Though I did participate in an MS Walk a few years ago, when I got an e-mail from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society about their MS Auto Rally, I was intrigued. Could this be an experience on par with the action depicted in the fine feature film Midnight Madness?

Well, I am hoping so, at least. Together with my husband and trusty friend millionaire anime translator Neil Nadelman, we shall ride around in our car through Concord, MA doing deeds!

You can even give our team Golgo 13 and the Solid Snakes one whole American dollar if you like!

The organization’s fundraising goal for this event is $35,000, but right now they’ve only met 18% of that goal. With a couple weeks to go, I’m feeling bad. I’ve made my (initial) goal and wouldn’t mind raising more dollars for them because they are an extremely deserving charity. I know from experience! Take it from a satisfied customer, they make a big difference. But yeah, sales pitch aside, I am really looking forward to this. It was hard to settle on a team name. I went back and forth between the two names (Golgo 13 and the Solid Snakes, which is our Rock Band band name, and Toyota Prius and the Recalled Brakes which I just thought was funny) for a while. This sounds like so much fun: you get clues and you drive around obscure parts of Concord, MA. So yeah, it could indeed end up like the plot of Midnight Madness. Will Christian stash marshmallows inside of the navigation computer? We’ll see!

Once upon a time, not a single day would go by where I’d not browse Den of Angels, the mega-forum for people who like Asian ball-jointed dolls, nor would I pass up a chance to go to a company-hosted party in New York City for owners of dolls made by a certain company for the specific purpose of buying MORE things from this company. This year, neither of these things are happening. My adoration for Asian ball-jointed dolls has cooled considerably, both from these trying economic times and also general changing interests. Would I sell my dolls to make room for a new hobby? Hell, no. I still enjoy my dolls. Maybe not with the same enthusiasm as I had a few years ago, but I still enjoy them.

To that end, my buddy Gen, arteeste name of Engelmech, repainted my Volks Super Dollfie 13 Elena for me, named Victory by me. Ole’ Victory was a wedding present to me from my husband. I am not going to go into a huge explanation of Volks and their dolls and the intricacies of the doll enthusiast world; that can be found elsewhere if you really care. Anyhow, Gen’s repainted her before; I decided it was time for a refresh. Gen’s repainted most of my dolls at this point, and she never disappoints. Ever. She’s ridiculously talented and while she is aware she is talented, she’s not got a big huge bloaty-head about how absurdly talented she is. Anyhow, here’s my doll. Even in spite of my laughably bad photo-taking ability, I think she’s still pretty cute.