Have visited Benma 1/2's Spring Splash II since April 21, 2000.
SDCC 1998
SDCC 1999
AX 2000
SDCC 2000
AX 2001
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BENMA'S CHRONICLES: AX 2001 PROLOGUE: SUNDAY, JUNE 24th--TUESDAY, JULY 3RD NEVER AGAIN. I am never again going to bust my behind sewing stupid costumes at the last minute. Cutting fabric sucks. I don't care how much faster a sewing machine is over hand stiching, because cutting fabric blows just as bad. I CAN'T WAIT FOR NEXT YEAR. Why? Because I'll be in Japan and WON'T BE DOING ANY COSTUMES. I NEED and want some time off. But enough of that. I had tried to back out of M**N Sync on the 24th, but then decided to stick with it. The costs and hassle were getting to me, and I was planning to go to Japan a few weeks later, so there really was no point. BUT...I decided I should atone for Blunder Beyond, and besides, it was MY original concept, and I would look DAMN GOOD in a tux. Then, after giving me a score of reasons to stay in, P-Chan tergiversates (my new word for the summer) THREE DAYS THREE DAYS _THREE DAYS_ *shakes head up and down* before AX. So much for practicing what he preaches. At least I would have given them two weeks. I dissent with his reasons for leaving. So I manage to get all the fabric cut, and my mother is sewing while I cut out Tux's mask, glue gun a hat out of black foamies, and polish up my quasi-dress shoes. P-Chan better still get Jack done, or we're in deep feces. THURSDAY, JULY 5TH, ANIME EXPO: DAY ONE ...But not for me. In order to save some cash (when money was _extremely_ tight, I decided to head in on Friday, only paying for Saturday's fare.) Not to mention the fact that I needed to finish my costume before I went over to BFE _LONG BEACH_!!! (At least if it was in Anaheim, I could commute.) So as my mother and I sew into the night, it looks like another all-nighter. BUT NOT SO!!! For at 5:35 A.M., I finished the costume! HA-HA! Broke the cycle! (Of course, I _AM_ writing this right after, so whether I'll get any sleep or not is still debatable.) In all actuality, the costume looks like hell (no offense, Mom.) _Especially_ any part _I_ worked on. The vest is wrong; there's not enough fabric, and the lapels don't disappear. But that's life; and only a nit-picker or astute fan would notice the faults, with the exception of the hat. Better catch that one hour of sleep. FRIDAY, JULY 6TH, ANIME EXPO: DAY TWO ...So 50 pages later I finish Star Wars: Rogue Planet, and it's 7:10. Time to get ready for Expo. I take the Metrolink to L.A. and the Blue Line to LBC, afraid that if I do fall asleep I'll end up somewhere I don't want to be. I guess I arrive somewhere around 11 A.M. I head to the Convention Center to hear that registration is in the Westin. X_X Talk about BFE. But as SDCC 2K was all about working on costumes, AX 01 was all about walking. Being so spread out, it was a chore the entire time. I call Trunks and Ucchan to try and find someplace to dump my costume and backpack (which I'm carrying, and they're getting heavier every minute.) No response though, so I head up and register. I figure WTF, I'll get a full badge anyway, I've got nothing better to do. So I'm still carrying my crap inside the dealer's hall. Cruising, I bump into Christian and Jose, two of Ucchan and P. Kuno's former students who were travelling with them. They said they were meeting them @1, but when P. Kuno and Ucchan show up @1:30, they tell me they said 1:30. Students NEVER listen. We FINALLY dump my stuff in the Supermobile and cruise the hall for another 2 1/2--3 hours before going to HOOters for lunch/dinner. I eventually meet up with Trunks and the cosplayer group, and we start BSing and listening to the skit, drinking, and updating situations. I also meet Kinki's boyfriend, Johnny, and FINALLY have someone I can converse in Japanese with, which hadn't happened since I left Monterey at the end of MAY. So I retrieve (most of) my stuff (more on that later) from the Supermobile and go up for rehearsal. Which didn't start until... SATURDAY, JULY 7TH, ANIME EXPO: DAY THREE The early part of the morning was spent constructing Jack and trying to get Kinki to finish her costume while waiting for everyone to show up for