Achievement Unlocked: I'm now a Dad!! :D

I am now entering the next phase of my life; Fatherhood. :D

Took me awhile, for me to let everything sink in and absorb the fact that in a few months time, I'll be a father to a lovely baby of my own. :D

And I couldn't be more happier with the fact that the mother of my first child will be with this lovely woman.

Isn't she pretty? :D

However, what's more interesting than the news itself, is HOW we both learned we are now expecting parents to a lovely child.

You see, me and my girl just found out that she's pregnant with my child, just last week (which is April 10th) and that she's already 7 MONTHS PREGNANT.

Me and my girl are like... WHOA!!

It all started out, with my GF's mom, noticing something different with my GF's tummy. So my GF decided to take a pregnancy test to be sure, and to her surprise... she turned out positive. And just to be sure, we both went last friday at Makati Med, to have herself checked-up and scanned via ultrasound.

In this picture, apparently my GF is already
7 months pregnant!! She definitely didn't look
the part IMHO.

Now to explain why we are both surprised, you see, me and my girl for the longest time didn't expect that we would be parents anytime soon. Let's just say that for almost 9 years we've been together, my GF has never been pregnant at all and that we were already discussing adopting kids if ever after we got married. So you can imagine our surprise, as soon as we saw the ultrasound we are both surprised to see a full-sized baby moving inside my GF's tummy! :D

Everything though is not sunshine and rainbows my dear readers. For one, me and my GF, are having abit of an information overload trying to cram in as much information as we can in learning how to deal with her pregnancy in a short amount of time (2 months) since she's gonna be due soon. Also, it was a rollercoaster ride of emotions for both of us, since it took awhile for us to let the idea of us becoming parents sink in. Most couples had themselves mentally prepared for months, if not years ahead of time. We only had 2 months to do it.

So in essence, we are going thru cram school of learning how to be a parent and dealing with my GF's pregnancy. We've been researching for the best possible books to read about pregnancy, and just recently I bought my GF this book:

What to Expect
When You're Expecting
by Heidi Murkoffand Sharon Mazel

My GF loved it, and I kinda wish there's a guy version for this. For new dads. Currently I'm on research mode when I'm having my free time from work, but so far I'm looking at 2 possible books to get.

Be Prepared: A Practical Handbook
for New Dads
by Gary Greenberd and Jeannie Hayden

The Expectant Father
by Armin A. Brott and Jennifer Ash

I sure hope more books for dads (or preferrably geek dads like me) gets made, because earlier at our local bookstore, there's like wayyyy more books about pregnancy for mommys, than for new daddys. I mean new dads are just as clueless as new moms to the whole parenting/pregnancy thing, and we sure hate those boring-ass government issued packets that's at times poorly worded and isn't visually designed nicely as well... seriously. :(

Truth be told, this has gotta be the biggest challenge I've ever faced in my life. Currently I'm experiencing a wave of emotions that are both old AND new to me at the same time. But knowing me, I never back down from a challenge that I believe to be worthwhile. And as much as I am unsure of the future, I am certain of one thing, I am more than willing to step-up and be a better person and hopefully a better father for my kid. :)

Maybe I should change my blog's title from "Proud 2 be Geek" to "Proud 2 be a Dad" huh? ;)

My Sub-Zero cosplay debut @ ToyCon 2014!!

It's been a long time coming, and it finally happened. I finally cosplayed as my favorite ice-wielding Lin Kuei ninja; Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat last weekend at ToyCon Philippines 2014!! :D

What started off as a crazy "what-if" idea, became a passion project of mine, which would go under a great deal of planning, having the suit made, and physical preparation to look the part. Just to give you guys an idea of how much I had to bulk up before I cosplayed, here's me before I cosplayed as Sub:

This was me back in 2010 (which was 4 years ago). As you can imagine, I'm just a typical gamer geek who can only hope to cosplay Sub-Zero decently back then. :( Not only do I not look fit (or convincing enough to be a Kombatant for that matter), but even my arms are so thin and small:

So cosplaying as Sub-Zero then was out of the question. Add in the fact that I'm an introverted guy (which alot of people don't seem to believe nowadays), I can only WISH I could cosplay. However, a childhood friend of mine, along with other amazing people I met, inspired me to slowly start my journey into cosplaying. And thus started my secret personal project: to cosplay as Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat.

It started out quite hilariously. I just went all low-cost cosplay as a start.

But this little thing, sparked an interest in me to finally jump in and start taking cosplay a little bit more seriously than before. And so I went online and jumped into a couple of local Philippine cosplay communities and lucky enough for me, someone was nice enough to teach me the ropes and introduce me to a couple of key individuals who would soon help me in realising my dream of cosplaying as Sub-Zero. She would later become a good friend of mine; Louie of Hello Knightmare by Louie, is also responsible for the amazing Masterswords we sold last ToyCon on our booth.

