Getting There and Checking In
I left Skyfall, our LA base of operations, right after 12PM. I had myself a nice homemade meal before dipping into anime filled weekend. There was hardly any traffic on the Harbor highway to downtown Los Angeles. In about 20 minutes of travel time, I made it to my hotel. Anime Expo staff stayed at the Radisson right across from the University of Southern California (USC). While it was nice to have a complimentary hotel and wifi, we certainly weren’t spoiled children. (Injoke – USC is known as “University of Spoiled Children.”) Right before settling in my room, I decided to tour the USC campus.

What’s Around: Getting a Feel of the Land
Staying by USC meant there were more amenities close by. The benefit was having a Starbucks where you don’t have to wait in a long line for. There were plenty of places to eat, yet most of them closed before 11PM when most staff would come back from being on duty all day. The only thing around that was open late was a local pizza delivery service. Even then it required a minimum $20 purchase. However, for quick grab and go, there was a Subway and a CVS pharmacy within walking distance. Because it’s USC and Figueroa, it’s best to take care of any shopping during the day. At night, it does get pretty sketchy.

Day Zero: First Impressions
Perhaps I’ve been too many cons to count, it is no surprise that the Day Zero line was snaked around South Hall. Plenty of people were ready to grab their badges and kick off the weekend. It was pretty hot; you were better off staying indoors. Otaku and cosplayers were already settling into the convention center. I was frolicking as Minmay from “Macross: Do You Remember Love?” As old school of a series as it is, only two Macross friends recognized what I was from. It really shows the changing times. I went around to explore the convention center to see what was new. Main Events was in a new hall that had better acoustics. I was able to get a sneak peak into the Entertainment Hall and I was very impressed with the dioramas and gaming set ups. Otherwise, after exploring for a while, it was time to call it a night. Keep calm and staff.

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