Sinister 6...

What seems to have become a sort of tradition, 

I ended the summer by spending time with my friends,

attending the ever-growing con, San Japan!

Day 1:

  Luckily, we arrived early to the hotel and got checked-in and went through badge pick-up amazingly quick! None of us really knew what to do with ourselves, so early in the con! We spent most of this day roaming the Dealer's Room, Artists Alley, and just enjoying all of the cosplayers! I ran into a number of friends that I hadn't seen in a while, so it was really nice to catch up!

 Around mid-day, we discovered that there was to be an Avatar: The Last Airbender demonstration!! None of us knew what to expect; nevertheless, we were all excited and rushed to the front row seats! Sifu Kisu, this hilariously wonderful man pictured above, explained and demonstrated a number of bending techniques. Sifu, it turns out, was one of the founders of the original Avatar series, and remains to be its head martial arts specialist! It was so amazing getting to see bending come-to-life!!

  To close-out the night, I attended my first EVER Rock concert!! Almost two years ago, now, one of my friends, Stacy (whom I've taken Japanese &&& VA classes with), got me into their music. Like most fans, I had heard about the band because its lead-singer, Johnny Yong Bosch, is a big-time Anime voice actor (also the original Black Power Ranger); however, not until Stacy gave me access to their music did I really fall in love! Now I own all of their albums & I was so happy I finally got to see them perform live!! 

  Another great thing I've learned: Short people get the BEST concert spots!! Upon entering the stage, Eyeshine told everyone to move closer to the stage in order to have a more intimate concert setting, so I was near literally ON the stage! Polo, the lead-guitarists was RIGHT THERE!! I had to keep taking steps back because I was scared he was going to hit me! But still, it was so FANTASTIC! Polo is such an amazing guitarist & I got to see his playing and facial expressions up-close & personal!!

The BEST part of the night, though, was getting to see Stacy pulled on-stage!! She is seriously Eyeshine's biggest fan: she talks to Ginny and Polo over Facebook all of the time, she brings them their favorite snacks every time they meet, and she makes sure to attend every concert she can! Partway through a song, Polo reaches over the crowd and pulls her onstage, gives her his guitar, and she got to jam out with Johnny!! Her face was so red and I was so happy for her!! 

 I'm so happy that Eyeshine was my first rock concert! They were amazing and so much fun!! All of their fans obviously love them, and the con atmosphere made it all so much more intimate and exciting! I'm hoping I can tag along with Stacy to more Eyeshine concerts in the future!!

Day 2:

  The following day happened to be just as exciting as the first! I made it to the Finals of the San Japan Ani-Idol competition! It was a lot of fun performing, but with only 2days of preparation, I knew there was no way I would be able to advance any further... Teehee, but there's always next year!! (*0*)

  Besides the competition, I got to meet this awesome lady, Kieran Strange! She's a British singer who is too amazing and has an adorable accent! I had never met her before, but I knew by how we subconsciously matched shirts & the way she freaked out at my Spider-Man USB drive, that she was going to be cool... After meeting her, I decided to listen to some of her music & I love it! She's become so big recently and will be starting her Japan tour this fall, traveling around performing her own creation of "British nerd-rock!" I can't wait to see her career blowup in the near future!

The second day, I was so busy running around trying to get from panel to panel, as well as attending the competition, so I didn't get to take as many pictures as I would have liked! However, there were so many that I loved! I saw so many classic Anime characters, which made me so happy! And, of course, the usual abundance of Naruto and Poke'mon cosplayers were there as well!

I was so happy to catch quite a few Sakura Kinomoto cosplayers! I just had to stop and take a picture of my favorite Anime characters!! I am desperately hoping that I will be able to cosplay next year too!! Sakura, of course, is my dream cosplay, but at this point, I'll do whatever I can manage! Other personal cosplay ideas are Ciel Phantomhive from Kuroshitsuji / Black Butler, && Vanellope von Schweetz from Wreck-It-Ralph!! o(^ ^)o

  Besides the Ani-Idol competition, my goal for the second day was to attend every Voice Actor panel! And I did!! All of the panels were back-to-back, all in the same room, so it was pretty convenient! The VA panels are always my favorite part of attending conventions! Even if I've already met the person, I still love hearing all of the stories! 

