Anime Expo 2007!
Hahaha I include many details. It's kinda backdated and..This entry is really. really. really long.
Got to the Greyhound Station before anybody else, so me and my mom stayed in the car for a bit. Then, I got a call from Thuy who told me she was already inside! So, we go inside with my back-breaking bag and unnecessary sleeping bag (so much less of a hassle without it). Not too long after getting inside, Alex and Andrew show up and we get on the bus. Since I was trying to get my homework out of the way and I was pretty sure I wouldn't have the discipline to focus on it when arriving at Vanessa's house, I finished my homework on the bus for, I think, maybe an hour. After finishing, I turned off my oh-so annoying light and everybody started to doze off. I looked back to see Alex hardcore sleeping. I'm still amazed as to how he does it. Seriously, I could never sleep like that. I would die. In my sleep. Aha. After a couple of stops, me, Alex, and Thuy were still awake and we had a little convo about random things. After a while, I decided that we really needed some sleep, so for the rest of the way there, we were pretty much unconscious.
Wake up. We're there! Pick up our things and wait to be picked up so we can chill at Alex's sister's house for a while before heading to Expo. When Vanessa arrives, we meet Tony, her boyfriend. Oh yeah, the entire weekend, the four of us were squished in the back. Majority of the order being: Alex, Me, Thuy, Andrew. Haha, yeah, a bit unnecessary. But hey, why not. After a quick shower and a bit of unwinding from the bus, I think, we head out.
Everybody already had their tickets while I had to wait in line for an extra four hours to pick it up. But thankfully, in the end. I got my ticket. Afterwards, we meet up with some of Vanessa's/Tony's friends and we go out to eat at California Pizza Kitchen. Some crazy old woman threw a strawberry shake in our direction, hitting two of their friends the worst, splattering on Tony's shirt and a little bit on his shoes, and getting the bottoms of Alex's and Andrew's shinigami costumes. She's crazy. The food at CPK was yummy though.
Afterwards, we went down to the show room to shop and check stuff out. I was beyond amazed at how big, elaborately decorated, and filled with interesting characters it was. I would have taken more pictures but I was so absorbed in the first experience that I took a few and left the rest to be seen with my eyes and kept in my memory. None of us ended up buying anything, aha. After the room closed, we went to the Terrance Theatre to watch Death Note. The girls in the theatre got really annoying, though. Always cheering/laughing/clapping/whistling/you get the idea when L came on the screen and did what L does. It's kinda off from the real manga, but my eyes stayed glued onto the screen nonetheless. After the movie, we went outside, debating on what to do next. Alex went back inside to strategically piss [haha, really, he did] and left the three of us to determine where we were going to go. When he came back, there was no progress made and he decided for us that we would go to the dance. Sadly, it was nowhere to be found. Instead, we headed up to the game room. However, me and Thuy ventured off back to the Terrance Theatre to watch Death Note: The Last Name. I love that movie, by the way. Hilarious. Although, not true to the manga. Still good, though.
Never managed to finish the movie, though. Andrew called to tell us that we were leaving so the movie continued on without me and Thuy. We squished into the car, which, quite frankly, I'd already begun getting used to, and headed to Jack In The Box to get some dinner. When we got back to Vanessa's apartment, apparently I was asleep against the door. The first thing I remember is waking up in the middle of falling out of the car, haha. Anyway, took a shower and finished up the last part of Death Note: The Last Name. I think I became too emotionally expressive when certain parts of the movie happened. (I got confused but happy, aha.) Sleeping arrangements: Thuy slept on the big couch, I slept on the small couch, Andrew slept on the floor, and Alex slept in his sister's room. I didn't even need a blanket it was so hot, but I kinda liked it that way. Less of a hassle with no sleeping bag.
Woke up for day two of AX! Woke up pretty late, around 12 ish. Before anything else, we piled into the car, parked up in the high heels level of the parking garage, and walked to Tokyo Wako to eat. Tastes good, tastes good. Then, directly we went to the show room to shop. Me, Alex, Andrew, and Thuy promised ourselves that we would buy something today, unlike the day before. After a little while, I kept wandering off because something somewhere caught my eye, haha. I'm so curious. Anyway, during my venturing, I walked in front of a group, one who had a slab of styrophoam sharpied "BIG SWORD" on it. Haha, I thought it was funny, but didn't think much of it. Later on, I saw that slab again, however this time, I took notice to the person holding it. He was sitting down, and I thought that he looked a bit like Philip Wang from WongFuProductions. Then I thought Wait a minute. We're in LA. They live in LA. Could it really..? So, I took a really weird double take and realized. "Holy crap. It's Phil!" Didn't take a picture, or even walk up to actually meet him for that matter. I thought I might be bothering him, although he wasn't really doing anything but sitting on a chair. What can I say, I get shy/nervous. Later on, as I continued my search for what to buy, I spotted Phil again, this time with Wes, looking at...I think anime figurines? Didn't see Ted at all. But that was my first close encounter with widely known people. Awesome.
