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AX2004 Recap Part II
Sep. 3rd, 2004 07:05 pmOkay, I didn't post the rest of this, so now I am! Before I forget! ^_^
SATURDAY:
This day had to be the most fun! It was time for serious COSPLAY! Woohoo! SORE WA AI JANA~AI! Of course, first we decided to get some food. We walked over to the main office of our hotel and…
There were 2 muffins on a tray.
Alice-chan, Niki-chan and I grabbed the muffins, eating them on the way back to the room. Here’s a clue as to how small they were: We were done by the time we walked back into the room. Nevertheless, as Niki and Alice took showers I changed into my Excel costume, pinning it in place. I couldn’t get my hair exactly as I wanted it, but nevertheless… I still thought I looked awesome.
I had just finished changing, so I opened up the curtains into the street. BAD IDEA. At that particular moment, MAN FAYE WALKED BY.
Ohhh god, I can’t even begin to describe the horror. It was a blur of yellow fabric and black hair. I screeched and Niki came running.
“What? WHAT?!”
“M-m-m-m-m-m-m… MAN FAYE!!”
“Really?! Where’s my camera?!!”
I thought to myself, thank GOD my mother didn’t see that. As luck would have it, Maddie and Jessie showed up a few minutes later, babbling about seeing some guy in a yellow thong. Ohhh the horror. That was an interesting conversation…
“Mom! I can’t control what other people wear! NO ONE CAN!”
“…I know…”
“I don’t know that person, I’ve never known that person, I don’t support Man-Faye!!”
“Man-who?”
After a few finishing touches to Maddie’s costume (which I made… *strikes victory pose!*) the parents decided that it was time for a photo op! After taking what seemed like HUNDREDS of pictures, we finally grabbed our bags and began walking to the convention center! (Of course I said goodbye to mummy-dearest. ^_^) A lot of people gave Maddie and me odd looks… of course… they weren’t wearing convention badges! Everyone who WAS wearing one was complimenting us!
Maddie and Jessie needed to be registered, so we braved the room filled with millions of people again. Unfortunately, this is when I found out that I had accidentally cut in line. Whoops! Some guy gave us a lot of grief for standing with our friends. Alice’s friend Vince works for Tokyopop, so he got Maddie registered FOR FREE, FAST. I was so jealous. >_< I waited there with Jessie, Rachel, Jessica B., and Eric to be registered. As soon as I walked out onto the floor, some guy dressed as Wolfwood stopped me.
“OHMIGODEXCEL! ILOVEEXCELSHE’STHEBESTCANITAKEYOURPICTURE?!!”
Fanboy… to the max.
“Er… sure!” I posed in the conventional “Hail Il Palazzo!” pose. Then, someone in a red vest came over to spoil the fun, saying he couldn’t take the picture in the middle of the hall. The guy protested, saying he was only going to take one picture, and she let him. I thanked her afterward. I felt kinda fuzzy inside, like someone actually cared about my costume! Too bad my Hyatt wasn’t there… T_T
As soon as we got registered we hurried over to the Mariott to watch Azumanga Dai’oh subbed. It was fun! Whee! When isn’t Azumanga fun? Answer: NEVER.
Well… maybe not never, because as we were leaving the video room, I left my purse behind. Take note, this will be a major source of hell later.
After we got out of that screening, we wanted to go watch the Yoko Ishida concert, a non-voucher event! Whoo! (I kinda wanted to go see R.O.D. the TV and part of the series, but we decided to go for the Live-Action event.) Somewhere during the concert, Maddie whispered that we should buy one of her CDs so she could sign it. Then, it hit me. I didn’t have my purse with all of my ID, keys, permit, wallet, and $85. Niki and I ran out of the concert hall in the middle of Ms. Ishida’s remix of “Let Me Be With You” from Chobits.
To make a really long story short, we couldn’t find my purse and I ended up crying outside of Video Room 3, which happened to be manned by a Nabeshin cosplayer. He asked me for a picture, but I was a mess. Finally, I calmed down as everyone explained that nothing in the purse was irreplaceable. I wiped my eyes, turned to the guy and said, as cheerfully as possible:
“You want that picture?”
