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AnimeNext 2012
13 years ago
Ladies and gentlemen, take my advice...
Time to begin this year's con journal. Gotta go back a little further in the Way-Back machine than usual, but it's all for the story's sake.
My tale begins on Monday, June 4th. The new store I was transferring into began setup at 8 that morning. I was there for 3 days, 12 hours each day. The boss already knew that I would be leaving on the 7th to go to the convention, so it was all cool. Each day after work, I continued to try and finish my costume, Lord Death from Soul Eater. Technically, I left on the 6th, after work to get to my best friend's place so we could leave from there on Thursday morning. When I got to his place, I stuck my cheesecake in the freezer and went with him to get our 'road food'. I also got myself equipped with a basic sewing kit so that I could help him put the finishing touches on his costume as Spirit. Once home, I went to sleep on the couch.
Thursday morning, I let one of our other friends take the first shift driving. I wasn't in any state to be behind the wheel until nearly noon. The drive was mostly uneventful. Did get to kick back and have everyone enjoy "The Protomen Present: A Night of Queen" for the first leg of the trip. After that we listened to a random selection. There was no getting lost on the way to the convention this year.
Once at the hotel, I found that they had changed their policy regarding debit/bank check cards. They required a $50.00 per night deposit since I wasn't paying via credit card. I was most definitely NOT happy about that. Before that point, I had not been told about the policy while booking or even when confirming the reservation. It was fortunate that I had enough funds in my account to cover the additional deposit, but the $200 hit really hurt.
Originally, my group was going to meet
Nyaasu that night to go out for dinner, but some family obligations got in the way. We went to SubWay instead and got a much needed evening of rest. I sat and finished my buddy's tie before sleeping. Now I remember why I don't hand sew much.
Friday, the first day of the con was pretty crazy. It took myself and a joint effort of my best friend and his wife to get my costume on. The wire frame under the hood was less than stable, but it worked well enough with the fabric on. The soul eater fans went NUTS when they saw my costume and I even got interviewed about it by a bunch from Otaku-Haven. I had to let him down a little in revealing that it was only the beta version of my costume, far from how I was wanting it to be when complete, but he still liked it, especially the crafting on the mask. I even met a really awesome Midna cosplayer. A real cutie too. Really wishing that I'd brought a pencil and some paper to trade email addresses or something.
*pictures will appear in my gallery later this evening*
Speaking of the Soul Eater fans who went nuts, they also frequently ran up and hugged me. It was kinda nice since they were all young ladies... even the ones dressed as Death The Kid.
During the first day, my velcro pieces lost adhesion to the hood, so I had to trot back to the hotel and make use of my sewing kit. This time they were sewn on and then heat pressed with the iron into place. Those never gave me another problem.
The artist alley and dealer's den were the usual swarm of sales and insanity. Unfortunately, the Secret Shop wasn't there this year. I was looking forward to seeing the guy in the black duster peddling porn. During my rounds there, I picked up a few new series for my collection, including Lucky Star and Cat Planet Cuties. I told you it would be mine. I also found quite possibly the coolest gadget ever made. Necomimi. No, I didn't misspell it. Just click the link.
During my wanderings, I also ran into a lovely young woman in green body paint. I'm pretty sure she was attempting she hulk. At the time I was carrying my thought controlled cat ears and she asked me where I got them. The dealer's den entrance was practically hidden this year, so I led her to them. We exchanged cell phone numbers. ... I just wish I could have run into her more at the con. Soooooo busy @_@.
We were finally joined by Nyaasu and her brother that evening and she led the group to East Hana for sushi. Damn was it good. It was my best friend's first time having it, so we got to break him in on that too. I was wearing my ears all through dinner, the waitress commenting that they were cute, but somehow I missed that moment and was almost smacked by one of my friends at the table. Those things were twitching like crazy while I ate.
If I'd bothered to check out the schedule for that night, I would have hit some of the 18+ panels, but like a doofus, I didn't. Instead, I got some much needed sleep.
Saturday was insane. Between the hugs, being asked to pose for photos and trying to keep my head frame together, I was constantly moving. I did manage to make it to Kyle Herbert's video voice acting panel, and even got to do a couple of death screams for him. I was toward the end, so they had to be a bit rushed. I almost wanted to beat the guy who was putting the emphasis on the wrong syllable in the word Hadouken. Even with Mr. Herbert directing him, he kept screwing up in the same spot. Oh well, it was still fun to sound like I got hit by a heavy bag, get electrocuted and toss in a sudden death scream without prompting.
It would have been even cooler if my friends had made it like they planned, but they screwed up and got into the wrong line. The panel they went into... Hetalia. Yes, I laughed at them.
The rest of the normal con day was spent wandering around with a now broken beyond repair wireframe, finding people to get photos of. I had attempted to make it to the big Soul Eater shoot, but I couldn't find it. I was sad. Eventually several from the event found me and got shots with me anyway. Yet more hugs. I like hugs.
Went to IHOP for dinner. The cinnimon pancakes were delicious, almost as good as the sushi. Adding to the night's epic, was my first real chance to check out Toonami since it's revival a few weeks ago. Damn I missed hearing Steve Blum as Tom.
Sunday, the final day of the con. I went without my costume that day because I didn't have the pliers needed to repair it. Got to enjoy getting photos of lots of different costumes... when I could get them to stand still. At the last minute, people go kinda crazy.
