One of my personal struggles today is to find the art of happiness. What is the art of happiness? What is my art of happiness? Everyone has their own way of being happy.
I have no problems being happy when I see my favorite sports team win a game, watching Barry Bonds hit a home run, hearing about good news from my family and friends, and the good guys defeating the bad guys. My problem is being happy for me. I can't even act happy. When I'm supposed to be happy, I'm mellow. Am I being modest? I'm uncertain. Am I holding back my happiness because it's too good to be true? Who knows? Is it O.K. to be selfish once in a while?
Maybe it's my lack of confidence to express my happiness? Maybe I fear I express my happiness the wrong way? Is there a right way and wrong way to be happy? Maybe it's my childhood such that I had few happy moments? Maybe it's all of the above?
Since 2004, there were many moments I was happy; unfortunately, I never expressed my happiness the way I really want to or what people expected a happy person to be. The moments included cosplaying for the first time, the Washington Canada trip, Oregon trip, visiting Santa Cruz on a day off, my new job, getting a laptop, two Las Vegas trips, and getting my yearly bonus. I was happy. My concern was I could have been misunderstood being sad or being unsatisfied when someone saw my physiological state.
Successful people master the art of happiness. I know if I want to be successful, then I must master the art of happiness. Happiness is more than smiling and laughing. It's being cheerful inside the heart and soul, having the ability to project your aurora of happiness to others--and the aurora influences others to be happy with you and for you. I ask myself legitimate questions above. One day, I answer the questions and find my art of happiness and express my happy feelings with confidence and sincerity :)
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Friday, June 15, 2007
The Guy Sells Cell Phones and Can Do This
Paul Potts in British Got Talent
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exyJ2CSfrHo
Paul Potts in the Semi-Finals
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHYYz_mGP1U
Make sure you have tissues ;___;
Thank you Steve for the links XD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exyJ2CSfrHo
Paul Potts in the Semi-Finals
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHYYz_mGP1U
Make sure you have tissues ;___;
Thank you Steve for the links XD
Thursday, June 14, 2007
A Mellow Week
The week is going by fast, really fast. I’m glad the week is ending quickly because the week is mellow for me. Mellow? I experience every human emotion feeling including happy, sad, depressed, cheerful, outgoing, frustration, lonely, bored, active, and wondering. There are times I want to talk to people and there are times I wanted to be alone. There are times I’m bored and times I’m working my butt off.
The huge mixed feelings are daily and evening. The week at home I helped out in the house doing cooking and dishes. After dinner, I worked on my webpage. The last time I updated my webpage was March 18, 2007, the day before my first day at Cisco. At Cisco for the week, I revised the May FY07 report twice =P Doing the revisions were O.K. What bothered me was how I said it, “Make up your mind and finalize the report.” The other assignments included updating a quarterly spreadsheet, writing guidelines and timelines for monthly and quarterly reports, and completing requests—just like my job at Colliers International.
The week is too ordinary. There is no X factor, the moment or event to differentiate past weeks. Sometimes ordinary is good and sometimes ordinary is bad. In my life, I want 10% of my life to be ordinary.
I got back from the gym, showered, and ate two pieces of bread. The workout was good. I’m waiting for the house to cool down. Today was hot. I sleep in cool conditions. There are Thursday later today and Friday. Maybe something makes and breaks my mellow week.
The huge mixed feelings are daily and evening. The week at home I helped out in the house doing cooking and dishes. After dinner, I worked on my webpage. The last time I updated my webpage was March 18, 2007, the day before my first day at Cisco. At Cisco for the week, I revised the May FY07 report twice =P Doing the revisions were O.K. What bothered me was how I said it, “Make up your mind and finalize the report.” The other assignments included updating a quarterly spreadsheet, writing guidelines and timelines for monthly and quarterly reports, and completing requests—just like my job at Colliers International.
The week is too ordinary. There is no X factor, the moment or event to differentiate past weeks. Sometimes ordinary is good and sometimes ordinary is bad. In my life, I want 10% of my life to be ordinary.
I got back from the gym, showered, and ate two pieces of bread. The workout was good. I’m waiting for the house to cool down. Today was hot. I sleep in cool conditions. There are Thursday later today and Friday. Maybe something makes and breaks my mellow week.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
2007 Fanime Con Epilogue
Fanime Con'07 Epilogue
Day one, day two, and most of day three I was out of it. I thought I made a mistake working 10 hours Monday to Thursday to get Friday off. I was tired, not being myself, so emo, and just wasn't having fun. The lack of cosplayers made me feel worst. I was expecting to take a lot of cosplay pics. Where were the cosplayers? And most of Friday was dead just like Fanime '04 and Fanime '06. In short, I was depressed.
