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| Totoro and a Soot Ball |
On the last day of Anime Expo, daughter dressed as a character named Totoro who is a woodland spirit. Accompanying Totoro is a Soot Ball, which are household spirits similar to dust bunnies, but formed from soot. Totoro has a grey coat with a white front with grey chevrons. Daughter's grey skirt is something she's had since middle school! The tank top is new (bought for $2.00) and she cut grey felt chevrons and hot glued them to the tank top. The Soot Ball, safety pinned to the tank top was given to her at a previous Anime Expo. She made the ears from grey felt. She drew a black nose and whiskers on her face (although her face is covered in the picture I've posted).
I dropped her off at the convention center around 11:00 a.m., today, and came home. It was slightly cooler today (101F instead of 110F). I did the grocery week 2 post, changed the sofa dust sheets again, put away yesterday's laundry and did another load of laundry, watched some Wimbledon tennis on TV (highlights from yesterday's matches), and took an afternoon nap!
Daughter took some pictures to share:
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| A view of the crowds at the Anime Expo |
She said these signs were located throughout the convention center:
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| "Cosplay is not Consent" Signs |
And, if the crowds got to be too much and you wanted to just have a place to retreat to:
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| A Safe Space |
One last picture before the event ended:
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| Empty Spaces and the Clean Up Crew |
Susan had asked what people did at the Anime Expo, so daughter took pictures of the schedule for me to share:
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| Day 1 Schedule |
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| Day 2 Schedule |
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| Day 3 Schedule |
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| Day 4 Schedule |
According to my daughter, there are various discussion panels, work shops, movies including world premiers of various anime movies, video games, concerts and performances, competitions, karaoke, as well as vendors selling all kinds of anime-related items. Most workshops and panel discussions start at 9:00 a.m., and concerts and performances, etc., go on till about 3:00 a.m.
Daughter called a little before 4:30 p.m. to say she didn't want to stay for the closing ceremony (which ended at 6:00 p.m.) and was ready to be picked up. I picked her up in front of the convention center a little before 5:30 p.m. We stopped to pick up some beef fried rice, glass noodle salad, and a Thai iced coffee from our favorite Thai restaurant, even though there were leftovers at home. Came home, ate an early dinner, and relaxed a bit.
Later, I watered the indoor plants, did the dishes (some by hand, the rest in the dishwasher), and wiped down the kitchen counters. Daughter cleaned the litter box and I swept the bathroom floor.
Cousin P called in the morning and we chatted a bit. Later in the evening, I called neighbor T, since she hadn't called me in the morning for our usual Sunday morning chat, to check on her, especially in this heat. She was fine, she said (she has no a/c, but she has a swamp cooler); she had gone grocery shopping in the morning and that was why she didn't call me.
Today, I am grateful for:
- A slightly cooler day
- Daughter had another fun day
- Safe drives to and from the convention center
- Our favorite take out meal for dinner
- A relaxed evening
Daughter flies back to Berkeley, tomorrow. I have taken the day off from work to spend the morning with her and take her to the airport in the afternoon.
How was your Sunday? Are you managing to keep cool during the summer?
It's been fun seeing your daughter's costumes. My son is on the planning committee and works a similar conference. However, he is behind the scenes because he doesn't want to dress up.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Live and Learn. I must tell my daughter that your son is on a planning committee for a similar conference! I can understand him not wanting to be in costume, although my daughter could probably list a dozen or so characters whose costumes consist of jeans/pants and a shirt or t-shirt! :D
DeleteLove all the costumes your daughter wore for the convention. I recognise all the names from listening to many conversation between Amy and Thomas over the years, although I wouldn't have known what they looked like. They are big anime fans, in fact I think Amy just bought a new pokemon game to play on her DS. I think it's something you must never grow out of :)
ReplyDeleteHope you are keeping well. I've been laptop-less for a few days so playing catch up. Some things I can do on my phone but leaving rambling comments isn't one of them lol. xx
Glad you enjoyed the costumes and recognized the names, Suzanne. Yes, my daughter, too, loves to play those games; in fact, I believe she bought several at the event, this year!
DeleteThank you, I've been keeping well. I've a couple of screening tests to be scheduled (endoscopy & colonoscopy), but the latest mammogram results came normal. :)
Glad you have your laptop, again! Funny how they become a necessity, isn't it?
We love Tortoro and have a Tortoro decal on the back window of the Focus :) Very imaginative and frugal costume, again!
ReplyDeleteAs a true introvert, though, that picture of the crowd made me very uncomfortable, lol! I much preferred the picture of the empty convention center. It was very nice that they had thought to set up dedicated spaces for people to escape from the crowds. I have to say that I don't like that they called them "safe spaces" because it makes those of us who don't like crowds sound like "precious snowflakes" as some like to label people sometimes. I'm no snowflake, I just don't like being around that many people at once! Anyway, it's great that your Daughter could come to attend the event and had a great time! Did she take any pictures of any other cosplay participants? Some of those folks go all out and have very elaborate costumes. Aren't you glad your Daughter decided to keep it simple, despite all the costume changes? LOL.
I don't like such large crowds, myself, Nathalie, but, I guess, from an event organizer's point of view, such large crowds indicate a successful event!
DeleteYes, she took some pictures of and with others in cosplay. There were very elaborate costumes, but my daughter says she doesn't want to pay out big money for them, so prefers her homemade ones. :)
Thank you and your daughter for the information about the convention. My friend wants to go to one in London next year (I don't know the theme) and having seen all the things about this one, I feel more inclined to give it a go.
ReplyDeleteOh, I am glad it helped you, Eileen. Hope you enjoy the convention if you decide to attend it. :)
DeleteYour daughter's home-made costumes are adorable. They may be inexpensive, but she has paid attention to detail in a way that there is no mistaking which character she is portraying. It sounds as though the conferences are packed with enough activities to keep everyone entertained and wanting to come back for more. I am so glad she enjoyed herself, but she must be exhausted. Maybe she can rest on the way home tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Susan. She really enjoys making her costumes and props. She was determined to make the most of her days at the event, but, yes, she was tired towards the end. She took it easy, today, and decided not to go to her acrobatics class after she got home, in the evening! I think she made the right decision and told her so. :)
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