  This guy... Just... Let's just say, he was hilarious, vulgar, and soooo hyper! I don't know why people kept giving him sugar throughout the day! Haha, but it was great to meet the infamous, Scott McNeil!! Voice of Van Hohenheim (FMA), Koga (Inuyasha), Wolverine (X-Men Evolution), and a million other credits, but more importantly- Piccolo from Dragonball Z!!!! 

  My friends and I just happened to run into him about a hundred times throughout the day, and every meeting was an event! Eventually, we got his autograph and the chance to be a part of this San Japan photo-op! He also gave me a bunch of hugs because he claimed that I was "height-efficient and so adorably huggable!" Haha, I loved this guy! (^-^) 

  After seeing her at panels a number of times in the past couple years, I finally got to officially meet the amazingly talented and adorable, Carrie Savage! Another one of the "greats" with a million voice credits including, Maromi (Paranoia Agent), Momoka (Ouran High School Host Club), Kaname (Madoka Magica), &&& Mokona from Tsubasa: Resevoir Chronicles & XXX/Holic!! She was such a sweetheart! And don't be deceived, the only reason why she looks so tall compared to me is because she was wearing heels! (-u-)

  My highlight of the weekend, or maybe of the year: I got to meet the amazingly awesome, Jerry Jewell!!! I found out that he was attending San Japan months ago, and just as I did with all previous guests, I was so excited! Except, as the days passed, I thought more and more about the characters that he's done and I realized- he's voiced basically every one of my FAVORITE Male Anime characters!!!! Claire Stanfield (Baccano!), Russia (Hetalia), Kyo Sohma (Fruits Basket), Jin/ Sakamoto/ Suzaku (YuYu Hakusho), Happiness Bunny (Shin-chan), and of course a million other amazing characters I could throw in there, BUT, his most important one for me- Jimmy Kudo from Case Closed!!!!

  After I realized this, the con just became a mission: GET JERRY JEWELL'S AUTOGRAPH! And I did... I mean, sure, I had to be one of those fangirls that bombarded him at his very last panel (the 18+ panel, which was SO GREAT, by the way), but hey, at least I got it!!! And it was so weeeeiiird!! I hadn't been "star-struck" in such a long time! I didn't know what to say when I met him! I'm just so happy I did.

Day 3 

  All we did was hit the dealer's room for all of its sales and check-out of our hotel, but none of this mattered to me, because, basically, my dreams came true this weekend!! I got to meet so many awesome people, attend my first rock concert, and meet one of my FAVORITE voice actors!! 

  It's times like these when I just want to hit fast-forward on my life and be a voice actress already! I mean, I'm optimistic enough to fully believe I will be someday, and even though I'm only 20years old, I feel like it's taking FOREVER!! I want to be that person that makes people feel as amazingly happy like I do right now, just thinking about this weekend! Anyways, San Japan Sinister 6, definitely one to remember! I can't wait till next year, but till then, I've got about 9months of school to deal with! Wish me luck!!

Sincerely Yours,

Lisette Monique Diaz

ৎ꒰ ¯ิ̑﹃ ¯ิ̑๑꒱ુ ୭ ~Sweet Dreams~ ৎ꒰ ¯ิ̑﹃ ¯ิ̑๑꒱ુ ୭ 

Inks Lake...

  This summer, my family tried something new: 

A Family Camp Out! 

  I planned everything out months in advance, Mom booked the location, and on the afternoon of August  2nd we were all packed and stuffed in two cars, headed to Inks Lake!

  Personally, I was immensely excited for the weekend since I love being outside and camping! Buuut, I knew that it was going to be a hassle with my sisters... By the end of the 1st day, there were already complaints about the heat and money issues, amongst other things...

  Most of us climbed up this rock and jumped into the lake! 

It was so great!!   

It seemed that when we were swimming and just hanging out everyone was enjoying themselves and the beautiful scenery! 

  And it sure was gorgeous. 

  The boys and I found a small trail behind our campsite and at its end was a cliff with the lake at its edge. 

  There was also a herd of deer that hung around our campsite.

...Sometimes I think I'm a photographer...

"I feel like I'm stuck in a painting!" ~Suzette

However much I love my family, I sometimes miss the old days when it was just the 3of us and our camping trips every year.

We finished out our camping trip by bringing color to our flames! It was the coolest thing ever!! 

And the next day, after we were all sunburnt, Mom decided she wanted us to take family portraits, and that was an adventure in itself! 