We posed together along with Maddie dead on my shoulder and I felt a whole lot better. He asked me where I was going to be in the next 10 minutes, so we decided we were going to Starbucks in the Mariott. I called my dad, had a tearful and hysteric conversation about losing the money. Dad explained that it was okay, that these things happen. Note #2: It was a good thing I called and told him. You’ll find out later. Anyway, Mr. Nabeshin met us there, asking me to help him find something in the dealer’s room. He felt bad that I had lost my purse and offered to buy me a new one. HUGE relief. I felt SO much better, especially when he said, “I’m the Director! It’s my job to do things like this!” ^_^ Nabeshin is now my new hero…
Navigating the dealer’s room with the greatest of ease, we found something for his friend. Something from Scrapped Princess, if I remember correctly. He then asked me if I had seen a purse I wanted. Of course I had!
MythWear.com had a booth with tons of bags, one of which I wanted. It had the NERV symbol in red on it. Bad News: It was $21. He said that he was hoping it would be cheaper… and the bad feeling returned. He paid the $20 for it and Maddie threw in a $1. Afterwards, he asked me for my e-mail, which I gladly gave to him, thanking him profusely for his kindness. I hope that he’ll contact me and we can meet up at AX2005. I want to give him back his $20, and Maddie back her $1. ^_^
I bought a Conan pin to decorate my new bag. I got Volume 2 of Rurouni Kenshin signed by Lex Lang for Julia. I felt like things were looking up for me, really.
Kristin finally showed up! The line to register was NOTHING! GAHAH! We outsmart the universe! After some browsing in the artist’s alley…
We decided that we were going to head back to the hotel and get dinner at a Coco’s near the hotel. Of course, this meant getting dressed for the Dance! I changed out of my Excel gear (sadly… so many people wanted pictures! I didn’t want it to end!) and put on my dancing gear! I had this cat-thing going I think. Of course, I got many, many stares from the waiters at Coco’s. GAHAHAH!! PH34R!
But! Before we left for the restaurant, something extraordinary happened…
I called to check in with my dad and he said the most wonderful words to me:
“They found your purse.”
I was ecstatic. Everything was right again! Anime Expo was, definitely, not the real world. People returned $85 cash and stuff like that. I could’ve kissed the person who turned it in, but they had already left the con. Another person who I wish I had met to thank them for their kindness. Otakus are awesome people.
We finally headed out to the dance with a vague idea of where exactly the dance was. Turned out to be wrong. We ran back and forth to three different hotels, looking for this friggin’ dance. Finally, we got there.
A lot of techno music. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against techno. It just isn’t the best music to dance to in my opinion. We hung out for around 2 hours, conversing with the Captain Jack Sparrow, Naruto, Legolas and Galadriel, and someone dressed as Leblanc. We timed her in the restroom. 14 minutes. ^_~ Heh heh, don’t get the wrong idea. If you’ve ever seen that costume, you’d want to know how long it takes to get it off and on too!
Around 11:30 we walked back to the room, yelling and screaming and having the best time ever. We got into the room and began watching Trigun and Wolf’s Rain. It was insane, but fun. I had a bed that night actually. Other people had to sleep on the floor. I kinda felt bad…
Anyway, my purse had been found, my cosplay was a success, and I was just having an all-around good time. As I fell asleep, I thought, “Too bad it has to end tomorrow…”
COSPLAY COUNT:
14 Nicholas D. Wolfwood’s
11 Dark Chii’s/Chii’s in general
1 Uber-Kawaii 1-year-old Shippo!
5 or 7 Naruto’s
3 Sora’s (Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2) that I remember
1 and only 1 Excel Excel!
SUNDAY:
The day began with me deciding to wear my Excel cosplay again. I had so much fun wearing it the first time, and dangit, I wanted people to take more pictures of me! Am I vain…? T_T
We ran and got a better continental breakfast than two muffins. This time we got Danish (OH! OH! CAN’T BEAT THE DANISH!) Everyone was kinda lounging around, talking, eating, etc., when I said:
“Uh, guys? The Escaflowne Movie starts soon.”
