Anime Expo: Recap

There were a number of panels/programming I missed that I would've liked to have seen.
Such as:
Acting Like A Pro
The Copic Beginner Workshops
Storytelling in Comics: From Writing to Penciling to Coloring
Getting into the Animation Industry
AX Idol
Gallagher
Masquerade
Maid Cafe

As you can see I'm into comics and animation so really at any con this is what will appeal to me most at a panel. I have a soft spot in my heart for AX Idol because a dear friend of mine, Julie Rei Goldstein, is a former AX Idol winner. Gallagher would've been interesting, I think. I've been a Megatoyko fan for awhile now. The Masquerade is always an event, especially if you're into cosplay. And I have yet to go to a Maid Cafe and am super intrigued.

There was also stuff I didn't mind missing, mainly, the Miku concert. I'm not a huge Vocaloid fan and really don't understand it's popularity. I am fascinated by the technology but didn't want to pay an extra $15 to gaurantee a seat or stand in a line. Just not my thing. Actually, I don't usually see any of the concerts at anime cons. Again, not my thing.

Midnight Tea, actually I would've loved to go if it was an actual tea. But looking at fake tea settings just isn't for me.

So I had originally planned to take some time this weekend to check out AM^2. Obviously that didn't happen. I did get some feedback from CJ who went. I was told it's basically open almost 24 hours, similar to Fanime, and was very small. I do hope AM^2 will be around next year, hopefully not during AX. I'm sorry but I have to give priority to AX AND I don't want to commute back and forth between the cons.

So yeah, that was AX for me. I wish I had more to say about panels and programming and that will definitely be a goal of mine next year.

Anime Expo: Day 4 (aka Happy Fourth of July)

Mood: Are we done yet?

Another early morning. I had some major D20 Girl business to take care of and was pretty damn pissed when I realized the Starbucks was closed because it was a holiday. Luckily the L.A. convention center has a Starbucks and my coffee was slightly cheaper. Unfortunately I had to make do without internet for the day. (One of these days I’ll a nice smartphone.)

Today’s outfit is what I consider “lazy cosplay”. I don’t own an actual gothic Lolita outfit, yet, so I improvised with some cute black and white pieces from my own wardrobe. Also, I knew I would be helping to break down the booth so I didn’t want to wear anything super uncomfortable/constricting. I also brought my only pair of sneakers to wear as soon as the con was over.

(photo courtesy of T1nk) Me working at Anime Gift.

Today the con went pretty quick. We tried hard to sell as much as possible, not only to make money but everything that wasn’t sold would have to be shipped back to North Carolina, where Anime Gift is located out of. The breakdown took longer than I thought it would because everything that was torn down and repackaged had to be dragged across the hall to the main booth. Luckily, there was a small dolley. Joe was kind enough to let me take home some merch as part of payment and doing an awesome job. Sweet!

We finished breaking down by 4pm-ish and then I changed into jeans and a t-shirt for the long ride home. H4773r and I pretty muched just left the con at that point and headed home. I had told H4773r I would need to try and find internet access somewhere along the road. I figured it would be easy enough to find a McDonald’s or Starbucks and get some work done. We stopped first at a McDonald’s near CalArts, and surprise-surprise, the stupid internet there wasn’t working. So back in the car and further down the road we stopped near Tejon Pass. I really, really wanted Chipotle and knew there was Starbucks and McDonald’s in the lot. But Chipotle was closed. So we ate the McDonald’s and AGAIN the internet there didn’t work. I finally gave and walked across the lot to Starbucks and used their internet. Starbucks, I love you.

That was pretty much the last stop for the night. I managed to stay awake and keep H4773r company and we made it into San Jose at about 1am.

Anime Expo: Day 3

(photo courtesy of T1nk) Food court before the Exhibitor Hall opens.

Mood: In Pain

Today I wore my American McGee Alice costume. I actually saw quite a few ladies dressed up as the classic American McGee Alice. I had not seen anyone with any of Alice new costumes from Return to Madness. This one amazing girl had the horse rook as a prop.

I was in a bit of a panic this morning because I had not prepped from the night before. I still had breakfast to make, lunch to pack, and get to the Starbucks to get my caffeine and internet fix, as well as send out a fax. I was surprised/relieved when I managed to get it all complete and still get to the con early. As a note, the Westin does have a “24 hour” Fed Ex service center. It’s a 24 hour set up for internet/computer use ($0.40/minute for internet; I don’t remember the prices to use the Business software), fax machine and photocopier. I didn’t get the photocopier price but it was $2 a page for faxing, not including the cover page (ouch). I’m sure there was a FedEx/Kinko’s within walking distance from the hotel that probably had cheaper rates, but I ran out of time to search for that kind of information.

