Category Archives: Travel

Last Moments in Vegas, then home again…

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Well, the final day has arrived. The problem with the Monday of this convention is that I always miss out on something cool because I want to get home early and avoid as much traffic as I can. Holiday traffic back to L.A. can be a nightmare.

So basically all I did in the morning was eat my last $3.99 breakfast special, play my last $5.00 in quarters in the video poker machines (but this time, I actually WON $8.50—which I cashed out and brought home) then drop by to wander around the con for a couple of hours to bid my farewells. I did actually attend the first half of Monica Rial’s panel this morning and asked her a bunch of questions. She’d said that one of her favorite roles to play was Haruka in RahXephon and I enjoyed hearing that. She also commented that sometimes it’s lots of fun to play the smaller roles because she can really get wild with them. She talked quite a bit about Ayu-chan from Best Student Council which is one of my favorites.

I left about 11:15 or so, but that was after having a nice farewell discussion with Rich, the convention chairman. He’s a great guy and I vowed that I would come out and be a volunteer next year if I’m still around—he said he’d put me in Guest Relations, which would be loads of fun. Luckily, I also ran into Todd Haberkorn just before I walked out of the building, and thanked him for mentioning me by name in his panel last night.

All in all, a great load of fun and I got to deepen friendships, make new connections and basically relax and enjoy myself.

Even though I left fairly early, there were still the usual pockets of traffic on the way home: Nevada state line to halfway to Baker and then again several miles before the Yermo inspection station. NOTHING frustrates me more than being stuck in dead-stopped, bumper-to-bumper traffic on a two lane highway out in the middle of the desert. There’s NOTHING THERE—why the heck is everyone stopping? Geez…

I still made it home by 5:30 or so after treating myself to another burger AND a chocolate shake at Mega Tom’s in Barstow. Max was still alive and just fine and missed me. Tomorrow morning, I’ll pick up Victoria from the vet—hope she’s put on some weight.

Anime Vegas, Continued

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Today was a little more relaxed and less hectic. Seems like there weren’t as many people crammed into the con either.

First thing I attended was the Bandai panel presented by none other than the President of Bandai USA. They have some interesting things coming out, but nothing that struck me particularly as a “gotta have it” at this point. Lucky Star really does look pretty funny though and The Girl Who Leapt Through TIme looks pretty cool. The biggest thing I wanted to find out was their schedule and plans for Hayate The Combat Butler, which sadly they don’t have much on yet. They basically showed the un-subbed episode opening, but that was at least exciting; their release plans are “Coming Soon” and “Sometime next year” at the moment. My pointed question to them was “Are they committed to bringing it out quickly AND completing the whole series of 52 episodes” and they affirmed they were. (I also made sure to get a public dig in against Viz since they seem to think it’s not important to complete what they’ve started.)

The highlights for me were having time to have some pretty nice conversations with Jerry Jewell, Justin Cook and Todd Haberkorn (not all at the same time). They’re all such great people and I really appreciate them remembering me and taking time to chat—yet another indication of the great work that Funimation does. High quality product, innovative distribution and very, very nice people who actually care about the fans. I hope everyone reading this who is an anime fan goes out and buys everything they can from them!

I also made the decision to sign up for another Bang Zoom Voice Acting seminar, this time with Tony Oliver on September 20. It was a bit more of a chunk of money than I have at the moment and will need to find someplace, but I have this feeling it’s important right now. It’ll be fun and a good experience.

So the con is winding down. I did end up buying another show—the complete set of .hack//SIGN for a pretty decent price. I really wanted .hack//Roots which I saw yesterday, but that’ll have to wait for a Right Stuf sale and preferably a complete series box set.

Tomorrow will be just a quick swing by in the morning, one last spin around the sales hall and another chance to thank and say goodbye to the great VAs one more time. As usual, I’m torn between wanting to stay to the bitter end of the con (they actually do have some cool stuff planned) or getting on the road before I’m stuck in bumper-to-bumper, post-Labor Day Weekend traffic all the way back to L.A. Usually my abhorrence of driving in traffic wins out…

Anime Vegas, Day 1

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Today was opening day for Anime Vegas and it was a lot of fun—I had a great time. But first, some other topics:

My Gambling Story: I don’t really gamble much at all—it’s too lame. But I brought $18.00 of quarters from my change drawer to use (my usual M.O.). I put them in a video poker machine last night and won—$14.25. Typical. I spent a buck or two of that today on stuff, but put the rest in another video poker machine tonight and won—$8.00. Good thing I don’t take this seriously or have the addiction…

