Day 1: Planes and Plains But (Thankfully!) No Pains

They had murals for each class around the whole gym, like Staff
Boards back at Camp. We're class XXV I think.

Since it's a special occasion--the beginning--this'll be a long one! Granted, a lot happened today, so it'll likely be one of the more exciting days!




I was to take two planes, the first departing at 12pm, so I wanted to be at the airport two hours early, but my parents could only make do with three hours early. Fine. Before I left, I sent the link to this blog on twitter and locked my account (hibernating it), and sent it to the discord servers I was most active in before leaving every one of them in a row. I mentally prepared myself to do this for well over a month or two so when I finally did it it wasn't TOO painful. I almost forgot to write a list of those servers and the people I'd have to remember to contact for when I inevitably come back to those servers (assuming I'm invited back, you never know!)
After that, said goodbeye and hugged my family and my dad drove me to the departure...area. I was pleased the whole process of flying was fluke free. Planes were on time and both even arrived early. Waited three hours at the first airport, two hour flight to Atlanta, about an hour at the second airport (this one was so big they had a subway passing through it to take you from gate to gate. They literally called it the Plane Train), then an hour flight to Jackson Mississippi, then about a half hour at that last airport before taking a bus to Vicksburg for an hour (which was literally a straight line on the highway, map attached). As for what I did for most of those six hours... 😀

Backpack was carry-on and laptop case
was personal. Thankfully everything
made it in Wan Pisu 👍

I did happen to meet some members early. For a while I was eyeing every person around my age wondering maybe they were doing what I was doing. When I rested at the gate for the second flight, three of them sat close by. As I minded myself not wanting to ask something like that, I overheard "Vicksburg" and knew, but didn't reach out to talk to them, one of them did to me instead while in line to board. I wonder if I was afraid or just didn't feel like it. I was pretty smooth talking once they came to me first, I'm good with social interaction, I just don't initiate it...yet. It was helpful they did it when they did, cause they were able to wait for me to disembark and we walked as a group to the table where everyone else was waiting. Everyone was just as awkward but some were better at asking questions like where we came from and how our flights were.

A guy complimented my shirt, which is my Oldtaku shirt with 70s and 80s anime, and I told him about starting Galaxy Express 999 today, and he mentioned his rewatch of Dragon Ball. Another guy chimed in finishing Super and that was that lol it devoled into DBZ and the upcoming Broly movie and all that. I hope there's somebody who's as into it as I am, though the thought did cross my mind I might be the most hardcore anime fan in this section. Bragadocious of me I know, but I like to think I have a bit of cred to back that up. Here's hoping I can convert some people!

Mississippi--from what I saw of it--is basically all grass. Honestly it's greener than I anticipated. Billboards seem to be a commodity, which you'd think makes sense except at least in RI, billboards are only around busier towns/suburbs like the Providence capital. These appear to be in the middle of nowhere. Or...maybe it's not and that's just how everything's stretched out. I'm guessing the latter. Rhode Island is...pretty dense. Our setting for now is not a college like I thought, but actually what seems to be an entire facility of their own, formatted like a very small college. I'll try and get more pictures of it later but it's quaint. There's only one outlet and two chairs for three of us in this dorm. I'm the only top bunk. My roomates are very nice, they both have some taste for anime. I was on a Wal-Mart run with one of them, Liam, and he brought up his enjoyment of Deadman Wonderland, and wanting to get more into the classics like Elfen Lied and Berserk, the latter of which I have with me. The other one--Nick--I first met sleeping when I first came into the room, noted Lupin on my shirt, having seen Lupin Castle of Cagliostro.

Honestly I could've got dealt worse, there was a guy--or maybe a kid, I'm a poor judge of that--who came up to me excited about my shirt. Pretty sure he didn't recognize any of them besides maybe kid Goku. He expressed his infatuation for Fairy Tail and disclosed with me his own anime story that's inspired by it. When he mentioned buff dudes of COURSE I brought up "Oh! You know Fist of the North Star?" "Nah," he replied, "I was thinking more like Jojo!" "...you know Jojo's inspired by Hokuto no Ken ri--?" "I was thinking more like Jojo!" Deadass, just repeated himself. And then kept

talking my ear off. I have a difficult time telling people to back off like that, don't wanna be rude and awkward, and I was in a place that I couldn't really leave. He wanted my number, he wasn't even in the program. Thankfully what seemed like his Mom beckoned him away before he could ask for my Twitter. "I'll be back in a second!" he said, never to be seen again. I'm pretty lucky I didn't get anyone like that. I also met my potential team leader, named Brenda, who was very supportive if a little overwhelmed when it came to mobile communication like figuring out group texts etc. I'm not developing an attachment for anyone until I'm solidly in a team with them, which I won't know for probably a month. Doesn't mean I won't talk with people, just holding everything lightly. Tomorrow, and likely the next few days will be a significant learning curve, which I'll probably be fatigued to explain it all, so what's say we meet here same time next week?