Since I arrived at the Exhibitor’s hall earlier than before I wandered around to check out all the Exhibitor’s and some of the Artits Alley. I saw many things I wanted to buy, but only purchased some new kneadable erasers from DickBlick, who were kind enough to sell them to me even though they weren’t officially open yet. In the A.A. I saw Nigel Slade, but didn’t stop to say hi (H4773r had already contributed to his rum fund from the both of us yesterday). I did manage to find Mary Cagle and say hi and give her a very small donation. She was set up right next to Kelhound, but Kel wasn't around yet. I also didn’t stop to see Fred Gallagher which was a bummer.

Today's highlight at Anime Gift booth was watching the G4 crew hanging around the booth across from me, Panda Hat. Panda Hat had also hired a couple of booth models that wandered the floor in their outfits and passed out stickers. Candace Bailey was there and soon a huge crowd surrounded the booth as Candace and the models began to make some mischief and have fun. I was a bit bummed I couldn't talk to the G4 crew or Candace, but there's always another con.

I decided today I was going to stick around and do SOMETHING at the con, other than work. H4773r and I ended up watching some more anime. This time: Utena and a few episodes of Corpse Princess. Both of which I enjoyed. After the anime we decided to head back to hotel since it was getting late and we wanted dinner.

LisaLisa and Rabbit had gone to Disneyland for the day so H4773r and I were left on our own for dinner. The plan was to check out the hotel food court to see if they had any good options. For some reason I got confused and ended up on the wrong floor, where we found a Subway but that was it. The actual food court was two floors down. The Subway guy saw us standing outside and told us to hurry up and come in if we wanted food since they were closing. Honestly, neither of us really wanted Subway but we figured it was the only thing open at this point so we went in. I had my delicious veggie patty and H4773r had a fiasco, not really. Essentially everything H4773r wanted they were out of. EVERYTHING. Eventually H4773r gave up and had the Subway guy just make him whatever sandwich he suggested. I felt bad, but it was all still delicious, so not too bad.

Since tonight was our last night in the hotel, I spent my evening packing up everything. The plan for tomorrow is H4773r will check us out and then park in the lot across from the con. When I'm done with my day tomorrow we'll head straight home.

Anime Expo: Day 2

Mood: Exhausted

I woke fairly early again and got dressed, again, in my Pikachu outfit. I felt super tired and stopped by the same Starbucks as yesterday for a coffee pick me up and to catch up on some business. This Starbucks is turning out to be my savior.

(photo courtesy of T1nk) The hall before it opened for the day.

I actually took the shuttle this morning to the con since I managed to get up early enough not to feel rushed. I ended up sitting next to a lady who was volunteering at AX. She said the parties at the hotel last night were pretty amazing. I wouldn’t have minded going to one, but having to get up early and work just wouldn’t have been conducive. The shuttle wasn’t too bad. It felt pretty organized today with a volunteer directing people standing in line. They had two different types of shuttles running: the tourist buses and school buses. The school buses were awful. There just isn't much room on them and they're built for smaller people so you end up with a seat belt buckle in your ass.

Since I managed to get to the hall a little bit early I used the time to wander a bit and check out some of the vendors. It's a bit nice to see everything without all the crowds, of course since I was early I couldn't buy anything.

I thought I would have another D20 girl with me today, but alas, she was working at the other Anime Gift booth across the hall. So it was me and "mom" again. I also brought my bento lunch like I planned. Things went smoothly enough, although since it was Saturday it was insanely busy. I hardly had a moment to sit down. My next goal is to come up with cosplays with comfortable shoes.

I finally got to meet my new D20 girl at the end of the day. Scarlet is bomb and absolutely adorable. After finishing up business in the Exhibtor’s hall I tried to be a trooper to catch either a panel or some video programming, but I didn't have the patience to wait in line. My feet just hurt too damn much. We decided to call it a day just to head back to the hotel, get dinner, and sleep. We still had to wait for the shuttle to pick us up, but at least I got to sit down.

Back at the hotel it was decided that we should order pizza. Yumm!!! We ordered online from Domino’s and they delivered right to our hotel room. It was awesome. We spent the rest of this evening giggling and watching more Hetalia.

