When did this autumn madness begin? Well, for me, it started with my re-obsession with musical theatre. You see, I wanted to cosplay as Kim from Miss Saigon, but after going around San Jose (with the exception of Lion's Gate Plaza), Kim was a no go. I've thought about modifying cheongsams (Chinese dress) into ao dai (Vietnamese dress), but that would be the same as modifying a kimono into a dashiki. So, no new debuts, just old costumes for this convention, no biggie. Tom and I also had a senior project to work on - Infatuation and Infusion: Asian Pop Culture in American Mainstream. Getting interviews and fan opinion at AniMagic would be ideal for the project. 

Our first problem was getting a ride from Carson to Lancaster. "But Vic?! Don't you live in San Francisco?!" The idea was to fly to LAX and spend Thursday night with my folks, and get to AniMagic from there. The airport charter bus was astronomically expensive! So, after realizing that the I-14 is much different from that dirt road Tom had to drive in 2003, we took Death on Wheels (aka - family mini van)! News of heat waves also prepared us to dress comfortably for AniMagic.

The drive took us an hour and a half to get from Carson to Lancaster. Luckily, dad had the tank filled up right before gas prices went up two cents. Three gallons to get us to AniMagic! We realized our hotel, The Desert Inn, was a bit of a walk from the Antelope Valley Inn. Luckily, we had Death on Wheels on our side.

We waved to our friends in the parking lot and then mingled around the poolside. I did have problems with my camera. Unfortunately, my Sony Cyber Shot is really sensitive to light. Please don't mind the brightness. I'm trying to figure out what's the problem...

Hyotei Hotties ++ TeniMyUSA Gladys as Satomi from Battle Royale Hiku as some guy from Naruto Yaya as Felicia from Dark Stalkers Pikmin Link as Link from Zelda Tennis Wayne as Luffy from One Piece

Witch Hunter Robin and Princess Peaches Jarod squishing Tom Velvy as Tifa Princess Garnet God and The Metreon from Dogma Justin as Satan

Jay and Mute Bob AM Cosplay Guest of Honor as Dark Stalkers characters

Dogma group

Momo, PLC's Daishi's dog and there's Daishi More Fruits Basket people Akai Sky prepares Tohru x Yuki

We checked into our hotel room once Jet arrived. I had to crash for a bit since I had a funky migraine due to the intense desert heat. I'm not used to 90 degree weather since I'm a Bay Area person where it's 60 degrees during the summer. I met Jet for the first time. I found a fellow Lea Salonga nut! Apparently, Karaoke Revue needed more acts. Tom and I were thinking about doing it, but we only had show tunes with us (mainly Avenue Q, Miss Saigon, and Wicked).

Stella as Maho from Beck Stella and Jet do their thing - "Moon on the Water" Tokyo Kitty and Cicatrice sing "A Thousand Words" TeniMyUSA

Tara as Zoycite

Karaoke Revue was a pretty good show. Our friends Stella and Jet did "Moon on the Water" from Beck. Nessa did "Heaven" by Ayumi Hamasaki. No, you did not suck, Nessa. Tokyo Kitty and Cicatrice did "1,000 Words" acapella style. There was also performances by cosplayers from Gravitation and Full Metal Alchemist that were also just as entertaining. The Karaoke Revue was closed off by a fine performance by TeniMyUSA. 

Though I enjoyed the show very much, I still had my migraine. Tom and I returned to our hotel and turned in early in the night. You would too if you've been up since 6AM!

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