rehearsal. Everyone who walked by asked us, "What is that, a Jack in the Box head?" and we all laughed. We watched "Moulin Rouge", "Larger Than Life," "Bye Bye Bye," and Britney videos to get dance examples, then rehearsed. I also climbed into Beryl v. 1.0, and got my crossdressing fix for the con. It took Trunks a while to get the hang of the moves, but I got it after seeing it 2-3 times (and I didn't have to do _that_ dance). So people deciede to go to sleep. BUT NOT ME!!! In my infinite wisdom, my dumb, tired ass has to go bust DDR. So at 3 A.M., and no sleep in almost a day and a half, I head to the machine and start tearing it up. I get a 2-3 hour nap at about 6 A.M., then head for the mandatory masquerade meeting. (I STILL had sweat in my hair and shirt from DDRing.) Back to the room, where I shower, then sneak in another 2-3 hours of sleep. We rehearse some more, make "MEAT (with kanji for niku)" and "CHEESE (with katakana chi-zu)" signs for the skit, not to forget the TOFU, constructed of foam core. We have another meeting, to preview the stage layout and ask any technical questions we may have, and I'm finally clear to throw my Tuxedo Mask rose. Final preparations are made back in the room, as well as changing into costume. DAMN!! I look GOOD!!! On the way over, we had to take the LONG way. Did I mention half of AX was spent walking? And I'm holding my tux bag in front of or behind Kinki the whole time to keep people from staring at her. I also keep pace with Miss Hinako, whose Beryl provides limited movement and forces a slower pace. Meanwhile, Trunks and Genjitsu zoom ahead. Somewehre on the way over, I drop my f-ing masqerade pass and am almost denied entrance. But my people stand up and say they're not going in without me. Maybe I should have looked harder into the "low-tech security" and stapled the masquerade pass to my badge. So we go into the hella cramped, underground dressing area, practice, and wait. Not that any drinks would actually be in the vending machines!!! Everyone busts up when I hand out my gag gift--*N Sync lip balm--for everyone, tied somewhat to the character they're playing. (I, as Tuxedolake, got Justin.) And we still hella wait. We FINALLY go onstage and kick MAJOR a$$. (Cartman, stop saying hella!!!) The crowd loves us, even though we were bizarre. We handle photos and re-enactments, then wait around. They call our number, but it was wrong, because people can neither read nor write properly. Suck. So, hungry and tired (with hella HELLA sore feet), we ditch the fanboys and fangirls and get to the hotel room as fast as Miss Hinako can make it. (Again Trunks and the boys are running ahead; Kinki had split with her man a long time before.) And sometime on the way over it became... SUNDAY, JULY 8TH, FINAL DAY OF ANIME EXPO: DAY FOUR We get up to the room, out of costume, and start icing Miss Hinako's poor feet. A contingent heads out for Carl's Jr. (?) because it's the only thing open (otherwise we would have gone for Jack in the Box to commemorate our skit.) So we're BSing, and I decide to translate "Ultimate Cheeseburger" into Japanese (This is how tired and hungry we are, although I probably would have come up with it anyway; my uncle and I are always writing crazy lyrics to songs.) So food comes @3:30, and we go to bed at four. Another good three hours later, and Trunks is packing, and I'm helping to clean up the room quietly while others are still sleeping. P. Kuno and co. arrive rather late (11:30). I put my stuff into the Supermobile temporarily and ask for my checkbook... "Uh, I thought you got everything..." "No, I only brought my costume and backpack...anything purchased is still in there..." "Do you really need it?" "Uh...need money to buy stuff..." (Duh!) ..."Got a pocket full of green green dollars..." We don't even try to get my sunglasses and manga that are somewhere in the car. But we unload and get the checkbook. We go to the masquerade wrap-up meeting, where nothing important is going on. Where's our award for most blatant commercialism in a skit? Back down to the dealers' hall, where I purchase THE MOST IMPORTANT THING POSSIBLE: A DDR PAD. Now I can FINALLY bust DDR at home. I also complete more items on the agenda (see Coda.) AGAIN, the