When the show room closed, I reunited with everybody else and we got in line for AX Idol. Extremely huge crowd, I was scared we were all gonna get separated. Some random people started throwing ramen, t-shirts, and pamphlets around in the crowd while we waited. When we were allowed to get to our seats..OH MAN. That crowd is aggressive. While walking inside, somebody squished me into the door and I noticed a slipper was lost in the commotion. There were video clips while we waited for AX Idol to begin. Definite favorite video clip were the bloopers. Hilarious. It wasn't too bad, the event in itself. There were some debatable 'talents' up on the stage, though. Afterwards, we went back home and ate spicy ramen, ouch but yummy. Chris Rock was on TV and after dinner, we sat together and enjoyed the show. After a bit, we got ready for bed. Alex turned off the lights and for a little while we tested how well our eyes adjusted to the dark before settling down. Oh yeah, Andrew thought I was going to molest him when he was asleep or something, hahaha. Feeling overexposed and yet wanting a foot massage. [Shut eyes.]
Waking up on our last day of Expo. Alex and Andrew decided to mix it up with their costumes that day. We went to Tokyo Wako for lunch and then headed for Oreska Band Concert. Wooh, that was my first concert. Pretty awesome. The trumpet girl nearly fell off the stage, poor thing. But she got up like a trooper and kept on playing. They're good at getting the audience involved, jumping, dancing, screaming, waving our arms in imitation to them. It was great! Their performance was so good that they came back for an encore. Hahhh..First concert ever. Then, there was a rush to the show room to buy their CD. Tons of people crowded to buy Wao!! Hehehe, Alex, Andrew, Thuy, and I pitched in to buy a CD for Vanessa & Tony. Andrew bought one as well. That day, I finally bought a sword! yeehhs~ There was a real keyblade that was selling for $70. The real deal, and quite heavy. I regret not buying a full length sword, but at least I have one so I'm happy. Thuy got a dagger, which she had to hide from her mom. Oooh~ We all finally bought something, mission complete!
At the time, it was planned that we were going to go to a dance at the Renaissance Hotel. Tony had a performance, I think and we were going to go watch him. To kill time, we went into the Terrence Theatre and watched Death Note: The Last Name. The audience was a whole lot more into the movie than the ones that me and Thuy went to earlier. Then again, we did see it late at night and now it was in the middle of the day. After the movie, we all walked to a hotel and Vanessa, Alex, Andrew, Thuy, and I went to watch an anime. I forgot the title but it has Mermaids in it. Subtitles really killed the anime, so we all left after the first episode. We met up with Tony at the arcade, where he was apparently owning a lot of people. This one game caught my attention: Paradise Kiss. Well, not the game that really caught my attention but the guy playing it. The way you have to dance to do well in that game just...uh, sparked my curiosity and wonder. I eventually recorded a little bit of that guy 'dancing'. I also got to play Time Crisis for the first time. Ahaha, I wasn't so good. But I paid for Andrew and Thuy to play the game. They're so into it, haha. Anyway, we stayed in there for quite a while. Never did end up going to the dance but it was still fun nonetheless. We left early to pack for tonight, ah yes. It was time to go. "Back to reality." as Vanessa would say. ("I hate reality!" The feeling was mutual.)
We packed and had some trouble at the Greyhound Station. My arm was under a lot of pain that night, haha. Alex, Andrew, Thuy, and I missed our bus due to the inefficient bag checking line. Yeah, uh. Where are the people who're supposed to check our bags? Then the manager came and changed our tickets for a later bus at one in the morning. Oh. And, uh. While we were waiting in line, Alex whispered to me to switch places in line with him. Didn't know why at the time, but Alex said he was watching the guy behind me's actions. I still don't know what happened but I don't wanna think about it. We all talked as we waited for the bus, then finally it came! Thuy was about to sit next to a man but Alex suggested she switch with Andrew, who was seated next to a lady. Eventually, though, we sat together in our rows. My mom called me a whole bunch of times on the bus, asking me where I was. She didn't take "I don't know" very well. But after several hours, we arrived at our stop. We're back home. *sigh** Until next year..
