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Warning: Beware length & feels
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SIN-HKG-LAX-San Diego - 11 July 2012
It's so surreal. I'm going to Comic Con. It's like, not real. Seriously not real.
I can't believe our luck! What started as a mere, Bro going to USA for summer exchange, asked him if he wanted to stay on for comic con & becoming actually getting tickets & booking & paying for flights & hotels to really going to go now. My gods! SURREAL!
A few hours to my flight and still I don't feel it.
Got to the airport again after sending The Mother and 4yi off 2 days earlier. Checked in quickly and had a chicken pie at polar puffs coz goddamn the smells are nice.
Went in and walked around a bit. Transit area is transit area is transit area. Bummed around the bookstore until it's near the time to board. Got through quickly too.
On flight to HKG, tried my best not to watch too much stuff. Gonna save it up for the next long long leg. So started reading that fic I saved but during a difficult manoeuvre, accidentally hit read and couldn't get it back to read in on womo. Damnit. I'm such a dumbass. Luckily there's the super unstable sexy and I can still read it after restarting it every other few scrolls.
Had to rush from one end of the HKG terminal to the other end for the connecting flight. Gods damn it. Good thing I only have a backpack.
On flight to LAX, continued reading fic. Watched a few videos, started watching Once Upon a Time. Surprisingly strong female characters. Not sure if it's by-product of show based on fairytales or *snort* executive decision. Prince Charming gets thrown around and hurt a lot though. Charming... Josh Dallas... OMG HE'S FANDRAL!
Also watched 2 Kim Possible eps. This flight is just filled with kickass women innit? Lol...
Got to LAX, queued to get out, hell of a queued to get passport chopped, queued to get luggage, queued to get out. Gods damn it. Bad start already.
Got out, found the FlyAway bus easily. Got to Union Station and paid. Got out to buy Amtrak tix to San Diego (Old Town) and had to wait 3 hours for that train. I coulda taken the one to San Diego (Downtown) but I'll needa get back up to Old Town again. Train got delayed so reached 1-1.5h later than expected. Sigh...
Took the trolley to Mission Valley and got lost so took it back to Union Station. Took the bus 88 to Hotel Circle South and had to cross the bridge to Hotel Circle North. Met some nice folks who lives around there who had went to the preview night. Guy had a Cap A shield! Woman's one of those Anime shop exhibitors. Cool. Cool cool cool.
Bro got driven by his friend from Anaheim to the hotel. He's looking tanned. Whee...
Washed up and the day is done! The fight continues tomorrow!
~~~~~
SDCC Day 1 - 12 July 2012
7.30am Crazy queue for badge. Went round the front, went round the back, went round the marina, looped back from the marina, and back round the back and up the front. Gods... Is this how it's gonna be everyday?! I got 1 pass, bro got 3.
Hit the exhibit hall! We're too late! Funko line super full. Loki sold out! OMG SADNESS. Got some sweet photo of the Marvel booth. Swag from Dark Horse! Lotsa cosplay people! So many people! I cannot imagine how Sat or Sun will be like. Gods...
Queued for Ballroom 20. Psych panel at 2.15pm. Didn't know if can get in coz dunno Ballroom 20's capacity but managed to get in quite fine. Good seats. Funny people. TIM OMUNDSON IS AWESOME!!!!! James Roday is quite restrained. No, not Henry! He won't die, will he?! T_T So much behind the scenes in-joke explained. So funny!! Boom from the bottom, bottom. XD
Bro was at Room 6BCF for the Blizzard panel at 2.15pm. Wasn't as great as he thought it would be but he got to sit for Assassin's Creed next at 3.30pm. I rushed over to join him as soon as I can but only managed to get in after they showed the Con exclusive clip during the Q&A. The panel's moderator & the AC creative director were so good that made him wanna play it too. XD
Went to the exhibit hall again and bro saw Hasbro people wheel out the Helicarriers and stuff. People were queueing for them in the morning when we pick up the badge! OMG I went into the queue & got it! Bought some other stuffs too.
