Operation Orchid (or How Shada Intends To Become A Princess)

I have a lot of crazy ideas that never come to fruition - this is true.  I have more fabric in my stash to make random costumes of craziness that come to me on a whim.  I currently have enough fabric to make Leia's ceremonial gown probably twice, as well as a fabric for a costume for Morrigan from video game "Dragon Age".  I even have parts of these costumes that are completed!  Shoes for Leia, a skirt for Morrigan that's been drafted and cut and sewn together and looks awesome.

But they sit.  Leia has sat for years - I can't even begin to tell you how long.  It's embarrassing, really, when I think about it because it makes me sound like I'm unable to complete any projects.  I know this isn't true; I finished a Leia Endor gown in about a month or two before Star Wars Celebration the last time.  So I'm capable of working and completing an outfit.  I guess I just get sidetracked by real life.

Which leads me to where I am now - with grand ideas and pretty fabric but sidetracked by life.

We've been dealing with a lot going on, honestly.  It all hovers around the not-so-great things in life like hospitals and sickness and death and medical tests and recovery.  I shudder when I think about it.  So since this blog was created as a positive outlet for me, I'm going to try and set that aside right now and focus on the really cool ideas and things that have happened lately.

The best is Operation Orchid.

I didn't even know this project was going to have a cool behind-the-scenes spy-mission type name, but now it just makes it even better.  I have a good friend of mine to thank for that, and us both being Once Upon a Time fans just made it that much cooler (if you can say this is cool).  So some backstory before I get ahead of myself here...

Utilizing the Annual Passes of Awesome, the Nerd Husband and I have a trip to Walt Disney World planned for October.  We'll be attending Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) while we're there, and it's the one chance that adults have to actually go to the Magic Kingdom in a costume.  I love any excuse to pull out a costume, so this just made me horribly happy.  The Nerd Husband and I had some conversations about possible costumes, but I recognize that cosplay is not the NH's "thing".  He's good enough to go along with my crazy hobby and let's me suck him into it now and then, sure.  But he really lets me lead on these adventures.

I spouted off a few ideas, but nothing huge:

• Rey in her Resistance Outfit and Poe Dameron (or maybe just his jacket because that's cool-looking)
• River Song and the 11th Doctor (really, we already have these costumes, but I would have wanted to make a new River dress - the green one - the impossible one)
• Rey and BB-8! (he made a face at this one - an "are you crazy?" kind of face, so I dropped it)
• Random Jedi (both of us)
• Leia dress and Random Jedi
• Marian Ravenwood and Indiana Jones
• Regina the Evil Queen and Robin Hood

I probably had a flurry of other ideas, and I couldn't settle on a darned thing.  Once Star Wars Celebration was announced for April 2017 (I guess that's something else I have to talk about), that kind of pushed my Rey costume plans forward for that con.  I could completed River Song, I think, but that wasn't really Disney.  I wanted something else.

The Once Upon a Time idea was good, but I wanted to try and stick to the easier side of the Disney costume rules which "discourages" floor length gowns.  I could put Regina and Robin in normal clothing, sure, but what's the fun in that?  So that went out the window.  Heck, if I was trying to stick to that rule, it kind of knocked quite a few things of my list, even when I started going through the lists of the princesses.

Until I ran into Rapunzel.  Whose skirt does not reach the floor.  And I went OMGFANGIRLSQUEE.

For the most part, I am not a Disney princess fangirl.  Not that there's anything wrong with the Disney princesses, but I didn't connect with any of them, really.  However, Tangled quickly became a favorite of mine, and on some weird note, I connected with Rapunzel as a character.  Here was a girl who was naive and knew it, but she wanted to change it as best she could.  She was scared to do so, but she did it anyway.  She waffled back and forth about whether or not she was right or wrong, and she fought for the things she believed in.  She took the good with the bad and hurt and cried and suffered, and then finds where she belongs.  I guess I liked that.

So my brain went, "Hey, why not Rapunzel?"

I responded, "But I don't want to wear a ginormous blonde wig in Florida in October."

