AX'06 Day Two: More Gatherings . . . Gatherings Are Good
I woke up at 7:30 A.M. Sunday using the Snooze function. I ate breakfast and got ready to cosplay as Edward Elric from Full Metal Alchemist. I arrived at the convention center around 8:45 A.M. My priority for the rest of the con was to take as many cosplay pics to make up for the first day. OMFG! I think I overdid myself. I practically stopped every cosplay within 3 feet from me and taking two pictures if the picture on Auto setting came out terrible. I saw Lisu and Megumi at 9:00 A.M. They planned to attend the Hyde concert in Hollywood later in the evening. After talking to Lisu and Megumi, I walked along the line to the Dealer's Room and took cosplay pics. At 9:30 A.M., I took a cosplay pic with Saber from Fate/Stay Night. Saber rocks.
At 10:00 A.M., I saw Matt roaming around. Matt staffed at Japantown Anime Faire 3 and is a college student. We met at Fanime Con 2005. Matt and I walked around the con and headed to the Artist Alley. The Artist Alley was really tight to walk around, and only half of the artists were there in the early morning, yet there were congers trying to move around the tiny area. We were trying to find April who has her own artist website, www.greyscalestudios.net. Matt also gave me tips on digital photography. Then we went to the Dealers Room at 10:45 A.M. Hey, Matt, want to buy one of those faith books we saw? *Hee, hee* Matt introduced me to Tom and Victoria aka Traveling Valentine. Tom and Victoria were in a documentary at Fanime Con 2006 and usually cosplay as Lupin and Fujiko. The next stop was the Anime Selects booth because Anime Selects scheduled an interview with Man-Faye. I have pics and I post on my 2006 Anime Expo cosplay pics soon. Man-Faye was interviewed and gave a speech on the Freedom of Expression and mentioned JFK and how they apply to male crossplayers. After the interview, he tossed free t-shirts, and anyone with the t-shirt could get it autograph by Man-Faye. Matt and I separated 12:30 P.M. because he had a gathering at 1:00 P.M. Between now and 2:15 P.M., I took a ton of cosplay pics. My last booth to visit was Tea Club. The artist of Tea Club was my brother's best friend in high school. I purchased her first manga Volume 1. Good luck. I can't wait to read it.
It's All Gatherings
At 2:15 P.M., I went to the Hilton to meet with my Fanime Con friends. KyraEnsui, Ryu, DLZ, Otakuya, Jyun, Karisma, Karisma's sister, and I walked from the Hilton to IHOP. Lisu came by to say Hi because he had other plans including the Hyde concert. When we got seated, we saw a Maes Hughes cosplayer and his girlfriend. Their names are Mindy and Bradley. We exchanged email addresses and cell phone numbers for a possible get together later. And I took a picture of them. Unfortunately, we never got together. When we ordered our food, there was an oddball moment. When Jyun requested a substitute for soup, the waitress immediately said "No!" We were stunned. Then she corrected herself and said the substitute was O.K. After the waitress walked away, we talked about it for little bit laughing it off. We also talked about cosplay gatherings, our impressions of AX'06 so far, our schedules and plans for the rest of the con, and lots and lots of random stuff. The food arrived late around 3:20 P.M. The Rozen Maiden gathering was at 4:00 P.M. Ryu needed to borrow my glasses. After I got my usual Two Egg sampler which sausage, hash browns, and toast, I took my lunch take out, left $15.00 on the table, and went back to my hotel to get my glasses.
The Rozen Maiden 4:00 P.M. gathering started on time. Ryu made it and I lend him my glasses. The gathering was small; unfortunately, many Rozen Maiden cosplayers I saw throughout the con were missing. Regardless, there were some great shots. Ryu and I separated at 4:20 P.M. I took a few more cosplayers and went back to the hotel to take a shower and rest for the Full Metal Alchemist (FMA) gathering at 7:00 P.M.
Let The Craziness Begin
I arrived at the courtyard at 6:30 P.M. I took more cosplay pics. As 7:00 P.M. approached, I was told the gathering was located at the cul-de-sac next to the AX banner. I then walked around the courtyard and found a few more FMA cosplayers and told them to meet at the cul-de-sac. How did the FMA gathering went? One word: crazy. We moved to the Hall E entrance which has a stairway area to accompany the massive FMA cosplayers. More craziness. During the FMA cosplay gathering, I saw Silver_Unicorn and Audioventchick. Silver_Unicorn thought about going to masquerade dance. She chose not to go. And I gave Audioventchick a CD of her Rose cosplays from Cherry Blossom 2006 and Fanime Con 2006. Audioventchick, I forgot to take a picture of you at AX. Sorry.
I left the gathering at 7:20 P.M. I called Becky if she wanted to go to the masquerade dance. She couldn’t because she was attending a panel. No problem. On my way to the dance, I went to the Hilton gift shop and purchased water. I was thirsty. I arrived at the masquerade dance and it was really hot inside. I was sweating and there was some dancing. Not a lot going on. The dance was a no go. Fortunately, Becky went to the panel.
I walked back to the courtyard and then I saw HanyaanFaery. I took her cosplay picture. She cosplayed as a pirate of some sort. Not sure. I need to check out her cosplaylab.com to correctly identify her cosplay. Walking back to the cul-de-sac at 7:55 P.M. and hanging around there, I saw Ryu walking around. I walked to him and asked if he was doing anything. He said he was free. We choose to eat dinner at Carl's Jr. We walked back to the car and drove to Carl's Jr. The time was around 8:45 P.M. and the line at Carl's Jr. was long and stretched outside. We then choose to go to Jack In The Box. At Jack In The Box, I ordered a two Jumbo Jacks and a small coke. We talked about our futures, relationships, goals, and lots of random stuff. After we ate, we went to Wal-Mart to purchase batteries for Ryu's digital camera. Wal-Mart was about a ten minute drive from the con.