On Wednesday May 30, two days after Fanime Con, I realized the mistake was I participated in few events. I focused too much on meeting new people. I met people even when I wasn't looking. Next year, I attend more events including Yaoi bingo and sell at the swap meet. Attending events is an easier way to meet new people, and I'm doing something rather than just walking around doing nothing >.< Moreover, I focused too much on cosplay and hanging outside the con. I forgot about the activities and events. Furthermore, I forgot who I am. I was a different person :< I acted and behaved strange and I said words I normally don't say. The second realization convinced myself to create the Summer Sabbatical 2007. I mentioned the Summer Sabbatical on a past Blog. The Summer Sabbatical is when I'm outside at work, I have fun and relax. I hope the sabbatical makes me remember who I'm and makes me a better person all-around. And I hope I can slow down. 2007 has been too fast for me. Finally, Ritchie and I talked about Fanime Con 2007 losing the anime con magic. Ritchie's opinion had merit. At the time of discussion, I wasn't myself and I experienced the same feeling as Ritchie. Objectively, I told him to experience the entire con and wait after the con before accepting Fanime Con lost the anime con magic. Ritchie, I think Fanime Con still has the magic. The con started slowly and when people started coming in and the events went full steam ahead, many people had fun. I did. Fanime still has the magic as a friendly con where meeting people is easy and getting along with fellow con goers is easy as if everyone are friends to each other. The reason why Fanime'07 is my second favorite Fanime is because I met new people, hung out with my friends, and realized, personally, I needed to take it easy and relax. Regrettably, I forgot how to maximize the most out of a con and I correct my mistakes for Fanime'08. And the UNO game Sunday night rocked, rocked, and rocked which was the most memorable moment for me. Fanime'07 Notes
Here are some notes for the 2007 Fanime Con at the San Jose Convention Center May 25, 2007 to May 28, 2007 in San Jose, California.
--The reason the program guides were unavailable was because the printers screwed up. Fanime Con submitted the final Program Guide to the printers on May 9.
--I took 601 pictures. Very disappointed. Where were the cosplayers? Obviously, it wasn't Fanime's fault. Using to 50% conservative percentage to estimate the number of cosplay pics on my webpage, it's going to be a minimum 300, much lower than Fanime'05. I believe my question is legitimate. Where were the cosplayers?
--The convention center air conditioner system worked, yet the air was still dry, even in my hotel room. I used my lip balm at least once a day.
--Off the record, Spiritnare and Loktera were the people who thought about the Fanimaid Café. I say it off the record just in case other people are not supposed to know ;-)
--I received lots of Glomps cosplaying as Hitsugaya. I received a few double glomps from a few people including the Gaara cosplayer, the HunterXHunter cosplayer, and BSaphire's daughter. Sue, the hugs were innocent I swear.
--Hellangel fixed my sword at the CLAMP gathering. I need to make minor repairs before the next con. I thank my Dad for assisting me.
--The crossplayer guy who lived in Richmond I met on Saturday cosplayed from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's. At the moment I type the notes, I still figure out what went wrong. The guy seemed lost. Or maybe he didn't know how to act when meeting new people. I continue to meet new people, and sometimes the people I met there's no match for us to hang out and to know each other.
--San Jose Police was present for Fanime'07 and Fanime'06. There was an arrest at the Saturday night dance. An minor brought illegal drugs.
--One advice. If you meet new people and you get along really good, trade each other’s contact information such as cell phone, email, AIM, or other means of communications.
--The past Fanime con first days convinced me I can work at least a half day because nothing happens when Fanime opens. If I have lots of vacation time, however, I take Friday off.
--Bleach Gathering ’08 is planned to meet at the water fountains and move to the center of Cesar Chavez park.
Day one, day two, and most of day three I was out of it. I thought I made a mistake working 10 hours Monday to Thursday to get Friday off. I was tired, not being myself, so emo, and just wasn't having fun. The lack of cosplayers made me feel worst. I was expecting to take a lot of cosplay pics. Where were the cosplayers? And most of Friday was dead just like Fanime '04 and Fanime '06. In short, I was depressed.
On Wednesday May 30, two days after Fanime Con, I realized the mistake was I participated in few events. I focused too much on meeting new people. I met people even when I wasn't looking. Next year, I attend more events including Yaoi bingo and sell at the swap meet. Attending events is an easier way to meet new people, and I'm doing something rather than just walking around doing nothing >.< Moreover, I focused too much on cosplay and hanging outside the con. I forgot about the activities and events. Furthermore, I forgot who I am. I was a different person :< I acted and behaved strange and I said words I normally don't say. The second realization convinced myself to create the Summer Sabbatical 2007. I mentioned the Summer Sabbatical on a past Blog. The Summer Sabbatical is when I'm outside at work, I have fun and relax. I hope the sabbatical makes me remember who I'm and makes me a better person all-around. And I hope I can slow down. 2007 has been too fast for me. Finally, Ritchie and I talked about Fanime Con 2007 losing the anime con magic. Ritchie's opinion had merit. At the time of discussion, I wasn't myself and I experienced the same feeling as Ritchie. Objectively, I told him to experience the entire con and wait after the con before accepting Fanime Con lost the anime con magic. Ritchie, I think Fanime Con still has the magic. The con started slowly and when people started coming in and the events went full steam ahead, many people had fun. I did. Fanime still has the magic as a friendly con where meeting people is easy and getting along with fellow con goers is easy as if everyone are friends to each other. The reason why Fanime'07 is my second favorite Fanime is because I met new people, hung out with my friends, and realized, personally, I needed to take it easy and relax. Regrettably, I forgot how to maximize the most out of a con and I correct my mistakes for Fanime'08. And the UNO game Sunday night rocked, rocked, and rocked which was the most memorable moment for me. Fanime'07 Notes
Here are some notes for the 2007 Fanime Con at the San Jose Convention Center May 25, 2007 to May 28, 2007 in San Jose, California.
--The reason the program guides were unavailable was because the printers screwed up. Fanime Con submitted the final Program Guide to the printers on May 9.
--I took 601 pictures. Very disappointed. Where were the cosplayers? Obviously, it wasn't Fanime's fault. Using to 50% conservative percentage to estimate the number of cosplay pics on my webpage, it's going to be a minimum 300, much lower than Fanime'05. I believe my question is legitimate. Where were the cosplayers?