My brain said, "Hey, she gets her hair cut at the end of the movie.  It's cute and it's brown and it's short."

I thought about it, and I gave into my brain.  That was how the Rapunzel dress came to be the next project of choice.

With any costume, you spend more time in research and search-for-resources mode than you do in the actual construction - I swear to you.  I've looked at more blogs, random Deviant Art pages, screen cap sites, and message boards than I can found.  I searched the dark corners of the internet for fabric stores.  I downloaded pictures on my tablet, my phone, employed my mother-in-law accidentally to help me out, and this project just sort of blew up and took over.  Granted, I let it - because it's exciting to work on something pretty for a change.

However, my research turned up kind of a bust when it came to the fabric arena.  I ended up purchasing a quilting cotton that I liked color-wise for the bodice, but it's cotton - I'm not sure how that will look, honestly.  So it's not even really officially a start.  The colors on this costume are just insanely impossible to match because you don't know if they're pinks or purples.  They're neither and they're both, and it's as frustrating as herding banthas (I imagine).

After searching JoAnn Fabric's, two local thrift stores, and a hole-in-the-wall sewing shop I found, I was still empty-handed on fabric.  I'd done numerous online searches to see if other bloggers or cosplayers had mentioned where they'd purchased their fabric or what color or anything.  Nothing.  Sigh.  Until one day...I did a search on a whim.  I was tired and was giving up.  And there it was: Writer, Cosplayer, and Digital Artist - Julie Hall.

I have no idea who Julie is, but I want to make sure this lady gets credit because boy, did she ever help me!  Thank you, Julie - from the bottom of my geeky heart.  She pointed me in the direction of Hobby Lobby which had the exact color of poly satin I had been looking for - Radiant Orchid.  My nearest Hobby Lobby is a bit of a way from me, and with everything going on I knew I wouldn't have a chance to get there for weeks.  I could purchase it online, sure, but I really hate not being able to see the fabric sometimes.

So I employed my friend M.  We'll call him M because it's safe, and it makes him sound sort of mysterious - like he should be in a James Bond movie or something.  M lives on the side of town maybe 2 minutes from the Hobby Lobby, so I thought about it a bit and then I sent him a message.

Me: Question for you.  Do you have plans to visit your Hobby Lobby anytime soon?  *insert long search explanation here*
M (without hesitation): I can totally go tomorrow morning.  What color are you looking for?

My friends are awesome.  They just are.

The next day, I get a text message at 9:02 in the morning from M: "I'm on my way to the Lobby.  Operation Orchid is now in effect!!"  M later sent me pictures - with flash, without flash, described the fabric as best he could, and even searched in the clearance bins for matching thread (though there was none).  He even brought a coupon to cut down on the already pretty cheap price of $4.99 a yard.

I bought 4 yards - grand total of $12.88.  That's some good shoppin', in my opinion, and Operation Orchid was a success.  I haven't figured out if just that part of it should be called Operation Orchid or if this whole project should be - I think I'm going to make that the title of the whole costume, though.  I just absolutely love it, and it feel so Once Upon A Timey.

I won't get to dig into that fabric for a while, and I won't be able to go out and search for any coordinating fabric for a while, either.  Again, real life (and not the good kind) is creeping in on me, and I just have to face it for a while.  But hopefully this good stuff will be waiting on me when I get back.

I just realized I used the name Shada in the title.  Do you remember who Shada is?  It's Me!  I haven't explained where that nickname came from, but that's another post for another time.  Until then...you just get a little reminder of a little something I posted ages ago.  And now back to your regularly scheduled program...

Star Wars Dark Side 10K - Part 2

We woke up Saturday morning while it was still dark outside (again).  I think the alarm was set for 2:45 AM or so.  We dressed quickly and headed out to the bus stop to be there by 3:30 AM.  I'd finished the Asajj Ventress costume, and I was pretty darned proud of it.  It was time to take it out and show it off and be Sithly!  There was a line at the bus stop at our hotel, but it wasn't too bad of a wait and the bus pulled up quickly.  We hopped on, and we were off to the races.

