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This
report is entirely based on my point of view. Please
do not ask me to take off any remarks on here. Where
I live, we have first amendment rights, meaning
that we have the freedom of religion and freedom of
the press. In my case, it's the freedom of speech,
which goes under the first ammeamendment rights. If you
don't like the comments I made on this page, sorry, but this
is my page.
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Day One (Saturday, September 1, 2001) San Francisco, CA (6:00 am, PDT) Weather: 60º F (cold and foggy) "Loneliness" For once, I don't have to worry about transportation or hotel accommodations. :) I quickly got dressed, and placed my Ukyo costume in a plastic bag. Left the house and waited for the K Ingleside bus to take me to West Portal, along with the streetcar to take me to Church Street Station, and by the ever so peaceful 22 Fillmore :p When I arrived at the Miyako Hotel, the first person I saw was Rob Miles. I hugged him, and he introduced me to Larissa Williams. I've chatted with her a couple of times online, but I never knew how she looked like. I asked Rob where the pre-reg line was, and he directed me down the stairs. :) I went to the stairway, only to see I was more or less at the top of it. A line for pre-reg was already formed. I talked with a few of the gals, so that was cool. :) Within a half hour or so, the pre-reg line opened. :) Yay! Talk about quick. I brought my ID and mail in that I received and everything was squared away. When I got my badge, the first thought that came to mind was, "this badge sucks!" It was just computer printout image in a pouch. I paid $50.00 for this?! What the fuck!? I said to myself, "after receiving a badge like this, the con had better be good." The staffer gave me something else. She took a sticker-like strand and wrapped it around my wrist. I said, "what's this for?" She said, "this is so you can't give your badge to someone else. Keep this bracelet on at all times." Not a bad idea. Pretty good. :) After I received my badge and program guide, I decided to look around to see if I could find someone I knew. I looked around and I saw Chris Tang. Finally! A face I knew. :) I talked with him and he told me that he saw Lynleigh and Rachael a while ago. As we talked, the dealer's room. Wouldn't you know it? People who are guests at the hotel, or have red tickets get first dibs in the dealer's room. I was like, "what the fuck is this!? That's a stupid rule. I don't recall other conventions having a rule like that. I just hope other conventions don't start copying this kind of policy. Oh-ho-ho-ho! Fortune smiled on me. When I turned my badge around, what did I find? It was a red ticket. So, I got back in line, but I was stopped. They said, "wait a minute! We can't let people in with these tickets." A majority of us were like, "what the hell?" In the end, it turns out that they let everyone in. Well, I went into the dealer's room. There wasn't a whole lot to look at. Mostly doushinji and manga. There wasn't really anything worth buying. The dealer's room just downright sucked. :p I went outside hoping to find Al, but no luck. He wasn't there. I saw Taliesen Jaffe coming in, and I was like, "I didn't know you were coming." We hugged and said "what's up?" -- the usual. As I was talking to him, someone crept up behind me. I figured Al was trying to surprise me. :) It was a surprise, however, the person was not Al. It was Zoey. I hugged her, and I said, "you could've told me that you were coming!" She's all, "didn't you check the con roster on the website?" I said, "I didn't know they had a roster." Zoey was looking for an online friend of hers who was sharing a room with her. I looked at my right and I saw a marker board. I figured that I should write a message just in case that she would look for us. I basically wrote, "if you find this message, please page me ASAP. Thanks. Zoey and I went out into the parking lot, and started unloading drinks, her costumes, her sewing machine, all the things out of her car. We basically asked each other, "how've you been?", things like that. She even asked me if I could show her around Japantown and the shops. :) I thought, "cool." I get to give someone a personal tour. :) Well, we wandered around and as it turns out, we found her roommate. I asked the two of them if they would like to join me for lunch. They both told me that they had eaten something earlier. I figured no problem. At that point, I ran into Lionel, and I fericiously called out his name. I'm all, "Lionel!" Now, of course I was just teasing him, and he was playing along with it. I'm all, "since when do you know all about San Francisco?" He's all, backing up going, "uh -- uh..." *laughs* I