Some updates and a request

Foxy Lady: Hello, there! We are still hanging on; we are just busy. I haven't forgotten the Blog Carnival roundup, but right now the task of reading through all the 26 entries and selecting the most representative remarks and ideas is strenuous. I start working in a cram school for foreign languages this Monday, for several hours every day, unlike the previous school year when I had 4h the whole week...

What I look like these days- stress and laziness interchanged.

So these past few days I'm studying and making lesson plans and produce material... I also have promised to help some friends with a paper they must write to pass the exams and I doubt I'll make it in time. My main issue appears to be concentration, of course. I was used to a very slow pace and now I must put my head down and try my best. Since it appears that things in my country aren't decided by meritocracy, and thus I didn't get any scholarship, I have to be thankful for the chance of working properly, gathering experience and sparing some money to be able to visit Neko during holidays.

I'm quite nervous for the first impressions the students will have of me. I have to deal with kids from a village, where people gossip a lot and that adds to the stress of performing well, not making mistakes, dealing with questions especially in my German classes where the students are in their early teens...  I am told to be constantly with a smile on my face, hence to be generally pleasant, but I shouldn't lose control over the class. I wish I was like Kaho-sensei who charmed everyone with her mysterious, gentle aura. People usually perceive me as shy and that isn't very good in my profession, now is it?

Besides, there are some delicate teaching devices in every classroom that shouldn't get even a bump or I'll have to pay for any damage. And the school is build on a small road, some drive like crazy, so I should be extra careful. It's not one or two students either. Last year I tutored on an almost one on one basis. This will be something totally new. I hope it goes well~

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Neko: Hi from me, too. It has been some time since my last article, so I felt like I had to explain myself a bit.
The last month of summer was quite ambiguous, since there were some negative developments (what Foxy Lady mentioned about her scholarship and my job remains part time) but at least we are still here, still alive and will do our best to improve things. So, what I have been doing and what I will be doing for the coming nine months:

Illustrations with dark tones, schedules for projects, plans for the future...

1. I managed to get a second part time job. It is not as good as my original work, but I need the extra money  and the experience I will get. I hope that this way there will be opportunities to meet more people and prove myself worthy under difficult circumstances. There are things I dislike about this work, like the fact that I won't be working under a stable schedule. But it is a new chance and I wish to take it. Me and Foxy Lady have promised each other to save some money so that next year, finally, we can be together.

2. I am also trying to find ways to improve my portfolio. The past two months I have been making illustrations for "Illustration Friday," a weekly contest for illustrators of all kinds around the globe. You can find some of my pieces here, along with other works on my portfolio. I hope that thanks to such work I will eventually manage to get a job of the kind I dream of -as an illustrator or comic artist. Besides, I have decided to make some cover designs for manga, in order to send my versions to publishers in the UK and the U.S.A., to see if there may be some interest. I would be so glad to read any suggestions as to what series I should pick.

3. Recently I have taken a great liking for the stories of classic mangaka, Go Nagai. I already knew and adored Devilman, Devilman Lady (my favorite) and Cutie Honey, but now I have discovered the classic versions of these manga, along with other works of his like Mazinger Z, Kotetsu Jeeg and Violence Jack. I love this man's ideas and there will surely be a project, a series of articles in our blog dedicated to Go Nagai and his world.

4. Among other things, this year I will be writing a series of articles about graphic design in the Greek website called "Almyro Fystiki" (Salted Nut). I will be writing two articles every month and they will be published every two Fridays. This is not the first time I am writing for this site, but since last year I dedicated myself on LGBT issues, it will be something new.

5. I am always dedicating time to anime and videogames, but I also try to read, learn and stay informed on what is going on every day. The economic and political situation in Greece is sicking my heart, as we see people getting poorer from day to day, while the neoNazis and other extremists beat and kill people. This situation has forced my attention over the Atlantic and the American elections, where I truly support Barack Obama and the Democrats. A Romney-Republican victory would be a disaster not only for the U.S.A. but for everyone in the Western world.

~.~.~

Foxy Lady & Neko: We'll be taking a break for this month and we'll be back around October or November.

Expect soon a new template and while waiting, we'd like to have your honest opinion on our blog. What would you like to read (more) from us -as long as our abilities allow it and our interests coincide? What do you think needs improvement? After the end of 2012, we'll move to Wordpress, thus feedback is more than welcome.

Also, we shall let you know that after the transfer over to WP this site will shut down. Old posts will be transferred, but those that we deem that weren't very good will be left out (the Conversations, too- I'm sorry John Sato-kun). Some will be edited in the future and others with no original content (e.g. illustrations, TED Talks) will be reposted on tumblr. As Balloon Thief said the beautiful world will be "50% nerdier now". We aim for more otaku oriented content without this excluding themes like sexuality, and topics based on books or movies we love. Foxy Lady wants to start a short novel translation project, for example. Let's see how things go :D