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Sunday, April 27th 2008

6:58 PM

RoMa Anniversary '08

  • Mood: Happy
RoMa: A combination of our old "signatures": Ro-chan & Ma-chan.
(It's also Italian for Rome)
Anniversary: 04.26.04
4th Year Anniversary
Destination: Little Tokyo (Our Old Stomping Ground)
Weather: Warm


Hey guys! We'd like to tell you guys of our amazing adventure of this year's Anniversary!

Errol: First, Maggie reached my house, and was ready to show off her new outfit!
While we have no picture of the full outfit, we do have a part of the clothing on film:

Errol: Her outfit was so brightly colored, it was amazing. It was really cute.
And I thought the shirt's little message was awf'ly sweet of her.

Maggie: i'd have to say my outfit was pretty cute! it included this shirt, a little yellow zip-up hoodie, wide dark pants, and little yellow-and-white-polka-dotted shoes (which gave me blisters)!

Errol: Maggie also gave me her presents during this time. She made me a Waddle Dee plushie (of which you'll see later), bought me a Vulpix plushie (I lost my old one years ago), and made me a cute little box (which has a brightly-drawn-cover of a scene in Kirby Super Star) with a sweet letter.  I wasn't going to show her my presents til' we got to Coco's.

To Coco's!
To Coco's we went!

Errol: Sadly, I never thought of taking pictures while we were there... but I can tell you what we did have! Mmmm... breakfast.
Maggie had the chicken fried steak, and I had the Lumberjack Stack!
But I took out the ham, added more sausages and added an extra egg for the scramble.

Maggie: and i traded the country potatoes for hash browns!

Errol: At this time, I gave her my present: a 15-page drawn comic of Big Dumb Puppy! An anniversary edition! I worked on it for 2 nights to make it perfect! And surely enough, it made her cry.

Maggie: correction "it made her cry every time she read it!" which i did re-read it about 15 times, and little tears would come up and i would feel all special and loved. my Honey is so shweet to me~!


Errol: Well, we headed back home because Maggie's plastic shoes were killing her! It kept blistering her heels, so we were going back to get her a band aid and another pair of shoes...

Maggie: they were black and went with my second outfit rather nicely! there were other components, but they cannot be revealed to the public!

Errol: While we were resting up, I got this picture of us, using our laptop computer:



Errol: Ain't it cute? Look! She made me a WaddleDoo! As you can see, she changed to her other outfit since she had to give up the yellow plastic shoes. This outfit was not as cute, but looked a lot cooler and pretty.

Maggie: more like "f---ing awesome!" anyways, yeah, that was my first attempt at making a 3-D plushie so be nice! i had actually had that planned for weeks but i didn't start making it until a few days before! it was also one of the few times where my crafts included glue! i knew it would look better, but i just hoped Darling wouldn't be too rough with him so he'd fall apart!


Errol: Well, we were off to Little Tokyo! Going there the only way we really know how: Via Metro Bus Line!


Errol: Yeah, there's metro subway train stations, but that's a lot more chaotic than it should be.
The ride was long, but comfortable.

Maggie: the buses going there were actually pretty nice! we took the 152 and then transferred to the 394! it took a really long time! and we passed by like 5 McDonalds! and a college prep school where Soshi's brother said they encouraged you to sell your soul to the Devil...  O.o that's weird...


Then we ended up at Little Tokyo! And this is where our adventure really begins!

Errol: Realize that this was a big thing for us, since we haven't been to Little Tokyo since Last Anniversary!

Maggie: which was a year ago! tee hee!

Errol: First we stopped at Marukai, our favorite little Japanese market, but sadly, I forgot to take pictures here...  So here's another picture!


Errol: Sadly, that's an out-dated photo... that was the old Marukai market... recently, it moved down Weller Court,  closer to the Starbucks. Since then, it has expanded, and looked more modern. Rather than just a small Japanese Market (as charming as that is).