Lugged it around to Room 11AB to queue for the 7pm Inside the Voice Actor's Studio with Chris Borders & Fred Tatasciore (who reminds me of 袁惟仁). Bro recognized special guest Steve Blum! He was right beside us! OMG fangasms... They are hilarious! Some of the attendees who got to do a short character read through were quite good. Some, not so much.
Went to get a Hard Rock tshirt for uncle Cody and went to the Hard Rock Cafe a couple of streets down to have dinner. Yums. And woah the plate size. I can't finish a lot of my stuff. Bro can. He's well trained for the past few months. D:
Summary of the day: I didn't get my Funko Loki but I got the Helicarrier & Star Wars octagon & Marvel figurines & my missing Funko Red Skull & some other stuffs so all in all, good first day.
~~~~~
SDCC Day 2 - 13 July 2012
1st thing in the morning, Funko queue. Got in without much incident. Went into the booth. Saw guy clear out the whole shelf of Lokis. WTF man... that's like at least 20! I could've gotten it! My heart broke, seriously. FRIGGING SAD AND ANGRY!!!! RAWR!!! Bought the Spidey one instead. GODDAMNIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Totally no mood for the day seriously. I don't wanna leave Comic Con w/o Funko Loki! D:
Bro was at the stupid queue at 8pm when we arrive for Ballroom 20. We came too late. No one gonna leave the room until after Firefly. FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU--!! There was Community at 10am (I wanna watch!), Legend of Korra at 11.15am (I'm interested to see what the fuss is all about), Firefly 10yr Anniversary!!! at 12.30pm (HOMG FOR ALL THINGS UNHOLY). Not a good start to my day. All the cheering of the Firefly fans... They are breaking my heart further. F!
Finally got in to the Bones panel at 1.45pm. Some questions about Buffy & Angel & Joss Whedon. Oh gods... *single tear of sadness*
During the Arrow panel at 3pm, I snucked out to go over to the Funko booth to see if I can get anyone to help me keep 1 or 2 Loki so I can queue and pick them up tomorrow or something. No one of authority around but guy told me to come back in an hour to speak with Brian. So I popped over to get some Lego. 3 out of 5 sets! Woot!
During the EW kickass women at 4.15pm, I snucked out again to try to catch the owner but he'd left! Spoke with Dave and told him I'm in kind of an awkward situation and have a desperate wish and coming all the way from Singapore, I really don't wanna leave the con without a Loki and that I've been here for the past 2 days since 6.30am but they are always sold out before I get there. I didn't even get a chance to tell him my proposal and Dave offered up his Loki to me! MY GODS... MY SATISFACTION, ACHIEVED! MY GODS... THE GRATITUDE I HAVE FOR THE GUY!
Went back to the panel & kinda regretted not staying on but not really. XD But there's Kristin Bauer van Straten, Sarah Wayne Callies, Kristin Kreuk, Nikki Reed, Anna Torv & Lucy Lawless!! XENA IS HERE!! She and Kristin Bauer van Straten are hilarious and shared a lot of private jokes. Lol... Sarah Wayne Callies and Anna Torv are such do-gooders! Kristin Kreuk and Nikki Reed are quite quiet.
Next up at 5.30pm is Joss Whedon. So excited about Much Ado About Nothing! Miffed about not getting into the Firefly panel still but it's Joss Whedon! I can't stay mad at him. Lol... I'ma gonna just stay mad at the con management people gods damn it.
Last up is Breaking Bad. I have the show but I haven't watched any of it so most of the panel flew by me. But it's
Left the con and got some pepperoni pizza at Ciro's pizzeria in Gaslamp District. Delicious. Scalding but delicious.
Summary for the day: FIRST HALF OF TODAY, I CAN GET NO SATISFACTION! LAST HALF OF THE DAY, I CAN HAS SATISFACTION!!!!! WOOT WOOT!!
