Last day.
I went with them to SFO to see them off.
I was "released" earlier than I anticipated, so I was hoping I can change my flight to something earlier at Southwest...
But!
Ugh, holiday weekend!
Everything was booked.
So I had a lot of time.
At least I had work from Company BEI to read...
For lunch I ate at Go Bistro.
The food was not good...
I chose this place only because they had comfy cushions.
So that ended my Fanime 2008.
My friend F asked me if I would ever take care for 50 people again.
Hmm...
Judging from the time I need to recover from the convention (two to three days), maybe not.
Depends on my workload, I guess.
So here are the gifts from Company G:
The rest of the Gurren Lagann DVDs.
The limited edition of the new Evangelion movie DVD.
Some stuff from England, from their research trip.
And this is the yosegaki I got for Fanime 2008.
It's not all 46 Company G staff...just those who went to dinner on Saturday, including Maika Netsu sensei.
Oops, I had forgotten to tell her that I translated Devil Princess...oh well.
We went again to San Francisco, but this time the staff was completely free to do whatever they wanted.
Otsuka-san wanted to see Iron Man, so I gave him the times and the location.
(He was sitting next to me on the bus, so I also gave him information about US anime cons in general).
I hung out with Yamaga-san and Takeda-san.
We first rode the ferry that went under the Golden Gate Bridge.
I was actually happy to do this because it was something I didn't do the last time I came to San Francisco.
Yamaga-san took many pictures.
Golden Gate Bridge from the cruise.
We then went to the Francescan Restaurant to eat crab.
It was so good.
The amount we spent on the food was how much I would spend on food in about 3 weeks.
But it was so good.
This is Yamaga-san looking at the mussels.
Crab feast (for 4 people).
We had a lot of food, but managed to finish most of it.
We then stopped by the Ghirahideli Factory.
The two bought chocolate for the people in Japan.
Then we headed back to Fanime.
It's the dreaded event as an interpreter...the meet the guests reception!
Interpreters never get to eat at this event.
So before the event started I took pictures of the food that I didn't get to eat.
Once the fans came in, we had them stay on one side of the room while the Company G staff stayed on the other side.
We introduced every staffer there...a total of 46 employees.
It took just about an hour to finish, and those who were there know how bad I was (not memorizing names or their occupation), but I didn't get much sleep over the past 3 days.
I just wish there were microphones in the room to do the introduction.
I had a REALLY hard time hearing some of the staff.
After the introductions I had to troubleshoot here and there.
I won't get into details, but it was really tiring.
I wish the day had ended there...but then there was the Gurren Lagann panel.
It was pretty much packed, which was really nice to finish off the convention experience for the Company G staff.
The panelists were Otsuka-san, Yamaga-san, Takeda-san, Manabe-"Hige"-san, and Yoshinari-san.
Yoshinari-san had to leave early, so Yamada-san took his place.
The only thing I remember from this panel is about Yomako-sensei.
Someone commented that she looks like another anime character, and wanted to know if it was on purpose.
Otsuka-san answered that "what you're probably thinking is correct."
Here are the fans who were present.
At the end, they all held up their pointed finger and it was so cute!
I wanted to take a picture but couldn't...
After the panel I was "released" so I went to go eat with Company B staff Jonathan, freelance editor D, Company V graphic designer F, and MangaCast contributor BrianP.
Phew. What a long day.
Today was our "tour San Francisco Day 1" day.
The Company G people had a crazy schedule where they went to San Francisco during the day and Fanime during the night.
This is our bus and one of our tour guides. (There were three total).
The bus said "Company G-sama."
We went to Twin Peaks first.
It was a cloudy day...
But the staff still had fun, it seems.
The garbage truck came by, and they were all amazed by it.
Because in Japan there are about two men per truck, throwing small trash bags into the back of the bin by hand.
I told them that it's handy, but loud...it wakes you up every week.
Shudo-san wearing a Gurren Lagann t-shirt with a Company G jacket over it.
It looked cool because of the transparency.
Then we went to the Conservatory of Flowers.
Takeda-san pointed out the graffiti.
We went on the rare occasion where they take out the flowers.
I actually preferred this.
Everyone was freezing, yet Yamaga-san was wearing a t-shirt!
He had just come from England, and said it was warmer than there...
Then we went to the Golden Gate bridge.
It looked really cool with the fog.
I prefer dark visuals (gloomy or nighttime images), so I loved it!
This is the staff taking pictures of the bridge.
Then we went to Fisherman's Wharf to have lunch.
We went to Neptune's Palace.
The staff watching a performance below.
The food was so-so.
This is stuffed half Maine lobster.
We then went to the Winchester Mystery House.
The house that inspired the arc "Blood Stained Labyrinth" in Ghost Hunt...
Since we couldn't go inside because we didn't have time, most of the staff went to Toys R Us to shop.
Takeda-san and I went to Brooks Brother to buy shirts because the US has more options available.
