Mari Okada and writing with your soul bared
This post title comes from a criticism my mom used to give me whenever I was oversharing, overly trusting and too vulnerable with my friends as a teenager. “It’s fine…
The enthusiastic Ladybeard, or how fandom is different in Japan
Me with Reika Saiki and Ladybeard of Deadlift Lolita. I’ve barely done any significant writing in 2018, but that changed last week when I posted A Sunday With Ladybeard, A…
Why I decided to root for the Hanshin Tigers
John and I in our Tigers jerseys. 1) Everybody loves an underdog When I mentioned in Japanese class that I was thinking about attending a Hanshin Tigers game during my…
That time I rented a villa in Kyoto
View from the second floor. I didn’t do everything right on my trip to Japan. I, for example, accidentally took myself and my friends on a 20-kilometer march around Shinjuku.…
Animals I met in Japan
Snowy Owl, Akihabara, Tokyo This was one of the Owl No Mori cafe. He had a sign next to him that said he didn’t like to be touched, but photos…
How I prepared my freelance business for international travel
Going to Japan is a once-in-a-lifetime vacation that I’ve decided to take twice. I have a lot of feelings about how indulgent that may seem, which I wrote about last…
Join me at Anime Boston 2018
Me at my second Anime Boston in 2011; John and I goofing around at Anime Boston 2017 Eight years ago, I applied as a member of the press to Anime…
How to do your taxes as a freelancer
The only constant in my career is that my taxes suck. Nobody likes taxes, but at least when you have a traditional job, they aren’t painful. You don’t notice losing…
Things nobody told me about becoming a freelancer: a blog series
When people ask me about why I freelance, I’ve been known to talk about everything except freelancing itself. “I love setting my own schedule,” I’ll say. Or “I don’t have…
How to find your first freelance client
The hardest paycheck you’ll ever make in your freelance business is the first. Going from $0 to $100 is a lot harder than going from $1,000 to $10,000 because you’re…