Maggie: i was really sad that it lost most of it's quaint, home-town type feel, but i was more happy that it was doing so well


Errol: Well, you get the idea. Maggie got herself a melon-yogurt drink, and I got me a Starbucks Vanilla frappuccino... mmmm... yummy.

Maggie: ... why doesn't Sapporo make melon soda anymore!? it was the best! cool, melon-y, refreshing and just a slight milk-y flavor to bring it all together!

Errol: We then entered into weller court and found ourselves climbing the very familiar stairway...
The stairway we took to get to barbeque and noodle stores many times in the past, and the most favorite: The beloved-ly expensive bookstore... Kinokuniya!


Errol: Yeah, forgot to get a picture of the store, too... But not to worry, I got this picture of the bag! I gotta' tell ya' though, I love the place... but the prices are insane.
Import my @$$, it's cheaper on eBay, even with shipping and handling.
Nice stuff, though.

Maggie: T_T they didn't have any Lucky Star stuff (well, the stuff i wanted) yet, but i guess it's a good excuse to shop on eBay! Darling did, however, get me an amazing craft book that i will use forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever...

Next stop Jungle Anime!!!
Errol: Originally, I took a picture of the whole front of the store... but the sign was too blurry that I just trashed the pic. Look! It's Ultraman!
Now for those of you blasphemous otakus out there who don't know what Jungle Anime is... I would have to say that Jungle is LA's main anime store... not because they have a lot of stuff (which they do), but because they cater for the otaku-customer. If you cosplay, and it's good, you get pictured on their door... you go in through the doors and you're greeted by a woman's voice that's activated through the step-in mat. Figurines on your right, cheap (but good) stuff on the left, costumed-shows (Ranger, Masked, Ultra, and Godzillas) in the back, posters and merchandise in the center, and the long-glass counter full of DVDs on the left-wall. Not only that, but these guys have often set up shops in anime conventions.

...but wait! The place has changed! No longer is the back full of godzilla and ultraman figurines! And there's a serious lack of anime goodness! What happened?!
It seems the back-glass-shelves has turned into ecchi/hentai figurines -not so bad. And the glass counter has become ALL costumed-shows -not so bad either. But where are the animes?!
After we bought a few things (an akazukin figurine and an arale figurine), we were told that they expanded into a second store - mostly anime!
If I were still an otaku, this information would jump me out of my boots (and yes, I was wearing boots)!
But I still got excited since I love these guys... (during my otaku years, these guys were most helpful).
-if you noticed, I didn't take any pictures on the inside of the place... I respect these guys enough not to picture their original goods -in case there's any law against it.

Maggie: i've come to accept the more otaku side of me, meaning that (if the price isn't too high) i'd like to buy little anime dollies! the one of Akazukin was super cute~! i really wanted the one of Grendel, it was so cool looking! they had a couple Lucky Star dollies, but (again) none that i wanted. i also thought the hentai dolls were funny and grossly offensive! hahaha~! well not really offensive... just kinda sad. they had one sexy blonde cow girl doll where you could replace her breast with soft gel-filled ones... at least God still loves the people who buy that stuff...

 
So Off We Went! To Jungle Anime 2!!!
Errol: It was literally behind the original one! And the amount of attention it was getting assured me that Jungle was doing great! Apparently, this one's more anime-ish, while the original stayed its typical all-around goodness. I'm glad for them. Oh, and an NSFW picture is coming up, scroll fast through this.

Time For Some Pictures!

Errol: Look! Customers! Lots of 'em! Yay!

Maggie: look at my fat arm! Yay!


Errol: Shh... it's okay if you buy it, just hide it before someone notices you!


Errol: LOLita dresses... ha... ha...


Errol: No anime store is complete without buildable Gundam models...


Errol: Maggie just thought this was cool...

Maggie: becuz it was! O.o duh!


Errol: Look! It's Astro boy! And the top half of Maggie's big head!

Maggie: hey!


Errol: Isn't that Samurai Jack model nice?

