My triumphant return to AnimeNEXT started off inauspiciously. I had decided to buy a bunch of new accessories for my costume last minute, so understandably they arrived last minute, so therefore I ended up packing at the last minute--like Friday morning last minute. Then, when I went to walk up the avenue to get my hair straightened, sudden sharp pains in my ankle had me limping all the way there and all the way back. Finally, when I was dressed and had the car loaded and I was ready to go, my GPS wouldn't turn on. But I was determined. The lists I had made the previous week helped me pack quickly, I wrapped my ankle to the best of my ability (which ended up helping immensely), and I borrowed another GPS from my father (which of course prompted mine to start working again--has anyone else ever noticed that electronics seem to get jealous sometimes?) Despite some traffic off of the Williamsburg Bridge, I made fairly good time to my hotel.

After the shoot was over, Avi and I walked over to the line to pick up my badge--why is pre-registration always a longer wait than registration? Doesn't that defeat the purpose?-and we caught up on each other's lives, as even though we talk quite a bit on Facebook, I hadn't actually seen her since her wedding. We also ran into Junior from Refractor Productions, and since neither of us had a lot of pictures of the costumes we were wearing (we had each worn them only once before), we asked him if he'd be willing to do a small photoshoot with us, and set a time to meet later. The line moved quickly and smoothly, and of course time flies when you have company. After I had my badge, we decided to take a tour of first the Artist's Alley, where I broke my "no buying until Sunday" rule when I saw four pins I just HAD to have for all of the girls of OPIB, and then the Dealer's Room, where I splurged on some green tea Kit Kats to share with old friends I'd run into and new friends I'd meet. I also got to see Carrie in her booth, Athena's Wink, and give her a hug and say hi. Honestly, though, a lot of our walk was just Avi and I nudging each other and pointing out hilarious things we saw. (I had to talk her out of buying a "Herp" pin for herself and a "Derp" pin for me. I'm not sure why I did that now. Also a stuffed alpaca that she almost literally could have ridden to work, it was that huge.)

By this point it was getting close to the time we had agreed to meet Junior, so we made our way back to the entrance to the convention center--for some reason, we decided to sing Weird Al's "Everything You Know Is Wrong" as we went along. At any rate, I've met Junior before, of course, in fact it was the photos he took of Lady Terentia and I as Fuu and Umi that made me ask him to shoot Avi and me, but this was the first time we really got to talk, and I'm so glad we did, he's incredibly nice! I appreciate all of the photographers who are kind enough to take my picture, don't get me wrong, but some of them end up feeling more like friends than professional collaborators. (And of course, some become lifelong friends!) Avi looked absolutely gorgeous, and I can't wait to see Junior's shots.

I decided to leave around 9:30 or so, so the kids could fall asleep without hearing all of the grownup chatter downstairs (I remember that keeping me up, simmering with jealousy, when I was their age!) and so that I wouldn't be too tired, even though it was a short drive. I briefly thought about seeing if anything else was going on at the con, but considering I hadn't even unpacked yet, I decided it would be better use of my time to get settled in my hotel room, get my makeup off, and get a good night's sleep for the next day.