said hi to him, and we basically talked about con schedules and stuff. I tried to convince him to come to Nan Desu Kan, but he said that he wasn't up for it this year. I even asked him if he had seen Lynleigh and Rachael, and he said that they would be down in a while, and he left and went back to taking photos. I decided to go around the convention to see who else I could find, and I ran into my mentor John Vellutini. I didn't expect to see him there. :) He then asked me, "where's Al?" If only I knew. I said, "I was told that he was coming." John then asks me, "well, didn't you call him?", and I said, "no, I didn't." I went to the nearest payphone to call him, but for some odd reason his phone was turned off. I said to myself, "how could he do something like that?" It just doesn't sound right." I was a little concerned because Al wouldn't normally have his cellphone turned off. John then goes to me and says, "don't worry. I'm sure it'll all work out." I figured, "yeah, no biggie"... even though I had my doubts. I figured that I should go into the dealer's room to see if I could find anyone who knew where Al was. No such luck. Instead, I ran into Lynleigh and Rachael. We hugged each other, and I was just more than eager to hang out with them. We were in the lounge area for a bit, and within that short period of time, I saw Chris Tang, Jeanne, Karen, Van Donovan, Nando, and Ace. What I thought was cute was when Jeanne asked Chris to go into the dealer's room and get her a doushinji. Way to go, Jeanne! :) I probably would've never thought of that. *laughs* Eventually, Lynleigh and Rachael invited me, Jeanne, and Karen into their room. As I walked in, I realized that I missed out on what kind of a hotel room I would get. Oh, cursed be the day I ever lived in San Francisco. :( Oh, well. Maybe someday I'll get my chance. What caught my fancy was the television set. I had a strange hunch that the channels would be off., and I was right. I noticed that Channel 2 was CBS, which is incorrect. In reality, Channel 2 is FOX (KTVU), and Channel 5 is CBS (KPIX). Why am I not surprised that hotels run on their own stations... or something? :p During the time we were in the room, we basically talked about what we thought of the con so far. All of us agreed that it was a complete rip off for a two day convention, that didn't have a variety of dealer's in the dealer's room. Heck, there's more stuff in the Japantown mall. :p I went back to the lobby again, and as it turns out, I found Albert and Samantha in the lounge area. I said 'hi' to both Albert and Samantha. We chatted for a bit, and then Albert is a little... I wouldn't say uptight, but concerned as to why Stella wasn't at the convention. I said, "don't worry, Albert. She'll be here." About 15 minutes later, it just dawned on me. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I had a distinct feeling that something was wrong. Al wasn't there, nor was Stella, and I started fearing the worst. I thought, "Oh, my God." I desperately ran to the nearest phone booth, and tried to call Al, but again his phone was off. It was just too coincidental. I said to myself, "oh, no. Both Albert and I have been cheated on." I went back to the lounge area, and pretended as though as nothing had happened, but Albert could see right through me. He's all, "Claudine, don't do that to yourself. Please, don't do that to yourself." What could I do? I didn't know who to believe at that point. I honestly didn't. :( I figured that if I tagged along with a couple of buddies during the con. No such luck. A few people were called in for the masquerade competition, which I was a not a part of. I so desperately wanted to at least hang out with someone, but I didn't want to look like I was in the need, or I didn't want to be a bother. That was basically it. My boyfriend was nowhere to be found, I couldn't hang out with anyone because they were all really busy, and I didn't want to be a bother to them with my own personal issues and ruin their fun. :( Naturally, I went into the bathroom and started crying. All that was going on in my mind at that point was loneliness and possibly betrayal. I kept asking myself, "what did I do wrong?" I thought I did something that I wasn't aware of, and I figured I was being punished for it. I felt like I was someone else. About 15 minutes later, I came out of the bathroom, and acting as though as nothing had ever happened. When someone asked me if I was okay, I would lie through my teeth saying, "oh, I'm just tired." But then again, I was tired. It was probably because of the fact that I didn't have lunch, and because I was such a worry wart almost throughthe entire day. The cosplayers were called in backstage, and I figured that I would get front row seats for the masquerade, and