Halfway Through Anime Expo

I can’t believe that Anime Expo 2008 (and my 1st AX)  is already halfway over! I don’t want it to end, at least not yet, especially since I’m not done spending time with people I meet or plan to meet.

The L.A. Convention Center (LACC) sure is huge and confusing.  I often had to ask several people for directions just to get to one place on the first day.  I also try to arrive by 9:00 A.M., fearing traffic and parking problems.  Arriving early also gives me more time to explore.  That’s what I tried to do after picking up my badge Thursday morning, July 3.

I didn’t expect them to have us check in by ourselves through computers, then go around the booths to pick up the badges.  At least it was quick.  I threw away most of the ads they handed out in those plastic bags.  I pretty much kept only the booklet with AX information and schedules.

I left a panel halfway through on Thursday, because it wasn’t what I expected.  I had also decided not to attend the one right after it, since it didn’t sound interesting after reading the descriptions.  The same applied to anoter panel on Friday.  So far, I’ve enjoyed most of the panels I attended, especially the workshops.  This is one thing that makes AX better than Comic-Con, which was almost all just panels without hands-on.  It was fun making clay sculptures, folding origami, and coloring with Copic markers.

I really liked meeting up with people from LJ and Xanga.  I also got to meet new people in lines.  Unfortunately, the PoT gathering for Thursday morning didn’t work out because no one knew the LACC yet.  I searched indoors and outdoors and couldn’t find anyone.  At least I managed to find some of them one by one throughout the day.  I first went to meet up with yoshikochan at the Toshihiko Seki panel.  After asking several people for directions, I finally reached the Artist Alley where I saw _rakugosha_, and met kuroi_rubyheart.  Later, I met dramaelf in the Exhibit Hall.

It was also great to finally meet sakura 2814 Friday morning.  Later, I went to the Artist Alley again to see _rakugosha_ and kuroi_rubyheart again.  It was great to also meet kuroi_rubheart’s sister, remi_chan, and their friend, cruzle.  They are all good artists.  They are all good artists.  Yoshikochan and thiachan also showed up.

Both days, I left a little before 7:00 P.M.  The night programs just didn’t interest me, and everything else closed by that time.  I also don’t like driving at night, my legs hurt from all that standing and walking, and I had some things to do.  Besides, I wanted to get back early since I would be getting up early the next day.  I am not a morning person, and hardly slept Wednesday night.  Both nights, I felt exhausted after returning, so I keep trying to get in bed as soon as I could.

I am looking forward to the remaining two days, but at the same time not, because I don’t want AX to end.  I hope to see the LJ and Xanga people again in the future.