--The convention center air conditioner system worked, yet the air was still dry, even in my hotel room. I used my lip balm at least once a day.
--Off the record, Spiritnare and Loktera were the people who thought about the Fanimaid Café. I say it off the record just in case other people are not supposed to know ;-)
--I received lots of Glomps cosplaying as Hitsugaya. I received a few double glomps from a few people including the Gaara cosplayer, the HunterXHunter cosplayer, and BSaphire's daughter. Sue, the hugs were innocent I swear.
--Hellangel fixed my sword at the CLAMP gathering. I need to make minor repairs before the next con. I thank my Dad for assisting me.
--The crossplayer guy who lived in Richmond I met on Saturday cosplayed from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's. At the moment I type the notes, I still figure out what went wrong. The guy seemed lost. Or maybe he didn't know how to act when meeting new people. I continue to meet new people, and sometimes the people I met there's no match for us to hang out and to know each other.
--San Jose Police was present for Fanime'07 and Fanime'06. There was an arrest at the Saturday night dance. An minor brought illegal drugs.
--One advice. If you meet new people and you get along really good, trade each other’s contact information such as cell phone, email, AIM, or other means of communications.
--The past Fanime con first days convinced me I can work at least a half day because nothing happens when Fanime opens. If I have lots of vacation time, however, I take Friday off.
--Bleach Gathering ’08 is planned to meet at the water fountains and move to the center of Cesar Chavez park.
Monday, June 11, 2007
2007 Fanime Con Day Four
Fanime Con'07 Day Four: Last Day Already?!?
I woke up at 10:15am. I wanted to wake up at 9:30am which I didn't because I was really sleepy from sleeping at 3am. I couldn't believe the last day arrived. The con went by too fast. Fanime'07 was the fastest con ever. And what happened to the cosplayers Saturday and Sunday?
Amelia and I packed our stuff. I cosplayed as Syaoran from Tsubasa Chronicles for the CLAMP gathering at 11:30am. We packed everything in the car at 11am to avoid the checkout rush between 11am and 12pm. 12pm was the checkout time.
I arrived at the CLAMP gathering at 11:30am. Turnout was expected to be low. Most of the cosplayers were from Tsubasa Chroncles. Two people from Tokyo Babylon, three from xxxHolic, and two from Magic Knight Rayearth appeared. We managed to get pictures and talked to each other. The gathering lasted a long 30 minutes. I took a few pics myself ^^
At 12:15pm, I took one final walk in the dealers room. There were very, very few cosplayers around the con. Today was Monday and the con was dead. I got a call from Barnes at 12:45pm saying the panel room for the 1pm Fanime BBS was empty. He asked me if there was going to be the 1pm panel. I confirmed yes. After the call, I felt less guilty I canceled my Saturday panel because it appeared the 12pm panel before the 1pm Fanime BBS panel was canceled, too.
Last Event
I arrived at the panel room for the Fanime BBS panel at 1pm. People started coming in. Gmontem took pictures of all the Fanime BBS members. Kegan_Flame started the panel asking everyone to introduce themselves. Turnout was good. Some people left early. And there were a few who couldn't make it. Spirit and Otakuapprentice ran the panel most of the time together. Otakuapprentice was gung-ho to hook the Nintendo Wii he went to EB Games on North Fourth Street to purchase an accessory to hook the Wii to the projector. Spirit showed videos and pics from his laptop.
Some of us were sad the con ended including me. I organized a pizza gathering at the main con area. Ryu, SuperKawaiiNeko, Amelia, and I went to House Of Pizza on Almaden Bouelvard. I purchased two large pizzas to share with everyone else. During the 20 minute wait, all of us relaxed and cooled down. We mostly talked about the con and what we purchased from the dealers room.
We arrived with the pizzas at 3:20pm. I got a Coke drink from the Marriott store. I'm glad there was enough pizza to share with everyone. The pizza was expensive, but really good. I hope everyone was happy that we were able to hang out one last time at Fanime '07 and not get full. I really didn't intend to feed everyone lunch `__*
As time passed, people were leaving and we said our good-byes. We saw others passed by and a few Fanime staff we knew doing their duties. Two staffers came by and gave out free posters and key chains. Amelia and I went home at 5pm.
I woke up at 10:15am. I wanted to wake up at 9:30am which I didn't because I was really sleepy from sleeping at 3am. I couldn't believe the last day arrived. The con went by too fast. Fanime'07 was the fastest con ever. And what happened to the cosplayers Saturday and Sunday?
Amelia and I packed our stuff. I cosplayed as Syaoran from Tsubasa Chronicles for the CLAMP gathering at 11:30am. We packed everything in the car at 11am to avoid the checkout rush between 11am and 12pm. 12pm was the checkout time.
I arrived at the CLAMP gathering at 11:30am. Turnout was expected to be low. Most of the cosplayers were from Tsubasa Chroncles. Two people from Tokyo Babylon, three from xxxHolic, and two from Magic Knight Rayearth appeared. We managed to get pictures and talked to each other. The gathering lasted a long 30 minutes. I took a few pics myself ^^
At 12:15pm, I took one final walk in the dealers room. There were very, very few cosplayers around the con. Today was Monday and the con was dead. I got a call from Barnes at 12:45pm saying the panel room for the 1pm Fanime BBS was empty. He asked me if there was going to be the 1pm panel. I confirmed yes. After the call, I felt less guilty I canceled my Saturday panel because it appeared the 12pm panel before the 1pm Fanime BBS panel was canceled, too.