crap dealer room closes at THREE. WTF? So does everything else, including the Anime viewing rooms. Another con, another missed opportunity to watch Anime and listen to some Japanese! At least I got a chance to converse with Johnny and listen to some J-Pop and Anime theme songs. ...Again...we drop stuff at the car, then go eat at Johnny Rocket's. They head back to San Diego, and I plan to wait until my grandfather comes home, to hopefully bum a place to sleep, if not a ride home at some point. So, to kill time, I go back up for more DDR. The kawaii Para Para Paradise/DDR Girl was there, but she didn't want to do DDR Double and switch out/swap places on the machine in the middle of songs. Ini (sp.?), if you're reading this, that offer still stands! At about 7:00, the machines go on FREE PLAY. At this point, since it's not my "green green dollars," I start busting Single on Trick, and, for the first time ever, DOUBLE. I made it through quite a few 3 and 4 foot songs, but got killed by "La Senorita." I also decide to try this "goofy-looking" Para Para Paradise. And it's not goofy--it completely rocks! I'm still baffled that my first time out gave me the highest score on the machine--when it's been on ALL day (possibly all FOUR days), AND when GOOD people have been on it. But then the Japanese girls got on and started doing the official dances. All I could say was WOW. The most official I got was when I did DDR moves during "Dynamite Rave." Those girls were jaw-dropping awesome. The next thing I know, it's midnight and I've got no place to stay. Of course, If I had drove, I could have gone home, but then I would have missed Free Play on DDR; I have a policy against driving my car within a day of DDRing. After all, according to P. Kuno and Ucchan, who have never REALLY played DDR, I am getting old. I maintain instead that I'm just stupid--playing for hours on end. You be the judge; but if YOU played marathon DDR sessions like I did and had manual drum brakes, I'd wager YOU would think twice about playing and driving. So I rent a flipping $100 room and organize stuff while catching up on some baseball. ESPN is re-running the Mets-Yankees game. I miss cable. CODA: MONDAY, JULY 9TH And thus, the great Anime Expo of 2001 came to a close. I reversed the trip home, handled e-mail at Mom's work, and FINALLY ate a (bacon) ULTIMATE CHEESEBA--GA--. I busted some DDR, watched TV, then busted some more. So now, listening to the DDR 4th Mix Soundtrack, with a blister the size of a penny on my right foot and a long week and a half to go before the next convention, I write these. Guess it's time for Benma's AX 2001 agenda check: 1. Avoid walkaround cosplay like the plague: Absolute Success!! 2. Get Manga to study with: Success! 3. *DROPPED* Get DBZ Soundtrack with Piccolo's theme for P-Chan: Like hell I'm going to bother, even if his excuses for missing Expo were valid. 4. Trade used/lame/duplicate tapes for DVD: Success! 5. Kick major ass in the masquerade and atone for Blunder Beyond: Success! ---Even if we didn't win anything, the crowd loved us, roaring on every entrance, and chanting "Jack!" and "Cheese!" My crowd adores me once again. 6. Bust DDR like a freak: Absolute success!! --Graduating to Trick level and not stinking up Double with zero prior experience absolutely ROCKED!!! 7. Get a DDR Pad to bust DDR at home: Success! 8. Converse in Japanese with ANYBODY: Success! --It may sound simple and lame, but I need all the practice I can get! 9. Ultra-Secret Hidden Agenda #1: Success!!! (MWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA) 10. Try not to do things last minute as a team: What do you think? 8/9 with one drop. The highest ratio ever, which probably will never be equalled. But whatever. NEXT UP: CCI:SD 2001, in a LOOOOOOOOOONG week and a half from the time of this writing. Maybe I'll do some cosplay there; I still have to think about it. Either way, catch you there! owari Benma 1/2's Spring Splash II (BSSII) (c). Anything Goes School of Masquerade Arts (AGSMA) (c). All content, including pictures, on this page (unless otherwise noted) is copyright to BSSII or AGSMA, and cannot be used without prior permission. This page hosted by Geocities. Get your own Free Home Page |