Anime NYC 2023 Adventures

"The final convention of the year is finally here!
And what's the first step? Well, we start preparing three weeks in advance, back in September. We work tirelessly to package everything up and make sure it's all ready to go when the time comes.
Fast forward two weeks later, I just returned from an amazing trip to Japan. Despite being jet lagged and having hopped on a plane at midnight from California, I was overflowing with excitement and ready to dive right in. We landed in New York at 10 am and my team of two made a beeline for the Javit Convention Center. Little did I realize, I was still operating on Japan time!
To my surprise, when we arrived at the convention center, nothing was set up. There were boxes scattered everywhere and the banners were just being hung up. But here's the kicker - we had actually arrived a day early! Today was the 16th and the setup was planned for the 17th. The staff jokingly asked, 'Are you on Japan time?' I couldn't help but laugh out of sheer bewilderment and replied, 'Yeah, I guess so!'"

Ah, what a rollercoaster of an adventure! Let me tell you about the predicament we found ourselves in. Picture this: my prearranged helper from New Jersey was making the one-hour drive to New York, carrying all six of my enormous boxes. But here's the catch - we had nowhere to store them! The convention didn't allow us to leave our boxes anywhere because they weren't prepared for any booth setups. Before going home, and call it a day. We set up a storage place near by so that at least we can put the boxes down and explore NY a bit.

Dawn of the Next Day…THE 17th!

Second day try. Lets do this one more time.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the moment we had all been waiting for arrived. We quickly set up all of boxes forklifted in front of us. It got dark before we knew it. The convention was about to close, but we mostly set up what we could after opening up boxes. So we went home and slept our jet lagg off.

The convention starts the next day!
but we got our coffee ready, and was going to go to the head strong.

The convention started off chaotically, but ended with a wholesomeness. We had a good show, and signed up for next year.

So see you guys all over again in 2024!

Bright and early, our day kicked off as we finally got our hands on those coveted badges. With a sense of anticipation coursing through our veins, we hopped into a nearby storage place. Everything seemed to fall effortlessly into place, thanks to the efficient staff who ensured a seamless transition. Although it took about an hour to reach the loading dock, our spirits remained high after napping in the car.