Anime Expo: Day 1

Mood: Nervous

So up at an ungodly hour, for me anyhow. I wanted to impress Joe, the guy I would be working for today, so I decided to wear my Pikachu Gijinka cosplay. I also had to get some work done so I walked on over the Starbucks across the street for internet access. So far I have found four Starbucks within walking distance. Almost every building here has a Starbucks inside it (it most likely has to do with being in the heart of the financial/bank district). The Westin does offer wifi but at the cost of about $12.95 per day it’s just not in the budget. Unfortunately the Starbucks wifi wasn’t the best (also my netbook decided it was time to update EVERYTHING!) so it took forever for me to get shit done. But I managed.

I hate being late and started to worry that I would be late for my first day. When I finished at Starbucks it was only about 9:30am and I though I would take the free shuttles being offered by AX. But then after waiting for 15 minutes with no shuttle in sight and no idea when it would arrive I started to panic. Luckily H4773r was with me and offered to just drop me off at the con, which worked out perfectly. I got to the con earlier than I expected and tried calling Joe since he had my exhibitor, but he didn’t answer and I left a message. I attempted to wait up by the exhibitor hall entrance but con ops was trying to organize things and eventually I had to leave. Turns out I had the wrong number for Joe. I called the right number, but Joe still didn’t answer and I left more messages. Turns out he couldn’t hear me over all the noise but we still managed to meet up before the hall opened.

(photo courtesy of T1nk) AX Expo Hall before it opened.

Joe got me settled at one of his two booths, Anime Gift. I worked at the one nearest the front of the hall with his sweet mom. Seriously she was so nice. Since we were short once person we worked our butts off pretty hard and slammed until about 4pm-ish. The booth sells a wide collection of small plush, collector swords, character beanies and some other anime kitch. I was a bit bummed I didn’t get to wander the hall at all and examine the other exhibitors, but I came to work. I do hope I’ll get some time this weekend, but no gaurauntees. My work consists of customer service and sales. Essentially I’m being played to dress up and help sell items, you know collect the cash, make change, sales stuff. Which is fine by me since that’s where I’ve spent most my realm working in. I was thrilled when a couple of people asked for pictures of me.

(photo courtesy of T1nk) My view at the con.

Since I'm working all day and we didn't bring a lot of money I am bringing my own lunches with me to the con, for the rest of the weekend. I have some adorable bento boxes from LisaLisa and just bring them with me. The boxes are perfect for saving money at con. Today however, H4773r brought me a sandwich from the Quizno's that's located right inside the Los Angeles convention center. The L.A. con center has the standard range of con food for vegetarians: salads, pizzas, and maybe a sandwich. Aside from the Quizno's there is also a Starbucks and some food carts that sold Mexican food, Chinese food and smoothies.

As soon as my day was done we headed back to hotel to relax and get dinner. I was just so wiped out from my day I didn't have the energy to stick around and look at programming. Also, since I didn't get off work til the Exhibitor Hall had closed, most of the panel programming was already finished for the day.

H4773r and I caught a shuttle back to the hotel. The shuttles were organized fair enough, but since the Exhibitor Hall had just closed the lines for the shuttles were pretty backed up and we had a bit of wait before getting onto one.

Back at the hotel we got stuck in the elevator. Luckily we were still on the lobby level and H4773r totally handled everything like a boss. We didn’t wait too long in there so it was ok. LisaLisa was kind enough to make us some dinner; she brought this neat hot pot water boiler thingy and we had pasta and wine! We took a mini adventure to an underground food court, City National Plaza, in search of utensils, since we forgot them. We managed to find a convenience store that had bowls, but no utensils. LisaLisa ended up asking the Weiland Brewery for take out utensils which they kindly gave us. In return we’re going back tomorrow for a beer. We had a nice dinner and watched a few episodes of Hetalia and Black Butler.

I expect tomorrow to be another long day. But that’s ok because it’s what I’ve signed up for and I plan on getting to eat a bit more to keep up my energy. AND I’ll have another D20 representative with me.

Anime Expo 2011: Day 0

Mood: Unimpressed

So we woke up fairly but as I was still trying to pack and had some last minutes errands to run we didn’t get out on the road til 9am. It turns out we still left at an ok time. And I felt like we made decent time. I was quite happy I didn’t get too car sick so we didn’t really have to stop as much. We did make one stop…somewhere to use the bathroom and have a snack. And then a second stop right before the Tejon Pass for Chipotle. (I can’t help myself.) I made H4773r listen to the latest musical tracks I downloaded-Wonderland, Addams Family, and The Little Mermaid.

We arrived in Los Angeles about 3:30pm (not bad). We got lost for just a second looking for our hotel but managed to find it thanks to VG Navigator (I love that “app”). We literally drove by the hotel and went “Oh! There it is” and then kept going to the convention center. They had pre-reg open til 9pm, yay!

