I'm semi-famous!

David Willis is the mastermind writer and artist behind web comics Roomies, Joyce and Walky, and Shortpacked. In preparation for this year's San Diego Comic Con, he compiled a collage of pictures and sketches from last year's Comic Con, featured on both of his currently running comics:



See that sketch in the top left corner, of the bride and groom? That's Joyce and Walky, title characters of the comic. At the time of the sketch, they had just gotten engaged. As of this post, they are not yet married.

Why am I asking you to pay so much attention to that sketch? Because that's the sketch I asked for at last year's Comic Con!


(Original sketch)

Since they had just gotten engaged and are pretty much the most perfect couple ever, I asked Mr. David Willis for a sketch of them getting married. He laughed that it was cheating but happily sketched it anyway and snapped a picture to show his girlfriend Maggie. In fact, that's me holding it up in the picture! (Maggie, BTW, was a production assistant on WALL-E and her name can be found in the intro credits.)

Anyway, my plug is complete for Mr Willis and his comics. After seeing this, I'm even more disappointed about not going to Comic Con this year. I know I could have gotten out of the admission fee by volunteering but I don't have enough money to buy things and I really just want to support the web comic artists I follow. The list grows every year and the comics get more and more popular. I'm a HUGE web comic geek, so for me SDCC is for them. If I can't help support them through merch and such, I don't really see the point in going. But I hope everyone that goes enjoys themselves and I can make it to next year's.

Links of the Week

First, sorry about hiatus -- I was in Vegas over the weekend! I have some things to say about that but first, a series of things I meant to blog about last week:

-Staples now offers picture printing! They just added the booths, so it's super cheap to get pictures printed now. Because it's promotional, 4x6 photos only cost $0.10 each! For comparison, Target's current special is 20 pictures for $3 ($0.15 each) and CVS costs $0.39 each for 4x6 pictures. Of course, this is a limited time offer so if you need to print pictures, go now!

-Jamba Juice has a buy one, get one free coupon on their website right now, which expires at the end of this month. Just sign up, print it out and bring it to any Jamba Juice store.

-Apartment Therapy compiled a list of 20 uses for used dryer sheets. A lot of people already use dryer sheets for more than just their laundry but this list features a few new ones and emphasizes the fact that these tips are for dryer sheets that were already used in the laundry.

-Genetic theory on homosexuality: an interesting theory on how homosexuality survives genetically despite the difficulties of passing on the gene.

-And, of course, with all the Dark Knight hype, there have been a lot of articles circulating about Batman such as an analysis of whether or not Batman would be a feasible real person and a list of life lessons we learned from Batman. I haven't seen the movie myself yet but I am hearing really great things about it.

How to Be A Good Host/Hostess

I like to play hostess. I like to hold parties. Not the wild off-the-wall house party types, but small get-togethers. Between failed experiences with this and my future wedding/event planning career aspirations, I've learned a lot about throwing parties. (For example, I had one failed potluck which will be featured in this article and one very successful one. I'll discuss some of the things that helped make one better than the other.) These are some tips based on generic events on the smaller scale of the size scale.

1) Make your decisions early and stand firm by them.
The most important decisions in planning your party come way before the invitations go out. Decide the type of party, location, and a loose schedule of events. While it's good to be flexible, it's indubitably very difficult to keep a large number of people well-informed to changes. The larger the event, the less flexibility you should have in changing big things like the location. I say have a loose schedule because there's no point in stressing yourself out when things happen to go a little off schedule. I guess you should think of as more like knowing a general order of events rather than a schedule. Having a general plan will help you fend off people who are sitting around bored because nothing is happening and it doesn't feel like anything is going to happen either... it also helps quell that whole "what are we going to do now/next" problem that happens a lot at gatherings which tend to result in everyone just sort of hanging around.

Some tips:

• Instead of straining yourself to work around everyone else's schedules, pick a date slightly off in the distance. If it's too short notice, people will most likely have made plans. If it's too far off, no one will be able to respond to you soon because no one will know their plans. It's hard to give a general guideline because it depends on the type of lifestyles your guests lead. Most of my friends are early to mid-twenties so their schedules are pretty flexible and short-term; I think 2-4 weeks in advance is a good amount of time.
• Since you're the one hosting it, most people will tend to follow your direction pretty well. Don't leave major decisions like 'what to do after you eat' to your guests. Some smaller decisions, like voting on a movie to watch, will help adapt the party to your guests. Like any group of people, a leadership position needs to be filled, particularly if the guests aren't all familiar with each other.
• Don't doubt yourself too much! Of course, have the ability to change something if it's really not working out (e.g. a particular type of food costs too much for x number of people), but don't torment yourself with whether or not other things will be "better" choices. Remember, parties are meant to be enjoyed.

2) Know your guest list
Choose your guests wisely. If people have problems with other people, don't invite both sides. If you don't want to forced to choose a side, try to see if a temporary ceasefire can be negotiated. (I.e. Talk to both sides, saying that you want to have him/her/them there but really want to avoid any problems and see if your pals are willing to put differences aside for a short time. If not, I would either suggest not inviting either side or just inviting the side that was willing to cooperate.)

