One part in place

Got a piece of my cosplay outfit today. Needs a bit of explanation, though.
See, there's this voice actor named Vic Mignogna who's in a bunch of anime I like, such as Full Metal Alchemist and Soul Eater.

Vic is in the red shirt.

He also makes music. One of his songs is a tribute to all the unsung heroes of anime, the parts so minor they don't even get a name. The guys who exist to get killed, or knocked out for the more kid-friendly programs, either by the protagonist or at his or her side as they battle against evil or whatever. Red shirts, mooks, stormtroopers, etc. The song goes like this:


If the player's not working, the gist is
"Soldier A, the unsung hero of anime, he only has one line but saves the day.
He's called upon to grunt or yell or scream, even if his mouth is never seen.
Through the fray with ne'er to say, he'll lead the way, he's Soldier A!"

So my idea is to wear some of my old army gear...

Cat not included.

...with one critical component added to it.

ta da

I ordered the name tag from nametagcountry.com. I thought maybe they would have thought it weird for someone to order a name tag saying "Soldier A," instead of someone's name. Probably not the weirdest request they get though. Probably not even in the top 20.

The plan is to wear it on my uniform like this...

Yeah, that's about it.
There are already challenges, like this...

S... er A?

Oh, and the shirt doesn't fit yet. Still too fat. The pants fit ok, but 2-3 inches need to come off my gut before I go out in public in that shirt again. How long does that take? I dunno. Belly fat is probably way more persistent than I thought.

Oh well, if not Matsuricon in August, there's Northern Michigan Con and USA Con in September, and Anime Crossroads in December.
The project continues, both cosplay and losing weight. Ran almost four miles today, in the rain. Clothes got soaked of course, so I changed back into my work clothes for the half-hour drive home. Had to go commando, though. Just as liberating as I thought it would be!
For cosplay,  I was outbid on an ebay item by like $40, but put in a bid on another one.

Getting started

In May 2012, tired of $130 cable bills, I dropped the whole Comcast thing and signed up for Netflix. Scrolling through their streaming video collections, I noticed lists and lists of cool-looking anime programs, so I started watching them. 
By November 2012, I was well hooked, and, noticing voice actors from several of the shows I've been watching were scheduled to attend Youmacon in Detroit, I went to it. My first anime convention.

Here I am with voice actress, director, and producer Caitlin Glass.

Then in February 2013, Almacon.
 

Voice actor, musician, and "Star Trek Continues" creator Vic Mignogna and me.

Shutocon in April 2013.

Me and voice actress, director, producer, and writer Colleen Clinkenbeard.

Colossalcon, June 2013.

I am with Jamie Marchi, voice actress, producer, writer, and director. All these folks do a lot.

I am getting smaller from picture to picture, especially noticeable in the June one. This is not a coincidence. I caught a bug at these conventions. From people like this:

I didn't know who these folks were supposed to be at the time. Now I do, they're from Soul Eater.

I still don't know who this one is.

Awesome.

Awesome awesome awesome.

Yes, I want to be a cosplayer.
Wiki says cosplaying, short for "costume play," started back in the early 80s. I was a teenager back then, but if anyone was cosplaying in Dayton, Ohio, at that time, I didn't know about it. I watched "Star Blazers" and "Robotech," so I might have been interested. Now I'm 44 years old. That doesn't matter, though - acceptance is supposed to be a big thing in cosplaying.
To be a stormtrooper - that would be awesome! Or a senior Amestrian noncom from Full Metal Alchemist. Or an officer in the Rebel Alliance.
None of these characters are particularly fat, though, which is a problem. Fat I am, particularly at Youmacon with Ms. Glass up there.
Been fat for decades. High blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, all the general health problems, all that wasn't nearly enough to motivate me to lose weight. Nope, the idea of playing dress up with a bunch of kids, that was the ticket for me!
So anyway, I'm been losing weight since the start of 2013 and on my way to being in shape for an anime convention cosplayer, no longer lurking on the fringes in street clothes.
I'm starting small. I have an idea for my first one all up and running. I raided my basement boxes. Placed a order online. Made on offer for an item on ebay.
I'm registered for Matsuricon in August, so I have a month to get everything together. I need to lose another 10 pounds in that time to pull it off.
Details to follow...