pay for outdated goth-in-a-box crap these days, but I'm not complaining.

I also want to add purple to my wardrobe, mostly in the form of accessories. I've been scouring Lolibrary for anything purple, but it's surprisingly hard to find stuff that I like even though it's a trendy colourway now. Even Taobao has very few pieces that are appropriate for gothic, even though Taobao brands tend to be super on top of trends. AatP seems to have some pretty good options though! And Antique Beast opened today, so I grabbed a headdress I've been thinking about for a long time, as well as a few accessories. The exchange rate was too good to pass up. I'll take photos once they arrive since I've never seen anyone review these pieces.

I'm also respectfully looking at the new Moitie set. It's kinda funny - even before I saw that the name of the set was Sanctuary Vampiress, I was thinking that it looked like something a sleepy vampire would wear. And I'm really happy to see mob caps in lolita again. After cutting my hair I find that a lot of accessories just don't work as well as hats do, and mob caps are so cute and comfy! Ultimately I think I will pass on it, just because it's lovely but it's not necessarily super practical. I'm sure if I have second thoughts later I'll be able to find it secondhand (famous last words, possibly). I can also just sew my own mob cap...

I guess I can consider my no-buy officially over at this point - I lasted 6 months, which is a record for me. I'm proud of how I did. I did buy a good number of things from Antique Beast (have to make that DHL shipping worth it, after all) but I didn't go over my allotted budget. I've also thoroughly broken my habit of impulse buying a dress whenever I'm stressed or upset, or just because I think it looks cool. I resisted so many impulse buys that I definitely would have regretted in retrospect. I want to do another anti-haul post to show all of the things I didn't get and why!

I also have time to pursue my hobbies again, like longboarding and drawing. I've also gotten back into gaming. Last year in addition to my usual Mass Effect playthroughs I replayed my old faves Deus Ex, System Shock 2, and Silent Hill 3. I also finished most of Cyberpunk 2077. My friend mentioned a game called Alisa and I downloaded the demo months ago, but I stopped playing after a short time because I am so bad at tank controls. It's kind of like a mashup of Resident Evil 1, Silent Hill 1, and American McGee's Alice. Plus, the characters are wearing lolita! I'll have to try it again. I also have to finish my replays of Doom Eternal and Fallout: New Vegas but it's been slow going.

Gaming used to be a big hobby for me, but now I really only play in short bursts and then don't pick up a single game for months at a time. I'm kind of interested in more peaceful games now, like story/novel games and survival games. I tried Before Your Eyes and while it didn't make me cry, it was a very touching and sweet story. I think I need a  break from all my depressing/scary/violent video games and even though it was very short, it was a comforting change of pace from my usual games. The Mass Effect series is my "comfort" game series, but it's emotionally heavy and the third game always leaves me feeling a little sad. That all being said, I really want to try Ghostwire and the new Ghostrunner expansion...

As much as I love gaming, I'm not keen on wasting entire days glued to games anymore. I'm trying to focus my energy into more productive hobbies, like working on this blog! So many entries in drafts...I've also been drawing a lot too. Likely going to need to open up commission slots again to help finance my Coca Cola Starlight stockpile ٩(｡•́‿•̀｡)۶ haha!

Anyway, that's it for now...

 [Current Music: Foals - Lonely Hunter]

New manicure!

A little while ago I did a really cool futuristic-looking manicure on my natural nails. I used silver chrome powder on one side and painted the undersides neon green. I cracked two at work that week and repaired them with gel, but they were looking pretty rough. I grow my nails super long so breaking even one is traumatizing. Anyway, the other day I was walking downhill on uneven pavement, wearing my rocking horse shoes...and predictably I tripped and went down like a clumsy sack of potatoes. I was wearing a skirt, so I skinned both of my knees pretty badly. I also skinned my hand and knuckles, and somehow smacked myself in the face as I was going down...? I'm not sure how, but I have a big scratch on my face too (´･ω･`)?bThankfully, the rocking horse shoes were unharmed! Not a single scuff.
 

Since I broke my nails when I fell, and because I'm going to a wedding soon, I treated myself to gel nails! I had to keep my colours neutral to match with the wedding theme since I'm going to be a bridesmaid, but I still wanted to be a little extra. The thumb is about the length that my natural nails were (I need them to be short for work) but I went really long on the other fingers. Haven't had my nails this long since uni...I'm going to have to relearn how to type, haha. On my way out of the salon, I realized that a new bakery had opened across the street! I bought Hokkaido cream cheese cakes for me and my mom, and also treated myself to the first bubble tea I'd had in about a year. I always get taro milk tea with tapioca and 1/3 sugar (⭒•͈ 𓎺 •͈ )

My hand is still scraped up haha (´͈  ᵕ `͈ ）

Anyway, in my last post, I mentioned I was going to buy a cassette Walkman from Mercari, but now I'm thinking of getting a Discman or a cute CD player too! I used to have so many CDs lying around, but I don't know what happened to my collection. Most of it was regular stuff you could buy at HMV but I had some visual kei and jpop stuff, too. And of course tons of mix CDs that I burned myself. I remember having a bunch of (probably bootleg) Ayumi Hamasaki CDs in the early 2000s. I loved all of the remix CDs because I was really into techno and trance, but I liked the regular versions too. I watched the video for Rainbow so many times...the outfits, nails, and makeup were so pretty! It's still my favourite Ayu song.