Last Event
I arrived at the panel room for the Fanime BBS panel at 1pm. People started coming in. Gmontem took pictures of all the Fanime BBS members. Kegan_Flame started the panel asking everyone to introduce themselves. Turnout was good. Some people left early. And there were a few who couldn't make it. Spirit and Otakuapprentice ran the panel most of the time together. Otakuapprentice was gung-ho to hook the Nintendo Wii he went to EB Games on North Fourth Street to purchase an accessory to hook the Wii to the projector. Spirit showed videos and pics from his laptop.
Some of us were sad the con ended including me. I organized a pizza gathering at the main con area. Ryu, SuperKawaiiNeko, Amelia, and I went to House Of Pizza on Almaden Bouelvard. I purchased two large pizzas to share with everyone else. During the 20 minute wait, all of us relaxed and cooled down. We mostly talked about the con and what we purchased from the dealers room.
We arrived with the pizzas at 3:20pm. I got a Coke drink from the Marriott store. I'm glad there was enough pizza to share with everyone. The pizza was expensive, but really good. I hope everyone was happy that we were able to hang out one last time at Fanime '07 and not get full. I really didn't intend to feed everyone lunch `__*
As time passed, people were leaving and we said our good-byes. We saw others passed by and a few Fanime staff we knew doing their duties. Two staffers came by and gave out free posters and key chains. Amelia and I went home at 5pm.
Friday, June 08, 2007
2007 Fanime Con Day Three
Fanime Con'07 Day Three: Finally, Cosplayers
I woke up at 9am to eat breakfast and cosplayed as Edward Elric from Full Metal Alchemist for the 10am gathering. There were two Full Metal Alchemist gatherings because some of the people couldn't attend the Sunday gathering. I arrived at 10am. The turnout was respectable. Popular cosplay photographers Bart Boy and Eurobeat King took group shots. Amelia also came to take pictures. theRealHohenheim, Silver_Unicorn, and Edward Elric attended in their cosplays. Audioventchick didn't attend. I took some cosplay pics.
After the Full Metal Alchemist gathering, I saw BuntOfGovt and her Saiyuuki gathering. We talked for a little bit. I then headed to my room to prepare for the Bleach gathering at noon.
Two for One Gathering
I arrived at 11:55am for the noon Bleach gathering. Unfortunately, I wasn't really in the cosplay spirit. For instance, I didn't take any Bleach gathering photos *sniff, sniff* And the rope part whatever it's called came apart from the sword. I removed the peacebond from the sword for action pics. I could re-peacebond after the gathering.
We met at noon in front of the water fountains at the main entrance to the convention center. We took group shots including captains, lieutenants, Ichigos, and other groups. We also did the Don Kanonji bua-ha-ha-ha shot. At 12:15pm, we headed to Cesar Chavez Park for additional pictures. Bart Boy and I help escorted the group to the park. We arrived at the park and took pictures at the rock statue. I thought it was planned to take pictures at the statue. I found out later on when a group of people stayed at the rock, the rest followed. Next year, Yukari Kaiba, the organizer, plans to move the group to the center of the park near the water fountains. Also, I take Bleach gathering pictures. h-chan and Ski_Kitti made a brief appearance at the gathering.
After the organized and successful Bleach gathering with a few craziness and Yaoi shots, some of us Bleach cosplayers attended the Shonen Jump gathering at 1pm. I saw Hellangel and her Ouran High School Host Club group. I stayed for about an hour at the Shonen gathering. We took group shots and I participated in a Naruto vs. Bleach shot.
At 2pm, I went to Rovers to get my Hitsugaya sword re-peacebonded. I saw Chloe and Oshu near the Rovers. I went to my Hotel room to cool down and drink water. On my way to the hotel room, I saw Jennifer's group. She stayed on the same floor and three doors down.
The next gathering was the Fanime BBS gathering at the Hilton lobby. Attendence was good. Some of us already there called others to come over and hang out. Gmontem and I took pictures. Everyone separated around 2:45pm. Gmontem, shortpachoo, and I went to Peggy Sue's for lunch. We saw h-chan and her friends. We took our lunches back to Tabletop Gaming where we hung out for a while. Shortpachoo left to check out the arcade. After I ate, I walked around to take more cosplay pictures. Again, I ask the question, where are the cosplayers? At 5:10pm, I went back to my hotel room to cool down and drink water. In the elevator, I saw a depressed congoer and his friend. His friend tried to convince him to take his medication. Good luck.
Do Something Or Else
The Fanimaid café was successful. Some of us were involved in the Fanimaid café. Congratulations to those involved; although there were some hidden conflicts that affected a few of my friends ;__; The café closed at 6pm where some of us met to hang out. The café staff and volunteers treated themselves and their friends to a first year anniversary cake. After 6:30pm, most of us took off to do something. VictimX and I were bored and didn't know what to do. The only event was the masquerade at 7pm. The masquerade is the most popular event. When the masquerade takes place in a con, it's considered con dead time. VictimX and I choose to watch the masquerade.
The masquerade started on time. We arrived at the third skit. Hellangel's skit was number 3. Her Ouran High School Host School comedy skit won first prize ^__^ I got a call from Amol and Last Exlir for an UNO game. I said no problem. I left the masquerade after the skit number 23.
