Addy's American Adventure (or Why I Can Die Happy)

This whole thing started out in the late third quarter, early fourth quarter of 2012 when invader-hime mentioned in her journal that she was going to be able to cross out an item from her bucket list. Cue me discovering said item (namely, Hime gets to meet Wil Wheaton at Megacon). Cue me spazzing over said discovery in a mixture of elation and jealousy (mostly elation because it's Hime). This got me and the BF to talking about how awesome it would be if we could share in Hime's experience and bemoaning just how expensive it would be.

Cue me jokingly saying I should go for it because I ought to make full use of my US Visa. Cue the BF saying if I can find a place to crash he'll spring for my plane ticket. Cue the flurry of emails between me and Hime that can best be summarized as so:

Me: CAN CRASH AT HIME'S? OwO
Hime: ADDY CAN CRASH! 8D
Me: AWESOME! *0*!!!!
Hime: Not at my place.
Me: D8!?!?
Hime: ADDY CRASH AT DISNEY!!
Me: *incoherent from utter joy for the rest of the week*

So plans were made, plane and convention tickets were bought, hotel rooms were booked and all that was left was to save up for pocket money. Things were going smoothly, which really should have tipped me off that if something was going to go wrong, it would be when it hurts the most. Fast-forward to the day of my flight and an inescapable reminder why I have a love-hate relationship with Japan. My trip going to the US involved a stop-over in Narita. My trip going back home involved a stop-over in Nagoya. Why exactly they weren't the same I'll never know. It is a mystery. (Unless you believe that every person is allotted a specific quantity of Happiness, which would explain why the epic-levels of awesome I'll be experiencing once I get to the US had to be counter-balanced with an equally epic-level of suck.) All I know is what was already a pathetically short stay of five days was cut even shorter and whittled down to three and a half. Cue my rage-fueled and rage-filled journal entry.

Essentially, out of all the other airlines that had delayed flights, Delta was the only one that did not push through with ANY of its flight going out of Narita. I was stuck in an airport terminal until I could get rebooked, and even then it wasn't a guarantee I'd get a flight the following day. Thankfully, I did get another flight to the US but spent the night in the terminal because neither Delta nor Narita airport were willing to provide accommodations. The short of it is: Fuck you Delta and Narita.

But let's not dwell on the suck that was my flight (and my near-miss in Atlanta because holy WOW is that airport HUGE and the flight from Narita was over hour late).

Once Hime and her mom (who is amazing and adorable and reminds me of Jamie Lee Curtis) picked me up from the airport, the trip was instantaneously awesome. No, seriously, it was like a switch was flipped and all of a sudden what was a horrible, tiring, miserable, wretched scenery became this glorious, beautiful, eyes-full-of-standing-tears moment. I may have been having cramps from Aunt Flow's sudden decision to pay me a visit, I may have back pains from sleeping on the terminal floor, but Hime was there and she just made the trip for me. You guys, alagang alaga ako, I was so spoiled *0*

Friday rolls along and I wake up with a cold. (I regret nothing! Except maybe losing one glove jfc HOW DO, ADDY!?) It's fine, Hime got me lozenges and this tube of vitamin C dissolvable things. We have Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and it was. So. Good. NOMNOMNOMNOM. We line up for our pre-order passes for like over half an hour or so. That line was ridiculous, I don't even. All the waiting was worth it though because we totally got what we came there for: Wil Wheaton.

After a few moments of Hime and my fangirling duet in Awww-yeah minor, Wil Wheaton signs the print of Charming in the Dark and my Darkstar helmet and and and and HE asks ME if HE can take MY picture! Granted I'm wearing my Darkstar helmet then but still!!! As if that wasn't awesome enough, he asks if he can post it on the internet and when I pretty much brain-froze from fangirling disbelief, Hime came to the rescue and answered YES on my behalf! Cue Wil Wheaton Tweeting my cosplay and Hime and myself getting a mention in his blog!!! That right there? That was the moment I could have died and have no regrets.

I'll write about the rest of the con but right now I just want to bask in the awesome.