We had parked downtown at our favorite lot, Joe’s Auto Parks, on Figueroa and paid only $10. (Stilll cheaper than SJ.) We then got in the line to get in the line. I am still not sure how the line was organized, but I do know that we waited in a line, in the sun, that didn’t move for almost an hour. I heard something to the effect of: they were letting people inside in massive chunks at a time. And we were the last chunk. So we waited about 2 hours to get our passes. I don’t think I would’ve minded much if I had been prepared to wait in the sun. Luckily, getting the passes themselves was easy, although I did threaten to kill one girl who tried to jump the line in front of me. She smartly backed off.

We did have a bit of an experience trying to get our stuff to our room. LisaLisa had already checked into the hotel but we didn’t have our room number. So there was something of a trial trying to get the car checked in by valet. And then for some reason I didn’t think to pull into the main hotel front to unload our luggage so we ended up doing it in the valet lot, but the valets wouldn’t let us use the dolley. So it was either haul the luggage up ourselves (about 15 bags worth) or have it sent up and then tip (because you should always try to tip). We had it sent up.

We’re staying at the Westin Bonaventure. Originally we were going to stay in the Kawada, but got bumped to the Westin because the Kawada couldn’t accommodate 4 people to a room. The Westin is pretty nice. The room feels a bit cramped, but that’s because we have 4 people and a ton of cosplay stuff and food (the Westin has a fridge in the room). The layout of the Westin is a bit confusing, but I do enjoy the “food court.” It’s moderately priced, probably just slightly higher than a mall food court, but they seem to have a nice selection, especially for vegetarians.

After getting settled in I then spent some time on a conference call for my new work/project – The D20 Girls Project. I am currently the Manager for the state of California. I’ll mention more in depth about the D20 Girls Project in a separate post. Through the D20 Girls I managed to land a paying gig at AX by working for a vendor, Anime Gift. I feel quite lucky to have landed a paying gig even though I’m still a bit unsure of what exactly I’ll be doing and that I’ll be the only representative tomorrow. But I’m a trooper and this isn’t the first time I’ve had a situation/job like this.

So until the joys of tomorrow, I’m going to enjoy my nice, comfy hotel bed.

Night World,

T1nk C0n FaIrY

Fanime 2011

So this is a terribly late post, but I've been struggling to write about what I wanted to say/recount about this year's Fanime.

In previous Fanime years I would attend a few panels, catch some video programming and watch the Cosplay Spectacular. However, this year I bogged down with performing in a show, which seriously cut into any time I had at Fanime. Luckily the performance space was in walking distance of the San Jose Convention Center, so I was still able to enjoy some of the con.

Day 0

H4773r and I arrived around 2pm to the convention center. We had a check-in time of 3pm for the Marriott and hoped to do early arrival. Luckily we could. Unluckily, the Marriott charges an additional $50 per day random fee which is required up front. I did not know about this. At first it was explained that the fee would for an anemities used. When I asked specifically which anemeites I needed to avoid the clerk then explained the fee was more like an insurance policy set by the banks, not the hotel. People want to get paid, so in order to ensure they get their money they charge you a fee...I don't get it and to be honest I was really upset because I hadn't planned on having an extra $200 available. But I ended up giving them all my money anyway. I had a friend later tell he's always been able to waive the fee, but whatever. I was also a bit irked because we had put in a room for 3 people and given a single. While I knew this was a possibility I was upset they wanted to charge me extra for the rollaway. I really figured if I registered 3 people to a room and given a single I should get the rollaway for free. I'm thinking of switching to the Hilton next year.

We finally made it into the line and waited...and waited some more. I ran into a friend of mine who kept us company while waiting. I was actually surprised to see a few people already dressed up. I guess I don't see much point on 0 day because there isn't much going on. Once I finally got my badge I booked it to my performance.

(photo courtesy of T1nk, Day 0 Line)

H4773r, of course, stayed behind and milled about and met up with friends and checked out the swap meet. After my show I decided to wander down the con and see if anything was happening. A few people will hanging out chatting around the concourse area. The gaming hall was open so I went in for a few and checked it out. And finally wandered back to the hotel for some sleep.

(photo courtesy of T1nk, The Game Room at 2am on Day 0)

Day 1

I decided to wear the only real costume I brought for Fanime-Pikachu Gijinka. Also, I had promised my castmates they would get to see me in it. I spent most of my day wandering around the Exhibit Hall and Artist Alley. I made sure to say hi to some of my favorite artists: KatGirl Studio, Hell Has Found Me, Timothy Green, Scuttlebutt Inc. and Teahouse. There really wasn't any programming/panels I wanted to watch/see that day so I didn't feel too bad that I missed anything. As per usual, our group of friends wound up at O'Flaherty's for weekly drinks and back to the con for some late night video programming.