Errol: You name it... figurines, dvds, mangas, build-up models, cds, posters, t-shirts, lolita-outfits, bags, and kimono-outfits! They're there! ... but there's a serious lack in the hentai-department (other than the risque posters)... I suppose that's why you go to the original Jungle.


Errol: I'm really glad that Jungle's doing well. They took care of my anime-needs.

Maggie: notice he had a lot less respect for this Jungle Anime, cuz he was taking pictures all over the place! again, they had no Lucky Star stuff... and no cute anime bags... and i didn't really know any of the plushies they had... and they had sh!tty Japanese bands... T_T

Back to the Little Tokyo Shopping Center!

Errol: The Plaza Gift Center! Tons of knicks and knacks! But you have to hurry, it's only open in the morning!

Maggie: yeah! and they complement you and kiss your feet if you buy something expensive... Darling!


Errol: The Little Tokyo Shopping Mall is a MUST when visiting downtown LA.

Maggie: see if you can point out the white people!


Errol: This store is strangely full and bustling... so much stuff... and all of them aren't attractive to me.......... except for that DBZ scouter... I HAVE to go back for that.

Maggie: T_T but we didn't... they had so much Naruto stuff... which made me sad cuz there wasn't anything else cute there... and i miss the 98cent store that used to be there...

Errol: But... they did have Miyazaki stuff there...


Errol: Awww! Look! It's Maggie next to the modern-designed fountain! She's so pretty!

Maggie: more like pretty fat... well, at least it's the cute kind! i like McDonalds!




Now that we were done here, up next was our fave: Little Tokyo Mall!

Ta-Dah~~! Most otakus don't know where this is!


Errol: But before that,  I clicked some pictures along the way!

Errol: Look! It's Maggie! So pretty! And she's in front of a subway!

Maggie: where are my eyes?


Errol: You know where this is going...

Maggie: five! five dollar! five dollar foot long!


Errol: Heck yes.


Errol: This is American Apparel! It's very modern and stylish! Maggie really likes it there!

Maggie: got my favorite hoodie from here! it's black with a white thermal inside! it looks like sh!t now cuz i wear it so much, but it was stylin' back then!


Errol: This is the Buddhist childcare school-thingy...


Errol: And this is the intimidating obelisk-church on the opposite corner of the Buddhist childcare.

Maggie: love God... LOVE GOD!!! NOW!!!!


Woohoo! Now to the mall!

Errol: It took my old-friends forever to ever find this place.

Errol: There's always this little spot in the middle of the mall... I don't know how that bowl/plate store is able to afford its own store AND a part of the mall-walkway.

Errol: And of course, there's the legendary (at least to us) Mitsuwa. Shopping mart extraordinaire!

Maggie: THEY SERVE CURRY UDON!!!! enough said

Errol: Ah, the old Discount Store... I once spent over $100 in there. I buy in "bulk".

Maggie: excuse me! WE spent..! wait, ^^;; i guess you were the one with the money... but i helped!

Errol: And here's a strange one... Japan Arcade. Apparently, tons of people have been here, and most of them aren't even otakus! How in the world did these people find this?

Maggie: they have a Taiko drum game that's really loud and fun! it makes my hands hurt to use them wooden taiko sticks! and there Rival Schools game was busted! lame!

Errol: LA Scoops has served us well... it was a nice spot to hang out and eat some ice cream.
And as you can notice, there's a Beard Papa there... it used to be a pizza-bakery shop.

Maggie: we didn't go to either one that day, but both are extraordinarily yummy places!

Errol: Ah... the dreaded shop of bad soba. I'll never forget it.

Maggie: cuz they have bad Soba. guess who had to find out the hard way! T_T and that was my first time having it too...

If you know us, you know what'll be our first choice here...
That's right! MITSUWA!!!

Not only do we shop here, but we LOVE to eat here.


Errol: The beloved food place in Mitsuwa. There's Maggie at the counter!

Maggie: yeah! look at that fatass stuff her face! anyways, Darling said that red jacket that kid's wearing comes from a super elite Karate dojo in Japan... why didn't he karate chop the table then???????

