Last night, I finally got back from my trip overseas. Good thing I called the airline ahead of time. By having an open return ticket, I had limited days to stay. All flight on the day I was to return are all booked. I had a choice to return on the 2nd or wait another three weeks. I decided to take the early return home. I left 8 PM and arrived in LAX around 11 PM. It was a 16 long boring trip. But I remembered that Anime Expo was the next day. As soon as I got in, I registered. So off to AX 2008.

After making last minute plans, we took the Metrorail to Los Angeles. Tim dropped us off at Riverside Station before going to work. It was a tight fit in Tim’s car. At the station as we were getting our tickets, we met this guy. His name was Daniel. We were all going to AX. Daniel told us that he it was his first time going to AX. It’s cool. So he joined us and traveled as a group on the train. Off to LA.



When we arrived at Union Station, we headed to the Dash stop. Daniel had to return home in Palmdale to take care of some business. So in the mean time, he stayed with us intil he had to leave at 11 AM. On the way out of Union Station, we saw the Dash shuttle, but it was full. We waited for the next one to show up. We got on at it took us to 5th and Flower streets. We arrived at the Bonaventure. But Adrian and I are only ones to show up at the hotel registration. We left Lawrence and Daniel at the Citibank building across the street to wait for us.



Adrian and I went to the Bonaventure to get our room. Everything went smooth. We were given the keys to our room and went there. When we opened the doors, to my surprise it was a king single. I could’ve sworn that I reserved a double. We went back to the front desk to verify my reservation. According to the front desk, “whom ever registers through Anime Expo are given room block by Expo. If two or less are in a room, a single is given. If there are three or more, a double.” For future reference for anyone who registers through AX...don’t! There’s no guarantee that what picked on their website is what you’ll get! Sure it’s a little cheaper and you get some perks (that are not explained well on the website), you have no guarantee. It’s better on the long run that you register outside AX to get what you reserved for! I called Lawrence and Daniel to come up to our room. We kicked it for a bit shooting the s*&^ until Daniel had to leave. We went down with him to the stop and exchanged info to meet us later on.



We walked around the block though the Farmer’s Market after Daniel left to kill some time before we meet up Steve. There were a bunch of stuff to buy at the Farmer’s Market like fresh vegetables, fruits, all sorts of fast food and miscellaneous items. We went across the street again to check out the shops there. Actually I was thirsty and wanted to find a convenience store. Well, we found one. We noticed that there was a barber shop next door. Lawrence was thinking to getting a haircut, so he went. Adrian and I waited for Lawrence. While waiting, we went to check out the drug store nearby. I bought some stuff, and we then went back to our room to drop the stuff off. On our way back to meet up with Lawrence, we decided to cross the bridge to the CitiNational building from the Bonaventure. Damn, we got lost going up and down levels trying to look for the bridge entrance. After a little bit, I gave up, went to the lobby level and found the bridge entrance from the outside. We crossed the bridge, through the building to meet up with Lawrence. By the way, the court on the CitiNational build is a great place to take cosplay pictures. In the meantime, Steve called me and was on his way. Good thing that Lawrence’s haircut finished in time. We sent back to Bonaventure to meet up with Steve.

Steve finally arrived. After almost a decade, Steve and I met again. He’s Samantha’s godfather by the way. He took us for a ride in his Navigator for lunch to a place called the Pantry. At the restaurant, we talked about the old times from and after high school. Steve even told stories about the s%^& I used to do back in the day. So we took our time eating and chilled for a bit.



After the Pantry, we didn’t know what to do next. So we we sent to Little Toyko. We walked around the and hit the usual places...Anime Jungle and Anime Jungle 2nd. Steve and I were talking about old anime that we used to watch back in the day. At 2nd, he bough the first two volumes of Naruto. There’s a place that I haven’t been to like forever...Weller Court, across from the main tourist area. On the way there, there was this guy that was asking directions to the Marukai Market. The only market I knew about was the one in the old Yaohan Plaza (I forget what’s it’s called now) and Nijiya Market in the center of Little Tokyo. So I told him the directions. Unbeknownst to me, we saw the Marukai Market at Weller Court. Damn I felt bad about the directions I just gave the guy. I hoped he found the market I told him to go to. Up in Weller court also was a Curry House and a Kinikuniya Bookstore. We went into the bookstore to check out and buy a couple books. Since we just ate, the Curry House was out of the question. Lawrence and Adrian went to Marukai to buy supplies and some “special” drinks. Steve and I waited in the courtyard and actually talked about golf. Dang. Steve dropped us back to the hotel because he had plans with Maria, his wife.



