The AX Report 2003

by Xoth, Master of Black Magic

Day 0: Goddamn Cell Phones

    On July 2, I got out of bed at about 4:30am CST.  My flight from O’Hare Airport to Los Angeles International was departing at 10, so I hoped to get to the airport by at least 8:30.  I assumed an hour and a half would be enough time to check in, negotiate whatever heightened security there was, and make it to my gate with plenty of time.  Of course, that doesn’t explain why I was getting up four hours in advance; what does is the fact that I live three hours away from Chicago.  My dad and I left the house just before 5 and started the long drive north, braving Chicago’s morning rush hour and several toll booths, and finally arriving at the World’s Busiest Airport™ just around quarter past 8.  Not bad, if I say so myself.
 

But I’ll tell you what was bad.  As I mentioned in the intro, many of us in the group had planned to bring cell phones, even me, and I didn’t even own one at the time.  My brother did, though, and he agreed to let me borrow it for the trip.  I hadn’t even thought to ask him until my sister—the one who lives in California and with whom I visited at AX ’01—suggested it, since we were planning on meeting up once again this time.  A couple days before the trip, my brother handed over the phone and the charger.  Because I had once broken a wristwatch by keeping it in my backpack, I didn’t pack up the phone but instead left it on the stand next to my bed, with my wallet and my (new) watch.  Now you have to keep in mind here two things about this situation.  1) I was not used to waking up in the morning, getting dressed, and grabbing a cell phone before heading out the door.  2) I was getting up at freaking 4 o’clock in the morning; I think that should explain to anyone why I wouldn’t be at my sharpest.  So it came to pass that about 20 minutes after leaving Peoria I suddenly remembered my brother’s cell phone still lying merrily beside my bed.  And that, children, is the story of how I managed to screw up before I even left my house.     Thankfully though I didn’t have to dwell on what an idiot I was, as O’Hare kept me busy with self-service check-in, security measures, and so on.  The flight was mostly uneventful (not that that’s a bad thing), except for a fly-over of the Grand Canyon, which had many people leaning over their seatmates to look out the windows.  I arrived in LA, got my bags, and called home since I hadn’t written down my sister’s cell phone number. (My brother had programmed it into his phone so I wouldn’t have to write it down.  Heh.)  After getting it I called her and arranged for her to pick me up.  Soon she and her boyfriend arrived, and then we were off to Anaheim.

Me, upon realizing that  I’m a grade-A fuckup.

    When we got to the Marriott about an hour later, I checked in and the three of us lugged my stuff up to our room.  Already present were Lorinan, SadSiren, and Bahamut; we exchanged introductions all around, and then spent a while fooling around with Bahamut’s shiny new laptop.  Originally I planned to drop my stuff off and go sightseeing with my sister (and her boyfriend), but then the others told me they were about to head to registration.  I had figured we’d end up regging sometime that evening, as I was unaware it was opening at 4.  So, quick change of plans: I’d go reg with the others, and afterwards my sister (and her boyfriend) would pick me up for dinner.  She also loaned me her cell phone so I could contact them via her boyfriend’s phone.  With our plans in place, I left for the first group outing of AX ’03.
 

I believe the non-paid pre- reg line ended here.

Of course, plenty of people had already lined up by the time we made the trek across the street to the Hilton.  And it turns out there were more lines this time.  I sent in a payment with my registration, but apparently this year there was a way to register without sending payment.  So after waiting in the big initial line for a few minutes, I was sent to a line for paid pre-registered attendees, while the others ended up in the non-paid pre-reg line.  Of course, both lines were already quite long.  I couldn’t quite tell how long, since they snaked back and forth across the hall, and thus I couldn’t tell where each line started.  Heck, I couldn’t even tell which line was which.  All I knew was that I was now surrounded by total strangers instead of standing in line with...one person I barely knew, and two I had just met.  Well, anyways, the atmosphere was still fairly calm, though tinged with excitement, so I was able to relax (a little) and wait.  And soon enough the lines began moving.

    Registration itself was fairly uneventful for me.  I did elicit a squeal of glee from one fan, due to the plushie-Totoro keychain hanging from my backpack, but otherwise nothing noteworthy.  I exited the registration hall with my badge and the traditional AX bag o’ ads, and proceeded to wait for the others.  And wait.  And wait.  I looked back into the reg hall a few times.  And then I continued waiting.  I walked around the entrance area a few times, looking for familiar faces; still nothing, so I continued waiting.  I even went downstairs and walked around the atrium a couple times, then hurried back up to the hall and waited some more.  You might think I’d be a bit worried at that point.  No, in fact, I was actually on the verge of total panic.  I had no idea what was going on or what to do next.  Then I remembered my sister’s cell phone.  It took me several tries to figure out how to actually dial phone numbers, and several more to figure out where to stand so that the signal actually got picked up.  Finally, I got through to Bahamut’s cell phone—and he didn’t answer.  Must not have heard the rings.  So I tried again; still nothing.  One more time...and he picked up!  Amazingly, the others were still waiting in the unpaid pre-reg line, so I told Bahamut where I’d be waiting, signed off, and let out a sigh of relief.  Finally, they got through and we headed back.  Or rather they headed back, while I called up my sister.  I then went to dinner with her (and her boyfriend) while the others went to a pre-AX karaoke party.  Since they didn’t fill me in on how things went, I can only assume it wasn’t much of a party. ^_^

Note: Well, obviously I can’t say, since I wasn’t there.  I suppose I could have asked when they came back to the room, but as anyone who’s actually met me can attest to, I’m far less demanding in person than I am online. :)

[ Intro ]

Onward to:

[ Day 1 ]       [ Day 2 ]        [ Day 3 ]        [ Day 4+ ]        [ Miscellaneous ]

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