It was awesome driving on the property in the dark.  Pulling into the Epcot parking lot where it's just a barren wasteland of parking spaces but you can see Spaceship Earth in the distance - that was just cool.  We pulled up to the drop off area, and we kind of blindly followed the crowds as we walked...and walked...and walked to the main area.  It was kind of a ridiculous walk, honestly.  There were a few volunteers, some people checking bags.  We didn't have to worry about any of that, so we figured we'd have plenty of time to maybe get a picture or two with some characters or some schemes.

When we got to the main area, it looked like the party had been in full swing for hours to be honest.  If busses didn't start running until 3:30 (and we were on that bus), where did all of these people come from?  The lines for the characters and photo scenes were outrageous, and they were already announcing the fact that they were closing the lines in 15 minutes because it was almost time to get people to their corrals.  Weird.  But maybe it's always like this.  I have no idea; it's my first event.

So we enjoy the DJ silliness and fan crazies - DJ Elliott was providing some entertainment, and it honestly felt like being "home" at a Star Wars Celebration.  So that part was pretty neat, and we decided not to worry about the pictures.  It's not like we couldn't grab those at a convention later on.  I saw one other Asajj Ventress costumed runner, but other than that, Asajj wasn't anywhere to be seen!  That kind of made me sad considering all of the time she got on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but oh well.  About 20-30 minutes went by or so, and then they announced they were moving people to the corrals.  So we follow the herd (literally) to our corrals, find corral E, get in place and get ready.

Get ready to be smushed in with a bunch of other people for about an hour and a half, unable to sit, unable to stretch, unable to do anything but stand and watch Star Wars trailers and have conversations with the people around you.  And freeze.  It was pretty darned cold that early in the morning, and we just kept having to think warm thoughts and huddle together.  I guess that was one good thing about being packed in so tightly.  But the wind was just brutal at times.

The Nerd Husband and I spent time pointing out costumes in the sea of people who just kept flooding into the corral section.  It was seriously never-ending, and they kept packing us in tighter and tighter.  I knew right then there was going to be no way I could run this thing.  Not in the slightest.  Even if I had a hope of breaking through in some way, I had a feeling it was going to be like this most of the 6ish miles we had to go.

They released each corral with a length of 10-15 minutes in between.  Something like that.  I didn't time it; it would have annoyed me far too much, I think.  But I spent my time in a pleasant mood instead - watching the fireworks and cheering for the corrals as they were released.  Patiently waiting to move up, and finally...it was our turn.  Corral E.  The "Evil" Corral as we then referred to ourselves.  It's the Dark Side 10K, after all.

We got our on your mark, get set, gooooooooooo - FIREWORKS!  I filmed it on my phone, we walked until we go to about the start line, and then jogged lightly over the start - because c'mon, you kind of have to start off a run at least kind of running.  I think I gave a thumbs up to the camera guy, but who knows if it was broadcasted on the screens to corral F (the only folks left waiting to start the race).

We did our running through the Epcot parking lot and met up with a high school band who was playing Star Wars music.  That was a great pump-up, and it made me so excited to be outside running(?) at Epcot.  We managed to do a few run/walk intervals, but it was proving to be difficult to keep up with our interval timer on my phone.  Even this early on, we were kind of bottle necking in places - especially as we moved our way into Epcot.  It was then that we decided that we would do what we could with our intervals, keep up with the folks that were close to us in the corral, and speed up when necessary to not get swept.  Honestly, this was the best decision of the race - the decision to not make it a "race". 

I never even saw the mile marker for the first mile - who knows what I was gawking at.  It could have been the backstage view of Epcot, trying to figure out what the buildings were for and what they housed in them.  Or waving at the cast members who were cheering for us.  Or checking out the back gate that was open into Mexico as we rounded the corners to Star Wars music playing.  The lights on the Mexican pavilion as we made our way into the park and up the pathway toward the entrance to the World Showcase.  Or looking at the giant screen playing Star Wars movie clips.  Of course, then there was Spaceship Earth - that ball never ceases to amaze me.  Somewhere in there I think I saw Artoo and Vader, and I just kept staring at it all and smiling and walking quickly or jogging a bit when I could find a place to break through.