Immediately, Alice squealed and ran out of the room, hurrying everyone up. We ran all the way to the convention center and into the movie room, where we watched the Escaflowne Movie.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Escaflowne… the series. Alice-chan said she liked the movie better, but I like the series to tell you the truth. A more in-depth telling of the story. Van didn’t wear a fur mini-skirt. Dilandau didn’t get off easy. I dunno, everyone liked it except me. ^_^;; So sue me!
After that, I ran all over trying to find who was keeping my purse. When I finally figured out where it was, everyone was LOLLIGAGGING! >_< I ran ahead. Niki-chan panicked and called my cell-phone. ^_^ Heh heh.
I walked into the big administrative office in my Excel costume, trying to be as polite as possible.
“Excuse me. I lost a purse in the Mariott Hotel, and I believe it was turned in here.” This woman stared at me with a blank expression.
“Are you sure?” Am I sure? Look me in the eye and tell me I don’t believe every word my father says, go on, DO IT!
“I’m sure. The person who found it called my house, and then my father called me and told me where it was turned in.”
“Oh. I don’t think we have it.”
I swear, if this was an anime, a vein would be going in my head while I kept my “nice-front” on. “Are you positive?”
“Well… let me check.” And she pulls out A NOTEBOOK OF LOST AND FOUND STUFF. For crying out loud people, DO. YOUR. JOBS. “Oh yes, we have it. It’s a black mini-backpack…”
“That says G.O.A. #90 on it.” I finished for her. She asked me my name, I told her. She handed me my purse and a yellow envelope with my $85 in it. HALLELUJAH!
Once the purse had been returned, we sat under the escalator and ate lunch. I put all my stuff into my new NERV bag. I felt bad. Mr. Nabeshin had bought me a new purse and they had found mine. All the more reason why I have to pay him back!
After lunch we hit the dealer’s room, buying various manga. Then, we got split up several times until we slipped into the “aw screw it” mentality. We shopped the entire day. I ended up with:
A Junpei and Seraphim pin (Megatokyo)
I split a set of 4 with Niki and Eric. Niki wanted Boo, Eric wanted Miho.
A Vash pin
$1.25, but I wanted a pin for my purse!
A Kurama wall scroll and Conan pin (for Julia)
She gave me her allowance to spend, and she was at smart boot-camp! I had to get her something!
Two D.N.Angel posters (It’s a tradition to buy a poster at AX now!)
One Conan poster
Two posters featuring Hakkai (for Niki-chan)
The girl who ran that booth was very nice! Except it was SO hard to find a poster I wanted! All of them were mixed together! Niki-chan kept the main Hakkai one, but she didn’t have room for the Goku one. I own that one now. ^___^
A Wolf’s Rain Poster
It was lying on a table with some guys, so I asked them where they had gotten it. They said it was there when they got there. I asked them if I could have it and they let me! ^_^ It’s hanging (poorly) in my room now! I love Wolf’s Rain…
Assorted Manga that I can’t remember right now…
$8.00 a book! Can’t beat that!
I wanted a Fanime shirt, but Maddie got one of those for giving out free hugs. T_T Maybe K-chan will give me hers… ^_~ Just kidding!
Well, unfortunately, the day came to a close, and we all walked to the front lawn of the convention center, waiting for Niki’s mom to pick us up and take us back to civilization. It was a sad feeling. I felt as though that convention center had become my home, and that I was leaving it now, along with my Otaku family. We said goodbye to Eric and drove off. It was weird to watch all of reality come back to me. No more nice non-purse-stealing people. No more anime/manga wherever you looked. No more people who were just as obsessed as you. But I settled for the fact that this had been a rewarding experience for me. It was worth every ounce of sweat I put into making it happen, and y’know what? I can’t wait for next year…
Top 10 Thoughts While Coming Home:
10. I’m tired… yeesh.
9. I’ll never ever EVER wait until the last minute to do my costume, AGAIN.
8. I sure have a lot of stuff… I can’t wait to hang it in my room!
7. I still have money left over… sweet!
6. Bigger room next time, definitely.
5. I’ll miss everyone who helped me out…
4. I’m gonna keep this badge in my bag! As a reminder!
3. I gotta write everything down! Before I forget everything I did!
2. I hope everyone had a good time like I did…
1. …AX2005… LOOK OUT! ‘CAUSE HERE I COME!
