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Let's begin in January of this year, when after nearly 2 years of construction and all the stress and financial strain that comes with it - my family finally moved into our brand new house. At around 120sqm in floor space, it's no mansion, but it was ours. Well technically I still need to finish paying for it over 8 years, but it sure beats renting. I grew up in rented apartments and houses, so when I stepped inside my very own house for the first time, you can bet I was like "achievement fucking unlocked!"
Great thing about my new place is that it's only 3 kilometers away from my office. Not having a long commute to and from work is the best. It translates to less stress and more time for my family and myself, which to me is worth more than a salary bump. The bare-bones house still needed a lot of stuff to make it liveable, so over the next few weeks we were busy settling in, buying appliances and furniture one piece at a time. My carpentry skills were put to the test when I built a double wall to house our living room TV. I also got to design and work on a transforming cabinet, which would become my very first dedicated work space since I got into the hobby 5 years ago.
With all the home improvement projects complete, I had a bit more time on my hands and was able to kick off the Mecha Musume and Talyer Talk series on the blog, adding some much needed variety to the post lineup. Both were very well received by the community, and I noticed a big jump in daily visits. This prompted me to try and get more sponsors to support the blog. February was another busy month. I got to check out the first ever Gundam Expo in the Philippines, and I published the first of many airbrush reviews I would get to do later on in the year.
Driven by this epiphany I did some serious research on quality tools that didn't cost an arm and a leg, and my laborious quest bore fruit. I sold off my backlog, placed some orders, and before I knew it I had filled my toolbox with excellent hobby-grade gear. As no one else was offering these high quality yet affordable items in the local hobby market, I began taking preorders so that more dedicated builders could also have access to them. Every batch I would take a gamble and order some obscure tools to review, and although some of them went straight to the garbage bin, many would prove to be worth sharing with the hobby community.
Approaching the half-year mark, I was lucky enough to participate in the GMKC, fielding an OOTB Kimaris Trooper in the New Challenger category. It was a seam line covered kit, but thanks to my new gear I was able to deal with the flaws in record time. Alas, it would not catch the attention of the judges, but my efforts did not go in vain, as I came away with the experience that would prepare me for the even fiercer battle to come.
I cut back on kit purchases, focusing instead on growing my collection of hobby tools and taking preorders. The blog saw a steady stream of new reviews, with some rants and modeler interviews squeezed in between. All the new content was well received by the community, pushing the blog visit counter past the 400k mark, and earning the FB page over 4k likes and followers. In a matter of 6 months I went from surviving with DIY and hardware store tools to owning some of the most sought after hobby equipment.
All these new toys would see some serious plamo action as I started working heavily on the Kitsune project, leading to a small decline in blog posts moving into September. I may have been spreading myself too thin between work, the preorders and my GBWC entry, and I began feeling the effects in the form of recurring gout attacks. The pain and swelling in my feet and knees would sometimes render me immobile, but thanks to my wife and son looking after my diet I recovered quickly and was back on my feet in no time.
October came around and I was able to complete the Kitsune in time for GBWC. Back in January I promised myself I'd participate in the event this year, and being able to do just that was a major achievement in itself. The Legend of Kitsune would make it to 5th place in the Open Category, outperformed by the beast that would eventually go on to take the GBWC world champion title for 2017.
After spending long nights working on my entry, I decided to abstain from building for the remainder of the year and redirect my full attention to my family. As luck would have it, my hopes for seeing the 1:1 Unicorn in the flesh (metal?) were not completely dashed. My wife and I agreed we were overdue for a proper vacation when her brother mentioned plans for a short stay in Japan. We decided to tag along after making sure our finances were in order, and come December we were on a plane to the otaku promised land.
The Japan getaway was like icing on an already delicious cake. Relaxation wasn't really on our itinerary, as we spent all 5 days out and about, visiting theme parks and iconic spots in Tokyo, shopping (mostly just window shopping) and mastering the intricate subway system. I documented my pilgrimage in a separate post. It would have been nice to experience more of the local culture, but we'll save those activities for another trip.
I used to be a skeptic, but now I'm a believer. Sharing your blessings and giving back to the community really does attract more positive things into your life. I hope 2018 turns out to be just as great, and I wish you all good fortune in the year to come!
Until next year, keep building plamo!
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