Well it was supposed to be my day off but i had to work a morning shift. I rushed home and showered because I was going to the MANÁ concert here in Dallas, Texas. For those who don't know, MANÁ is a Mexican band that is Awesome and happens to be one of my favorites. So that evening I rocked out but then I realized I had booked a flight to Anaheim but i had no place to stay. That night I stayed awake the whole night looking for a place to stay near the Convention Center, I managed to find
one. No sleep that night then my flight left at 8:00 AM the next morning. yay
July 1I waited at the airport for my flight and on the way I tried to catch up on my sleep because I had only slept 4 hours in the past three days. But I didn't. I arrived in Anaheim about 3:00 PM and I was used to the time in Dallas so i was feeling hungry and a little tired. I waited in my hotel to charge my phone, but I was so anxious to get to AM2 that I let it charge halfway. I walked to the convention, got my three day pass, and tried to pass the time by playing the little games they had and walking around the shopping area. My main reason for going was to see Scandal but I figured I should get my money's worth and go to the Sadie concert so I went to line up but I didn't realize they had so many fan girls so the end of the line was way in the back. As I was checking out my phone, I took a quick glance to the side and I managed to see a pair of Dr. Martens. I didn't see who was wearing them because they were a couple of places in front of me. Scandal immediately came to mind but I shrugged it off as pure coincidence. Minutes later the line moved up as some people got priority seating and other stuff that I won't go into detail, but i finally saw who was wearing them it was thoseguiltyeyes and she was 10fingersmikey and Ghost of Snypershot. After getting out line to check if they had began seating people for the concert yet, I had to compliment thoseguiltyeyes because her Haruka outfit was spot on perfect thats when 10fingersmikey asked if I was a Scandal fan which I responded with a resounding yes. Everything kind of snowballed from there. Ghost of Snypershot and thoseguiltyeyes then told me they were part of the press and I asked them were I can check out the podcast then they told me they were with SH. It was pure luck because I joined SH a couple of months ago but never posted anything prior to the convention so I never expected to run into anybody. I told them my username and we all shared a laugh. lol. That's when alnet88, zimbobbio, and wat showed up and we also started talking. The concert was okay, didn't expect that sound from a visual kei band but close enough. After the concert everyone made their way to the parking lot and made plans to meet the next morning. wat and the other guys gave me a ride to my hotel which was like 2 blocks away. when I hoped in the car, Namida no Regret was playing. I never thought I would live to see the day when I hoped in a car full of dudes and Scandal would be playing.
July 2We met up at kiosk in the front of the convention center but then some more people that I didn't see the day before came. Thats when Glenn came with the awesome banner. Props to Glenn. After the signing everyone did their own thing. Jade, Ross, and I(it's easier to use first names) went to the Sadie autograph signing were Ross got another bro hug. Since we had two more people in line I threw out the idea to use a purikura machine. Jade then texted everyone to come to the booth, in the end we fit nine people, could've fit more but no one else came. By that time we were starving and decided to go to the food trucks. I first bought a tornado potato or something along those lines but knowing how much I eat I also bought takoyaki and ramune. Before settling down to eat I had to get wasabi because I don't enjoy food if its not spicy. Then somewhere, somebody got the idea that me and Ross should have a wasabi challenge. Ross used some of my food to tone it down a bit but I downed it straight. I ended up winning but not before burning my nose and getting teary-eyed. Jade has exclusive video. After that Anson came with a bag full of glowsticks which everyone selected from to use for the Scandal. We all went to line up for the kanon x kanon concert where I prematurely cracked my sticks while drumming along to Scandal. By that time I had noticed I lost my hotel keys. During the kanon x kanon concert I decided I might as well use the glowsticks, which turned out great because
1. I was the only one on my side with Glowsticks
2. They were huge 14 inch sticks which Kanon wakeshima stared at for a good 5 sec during the concert.
3. There was a Wotagei instructional video.
The best part of the night was when we went to LAX to Welcome Scandal to the U.S. we waited at the wrong terminal but Alan was scouting out at the next one to which we all jet off to. Once they did arrive we all cheered and took pictures. I had a Can-ta lollipop that I personally gave to Rina which she accepted with a little dip and "Thank You". I melted right on the spot. AND it was caught on video. YES!! Then we went out the door to go watch them as their crew loaded the equipment. We started taking pictures and they sent their staff to take pictures of us which ended up on their blog. Awesomeness. We then went to Torrence to King Hawaiian to celebrate afterwards where I almost broke my personal record of 8 refills on drinks but I stopped at 7. We ended the night and planned for the best day yet.