I did. Watched the performances and saw Lynleigh in her Malice Mizer costume, along with Chris Tang, and Zoey with her cosplaying partner. :) I figured, this is gonna be a cool masquerade. Well, I was wrong. The masquerade only lasted 15 minutes. I was like, "what the fuck!? That's not a masquerade; that's a show and tell." :p This day was a complete waste of time, not ot mention a waste of money. I feel sorry for those guys and gals who ended up paying $60.00 bucks at the door. This con isn't even worth $20.00. That's just my opinion. I'm feeling a little down about the day, and suddenly I'm invited to dinner. I mean, it was nice and all, but I guess the feeling of being without your boyfriend kind of puts you in an abyss. The only people I knew were Chris Tang and Zoey Hayes. The other people I was introduced to were the Sephiroth cosplayer (unfortunately, I don't know his real name up to this day), and Kenny Yue, who was a former crew member of World of Anime. We had dinner at Denny's, which was Zoey's choice. Okay, I think I've said this a couple of times, and I'm gonna say it again. Everytime Zoey goes to an anime convention, she just has to go to a Denny's restaurant. *laughs* It's cute. :) After dinner, I went back into the hotel and I started to lose faith. I said to myself, "let's face it. I'm never gonna get a hold of Al at this rate. It's already too late." I then ran into Rob Miles and asked him if he had seen Al, and he told me that he was up North, and that there was no cellphone access in that particular location. Despite what Rob told me, I wasn't satisfied. In my mind I said, "well, geez! If you can't get a hold of me on your cellphone, at least ask your friend if you could use his phone for a second, and page me." Throughout that night, I hung out with Zoey in her hotel room, and we were reading tarot cards. Afterwards, Zoey wanted me to show her around the Japantown mall. As I walked out the door, I ran into Al. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to talk to him. I was with Zoey. To be totally honest here, I was ticked off, even though I didn't show it towards Zoey or Al. The reason? Because this just happened one time, and I "assumed" that something was going on between him and Stella. I wasn't sure. I couldn't chew him out based on an assumption. Besides, he would've probably denied the whole thing. We went to the mall, which lasted a short time, mainly because all the shops were closed. So much for showing her around. :p I was about to call it a night, but then Zoey persuaded me to go into the viewing room and watch some anime music videos. Security went around and checked to see if we all had our bracelets. The music video that I liked the most was "Goldeneye", where footage of "The Professional" was used. but then again, I love the opening theme to "Goldeneye". John Vellutini was in the room, and I told him what happened. John sympathized with me, and told me not to worry. After the music video contest, they played two episodes of "Boku No Sexual Harassment". Ohhhhhh, yeah. Was that ever something to get riled up over. *laughs* I've never heard so many girls screaming in joy when grown men start "playing" with each other. *lol* I recall a girl in the room, and she and I were the ones making all these wise crack remarks the whole time, and the audience were laughing and cheering. One scene I will never forget was when one guy would take an ear of corn and shove it up some guy's ass. *rofl* What the fuck!? *lol* That was definitely a site for sore eyes. As we headed out of the viewing room, I said goodnight to Zoey, and she asked me if I could print out a map. She wanted directions from San Francisco to Las Vegas, and I said, "okay, I'll print it out for you." Man, after all the chaos I went through during that whole day, I think that was the only highlight for me. Otherwise, I practically wasted my time. I was about to head out and take the bus home, and all of a sudden I ran into Seung and Lynleigh. Seung was nice to give me a ride home. Wow! Seung and Lynleigh will get to see where I live. :) I remember when we were driving on my block, and Lynleigh says, "Wow! These are nice houses." Once we arrived at my house, Seung asked me how to get back to the Miyako Hotel from where I live. It took me about 10 minutes to write out everything for them. As I got out of the car, I said, "please call me once you get to the hotel, or if you get lost." As I walked into the house, I went straight to the computer, went online, and printed a map for Zoey. During that time, I received a phone call from Seung telling me that they managed to get back to the hotel without any problems. :) Well, this day is over. Wasted, but over. Lights out. Day Two (Saturday, September 2, 2001) My House (7:30 