Errol: There's Maggie's favorites. It could practically be the sole reason she ever comes to Little Tokyo.

Maggie: Excuse me! obviously there's three reasons on that table! except, replace the Dr Pepper with Melon soda and the croquette with a charming atmosphere! oh yes, this is the famous Curry Udon! a must for anyone who loves curry and/or soup-y delights! notice i don't like the fish cakes...

Errol: I like mine simple. Beef Bowl. Mmmm.

Maggie: it actually is pretty f---in' awesome tasting.

Next stop! Japan Arcade! But first, here's a picture of some losers!

Errol: I would apologize for the blurriness of this picture. But 1) I didn't take the picture, it was Maggie... she actually thought it would be a sick joke to take a picture of these freaks. 2) I'm glad it's blurry. Thank God. I'm glad we have no clear picture of this.
You know why I'm so mean? Because who the hell cos-plays at a mall??? There's Jungle anime down on the other side, go there! These kids were just hanging around! You know the problem is with that? They scare the locals away from the upstairs! Think I'm joking, try going there and looking around the top-floor: No locals. For a reason. Locals hate otakus, they just won't say it to your face.

Maggie: aw! i didn't get the kinda fugly/kinda hot cat girl! sorry guys! by the way, the blurriness also covers the acne party that was all over those guy's faces...

Errol: And to think I was harsh on them. You were able to exceed me even with less words.



Now off to the Japan Arcade!

Errol: Ah... Good ol' Japan Arcade. It's very popular with the regular arcade-goers and the show-off otakus... you don't know how many lolita-cos-playing otakus I've seen dancing on DDR. Well, around here we only really play two games: Taiko Drums and Rival Schools. ...sadly, Rival Schools wasn't working. But we had loads of fun on Taiko Drums! Especially in playing Cha-La Head Cha-La!

Maggie: but the lame Asians were playing on the DDR...

Errol: Yeah... this time... but that's just how it is... Asians or otakus. Oh, and one more thing- this arcade has a pool table... expect it to be taken most times.




Time to leave the mall! But first, more pictures!

Errol: This is Reflex Gamer... it's new... it has okay stuff... until I heard the owner talking about how they tried beating Amazon's prices. And that wasn't a problem... THEN they said they tried beating Game Dude's prices! They lost, but what the hell?! WHY WOULD YOU TRY TO BEAT GAME DUDE?!! GAME DUDE IS AWESOME AND SHOULD NEVER EVEN COMPETE! NEVER EVER!!! Friggin' pigs.

Maggie: Game Dude=gamer's heaven in the middle of nowhere... every game you ever wanted is there for less then market value.. you think i'm joking? COME SAY THAT TO MY FACE, PUNK! and if you do, then i guess you're just going to have to fly to LA to come see it for yourself! see you soon!


Errol:

Maggie: there stands the shell that used to be my most favorite Hello Kitty place in the whole world... authentic products (meaning not the sh!t you usually see in Sanrio stores, but the straight from Japan kind that are actually made with real fabric)... and the lady was really nice too... we spent over $200 dollars there one time... T_T God be with you nice Japanese lady!

Errol: Excuse me, when we were together, we spent $200... but when I bought you all those gifts by myself, I went $300.


Errol: Look, all the roofs to some entrances have this little Japanese-roof-tiling thingy... cute, huh?

Maggie: that door leads to the scary bathroom in the middle of an alley-like hallway...


Errol: The dreaded hallway... not really, it's just the hallway to the restroom... try walking here on a weeknight, when the mall's practically empty... it's creepy.


Errol: Don't go down the wrong corner, it looks friggin' scary down that way.


Errol: That's me in the restroom! Hello!

Maggie: Hi!


Errol: What would I do without my DS when I have to waste time? ... oh, and I'm using my MAX Player on the DS... so I can listen to music and watch videos on it. And it works fine!


Errol: Now we're leaving the mall! And here's where a big rock-water-fountain used to be... but now it's gone... awww...

Maggie: but it's been replaced with nasty otakus! haha... ha ha... ha...... 