Day 2

I was up fairly early and again dressed up in the Pikachu costume. This time I wanted to join the Pokemon photo-op. Since I was by myself I wasn't able to get any pictures of myself on my camera at the photo-op, but I have seen a few pics of me floating around the net.

(photo courtesy T1nk, T1nk in Pikachu Gijinka)

My matinee for my show had been cancelled so I was able to catch one panel: An Insider's View of Webcomics with my friends Erin Milligan (Timothy Green) and Aleric (Hell Has Found Me), and Barry Smith (Ink Tank). They did a great job showing how to put together and keep a webcomic going. I also spent my time wandering the main hall and taking some photos of the other cosplayers. We also scored some "Psycho Psushi" from Psycho Donuts thanks to a friend.

Today was also the day that MusicFest was taking place with FLOW and Yuya Matsushita. I wasn't able to attend because it conflicted with my show, but I heard everyone really enjoyed it.

Day 3

I was up early again, but this time it was because my show was having a matinee. I opted to wear my gothic lolita inspired outfit, complete with parasol. Immediately after the show I headed back to the con. I couldn't attend the Momoi concert and I had already missed lining up for the cosplay spectacular and didn't have much interest in the Black and White Ball. A friend of mine who went to the Black and White Ball did express inconvenience of being unable to leave the ball for any reason, including using the restroom. He told me that if you left the ball you then had to get back into the line, which was up to a 1 hour plus wait, to get back in. Hopefully con ops will solve this problem next year.

H4773r had plans to run his normal D&D game in the open concourse, so we set up and waited for everyone to arrive. I opted out of the game since it was running late and decided to just hang out with friends and wander the late night programming. I opted to pass on the Deviant Art panel hosted by Aleric, mainly because I currently use my DA to favorite things and don't post anything. However, in the future when I actually do start posting things I'll be sure to attend as it's a great opportunity to network.

Day 4

Last day. We were up early, again, this time to check out of the hotel room. Everything went pretty smoothly. We did one last glance around the exhibitor's hall and artist alley, my dear friend bought me two new badges from Scuttlebutt Inc. And then we headed out to Iguana's for some lunch before calling it a day. I opted out of going to closing ceremonies. I went 2 years ago and was unimpressed and bored. Perhaps if things change I might go again one year.

(photo courtesy of T1nk, T1nk and her Gijinka Ladies)

Discounts and Donuts/Parking

I really enjoy that Fanime partnered with local restaraunts to offer some discounts. Since H4773r and I were trying to save money this year we didn't take advantage of the offerings, but my favorite recommendations are: Peggy Sue's (offers a decent vegetarian burger and delicious shakes), Tengu Sushi (I haven't been in awhile since I no longer eat fish, but it was decent a few years ago and affordable bento boxes), Philz Coffee (ok, so I haven't actually tried Philz coffee but all my friends rave on how it's the best), Pita Pit (my favorite place out of all the restaraunts offered), and Psycho Donuts (the best donuts of unusual offerings).

As mentioned earlier, Psycho Donuts paired up with Fanime to create a special "bento box" of donuts. The four small donuts were: Awabinut ("toasted peanuts on vanilla icing with a strip of chocolate "nori"), Sakenut (orange icing with vanilla stripes), Tobikonut (green tea icing with dark chocolate-coated rice crisps), and Toronut (strawberry icing with vanilla accents). My favorite was the Toronut and least favorite was the Tobikonut (the green tea was just too much for me).

Parking...there are several lots downtown that offer. The Marriott also offers conceirge parking, as does the Hilton and the Fairmont, but it comes at typically a steep price, at least for us. We opted to park at the lot directly across from the Hilton on Almaden Blvd. They actually offer "24 hour parking" for only $14 for the day. Much cheaper then the hotels. The only drawback is you have to remember to renew your pass everyday before the previous one expires.

As per usual~Panels I'm Bummed I Missed

Armor: Plan It-Make It

Bodycasting 101

Sewing Basics for Cosplay

Steampunk Costuming: How-To

Steampunk Props, Demo and Q&A

Cosplay Cosmetology

How to Make a Webcomic in 1 Hr.

Graphic Design for Manga

Pattern Alteration: Fit and Form

I do look forward to Fanime next year when I will hopefully not have other obligations and can actually enjoy the con fully.