Saved By Chun
I arrived at TableTop Gaming around 8:30pm. We played super UNO for a long time using the in-house friends rules. Spirit, mDuo13, Amol, Last Exlir, Chun, Vinnie (a poker player), BP, and Minagi-Chan played. After the first game, I went to my car to get bottle water for everyone. Victim X came around 9pm. He left the masquerade after the 43rd skit. He says the masquerade was long and lots of dance skits.
The highlight of the con and the saver for me was the Chun, Chun, Chun, Chun . . . . For the past three days of the con up to the UNO game, I was tired, so emo, just being out of it. Fortunately, the UNO game saved the con for me. First, let me explain the in-house friends rules. There were three established rules which were the Jump rule meaning if a player has the same exact card someone played, the player immediately takes a turn by playing the same exact card and play again; the second rule is the Zero Card meaning play a zero and exchange your set of cards with another player; and the third rule which was established when Spirit won three games in a row was the player must say an anime expression before or after the group of sentences. If the player failed to say the anime expression, the player must draw one card. A temporary rule becomes permanent when the player wins three games in a row.
The temporary rule mDuo13 created was if a player says the name of another player, the player must draw one card. Chun had a ton of cards except yellow. Chun had to take a ton of cards before a yellow appeared, and when it was his turn for the next two times, he kept drawing and drawing and drawing. When Chun got the zero card, the other players said Chun's name to draw cards and prevent Chun from exchanging hands. ZOMG. LMAO. Very, very funny. The Chun, Chun, Chun was so funny all of us couldn't play for five minutes. We just laughed our asses off.
Around 9:45pm, Ryu, Babytealeaf, Babytealeaf's boyfriend, Gmontem, Shortpachoo, and I went to grab dinner. Gmontem, Shortpachoo, and I went to Hydration which was closed when we arrived. We then grab something at McDonalds. I ordered three McChickens and Gmontem and Shortpachoo ordered McFlurries. We met with Ryu's group at Jack-In-The-Box and headed back to Tabletop Gaming. Shortpachoo and Ryu went on their own. I think Shortpachoo checked out the console games and Ryu went to pack because he was going back home for the night. Gmontem went to his room to show us his Optimus Prime. I ate dinner with Babytealeaf and her boyfriend.
The last event of the night was I started packing. I brought my Edward Elric and Toshiro cosplays and board games to the car. The initial packing helped out for the checkout rush. When I checkout, all I needed to bring was my backpack containing my clothes and bare necessities, laptop, and box of chips from Costco. I finished the initial packing, took a shower, and went to sleep at 3am. I plan to do some initial packing for AX should the opportunity come to me.
I woke up at 9am to eat breakfast and cosplayed as Edward Elric from Full Metal Alchemist for the 10am gathering. There were two Full Metal Alchemist gatherings because some of the people couldn't attend the Sunday gathering. I arrived at 10am. The turnout was respectable. Popular cosplay photographers Bart Boy and Eurobeat King took group shots. Amelia also came to take pictures. theRealHohenheim, Silver_Unicorn, and Edward Elric attended in their cosplays. Audioventchick didn't attend. I took some cosplay pics.
After the Full Metal Alchemist gathering, I saw BuntOfGovt and her Saiyuuki gathering. We talked for a little bit. I then headed to my room to prepare for the Bleach gathering at noon.
Two for One Gathering
I arrived at 11:55am for the noon Bleach gathering. Unfortunately, I wasn't really in the cosplay spirit. For instance, I didn't take any Bleach gathering photos *sniff, sniff* And the rope part whatever it's called came apart from the sword. I removed the peacebond from the sword for action pics. I could re-peacebond after the gathering.
We met at noon in front of the water fountains at the main entrance to the convention center. We took group shots including captains, lieutenants, Ichigos, and other groups. We also did the Don Kanonji bua-ha-ha-ha shot. At 12:15pm, we headed to Cesar Chavez Park for additional pictures. Bart Boy and I help escorted the group to the park. We arrived at the park and took pictures at the rock statue. I thought it was planned to take pictures at the statue. I found out later on when a group of people stayed at the rock, the rest followed. Next year, Yukari Kaiba, the organizer, plans to move the group to the center of the park near the water fountains. Also, I take Bleach gathering pictures. h-chan and Ski_Kitti made a brief appearance at the gathering.
After the organized and successful Bleach gathering with a few craziness and Yaoi shots, some of us Bleach cosplayers attended the Shonen Jump gathering at 1pm. I saw Hellangel and her Ouran High School Host Club group. I stayed for about an hour at the Shonen gathering. We took group shots and I participated in a Naruto vs. Bleach shot.
At 2pm, I went to Rovers to get my Hitsugaya sword re-peacebonded. I saw Chloe and Oshu near the Rovers. I went to my Hotel room to cool down and drink water. On my way to the hotel room, I saw Jennifer's group. She stayed on the same floor and three doors down.
The next gathering was the Fanime BBS gathering at the Hilton lobby. Attendence was good. Some of us already there called others to come over and hang out. Gmontem and I took pictures. Everyone separated around 2:45pm. Gmontem, shortpachoo, and I went to Peggy Sue's for lunch. We saw h-chan and her friends. We took our lunches back to Tabletop Gaming where we hung out for a while. Shortpachoo left to check out the arcade. After I ate, I walked around to take more cosplay pictures. Again, I ask the question, where are the cosplayers? At 5:10pm, I went back to my hotel room to cool down and drink water. In the elevator, I saw a depressed congoer and his friend. His friend tried to convince him to take his medication. Good luck.