We rounded into Canada and the UK, and then the path took the bridge toward the "back door" of Epcot with the intent of moving on to the Boardwalk area using a little bridge.  It was kind of a narrow little pain-in-the-butt pathway, let me tell you.  But again, we treated it like a walk-fest when we couldn't do our intervals.  No big deal until you see the balloon ladies, right?  (The balloon ladies, by the way, are women who do Disney races and walk at the back of the pack at the correct official pace time.  It's my understanding that they carry balloons so you can see them, and you don't want to fall behind them because then you will be swept.  I am proud to say we never saw the balloon ladies.)

The best thing about this little narrow path was a lady at the end of it who was cheering people on.  She had a sign that said sometime like "Good job, Random Stranger.  You can do this!"  It literally made me laugh of loud, and I said, "Thank you, Random Stranger!  That's awesome."

The Boardwalk was just a nightmare to run on with all of those people - lol.  So we walked it.  And then we walked quite a bit of the pathway from the Boardwalk to Hollywood Studios, doing little jog spurts when we could get into a good groove and not get in the way.  I was starting to worry around this time that it was going to rain on us; we felt a few little misty drops, but that was about it.  We ran under a little bridge down by the river that they had bathed in deep red lights and Darth Vader's breathing was playing on a loop.  It was pretty cool, but that was about the only thing we saw until we got to Hollywood Studios.

I honestly don't recall what characters or stops or anything were in Hollywood Studios.  It was just neat seeing the whole place in the early dawn light.  The lights were still on, and the cast members just seemed genuinely thrilled that we were up and out this early in the morning being stupid.

From here on out, the pathway is kind of a blur to me, and I'd have to sit down with a map to really show you were we were.  I remember seeing an alligator in a little bog-like thing off of a main road.  That was a fun little pit stop.  I think my favorite part of this last bit of the run, though, was running down this little dirt/gravel access road.  We were surrounded by trees and everything, and it felt a bit like running through Endor.  I loved that.

The homestretch was back at ESPN Wide World of Sports, complete with dozens of costumed Rebel Legion and 501st folks.  I stopped long enough to ask a stormtrooper if I could take a selfie with him, and he obliged.  And then...

FINISH LINE!

I filmed going across the finish line, too.  They were calling out names of people as they crossed, but I don't remember hearing my name.  Not a big deal.  I finished.  I got my medal placed around my neck, and I was given a box of goodies.  There was really no place to sit down except on the pavement which was weird, so we just took our box of goodies and our awesome medals and decided to head back to the bus.  There were huge lines waiting for the bus, and we were all very hot and tired and still standing and waiting.  That was just...hard.  Really hard.  We got in a conversation with teh couple in front of us, and it helped pass the time.

Back at the hotel, I prompted pulled off my shoes.  Wearing new socks was a bad idea, and my feet were swollen.  That never happened during any of my training sessions, so it was a new one.  I let my feet rest and I gobbled through some of my goodies.  Then the Nerd Husband took a nap, and I drew up a hot bath and relaxed.  Who needs a hot tub when you've got a bath tub?  Yay, value resorts!

After our rest, we decided to head out to actually get to enjoy the Epcot Flower and Garden festival, and we spent the rest of the day on our feet.  My phone told me at the end of the day that it was my "most active day ever" - clocking in at a crazy 18.25 miles.  Holy.  Mother.  Of pearls.

So as a conclusion regarding the Dark Side 10K race - all-in-all, I had a pretty good time with it.  Did I have some gripes?  Yep.  Did I have some nerdy geek moments?  Yep.

