7/7/1997 The Return (as told by the UGAnime mascot, Oni-chan) |
It all ended on July seventh, nineteen ninety seven. I woke up in my hotel room totally depressed. No more dealers' room, no more video awards, and no more cosplay for this lil' Oni. I slowly got cleaned and dressed and dragged myself down to Carl's Jr. for the last time (Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!). One last Egg, Bacon and Cheese biscuit, and then it was off to Georgia again. It was around ten o'clock when I got down to the restaurant and I noticed something strange. It seemed to only be raining in the parking lot of the strip joint next to Carl's. As I got closer, I saw that a rain machine was being used for a scene in a movie!!! Cool, huh? I asked a guy who's job it was to get the donuts (I want me that job ^_^) what movie was filming. It must have been the twenty-thousandth time he heard it because he growled at me that it was a Nicolas Cage film called City of Angels. I growled back (way meaner I might add) "Thanks a bunch, pal!" and proceeded to watch the filming with the rest of the spectators. It went something like this: Nic appears to be saying good-bye to someone who is already sitting in a big moving van and they drive away (the cops had to regulate traffic for the van to pull away and make a loop to get back into place for them to try it again). They did the scene three times while I was there, and then they did it without Cage, and with (what I thought was) a bulldog in the front seat, focusing in on the dog. Pretty cool!! Uga would have been jealous if he wasn't already in that Eastwood flick about Savannah. After I saw the takes with the dog a few more times I went inside Carl's for my meal. When I was done I went out and watched them film again hoping that I would be able to see Cage again. I really wish that I hadn't used up all of my film before! This would have been so cool to have pictures of. It was then when I noticed the time - It was a little after 11:50a.m.!!!! Caca grande! My plane left at 12:35p.m. and I still had to pack and check out!!!!!!!
On the short trip back to LAX, I rode with a bunch of other con-goers heading home. They showed me all the cool stuff that they bought, and I showed them my wall scrolls (keeping the Mega Poster out of sight and out of touch) and CDs. They commented on how the con could have been better, but I stood up for it and told them how many cons I had been to, and how for the huge crowd that AX97 had unexpectedly had that the con-runners did a very good job of keeping things going. They backed down and I smiled. I jumped out of the bus at the Delta terminal and threw the last of the money at the driver (I figured I might as well make it an even ZERO in the Rossman's wallet) for actually dropping me off in the airport (he was a bad driver, but he was speedy). As fast as I could I ran to the counter, well, actually the long line behind the counter, and waited impatiently. I kept my eyes on the clock. It was 12:25p.m.! Yikes! I pushed everybody out of the way and explained that if I didn't get on my plane I would have to wait for the next one, and I wouldn't be happy, and I would stay with them until the next flight!!!!! That one seemed to do the trick. They got me going (with extra frequent flyer miles too) really fast. I got my boarding pass and ran for the gate. I was the last one to board. Whew. I made it. I didn't care that the old lady I sat next to was more annoying than the one on the arriving flight, just as long as she didn't touch my Mega Poster! The inflight movie was Shiloh. Ughh. I was too tired to pay attention and I fell asleep within a matter of minutes.
The plane landed and I checked my poster - not the slightest hint of a fold^_^ I had done it! The Mega Poster would stay perfect forever!! I went down to the baggage claim and got my suitcase. It was then when they saw me. Mulder and the MegaPlayboy were waiting for me to return and they had staked out the airport! Damn them! They each quickly grabbed me as I was in too much of a shock to provide them with a struggle. I hung my head in tired pity as we started off......back to my cold and dark cell. It was at that point that I noticed that my suitcase was moving. Mulder noticed too. He bent down and undid the latches to open it and out came the Rossman gasping for air. I guess he was just in a coma, go figure. He then commandeered all of my anime souvenirs and scolded me for not buying the Evangelion: Death CD. That was enough of that! I attacked. I couldn't believe that he would question my taste in anime muzak! As the MegaPlayboy and Mulder seperated us, I calmed down. They led us to the UGAnimobile and drove me back to Stalag 13. The only thing on my mind during the entire ride was a plan to escape for AX1998.
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