Do Something Or Else
The Fanimaid café was successful. Some of us were involved in the Fanimaid café. Congratulations to those involved; although there were some hidden conflicts that affected a few of my friends ;__; The café closed at 6pm where some of us met to hang out. The café staff and volunteers treated themselves and their friends to a first year anniversary cake. After 6:30pm, most of us took off to do something. VictimX and I were bored and didn't know what to do. The only event was the masquerade at 7pm. The masquerade is the most popular event. When the masquerade takes place in a con, it's considered con dead time. VictimX and I choose to watch the masquerade.
The masquerade started on time. We arrived at the third skit. Hellangel's skit was number 3. Her Ouran High School Host School comedy skit won first prize ^__^ I got a call from Amol and Last Exlir for an UNO game. I said no problem. I left the masquerade after the skit number 23.
Saved By Chun
I arrived at TableTop Gaming around 8:30pm. We played super UNO for a long time using the in-house friends rules. Spirit, mDuo13, Amol, Last Exlir, Chun, Vinnie (a poker player), BP, and Minagi-Chan played. After the first game, I went to my car to get bottle water for everyone. Victim X came around 9pm. He left the masquerade after the 43rd skit. He says the masquerade was long and lots of dance skits.
The highlight of the con and the saver for me was the Chun, Chun, Chun, Chun . . . . For the past three days of the con up to the UNO game, I was tired, so emo, just being out of it. Fortunately, the UNO game saved the con for me. First, let me explain the in-house friends rules. There were three established rules which were the Jump rule meaning if a player has the same exact card someone played, the player immediately takes a turn by playing the same exact card and play again; the second rule is the Zero Card meaning play a zero and exchange your set of cards with another player; and the third rule which was established when Spirit won three games in a row was the player must say an anime expression before or after the group of sentences. If the player failed to say the anime expression, the player must draw one card. A temporary rule becomes permanent when the player wins three games in a row.
The temporary rule mDuo13 created was if a player says the name of another player, the player must draw one card. Chun had a ton of cards except yellow. Chun had to take a ton of cards before a yellow appeared, and when it was his turn for the next two times, he kept drawing and drawing and drawing. When Chun got the zero card, the other players said Chun's name to draw cards and prevent Chun from exchanging hands. ZOMG. LMAO. Very, very funny. The Chun, Chun, Chun was so funny all of us couldn't play for five minutes. We just laughed our asses off.
Around 9:45pm, Ryu, Babytealeaf, Babytealeaf's boyfriend, Gmontem, Shortpachoo, and I went to grab dinner. Gmontem, Shortpachoo, and I went to Hydration which was closed when we arrived. We then grab something at McDonalds. I ordered three McChickens and Gmontem and Shortpachoo ordered McFlurries. We met with Ryu's group at Jack-In-The-Box and headed back to Tabletop Gaming. Shortpachoo and Ryu went on their own. I think Shortpachoo checked out the console games and Ryu went to pack because he was going back home for the night. Gmontem went to his room to show us his Optimus Prime. I ate dinner with Babytealeaf and her boyfriend.
The last event of the night was I started packing. I brought my Edward Elric and Toshiro cosplays and board games to the car. The initial packing helped out for the checkout rush. When I checkout, all I needed to bring was my backpack containing my clothes and bare necessities, laptop, and box of chips from Costco. I finished the initial packing, took a shower, and went to sleep at 3am. I plan to do some initial packing for AX should the opportunity come to me.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
2007 Fanime Con Day Two
Fanime Con'07 Day Two: Seeking Action
I woke up at 9:00am, ate breakfast, and cosplayed as Toshiro again. Amelia got a call from Hellangel with bad news. Amelia’s Tenten cosplay was torn accidentally and Hellangel complete the cosplay after Fanime for free. Amelia could have cosplayed her Kikiyo, but she said it take too long to put the cosplay on.
There were very few Bleach cosplayers on day one. I wanted to find more today. I walked around the convention center and I met this one crossplayer who lived in Richmond at 10:30am. A crossplayer cosplays a character opposite sex of the person. A male person cosplays a female character and a female person cosplays a male character are crossplayers. I forgot the guy's name. He was really quiet. I had trouble hearing him speak. Every conversation I started, he gave short answers. It was difficult to understand him. His crossplay was Vita from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's, the anime series I'm currently watching as of the moment I type the Blog. Coincidentally, I'm thinking about cosplaying as Enforcer Chrono. -__-
The crossplayer hung out with me as I walked around taking pics of cosplayers. No problems with me; although, when people took pics of me, he nudged his way into my picture which was rude @__@ I saw BuntOfGovt, TravelinValentine's Tom and Victoria, and Minagi-chan. At 11:20am, I invited the crossplayer to come to lunch with me. He accepted.
We got takeout at Peggy Sue's. I ordered a hamburger and fries. I forgot what the crossplayer ordered. We ordered take out because I wanted to watch the Anime Music Videos (AMV) at 1pm. On our way back to the convention center, I spotted Mordyan. He was going to get lunch and watch the AMVs. I said let's meet at the line. Mordyan agreed. The crossplayer and I ate lunch near the AMV room. We said nothing. I said a few comments here and there. The crossplayer was quiet. I was having trouble getting to know him. Maybe he was nervous, scared, or didn't know what to do. He wasn't lonely because he was with other crossplayers.