Sincerely Yours,
Lisette Monique Diaz

 ৎ꒰ ¯ิ̑﹃ ¯ิ̑๑꒱ુ ୭ ~Sweet Dreams~ ৎ꒰ ¯ิ̑﹃ ¯ิ̑๑꒱ુ ୭ 

The Road to Voice Acting...

This year, the universe decided to start my summer off with a resounding, bang! 

  The week before I left for home, FUNimation decided to have their annual open auditions! Like, literally, my car was packed with everything from my dorm, ready for the 5hour trip to San Antonio after my audition!
  I went in, immensely excited and nervous, but I have to admit, I did a great job hiding my inner fangirl! Especially when I walked the halls and saw the XXX/Holic and DBZ wall art &&& when I passed Justin Cook's office... It was hard, but I was able to hold it in and act professional! When I got called in, Joel McDonald and I discussed how a number of students from UNT had already been through the audition, and I wasn't surprised, I knew a number of people from school who were interested. We had a quick 15minute session: I read for 3characters, gave my thanks, and left. I know that I could have done better, but there was no way I was going to fret about it because I had a great time in the booth! I loved being in there, wearing the headphones, and knowing that I am officially on the FUNi voice database was a definite boost to the summer holidays!

  I also signed up to take another one of Crispin's VA workshops! 

  I only took one this time, the Scene Studies class, and although I had already taken the class before, I still learned so much. Of course, having a completely new group of students, you get to experience all different levels of the voice acting world. This time I got to voice Roxanne from "The Goofy Movie" as well as Astrid from "How to Train Your Dragon." You don't understand how excited I got for Astrid!! It was fun, and I loved watching everyone perform their character scenes. After the class was done I talked to Crispin and his wife, Izobel, about their other classes. Izobel and I discussed my need to attend their Anime VA class, and hopefully when next summer roles around it will be available??? The most exciting news, however, came when Crispin told me that he thought I was ready to start actually working! (OxO) I got pretty excited, and even more so, motivated to get a move-on! 

  And then there came another summer surprise: Bang Zoom! Entertainment decided to hold an open audition at Anime Expo!! Apparently, they've been doing little auditions every AX; however, this year they were holding the auditions for an actual series they are getting ready to dub- This was my main motivator for the weekend! It was great to watch others ((I say that a lot, but it's true!)) and quite nerve-wracking getting up there myself! Buuuut, having a Crispin Freeman wish you luck on the audition is a great remedy for the nerves! After my audition, several random people came up and told me that I had a great audition! And, although I am positive they will never read this, THANK YOU!! It's always little praise like that keep me motivated to work harder at making my way in this industry. I'm hoping to be able to take more and more classes in the next year, especially the Adventures in Voice Acting when they come back to Dallas! I am so ready to learn everything possible and to get to work!!

Sincerely Yours,

Lisette Diaz

 ৎ꒰ ¯ิ̑﹃ ¯ิ̑๑꒱ુ ୭ ~Sweet Dreams~ ৎ꒰ ¯ิ̑﹃ ¯ิ̑๑꒱ુ ୭ 

Birthday Princess...

This summer, our little Coraline turned 2years old!!

  HOWEVER, instead of the normal 1day celebration, this little girl got 4birthday parties! 1party was hosted by my father and celebrated with all of their friends; the second was hosted by Disneyland, the third was actually ON her birthday, and the fourth and final party was held for our immediate family.

  Party #1: Dad, Jennifer, and a host of their friends celebrated with us. It was a sort-of block party, and because it was on the 4th of July, the military base had a ton of celebratory events happening. The same day, Suzette, Billy and I had also attended Anime Expo, so by the time the party had begun we were already exhausted. Even so, we had to be good party guests! At some point, I escaped the craziness and hid in an upstairs bedroom where I killed a few hours watching tv. Haha, I'm such a party animal!

The theme was Monster's University, since Cora's favorite movie is Monster's Inc. How funny that the prequel was released just before her birthday! I have yet to see it, but I've heard great reviews; besides, if Cora likes it, I'll most likely love it!

Party #1 was a crazy success! The kids and adults all had fun, && we got to watch fireworks at its conclusion! What a lucky little birthday girl! 

MY favorite birthday celebration was party #2!! Dad and Jenny took us to 3days of Disneyland!!! ((No matter how old I get, Disney parks will always make me happy!)) Sadly, because we had a fussy Cora who needed nap times, we only did 3half-days, but it's better than none.