We went up to our room to chill and to wait for Francis to show up. So when he showed up, it was time to go to the Convention Center to get our badges. We took the Dash there since it was a long walk and that the free shuttle service wasn’t available yet. At the convention, we went in to get out badges and it went fairly quick. We chilled a bit to wait for the arcade room to open up. Francis and Adrian were waiting to play the Initial-D 4 videogame. In the meantime, Lawrence and I checked out the rest of the convention center to see where the other stuff are at and what’s going on. We met up again with Adrian and Lawrence. They finally got a change to play. I was already worried that the Dash shuttle service will end soon. We waited from them to finish. After that went left and waited at the Dash stop. There were three guy there who were waiting a for a while only to realize that Dash already ended. We walked back to the hotel room. After a long day walking, it felt like a really long walk to the hotel. Back at the hotel, we rested and later ate dinner at a second or third rate Chinese fast food place here at the hotel. That’s it. It’s actually midnight and we’re all exhausted.

The Fourth and Final Day
I woke up kinda early after crashing out late last night. I assumed the guys came in—no pun intended—after they were done with the hentai and yaoi video rooms. I got up thinking that I was going to eat an early breakfast but I decided to go online to check email, surf the web and IM. Adrian was online...as always. We started an audio chat and filled him up with the scoop on FanimeCon. Alex caught up with me also with the chat. Everyone eventually woke up becasue of all the audio chatting going on. Soon after everyone woke up, we went to eat at the La Victoria restaurant between Jacks and McDonalds. The carne asada burrito was filling.

We really didn’t have anything planned for the rest of Fanime except for a 2:00 panel. We just hand around a bit at the front of the convention center to take more pictures before the dealer’s hall opens. When we went up to the dealer’s hall, it was open yet, and there was a long line to go in. Instead, we roamed the gaming hall...like we were going to play. Actually Richard did. But when we left the gaming hall, the line was just barely going in. We got at the tail end and went in the dealer’s hall. Nothing special at the dealer’s room again. I picked up a bag to put the stuff I bought this weekend. After that, off the back again to wait for everyone before I spend more money.

After the dealers the dealers hall, Lawrence, Joe and I went back to the room and packed up the rest of our stuff before we had to check out. We played elevator tag again with the Marriott elevators. It took us 20 minutes to get to the lobby. Once there, we check in our baggage with the concierge until the end of the convention. Again, we just hanged outside to take pictures. For a last day of a convention, there was still sure a lot of people. Unlike the previous conventions we attended, the most of the conventioneers are gone leaving the odd person in the halls or in the hotels. But Fanime is different. The last day is very busy. Sure it wasn’t like the previous days, but there was still enough of a crowd to where you had to dodge people while walking.



We waited for Richard out front because he was still shopping at the dealers hall. We were wondering why he took a long time shopping. When he finally showed up, he came out with a bunch of bags of models. WTF! Where’s he going to put all that stuff in! And to our surprise, Speed Racer showed up in the Mach 5. Or at least a cosplayer as Speed showed up in a modified Nissan 240SX. It drew in a huge crowed because it was just too cool. We kicked it for a little bit more and finally took off for the last panel of the day, the “Anime Fans Over 30” panel. It was interesting but it felt like the panel was centered around the host and a couple of the attendees at the front. The attendees further back could hardly get a word in. So in a way I was glad it was finally over.

Peter was coming to pick up Joe at the front of the convention center so we waited with him. They eventually arrived to pick him up and we sent him off. Hunger kicked in and the first choice was McDonald, but along the way, I remembered that we had to eat sushi. So we looked for Tengu Sushi, but when we got there, it was closed! I forgot that Japanese restaurants closed on Sundays. We took off to eat a late lunch at Johnny Rockets instead. The food was good and the atmosphere was reminiscent to a 50s malt shop..



After eating, we went back to the convention concourse to catch the closing ceremonies. But instead, we again went back to the gaming hall to waste time. By the time we got back to Stage Zero, they were holding the charity auctions. On auction was a “Wii Sports” game system with signatures of all past and current guests. It was a killer bidding war. It started at 300, then 350, 450, 500—all the way to $950 dollars. In a turn of events, the winning bidder did not want the Wii, but instead donated the money to the charity! Damn, everyone was amazed! From what anyone can remember from any con we went to, this was the first time this ever happened. He was given a standing ovation from the huge crowd that gathered around the stage.