Now that we're done there, we're going back to the Little Tokyo Shopping Center! But first, white land!

Errol: This is what we claim to be the "white area"... just right on the other corner... a starbucks, a quizno's, a skater store, and etc... yeah, just RIGHT. THERE. Weird.

Maggie: oh! and an Office Depot! and across the street is a Fed-Ex/Kinko's which is underneath a trendy apartment building... O.o weird...


Errol: Yay Quizno's!

Maggie: Tangy sandwhich!


Now! Onward! To the shopping center!

Errol: This is where a Japanese lady usually drags Maggie into... Maggie constantly oggles things in this place... even if Maggie's outside, the Japanese lady comes out and asks us to come in to look at her other products... and just like a true saleswoman, she already starts expecting us to buy something... *sigh* And out of pure respect, we usually have to... *sigh* That's why I usually try to drag Maggie away the instant she looks at the store.

Maggie: .......... but i wanted that cute shirt.......


Errol: This is a gift store as well... and this is where we buy our "Ai" shirts... everytime an Ai shirt becomes ruined or lost, we come here to resupply them. One time, I even bought a lighter that was flicking you off, and when you pressed down on the button, the fire bursts through the middle finger and a mini-voice comes out saying "F*ck you! F*ck you!".

Maggie: O.o......


Errol: This is J Wave, a great rental store. All Japanese. You can even rent CDs here! And there's lots of concert and music video videos here! It's awesome. It's great... it's also inconvenient if you don't live near here.


Errol: We stopped by Jungle anime to go to their little photo-stands... because the ones in Mitsuwa weren't working. And if you have a good eye, you'll notice I'm not wearing white-black anymore... now I'm wearing black-white.

Maggie: i thought this was a cute picture, but it was one of those things where one person would look good and the other would look kinda wierd! i wish you could've smiled more in this one! oh well, you're cuteness shines through!


Errol: This is my favorite cafe! It's the perfect place to just buy a simple bowl or plate of food, get a good drink (cold or hot), sit down, read the newspaper, enjoy the weather, and just reellllaaaaxxx~...

Maggie: ... :: pretends to be Darling speaking in an old man voice:: yar! Conflabbit! dern kids and them things in ther' ears! go away! ... yer... ger... damn.... gar... mmm, soup!

Errol: But I'm not that much of a fan of soup. O_o


Errol: Just another nice picture of the plaza...




Now onto Kamikaze! But first... Pinkberry!

Errol: I think you know where this is going.

Maggie: what is going on?


Errol: Catchy.

Maggie: ... O.o you're weird hun... and i want that plum card! it's so pretty!



Now Kamikaze!

Errol: Kamikaze! This is where I buy all my used CDs!


Errol: But of course, that's not all that's here.


Errol: There's school uniforms here! I bought my favorite one here!


Errol: Cheap CDs! Yay!


Errol: Wallscrolls, T-shirts, and games! ...and there's hentai and porn in the back! Yay Japan!

Maggie: ... it was so stuffy in there... and i don't know how you can find CDs there Hun... those shelves were like a labyrinth...




Well, it's back to the Shopping Center Plaza for some rest and relaxation!

Errol: This is where I bought my first Japanese Sandals... and also where I bought Maggie's ceramic Koi fish.

Maggie: which is on my nightstand! i love Koi! they're like pigeons except they're fish and very pretty! but they come to you for food just like pigeons do! they'll even poke their head out of the water!


Errol: This is a famous ice cream spot here... it's okay.


Errol: Ahhh~ Relaxing from the hot weather by reading an Akira Toriyama art book and drinking some nice cool drinks underneath an umbrella.... Ahhhh~...

Maggie: this was one of favorite parts! except for all the otaku girls that kept walking by... one had a nice outfit, but her skirt was too short... like, not the attractive kind, especially with that face... and then skinny nerd girls in cat ears/bad bohemian outfits with lame anime dolls walked by... it's sad, really it is... that art book had some f---ing awesome pictures by the way.


