It was a Thursday morning in which I wanted to sleep in. Finals were over. Everything I had to take care of prior to Fanime was already taken care of. I woke up to the sound of children throwing tantrums. Originally, I was going to take Cal Train with my friend Richi Likes Maids, but I really wanted out of that house as soon as possible.

I took the BART to Milbrae where I waited for Cal Train. Whoever invented the MP3 player is a genius. It gives us more of an excuse to ignore strangers who wish to make conversation. At the Cal Train station, there was this (creepy) guy who kept following me from the BART platform to the Cal Train South platform. I simply just paid attention to the sounds of Megumi Hayashibara.

The Cal Train ride was a smooth one. It took about an hour to get to my final destination in downtown San Jose. Tom picked me up from the stop. Afterwards, he took me to his work where I caught up on email. At about 6PM, we left for the San Jose Convention Center to pick up our press badges.

We only went around the convention center just for a bit. We ran into some of our friends like Bart Boy, Jenna, and Albert. We eventually received our press badges courtesy of Pam.

Tom and I could not stay around the convention center for a while. He even wanted to score Albert’s USP at the swap meet, but we wanted to see a movie. We went to the Oakridge Mall. All I can say is, watch Over the Hedge!

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I realized that I was missing bits and pieces from certain costumes during the move. A week before Fanime, I moved from my apartment into a room in a house. Last minute cosplay changes had to be made. Originally, I was slated to wear Fujiko, but Tom and I decided to go Azumanga Daioh. He went as Kimura and I went as Osaka.

We arrived at the convention center and visited our friends at Consplayers. Pikmin Link’s dad needed help finding an Office Depot in the area. Tom and I volunteered to locate him to the nearest one. For a second both Robert and his dad thought I was wearing an engagement ring when it really was my high school ring.

At 2PM, Tom and I went on the press tour. Although we were familiar with the convention center, we thought it would be nice to see some of the other exclusive sites press had access to. The press tour made me feel like a tourist at Fanime. I did learn more about the con and more what goes on behind the scenes. The highlight was the crow’s nest because it really gave us a bird’s eye view of the dealer’s room.

To end it off, the Japan Society allowed us to partake in a tea ceremony. Best green tea I’ve had!

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