SATURDAY:
This day had to be the most fun! It was time for serious COSPLAY! Woohoo! SORE WA AI JANA~AI! Of course, first we decided to get some food. We walked over to the main office of our hotel and…
There were 2 muffins on a tray.
Alice-chan, Niki-chan and I grabbed the muffins, eating them on the way back to the room. Here’s a clue as to how small they were: We were done by the time we walked back into the room. Nevertheless, as Niki and Alice took showers I changed into my Excel costume, pinning it in place. I couldn’t get my hair exactly as I wanted it, but nevertheless… I still thought I looked awesome.
I had just finished changing, so I opened up the curtains into the street. BAD IDEA. At that particular moment, MAN FAYE WALKED BY.
Ohhh god, I can’t even begin to describe the horror. It was a blur of yellow fabric and black hair. I screeched and Niki came running.
“What? WHAT?!”
“M-m-m-m-m-m-m… MAN FAYE!!”
“Really?! Where’s my camera?!!”
I thought to myself, thank GOD my mother didn’t see that. As luck would have it, Maddie and Jessie showed up a few minutes later, babbling about seeing some guy in a yellow thong. Ohhh the horror. That was an interesting conversation…
“Mom! I can’t control what other people wear! NO ONE CAN!”
“…I know…”
“I don’t know that person, I’ve never known that person, I don’t support Man-Faye!!”
“Man-who?”
After a few finishing touches to Maddie’s costume (which I made… *strikes victory pose!*) the parents decided that it was time for a photo op! After taking what seemed like HUNDREDS of pictures, we finally grabbed our bags and began walking to the convention center! (Of course I said goodbye to mummy-dearest. ^_^) A lot of people gave Maddie and me odd looks… of course… they weren’t wearing convention badges! Everyone who WAS wearing one was complimenting us!
Maddie and Jessie needed to be registered, so we braved the room filled with millions of people again. Unfortunately, this is when I found out that I had accidentally cut in line. Whoops! Some guy gave us a lot of grief for standing with our friends. Alice’s friend Vince works for Tokyopop, so he got Maddie registered FOR FREE, FAST. I was so jealous. >_< I waited there with Jessie, Rachel, Jessica B., and Eric to be registered. As soon as I walked out onto the floor, some guy dressed as Wolfwood stopped me.
“OHMIGODEXCEL! ILOVEEXCELSHE’STHEBESTCANITAKEYOURPICTURE?!!”
Fanboy… to the max.
“Er… sure!” I posed in the conventional “Hail Il Palazzo!” pose. Then, someone in a red vest came over to spoil the fun, saying he couldn’t take the picture in the middle of the hall. The guy protested, saying he was only going to take one picture, and she let him. I thanked her afterward. I felt kinda fuzzy inside, like someone actually cared about my costume! Too bad my Hyatt wasn’t there… T_T
As soon as we got registered we hurried over to the Mariott to watch Azumanga Dai’oh subbed. It was fun! Whee! When isn’t Azumanga fun? Answer: NEVER.
Well… maybe not never, because as we were leaving the video room, I left my purse behind. Take note, this will be a major source of hell later.
After we got out of that screening, we wanted to go watch the Yoko Ishida concert, a non-voucher event! Whoo! (I kinda wanted to go see R.O.D. the TV and part of the series, but we decided to go for the Live-Action event.) Somewhere during the concert, Maddie whispered that we should buy one of her CDs so she could sign it. Then, it hit me. I didn’t have my purse with all of my ID, keys, permit, wallet, and $85. Niki and I ran out of the concert hall in the middle of Ms. Ishida’s remix of “Let Me Be With You” from Chobits.
To make a really long story short, we couldn’t find my purse and I ended up crying outside of Video Room 3, which happened to be manned by a Nabeshin cosplayer. He asked me for a picture, but I was a mess. Finally, I calmed down as everyone explained that nothing in the purse was irreplaceable. I wiped my eyes, turned to the guy and said, as cheerfully as possible:
“You want that picture?”
