Two hours ahead of my own time. How many times did I hear Claudine mention, "Hey Vic! You guys did what I did back in 2002 - ACen one weekend and Fanime the next." This was our first time doing two major conventions back to back, within one week of each other. Our minds were still on the Anime Central high. I was getting the Anime Central report out of the way. Just to poke fun on "being on Chicago time," Tom and I decided to cosplay as the Aoi Duo, Anime Central's mascots.

But this report is not about Anime Central, isn't it? This was Fanime number 6 together. I left Los Angeles on a clear sunny day. Spotted two accidents on the road. Getting to LAX was not a problem, despite the heightened holiday traffic. Yet, while we were boarding the weather decided to get emo and start a downpour. Luckily, I got out of Los Angeles just as the storm began.

I got into sunny San Jose at 7PM. Tom was waiting at the airport. We headed to the San Jose Convention Center to pick up the Traveling Valentine press badges. We ran into our press colleagues, Bart and Karen. I almost mistook Bart for John Lloyd Young since he was wearing a suit. Tom found a wandering fluffy cat. We wanted to take it home, but it would be hard to sneak away with the big guy.

As Stan and Deb were checking in, Tom joyously began snapping photos of Day Zero Fanime. Stage Zero was still being set up. The swap meet was open. That summed up the happenings on Zero Day Fanime. Sell your swag!

We finally met up with the rest of our friends around the convention. Claudine had a few items relating to the doll panel we were participating in to drop off. We promised our buddies, Stan and Deb, San Jose's best pizza, Willow Street Pizza. They waited a year for this. The original plan was to drive together as a group and dine in, but we were all scrambling to check in to the hotel room.

Once that was done, we played some Smash Brothers Brawl. Tom and I picked up the pizza. Willow Street Pizza is definitely a must have if you are in the San Jose area. Even if it's a drive, it's the closest you'll get to East Coast style pizza. Yum!

We officially mandated Stan and Deb into Traveling Valentine by handing out their press badges. Stan and Deb would be doing the Vlog report for Fanime.

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