am, PDT) Weather: 60º F (cold and foggy) "Starting To Wind Down" I woke up a little late today. For some odd reason, I wasn't really excited to go back, but I said to myself, "what happened yesterday, will not necessarily happen today. It can't. That would be a pain if ti did." :p I got dressed and decided to bring my Belldandy costume with me. Again, I took the usual bus routes to Japantown, and the minute I arrived at the Miyako hotel, I went into the bathroom, and got into my Belldandy costume. Unfortunately, I had a little bad luck with the costume. As I placed the towel rack necklace on, it snapped. I was like, "shit! I pulled it too much." I had to think fast in getting the broken necklace on. I had spirit gum and I figured that I could stick it on my neck. It worked... for a short time, and I had to constantly use the spirit gum for photo ops. I ran into Zoey who was carrying a gift for the White Elephant exchange. It was a doushinji of... some anime. I don't remember what it was. I was with Zoey for a short time, and eventually we went our separate ways. Had so many photo ops, and a lot of compliments for the Belldandy costume... even from Ray of World of Anime, which was a shock. I don't know if he said it because he meant it, or if he said it because he was making fun of me. I honestly don't know. I wandered around, and I ran into Rob Miles and a couple of people such as Taliesen Jaffe and Keith Burgess. :) Chatted with them said hi, and joked a bit, saying things like, "hey, we've gotta stop meeting like this." I ran into Kenny right outside the dealer's room, along with a guy named Jason Ebner, who was affiliated with World of Anime... I think. They both asked me to join them for lunch, and I thought what the heck, considering that I couldn't find my buddies anywhere. :( We went to Mifune Don, and the guys asked me if I would like to have okonomiyaki. I asked, "is it good? I've never had it", and Jason joked with me asking, "you mean, you cosplay as Ukyo, and you've never had Okonomiyaki?!" I'm all, "nope. Never had it." I know. Sad, isn't it? *laughs* Well, they talked me into it. It was not bad. But now that I look at it, I should've ordered the combination one, instead of the calamari only. Oh, well. Maybe next time. I had a nice chat with Jason and his friends. Kenny, was great, too. We could talk about anything. :) Just as I was walking back ot he Miyako Hotel, this girl stops me in the hall, and asks for my autograph. I said, "sure, why not, and I signed the back of her T-shirt. :) Wow! Things started to look good for me today. I wouldn't exactly say that it makes up for yesterday. I said to myself that I would take my mind off of Al, and just do my best to enjoy the rest of the con. But then again, there wasn't really much to look at. :p The dealer's room was a joke. I ran into Zoey again, and I wanted to show her around the Maruwa market, and was she ever a shopaholic. *laughs* When I brought her into the snacks section, she went and bought the Giant Pocky sticks, along with the Star Candies from the Sailor Moon S Movie, some Hello Kitty chocolate cookies, and Ramune sodas. Me? I ended up buying a couple of boxes of Collon, from the Engrish.com website. *laughs* I'm glad I had an opportunity to show her around... eventually. Personally, I would love to show her more, but we were running out of time, since she was expected to show up for the masquerade contest outcome, so wen went straight from the market. As I walked into the auditorium, I ran into Rachael, Lynleigh, and Lionel, and offered them some Collon. They're looking at me like, "what is this!?" *laughs* As it turns out, everyone who participated in the masquerade won something. :) Would I have performed? Nah! Not me. Besides, I never saw anything special about dressing up as a Bishounen. I mean, heck, I kind of dress like a guy in my everyday life. I almost never wear makeup or skirts. The only thing I ever wear are sweatpants and sweatshirts. Okay, so it's sloppy, but hey, they're comfortable and warm. :) I always figured that if I ever cosplay, I should bring out the feminine side of me, and leave the tomboyish side of me at home. After the judging was over, I ended up saying goodbye to Lynleigh and Rachael, since they had a flight to catch. Bummer. I never really had a chance to hang out with them at this con. :( Oh, well. Maybe next time. Zoey, Kenny, and a Chris still remained, and we had dinner at Denny's again. Hey, I didn't mind. What the heck. This time, I decided to get a strawberry milkshake instead of a lemonade this time. We were basically talking about the convention, and most of it was negative talk. There wasn't really anything good to talk about. No dance, no karaoke, the dealer's room barely had anything. To me, it's a