We posed together along with Maddie dead on my shoulder and I felt a whole lot better. He asked me where I was going to be in the next 10 minutes, so we decided we were going to Starbucks in the Mariott. I called my dad, had a tearful and hysteric conversation about losing the money. Dad explained that it was okay, that these things happen. Note #2: It was a good thing I called and told him. You’ll find out later. Anyway, Mr. Nabeshin met us there, asking me to help him find something in the dealer’s room. He felt bad that I had lost my purse and offered to buy me a new one. HUGE relief. I felt SO much better, especially when he said, “I’m the Director! It’s my job to do things like this!” ^_^ Nabeshin is now my new hero…
Navigating the dealer’s room with the greatest of ease, we found something for his friend. Something from Scrapped Princess, if I remember correctly. He then asked me if I had seen a purse I wanted. Of course I had!
MythWear.com had a booth with tons of bags, one of which I wanted. It had the NERV symbol in red on it. Bad News: It was $21. He said that he was hoping it would be cheaper… and the bad feeling returned. He paid the $20 for it and Maddie threw in a $1. Afterwards, he asked me for my e-mail, which I gladly gave to him, thanking him profusely for his kindness. I hope that he’ll contact me and we can meet up at AX2005. I want to give him back his $20, and Maddie back her $1. ^_^
I bought a Conan pin to decorate my new bag. I got Volume 2 of Rurouni Kenshin signed by Lex Lang for Julia. I felt like things were looking up for me, really.
Kristin finally showed up! The line to register was NOTHING! GAHAH! We outsmart the universe! After some browsing in the artist’s alley…
We decided that we were going to head back to the hotel and get dinner at a Coco’s near the hotel. Of course, this meant getting dressed for the Dance! I changed out of my Excel gear (sadly… so many people wanted pictures! I didn’t want it to end!) and put on my dancing gear! I had this cat-thing going I think. Of course, I got many, many stares from the waiters at Coco’s. GAHAHAH!! PH34R!
But! Before we left for the restaurant, something extraordinary happened…
I called to check in with my dad and he said the most wonderful words to me:
“They found your purse.”
I was ecstatic. Everything was right again! Anime Expo was, definitely, not the real world. People returned $85 cash and stuff like that. I could’ve kissed the person who turned it in, but they had already left the con. Another person who I wish I had met to thank them for their kindness. Otakus are awesome people.
We finally headed out to the dance with a vague idea of where exactly the dance was. Turned out to be wrong. We ran back and forth to three different hotels, looking for this friggin’ dance. Finally, we got there.
A lot of techno music. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against techno. It just isn’t the best music to dance to in my opinion. We hung out for around 2 hours, conversing with the Captain Jack Sparrow, Naruto, Legolas and Galadriel, and someone dressed as Leblanc. We timed her in the restroom. 14 minutes. ^_~ Heh heh, don’t get the wrong idea. If you’ve ever seen that costume, you’d want to know how long it takes to get it off and on too!
Around 11:30 we walked back to the room, yelling and screaming and having the best time ever. We got into the room and began watching Trigun and Wolf’s Rain. It was insane, but fun. I had a bed that night actually. Other people had to sleep on the floor. I kinda felt bad…
Anyway, my purse had been found, my cosplay was a success, and I was just having an all-around good time. As I fell asleep, I thought, “Too bad it has to end tomorrow…”
COSPLAY COUNT:
14 Nicholas D. Wolfwood’s
11 Dark Chii’s/Chii’s in general
1 Uber-Kawaii 1-year-old Shippo!
5 or 7 Naruto’s
3 Sora’s (Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2) that I remember
1 and only 1 Excel Excel!
SUNDAY:
The day began with me deciding to wear my Excel cosplay again. I had so much fun wearing it the first time, and dangit, I wanted people to take more pictures of me! Am I vain…? T_T
We ran and got a better continental breakfast than two muffins. This time we got Danish (OH! OH! CAN’T BEAT THE DANISH!) Everyone was kinda lounging around, talking, eating, etc., when I said:
“Uh, guys? The Escaflowne Movie starts soon.”