We arrived back at my hotel where we parked the car. We walked to the dance for which it was the rave dance. We went inside the wave dance where I met glowstick expert Protocol7 for the first time. Ryu was having lots of fun. Unfortunately, I'm not into dancing. The last time I danced with a girl was my 8th grade graduation. The AX'06 rave was the first rave I attended. Ryu wanted to put his stuff back in his hotel room and come back to the rave. Ryu and I left the dance and separated. I arrived back at the hotel, took a shower, backed up my cosplay pics on my laptop, ate two oranges, planned Monday's events, and watched HBO's Taxi Confessions. The cosplay pics I took today were much better and I felt better I'm going to post some really great cosplay pics on my Innovate Infinitely web site Anime Page. I went to bed around 2:00 A.M.
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Resume? I don't need a resume. Here is my resume: Innovator. I'm available to innovate for hire.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
2006 Anime Expo Day One
AX'06 Day One: CLAMP, CLAMP, CLAMP
I woke up at 7:00 A.M. Saturday, ate breakfast, and got ready. The cosplay for the day is Syaoran from Tsubasa Chronicle, a production of CLAMP. I couldn't ask for anything better: CLAMP attending, CLAMP cosplay, and my Syaoran cosplay on the front cover the of program guide.
I arrived at the Convention Center at 8:20 A.M. and started taking cosplay pics. I brought my Dad’s mini color containing cold water in ice and towels to wipe my sweat. I sweat very easy. I'm heat sensitive. Hall E, the area outside the arena, and the Marriott side entrance to the convention center were under renovation. The arena part which was fenced off made my walking time to and from the con longer. For Marriott attendees, they must use the front doors or side door which added more walking time >.>
Around 10:15 A.M., I met a CLAMP cosplayer. She's from the manga Wish. We talked a little and she told me she wasn’t going to the CLAMP panel. I asked her why. She said the line was way too long. I said, "No way." After she left, I went to find the CLAMP line in Hall D. I saw the line beginning to get long. The initial plan was to line up at 12:15 P.M. because seating began at 1:15 P.M. and the CLAMP panel began at 2:15 P.M. Change of plan. Line up now. I walked back to the hotel to get my laptop and my lunch.
On my way back to the hotel, I saw Arashi. We walked back to the hotel room. At the hotel room, I got my laptop for entertainment and my lunch. Then I got more ice from the ice machine. And Arashi and I headed back to the convention center to line up for the CLAMP panel.
On the way to the line, Jyun surprised me from behind. His family was visiting the area and Jyun and his older brother Otakuya were attending AX and stayed at the Hilton. Arashi and I arrived at the CLAMP line at 11:00 A.M. We got our raffle tickets for autographs. Only 220 people were getting autographs, and the autographs were from picture boards only. I ate lunch and Arashi read a book. At 11:30 A.M., the CLAMP Wish cosplayer arrived. She joined Arashi and I. We introduced each other. The CLAMP Wish cosplayer's name is Becky. We took pictures together and took pictures of other cosplayers. She let me borrowed her portable fan because I was sweating. I turned on my laptop and we watched episodes 21-23 of Tsubasa Chronicle. She drew a picture for me and she's left handed. I admire left handed writers. Becky works full time at an office and sews. We had fun hanging out. I found out she organized the CLAMP cosplay gathering at 7:00 P.M. later today. Awesome! I'm glad Becky joined us.
The CLAMP panel started late after 3:00 P.M. Pictures and recording devices were prohibited. Press was prohibited from taking pictures. Only an official AX staff took pictures. The panel started off with a 20 minute documentary video showing all of CLAMP's works. The video was shown at AX only. After the video, the four CLAMP artists appeared on stage to begin the panel with a standing ovation welcome. Their agent or bodyguard . . . someone wearing a suit . . . was standing at the stage left background. The first part of the panel CLAMP showed pictures of their studios. Each artist told the audience with a translator their thoughts working in their studio. Then there were 12 Q&A. Some of the answers included three of them went to the same high school and the fourth was introduced from a mutual friend, one of them writes the story and the other three draws the characters, and when writing a story, they start with the ending and work backwards. After the Q&A, the audience got a preview of Tsubasa Chronicle which was licensed by Funimation. More bragging rights for me and my Syaoran cosplay. *Hee, hee* After the preview, AX had eight gift baskets to give away. Becky was eight away from one of the gift baskets. And then CLAMP exits the stage to a standing ovation. Due to technical difficulties, the audience needed to check the info desk to see who won an autograph. Initially, AX was to post the winning numbers on the big screen. I'm guessing AX didn't finish drawing the numbers in time for the post.
Ryu, who volunteered for Funimation, benefited from the late start. His shift ended at 3:00 P.M. and successfully found the CLAMP line and watched the panel from the beginning.
Rest and Regroup
I said goodbye to Becky and I meet her at the CLAMP gathering at 7:00 P.M. tonight. Arashi and I went back to the hotel room around 4:30 P.M. to rest and regroup. Back at the hotel room, I took a shower, ate a snack, and charged my laptop. Arashi gave me a button made from an artist at the artist alley. The button shows a picture of Edward Elric and says "Who Are You Callin Midget?" Thank you for the button.
