Hello dorkness, my old friend…
Apologies abound for the lengthy sound of silence. Truly and sincerely. The thing is, when you live life in the “geek” industry, unplanned elements are always the plan. When I started the day to day blogging regiment after my 42nd birthday, I always knew the risk was there that the process would get bumped down the on the priority list if other (read: work related) projects needed to precedence.
Instead of wracking my brain with a way to throw together a few dozen blog posts to play catch up, I figured I’d just jump back into blogging again. Write when the time presents itself and – at some point – catch up on continuing narratives I have on this site that need revisiting. (I’ve been to more Man v. Food locations, etc.)
RIGHT NOW
I’m typing this from my flight home from Los Angeles to Florida. According to the map on my headrest, I’m somewhere over Texas north of Dallas when I’m starting this. Starbucks for breakfast. MacBook Air fitting perfectly on my tray table. It’s a charmed geek life, folks.
ANIME EXPO (LOS ANGELES)
I just spent the past four days in Los Angeles for the Project Anime conference followed by Anime Expo. It’s my fifth year in a row coming out here, and – by my math – I have spent over a month and a half living in the Westin Bonaventure in Downtown L.A.
Project Anime was great this year. It’s amazing to see something I co-founded for the industry grow into such an innovative and creative force.
Anime Expo was enormous. Gigantic. Huge. Big. A mass of humanity.
Remembering where AX was in 2012 and seeing it thrive now is always a major piece of satisfaction for me. Why? I want to tell you, but all those pesky NDAs I signed restrict me from conveying all of those tales publicly.
Since my time here this time was shorter than usual, my adventures in L.A. were limited this year. I did, however, hit up a few cool spots
The Last Bookstore is a place I came across in an article about the world’s coolest bookstores. The store lived up to the hype. Old, artsy, and exuding an air of creativity, The Last Bookstore is as much as spectacle as it is a shopping destination. I even bought a book there for Shannon. I can’t post what it is since it’s a surprise and she’ll probably read this before I land and give it to her.
I went back by “Toretto’s House” for a couple more Fast and Furious photos. I had been here before, but somehow I missed that the building use for Toretto’s shop was just a short walk away.
I’m a nerd.
ORIGINS GAME FAIR (COLUMBUS)
The weekend before last I was back in Columbus, Ohio for Wasabi Anime’s second appearance at Origins Game Fair. While not the adventure of 2015 (when I extended the stay to go to Cedar Point) – it was still a pretty good time.
The show had it’s ups and downs. Positive? It seemed much more organized and things ran smoothly. Negative? Construction caused to the Anime Track to get moved to a remote location where few folks found us.
So it goes.
FAN EXPO DALLAS (DALLAS)
This was the beginning of the end of my diet and health. Wasabi Anime was brought in to help at this event a few weeks ago, and the convention a blast. Great crowd, great vibe, and – to my detriment – GREAT FOOD. I hit up a BBQ place every day I was there.
I may have definitely overdid it in the food consumption department. Mere weeks before this convention I had run a half marathon with no issues. Afterwards? The amount of meat I gestated had left me lethargic and with obvious weight gain again.
But it was so good.
The best BBQ place I went to? Pecan Lodge. If you’re ever in Dallas, definitely check them out. If you’re lucky, they’ll be serving a fried rib as the special.
Sooooooo good.
In addition to my food adventures, I did get a chance to check out Dealey Plaza and the Sixth Floor Museum showcasing the history of the JFK assassination. It as a very sobering trip down the history of our country, and well worth the time if you ever find yourself in town.
It even prompted my to buy the movie JFK on iTunes and re-watch it on my flight home.
MEGACON (ORLANDO)
The first of my “four shows in six weeks” was an event a long time coming. As the most recognizable anime club in Florida, Wasabi Anime had never hosted events at Megacon for a myriad of reasons. This year, however, we went if full force and the crowd was AMAZING.
There were a bunch of behind the scenes issues, but my team made sure it never reflected in the events or show quality. The crowd loved it.
All of the people.
EPILOGUE
As I conveyed at the beginning of this post, I’m on a plane heading home and blogging from the sky. Current location? South of Montgomery, Alabama and about an hour before I land. I can’t wait to drive home, sleep in my own bed, and see my wife and Karma the Dog.
Later, Internet.