Got to the Greyhound Station before anybody else, so me and my mom stayed in the car for a bit. Then, I got a call from Thuy who told me she was already inside! So, we go inside with my back-breaking bag and unnecessary sleeping bag (so much less of a hassle without it). Not too long after getting inside, Alex and Andrew show up and we get on the bus. Since I was trying to get my homework out of the way and I was pretty sure I wouldn't have the discipline to focus on it when arriving at Vanessa's house, I finished my homework on the bus for, I think, maybe an hour. After finishing, I turned off my oh-so annoying light and everybody started to doze off. I looked back to see Alex hardcore sleeping. I'm still amazed as to how he does it. Seriously, I could never sleep like that. I would die. In my sleep. Aha. After a couple of stops, me, Alex, and Thuy were still awake and we had a little convo about random things. After a while, I decided that we really needed some sleep, so for the rest of the way there, we were pretty much unconscious.
Wake up. We're there! Pick up our things and wait to be picked up so we can chill at Alex's sister's house for a while before heading to Expo. When Vanessa arrives, we meet Tony, her boyfriend. Oh yeah, the entire weekend, the four of us were squished in the back. Majority of the order being: Alex, Me, Thuy, Andrew. Haha, yeah, a bit unnecessary. But hey, why not. After a quick shower and a bit of unwinding from the bus, I think, we head out.
Everybody already had their tickets while I had to wait in line for an extra four hours to pick it up. But thankfully, in the end. I got my ticket. Afterwards, we meet up with some of Vanessa's/Tony's friends and we go out to eat at California Pizza Kitchen. Some crazy old woman threw a strawberry shake in our direction, hitting two of their friends the worst, splattering on Tony's shirt and a little bit on his shoes, and getting the bottoms of Alex's and Andrew's shinigami costumes. She's crazy. The food at CPK was yummy though.
Afterwards, we went down to the show room to shop and check stuff out. I was beyond amazed at how big, elaborately decorated, and filled with interesting characters it was. I would have taken more pictures but I was so absorbed in the first experience that I took a few and left the rest to be seen with my eyes and kept in my memory. None of us ended up buying anything, aha. After the room closed, we went to the Terrance Theatre to watch Death Note. The girls in the theatre got really annoying, though. Always cheering/laughing/clapping/whistling/you get the idea when L came on the screen and did what L does. It's kinda off from the real manga, but my eyes stayed glued onto the screen nonetheless. After the movie, we went outside, debating on what to do next. Alex went back inside to strategically piss [haha, really, he did] and left the three of us to determine where we were going to go. When he came back, there was no progress made and he decided for us that we would go to the dance. Sadly, it was nowhere to be found. Instead, we headed up to the game room. However, me and Thuy ventured off back to the Terrance Theatre to watch Death Note: The Last Name. I love that movie, by the way. Hilarious. Although, not true to the manga. Still good, though.
Never managed to finish the movie, though. Andrew called to tell us that we were leaving so the movie continued on without me and Thuy. We squished into the car, which, quite frankly, I'd already begun getting used to, and headed to Jack In The Box to get some dinner. When we got back to Vanessa's apartment, apparently I was asleep against the door. The first thing I remember is waking up in the middle of falling out of the car, haha. Anyway, took a shower and finished up the last part of Death Note: The Last Name. I think I became too emotionally expressive when certain parts of the movie happened. (I got confused but happy, aha.) Sleeping arrangements: Thuy slept on the big couch, I slept on the small couch, Andrew slept on the floor, and Alex slept in his sister's room. I didn't even need a blanket it was so hot, but I kinda liked it that way. Less of a hassle with no sleeping bag.
Woke up for day two of AX! Woke up pretty late, around 12 ish. Before anything else, we piled into the car, parked up in the high heels level of the parking garage, and walked to Tokyo Wako to eat. Tastes good, tastes good. Then, directly we went to the show room to shop. Me, Alex, Andrew, and Thuy promised ourselves that we would buy something today, unlike the day before. After a little while, I kept wandering off because something somewhere caught my eye, haha. I'm so curious. Anyway, during my venturing, I walked in front of a group, one who had a slab of styrophoam sharpied "BIG SWORD" on it. Haha, I thought it was funny, but didn't think much of it. Later on, I saw that slab again, however this time, I took notice to the person holding it. He was sitting down, and I thought that he looked a bit like Philip Wang from WongFuProductions. Then I thought Wait a minute. We're in LA. They live in LA. Could it really..? So, I took a really weird double take and realized. "Holy crap. It's Phil!" Didn't take a picture, or even walk up to actually meet him for that matter. I thought I might be bothering him, although he wasn't really doing anything but sitting on a chair. What can I say, I get shy/nervous. Later on, as I continued my search for what to buy, I spotted Phil again, this time with Wes, looking at...I think anime figurines? Didn't see Ted at all. But that was my first close encounter with widely known people. Awesome.