We were supposed to go to the closing ceremony, but I was worried about the crowed at the airport and the fact it was Memorial Day. Upon my indecision, we took a taxi to the airport and to my surprise, there wasn’t a crowd at all. We got through the check-in. Security was a breeze. So now, we’re waiting for our 7:50 flight which was delayed to 8:10 PM. As I write this blog, it’s 6:05. We got there at 4:30.

In that time I met a couple girls from Seattle. I asked them about SakuraCon and told me it was smaller that FanimeCon. We even talked about weather conditions. Just the past March, they said that it snowed during the con. Wow! I told them that our local convention is Anime Expo. They went last year because they conplained that the lines way long. They called it “LayingCon!” Now that’s funny, but true. I concurred because you do spend more time in lines than enjoying the con. They a were in line Friday morning while we were in line Thrusday evening to get our badges. The girls were in line for six hours. I believe it! I saw those lines! So I asked them about SakuraCon and how easy was it to get to where the convention was held from the airport. They said it was a thirty minute drive from the airport. It’s now a possibility. So right now, we’re at the airport. That’s it! I’m tired of writing 10 and half pages.

Maybe not. When the Seattle flight arrived, there was a medial emergency at the gate. From what I heard, there was someone who accidently dropped peanuts on a kid who was allergic to them. It may not seem a big deal to most people, but allergic reactions, depending on the person, is a life and death situation. This kid, from what I heard, had an allergic reaction from the mere touch of the peanut. There were paramedics, firemen and policemen at Gate A2. The kid was put on a stretcher and sent of the local hospital for observation. It’s better safe than sorry. This incident caused the flight to be delayed for over 30 minutes. We met this woman who had her son travelling alone on that flight. She was kinda worried because of the delay, but at end, all is well and the flight finally continued to Seattle.

At the airport, we also met this guy, Mike, from the SoCal area too. He pointed out that we were from Fanime because of the Gundam models he saw that we had. We started talking about all sorts of things and anime in general. The conversation was really good. When our flight arrived, I thought we were going to be separated. But when we boarded, all four of us sat in the rear 2 rows. It was cool because it made the flight back more enjoyable. A during pre-flight and take-off, the flight attendant was cracking jokes that we’re pretty good. Everyone on the plane was laughing. And also during the flight, the Captain and the Co-Pilot were also cracking jokes. There was this gentleman across the row who knew the Co-Pilot from back in the Navy and reassured us that the flight was going to be smooth. I still hate take-offs though. Anyway all four of us were looking at photos from Fanime during the flight and exchanging con stories. That was just cool. I think we were the liveliest bunch on the plane. So in no time we were already descending. Time just flew by because we had a good time on the flight. One thing for sure, the take-off was a lot smoother as compared to Friday morning’s take-off. So at Ontario, we four were one of the last ones out of the plane...no rush. We parted with Mike and came home.

So finally, in a few words, I totally enjoyed FanimeCon. Even though it grew bigger since the last time we went, it was professionally done. The volunteers were well informed of what was going on, there were multiple information booths throughout the convention concourse and the staff were very professional, efficient and friendly. The only problem I had was that the panels were held in small rooms, Panel Rooms 2 & 3. And the hallway to those panels were narrow and cramped. I personally didn’t go to the video rooms so I can’t make a comment on them...except the JPOP/JROCK video room Saturday night. It was roomy. The Artist, Gaming and Dealers Halls were huge—more room than what was needed. But that’s a good thing because you don’t feel cramped in. There’s also the so-called “Slow Lane” and “Express Lane.” The slow lane is the main concourse where everyone is. Getting from one end of the convention center to the other is an adventure, but there’s a lot to see. The express lane is the ground level. There’s hardly anyone there throughout the day, except for near the registration lines, so getting from one end to the other is quick. All-in-all, FanimeCon 2008 was great. For anyone who’s a newbe to conventions, this is a must. The staff will help you any way they could to make your con experience enjoyable. And for anyone out of area, it’s worth the trip to FanimeCon. We’ll try to make next year!

I'll post the convention pictures in the "Other Conventions" section in a couple days. I'm trying to catch up with real life right now.