And so, I slowly upgraded my Sub-Zero cosplay costume, by starting off with his mask. And for that I enlisted the help of Nimoy from Kamen Rider Custom Mask. He was highly recommended for his amazing work in making replica Power Ranger helms, and so I took the chance by having him make the mask, and lemme tell you I wasn't disappointed at all with the result.

I loved everything about the mask, from the quality of the sculpt, to the level of detail in that thing. And so, after having the mask made, I had my suit made next. And there's only one person that my friend recommended for their level of detail and amazing work with Spiderman costumes; Kino Kaoru.

Now this one took awhile, as there we're tons of people lining up to have their costumes made by the awesome team of Kino Kaoru and his wife, so I waited for quite sometime for this to be made. While waiting I went for another low-cost cosplay alternative for the suit (thanks to some online tutorial)

I also took the time to prepare myself physically and bulk up. Thanks to my cousin (who is a body-builder and moonlights as a bouncer at a club), I got myself bigger (although I got my waist a little bit too big for comfort), and my arms definitely improved. 

As for the suit itself, it may have taken sometime for my suit to be finished, but the result was well-worth the wait:

And as soon as I got the suit, the first thing I did was have my photographer friend; Edwin Francisco, come over and start taking photos of me wearing the suit. We did our photoshoot indoors, as I was unfortunately suffering from fever then, but the results were definitely awesome to say the least:

You can read more about our photoshoot on his blog Capture Clicks.

And the big day finally arrived; ToyCon. I was actually an exhibitor then, but I was contemplating whether or not I'd go cosplay on the final day, as I was still sick with fever. My significant other suggested I try anyway, as it is just one day anyway. And so I went ahead and cosplayed on the last day of ToyCon 2014.

And it couldn't have been any better, as I got reunited with a childhood friend of mine, who also happens to be into cosplaying. He is also one of my inspirations as to why I got into cosplay in the first place; Mr. Dan Geromo, who is famous locally in the Philippines as SpiderDan for his awesome Spider-man cosplays!! :D

I also got to meet fellow Mortal Kombat cosplayers, who also attended ToyCon!! I even met a fellow Sub-Zero cosplayer too!!

photo taken from Arkadymac.com

I ended up having lots of fun with both fans, and fellow cosplayers at the event. It was definitely an experience for me. :D

Kinda sucks I didn't bring a camera with me, I would love to have taken selfies with fellow cosplayers!! :D It was definitely an experience for me, and I'm so glad to be finally cosplayed myself. Thank you so much to everyone who made this dream of mine possible namely; Nimoy of Kamen Rider Custom Mask, Kino Kaoru, Hello Knightmare by Louie and Edwin Francisco of Capture Clicks. A special shout-out as well to my significant other who supported me with this crazy project of mine all the way thru, you helped me realize my dream. It was an amazing journey and one that I intend to continue for as long as I can. :D Till the next cosplay convention!! :D

Meet the Travelling Gundam!! :D

As a gundam fan, and gunpla builder, I've always admired and loved seeing Gundam kits in dioramas or settings that would recreate a particular scene in the anime. However, for the most part, gundams model kits are usually stored on display cabinets and are rarely played with. And as much as I do understand why most model kit builders do that (in fear of breaking the model), I also realize that for awhile most gundam fans eventually get tired of their model kits and sell em off to dispose of them or worse... throw them in the garbage bin. :(

After some thought, I recall of a particular story from the internet where a garden gnome goes off on an adventure of a lifetime, travelling from one place to another instead of being stuck inside a garden lawn.

So I thought, probably some modellers already did this. And upon searching the net, I came up empty handed. And so, I thought it might be fun to try making a gundam version of this, and so I took my most stable and favorite model kit around; the 1/144 Advance Grade Gundam AGE-1 Normal, and decided to go on a vacation with friends with him. To be safe, I reinforced my kit with some super glue on some parts that might fall apart and added some layer of topcoat to ensure the panel lining wouldn't wash out after I splashed it in the water.

And the result? The "Travelling Gundam" was born. :D

For our first trip together, we went to Water Camp in Cavite Philippines. It was a pretty nice swimming resort that served as the perfect starting point for my "Travelling Gundam" project. :D

It was a great way to get the project started. And with the help of my friends, who had with them an awesome waterproof camera, I got me some amazing underwater shots with my Travelling Gundam.

I definitely had fun with this project and I look forward to taking my Travelling Gundam to more adventures soon!! :D

Gundam Unicorn Episode 7 Philippine Screening + GMKC 2014 = My Epic Gundam Birthday!!

May 18th, 2014 marked the day I finally become 31. I don't really FEEL any different, only that I bear some life lessons that shaped my life for the better. :D This comic more or less captures what I feel "getting older"

My feelings about "adulthood"

However, little did I know, that this day would shape up to be THE best birthday celebration I've ever had in my life. :D

As you guys can imagine (if you managed to see most of my blogposts) I'm a HUGE fan of Gundams. As my significant other mentioned, I'm in a "Gundam High" this year. So imagine my delight and excitement, upon Gundam Philippines' announcement that the seventh and final episode of Gundam Unicorn will be shown here on SM North Cinema 10... on MY BIRTHDAY. :D

My face lit up like this upon learning of the awesome news

And thanks to my Gundam Model Kit Competition entry, I got to score 2 tickets for the screening of Gundam Unicorn for me and my significant other. You can read more about it via this blogpost. 

