The colors from last night’s sunset were pretty, so I snapped a couple pictures. Right after I did, a big gray cat with a fluffy, bottle-brush tail darted across my patio and beneath the little wall that divides my outdoor area from my neighbors. He/she must not know Kitty-mon lives here, otherwise it would have looked for her. >^..^<

I get back to this just over a week later, which means a quick recap is in order. Sooo… 1.) The hotel rocks. 2.) Our panel was successful. And 3.) I’m super-psyched about our announcements and the fans’ reactions to them!

As I’m preparing for conventions, I always try to bank away a little extra cash in case I find something awesome in the dealers’ room that I can’t acquire via the workplace. This time was no exception, and in addition to finding some out-of-print manga my assistant needed, I found the limited-edition version of Replay, the greatest hits double CD for V6′s 20th Century subunit, and KAT-TUN’s “Rescue” single in one vendor’s 50%-off bin. Cheap CDs… GET!

That was my big purchase and a non-anime/manga one, which was a little disappointing, but most everything else I found could be easily acquired from the regular suspects. Oh, well. It was one of those rare shopping situations that was good for me and good for my bank account. (And I actually had to make a run to the bank for a post-trip redeposit. Go, me!)

The additional work stuff and networking stuff went well, I had the chance to meet and socialize with some cool new acquaintances, and early on Sunday, July 4, it was time to wing my way home. Or so I thought…

You see, after I’d checked in at the airport, checked my luggage and gone through security, I got a phone call from the airline. The first of my two flights was pushed back by two hours — which would cause me to miss my connection — so I had to entirely switch my itinerary. (This involved two phone calls, standing in two very long lines, and drama at the actual ticket counter that had fellow travelers glaring at the staff on my behalf for being so unhelpful. It’s funnier now than it was at the time.)

The first leg of the flight to my rerouted destination, Chicago, was fun once I finally got on the plane. A cute, young family — a dad, mom and five-year-old little boy — was in the three-seat row just in front of me, and the (young) grandma was in my row. As we were waiting for take off, I joked about keeping our fingers crossed that the third person in our row wouldn’t show up. She thought it was funny, and the mystery passenger didn’t!

I was still worn out from the previous evening’s exploits, so I settled in for a nap, and when I woke up, the little grandson was sitting between me and his grandmother. He was super cute and super polite and gave me a HUGE smile. “You were sleeping when I came over here!” To which I responded, “Even grown-ups take naps sometimes!” He nodded back very solemnly, and we chatted for at least an hour straight, much to Grandma’s amusement.

Although I don’t particularly want kids of my own, I do like them, and this little guy was awesome. He had great manners, and you could tell he was used to talking with adults, so it was easy and fun to talk with him about TV, music, books, work and school… just like you would with any other interesting person. :)

The second leg started out OK — we got to watch some amazing fireworks from the tarmac and runway of O’Hare airport — but the last 20 minutes, as we approached Des Moines, were dreadful.

There were storms rolling in and out of the area, and the plane bounced up and down like a roller coaster. The majority of passengers on my flight were students returning from a school field trip to Germany. All I could think of, until we were safely on the ground, was how that kind of thing was usually the lead on news stories about plane crashes. (Yikes!)

I got back home safely, though. Kitty-mon was happy to see me return, and we were both grateful I had the next day off. ;-)

All in all, a good trip!

I always have such good intentions when it come to posting after trips. Finally, here we go!

Our panel this year was on Friday, July 2, so I flew out late on Thursday afternoon, just in case there were any last-minute issues. As I headed out the door to the airport, my assistant — who is also one of the world’s greatest cat and house sitters — asked me, “Aren’t you going to take your camera?”

Honestly, I hadn’t thought about it because I always feel funny taking pictures of people I don’t know. What am I going to take pictures of? The room?

I took the camera and was glad I did.

The hotel — a J.W. Marriott that had only been open a couple months — was really something!

Rather than having a plush-but-kind-of-generic interior, this place was decked out in a mash-up of Asian and mid-century modern design — from the architecture all the way through the finer details of the guest rooms.

It’s the kind of room I know I wouldn’t be able to live in for any length of time, but for a homebase over the weekend (and for fun), it was just right. Plus, there were bright and funky colors, which put me in a good mood. ;-)

Friday at Anime Expo was a ZOO, and I wonder if someone in programming intentionally crammed most of the industry panels onto the one day. From 8 a.m. onward until late that night, I was either meeting with contacts or attending other companies’ presentations.

Our mid-afternoon session was very well received. We unveiled the first trailers for the original Dirty Pair TV series and Antique Bakery, in addition to announcing the dates for several other upcoming projects. (And the Antique trailer, in particular, got a loud cheer from the crowd! Yay!)