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Gintama' ep 5

So I watched anime the entire time of that plane journey (duh what else did you THINK I did that whole time??). While waiting for the first plane, I started the 5th season of Gintama', which is finally in 16:9, but other than that it's as if nothing's changed, which is disappointing to say the least.

Although, there was a WONDERFUL ep (5) about Catherine getting a fiance and leaving the bar. It's a little cliche and meandering but goddamn do I love Otose the old lady bar owner, the scene at the end of this episode is one of the best I've seen from the show for a WHILE.

Doremi Harukaze, making pie

On the plane I watched the only show I could on my phone cause the file was supported--Motto Ojamajo Doremi. Yes I kept hiding it and checking to see if people saw me. Not cause it was pervy, in fact QUITE THE OPPOSITE, it's a very wholesome kids' show. But I don't feel the need to explain myself, it's a seriously lauded critically acclaimed magical girl series in the circles I'm a part of, for good reason. I'm half way through and I just can't get enough of it. It's so darn well written and the animation is so bright and expressive. Motto is the third season, and I found it hard to contain my absolute hype for the show. The new character Momoko specifically speaks VERY GOOD ENGLISH, and teaches the other girls too? And the shop they run changes every season so now it's sweets and cookies etc., but they're really going more into the process of making the thing this time, I love it. There was this hilarious running gag of nobody buying Doremi's cookies cause they had a weird shape, when the shape was literally just her head? So based. But the best BEST thing was again an ep 5 which didn't even focus on the girls, but two boys.

Basically one boy was part of a comedy trio, but they go a grade up and have to split the group, and they get a new guy in the trio (NAMED SATO JUN, LITERALLY NAMED AFTER JUNICHI SATO OMFGGGG), but the best part was the boy can't find anyone to do comedy with, but the MOST POPULAR HANDSOME BEST AT SPORTS SMART BOY comes over to him and says he wants to do comedy with him. It's the most wholesome thing and it reminds me of how I think I don't deserve to have some of the cool friends I've made but they think I'm cool. Ugh it's so good.

Digimon Tamers ep 1

THEN during the interim between flights, I started watching Digimon Tamers. I could probably go on a full analysis/breakdown thing of why this show is absolutely killing it and living up to it's incredible reputation. I think it's MOST appreciated having experienced Adventure and 02, because you see where they were taking Digimon, and then tweak all that in the right specific ways and the result is so TIGHT and hard hitting, it has TENSION, poses tough questions, keeping this sense of mystery with very dramatic bold and (most importantly) FEW characters. It really is that good (so far!)

Tetsuro murking some royal robot dudes

Lastly on the bus and later after all the initial buzz I made some way into Galaxy Express 999, my second Leiji Matsumoto after Yamato. So far I like it, it has a lot of imagination to it and I love the retro art even if there's exactly four types of character designs so far lol (sasuga Matsumoto-sensei!) We'll have to see EXACTLY how strong these narratives can be, the second one for example was fairly melodramatic, but the show's also demonstrated it's got balls (the MC's mom is killed and he takes adequate revenge for her in the same episode) Look forward to more of course.

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I've made a roulette of favorites that I'm excited to talk about, though I should've mixed those with other stuff in retrospect but I don't care. Up now is......FLCL!

Ok so, I did not grow up with this OVA, and it's one of those series that means a LOT to people who did. That's not to say one can't get enjoyment from it at my age, it's a radically good looking six episodes, with wild ideas and bold iconography (the moped, the never knows best cigarette, swing the bat), as well as pretty timeless messages about growing up. I think the core premise of the show wasn't enough to grab me, though I enjoyed my time with it. I haven't seen the recent sequels and there isn't much motivation for me to get around to them, but I'm happy there's more of it regardless since I thought the themes and world could've been elaborated on more. It's too bad I don't have much else to say about it, there are plenty of others that can articulate this show's positive traits better than I can.