Takeda-san's theme for today's shopping was green.
Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of the shirts.
They were nice. And about 4 times more expensive than the clothes I buy.
We then went back to Fanime to do the Gurren Lagann panel for Company BEI.
Company A, Company BEI, and Company G.
Since Toshi Yoshida was a panelist he interpreted for Takeda-san and Yamaga-san.
I finally got to meet Robert, my client, in person.
I don't remember much from this panel because I was talking to my friend F most of the time.
If this was a Code Geass panel I would've been more interested because I worked on some of it, but...oh well.
Then there was the Masquerade.
We stayed for about three entries and went to dinner.
I think the dot-anime blog by Shizuki has some information about it, but I did get to meet some Company V staff (they are not my client).
I sat with Yamaga-san, Takeda-san, Sadamoto-san, and Iida-san.
Iida-san had many interesting stories to tell, but I don't think I should repeat it here.
Actually a lot went on but I shouldn't talk about it, so that's it for dinner.
After dinner I met up with several staff to figure out how they can spend tomorrow shopping for comics and toys.
We were able to figure it out.
Thanks to Iida-san and Shudo-san for letting us use their room...
I woke up extremely early to go back to SFO, to meet up with Company G.
Company G was coming in two groups...so I went to meet the first group.
We came back to the hotel, checked in, and headed to the opening ceremonies.
For some reason this year it was out in the open (in the hallway of the convention center).
Fitting in 50 Company G guests in a tiny space was tough.
Anyway, the three guests of honor went first.
Yamaga-san talks way too much before the translation break, as always.
Otsuka-san never says much but he gives me a LOT of breaks.
(Because I asked him to right before we went up).
Sadamoto-san is funny...he did this last time I worked with him, but he always looks at my notes.
So when Yamaga-san is talking and I'm taking notes, he's reading them.
It's rather embarassing because my writing is messy when I interpret.
Then Yamaga-san introduced the entire Company G staff.
The crowd was roaring, so I heard a staff say, "What a good convention!"
So there you go, Fanime.
We then had the "What is Company G? The Everyday Life at Company G" panel.
Let's see if I can remember anything we talked about...(looking at notes)
They showed their 20th year anniversary DVD.
I think this is the panel where Takeda-san "accidentally slipped" that there are going to be two Gurren movies.
Someone asked a question about negative reactions they got from fans.
Otsuka-san answered that one time, after Evangelion, someone wrote "DIE" (死ね） on their company entrance.
Since those types of fans tend to use 2-channel terminology, I wonder if the kanji was "氏ね." Haha.
(Sorry for those who can't read the Japanese on my blog).
There were other stuff...but please check out other convention reports.
My notes are messy and quite frankly they don't make much sense anymore.
After the panel was the autograph session.
There were seven people + one on the side doing it.
Can I name them all?
Let's see...
Akai-san
Yoshinari-san
Sushio-san
Koyama-san
Iida-san
Hasegawa-san
Kubota-san
Otsuka-san
Takeda-san chose them out of the 50 staff.
When Hasegawa-san asked, "Why me? Why me?" he answered that a girl should be included for visual aestheticism.
I like how Takeda-san thinks.
It was a really tiring day for Company G, but I think they all did okay.
The people who stayed through the panel and the autograph session hadn't eaten yet.
(Including me...I was starving).
I went back to the hotel and ate King's Hawaiian Bread.
By the way, I always eat King's Hawaiian Bread at conventions.
They're easy to eat in the morning and come in small sections, so they're very handy.
I recommend it to those who want to save money on food or are too lazy to go out and get food.
(I'm going to continue mentioning this until they give me free stuff.
Their factory is about a 20 minute drive on the freeway from where I live!)
Today I got up early to get to the airport...to realize when I got there I had forgotten my cell.
It's almost the single most important thing to have at a convention!
So I had to borrow my sister's. She's currently using mine right now.
I arrived at SFO to meet up with L, the translator for Maika Netsu at Fanime.
She is a fellow at-home freelance translator like me, so we got to talk about the industry and work conditions.
Which is nice because I don't have that many freelance translator friends.
L worked on the Evangelion manga so she is looking forward to meeting Sadamoto-san.
We greeted Maika Netsu and her editor from Jive and headed to San Jose.
It was both their first time in the U.S, and they gave the usual responses to how big the freeway is and etc. ^_^
I only spent half day with them because I wanted to finish some work in the hotel room.
So after we had lunch and went around the convention center, we parted ways.
At lunch they were surprised how big the portions were.
This is what I had.
It was very good and healthy!
T-san, the Jive editor, had cheese steak sandwich and commented how unhealthy it was.
At night I met up with my graphic designer friend F and we talked about a lot of things.
Mostly industry stuff, but other stuff too.
I had so much fun...
I'm safe to say that I only come to Fanime to see F and Ed from MangaCast.
Oops, I haven't updated for so long...
