Glorieta

Last week, James, Grace "Hye Jin", Jenny, Laura Kim, Eun Jung, Jonah, Tyler, Sarah, and I went to Glorieta, New Mexico. We went there for the National Sunday School Teachers' Conference.

We had a good time, but it was very tiring. We went there after working all day on Saturday for VBS preparations and all day of church on Sunday. Saturday, July 19 was James' birthday too. Sarah and I get to church before 7:30 a.m. to set up the equipment for the childrens' worship service. After all day of meetings on Sunday, we ate dinner at a Korean restaurant. We also stopped by the market to buy some food for our road trip. I think we left Los Angeles around 8:30 p.m. We drove my dad's Ford Explorer and arrived in Albuquerque around 11:00 a.m. We got to the Glorieta Conference Center around 1:00 p.m. Sarah, James, and I took turns driving there. Needless to say, we were exhausted. I think it took about $600 in gas round trip. We drove about 2,000 miles round trip. Laura Kim, Eun Jung, and the kids flew there. I'll probably fly next time.

On Monday, we registered and got our rooms. James and I shared a room. Sarah, Jenny, and Grace shared another room. We had dinner together. I think we all ate a lot of food. I felt like I was eating all day long each day. Jenny, Sarah, and I went hiking up a trail nearby on the first day. Jenny seemed to be in good shape. She says she likes dancing. I asked what was her favorite sport. She replied, "Walking fast. . .because I'm always late." Laura didn't feel well after walking for awhile because of the high altitude. It's 7,000 feet up there. Fortunately, she felt a little better afterward.

On Tuesday, Sarah, Jenny, and I woke up early to go hiking again. Then, we had breakfast at 6:30 a.m. We had classes and then lunch at 12:00. After some electives in the afternoon. We had dinner. Then, we had meetings. I was really tired. The others had meetings until 2:00 a.m. sometimes. I could hardly sleep, because I'm a light sleeper and can't sleep well in new surroundings. It has to be my bed and my room.

Wednesday, some of them went to Santa Fe. Sarah and I decided to get some rest.

Thursday, we had more classes and more meetings. Jonah found part of a fossilized animal jawbone. His mom didn't seem to pleased when he showed it to her. Jonah is pretty funny. He says things like, "You guys collect offerings so that the teachers can eat lunch at church?"

Friday, we finished our 12 and last class. We packed up, checked out, and left for Sedona, Arizona.

I loved the mountain air there. It wasn't nearly as hot as I thought it would be. Several times throughout the week, there were dark clouds and thunder in the distance. It rained a few times throughout the week. I loved the weather there.

Hit By a Grandma

Yesterday, our Honda Accord got hit by a grandma. We just parked our car on a street, when this grandma pulled behind us to park her car. She hit my car from behind on the rear bumper. The crash sound was loud, but there were only minor scratches on our bumper. I initially got mad, but Sarah must have felt sorry for her and just let it go. She had a white Mercedes M class SUV. My cars and bikes have been getting hit by a lot of other cars recently. It's a dangerous world out there. That's another reason not to get a new car. Your car will be hit or scratched in a matter of no time, especially in L.A. Dang!

5Fix2

I rode with the 5Fix2 crew in Whittier. The name 5Fix2 is a play on the area code (562) and the fixed gear bike riders. We joined up with the "Sexy Sixpack" riders in Downtown L.A. I rode almost 70 miles that night going from Whittier to L.A., riding around L.A., back to Whittier, and then home. I ended up going home really late, because some people got lost, and we had to wait for them. I think they want me to ride with them again. I just don't want these Midnight Rides to last all night. I need some sleep. It was fun though. I've made more friends and got some good riding in.

VBS Preparations

The Sunday School teachers at Berendo Street Baptist Church are busy every weekend preparing for Vacation Bible School in August. These teachers are really dedicated.

Dad's Birthday

We celebrated my dad's birthday at Margarita's Mexican Restaurant. The steak and chicken fajitas we had were delicious. We were so full that we just cut the cake at my sister's house and took it home.