The AMV line formed at 12:10pm. Mordyan arrived and the three of us waited in line. I told everyone I was going back to the hotel to get some water and adjust my cosplay. When I got back to the AMV line 10 minutes later, the crossplayer took off. Mordyan didn't know what was going on.
At 1:15pm, the AMVs started. Ultramangaia joined us and the three of us watched AMVs for three hours. For me, the AMVs were better in '07. I thought '06 sucked. I was in the minority because many people thought '06 was better and the '07 comedy was terrible. The AMV director agreed. Most of the comedy was terrible. The best comedy made the finals which were about eight. The action was great. There were 18 action AMVs finals. One of my friend's video made the finals. h-chan's comedy made the final and I voted for her comedy video. Her second AMV which was an action video also made the finals. I briefly walked away from the AMV to give my reading glasses to Ryu for the Rozen Maiden cosplay gathering at 3:30pm. Ultramangaia left the AMVs around 3:15pm because he hated drama AMVs.
Mordyan and I left the AMVs when it ended before 4:30pm. We separated. I walked around and took more cosplay pics. I was disappointed because there were fewer cosplayers for a Saturday compared to last year. What happened? I saw the award winning cosplayer Chris. He cosplayed as Skywarp from Transformers. I got a picture of myself with Shinku, my favorite character from Rozen Maiden. I saw Ritchie and his girlfriend who arrived. I forgot her name. I remembered it began with the letter "A." Ritchie planned to stay for two days. He couldn't get the days off to stay the entire con. Ritchie organized the butt racing contest which unfortunately failed because lack of participants. We talked about whether Fanime was losing the magic for an anime con and we both agreed the reason we keep attending Fanime was to hang out with our friends. Kazuko also came over to hang out for a bit. A few others came, too. I forgot who you were. I'm bad at remembering people's names and whereabouts :-< I went to the Artist Alley at 5pm to pick up my mini Toshiro ip136 made. She used clay. The Toshiro looked excellent. At 5:15pm, I went to the dealers room and said hi to Phu-Mai, the artist for Tea Club. She was out of the Large size t-shirt I wanted. Fortunately, she's going to be at Anime Expo to buy a t-shirt and a stuff panda. At 5:30pm, I met with Pockystix. Still Looking For Action
At 5:40pm, I went to Tabletop Gaming. I played Betrayal At House Of The Hill with a new person I never met, Spiritnare, Amol, mDuo13, and LastExlir. Before I played, I went to Live Programming to cancel my 8pm panel. Loktera arrived at 6pm where we chatted for a bit. Kegan_flame stopped by to stay hi at 7:28pm. She was cosplaying from Death Note. We finished the game at 7:30pm where we separated. I went back to hotel room at 7:45pm where I saw Bart Boy and the elevator he was riding was full. I forced myself inside *hee, hee*
I needed to eat dinner before the 9pm poker game with Jyun. I went to Hydration on North Second Street and purchased a take out crispy chicken bento box. I ate dinner at Tabletop Gaming. Jyun arrived at 8:45pm frantically setting up. He and his older brother, Otakuya, attended their parent's anniversary. Jyun insisted I play which I did. The volunteer permanent dealer was still in my head and I was rusty playing poker. I'm glad I played even though I was the first person eliminated in my table :-(
The second poker tournament contained lots of drama unrelated to the game. Some people complained the newbies ruined the poker mood; for example, someone went all-in with a pocket two and four. Nobody goes all-in with a two and a four. Jyun agreed with the concerns and he organized an unofficial poker tournament for the poker veterans on Sunday night. I was invited which I didn't play. The second poker tournament went much better at the finals table with all the newbies eliminated. Jyun had prizes for the top six which helped also.
I stayed at TableTop Gaming for a while. I saw Sucrose and Fructose playing Apples To Apples at 10:00pm. They invited me to play. I accepted. It was unfortunate for me during Apples To Apples, I contemplated the con and whether Fanime was losing the magic. I also thought about what was missing at Fanime for me. What was I doing wrong? What was I failing to maximize my con experience? Where was the action? Where were the cosplayers. Did I forget something? Why was I tired? So many questions I was not being myself to think straight. Was working 10 hours Monday thru Thursday worth it? Friday morning and afternoon were dead. And the registration line on Friday was short.
Stage Zero at Midnight
Some of my friends and I hung out at Stage Zero. Loktera came over with his second cosplay. mDuo13 brought Flux and some of us played. We mostly hung out and just chatted. San Jose Police were present during the entire con. There were three police officers walking with a few Fanime staff. I went back to my hotel room at 3am and I had trouble falling asleep (-,-)
I woke up at 9:00am, ate breakfast, and cosplayed as Toshiro again. Amelia got a call from Hellangel with bad news. Amelia’s Tenten cosplay was torn accidentally and Hellangel complete the cosplay after Fanime for free. Amelia could have cosplayed her Kikiyo, but she said it take too long to put the cosplay on.
There were very few Bleach cosplayers on day one. I wanted to find more today. I walked around the convention center and I met this one crossplayer who lived in Richmond at 10:30am. A crossplayer cosplays a character opposite sex of the person. A male person cosplays a female character and a female person cosplays a male character are crossplayers. I forgot the guy's name. He was really quiet. I had trouble hearing him speak. Every conversation I started, he gave short answers. It was difficult to understand him. His crossplay was Vita from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's, the anime series I'm currently watching as of the moment I type the Blog. Coincidentally, I'm thinking about cosplaying as Enforcer Chrono. -__-
The crossplayer hung out with me as I walked around taking pics of cosplayers. No problems with me; although, when people took pics of me, he nudged his way into my picture which was rude @__@ I saw BuntOfGovt, TravelinValentine's Tom and Victoria, and Minagi-chan. At 11:20am, I invited the crossplayer to come to lunch with me. He accepted.