two day convention that was practically a waste of time and money. :p After dinner, the guys decided to go back into the hotel and attend closing ceremonies. As it turns out, Rob Miles would be the new chairperson for Yaoi Con 2002, and as announced, the staff said that Yaoi Con 2002 will be better than this one. I was so excited, and I said to myself, "if he's running the convention next year, it better be good... otherwise, he'll have to face me." *laughs* After closing ceremonies, there was a small raffle taking place in the dealer's room. Man, how many prizes can they give each attendee? Dang! I won a small prize; it was a Sailor Moon pencil board. :) Not bad. When the raffle ended, I went into Zoey's room, and we were reading tarot cards again for about a couple of hours. What's funny about that was the fact that I didn't realize how much time had passed. It was already 8:30 pm, and knowing buses on Sundays, they usually stop service at 8:00 pm. :p I said, "oh, man. I've gotta run." Before I left, I gave Zoey the map printout from San Francisco to Las Vegas. As I walked towards the bus stop, I ran into Chris Tang. He was waiting for his dad to pick him up, and I thought I should stick with him. His dad came 10 minutes later, and we hugged and said our goodbyes. I waited for the bus, and within 30 minutes, I was home. It was already 9:00 pm, and I was expected to be at work the next day, so I went straight to bed. Aftermath Just 10 days after Yaoi Con took place, let's just say that the U.S. was turned into a living hell, when the World Trade Center, most commonly known as the Twin Towers, was struck by two airliners. Who would've known that a group of terrorists from Afghanistan were the ones responsible for not only hijacking four of our own airlines, but for the attacks of the World Trade Center and the U.S. Pentagon? It was just unthinkable. After it happened, all airports around the world were closed, and numerous flights were canceled day after day. My first thought was, how am I gonna get to Nan Desu Kan Go? I e-mailed the chairperson of the convention telling her that there was a possibility that I would not be able to come out to Denver. I felt really bad about that because she and I get along so well, and I absolutely love talking to her. I talked to Al about it, and he said that we would drive out to the convention, and I thought great. I don't have to worry about flying. Although I changed my original plan, for some odd reason, I didn't cancel my airline tickets. I don't know why. It's a good thing, too because guess what happened? Three days before Nan Desu Kan, Al e-mailed me and tells me that we would not drive out after all. When I asked him why not, he told me that it would be too expensive to drive out there. Now, normally, I would never say this because money should never be wasted. However, in a situation like this, you have to think about survival. I flat out said, "who cares about the money!? What's more important? Your money, or your lives?" Al said, "you're right." *chuckles* You know, it's easy to agree with someone so quickly, but the question is, did he mean it? Nope. Not one bit. How do I know that? Well... he took off with Alex Trinidad and the others without even telling me. And of course, I ranted and raved as to why he would act so foolishly as to take off and leave without even telling me. What ever happened to, "oh, I'll take care of you?" Bullshit! He didn't do a thing. I figured that I would ask Rob Miles and Scott Peterson of they could help me, and they said they would. Eventually, I changed my mind. I said to myself, "wait a minute. Why should Rob Miles and Scott Peterson be responsible for me? They shouldn't. I have no right to interfere with their plans. That's just plain selfish." Mom then asked me if I would be traveling alone, and it suddenly dawned on me that when I purchased those tickets back in February, that Will would be on the same flight. I told her that I wasn't flying alone, and she told me that she will pick up Will at his apartment so we could go to the airport together. I called Will and told him about the trip, and he said, "okay." Another blow. Just hours before my flight departs, Will calls me and cancels out, and when I asked him why, he said that he didn't feel like flying. He didn't tell me whether he was afraid of flying at this time or anything, he just casually said that he didn't feel like flying, and of course, I got mad at him. When I told mom, she said, "oh, my God." She asked me if I could call my friends and cancel out, and I said, "I can't. It's too late. They left home; they're gone." At that point, I made the hardest decision I ever made in my life -- to fly alone during these bad times. 
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