Illegal Midnight Bike Races

I went on a ride that started in Alhambra to Downtown Los Angeles. We went to see some Midnight Ridazz racing on the streets. These guys are pretty good. A lot of them are track racers. The racers pitched in $5 each and the winner takes all. They raced around a predetermined course and had to do 10 laps. It looked like a lot of people showed up to watch the races. The alternative bicycle culture of riding fixed gear bikes without brakes is all the rage right now. I want to get a fixie too, because it really is great training.

Bradbury Building

This historic building in Downtown L.A. is where Blade Runner was filmed. The Italian Renaissance architecture here is pretty cool.

Kute Kittens at the Anime Expo

These Anime babes are dressed up as cute kittens. I'm not sure what anime they're from. If anyone knows, then let me know.

Darth Vader

The Dark Lord of the Sith graces the Anime Expo with his presence. Well, he's not exactly out of place here, because they do have Star Wars anime and manga.

Lord Vader uses the force choke hold on an annoying nerdy fan.

Snake in a Box

Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid franchise in his classic card board box. Snake uses his trusty box to hide from enemies in the stealth action adventure video game series.

As demonstrated here, the hide-in-a-box trick does not always work.

Anime Expo II

Cosplay in action.

There was just too much to see. I wish I had more time to see everything during the 4 day event.

David Hayter had fans lined up for hours waiting to get his autograph and hear his deep voice as Snake.

Too bad I missed the Masquerade and Ball. That would have been fun watching everyone get together and see who won the best costume contest.

Final Fantasy

Yuna and Rikku from Final Fantasy X-2. They're also posing for a picture with Bahamut Zero.

There's also another duo of Yuna and Lulu from Final Fantasy X, one of the best videogames on the Playstation 2.

I didn't know that so many girls liked and played that game. It was Final Fantasy heaven there. I also some some Vieras from Final Fantasy XII.

Pictured is another Rikku from FF X-2.

Also, pictured is Cloud from FF VII.

Anime Expo 2008

I attended the Anime Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center this past weekend. It was the best convention I have ever attended. It was much more fun than the L.A. Auto Show. It was even better than E3 when I went there in 2000.

There was a huge variety of different things to do and see. I think I enjoyed seeing all the cosplayers (Costume Players) the most. They dress up as their favorite anime or video game characters. Many of them make their own costumes. It looked like so much fun that I wish I dressed up as well. There were a lot of people dressed up as Final Fantasy, Naruto, Metal Gear Solid, and various other characters.

Whenever a cosplayer saw another person dressed up as her friend in the anime, then they hug. If cosplayers see their enemy in the anime, then they have fake battles.

They were the friendliest nerds in the world. It was a fun time watching them play.

There were several theaters set up to play anime movies almost 24 hours a day for 4 days of the Expo. There was a 24 hour video arcade.

There were many conferences held as well. I went to a conference that was pretty packed about becoming a voice actor. I used to do several different types of voices when I was younger. I liked mimicking cartoon voices and actors on tv. I haven't practiced lately though. I thought that I couldn't waste time with that as an attorney. Being voice actors is tougher than it looks, but seems like fun. The Simpsons voice actors make millions per episode.

There were video game exhibits, table top gaming such as Dungeons and Dragons, and a huge Exhibition Hall. It took a couple hours just walking through all the aisles. There was Artist Alley where professional artists showed off their talent and solicited commissions of their work. The Exhibition Hall had tons of stuff for sale. Pretty much anything anime, videogame, and comic related stuff were there for people to purchase. I wanted to get some t-shirts, but they were pretty pricey.

David Hayter was there as guest of honor, the voice of Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid series. There were people lined up for probably a mile around the convention center. It seriously took 40 minutes for everyone to get inside the hall where he was speaking. There were a lot of guys dressed up as their hero, Snake. I couldn't believe how many people were there for him. That was the most people I have ever seen line up to see one person. The autograph line was just as long. It would probably take him a week to sign for everyone.

I got a bunch of cool swag too. There weren't as much free stuff given out as other conventions, because they wanted to make some money selling their merchandise instead.

I want to attend Comic-Con International in San Diego in a couple of weeks, but I'll be in New Mexico at that time. Comic-Con is the biggest comic and pop culture convention in the world. It may even be the biggest convention of all.