We got takeout at Peggy Sue's. I ordered a hamburger and fries. I forgot what the crossplayer ordered. We ordered take out because I wanted to watch the Anime Music Videos (AMV) at 1pm. On our way back to the convention center, I spotted Mordyan. He was going to get lunch and watch the AMVs. I said let's meet at the line. Mordyan agreed. The crossplayer and I ate lunch near the AMV room. We said nothing. I said a few comments here and there. The crossplayer was quiet. I was having trouble getting to know him. Maybe he was nervous, scared, or didn't know what to do. He wasn't lonely because he was with other crossplayers.
The AMV line formed at 12:10pm. Mordyan arrived and the three of us waited in line. I told everyone I was going back to the hotel to get some water and adjust my cosplay. When I got back to the AMV line 10 minutes later, the crossplayer took off. Mordyan didn't know what was going on.
At 1:15pm, the AMVs started. Ultramangaia joined us and the three of us watched AMVs for three hours. For me, the AMVs were better in '07. I thought '06 sucked. I was in the minority because many people thought '06 was better and the '07 comedy was terrible. The AMV director agreed. Most of the comedy was terrible. The best comedy made the finals which were about eight. The action was great. There were 18 action AMVs finals. One of my friend's video made the finals. h-chan's comedy made the final and I voted for her comedy video. Her second AMV which was an action video also made the finals. I briefly walked away from the AMV to give my reading glasses to Ryu for the Rozen Maiden cosplay gathering at 3:30pm. Ultramangaia left the AMVs around 3:15pm because he hated drama AMVs.
Mordyan and I left the AMVs when it ended before 4:30pm. We separated. I walked around and took more cosplay pics. I was disappointed because there were fewer cosplayers for a Saturday compared to last year. What happened? I saw the award winning cosplayer Chris. He cosplayed as Skywarp from Transformers. I got a picture of myself with Shinku, my favorite character from Rozen Maiden. I saw Ritchie and his girlfriend who arrived. I forgot her name. I remembered it began with the letter "A." Ritchie planned to stay for two days. He couldn't get the days off to stay the entire con. Ritchie organized the butt racing contest which unfortunately failed because lack of participants. We talked about whether Fanime was losing the magic for an anime con and we both agreed the reason we keep attending Fanime was to hang out with our friends. Kazuko also came over to hang out for a bit. A few others came, too. I forgot who you were. I'm bad at remembering people's names and whereabouts :-< I went to the Artist Alley at 5pm to pick up my mini Toshiro ip136 made. She used clay. The Toshiro looked excellent. At 5:15pm, I went to the dealers room and said hi to Phu-Mai, the artist for Tea Club. She was out of the Large size t-shirt I wanted. Fortunately, she's going to be at Anime Expo to buy a t-shirt and a stuff panda. At 5:30pm, I met with Pockystix. Still Looking For Action
At 5:40pm, I went to Tabletop Gaming. I played Betrayal At House Of The Hill with a new person I never met, Spiritnare, Amol, mDuo13, and LastExlir. Before I played, I went to Live Programming to cancel my 8pm panel. Loktera arrived at 6pm where we chatted for a bit. Kegan_flame stopped by to stay hi at 7:28pm. She was cosplaying from Death Note. We finished the game at 7:30pm where we separated. I went back to hotel room at 7:45pm where I saw Bart Boy and the elevator he was riding was full. I forced myself inside *hee, hee*
I needed to eat dinner before the 9pm poker game with Jyun. I went to Hydration on North Second Street and purchased a take out crispy chicken bento box. I ate dinner at Tabletop Gaming. Jyun arrived at 8:45pm frantically setting up. He and his older brother, Otakuya, attended their parent's anniversary. Jyun insisted I play which I did. The volunteer permanent dealer was still in my head and I was rusty playing poker. I'm glad I played even though I was the first person eliminated in my table :-(
The second poker tournament contained lots of drama unrelated to the game. Some people complained the newbies ruined the poker mood; for example, someone went all-in with a pocket two and four. Nobody goes all-in with a two and a four. Jyun agreed with the concerns and he organized an unofficial poker tournament for the poker veterans on Sunday night. I was invited which I didn't play. The second poker tournament went much better at the finals table with all the newbies eliminated. Jyun had prizes for the top six which helped also.
I stayed at TableTop Gaming for a while. I saw Sucrose and Fructose playing Apples To Apples at 10:00pm. They invited me to play. I accepted. It was unfortunate for me during Apples To Apples, I contemplated the con and whether Fanime was losing the magic. I also thought about what was missing at Fanime for me. What was I doing wrong? What was I failing to maximize my con experience? Where was the action? Where were the cosplayers. Did I forget something? Why was I tired? So many questions I was not being myself to think straight. Was working 10 hours Monday thru Thursday worth it? Friday morning and afternoon were dead. And the registration line on Friday was short.
Stage Zero at Midnight
Some of my friends and I hung out at Stage Zero. Loktera came over with his second cosplay. mDuo13 brought Flux and some of us played. We mostly hung out and just chatted. San Jose Police were present during the entire con. There were three police officers walking with a few Fanime staff. I went back to my hotel room at 3am and I had trouble falling asleep (-,-)
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