~~~~~
SDCC Day 3 - 14 July 2012 (aka Faking it until we make it, Day 1)
Queued at 3am for Hall H. Queued in front of 2 girls from UK. Cool stuff. I wanted to see everything! Eek eek eek! We're going in! We're on the 2nd section! Aisle seats! Damn security standing and blocking the view of the panel... Grr...
11.30am Django Unchained looks awesome! The topic of slavery in the hands of Quentin Tarantino? With Jamie Foxx? And Christoph Waltz?! Already made up my mine to throw money at them before this panel but this panel made me wanna throw it at them more. XD Samuel L Jackson is the descendent of Jamie Foxx & Kerry Washington. It's official. XD
12.45pm Open Films - End of Watch looks interesting. Not sure what it's really about though. 2 cops? Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña being buddy buddy and being all serious when in times of need? The game CG footage looked impressive though. That really looked like the streets of LA.
Open Films - Silent Hill is oh gods freaky. Director Michael J. Bassett reminds me of Richard Branson in terms of his physical looks and voice and accent. Like seriously. The freaky nurse dolls reminds me of weeping angels. Guy on gurney is Jon Snow! Sean Bean is gonna be back in it! That's a right GoT reunion. XD
2.30pm OMG sonic screwdriver sounds! Chris Hardwick cosplaying as the Tenth! OMG! He's perfect!! <3 Lol... He's a great moderator too. Funny, knows how to turn an awkward pause into something hilarious.
WB & Legendary Pictures - Pacific Rim has awesome 3 panel screen! It also has so much EVA feels. It has Idris Elba, Ron Perlman & Charlie Day. Directed by Guillermo del Toro. Colour me intrigued. Awesome footages too!
WB & Legendary Pictures - Godzilla. Surprise footage 1! Woman beside me went completely bonkers when Godzilla appeared. I had a Blomkamp's District 9 feels when I saw the vid. Not big on Godzilla so meh.
WB & Legendary Pictures - The Campaign. Surprise footage 2! Oh my gods... Tears! Cramps! So funny! Will Ferrell & Zach Galifianakis stars, has Jason Sudeikis & Dylan McDermott too! Zach Galifianakis reminds me of Johnny Galecki looking like that during the panel. *_* Unfortunately, the audience Q&A leaves much to desire.
WB & Legendary Pictures - Man of Steel. Zach Snyder & Henry Carvill. Zach Snyder is not a good interviewee. Henry Carvill is not comfortable with the crowd. But video has Russell Crowe as Jor-El! And Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent! But still not that big a Superman fan so meh.
WB & Legendary Pictures - The Hobbit. Ooo... I love them behind the scenes footages! I've seen those posters before! Everyone is going crazy over Orlando Bloom Elf Legolas but I'm more interested in his father. EEK LEE PACE!! WHERE BE THRANDUIL IN COSTUME?!
6pm Marvel - Vids & updates
Phase 1 recap vid is awesome! Wow... They've come a long way huh... SDCC 2006-2011!
Phase 2 begins! Ooo... Iron Man 3, Thor 2, Cap A 2, Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant Man, Avengers 2 ?
Thor: The Dark World out 08 Nov 2013! ALKSDFJLA;SKDFJ;ALSD YYYYEEEEEESSSSSSSSS!!! ZACH LEVI IS FANDRAL!!
Captain America 2: The Winter's Soldier out 04 Apr 2014! BUCKY!!!
Guardians of the Galaxy out 01 Aug 2014. I want Doug Jones in there somewhere. XD
Marvel - Ant Man! Director Edgar Wright! Test footage looks great! Kinda like BAMF but with shrinkage--I mean growth--I mean... Argh. Lol... Can't wait to see what he's gonna make of this and The World's End with Simon Pegg & Nick Frost. Speaking of, Pegg as Ant Man anyone?