I've actually been busy preparing for Fanime.
I have to accompany 40+ Company G employees...
I hope I am healthy enough to handle it.
I'm heading out for San Jose on Thursday morning.
Before working for Company G, I'm working for Company B one day to show Maika Netsu around.
As for my usual work...
I received Speed Grapher #3 (the final volume) so I'm trying to get started on that.
So Ghost Hunt #10 is back to the shelf.
I got more assignments from Company BEI today too.
My summer is already filled up...but it's okay.
San Diego Comic-Con sent me a letter saying that professional registration is coming up soon.
They sent me this...why didn't they send me information about the hotels in the beginning of February?
I missed it, so I have to go through my connections to get a hotel room.
And this year I am definitely going to try out those tennis courts.
The one that is probably Rebound Ace? Hopefully.
Then it would be my second time playing tennis at a convention.
I once played a little at Otakon.
They had an omni court, which is very rare outside of Japan and Australia.
Uh, anyway.
SDCC professional registration is coming up, for those who are professionals.
I'm going to be a part of two tennis teams again this coming winter season, so I had to look at my weekends for January through March.
I do have a lot of deadlines but not much in January and February.
I was hoping to go to Anime LA, but we'll see.
For 2008 I want to put tennis a little higher on my priorities, so there may be occasions where I would skip a convention to play tennis.
March is going to be a bit busy with my trip to Japan, so hopefully I will be on top of my deadlines.
I'm still deciding on what to do with Anime Expo, because the Wimbledon championship weekend is the same exact weekend.
For those who don't know, 2008 is an important year for professional mens' tennis.
I have to watch at least the French, Wimbledon, and US Open.
The NYAF is this weekend.
I wanted to go, and even got an industry badge.
But I had to give up going because I have tennis playoffs the same weekend.
I just got an email from my tennis captain that since we're seeded, we don't have to play on Saturday. Only Sunday.
So if I really was gung-ho, I could've gone.
Of course I might be too tired to play well.
Argh. I wanted to go.
Of course, I have to get rid of this cold first.
Day 6
Went to the swap meet again in the morning.
Then went to Sea Life Park, which is like Sea World crammed up into one tiny space, with less sharks.
By the way, this is where they keep the world's only "wholpins."
My friend Y went to go swim with the dolphins, but said it was a lot of money for such a short program.
I was just happy to see penguins up so close.
Day 7
Spent most of my time in a spa, watching a Project Runway marathon (season 2) and getting a mud scrub.
Then left for Los Angeles at midnight.
I love Hawaii (this is my third time visiting), but Los Angeles is the place to be.
I came home to find some of my Genshiken manga missing and freaked out.
So that delayed my work for a few hours.
Day 4
Today I went to the island of Hawaii, or the "big island" to go see the volcano stuff.
The flight was early (5am in the morning) but it was worth it.
I came back around 7:30pm.
Hopefully in the future, I can go to most of the islands on an interisland cruise.
But can I really live without internet for a week?
Day 5
I woke up early yet again to go see sharks in a cage, but it was canceled.
The drive to North Shore was pretty scary at 5 in the morning, because there are hardly any highway lights.
And no other cars driving around me.
Anyway, I changed my plan to go to Hanauma Bay instead.
I never went to Hanauma Bay before...I passed by it several times the last time I went to Oahu.
It was meh.
I think I would prefer Kaneohe Bay or something.
Next time I'll try that.
For dinner we went to Paradise Cove's luau.
Cute guys! Cute guys! Cute guys!
Day 3
Woke up early to go to the "Tropical Ocean Fun Cruise."
We would get on a boat and go snorkel, jump on the water trampoline, etc.
It was really fun.
I got to touch a sea urchin.
But I didn't get to eat it.
For lunch, Captain Matthew grilled us hamburgers and hot dogs.
I also got rid of my t-shirt tan I've had since age 9.
This is a picture of the trampoline hanging on the back of the boat.
We saw spinner dolphins on the way too!
For dinner I went to Germaine's Luau.
Cute guys! Cute guys! Cute guys!
Kalua pork, teriyaki beef, rice, chicken long rice, fried mahi mahi, macaroni potato salad.
I really liked the lomi lomi salmon.
This is not a work-related post so please skip if you're not interested in my vacation life.
Day 2
This was my orientation day from Expedia (dot com~[music]).
They said they would have "complimentary breakfast" so I was looking forward to it.
Was I let down.
Muffins, danish, and fruit.
Bleh.
After booking some Expedia-rate events (some were cheaper, yes) we were taken to Maui Divers Jewelry.
This was my second time, and I have no interest in jewelry, so it was meh.
Then we went to the swap meet.
I really recommend going to the swap meet to get your stuff:
t-shirts, sarongs, slippers (although I get mine at HIC), towels...
And make sure you get a coupon to get free admission from the small coupon book.
On the way back, the shuttle passed by the Dog's office.
One of the many fake King Kamehameha.