Anyway, last night I went to pickup my badge at the new venue (Renaissance Hotel next to the Convention Center) and it’s really nice. I was prepared for a long wait, but it was only 15 minutes. I then made a slight mistake in choosing to eat dinner at The Outback Steakhouse on the strip—the food was great, but i’d forgotten just what a hellacious, crowded, annoying ZOO the Vegas strip can be, especially on a holiday weekend. And don’t even get me started on Las Vegas DRIVERS—the worst I’ve seen anywhere, and I lived in Italy for 2 years…

So then that brings us to today. I attended the Funimation panel first thing and made absolutely certain to publicly thank Funimation and told them they were the only anime company I trust anymore. I also asked about BIG WINDUP, and they said with the volume of shows they’re working on right now, they’re not sure yet when it’ll actually get dubbed and released—probably next year. Just after it started, VA Todd Haberkorn came in and sat next to me too—nice guy.

The rest of the day was mostly spent perusing the (slightly overcrowded) dealers’ room, waiting in line to talk with the various VA guests and get their autographs, and watching a few new anime episodes (I think I liked .hack/Roots, and Maburaho looked cute but I’m not sure. Lucky Star also looked fun, but I’m even less sure about it…).

But the BIGGEST thing I attended was an absolutely PACKED panel room where they World-Premiered the first three dubbed episodes of Ouran High School Host Club, one of my favorites and hotly anticipated show. I thought the cast and performances they gave—at least in the first 3—was outstanding. I KNOW it’s going to turn out to be a surprisingly big hit for Funimation, and deservedly so. It always makes me feel really happy when I can DELETE fansubs and BUY the real thing. In fact, as penance I’ll be buying 2 copies: one for me and one to give to a friend!

Stayed until after 7:00 to talk to Colleen Clinkenbeard and Caitlin Glass (and get their autographs, of course), then back to my hotel and my first real food since breakfast: the $2.99 soup & half sandwich special. At least I can afford to eat on my meager gambling winnings…

In Vegas, Baby!

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So I’m sitting here in my surprisingly nice and comfy hotel room at the Vegas Club hotel in the OLD part of Vegas. I drove up here today to attend the Anime Vegas convention this weekend, which is sort of of my new annual tradition (kind of pushing it since this is merely my third time). I came the first time in 2006 since I’d missed the usual Anime cons while I was in Japan, and so the same happened this year. The drive was fast and uneventful (even though my cruise control was set at a mere 5 mph over) and I got here in about 4 hours.

But first, the Victoria update:

She’s getting stronger and a bit brighter, but still is pretty skinny, bony and you can tell she doesn’t feel her usual self. I took her for a checkup yesterday, and the doctor found she was anemic, gave her a shot of iron and—get this— has me giving her Epogen! That seemed to pep her up a bit—she spent time with me, laying on my lap, being more sociable, etc. whereas she’d mostly been sleeping in the bedroom by herself. The doctor also insisted that I board her there this weekend while I’m gone and they will see she gets her meds and try to fatten her up a bit before I pick her up Tuesday morning. Max gets to fend for himself (and by himself) but my Mom & Dad are going to check on him Saturday.

So then, now I’m in Vegas for the weekend. This convention really is a lot of fun and so much more relaxed than the big cons. I mostly come here to socialize, see new stuff and get autographs—It’s always well attended by Funimation VAs and others. I’ll fill you in as the weekend progresses. I don’t have a lot of money at the moment, so there won’t be a whole lot of purchasing going on. One thing new this year, is that they’ve moved it “uptown” to a hotel rather than at the Cashman Center next door to the gun show. That may also mean some other new surprises—can’t wait to see what’ll be new.

On My Way Home…

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I guess another benefit of all the downtime yesterday was that I was essentially all packed. The first item of business for this morning was to run to the post office to mail my package of souvenirs and toys. It ended up being another ¥5,000 (yikes!) so I also took one last ATM withdrawal from the Post Office ATM since they don’t take credit cards. It also allowed me to go down to a local Sunkus convini and buy a ¥10,000 NetCash card—something I can’t get in the states and that I have to have to buy things on Japanese websites sometimes.

There ended up being a couple hours to spare, so I took the train into Shinjuku and explored the area and visited the huge Takashimaya/Tokyo Hands store there. I also stocked up on several N Gauge model train magazines that I hadn’t found (lucky!) and bought the last missing volume of Rough (ラーフ), a manga about Diving by the same author of Touch (about baseball). Just what I need, right? More manga. But I already had the first 5 volumes (bought used this trip) and the sixth volume is the last one and necessary to complete the 6-section illustration on the book spines!