July 3I woke up to my phone ringing which was my mom lol (thank you) and i was already late. luckily the rest of the SH crew got the first spots in line for the Scandal Panel. At the panel SH got the first row for some reason but i never questioned the decision. Im sure people have already posted they questions so i won't bother writing them. What I will write is that when people were called to line up at the mic for the questions people began to yell at their favorite band member's name. Me, being Mexican, have the natural ability to whistle loud and easily. Well I happened to whistle right when everyone was quieting down and Rina turned and waved directly at me. That was also caught on video by Jade. Thank You! At the end, we lined up for the autographs and we were all excited to finally get up close to them. I walked up to Mami and when she finished signing I thanked her and did the same for Tomomi. When got to Rina I asked her if she remembered me from the night before and the Can-ta lollipop. She gave me an awkward look to which Alan beside me bursted out in laughter. Lucky for me Kelly had given another lollipop to Tomomi right before I got in line and it was still sitting on table. I pointed to it and Rina immediately understood what I was saying and said "Oh yes, Thank You I'm so happy" that made my day not like I was down or anything. then Haruna signed and I thanked her and tried to walk out of the room as slowly as I could. We all then started the line for the meet and greet. By that time we were all hungry so we went in tiny groups to eat. when it came to be my turn I went with Jade and Erich Sbarro's to buy some food. Erich was still wearing the Can-ta costume so when we stepped outside the people from Moose-con couldn't get enough of him. lol. During the meet and greet we were part of the first group and we were all astonished how close to them we were sitting. That's when Neil handed them the perfect gift which made them so happy. After that we ran to go start the line for the Scandal concert but we were beat by a couple of people who didn't go to the meet and greet. somehow SH got the first 4 rows on Tomomi's side, I was in the 2nd row and I was more than happy to be there. Before the concert started we had planned to crack the glowsticks simultaneously during the "one-two-three-four" of Scandal no Theme. During the actual song we executed it perfectly and rocked out. Between one of the songs they introduced themselves and Mami said she was glad to see their fans at the airport thats when we pulled up the banner and our entire section was cheering. Tomomi even pointed us out. The concert continued and Haruna said they had a new song I don't know how but I yelled out "Love Survive!" and I was right. since i was the only one she shot a quick glance at me, yeah i got noticed again. The concert ended and 2 guys wanted to take a picture with the banner but we we finally unrolled it everyone started taking pictures. The photo session lasted about 5-10 minutes. some of the pictures you can find online. Not long after the staff said we had to go downstairs and that's what officially ended the session. I got the brilliant idea to make a pact with everyone there; we are going to every single one of Scandal's U.S. appearances which we all sealed with a group huddle. Once were at the lobby area we began to spell out the band member's name with our glowsticks. For the last one we spelled out Scandal and at that very moment they came walking right behind us. we began waving and cheering and they waved back. once it was time to leave we stepped out and to our surprise Sadie was right there so we had a little private photo shoot with them. I took a picture with one of the guitarist and when it was over he gave me a pat on the back but since I'm a foot taller than him he ended up giving me a love tap. lol It's Nowhere near as bad as Ross' groping but it felt weird.
July 4I woke up at 6:00 AM for the special Scandal Meet and Greet. I didn't even know about it until the day before. I was planning on leaving straight from the hotel to the airport. Good thing I didn't. I arrived at the hotel at 6:15 I was technically the second one there but I was the first in line. I met a couple of people in line one of which I convinced to join SH (LLottolucky) It was pretty amazing just sitting and talking to all these people. All the Other SH members arrived later I don't know the exact time. I was the first in line and right when I walked in Tomomi jumped up and very happily waved and said hi to me. I was left speechless. During the M&G BigDnm01 asked what was their favorite part of their concert and Rina responded that it was the Glowsticks because they don't use it for them at their concerts in Japan. Right then and there I knew it was directed at the SH members. Then we got to shake their hands at the end, I still remember what each one of their hand felt like. I was so excited I didn't know what to do afterwards. As I waited for the other members to come out I had to personally thank one of the AM2 staff for helping us out and giving us info. Once the other SH members came out I immediately noticed Neil, he was completely out of it and couldn't even talk. Then It was time for our last group photo and we had to take it with 8 cameras or something like that. All of the sudden we decided to wait for Scandal to leave. when they finally came out i was standing in the front of the crowd and yelled out Rina's name and she waved back at me. I don't know who realized we were near the place where Tomomi had tweeted a pic of where they were staying, but we were all trying to look for the exact spot she took it from. We spent quite a while searching until we found it and decided to leave the immediate area as to not look like stalkers so we decided to head over to IHOP across the street in honor of Tomomi and her craving for Strawberry Pancakes. We all gathered to eat and share pictures and memories for one last time then slowly people began to leave. That marked our last get together. I was all happy until i finally realized it was over.
I got home at midnight and slept like at 4:00 AM. I was dreaming of the entire weekend when I got a phone call from work telling me that I was late. That's the moment when reality slapped me in the face and told me to come back.Its been a week since then and I still have vivid memories and I hope we dont have to wait another 3 and half years for Scandal to come back. And to think this all happened because i accidentally ran into SH members. I said it before to everyone that was there; "This was my first solo trip out of town and it was perfect, thanks everyone for making it a perfect weekend." Oh and to all California SH members: I will go back there to relive some memories even if Scandal isn't there, just as soon as get out of my debt from this trip. There's so much more I remember but I already wrote too much. Feel free to add me on FB just search for
fbc1dr@yahoo.com
good thing they still try their best to understand their fans....
, Rossy Oliver the cute and fluffy 
, Rosa, and Pokey The Cute and Fluffy 