Bad news. I was backing up my cosplay pics on my laptop. I noticed almost all of my earlier cosplay pics were terrible. I don't know what happened. Thank goodness I caught the problem early; otherwise, I took more bad pics including the CLAMP gathering pics. I noted the error and I'm going to take the CLAMP gatherings pics at Auto setting. What happened was I used the P setting on my Canon A610 and used ISO 400. Pictures took using ISO 400 came out grainy. I was sad and pissed off.
We left the hotel room at 6:30 P.M. and headed back to the main courtyard where other cosplayers and congers hang out. I brought my laptop just in case. The main courtyard is between the Hilton and Convention Center. Arashi headed back to the Hilton hotel to meet up with someone.
CLAMP Gathering
The CLAMP gathering was the best cosplay gathering I ever participated. It was the best of the best. It was organized. Bart Boy attended the gathering taking pictures. And I met the FMA family again from Fanime'05 and AX'05. The older daughter cosplayed as Sakura from Tsubasa Chronicle. Someone printed out a list of all CLAMP works and announced each title one by one for a series group picture shot. Everyone took their places in order. Becky was both happy and sad she was the only Wish cosplayer. Happy she got center of attention and sad there were no other Wish cosplayers. She also got a picture playing patty-cake with a big sized Mokona. How cute! The gathering lasted 35 minutes. Turnout was great. Becky and I separated as I was to eat dinner with a couple of friends.
To repeat, the CLAMP gathering was the best of the best. It was awesome XD
I ate dinner with Ryu and ip360 at IHOP around 8:15 P.M. I ordered the Two Egg sampler which sausage, hash browns, and toast and a large orange juice. It was the first time I met ip360. We talked about stuff including the con, how Ryu arrived late, talked about J-Rock, and I showed some cosplay pics on my laptop. We left IHOP and headed to the Info Desk at the convention center. Ryu, ip360, and I saw Otakuya at the main convention center area. Congoers were confusing us four as if we were AX staff. Fortunately, all four of us knew the answers to the questions. You're welcome, AX staff XD Anyways, Otakuya told us he, Jyun, and their parents were in the area. One of their relatives felt ill and they visited the relative. Otakuya and Jyun planned to stay for three days. Otakuya was happy to attend AX as an attendee because he and Jyun are Fanime Con staff.
I arrived back at the hotel room around 10:10 P.M. and relax, took another shower *hee, hee*, watched some TV, and backup my cosplay pics. I could have watched half of the Anime Music Videos because the videos started at 8:00 P.M. and lasts approximately 4 hours. I was too tired because of CLAMP and choose to go back to the hotel. Great choice. I find the winners and download the videos on the Internet afterwards. After seeing the bad pics, I choose to take two pics if the first picture at Auto Setting came out terrible. The new plan for taking cosplay pics was Auto setting first, then P setting with flash and ISO set to Auto second. I went to sleep at 2:00 A.M. with an alarm set to 7:00 A.M.
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Resume? I don't need a resume. Here is my resume: Innovator. I'm available to innovate for hire.
I woke up at 7:00 A.M. Saturday, ate breakfast, and got ready. The cosplay for the day is Syaoran from Tsubasa Chronicle, a production of CLAMP. I couldn't ask for anything better: CLAMP attending, CLAMP cosplay, and my Syaoran cosplay on the front cover the of program guide.
I arrived at the Convention Center at 8:20 A.M. and started taking cosplay pics. I brought my Dad’s mini color containing cold water in ice and towels to wipe my sweat. I sweat very easy. I'm heat sensitive. Hall E, the area outside the arena, and the Marriott side entrance to the convention center were under renovation. The arena part which was fenced off made my walking time to and from the con longer. For Marriott attendees, they must use the front doors or side door which added more walking time >.>
Around 10:15 A.M., I met a CLAMP cosplayer. She's from the manga Wish. We talked a little and she told me she wasn’t going to the CLAMP panel. I asked her why. She said the line was way too long. I said, "No way." After she left, I went to find the CLAMP line in Hall D. I saw the line beginning to get long. The initial plan was to line up at 12:15 P.M. because seating began at 1:15 P.M. and the CLAMP panel began at 2:15 P.M. Change of plan. Line up now. I walked back to the hotel to get my laptop and my lunch.
On my way back to the hotel, I saw Arashi. We walked back to the hotel room. At the hotel room, I got my laptop for entertainment and my lunch. Then I got more ice from the ice machine. And Arashi and I headed back to the convention center to line up for the CLAMP panel.
On the way to the line, Jyun surprised me from behind. His family was visiting the area and Jyun and his older brother Otakuya were attending AX and stayed at the Hilton. Arashi and I arrived at the CLAMP line at 11:00 A.M. We got our raffle tickets for autographs. Only 220 people were getting autographs, and the autographs were from picture boards only. I ate lunch and Arashi read a book. At 11:30 A.M., the CLAMP Wish cosplayer arrived. She joined Arashi and I. We introduced each other. The CLAMP Wish cosplayer's name is Becky. We took pictures together and took pictures of other cosplayers. She let me borrowed her portable fan because I was sweating. I turned on my laptop and we watched episodes 21-23 of Tsubasa Chronicle. She drew a picture for me and she's left handed. I admire left handed writers. Becky works full time at an office and sews. We had fun hanging out. I found out she organized the CLAMP cosplay gathering at 7:00 P.M. later today. Awesome! I'm glad Becky joined us.