Back at Nakano, I put the finishing touches on my packing then Makoto-san helped me back to Shinjuku to catch the Narita Express. It’s always kind of sad and even a little surreal to leave and have to go home. I really need to come and live her for a year or more, I think…

Right now I’m at the Narita airport waiting to board my 5:30 PM flight. I had one last delicious Tonkatsu lunch at a restaurant here and bought two last books at a bookstore (actual novels this time—the two volumes of Dive! about diving and a recent movie here that I wanted to see but ran out of time). The funny thing about going home is that I’m actually going to arrive in LA before I left (11:30 AM on July 29 PDT).

So there we have it. Doug’s Japanese Tour ’08 is at its end. Expect a couple more entries here as I wrap up my impressions and thoughts of my time here and work my way through the inevitable funk I’ll experience for a week or two.

A Somewhat Wasted Day…

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I actually slept in for way too long this morning—until 10:30—some of the waste was my fault. But after finally hauling myself out of bed, I decided to make a visit to see the Ginza and particularly the Apple store there (of course!). At first I got a bit lost (I confused the Yellow Subway line with the Yellow JR line—oops) but finally found my way. It’s a very cool store with 5 floors connected by an automatic glass elevator. I even sat in for a while and listed to one of the Apple Experts teach a class about Final Cut Express. I was actually very proud of myself, because I could totally understand what he was saying, even if it did range toward the technical side.

After that, I wanted to get some more traditional-type souvenirs for everybody, so Makoto-san suggested I visit Asakusa. I did, and it was just the ticket. Of course, if I’d done my shopping somewhere other than here with the higher Tokyo prices it would have been better. Oh well—I’ll remember for next trip. I then had to zoom back to Nakano to the apartment where I was supposed to meet Makoto at 4:00. On the way, I bought a box at the Post Office to send home yet another package of goodies. There was a big line there, so I was a bit late getting back.

However, Makoto-san was also very late. First, an email saying he’d be there after 4:30 but then he finally showed up closer to 7:00. I spent the time packing my bags and watching TV. When he got there, he said the trains were all jammed up because of a “Human Accident”—a euphemism for that other thing in Japan I never want to witness: someone committing suicide by jumping in front of a train. He had to go out and investigate because it was near one of their other apartments.

By the time he finally got back, it was quite late so all we had time for was dinner. It’s too bad things turned out like this because I could have used the almost 4 wasted daylight hours doing something else. Shoganai…

I guess one bright spot was that I spent some time watching Japanese TV—always interesting. But there was this game show on where they were asking a panel of guests things about various very Japanese things. The first topic was about different kinds of Donburi—a delicious dish with various things on top of a bowl of rice. It was pretty interesting. But the really amazing one was the next topic with questions about what three artisans—one working with bamboo, one with wood and one with wagashi handmade paper—were busy making. Turns out that they were handmade traditional umbrellas. It was absolutely amazing seeing the level of skill and artistry going into them. I may have to buy one someday, though they’re understandably expensive (like on the order of $200.00). They’re absolutely beautiful though.

Geek Heaven, Mount Fuji and an Onsen

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Today was essentially a “make it up as you go” kind of day. I was supposed to meet up with the apartment manager guy, Makoto-san, for some interesting sights and a visit to a real Japanese Onsen hot spring bath. Because of his work schedule and other logistical problems, it wasn’t exactly the most productive day I’ve spent here. We did a little shopping, he took me through the “Otaku Heaven” of Nakano Broadway mall where there is so much manga and anime stuff I thought my head would split! Speaking of which, since in the apartment the air conditioner blows right down on me at night, I seem to have developed a cold.

After a little rest while he went out to take care of some other business. he picked me up in his car and we were off to the Hot Spring. It ended up being quite a ways away, so we drove for what seemed like forever. BUT, there was an absolutely beautiful sunset and at one point I had my very first view of Mount Fuji—AWESOME! Two years ago the weather was so bad it was always either cloudy or raining so I never saw it. It’s truly inspiring and I’ve GOT to come back and tour Hakone next time—and someday climb to the top.

The hot spring was also awesome. I think the Japanese really understand how to bathe. It was so relaxing and actually helped my cold a little. I wish we had these back home—I really enjoyed it. Of course, most americans would blanch at the idea of getting naked and soaking in a tub with strangers (the sexes are separated), but I thought it was great. I think I lost that fear after my time living in Europe. Anyway, after a lovely soak for over an hour, I finished off with the traditional bottle of milk, drunk with one hand on my hip (see any anime with a hot spring visit in it…). On the way home, we stopped for Yaki-niku (grilled meat) which you do at your own table. It was tasty and the restaurant was a really cool, modern design. When I got home, I dropped off to a relaxing sleep, though it was pretty late.

Now that I’ve discovered the relaxing time that can be had at an onsen, I’m even sadder that it’s almost time to go home…