Immediately, Alice squealed and ran out of the room, hurrying everyone up. We ran all the way to the convention center and into the movie room, where we watched the Escaflowne Movie.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Escaflowne… the series. Alice-chan said she liked the movie better, but I like the series to tell you the truth. A more in-depth telling of the story. Van didn’t wear a fur mini-skirt. Dilandau didn’t get off easy. I dunno, everyone liked it except me. ^_^;; So sue me!
After that, I ran all over trying to find who was keeping my purse. When I finally figured out where it was, everyone was LOLLIGAGGING! >_< I ran ahead. Niki-chan panicked and called my cell-phone. ^_^ Heh heh.
I walked into the big administrative office in my Excel costume, trying to be as polite as possible.
“Excuse me. I lost a purse in the Mariott Hotel, and I believe it was turned in here.” This woman stared at me with a blank expression.
“Are you sure?” Am I sure? Look me in the eye and tell me I don’t believe every word my father says, go on, DO IT!
“I’m sure. The person who found it called my house, and then my father called me and told me where it was turned in.”
“Oh. I don’t think we have it.”
I swear, if this was an anime, a vein would be going in my head while I kept my “nice-front” on. “Are you positive?”
“Well… let me check.” And she pulls out A NOTEBOOK OF LOST AND FOUND STUFF. For crying out loud people, DO. YOUR. JOBS. “Oh yes, we have it. It’s a black mini-backpack…”
“That says G.O.A. #90 on it.” I finished for her. She asked me my name, I told her. She handed me my purse and a yellow envelope with my $85 in it. HALLELUJAH!
Once the purse had been returned, we sat under the escalator and ate lunch. I put all my stuff into my new NERV bag. I felt bad. Mr. Nabeshin had bought me a new purse and they had found mine. All the more reason why I have to pay him back!
After lunch we hit the dealer’s room, buying various manga. Then, we got split up several times until we slipped into the “aw screw it” mentality. We shopped the entire day. I ended up with:
A Junpei and Seraphim pin (Megatokyo)
I split a set of 4 with Niki and Eric. Niki wanted Boo, Eric wanted Miho.
A Vash pin
$1.25, but I wanted a pin for my purse!
A Kurama wall scroll and Conan pin (for Julia)
She gave me her allowance to spend, and she was at smart boot-camp! I had to get her something!
Two D.N.Angel posters (It’s a tradition to buy a poster at AX now!)
One Conan poster
Two posters featuring Hakkai (for Niki-chan)
The girl who ran that booth was very nice! Except it was SO hard to find a poster I wanted! All of them were mixed together! Niki-chan kept the main Hakkai one, but she didn’t have room for the Goku one. I own that one now. ^___^
A Wolf’s Rain Poster
It was lying on a table with some guys, so I asked them where they had gotten it. They said it was there when they got there. I asked them if I could have it and they let me! ^_^ It’s hanging (poorly) in my room now! I love Wolf’s Rain…
Assorted Manga that I can’t remember right now…
$8.00 a book! Can’t beat that!
I wanted a Fanime shirt, but Maddie got one of those for giving out free hugs. T_T Maybe K-chan will give me hers… ^_~ Just kidding!
Well, unfortunately, the day came to a close, and we all walked to the front lawn of the convention center, waiting for Niki’s mom to pick us up and take us back to civilization. It was a sad feeling. I felt as though that convention center had become my home, and that I was leaving it now, along with my Otaku family. We said goodbye to Eric and drove off. It was weird to watch all of reality come back to me. No more nice non-purse-stealing people. No more anime/manga wherever you looked. No more people who were just as obsessed as you. But I settled for the fact that this had been a rewarding experience for me. It was worth every ounce of sweat I put into making it happen, and y’know what? I can’t wait for next year…
Top 10 Thoughts While Coming Home:
10. I’m tired… yeesh.
9. I’ll never ever EVER wait until the last minute to do my costume, AGAIN.
8. I sure have a lot of stuff… I can’t wait to hang it in my room!
7. I still have money left over… sweet!
6. Bigger room next time, definitely.
5. I’ll miss everyone who helped me out…
4. I’m gonna keep this badge in my bag! As a reminder!
3. I gotta write everything down! Before I forget everything I did!
2. I hope everyone had a good time like I did…
1. …AX2005… LOOK OUT! ‘CAUSE HERE I COME!