The CLAMP panel started late after 3:00 P.M. Pictures and recording devices were prohibited. Press was prohibited from taking pictures. Only an official AX staff took pictures. The panel started off with a 20 minute documentary video showing all of CLAMP's works. The video was shown at AX only. After the video, the four CLAMP artists appeared on stage to begin the panel with a standing ovation welcome. Their agent or bodyguard . . . someone wearing a suit . . . was standing at the stage left background. The first part of the panel CLAMP showed pictures of their studios. Each artist told the audience with a translator their thoughts working in their studio. Then there were 12 Q&A. Some of the answers included three of them went to the same high school and the fourth was introduced from a mutual friend, one of them writes the story and the other three draws the characters, and when writing a story, they start with the ending and work backwards. After the Q&A, the audience got a preview of Tsubasa Chronicle which was licensed by Funimation. More bragging rights for me and my Syaoran cosplay. *Hee, hee* After the preview, AX had eight gift baskets to give away. Becky was eight away from one of the gift baskets. And then CLAMP exits the stage to a standing ovation. Due to technical difficulties, the audience needed to check the info desk to see who won an autograph. Initially, AX was to post the winning numbers on the big screen. I'm guessing AX didn't finish drawing the numbers in time for the post.
Ryu, who volunteered for Funimation, benefited from the late start. His shift ended at 3:00 P.M. and successfully found the CLAMP line and watched the panel from the beginning.
Rest and Regroup
I said goodbye to Becky and I meet her at the CLAMP gathering at 7:00 P.M. tonight. Arashi and I went back to the hotel room around 4:30 P.M. to rest and regroup. Back at the hotel room, I took a shower, ate a snack, and charged my laptop. Arashi gave me a button made from an artist at the artist alley. The button shows a picture of Edward Elric and says "Who Are You Callin Midget?" Thank you for the button.
Bad news. I was backing up my cosplay pics on my laptop. I noticed almost all of my earlier cosplay pics were terrible. I don't know what happened. Thank goodness I caught the problem early; otherwise, I took more bad pics including the CLAMP gathering pics. I noted the error and I'm going to take the CLAMP gatherings pics at Auto setting. What happened was I used the P setting on my Canon A610 and used ISO 400. Pictures took using ISO 400 came out grainy. I was sad and pissed off.
We left the hotel room at 6:30 P.M. and headed back to the main courtyard where other cosplayers and congers hang out. I brought my laptop just in case. The main courtyard is between the Hilton and Convention Center. Arashi headed back to the Hilton hotel to meet up with someone.
CLAMP Gathering
The CLAMP gathering was the best cosplay gathering I ever participated. It was the best of the best. It was organized. Bart Boy attended the gathering taking pictures. And I met the FMA family again from Fanime'05 and AX'05. The older daughter cosplayed as Sakura from Tsubasa Chronicle. Someone printed out a list of all CLAMP works and announced each title one by one for a series group picture shot. Everyone took their places in order. Becky was both happy and sad she was the only Wish cosplayer. Happy she got center of attention and sad there were no other Wish cosplayers. She also got a picture playing patty-cake with a big sized Mokona. How cute! The gathering lasted 35 minutes. Turnout was great. Becky and I separated as I was to eat dinner with a couple of friends.
To repeat, the CLAMP gathering was the best of the best. It was awesome XD
I ate dinner with Ryu and ip360 at IHOP around 8:15 P.M. I ordered the Two Egg sampler which sausage, hash browns, and toast and a large orange juice. It was the first time I met ip360. We talked about stuff including the con, how Ryu arrived late, talked about J-Rock, and I showed some cosplay pics on my laptop. We left IHOP and headed to the Info Desk at the convention center. Ryu, ip360, and I saw Otakuya at the main convention center area. Congoers were confusing us four as if we were AX staff. Fortunately, all four of us knew the answers to the questions. You're welcome, AX staff XD Anyways, Otakuya told us he, Jyun, and their parents were in the area. One of their relatives felt ill and they visited the relative. Otakuya and Jyun planned to stay for three days. Otakuya was happy to attend AX as an attendee because he and Jyun are Fanime Con staff.
I arrived back at the hotel room around 10:10 P.M. and relax, took another shower *hee, hee*, watched some TV, and backup my cosplay pics. I could have watched half of the Anime Music Videos because the videos started at 8:00 P.M. and lasts approximately 4 hours. I was too tired because of CLAMP and choose to go back to the hotel. Great choice. I find the winners and download the videos on the Internet afterwards. After seeing the bad pics, I choose to take two pics if the first picture at Auto Setting came out terrible. The new plan for taking cosplay pics was Auto setting first, then P setting with flash and ISO set to Auto second. I went to sleep at 2:00 A.M. with an alarm set to 7:00 A.M.
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Resume? I don't need a resume. Here is my resume: Innovator. I'm available to innovate for hire.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
2006 Anime Expo Pre-Registration Day
AX'06 Pre-Registration Day: Beating The SoCal Traffic
I picked up the rental car on Thursday 9:30 P.M. at the San Jose Airport. My Dad helped me pick up the white Ford Taurus sedan which has 6,307 miles from Hertz. I got a free navigation system because Hertz was busy and rental cars were hard to assign. My rental car for AX'05 had 50,000+ miles. I got a 50% off coupon from my credit card company. We returned home and I took a nap. My suitcases, cosplays, laptop, and snacks were packed on Wednesday.
I left home at 11:15 P.M. to pick up Lisu and DLZ from the San Jose Dierdon Train Station. They took a train from Watsonville. I arrived at 11:30 P.M. and picked them up. I was surpised the station closed at 11:00 P.M. If I knew the closing hour, I picked them up earlier. We briefly stopped at my work place because I left my soap dish. The soap dish contains a special soap I use.
At 11:50 P.M., we ate a light midnight snack at Carrows. I ordered the Southern Fried Chicken Salad, Lisu ordered the Fish and Chips, and I think DLZ ordered the Chicken Fried Steak. Carrows was busy because the restaurant is very popular for a late night hangout.
