It was the morning of December 17. I had most of my things ready to go for JTAF. My Karen Kasumi was ready to be ironed. However, when I looked out the window, the skies were grey. Then I started hearing pitter patter on my windows. Rain. Water will do damage to bridal satin. Ergo, Karen Kasumi is out. I informed Tom about the weather change and what should we wear instead. Since we still had our Lupin III costumes in my closet, we went with that plan. Also, later in the night would be the Christmas Gaskell Ball. I had to pack a formal dress since the socialites won't approve of my Fujiko, so I packed my Qi Pao.

Eve, Tom, and I took the Daly City train to Powell. Unfortunately, I realized my memory stick was not in my camera. Someone overlooked a small detail. *facepalm* So, we head over to Comp USA to get a new memory stick. I needed a new one anyway. I bought myself a 512 and the three of us MUNI-ed over to Japan Town. Oh my, was it pouring! Oh my were the bus riders were filthy. There was this guy reeking of marajuana scent. My allergies started breaking and Eve was having chest pains. However, we made it to Japan Town alive.

Of course we ran into our friends. Bri (aka - Renegade Pocky) brought her girl along. Tom and Eve and fun with the little bundle of joy. It was pouring outside, so we stayed indoors for the most part. It seemed most cosplayers were gathering in the ground floor of the Kinokiya (sic?) building. We ran into our friends Remmy and Miko. They were on break from selling hats in the dealer's room. We joined them for lunch at Denny's. We did more exploring. We checked out the area where the dealer's room was being held (Japanese Cultural Center) and the gaming room (Best Western). Not much was really alive due to the rain. Tom and I chilled in the Best Western lobby for a while until the rain stopped being heavy.

We went back to the Japan Town Center and ran into Kevin Lillard. When we returned to the Japan Center, the Random Ninjas were ready to perform. We stuck around for a bit. We checked out the Kinokiya (sic?) stationary store and ran into Stella. For the most part, we stayed indoors doing window shopping and looking around. I did not buy anything, but I spent more money on food than I did on trinkets.

We went to my favorite place for dinner, On the Bridge. What a filling meal that was! We ran into friends at Japan Video. Tara, Tom, and I played the game of "name that cosplayer" when we were looking at the Cherry Blossom Festival pictures. I believe Tom trumped us all. Afterwards, BART Boy, Tara, Gabby, Albert, Tom, and I gathered round the table and chatted for a bit until it was time to go to another dressy event.

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