Let's start with the complaining first.  ;)

Gripes

• The walk from the bus pick-up/drop-off to the Expo and the Finish Line.
• This was just hard.  Normally, it wouldn't have bothered me, but I was trying to prep for a race.  And then afterward, I was trying to recover from a race.  I felt like all of that walking just tacked another 5K onto my distance, to be honest.  Can we just move the bus area closer to wherever it is we need to be?
• Expo merchandise
• There was nothing left that was worth getting, and we were there very early on the 2nd day of the Expo.  My guess from reading message boards and other blogs is that local eBayers come out, purchase a bunch of merchandise, and then resell at crazy prices on eBay.  Sure enough, I did some searches, and that's what happened.  I hate this.  Please, there are some people who this is their first race.  Maybe just having a magnet to put on our cars would make us feel kind of cool, you know?
• Narrow pathways and too many people - not able to "race"
• I understand that part of this is because I was in the next-to-the-last corral, but surely something could have been done.  Maybe even split up the last couple of corrals.  I don't know, but it was kind of upsetting to not be able to do what I'd trained to do.  I accepted that fact early on, though, and it made life easier.  Next time, I know - submit a proof of time and get in an earlier corral.
• More entertainment in some places
• There were times when there was just...nothing.  Not a lot of times, but I know there's that stretch of road from Hollywood Studios until the access road where my greatest entertainment was the girl who complimented my Asajj hat (without realizing what it was) and the alligator I saw in the bog.  I didn't need much, really.  Maybe even just some music or a random Star Wars character holding a sign.  Nothing big.  But there were times it just seemed quiet.
•  Fix the Race Day photo weirdness
• If you're on the first bus at 3:30, but by the time you get to the Race all of the photo ops are closing...something is wrong.  Severely wrong.  If you need to start busses earlier, that's fine.  If you need to start the festivities later, then that's okay, too.  But it doesn't seem okay that for some reason those of us who stayed on property got left out of the photo op fun.
• Fix the Race Day walk to the corrals
• Did we really have to trek that far to our corrals?  lol  Holy cow.  I mean, I really don't care in the long run - what does it matter?  But that just seemed a bit of a stretch to me.
• Seating at the Finish line - benches, maybe
• I'm not sure how to fix this one, but I saw so many people sitting in the sun on the pavement trying to eat their banana.  It was hot and uncomfortable, and there they sat.  It didn't seem quite fair, and I think that's why we just opted to go to the busses.  Maybe a tent?  Some bench seating or something?  
• Buses
• More of them, maybe?  Or just shaded areas to wait for them?  

And now for some nerdy geek moments...

Fangirl Squee-worthy Moments

• 501st and Rebel Legion volunteers
• I was so glad to see all of those costumers out there supporting the runners and walkers.  That truly made my morning because there were so many of them and so easily accessible to everyone for pictures and whatnot.  Those of us who couldn't afford to wait in official character lines got a chance to take a picture with these folks, and that was just awesome.  I really appreciated them being there.
• Epcot backstage
• Why this made me as happy as it did, I have no idea.  There isn't much back there, but it still felt like I was getting away with something by being somewhere I'm traditionally not allowed to be.  
• Epcot in the early morning
• What more can I say?  Epic.
• High school band playing Star Wars music
• This pumped me up quite a bit, and I needed it after standing in the wind for about an hour and a half.  Thank you, bandies!
• Random Conversations with strangers
• I'm weird; I know.  But this is the part of a convention that always means quite a bit to me - getting into random conversations with random people that you'll never meet otherwise.  You meet these people right now - in that moment - because you're sharing something cool.  You're sharing fandom.  And yes, I'm a natural-born introvert, but I still love interactions like this.
• Getting to wear my medal to the park
• You get into all sorts of conversations with people.  You exchanges congratulations with other racers.  You get congratulated by cast members, and some of them even stop to admire your medal.  It was just another way to meet more smiling people; I liked that.

So it was a mixed bag of good and bad - as most things are, really.  I don't want to knock this event completely in a hole and cover it up for dead because it's just starting, and I think it could be a really great thing.  I'd love to attend next year's race, but due to the timing of it (the weekend immediately after Star Wars Celebration), I just can't make it work.  Perhaps next time...