(no subject)
Back at work after a fabulous weekend. ^_^ Final Fantasy: Distant Worlds was fabulous, as were the company and dinner.
Friday, we arrived late in Chicago then Mike, Sarah, Tina, Andy, and I went out to BW3 to celebrate Andy closing on his house!!! ^_^ He is now moved to Cinci and a lovely couple with little kiddles has what was mine and Andy's newlywed house. (Side note: when going to BW3 late on a Friday, do not take a cab because you will wait over an hour for it to pick you up after you eat)
The hotel was fabulous. It was a Residence Inn. Our room had two separate bedrooms (complete with doors), each of which had it's own full bathroom, a living room with pull out couch, a kitchenette, a coat closet, and three t.v.s. ^^
Saturday afternoon was spent at Mitsuwa (to which I'd never been), with Artie and Chels joining us. Not as fabulous as I hoped, but I loved the bookstore! (I guess the toy store part closed a while ago?) I had been hoping to pick up a really cute bento, but theirs were kinda utilitarian. Much love for the hippo bakery though!
Back at the hotel, just kinda lounged around until time to get ready, Ken and non-flamboyant Tom joined us, but I was kinda "Hi! Good to see you! Now I'm gonna shut myself up in the bathroom for 2 hours to get ready for the concert." Through the door, I could hear the group watching Jeopardy and heckling Deal or No Deal. Ken and Tom also went through all 230-something pictures from my photoshoot last weekend and actually picked out their top 4, which I did ask them to do, but I didn't expect anyone to actually sit and look through all 230+. o.O Ken picked me a copy of Le Serpent Rouge (collection of belly dance music from the recent show by The Indigo and other dancers)! XD I shall be listening to that in just a few minutes.
We almost left for the concert without very-flamboyant Tom, who was running a bit late. ^^ Vlad, Jess, Mak, and Vlad's sister joined us at the Rosemont Theatre.
Concert was amazing. ^_^ They did play some of the same things from last time, but they had a lot more video on the screens. There was also a really cute fight scene segment from FFVIII where they also did the sound effects. It started with a dog barking at Seifer and then the group running (the running effect was really cute) and then the whole noise taking us into random battle, then battle with magic, summoned creatures, and stuff. ^^ They played too much from FFVIII, but other than that, loved it. ^^
OMG! They did Maria and Draco from FFVI, complete with opera singers! It was fabulous, especially when the one singer puts down his music book at one part, poses, and sings, "Then we shall dual!" It was totally geektastic! (I also was completely geeked out that I had my opera glasses to watch the opera segment through. ^^ Andy asked to borrow my opera glasses at one point when a cute soprano came on stage to do a solo. XD)
They also did Terra's theme! And at the end part of the video segment, they had the whole mechs-walking-through-snow shot with the credits for the concert overtop! XD
I'm sad they didn't do the one song from FXII that Uematsu-sama did.
The director seemed so amazingly nervous and excited to conduct this music. I smell a gamer-geek! ^_^
After concert was dinner at Café Zalute, which was tasty, even if they were mad at us for being late (which we were really sorry for). It was kinda odd, because they put us at two separate tables. Also, the wine wasn't that great. But I loved my pasta with massive amounts of seafood in it! Stephen joined us at the restaurant. Unfortunately, he couldn't go to the concert because he had to film an opera of A Midsummer Night's Dream. The restaurant had a downstairs bar that was a total meat-market; which we had to wade through whenever we wanted to use the restroom. >_<
After dinner was hanging out at hotel until 4 am or something like that; gave Ken his b-day present (I crocheted him a blanket), which he liked; and then wake up next day and drive back to Ohio. ^^
Oh! I forgot. I apparently did something really creepy Friday night. Tina and I were sharing one of the bedrooms and she having difficulty falling asleep (I was already dead to the world), because she doesn't always fall asleep well in hotels. I turn to her, in my sleep, and whisper, "They're waiting," then I turn back over and say nothing else. o.O Freaked Tina out a bit. Knowing this the next day kinda freaked me out, too. That and I thought it was kinda cool. ^_^
Friday, we arrived late in Chicago then Mike, Sarah, Tina, Andy, and I went out to BW3 to celebrate Andy closing on his house!!! ^_^ He is now moved to Cinci and a lovely couple with little kiddles has what was mine and Andy's newlywed house. (Side note: when going to BW3 late on a Friday, do not take a cab because you will wait over an hour for it to pick you up after you eat)
The hotel was fabulous. It was a Residence Inn. Our room had two separate bedrooms (complete with doors), each of which had it's own full bathroom, a living room with pull out couch, a kitchenette, a coat closet, and three t.v.s. ^^
Saturday afternoon was spent at Mitsuwa (to which I'd never been), with Artie and Chels joining us. Not as fabulous as I hoped, but I loved the bookstore! (I guess the toy store part closed a while ago?) I had been hoping to pick up a really cute bento, but theirs were kinda utilitarian. Much love for the hippo bakery though!