We left San Jose around 2:00 A.M. Friday. We could have left earlier; unfortunately, the service was really slow. It seems Carrows were shorthanded. We listened to classical rock CDs. I drove 90 MPH on the Interstate 5 straight away. We stopped for gas at Chevron on Wheeler Ridge before the Grapevine. Lisu and DLZ slept during some of the trip, and they snored *Hee, hee* When we arrived in the SoCal area, there was a minor bumper to bumper traffic spot near Orange County.
Arrived in Anaheim
We arrived in Anaheim around 7:00 A.M. The first stop was to check in at The Anabella hotel. (In 2005, I checked in early and my room was available.) The staff says all rooms were occupied because of Disney promoting the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Check-in time was 4:00 P.M. Oh, well. I guess I'm checking in late. *Sighs*
Then we ate at McDonalds on Harbor Road near Interstate 5. I ordered the Sausage Biscuit with Egg combo. I forgot what Lisu and DLZ ordered. I think DLZ ordered nothing? After McDonalds, we drove around Anaheim and Garden Grove. Fireworks are legal in Garden Grove and we saw fireworks booths. We also saw a nickel arcade. Nickel arcades are where customers pay an entry fee and the arcade machines takes nickels or are free play.
Around 8:30 A.M., we went back to The Anabella hotel. The plan was to park the car at the hotel and wait at pre-registration because there was nothing else to do. I successfully got the parking pass and the plan was a go. At 8:45 A.M. we found the pre-reg line near Hall C. I was glad pre-reg was not at Hall D and Hall E, AX’05 pre-reg line. I brought my laptop and Lisu and DLZ brought their manga and drawing supplies. The line shifted a few times and where there was a plug nearby, I charged my laptop. We met a group of people and we played Mexican Bingo. (During the con, DLZ hanged out with the group of people and got contact information from one of the girls. You stud-muffin @__@)
At 11:00 A.M., the line moved to Hall C where AX staff set up the pre-reg line. We continued to play Mexican Bingo and we listened to MP3s on my laptop. After we played Mexican Bingo, the person who brought Mexican Bingo had a sketchbook and notebook. She opened the notebook and collected names and email addresses. Great idea. In the future when I’m with a group, I collect names and email addresses to keep in touch. Who knows what happens. Maybe a few in the group live close by and we can hang out. For me, I gave her my ININ business card with my name, email address, and webpage. The same person with the notebook gave me her CD containing her favorite MP3s. Arigato! There was a plug nearby and I charged my laptop several times. *Metal note: I need to buy another battery.* Around 12:15 P.M., we played Slap. Slap is a card game nobody knew how to play. Someone taught us and the game made time fly fast.
Pre-registration opened on time at 1:00 P.M. The pre-reg was the best ever. No computers were needed. The people who pre-reg got their badges in the mail. Pre-reg congers must to get the badge holders at pre-reg. The staff checked ID and gave you the badge holder. Super easy and very quick. After getting the badge holder, we walked to the end and picked up the program guide and schedule guide. The front cover of schedule guide is Sakura and Syaoran from Tsubasa Chronicle. I cosplayed as Syaoran. I got bragging rights. LOL!
Check-In Time
Lisu, DLZ, and I went to the Hilton and Marriott to check in to their hotel rooms. First, DLZ contacted one of his roommates and they already checked in. We went to the Hilton and DLZ got the key from his roommates. DLZ was ready to go. Next was Lisu's party at the Marriott. We successfully found Lisu's party at the Marriott front door. Lisu got the key and he was ready to go. (Sadly speaking, Kazuko, one of Lisu's roommates couldn't attend.) We went back to The Anabella hotel around 2:00 P.M. and got their stuff from the trunk. I got my digital camera to take cosplay pictures.
We went to Lisu's Marriott first to drop off his stuff and then we went to DLZ's Hilton next to drop off his stuff. Then Lisu, DLZ, Alan, one of DLZ's roommates, and I went to get pizza for lunch. I met KyraEnsui who is Alan's girlfriend and a Fanime Con board member. The pizza place is at the corner of Harbor Boulevard and Katella Avenue and I forgot the name. We got the pizza and went back to DLZ's room and ate pizza and watched Anime Music Videos (AMVs). BTW, I carried my laptop since pre-registration at 8:45 A.M.
At 4:15 P.M., Lisu and I left the hotel room. It was time for me to check in and settle in. I got my room which looked almost exactly the same as AX'05. The differences were the refrigerator was below the TV instead of next to the door and my room was closer to the hotel driveway entrance. I moved my stuff in the room and turned on the air condition. I realized I forgot to bring shampoo.
Around 5:00 P.M., I went to get a haircut at The Anabella's salon. The buzz-cut haircut cost me $15.00 with a 20% discount. I gave the worker the 20% discount for tip $-) After the haircut, I went to the hotel store to purchase shampoo. The store had full size shampoo bottles. I purchased a Suave shampoo bottle which was the cheapest. The lady was nice not to charge tax. Heck, $3.50 for the shampoo which probably cost $1.50 at a drug store, yeah, you could afford not to charge tax.
I went back to the hotel, took a shower, and then unpacked my essentials. I called Arashi up if she wanted to go with me to Food4Less to purchase food. I met Arashi at Fanime Con 2005 and she lives near San Diego. Arashi said yes and we headed to Food4Less around 7:00 P.M. We got food and purchased dinner for ourselves. I purchased oranges, six pack of bottle water, one gallon bottle water, french rolls, turkey and ham deli meat, donuts, four Baby Ruth and four Nestle Crunch candy bars. The cashier charged three Nestle Crunch bars. Woohoo! I saved $.25 because the Baby Ruth and Crunch candy bars are $.25 each. Yeah, whohoo!