 

The cover art for the Rainbow album is so pretty, too. I love that blue colour and glass/plastic look that was everywhere in early-2000s album cover art haha. The interlude track "Neverending Dream" on this album really brings me back in time...it really sounds like something from Phantasy Star Online, right? It reminds me of chilling in the PSO game lobby with my internet friends in 2005 (❁´◡`❁) so many good memories!

Back to the CD player...I went looking around for nostalgia's sake and I found the cutest little mini hi-fi setup! Panasonic SA-PM50MD. The glass front panel is motorized so that when you press the CD button, it glides up to reveal the CD tray. It looks pretty slick for a late-90s hi-fi - I love the silver/orange/green colour scheme. It comes in an all-white version, but the orange is really charming. The buttons are all backlit, too. It's a little bit expensive, even though it's an older machine, so I'm not sure if I'm going to pull the trigger just yet, but...soon. I need a new record player first. I would love to find a record player that's as cute as this hi-fi!

[Current Music: Drab Majesty - Dot in the Sky]

Happy World Goth Day 2021!

Hello bats...wishing you all a healthy, happy, and safe World Goth Day 2021! I always thought it was a little bit cruel that WGD is in May...every May 22nd, without fail, it's stupidly hot and humid out here. Spring and summer are especially hard on goths! I don't have air conditioning, so I'm melting even though I haven't left the house. According to the thermostat, it's 29°C in my bedroom, so the last thing I wanted to do was do my makeup and hair. Can't even open the window because of the pollen apocalypse outside. Sigh.

At least my pajamas are kinda festive? I'm in spiderweb-print leggings and a Beetlejuice shirt. And I looked cute at work the other day, too. I don't have a lot of summer clothes so I was kinda scrambling to find something wearable - it was 34°C that day! I bought a cute Kuromi insulated bottle so that I could carry cold drinks to work. Can't wait until Starbucks starts letting us use our own bottles and tumblers again!

Not too much has been happening these days, but I do have a piece of exciting news: I got my second dose of the vaccine on Wednesday! No side effects other than tiredness and a sore arm, just like the first dose. The doctor made sure to avoid my tattoo, which was very considerate. Not sure if vaccination can disrupt a healed tattoo at all, but I don't want to take any chances since the shops aren't open for touch-ups. As soon as they reopen, I'm going in to get some more work done. I have a few things in mind right now: I want a Patrick Nagel-styled portrait, a vampire castle, an ankh, and a butterfly.

I'm on a no-buy since I'm saving up for the tattoos, I need new work clothes...and I also want to buy a condo. Not to mention, I still have tuition to pay. My closet is stuffed to bursting, too. So I'm trying to limit my purchases to replacements of things that have worn out, or things that I absolutely need.

For instance, the tote bag I've been carrying every day for about 5 years has finally started to wear out, so I lucked out when I found a used Strawberry Switchblade tote bag on Mercari! Isn't it cute? It's a little faded, but otherwise in good condition. It arrived a few days ago, and I've been decorating it with pins and things. I've ordered a few band pins and patches to decorate the right side of the bag. I'm also going to add snaps along the top so that I can close the bag.

Speaking of recent purchases...the other thing I purchased recently is...a longboard! As a young kid I was obsessed with Tony Hawk, Thrasher, X-Games...I even used to skateboard little bit, but I was never really any good. I cruised (well, wobbled) clumsily around the neighbourhood and I couldn't even ollie. I sort of bought it on a whim. I've always hated commuting by public transit (too slow, too crowded), but it's gotten markedly worse since the pandemic started. I've seen so many people nodding off, shooting up, fighting, flashing, and worse on the subway and streetcar that I only take it if I absolutely need to. Plus, a lot of people still refuse to wear masks or keep their distance. I have to get off the streetcar/train and either walk or wait for the next one so often that I figured I might as well find a better way to commute. So I picked up the Rayne Future Killer 35"! It's a downhill/freeride board, so that should be good for riding my hilly commute.

I strapped on my helmet and pads and headed over to a nearby park with a big parking lot. There were tons of kids around, and I even saw a teen girl skateboarding around. I remember getting picked on as a kid for being tomboyish and liking skateboarding, and the boys were pretty mean and dismissive towards skater girls, so it's cool to see girls still taking it up. It's been fun so far! I'm not very good, so I've been trying to practice a little every day after work. I got a little too confident on day 3 and decided to hit the streets where I tried to take a tiny hill, tried to bail, and slammed my shoulder into the pavement. So back to taking baby steps at the parking lot, haha! At least the view is nice.

Anyway, that's it for my boring life update. Time to get back to video editing, since I did sort of plan on uploading a few things before ditching my channel for good. Thanks for reading, and see you soon!

[Current Music: Siouxsie and the Banshees - Slowdive]