Back at the hotel, just kinda lounged around until time to get ready, Ken and non-flamboyant Tom joined us, but I was kinda "Hi! Good to see you! Now I'm gonna shut myself up in the bathroom for 2 hours to get ready for the concert." Through the door, I could hear the group watching Jeopardy and heckling Deal or No Deal. Ken and Tom also went through all 230-something pictures from my photoshoot last weekend and actually picked out their top 4, which I did ask them to do, but I didn't expect anyone to actually sit and look through all 230+. o.O Ken picked me a copy of Le Serpent Rouge (collection of belly dance music from the recent show by The Indigo and other dancers)! XD I shall be listening to that in just a few minutes.
We almost left for the concert without very-flamboyant Tom, who was running a bit late. ^^ Vlad, Jess, Mak, and Vlad's sister joined us at the Rosemont Theatre.
Concert was amazing. ^_^ They did play some of the same things from last time, but they had a lot more video on the screens. There was also a really cute fight scene segment from FFVIII where they also did the sound effects. It started with a dog barking at Seifer and then the group running (the running effect was really cute) and then the whole noise taking us into random battle, then battle with magic, summoned creatures, and stuff. ^^ They played too much from FFVIII, but other than that, loved it. ^^
OMG! They did Maria and Draco from FFVI, complete with opera singers! It was fabulous, especially when the one singer puts down his music book at one part, poses, and sings, "Then we shall dual!" It was totally geektastic! (I also was completely geeked out that I had my opera glasses to watch the opera segment through. ^^ Andy asked to borrow my opera glasses at one point when a cute soprano came on stage to do a solo. XD)
They also did Terra's theme! And at the end part of the video segment, they had the whole mechs-walking-through-snow shot with the credits for the concert overtop! XD
I'm sad they didn't do the one song from FXII that Uematsu-sama did.
The director seemed so amazingly nervous and excited to conduct this music. I smell a gamer-geek! ^_^
After concert was dinner at Café Zalute, which was tasty, even if they were mad at us for being late (which we were really sorry for). It was kinda odd, because they put us at two separate tables. Also, the wine wasn't that great. But I loved my pasta with massive amounts of seafood in it! Stephen joined us at the restaurant. Unfortunately, he couldn't go to the concert because he had to film an opera of A Midsummer Night's Dream. The restaurant had a downstairs bar that was a total meat-market; which we had to wade through whenever we wanted to use the restroom. >_<
After dinner was hanging out at hotel until 4 am or something like that; gave Ken his b-day present (I crocheted him a blanket), which he liked; and then wake up next day and drive back to Ohio. ^^
Oh! I forgot. I apparently did something really creepy Friday night. Tina and I were sharing one of the bedrooms and she having difficulty falling asleep (I was already dead to the world), because she doesn't always fall asleep well in hotels. I turn to her, in my sleep, and whisper, "They're waiting," then I turn back over and say nothing else. o.O Freaked Tina out a bit. Knowing this the next day kinda freaked me out, too. That and I thought it was kinda cool. ^_^