I’ll go into it more over at Aligator Pop, but we also had two announcements…

The first was a newer series, Sora no Woto. The title can be translated as “Sound of the Sky,” and it is an alternate-reality, science-fiction tale that takes place during the final months of a long-running war. If you loved ARIA‘s cast of characters — and are/were a musician — I think there’s a high chance you’ll find a lot to like about this series.

The second announcement was our acquisition of the rights to the Revolutionary Girl Utena television series. Utena has been out of print for entirely too long, and we’ll be releasing it using the remastered footage from the recent Japanese DVD release. It’s also a personal favorite, since it was one of the first anime series I purchased for myself… on VHS, no less!

The remaster looks AMAZING! Just check out the opening credits trailer. It sure doesn’t look like a series that first aired in 1997!

Whew! The past week was nuts, which meant no blogging for me! Why was it so crazy? It was the annual trek to Anime Expo (AX) in Los Angeles, California.

It’s one of the biggest anime (Japanese animation) conventions in the United States, and I made the trip this year because my workplace had plans to announce the licenses for two new series. It’s exciting stuff, but it also involves a lot of prep work — whether I happen to be attending the show in person or not!

I’ll post more about the trip and, uh, high jinks, but today’s post is dedicated to two things.

1. Kitty-mon behaved in an uncharacteristically un-monster-like fashion and was nice to her cat sitter (C)… even agreeing to come downstairs and sit by her. Of course, then Kitty-mon started talking at C, who went upstairs to get cat treats and then came back to find a stripey cat hunkered down on my desk chair. You see, Kitty-mon wanted C to move so she could sit there instead. Isn’t she sweet? (Not really!! *laugh*  >^..^<)
2. After wearing dress shoes and/or boots for the entirety of the weekend — I need every extra inch I can get! — it was nice to wear sneakers to work. Aren’t they a lovely shade of Gator orange?

Until the next time!

Finally! This is the weather I LOVE — hot and sunny! Now, some people who know me well will probably call foul regarding this statement, but I’ll counter that a.) I didn’t fully appreciate the warm weather when I lived down South, and b.) there’s always air conditioning. As you can see above, there is someone else who’s been enjoying these days. ☼

After so many months shivering — even indoors with the heat turned on(!) — it’s nice to be able to work up a sweat when I exercise and to feel the condensation on the outsides of my drinks. Then there’s the sunlight, itself. Even if you’re indoors, when it’s bright outside, things seem to fall into place a bit more quickly.

There’s only one drawback: It’s time to break out the self-tanner. This isn’t so much to actually get tan. I’m so pale that, depending on the light, my skin is transparent, and my veins sometimes show through to the extent that it looks like someone drew on my arms and legs with a marker. The current tanner seems to be doing the trick, though!

I just finished up my morning workout. Don’t be too impressed, though: a.) I exercise in front of the TV to concert DVDs; and b.) I do it to compensate for potential bad behavior, like the eclair fest we have planned for today in honor of my assistant’s birthday.

The most important reason — which gets its own paragraph — is that I’m getting older and feel like I should do things while I still can. It’s OK, as long as I don’t come across as one of those adults who tries too hard to be younger than she is. Although… I suspect my use of the phrase “one of those adults” pretty much means I’m not “one of those adults.” Ha! ;-)

I dig this shirt, but it has a bit of an identity crisis. It kind of looks like one of the ubiquitous floral shirts that you see all over Florida. However, if I’m remembering correctly, it was part of the “safari” collection the year I bought it. Perhaps, they were really thinking “Bahamian” or “Caribbean”?

Here, in the landlocked Midwest, I don’t get the chance to wear it all that often. So when the temperature creeps up into the 90s — like it did today — I make a point of breaking it out. And now I’m in the mood for a mojito. ☼

I have a love-frustration relationship with the daylily plant outside my front door. On one hand, the flowers are pretty. On the other, they… well… only last a few hours. And often, I miss them blooming entirely because I’m working inside! ^-^;

When I do have the chance to see them, though, the flowers’ bright, sunny yellow cheers me up, even after a rough day.

I’m very easily influenced, but in this case, it’s a good thing.

When I first moved here, I used to see all sorts of wildlife — but mostly little brown rabbits — on my patio. Kitty-mon’s constant lurking in the window put a stop to that. >^..^<

However, every once in a great while, a brave little critter will set foot on my property. My vistor a couple days ago was this little chipmunk. Isn’t he/she cute?

Brave chipmunk!

Work’s been crazy busy. :)

I’ve been feeling crazy sick — and even went to the doctor. (Gasp!) :(

Kitty-mon, however, is feeling much better and has already had her stitches removed. >^..^<

The first non-Japanese or Korean music I’ve purchased this year was a bunch of George Michael tracks… from 15 years ago. ♫

I’m glad the weather is becoming hot and (relatively) humid again. ☼

I’m still kind of wiped out so I’m glad this work week is only four days. (Even though we all know I always end up working from home, too.) ;-)