I’ve been tagged a Totally Awesome Tomodachi! I feel so special! No, that’s 100% totally true.
It is one of those interesting quirks about life that if there is something you really, truly, deeply desire then the minute you give up and stop looking for it, it will come into your life.
I have been blessed with being part of several really special online communities since I was dragged kicking and screaming onto the Internet 20 years ago. But time goes on and if one thing is truly constant about the Internet (and life) it is change. Those communities faded away, and even though a few of us managed to stay in touch – it isn’t the same. I really missed having that feeling, that comfort level of a community to talk to – and to listen to. I tried a few different things, none of which quite fit, and shrugged it off thinking, well, that’s too bad.
But of course I continued to follow all my interests online, including anime and gaming and eventually I fetched up here, at WordPress, reading and commenting on posts. And the next thing you know, there it was, a community.
One of the bloggers I really enjoy is Pinkie, of Pinkie’s Paradise. We share an outlook of hopefulness and positivity – but she’s much better at spreading the light than I am. I knew she was up to something yesterday – because as we were walking home from the bus stop my hubby spotted a bright pink colored pencil – almost new! – laying on the sidewalk! Of course, I brought it home, tucked it into the pencil jar by my desk, and opened my email – to find that Pinkie had gifted me with a Totally Awesome Tomodachi Award! It’s so cool! You should read her description of me! You know how there is this saying, I want to be the person my dog thinks I am? Well, I’d like to be the person Pinkie thinks I am. (BTW Pinkie, your description is pretty close – well done! I absolutely would mention you if I went camping – but I warn you, I will beat you at games. I’m not THAT nice!)
Thank you, Pinkie, with all my heart, for this Totally Awesome Tomodachi Award!
Okay, here’s the rules:
Put the Totally Awesome Tomodachi Award logo somewhere in your post! (check)
-Thank the person who nominated you or thank the person who won you a nomination! (check)
-Nominate up to four bloggers but DO NOT mention them by name.
-Write about your four nominees, using subjective terms only.. as if you were a friend describing them to another friend (examples follow) DO NOT use factual hard descriptors. End the paragraph with They are my Tomodachi and put a link to one of their articles on that sentence.
-Make assumptions about them, talk about your interaction or memories with them. Just create a fun little text that keeps your readers guessing who this is.Also talk about what they mean to you
-Your followers can play a game if they can recognize the Blogger you are talking about, if they make a guess correctly..they can join the tag as well if they so choose. (Thank the person whose description you guessed) -Readers are encouraged to comment their scores in the comments
Tomodachi #1
I credit/blame this blogger with being my gateway drug to the WordPress anime community, as he lured me from simply reading and commenting into actually writing about anime and posting it on my WordPress blog. Although I haven’t seen him around lately, his Twitter feed is active so he’s around here somewhere. Since he’s back in college these days, I’m sure he is just super busy writing essays and studying for tests. Doing it all online these days would be just fine with him as, like many of us, he has his health issues. No doubt he is still watching lots of all genres of anime and probably has a brain full of great blog posts just waiting to come out and bless us all with his insights just in time for Winter Solstice. I, for one, am looking forward to hearing what he thinks of 2020, anime and otherwise.
If only he were here, I’m sure we would be sitting up all night watching Chiharafuyu Season 3, eating Chex mix (he likes the rye chips best so I always leave them for him), and discussing/ranting about current events and anime in equal parts. Someday when I get my own Ninetendo Switch, we’ll play Animal Crossing together for the rest of our lives, or until something more interesting comes along. Meanwhile, I suspect I’m like his Internet stalker. He has no clue I care about him, but I read all his blog posts and most of his Tweets. He’s a prime example of one of those other life truisms I’ve learned – you just don’t never know when some little thing you have done actually touches and changes someones life (hopefully, for the better). Thanks, man. Blessedbe.
Tomodachi #2
If Tomodachi #1 was my gateway drug, Tomodachi #2 is my heroin. Maybe that should be heroine. We bonded over the love of Natsume, but over time my addiction has only deepened due to the fact that our anime tastes are so similar. And here I thought I was completely weird and singular. We could totally have sleep overs where no one sleeps, but we watch anime and color each other’s hair and discuss cosplay and colors and the prettiest art and eyes in anime. She’s always so charged and full of energy and inspiration that she makes me feel that way, too. I could just sit and listen to her ramble for hours. She thinks she’s rattling on about trivial things, and I find her deep and insightful.
She’s also super organized and efficient and they love her at work. Not only because she is a great coworker at doing her job, but she brightens up the day with her sparkling wit and personality. Her home is super organized, although she uses her own system. Like, all the anime DVDs are not alphabetical by title, or in order by year aired, but instead organized by favorites so she can always put her finger on the DVD for the anime she wants to blog about, or watch. She thinks she’s a total ditz, but actually she’s a genius. It’s just that, like many geniuses, her brain is organized in a slightly different way. I love her to bits and…
Tomodachi #3
We are both cat people for sure, but that’s only the beginning of the many reasons we are friends. They are also Japanophiles and book worms who has introduced me to the #OwnVoices books through their wonderful and in depth reviews. They have recently started college but, you know, pandemic. The inspiring courage they show at every level, from dealing with past abuse, illness, alternative sexuality, an often maligned religion, and still standing up for themselves and others who share many of their concerns gives me hope for the present and the future. They don’t back down from a challenge, even when it means they may have to go spend a few days on self care. They don’t back down from self care either (truth is, many of us do!) and are so kind and compassionate about sharing their own challenges, and their own solutions. High on that list is curling up with a good book and four warm purring kitties. A few months ago they said they were taking a break from blogging but thank goodness they were talked out of it – because I would have seriously missed their voice. Instead, they’ve expanded into blogging about the games they play, which delights me because I play many of the same genre – Hidden Object Games – and it’s unusual to find any reviews of them anywhere. I know I am not their very best friend – they’ve got a marvelous supporter – but I hope they know I am their friend, because
Tomadachi #4
Last, but hardly least considering I visit their blog almost every single day, my tomadachi number four is a world traveler and photographer who graciously shares her beautiful photos of places, buildings, shrines, and food. I’ve never seen her do a blog tag, so I’m not sure she will respond to this but no obligation, and I do want my followers to go look at all the pretty pictures because…well, because so many reasons. She makes Dora the Explorer look lazy and has no fear of hiking up a mountain to look at a volcano. She is always making me hungry and envious of the delicious meals she finds whether it’s from a little hidden gem of a cafe or even the handy conbini in the train station. We have gone on so many adventures together, her with her camera and me in my armchair, I feel like we are the best of buds and yet I bet she has no clue that I follow her. That makes me sound like such a stalker, but it’s not about that at all. It’s just that it makes my day to wander around Japan, or Okinawa, or wherever she happens to take me on any given day. She has such a great eye for details. Sure, everyone takes pictures of the big shrines, but who notices and gets a pic of the stripey feral cat who also came to visit? Who else shares my delight in a special Coke bottle for Okinawa? She understands that it is the journey, not the destination and
So many times I have been criticised because I have never, and will never, focus on just one thing. But look at the wonderful variety of Totally Awesome Tomodachi that allows me to enjoy and share. Please, check these bloggers out if you don’t know them already. I bet you make a new friend, too!
Thanks, Pinkie for a Totally Awesome Award. And believe me, you are also