On the first day of Disney we spent most of our time in the kids area riding teacups and every little storybook ride we could find! We also did Build-a-Bear, and ate at the Rainforest Cafe' which has become a sort of tradition for our family. On the second day we ate at Ariel's Grotto for lunch, which was pretty exciting since we had never been before. They gave us a cute Belle birthday cake and  on the last day, we met a bunch of the princesses!! I'm pretty sure I was the most excited out of everyone there!! 

Me & Princess Coraline!
She looked so freaking cute in her dress!!

This year's Belle,
I'm thinking Ariel for the next one??
(>w<)

Yes, I'm an Ariel fangirl!!

Princess Cora with Princess Ariel!!

She was pretty fascinated with all of the princesses

And she kept mimicking them!

Cora got to meet her Favorite Princess, Tiana!

And then Belle, Suzette's favorite!

&&&& yes, I got to meet Ariel!!! I was sooo excited!! As I said, I was the most excited!! 

Coraline's 3rd birthday party was nice and little. And guess what- it was actually on her birthday! Mom just got a cupcake and a candle for Cora, she blew it out, and the end! She was officially 2!!

Cora's 4th, and final birthday, was planned by Suzette and Billy and held at their new house. This one was nice and little too: Our family came over and some of their friends. The theme was Dr. Seuss, and it was so cute! 

Suzette got super excited since she was planning the party! She made green deviled eggs, and decorated the whole house in Dr. Seuss. I had fun, and it was cute watching Cora opening her gifts.

It's funny to see her reactions to everything, since she's still learning everything. And I'm excited to see her grow in the years to come! 

Sincerely Yours,

Lisette Diaz

ৎ꒰ ¯ิ̑﹃ ¯ิ̑๑꒱ુ ୭ ~Sweet Dreams~ ৎ꒰ ¯ิ̑﹃ ¯ิ̑๑꒱ુ ୭ 

Returning to Anime Expo...

   My very first Anime Convention experience was at Anime Expo 2005, and it was then that I started thinking of doing Voice Acting for the rest of my life. From that summer on, my sister, Suzette, and I attended AX every year up until 2008. The next year, Suzette had graduated so I went alone, and after 2009, I stopped going to AX all together. This year, however, I felt an urge to go. I purchased my ticket back in April, and when the weekend came, I had my Kigurumi and I was ready!

  Anime Expo is one of the biggest Anime conventions in North America, and I am so glad I went this year! It was the first convention I was able to squeeze into my summer schedule, and I had a great time! The only down side: Suzette and Billy decided to tag along... I don't wanna sound rude, but it was actually really annoying to have to deal with them! Suzette, who hasn't been to a convention in years and Billy who had never been to such a large event! While I was wanting to run around and go to panel after panel, and visit all the booths, they were ready to leave only after a couple of hours! And this was after they had made me late to arriving to the convention! By the second day, I decided to ditch them and leave them to their own devices. And on the 3rd day, I was alone! I hadn't realized till this time how much I had become accustomed to going to conventions alone! I mean, it was fun to watch Billy's reaction to all the cosplayers, and to shop with Suzette, but it eventually became too much of a hassle... 

  Because I was too busy running around to different events, including an open audition for Bang Zoom! Entertainment ((to be discussed in another post)), I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked. But here are some cute cosplayers I saw, amongst other congoers:

A Life-Size Rilakkuma!

Suzette got excited- Harvest Moon is one of her favorites!

I just thought he was adorable!

A My Little Pony Puppy-
Poor Poodle! 

HAHA! I loved them!
Sexy Mario, Luigi & Toad!

Some intense Halo cosplay!
And they were great dancers!

Loved her Creative Cosplay!

So many people!

Oh, just a life-size functional Dalek,
No big deal. 

Is this cute or creepy??

My favorite purchase of the con!
o(>v<)o

  Overall, I had a great time! Conventions like this really make me realize how many people out there love Anime just as much as I do! One of my favorite things about this year: the theme was Naruto! And, not only was I watching Naruto Shippuden at the time, but AX's theme back in 2005 was ALSO Naruto!! How much more of a sign did I need to know that this was a good year to attend?? Anyhoos, I can't wait till Anime Expo 2014! And hopefully, in the next few years, I'll be one of those VA guests holding a panel!! Stay Tuned!

Sincerely Yours,

Lisette Diaz

ৎ꒰ ¯ิ̑﹃ ¯ิ̑๑꒱ુ ୭ ~Sweet Dreams~ ৎ꒰ ¯ิ̑﹃ ¯ิ̑๑꒱ુ ୭