We went back to my hotel room and ate dinner and just hanged out. I gave Arashi the chocolate donuts because I wanted only the powder donuts and plain donuts. I walked Arashi back to the Hilton around 8:30 P.M. because she was staying for free for the first night thanks to a friend. I saw Karisma and her sister hanging outside the Anaheim Convention Center. She told me Ryu, YourMyHiro and his girlfriend were late. Karisma text messaged Ryu and Ryu replied YourMyHiro was AWOL. Ryu had no clue where he and his girlfriend were. Ryu was watching Independence Day during the wait. Arashi and I separated. I went to bed around 10:00 P.M. and setting the alarm clock for 7:00 A.M. on Saturday. I was really tired I went to sleep easily.
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Resume? I don't need a resume. Here is my resume: Innovator. I'm available to innovate for hire.
I picked up the rental car on Thursday 9:30 P.M. at the San Jose Airport. My Dad helped me pick up the white Ford Taurus sedan which has 6,307 miles from Hertz. I got a free navigation system because Hertz was busy and rental cars were hard to assign. My rental car for AX'05 had 50,000+ miles. I got a 50% off coupon from my credit card company. We returned home and I took a nap. My suitcases, cosplays, laptop, and snacks were packed on Wednesday.
I left home at 11:15 P.M. to pick up Lisu and DLZ from the San Jose Dierdon Train Station. They took a train from Watsonville. I arrived at 11:30 P.M. and picked them up. I was surpised the station closed at 11:00 P.M. If I knew the closing hour, I picked them up earlier. We briefly stopped at my work place because I left my soap dish. The soap dish contains a special soap I use.
At 11:50 P.M., we ate a light midnight snack at Carrows. I ordered the Southern Fried Chicken Salad, Lisu ordered the Fish and Chips, and I think DLZ ordered the Chicken Fried Steak. Carrows was busy because the restaurant is very popular for a late night hangout.
We left San Jose around 2:00 A.M. Friday. We could have left earlier; unfortunately, the service was really slow. It seems Carrows were shorthanded. We listened to classical rock CDs. I drove 90 MPH on the Interstate 5 straight away. We stopped for gas at Chevron on Wheeler Ridge before the Grapevine. Lisu and DLZ slept during some of the trip, and they snored *Hee, hee* When we arrived in the SoCal area, there was a minor bumper to bumper traffic spot near Orange County.
Arrived in Anaheim
We arrived in Anaheim around 7:00 A.M. The first stop was to check in at The Anabella hotel. (In 2005, I checked in early and my room was available.) The staff says all rooms were occupied because of Disney promoting the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Check-in time was 4:00 P.M. Oh, well. I guess I'm checking in late. *Sighs*
Then we ate at McDonalds on Harbor Road near Interstate 5. I ordered the Sausage Biscuit with Egg combo. I forgot what Lisu and DLZ ordered. I think DLZ ordered nothing? After McDonalds, we drove around Anaheim and Garden Grove. Fireworks are legal in Garden Grove and we saw fireworks booths. We also saw a nickel arcade. Nickel arcades are where customers pay an entry fee and the arcade machines takes nickels or are free play.
Around 8:30 A.M., we went back to The Anabella hotel. The plan was to park the car at the hotel and wait at pre-registration because there was nothing else to do. I successfully got the parking pass and the plan was a go. At 8:45 A.M. we found the pre-reg line near Hall C. I was glad pre-reg was not at Hall D and Hall E, AX’05 pre-reg line. I brought my laptop and Lisu and DLZ brought their manga and drawing supplies. The line shifted a few times and where there was a plug nearby, I charged my laptop. We met a group of people and we played Mexican Bingo. (During the con, DLZ hanged out with the group of people and got contact information from one of the girls. You stud-muffin @__@)
At 11:00 A.M., the line moved to Hall C where AX staff set up the pre-reg line. We continued to play Mexican Bingo and we listened to MP3s on my laptop. After we played Mexican Bingo, the person who brought Mexican Bingo had a sketchbook and notebook. She opened the notebook and collected names and email addresses. Great idea. In the future when I’m with a group, I collect names and email addresses to keep in touch. Who knows what happens. Maybe a few in the group live close by and we can hang out. For me, I gave her my ININ business card with my name, email address, and webpage. The same person with the notebook gave me her CD containing her favorite MP3s. Arigato! There was a plug nearby and I charged my laptop several times. *Metal note: I need to buy another battery.* Around 12:15 P.M., we played Slap. Slap is a card game nobody knew how to play. Someone taught us and the game made time fly fast.
Pre-registration opened on time at 1:00 P.M. The pre-reg was the best ever. No computers were needed. The people who pre-reg got their badges in the mail. Pre-reg congers must to get the badge holders at pre-reg. The staff checked ID and gave you the badge holder. Super easy and very quick. After getting the badge holder, we walked to the end and picked up the program guide and schedule guide. The front cover of schedule guide is Sakura and Syaoran from Tsubasa Chronicle. I cosplayed as Syaoran. I got bragging rights. LOL!
Check-In Time
Lisu, DLZ, and I went to the Hilton and Marriott to check in to their hotel rooms. First, DLZ contacted one of his roommates and they already checked in. We went to the Hilton and DLZ got the key from his roommates. DLZ was ready to go. Next was Lisu's party at the Marriott. We successfully found Lisu's party at the Marriott front door. Lisu got the key and he was ready to go. (Sadly speaking, Kazuko, one of Lisu's roommates couldn't attend.) We went back to The Anabella hotel around 2:00 P.M. and got their stuff from the trunk. I got my digital camera to take cosplay pictures.