Errol: And that's Nijiya Market, right across from the relaxation spot... it has some goodies for snacks and drinks...

Maggie: that's also were Iron Chef Morimoto has all his ingredients bought!


Errol: They really need to clean their roof tiles.

Maggie: the lady just below the cut-off looks funny...

Errol: It's a karaoke restaurant... that lady was probably drunk on the picture.


Errol: LOOK! IT'S MAGGIE!

Maggie: ......... T_T it really is....... but people look at me that way here in the states too... shut up kid! God...




Enough Rest & Relaxation Here! Time To Rest & Relax At The Community Center!

Errol: The community center! A big open spot for several conventions and meets! Many things can happen here! And about all of these events are free!


Errol: This time, a black gospel group! They dance to wonderful Christian music.

Maggie: i thought it was more hip-hop or new wave, but it was still nice to listen too... ^_^ the wind that blew through that place was divine...


Errol: And that's the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center.There's a nice museum inside there, of many different things! You can even take classes inside! Like origami classes, Japanese history, and flower-arranging! So cool. Also, adjacent to this building is the Japanese theatre! You can watch Kabukis there!

Maggie: i.e. the place i always want to go, but am too awkwardly-white to ever participate in......


Errol: The pictures show some events of the community center...

Maggie: and some guy...


Errol: That's the Japanese Garden... as you can see, it's under reconstruction... it's usually really beautiful...

Maggie: i thought how it looks now still has kindof a Zen feel to it...


Errol: Look! It's Maggie! She's so pretty!
She's also quite tired.

Maggie: she is also quite... ah, actually this pic isn't so bad...


Errol: As the music went higher and higher... the trees danced more and MORE... it's as if they were alive and could hear the music... they were alive and so happy...

Maggie: they were moving to something!



Ice Cream Time!

Errol: I always forget the name of this shop, but I love getting my Green Tea Ice cream here. It's a nice little store on the corner.


Errol: GREEN TEA ICE CREAM!

Maggie: yummy! a guy came in asking for a chili dog, but the owner said they don't serve it on the weekends... i could feel that guy's anger/embarrassment... i thought he was going to kill everyone... O.o a little paranoid much?



KARAOKE TIME!!!


Errol: We sang songs like "Take On Me", "Don't Want To Miss A Thing", "Don't Stop Believing", "Your Song", "You'll Be In My Heart", and "Digital Love". Look at my black-white outfit! Told you I changed my clothes.

Maggie: wow! nice combilations on the pictures Hun! ^_^ that was i think the best karaoke we ever had! but the close second is when Darling sang that one break up song that made that one guy huddle in a corner and almost cry (he had just broke up with his fiance and was trying to pretend he was over it... and Darling just HAD to shock him out of it...

Errol: A man who lies about his emotions, will only become a slave to it.


Errol: Now the biggest reason of why we're here... MELON SODA FLOAT!!!

Maggie: excuse me, more like TWO melon soda floats! which gave way to two tummy aches!

Errol: But wasn't it SO worth getting 4?




Errol: Maggie! She's so cool!

Maggie: ... O.o, uh no. anyways, it's hard for me to get into karaoke becuz i'm awkward enough as it is... but i tried to work it to make Darling giggle...

Errol: You need to work on your reckless passion, hun.


Errol: We got a big room.

Maggie: you got a big...! wait... uh, nevermind!


Errol: We had lots of fun, didn't we?

Maggie: ... yeah


Errol: It was time to go... we had so much fun...
And here we are, waiting for the bus to go back... right across from a court with an intimidating statue.
Strange though, it's nearing 8pm, and it's still so bright.
But we had so much fun.

Maggie: ... i love you Hun~!

Errol: Love you too.

Errol: Overall, it was amazing, and this year's Karaoke was the best we've ever had. It was so fun and amazing! Everything was! And best of all... Maggie slept over!

Maggie: actually, yeah... sleeping over did make it awesome! and the other stuff we did Happy Anniversary Darling~!

Errol: Happy Anniversary, darling.
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