When the show room closed, I reunited with everybody else and we got in line for AX Idol. Extremely huge crowd, I was scared we were all gonna get separated. Some random people started throwing ramen, t-shirts, and pamphlets around in the crowd while we waited. When we were allowed to get to our seats..OH MAN. That crowd is aggressive. While walking inside, somebody squished me into the door and I noticed a slipper was lost in the commotion. There were video clips while we waited for AX Idol to begin. Definite favorite video clip were the bloopers. Hilarious. It wasn't too bad, the event in itself. There were some debatable 'talents' up on the stage, though. Afterwards, we went back home and ate spicy ramen, ouch but yummy. Chris Rock was on TV and after dinner, we sat together and enjoyed the show. After a bit, we got ready for bed. Alex turned off the lights and for a little while we tested how well our eyes adjusted to the dark before settling down. Oh yeah, Andrew thought I was going to molest him when he was asleep or something, hahaha. Feeling overexposed and yet wanting a foot massage. [Shut eyes.]
Waking up on our last day of Expo. Alex and Andrew decided to mix it up with their costumes that day. We went to Tokyo Wako for lunch and then headed for Oreska Band Concert. Wooh, that was my first concert. Pretty awesome. The trumpet girl nearly fell off the stage, poor thing. But she got up like a trooper and kept on playing. They're good at getting the audience involved, jumping, dancing, screaming, waving our arms in imitation to them. It was great! Their performance was so good that they came back for an encore. Hahhh..First concert ever. Then, there was a rush to the show room to buy their CD. Tons of people crowded to buy Wao!! Hehehe, Alex, Andrew, Thuy, and I pitched in to buy a CD for Vanessa & Tony. Andrew bought one as well. That day, I finally bought a sword! yeehhs~ There was a real keyblade that was selling for $70. The real deal, and quite heavy. I regret not buying a full length sword, but at least I have one so I'm happy. Thuy got a dagger, which she had to hide from her mom. Oooh~ We all finally bought something, mission complete!
At the time, it was planned that we were going to go to a dance at the Renaissance Hotel. Tony had a performance, I think and we were going to go watch him. To kill time, we went into the Terrence Theatre and watched Death Note: The Last Name. The audience was a whole lot more into the movie than the ones that me and Thuy went to earlier. Then again, we did see it late at night and now it was in the middle of the day. After the movie, we all walked to a hotel and Vanessa, Alex, Andrew, Thuy, and I went to watch an anime. I forgot the title but it has Mermaids in it. Subtitles really killed the anime, so we all left after the first episode. We met up with Tony at the arcade, where he was apparently owning a lot of people. This one game caught my attention: Paradise Kiss. Well, not the game that really caught my attention but the guy playing it. The way you have to dance to do well in that game just...uh, sparked my curiosity and wonder. I eventually recorded a little bit of that guy 'dancing'. I also got to play Time Crisis for the first time. Ahaha, I wasn't so good. But I paid for Andrew and Thuy to play the game. They're so into it, haha. Anyway, we stayed in there for quite a while. Never did end up going to the dance but it was still fun nonetheless. We left early to pack for tonight, ah yes. It was time to go. "Back to reality." as Vanessa would say. ("I hate reality!" The feeling was mutual.)
We packed and had some trouble at the Greyhound Station. My arm was under a lot of pain that night, haha. Alex, Andrew, Thuy, and I missed our bus due to the inefficient bag checking line. Yeah, uh. Where are the people who're supposed to check our bags? Then the manager came and changed our tickets for a later bus at one in the morning. Oh. And, uh. While we were waiting in line, Alex whispered to me to switch places in line with him. Didn't know why at the time, but Alex said he was watching the guy behind me's actions. I still don't know what happened but I don't wanna think about it. We all talked as we waited for the bus, then finally it came! Thuy was about to sit next to a man but Alex suggested she switch with Andrew, who was seated next to a lady. Eventually, though, we sat together in our rows. My mom called me a whole bunch of times on the bus, asking me where I was. She didn't take "I don't know" very well. But after several hours, we arrived at our stop. We're back home. *sigh** Until next year..