We went to Lisu's Marriott first to drop off his stuff and then we went to DLZ's Hilton next to drop off his stuff. Then Lisu, DLZ, Alan, one of DLZ's roommates, and I went to get pizza for lunch. I met KyraEnsui who is Alan's girlfriend and a Fanime Con board member. The pizza place is at the corner of Harbor Boulevard and Katella Avenue and I forgot the name. We got the pizza and went back to DLZ's room and ate pizza and watched Anime Music Videos (AMVs). BTW, I carried my laptop since pre-registration at 8:45 A.M.
At 4:15 P.M., Lisu and I left the hotel room. It was time for me to check in and settle in. I got my room which looked almost exactly the same as AX'05. The differences were the refrigerator was below the TV instead of next to the door and my room was closer to the hotel driveway entrance. I moved my stuff in the room and turned on the air condition. I realized I forgot to bring shampoo.
Around 5:00 P.M., I went to get a haircut at The Anabella's salon. The buzz-cut haircut cost me $15.00 with a 20% discount. I gave the worker the 20% discount for tip $-) After the haircut, I went to the hotel store to purchase shampoo. The store had full size shampoo bottles. I purchased a Suave shampoo bottle which was the cheapest. The lady was nice not to charge tax. Heck, $3.50 for the shampoo which probably cost $1.50 at a drug store, yeah, you could afford not to charge tax.
I went back to the hotel, took a shower, and then unpacked my essentials. I called Arashi up if she wanted to go with me to Food4Less to purchase food. I met Arashi at Fanime Con 2005 and she lives near San Diego. Arashi said yes and we headed to Food4Less around 7:00 P.M. We got food and purchased dinner for ourselves. I purchased oranges, six pack of bottle water, one gallon bottle water, french rolls, turkey and ham deli meat, donuts, four Baby Ruth and four Nestle Crunch candy bars. The cashier charged three Nestle Crunch bars. Woohoo! I saved $.25 because the Baby Ruth and Crunch candy bars are $.25 each. Yeah, whohoo!
We went back to my hotel room and ate dinner and just hanged out. I gave Arashi the chocolate donuts because I wanted only the powder donuts and plain donuts. I walked Arashi back to the Hilton around 8:30 P.M. because she was staying for free for the first night thanks to a friend. I saw Karisma and her sister hanging outside the Anaheim Convention Center. She told me Ryu, YourMyHiro and his girlfriend were late. Karisma text messaged Ryu and Ryu replied YourMyHiro was AWOL. Ryu had no clue where he and his girlfriend were. Ryu was watching Independence Day during the wait. Arashi and I separated. I went to bed around 10:00 P.M. and setting the alarm clock for 7:00 A.M. on Saturday. I was really tired I went to sleep easily.
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Resume? I don't need a resume. Here is my resume: Innovator. I'm available to innovate for hire.
Monday, July 10, 2006
2006 Anime Expo Introduction And Prologue
Introduction
Anime Expo (AX) 2006 is my all time favorite anime convention. I like to share what I did. I met new people, hung around with my friends, participated in two cosplay gatherings, attended two main events, and took lots of cosplay pics.
I got sick on July 6, two days after the convention. As of the post, I feel much better. I had a fever, headache, and a sore throat; although, my gut feeling tells me my dumb-ass co-worker gave me his sickness because he was feeling terrible. AX might not be at fault. Given the sickness, I have been behind in my things to do list.
AX'06 reversed the curse for me. Every odd year, my anime cons were good. Every even year, my anime cons were bad. 2006 is an even year and AX'06 is my all time favorite ^__^
The purchase receipts, cosplay pics, and schedule guide assisted me in remembering what I did and helped me typed the AX'06 Blog. I like to thank the staff and volunteers. Everyone did a great job!!! Thank you for reading.
AX'06 Prologue
My Fourth of July plans were open at the beginning of 2006. The uncertainty of the economy including rising interest rates, higher oil prices, and job layoffs affected me and my family. AX'06 was optional. I made The Anabella hotel reservation in December 2005 just in case. I could cancel the reservation in June if I were a no show.
Around April 2006, I pre-registered. I choose to attend AX because AX'07 is held in Long Beach. Remember 2002? The reasons why I attended AX'06 were because AX'07 is held in Long Beach and I don't want to attend, everyone in my family still have jobs and nobody got laid-off, and live the present and live the moment. No regrets. What if AX'06 was a great convention? Furthermore, CLAMP attended what might be their only U.S. appearance. I was happy CLAMP attended because my Syaoran cosplay from Tsubasa Chronicle is from CLAMP.
In May 2006, I made the car reservation. Checklist time. Hotel, pre-registration, car rental, Edward Elric and Syaoran cosplays are checked and ready.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resume? I don't need a resume. Here is my resume: Innovator. I'm available to innovate for hire.
Anime Expo (AX) 2006 is my all time favorite anime convention. I like to share what I did. I met new people, hung around with my friends, participated in two cosplay gatherings, attended two main events, and took lots of cosplay pics.
I got sick on July 6, two days after the convention. As of the post, I feel much better. I had a fever, headache, and a sore throat; although, my gut feeling tells me my dumb-ass co-worker gave me his sickness because he was feeling terrible. AX might not be at fault. Given the sickness, I have been behind in my things to do list.
AX'06 reversed the curse for me. Every odd year, my anime cons were good. Every even year, my anime cons were bad. 2006 is an even year and AX'06 is my all time favorite ^__^
The purchase receipts, cosplay pics, and schedule guide assisted me in remembering what I did and helped me typed the AX'06 Blog. I like to thank the staff and volunteers. Everyone did a great job!!! Thank you for reading.