Marvel - Iron Man 3! So, it has come to this. Self assembling force-of-will summoning Iron Suit. Funny stuff. Ben Kingsley *is* The Mandarin!
RDJ *IS* TONY STARK!!!!!
Let me show you his entrance. <3 this man!
Obligatory show plugs (Revolution, House of Lies & LMFAO Captain Planet)!
Pepper Potts & the Rescue Suit!
Suit up: Don Cheadle, 30min. RDJ, 3min. (Racism!) Fan in Iron Man Suit, 5min. Don Cheadle mocks walks off! LOL!
D'aww... No alcoholism story arc. Rats.
And so we left. Sorry Kevin Smith. We needa get up early tomorrow. Them Doctor Who fans are crazy!
Summary of the day: My gods, I didn't wanna have any expectations when I walk into Hall H but this blew me outta the waters! Excellent!! So many movies to look forward to!
...But Marvel, what about Doctor Strange? Luke Cage? Ironfist? Deadpool?
~~~~~
SDCC Day 4 - 15 July 2012 (aka Faking it until we make it, Day 2)
Queue for Hall H at 2.30am. Queued in front of a girl who shares a lot of bro's predilections. They had a nice long chat. I was on coffee & breakfast burritos run. Every time I'm outta the queue, they move the line. Gods... For the past few days already. Grr... But we got there pretty early and got pretty good seats. Slightly better than yesterday's. Aisle seats still and only 1 tall and bald security guy blocking our view.
10am Fringe final season. We get fedora hats! Like the Observers! And realized we haven't watched the previous season yet but oh so much feels. Most touching scene belonged to Astrid, with Jasika Nicole, Anna Torv & (!!) Lance Reddick dropping tears! John Noble was hilarious! Joshua Jackson will forever be Pacey.
Why did I know that blonde long haired girl will be Olivia & Peter's kid? Why?!
I hope they treat that season well coz srsly? Time skip? I'm cautiously raising my hopes for no screw-ups.
Ooo... The 3 fem!Observer fans are creepy but funny at the same time. Those stares are unholy. D:
11.15am Supernatural I wasn't expecting to be entertained this much by them, truth be told but here it is.
Exec Producer Ben Edlund reminds me of The Dude, Jeff Bridges. He even looks & sounds like him! *_*
Mark A Sheppard can do no wrong. That man is awesome! XD
I will pay good money to watch "Oh, Crowley" where Mark Sheppard sing & dance a lot. I will.
Bobby! Will he came back?!
Oh gag reel! I'm dying!!
After this panel, maybe I should start catching up huh. lol...
Bro disappeared earlier this panel & came back just in time for the gag reel. He also bought 4th set of Lego that I wanted. I guess I could just get the last set back in Singapore. Meh...
12.30am Doctor Who
Chris Hardwick is back! No cosplay though. Although he did start us off with him bumping into Matt Smith while dressed as the Tenth yesterday. Awkwaaaard~ XD
Arthur Darvill's first & last con for Doctor Who eh? Too bad I was stuck in Hall H yesterday. Would've been great to go for the tumblr meet up... Ah well. C'est la vie. You win some, you lose some.
"You're turning me into you..." Oh gods... not that one! Not the one that parallels Rose & Tenth! GAH THE FEELS!!!
Western! Originating from the USA. Taken to Italy & evolved into Spaghetti Western! And brought back to USA! And now, Doctor Who will shoot a Western in...? Spain. LOL!!
"Are you an alien" "Well--" Yes. Yes he is. Lol!
Arthur doing an impression of Karen. Well done. Of course, I have him doing the audiobook so I know he can do it. XD He does a good 11th too actually.
Karen doing an impression of Arthur. Coz he's all sorts of bumbly. Lol!
Chris Hardwick would like the Doctor to figure out the time loop from Bill Murray’s film Groundhog Day. That *is* a good one. I applaud you, good sir.
