2015 nerdy views in Review

Nerdy views is two years old! And boy was it a rough second year for nerdy views. Just to put it into perspective, last year there were 236 posts, and this year will top out at 86 posts. That's two-thirds less posts. I didn't do any of my Game of Thrones recaps, and I didn't even have any posts in June and July. The culprit? I moved. Plus my office moved. And my responsibilities at my real job (you know, the one that gives me money?) expanded. It all happened at once and ate up what valuable spare time I had. So I had to re-prioritize things, and looking back on this year, it looks like I will be re-examining what I want to do with this site going forward.

But first! It may have been a down year for nerdy views, but it was a fun year for me personally! I bought my first place, went to the most conventions I ever have in a year, and met some truly awesome people. Here are some of the things that made my year memorable.

Cosplay

I know there's a good chunk of you out there reading this who don't understand cosplay. I was the exact same way a few years ago. I knew people dressed up for these conventions, but I had no idea of the work and accuracy that goes into these costumes until I started meeting cosplayers. And you know what? Going to a convention dressed up as one of your favorite characters is hella fun! Be it comics, TV, video games, etc, it's something you don't really understand until you actually do it and realize just how fun it is. So I'd like to give shout outs and thanks to (clockwise from top left) Eric Sellin and Matthew Bell, Ani-Mia, Yaya Han, Its Raining Neon, Destiny Nickelsen, Stella Chuu, and Drew Mollo for helping make these conventions awesome.

Celebs

The awesome thing about conventions is you have the opportunity to meet and interact with people you would never have the chance to in real life. You may not know who some of these people are, but they have all entertained me both as a kid and as an adult! I know I'm just one person in their sea of fans, but getting the chance to meet them and to talk about their past and future projects was really awesome. And I got autographs and pictures of all of them to remember those amazing experiences. Thanks to (clockwise from top left) Jonathan Ke Huy Quan, Nichelle Nichols, John Wesley Shipp, Partners in Kryme & Michelangelo, Kevin Conroy, and Doug Jones.

Ghostbusters

Credit: Upper right photo from Share My Cosplay

I obviously already have a deep rooted love for Ghostbusters so it's not like I rediscovered my love for it. I just discovered new ways to appreciate it. When you dress up like a Ghostbuster, it's one of the most open kind of cosplays you can do, because most of the time, you have your name right on your uniform! There's an instant camaraderie when you share interests, and getting to meet and hang out with these people definitely leveled up my adoration for bustin' ghosts. Big thanks to Evan, Tom and Ron from GBNJ.net, Ron from NYC Ghostbusters, Luna x Mars, Daniel Wallace (the author of the Ghostbusters: Ultimate Visual History), Marc, and Destiny Nickelsen (again!) because she makes an awesome Stay Puft. Your fandom makes me happy and proud to be part of it. Because sometimes shit happens, someone has to deal with it, and who ya gonna call?

Looking Ahead to 2016

There has been an awakening... Have you felt it?

I started nerdy views as a place to share the things I was interested in. I'm still going to do that, but maybe on a more limited basis. I probably won't have a post for every little thing I come across. I plan to share a lot of those things on the nerdy views' Facebook page, and leave this for more trailer breakdowns, anything I actually write, and hopefully some new content.

One of my goals for 2016 is to build more things! I rediscovered this year that I really like to build things! Be it LEGO, Gundam models, costumes, or props, I just want to explore that creative side that's been dormant for so long. In fact, my ultimate goal for the year is to build a new Ghostbusters proton pack. I've already shared my Han Solo Blaster Project and hope I'll be doing more things like that in the future.

One last thing. Thanks to you! If you've ever read anything I've written or posted, hopefully you were entertained by it even if it was only a little bit. And if you'd like to get in touch with me or just say hi, you can always leave a comment or reach me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Thanks again for your support and have a Happy New Year!