omg.

So on Sunday I found out that Hatsune Miku is going to be performing in Los Angeles at Anime Expo. And I was like HNGH I WANT TO GO, but as it's on the other side of the country, and plane tickets and cons tend to be expensive in general, I thought there was no way. I never in a million years expected a Miku concert to be put on in the U.S., and once I knew there would be one and there was no way I could go, I was a sadpuppy. And I just kept thinking about it, because when the concerts were in Japan, I knew there was really no chance I'd get to see one. I mean, international trips are long and expensive and if I were going to Japan, I would want to spend some time there. But a concert in the U.S. was logically attainable... I just knew I couldn't spend that much.

But see, I feel like I hardly ever really want anything. I go to a lot of fiber events with caitirin and our friends, but it's not because I'm super excited about the fiber events themselves... its because I like spending time with caitirin and our friends. There are very few things that I'm really into that I could travel somewhere to meet other similarly interested people. Even with anime, I can go to cons and have a great time, but they're usually so general that I could take or leave them.

But Vocaloids... I'm really, really into this fandom, even if I don't participate in any meaningful way. And I love Miku like I'd find it hard to love any other singer, because other singers are real people and I feel a little bit uncomfortable fangirling over them.

So I talked it over with caitirin, and even though we don't have enough money for her to come too, I'm going to go.

To LA.

To see Miku.

OMFGKEYSMASHFLAIL.

I'm actually really excited about going by myself. I've never traveled alone before, and I only lived "by myself" a little while at college when I lived in the upstairs of my landlady's house. I think this will be an awesome experience, even aside from the concert, because I'll show myself that I can be an independent adult. caitirin and I never want to be apart from each other, so I haven't had much of a chance to prove to myself that I can do it. I never did any studying abroad in college. I never did any exchange student things or anything like that in high school. I say it's about time.

A book recommendation

One of the most amazing women I know, Sarah Diemer, published her first novel today. The Dark Wife, a lesbian revisionist retelling of the Persephone myth, promises to be a breathtakingly beautiful story. Here is the author's description:

Three thousand years ago, a god told a lie. Now, only a goddess can tell the truth.

Persephone has everything a daughter of Zeus could want–except for freedom. She lives on the green earth with her mother, Demeter, growing up beneath the ever-watchful eyes of the gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus. But when Persephone meets the enigmatic Hades, she experiences something new: choice.

Zeus calls Hades “lord” of the dead as a joke. In truth, Hades is the goddess of the underworld, and no friend of Zeus. She offers Persephone sanctuary in her land of the dead, so the young goddess may escape her Olympian destiny.

But Persephone finds more than freedom in the underworld. She finds love, and herself.

Sarah writes for - I very much believe - all the right reasons. She writes so that her readers can see something of themselves in her stories, so that they can be whisked away by her poetic style, so they can have a little bit of literary magic in their lives. She describes her own philosophies much better than I ever could: her blog is at muserising.com, and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in love, magic, equality, and just a general all-around joy for life. You can find ways to buy her book on her blog, or on her website at oceanid.org. Sarah is not only a good person to support because this is her first published novel, but also because of the love she spreads and the work she does for women, glbtq people, and everyone who ever had a dream.