I can't believe I finally felt the excitement of Comic Con on my very last video during my very last panel. OMG SQUEE!!!!!
Dinosaurs in Space! Rupert Graves being an adventurer type guy! Unflappable Williamses, Rory & Brian! <3
And that's it! Bro's gonna hit the floor for last minute purchases. I'm going to hop on over to the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel to pick up a rental so we can drive up to Legoland on Monday & then up to LA where we will spend my last day in.
50% off Dark Horse books! Breaking my back right there. D:
Summary of the day: All 3 panels we sat through today was awesome! Touching, funny & super duper excited about it. Can't wait! AAAAAAhhhhh!!!
Summary of the whole SDCC trip: Even though there were a lot of things to do and things to see and things to buy and things to get, I got what I came for and I *can* get my satisfaction! I can return happy! XD
Also would like to complain about the lack of free wifi & minibar at the hotel. The con's wifi is spotty at best too.
~~~~~
Legoland California & Premium Outlet, Carlsbad - 16 July 2012
HOMG WE'RE GOING TO LEGOLAND! OMG THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING!!! We got our tourist on like crazy. Didn't wanna go queue for the rides so we just went round taking pictures of them Lego statues. Spent most of the day in Miniland. Gods, the attention to details. I really wish I could take apart Grand Central Station layer by layer. So much to see! So much going on in there! *_*
Bought some mystery minifigs and wanted to get the Viking lady with her buckle shield and sword but didn't so we traded an extra Poseidon for the Viking lady without her buckle shield and sword. Ah well...
Bro wanted to buy 2 more big Legos but they just came to collect the empty boxes so I'll have no way to carry them back so we didn't buy them. Cursed timing. D:
Premium Outlet is right beside Legoland so when we're done, we went over to take a look coz I've not been to one before. It's a buncha branded shops clustered together and unless I'm in a shopping mood, there really isn't much to see. But the stuffs are really cheap. If only my bag weren't so full already. Tempted to get a bigger case though...
Stopped by Cheesecake Factory at Mission Viejo on our way up to LA.
My gods... the portions! Had the Shrimp & Chicken Gumbo with brown rice. Delicious. Original cheesecake. Also delicious. But gods... how do they condition their stomachs to stuff everything down?! Bro had lotsa practice! D:
(Turns out, there is a Lego shot in The Shops at Mission Viejo! Bro coulda gotten his stuff there! Maybe they'd have boxes too! Oh gods... Missed moment of glory.)
We get wifi & minibar at this shoddy hotel for 1 night?! WHAT IS THIS FUCKERY, CROWNE PLAZA MISSION VALLEY SAN DIEGO?! Y U NO GIF WIFI & MINIBAR WHEN WE THERE FOR 5 DAYS!?
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WB Studio Tour & Madame Tussauds, Los Angeles - 17 July 2012
Bright and early, got bro to drive me down to WB Studio Gate 6 for the tour coz it's a way away from where we are staying the night. It was great! Guide guy had lotsa trivia and we made his day by being fans of Chuck and Pushing Daisies. We're also a small group so we got through stuffs quickly. Bought a lot of tshirts at the WB store even though my bag is packed nearly to brim. BUT I REGRET NOTHING!
Got back by midday, dropped by the nearby In-and-Out Burger and IT'S DELICIOUS! OMG IT'S SO GOOD! I can see the guy in the kitchen sticking a huge peeled potato into a slicer and out popped uncooked french fries! Deep fried on the spot! OMG SO GOOOOOOD!!! After we are fed and watered, we walked over to Hollywood Boulevard a block away and hit Madame Tussauds. Lotsa derp pics and cool pics of wax figures. Finish taking pictures of everyone there and it's about time to leave for the airport.
Did a short walk up and down the boulevard but it was getting crowded coz they closed the pavement before Mann's Chinese Theater coz there's the premier of Step Up or some dance movie going on.