Having the screening of Gundam Unicorn's final episode set on my birthday was pretty much awesome already, however, the awesomeness of my birthday didn't just stop there. One of my good friends; Mr. Kenneth Guevarra of SenZaru Multimedia, gave me an early birthday present...

Thank you so much Kenet!! :D 

He drew a chibi-fied version of me (and my cat Tigger) with a Gundam head (which happens to be the Build Strike Gundam of Gundam Build Fighters) and it looked AMAZING!! :D I was lovin all the little details (like the Sub-Zero shirt), and my love for videogames (3DS in hand). I was more than surprised and thankful upon receiving such an amazing artwork from my friend, and added more to the awesomeness of what will become a Gundam-themed birthday celebration. :D

So on May 18th, me and my date went to SM North early, to avoid the long line (and hopefully score some nice seats). However, as soon as the mall opened, to our surprise, the line for Gundam Unicorn's movie screening was already INSANELY LONG. Alot of fans were really excited to watch the film, like us, and so we had to wait out abit before we were let in.

Thankfully, we weren't too far off the line, hence we immediately went in and luckily we got to score some really great lazy-boy seats in front, and I LOVED IT!! :D

As soon as the movie started, the room erupted in applause and happy cheers from the crowd. The entire place was filled with so much gundam love, that it made watching the final episode on the big screen more worth it. :D The feeling reminded me of the first time I watched Rurouni Kenshin being screened here in the Philippines, where tons of fans are having such a great time, it was AMAZING! :D It was definitely an experience.

I can almost imagine everyone in the cinema
reacting this way, after watching epic moments in the film.

Without spoiling too much, I can say that the film was a completely satisfying conclusion to the Gundam Unicorn saga. It had alot of highs and some lows, with lots of emotional moments that made many fans weep (including me and my date) inside the theater.

To my surprise, my date had a blast watching the film, despite the fact she wasn't able to finish the first 6 episodes of the series (she only got to episode 3). And after watching episode 7, she was definitely a fan of the series that she wished she could've had money to buy herself an HG Gundam Unicorn or Banshee kit. :D To view more of her take of the event, you can visit her blogpost.

After the event, me and my date went straight to the Gundam Model Kit Competition (GMKC 2014 for short), and IT WAS SIMPLY GUNDAM HEAVEN.

And as seen on my previous blogpost, I showed my date the towering Gundam Banshee statue that was on display that day.

Obviously, she couldn't pass up the opportunity to have herself taken a picture with the statue. Infact, she wants to freakin hug the thing if not of the sign that tells her otherwise. XD

There were alot of people; both new and old fans alike, crowing the event. Because aside from the awesome gundam model kits that are on display, they also had a HUGE SALE on gundam model kits!!

Parents, kids, and kids-at-heart, all enjoying the awesome sale.

Number of people in the event area is insane!!

She REALLY wanted to get this kit. :D

Would love to add this to my collection one day. :D

Speaking of sales... remember on my previous blogpost where there was this one gundam model kit I was praying for, that it would still be available and on sale when I get back on May 18th? Well on my birthday, my prayers were answered!! :D

I was super worried I would never be able to buy this kit, due to the sale. Considering this was priced at Php7,000 and then they lowered the price down to Php3,500 (more cheaper than the ones sold on Greenhills), it was a pretty sweet deal IMHO. And yes, I'm very giddy and happy as a kid as soon as I bought the kit. BEST. BIRTHDAY GIFT. EVAR!! :D

However, that's not all. Upon purchasing the mega size model kit, I was given a free special edition Hobby Japan magazine. I didn't think about the magazine too much at first, however, as soon as I got home and opened the magazine I was surprised to see it in FULL ENGLISH!! :D

Kudos to Bandai, Toy Kingdom and Bankee trading for this wonderful freebie!! :D I hope this is a start of Bandai's improvement in terms of making an impact globally, as I would LOVE to see the day where Gundam model kits being distributed here in the Philippines are in full english, from the box to the manuals!! I highly encourage Bandai to do so. :D

As for the GMKC 2014 event itself, where I actually joined as a New Challenger in the Open Category, unfortunately I didn't win (there were simply alot of tough competitors). It was all good though as we got to meet after the event the head of Bankee Trading, Mr. Rodel (the official distributors of Gundam model kits in the Philippines) and the representative of Bandai from Japan, Mr. Oyama.

Thank you so much guys for having such an awesome event here in the Philippines!! We hope this is a start of more great things for local gundam fans. :D Overall, my birthday ended on a very epic note, as the next day, I got my cake... or make that CAKES.

THREE FREAKIN CAKES!! :D What an epic way to cap off my 31st birthday!! :D It's been an amazing experience for me, and I'm very thankful of how my birthday turned out this year. :D Looking forward to next year!! :D