Another problem at events has been "the loner." This is the person who just one of your friends and not part of a group of friends, who might have a difficult time mingling because the group is already tight-knit. Solutions to this problem include: inviting his/her mate, telling him/her to bring a friend, or avoiding the big group thing altogether. I used to be pretty bad about mixing friends but I've wised up to it -- pick out only your individual closest friends and prepare a way of introducing them. For example, mentioning the friends a few times to one another before introducing and saying"the one I told about" is one potential way. Another is introducing them by name and then mentioning something that you already know they have in common. Another good way to get everyone involved (and not having anyone wind up alone in a corner) is to incorporate group activities in which everyone must participate. This means activities that involve rotation through the individuals (everyone has a turn), not activities in which one person takes charge and the others follow.

As you're hosting, be sure to walk around a lot. This will prevent you from spending all your time with one person or group and therefore discourage any resentment if anyone gets little or no attention after being invited to your party. Also, this will help keep you up-to-the-minute on how the the party is going because you'll be getting feedback from all over the place. If there is anyone there that you don't know, make sure you meet them. This is part of good hospitality but mostly it's just weird to leave a party without even meeting the person that threw it. Maybe it's acceptable for frat boys but we're talking about events that don't involve you waking up in strange places. Anyhow, guests should not just be names on a list to you. Make the effort to get in a few words with your guests and it'll go a long way.

The last thing big point about knowing your guest list is RSVP's and follow-ups. Try to get everyone to RSVP as soon as possible. An accurate count makes a huge difference when it comes to preparing things such as food, drinks, and utensils. If anything should change, tell your guests to contact you ASAP. If someone doesn't respond, follow up. If they don't respond to the follow-up, discount them. If they don't bother to RSVP then there's no real point in putting in the extra effort to keep them informed about the details of the event. I know it's kind of harsh but event planning isn't an easy task and your guests don't need to make it harder by not cooperating with your need for information.

3) Communication
In conjunction with your "stand by your decisions," effective communication is key to a smoothly executed event. This means many things but first and foremost, it means you must be clear and understandable in all your communication. If you hold something at a restaurant, make sure your directions specify exactly which one it is so there's no confusion. Allow for people who have no idea where it is. (E.g. Instead of "the one near my house," use "the one on the corner of X and Y streets, near That One Store.")

Communication is easier in this day and age with the advance of technology and forms of communication that allow for mass info flow such as email and FaceBook. I planned my latest event on FaceBook (which is the current most popular social networking site, for those of you who have been living under a rock) and it made it very easy for me to message everyone at the same time and coordinate information like who was bringing what dish to the potluck. Also for this event, I modified a Google map with detailed instruction on how to get into the building. Google Maps now has these wonderful features where you can plop placemarks and draw lines on any maps of your choice and save it to your profile, where you can share it with the world or privately to your friends. Here's more information -- My Maps (Google Maps).

Inform everyone of details and developments. For the potluck, I wanted to avoid a repeat of my last potluck where we had no real food but lots of store-bought dessert so I specified that everyone should try to bring a real dish. Most people did and those who didn't still purchased something more substantial than chips or ice cream.

Be accessible. If people have questions, be available to answer them. The last 24 hours before your event begins are probably the most essential and shame on you if you don't have your phone on for them.

4) Greetings, Valedictions, and Thanks
Your guests are what make your event a party. Without them, all you have is an empty venue and a lot of uneaten food. Therefore, any and all efforts to show your appreciation will (most of the time) be well-received and make you look very gracious and humble. If possible, greet all your guests and exchange small talk with everyone. Smile, make little jokes, and be pleasant.
Valediction is really just a fancy term for saying farewells. Thank everyone for coming when they leave. Say you enjoyed having them and you should do this more often. Make sure people know their way out (out of building, back to freeway, etc.).
Thank everyone afterward. Thank you notes or emails are simple and effective, and it gives the event closure. This is also the time to make any announcements about things discovered after the event, such as left-behind jackets. For events that involved gifts, it's better to write personal thank notes for the attendance and the gift. For an event that is centered around social activity rather than a single person, a broad generic one is acceptable. The Simple Dollar has a wonderful article on how to write thank you notes.

On that note, thanks for reading and comments are most appreciated.

French Serial Killer Engaged

This is one of many recent news stories from CNN making me realize that either 1) anyone can fall in love and deserves love or 2) people are crazy. The romantic part of me wants to believe that just about anyone can find a deserving and fulfilling love but the skeptic/realistic in me wonders what the heck is going through their minds.

Case in point, this story is about French serial killer Charles Sobhraj, who has confessed to his own crimes and has a life sentence in prison. But I guess that doesn't stop him from love -- he met a French interpreter hired for his lawyer, a woman 44 years his younger. He has recently attempted to appeal to the Nepal court for release and the two plan on getting married if he is freed.

The article says, "Biswas said she was certain the Supreme Court would free Sobhraj because of a lack of evidence against him."

I don't think that says a whole lot about a man you'd be marrying. On top of that, his nickname is "the serpent," due to his reputation as a skilled disguise and escape artist.

Not exactly the type to bring home to Mother...

Solve the Problem of Useless Gift Cards

What do you normally do when people have gotten you a gift card to someplace you'd never shop? Most people stash it someplace and it goes completely unused... this happens to me if I can't find someone to re-gift it to.

But some brilliant mind on the internet found a solution -- a network of people exchanging gift cards, aptly named Swap A Gift.

Here's more information about how it works. They buy your card as long it meets their requirements (65% - 75% of the amount left, depending what type of card it is) and as long as it's on their list. Heck, even if it's not on their list, if you email them nicely and ask. Alternatively, you can post your card for other people to buy or swap with personally.

I haven't tried it myself but it looks extremely useful!