AUGUST 30, 2007...
Ever since I watched Sunshine, I have idolized Capa. He has inspired me to reevaluate what I want to do with my life. I want to be him. It just so happens that my most direct way of expressing my respect for a character is to dress up as that character. I wanted to make a Capa costume, but what would that consist of? A ripped bloody T-shirt and cargo pants?

While posting on the Sunshine Fan forum, I realized that one of the members, kaliszewski, lived in Minnesota. What a coincidence - me too! Then I remembered that during my perusing of older posts on the forum, she had mentioned something about winning auctions of several Sunshine movie props. One item in particular caught my eye: the bloody vest that Capa had on in his final confrontation with the Sun. That vest was the summation of the entire movie for me! I had to find a way to get my hands on it somehow.

The first thing I did was send kaliszewski a private message asking if she would be willing to sell the vest. I never expected her to agree, but I wouldn't know unless I try, right? Well, the answer was "no." Fine, then, could I visit it? touch it?? spend some time alone with it??? Yes; yes; no. Fair enough. The date was set and I counted down the days.

She mentioned that she lived in Saint Paul Park, and somehow my mind equated this to Saint Paul. Saint Paul Park turned out to be quite a few miles farther. But distance was irrelevant to my meeting Capa's wardrobe. I somehow managed to stay awake on the mile on monotonous road and finally made it to her house. We talked for a while and she showed me her bird, her cats, her guinea pigs until it was time for the main event.

The first thing brought out was Capa's watch, the one that Mace smeared Trey's blood on in the movie. Except kaliszewski washed the blood off. O.O;; That defeats the entire point!! ARRGHH!!! XD But she actually wanted to wear the watch herself, I guess I can... sort of... understand. Anyway, Capa's watch is Capa's watch. I asked if I could put it on and she said that would be fine:

I couldn't believe I was actually wearing Capa's watch!! It was big, it was heavy, and it had a rubber wrist band. Gazing down at it I redundantly asked, "So, Cillian actually wore this thing, huh? *_*" She said it went for ~$800 at the auction.

Next up were Capa's velcro pants and belt! Finally, some blood - WHEEE!! I like Capa's blood. ^___^ It smelled like acrylic:

She also had Capa's weaty T-shirt, the one he wore in the Observation Room when he met Pinbacker:

While I was taking pictures of Capa's sweaty T-shirt, kaliszewski brought out the bloody vest, but I refused to look at it yet. I told her I had to prepare myself. So I took a few deep breaths, and when I was certain I would not freak out, I mustered the courage to turn around:

What can I say? It was everything I dreamed it would be - thick acrylic blood and all! It was fully functional with zipper and belt. I made sure to take many pictures of it from every angle in case I decide to make it for myself, although I soon realized that it was too complicated and had too many metal parts for me to attempt it. I asked how much she paid for it, but she refused to say, besides mentioning that she went a tad "Leo-crazy" on the bidding. Eventually I got her to admit that it was basically "you can either buy a car, or you could buy Capa's bloody vest." O.O I left it at that. Suffice to say that though some people snipe a price on eBay at the last second, she drops an atomic bomb.

I sat on the couch surrounded by priceless Sunshine memorabilia. Enough wardrobe photography... it was time to immortalize myself with Capa's stuff!!

I took that picture believing the watch, shirt, vest, and pants was all there was, but kaliszewski kept bringing out more stuff!! There were Capa's white sneakers, his wristbands, and even his Comms link!!

But no! That's not all, either! Just when I thought there couldn't possibly be any more Capa props, she brought out an entire new outfit!! XD It was his longsleeve shirt and cargo pants, before they got bloody.

It was like some kind of twisted laundry detergent ad! "SUN BLEACH(tm), it gets out the toughest blood stains! Warning: Sun Bleach may result in irreversible damage to carbon-based life forms."

Now, I sat hugging that bloody vest for at least two hours. I have a tendency of taking things for granted until they're gone, so I was trying very hard to let this moment sink in. I kept wondering, "What else I can do given such a rare opportunity? What would I regret not doing the second I step outside if I were to leave right this minute?" I guess there was only one more thing I could do.

I asked if I can try on the shoes. Somehow, she agreed. I was now wearing both Capa's watch and Capa's shoes. Though they were a little big for me, they were very comfortable and I couldn't help but feel giddy knowing that these are the very same shoes that Capa - Cillian - walked around on the Icarus sets in.

I then started fiddling with the zipper on the bloody vest. It took me a few minutes before I dared to ask if I could unzip it. That was okay, too. With trembling fingers I slowly pulled it down, and as I stared at its open interior, I couldn't resist anymore. I asked if I can try on the vest. Kaliszewski replied that I've already had it on top of me for so long, why not.

And... there are just no words to describe how happy that made me!! *_* At that point my mind snapped and I couldn't couldn't contain my thoughts anymore. I asked if I can try on the pants, and the T-shirt, until I was in full death scene gear!! *_* (Except that I was wearing the watch instead of the wristband) Ahhh... This was pure heaven! Yes, I've considered making a Capa costume, but never in my life did I expect I would ever get the chance to wear the ACTUAL costume!!

I had to wonder how many other people in the world got to wear these outfits. We probably have Cillian, the wardrobe department, kaliszewski herself... It couldn't have been more than a handful. Strangely enough, the clothes fit perfectly!

So here's me in Capa costume with Comms link...

Then it was time to don the bloody vest. As I traced the zipper back to the top ands strapped on the, err, what could only be described as a seat belt, I knew I was reenacting the exact motions Capa followed in the movie! (Minus sexy grunting.)

Okay, think thematically! Here's me doing a pathetic impression of Capa staring at sparklies... XD

That's just... so... amazing to me... ;_; Now every time I watch the movie I can think "I touched that! I walked in Capa's shoes! I used that zipper and belt!! I WORE THAT OUTFIT!!!" I kept pacing around in the costume for an hour... hugging it, looking in the mirror, telling myself "you are wearing Capa's clothes, appreciate it!!" An incredible dream come true for me, corny as it may sound. For all my whining about being stuck in Minnesota, this has officially made me being here worthwhile!!

Above all, I want to thank kaliszewski for letting me come see and touch her beautiful collection!! (And for putting up with the photo shoot, heh.) I only hope I wasn't too creepy about it.