Andrew should not read this!

We'll see if I can fill in a paragraph or so of words, just in case Andrew doesn't heed the title and remembers before he reaches any photos that he can't read this entry yet!

There's a reason that he can't read this though! Normally I'd be very upset if he didn't read my blog. He says he's my biggest fan,  been reading since I started it. I didn't know this. Either way, he can't read this blog for another... month and a half or so because it contains photos of his birthday present! It's something small and fun that I thought of a few weeks ago. Nothing big or fancy or even particularly special in the traditional sense. I have no idea what to get for him (and really no money to speak of) so I was pondering what I could do or make that would be thoughtful and personally relevant. Then I thought of something that excited me quite a bit!

Many years ago, probably 2006, Andrew gave me a gift of a papercraft Dreamcast. I believe it was after he returned from Japan. He and his brother had been making them. (I may have a few exact details slightly incorrect here, but what I do know for sure is that the first time I ever saw or heard of a papercraft was when Andrew gave me that tiny Dreamcast)

I recall thinking it was strange, but neat. Fast forward to March of last year when I visited him in California. His housemate is big into papercrafts, and had some very large and intricate ones on his desk. I was impressed.

Now, getting ever closer to the relevancy of this blog, Andrew and I have kept in constant contact since Christmas of last year. That's a whole other story. The point here is that one of the ways we used to keep in contact was by playing Minecraft. It's, in its own humble way, an MMORPG. We could play together in a virtual environment. That coupled with phone conversations was as close to hanging out as we could get, seeing as we were in different states. This has carried on over to my being in Ireland too.

Within Minecraft there's a special little mob called a Creeper. It's green, it chases you, it hisses and it explodes. Your dogs won't fight them for you. They'll destroy your structures and your possessions. They're a bummer. And they have the added entertainment value of making me scream and jump when I turn around a dark corner and they're suddenly there taking up my whole screen. True story. Andrew gets to see it on the webcam.

For all of these little bits of information combined, I decided to make him this:

A tiny papercraft Creeper. I'd like to print out some larger versions to transport back to LA with me and then assemble them once I arrive. I'm going to do my best to get this one back to him in one non-flattened piece, but that seems highly unlikely.

It was a bitch to put together; I used tape, clear fingernail polish and super glue. It's just so small! I'm happy with it though, it's my very first papercraft :] I decided to take it on a little photo shoot too. It inspired me so very much. Here are the rest of the pictures of the Creeper enjoying a sunny spring day. Enjoy!

-MJ