AX'06 Prologue
My Fourth of July plans were open at the beginning of 2006. The uncertainty of the economy including rising interest rates, higher oil prices, and job layoffs affected me and my family. AX'06 was optional. I made The Anabella hotel reservation in December 2005 just in case. I could cancel the reservation in June if I were a no show.
Around April 2006, I pre-registered. I choose to attend AX because AX'07 is held in Long Beach. Remember 2002? The reasons why I attended AX'06 were because AX'07 is held in Long Beach and I don't want to attend, everyone in my family still have jobs and nobody got laid-off, and live the present and live the moment. No regrets. What if AX'06 was a great convention? Furthermore, CLAMP attended what might be their only U.S. appearance. I was happy CLAMP attended because my Syaoran cosplay from Tsubasa Chronicle is from CLAMP.
In May 2006, I made the car reservation. Checklist time. Hotel, pre-registration, car rental, Edward Elric and Syaoran cosplays are checked and ready.
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Resume? I don't need a resume. Here is my resume: Innovator. I'm available to innovate for hire.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
2006 Anime Expo Blog
Starting on Monday July 10, 2006, I’m going to post what I did at Anime Expo 2006. There are going to be seven Blog entires. The first is the Introduction and Prologue, the second is the Pre-Registration Day, the third through sixth are the days of the con, and the seventh is the Epilogue and Notes.
Today I feel much better. No more headaches, my fever is gone, I feel I have more energy, and my sore throat is going away. Yet, I’m still taking it easy. I’m probably going to start stretching out and doing sit-ups starting on Wednesday. I hope to go back to the gym starting on Thursday June 20 *__* I really want to work out again. BTW, my gym seems to be getting busier. Did my gym have a special promotion they told new members only?
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Resume? I don't need a resume. Here is my resume: Innovator. I'm available to innovate for hire.
Today I feel much better. No more headaches, my fever is gone, I feel I have more energy, and my sore throat is going away. Yet, I’m still taking it easy. I’m probably going to start stretching out and doing sit-ups starting on Wednesday. I hope to go back to the gym starting on Thursday June 20 *__* I really want to work out again. BTW, my gym seems to be getting busier. Did my gym have a special promotion they told new members only?
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Resume? I don't need a resume. Here is my resume: Innovator. I'm available to innovate for hire.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Massive Headache And Fatigue
Currently, I don’t feel good. I’m tired and I have a headache. I don’t take any medications for my headache. I’m sure it’s fatigue from Anime Expo 2006. I’m going to take it easy tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday. When am I going to start on the AX cosplay pics? Unfortunately, not for a while. I still have not finished the Fanime Con 2006 cosplay pics. *Sighs*
It’s almost time to leave work. I briefly checked my email accounts and replied to a few of them. When I get home, I’m going to take a nap and my Dad and I are going to return the rental car used to drive to and from San Jose and Watsonville and Hayward to drop of my friends. The car had 6,200 miles. Not bad. And I got a free navigation upgrade which was not needed. I never get lost -__-
Hopefully tomorrow, I send emails to a few new people I met at AX and visit some suggested anime websites I learned from my friends and con-goers.
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Resume? I don't need a resume. Here is my resume: Innovator. I'm available to innovate for hire.
It’s almost time to leave work. I briefly checked my email accounts and replied to a few of them. When I get home, I’m going to take a nap and my Dad and I are going to return the rental car used to drive to and from San Jose and Watsonville and Hayward to drop of my friends. The car had 6,200 miles. Not bad. And I got a free navigation upgrade which was not needed. I never get lost -__-
Hopefully tomorrow, I send emails to a few new people I met at AX and visit some suggested anime websites I learned from my friends and con-goers.
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Resume? I don't need a resume. Here is my resume: Innovator. I'm available to innovate for hire.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Another Reverse The Curse
I just got back from Anime Expo 2006 (AX06). I had a great time. There were lots of goods and few bads. Gee, I feel really happy at the moment . . . and tired from driving back home. Never been really happy before. Gee again, how do I respond to happiness.
I want to share what I did at AX06. *Yawn* (-,-) The curse. In Star Trek, arguably all even numbered movies are good and odd numbered movies are bad. For me and my anime conventions, all odd numbered year are good and even numbered year are bad. For AX06, the curse is gone. I had a great time. I had a happy time. I’m going to submit Blog entries on what I did before, during, and after AX06.
Some of the good:
--Pre-registration was easy
--Met lots of new people and hanged out with a few of them
--CLAMP panel and CLAMP gathering both were awesome
Some of the bad:
--Too hot
--Full Metal Alchemist gathering was chaotic
--Didn’t get the Full Metal Alchemist director’s autograph
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Resume? I don't need a resume. Here is my resume: Innovator. I'm available to innovate for hire.
I want to share what I did at AX06. *Yawn* (-,-) The curse. In Star Trek, arguably all even numbered movies are good and odd numbered movies are bad. For me and my anime conventions, all odd numbered year are good and even numbered year are bad. For AX06, the curse is gone. I had a great time. I had a happy time. I’m going to submit Blog entries on what I did before, during, and after AX06.
Some of the good:
--Pre-registration was easy
--Met lots of new people and hanged out with a few of them
--CLAMP panel and CLAMP gathering both were awesome
Some of the bad:
--Too hot
--Full Metal Alchemist gathering was chaotic
--Didn’t get the Full Metal Alchemist director’s autograph
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Resume? I don't need a resume. Here is my resume: Innovator. I'm available to innovate for hire.
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