It was... underwhelming. And it was about time to return the car. So we went back to the hotel to pick up the car and left for LAX.
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LAX-HKG-SIN - 19 July 2012
Needed to return car to LAX by 3.30pm so left LA around then and lugged our luggages to the terminals. Lucky for us, Cathay's terminal and Virgin America's terminal are real close.
Camped out at a nice shady corner. Asked how much the overweight charge is USD$100 for anything between 50-70lb (~23-32kg) and oversized luggage is USD$150 for anything more than l+w+h=62". Strange measurement system but who am I to question the wisdom of the aviation society.
So my giant Helicarrier will definitely be charged.
My remaining 2 boxes of toys weighed in at 17kg+ so I'm left with 5kg+ of stuffs. Did some crazy repacking and got them down to ~23kg so I'm gonna just pay for the oversized $150. Still had to carry a backpack full of books, a Timbuk2 messenger bag full of fragile goods and a Diesel tote full of heavy jeans and a huge ass Mass Effect art book.
Checked in early into LAX, was surprised by how quickly I cleared everything TSA. Sat around and dozed til boarding. Maybe it wasn't such a great idea to choose the back of the plane seeing as I hafta bump my way through Business Class and all the Peasant Class seats.
Got to finish the rest of the Once Upon a Time videos but kinda fell asleep during The Sheriff/Huntsman-centric ep.
Disembarked at HKG, bumbled my way through another airport security check and back to waiting. This time, I have 2 hours. Good thing there was wifi. Got some fics up and read them on the plane back to SIN. Rewatched the Sheriff's ep and some other videos. Started Cap A late so couldn't finish it but a revelation came to me while watching--Stanley Tucci is Dr. Abraham Erskine & Toby Jones is Dr. Arnim Zola on opposite sides in Captain America and Stanley Tucci is Dr. Abraham Erskine & Toby Jones is Dr. Arnim Zola besides each other in The Hunger Games.
Waited til almost everyone left before disembarking. Heavy heavy heavy. Bought a Macallan on the way out and spotted my boxes straight away while everyone else was still looking for theirs. Almost missed my duffel but it's right besides so grab! They offloaded the oversized Helicarrier so I transferred my stuff over to that trolley and got out post haste.
Dad already saw me and was at the exit and we left for home. Whew... the humidity and the oppressive air before the storm.
Got back, took pix of all my barang barang. Took pix of what's inside each of my barang barang. And then realized I don't have the camera cable to transfer pictures. Will hafta go dig for a card reader soon.
But first, classes and assignments.
I'm so screwed.
D:
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Generally speaking, I'm not the type who likes main characters (some exceptions of course).
Even as a child, I liked Raphael & Gambit & Wakko & The Count & Gargarmel & Xanatos & Hexadecimal etc. more than the main character.
But I never thought it would apply to real life until one day while talking to my brother about our Secondary School Social Studies and how I really felt bad for William Farquhar because everyone is hyping about how Stamford Raffles founded Singapore and stuff. Sure, Raffles founded Singapore but he buggered off and dump the building and developing to Farquhar and sacked the man for not following his plan after coming back after a couple of years (even though Farquhar was doing the best he could in that situation coz no amendments to plans are ever needed during execution phase yea?).
Despite his significant contribution to the early development of Singapore, not much is known and remembered of him by the locals. Even the little street named in his memory is gone.
It's the opium isn't it? It must be.
*single tear of sadness*
I remember you, Farquhar! I remember you!!
~~~~~
And now for something completely different
So, Thor 2.
Some big shit's gonna befall Asgard (Thanos & the Infinity Gauntlet?) and they need Loki to help get them out of said shit--as always (even in the Norse mythology, Loki is either the guy who caused the shit storm or the guy who gets them out of shit storms). Odin sends Thor to Midgard/Earth to retrieve Loki (flashback sequence of The Avengers). Thor takes Loki back, they fight
Until the next time the God of Mischief is up to no good.
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