Nothing particularly epic happened that day, but that evening, my friends and I got to spend a while hanging out at Nyaasu's place. We played Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Pop'n music, and Donkey Konga before watching The Wizard and eating pizza. We couldn't help but turn it into a MST3K session while we were at it. Before leaving, we sat outside and told a few ghost stories while watching the fireflies.
The drive home on Monday was only a little more eventful than the drive there. The biggest reason why was the stop at Burger King.
Now I'm home and have a crap ton of laundry to do, as well as planning for next year. Hopefully I'll be able to afford to go.
Also, commissions officially open tomorrow. Watch for the journal.
My tale begins on Monday, June 4th. The new store I was transferring into began setup at 8 that morning. I was there for 3 days, 12 hours each day. The boss already knew that I would be leaving on the 7th to go to the convention, so it was all cool. Each day after work, I continued to try and finish my costume, Lord Death from Soul Eater. Technically, I left on the 6th, after work to get to my best friend's place so we could leave from there on Thursday morning. When I got to his place, I stuck my cheesecake in the freezer and went with him to get our 'road food'. I also got myself equipped with a basic sewing kit so that I could help him put the finishing touches on his costume as Spirit. Once home, I went to sleep on the couch.
Thursday morning, I let one of our other friends take the first shift driving. I wasn't in any state to be behind the wheel until nearly noon. The drive was mostly uneventful. Did get to kick back and have everyone enjoy "The Protomen Present: A Night of Queen" for the first leg of the trip. After that we listened to a random selection. There was no getting lost on the way to the convention this year.
Once at the hotel, I found that they had changed their policy regarding debit/bank check cards. They required a $50.00 per night deposit since I wasn't paying via credit card. I was most definitely NOT happy about that. Before that point, I had not been told about the policy while booking or even when confirming the reservation. It was fortunate that I had enough funds in my account to cover the additional deposit, but the $200 hit really hurt.
Originally, my group was going to meet
Nyaasu that night to go out for dinner, but some family obligations got in the way. We went to SubWay instead and got a much needed evening of rest. I sat and finished my buddy's tie before sleeping. Now I remember why I don't hand sew much.Friday, the first day of the con was pretty crazy. It took myself and a joint effort of my best friend and his wife to get my costume on. The wire frame under the hood was less than stable, but it worked well enough with the fabric on. The soul eater fans went NUTS when they saw my costume and I even got interviewed about it by a bunch from Otaku-Haven. I had to let him down a little in revealing that it was only the beta version of my costume, far from how I was wanting it to be when complete, but he still liked it, especially the crafting on the mask. I even met a really awesome Midna cosplayer. A real cutie too. Really wishing that I'd brought a pencil and some paper to trade email addresses or something.
*pictures will appear in my gallery later this evening*
Speaking of the Soul Eater fans who went nuts, they also frequently ran up and hugged me. It was kinda nice since they were all young ladies... even the ones dressed as Death The Kid.
During the first day, my velcro pieces lost adhesion to the hood, so I had to trot back to the hotel and make use of my sewing kit. This time they were sewn on and then heat pressed with the iron into place. Those never gave me another problem.
The artist alley and dealer's den were the usual swarm of sales and insanity. Unfortunately, the Secret Shop wasn't there this year. I was looking forward to seeing the guy in the black duster peddling porn. During my rounds there, I picked up a few new series for my collection, including Lucky Star and Cat Planet Cuties. I told you it would be mine. I also found quite possibly the coolest gadget ever made. Necomimi. No, I didn't misspell it. Just click the link.
During my wanderings, I also ran into a lovely young woman in green body paint. I'm pretty sure she was attempting she hulk. At the time I was carrying my thought controlled cat ears and she asked me where I got them. The dealer's den entrance was practically hidden this year, so I led her to them. We exchanged cell phone numbers. ... I just wish I could have run into her more at the con. Soooooo busy @_@.
We were finally joined by Nyaasu and her brother that evening and she led the group to East Hana for sushi. Damn was it good. It was my best friend's first time having it, so we got to break him in on that too. I was wearing my ears all through dinner, the waitress commenting that they were cute, but somehow I missed that moment and was almost smacked by one of my friends at the table. Those things were twitching like crazy while I ate.
If I'd bothered to check out the schedule for that night, I would have hit some of the 18+ panels, but like a doofus, I didn't. Instead, I got some much needed sleep.
Saturday was insane. Between the hugs, being asked to pose for photos and trying to keep my head frame together, I was constantly moving. I did manage to make it to Kyle Herbert's video voice acting panel, and even got to do a couple of death screams for him. I was toward the end, so they had to be a bit rushed. I almost wanted to beat the guy who was putting the emphasis on the wrong syllable in the word Hadouken. Even with Mr. Herbert directing him, he kept screwing up in the same spot. Oh well, it was still fun to sound like I got hit by a heavy bag, get electrocuted and toss in a sudden death scream without prompting.
It would have been even cooler if my friends had made it like they planned, but they screwed up and got into the wrong line. The panel they went into... Hetalia. Yes, I laughed at them.
The rest of the normal con day was spent wandering around with a now broken beyond repair wireframe, finding people to get photos of. I had attempted to make it to the big Soul Eater shoot, but I couldn't find it. I was sad. Eventually several from the event found me and got shots with me anyway. Yet more hugs. I like hugs.
Went to IHOP for dinner. The cinnimon pancakes were delicious, almost as good as the sushi. Adding to the night's epic, was my first real chance to check out Toonami since it's revival a few weeks ago. Damn I missed hearing Steve Blum as Tom.
Sunday, the final day of the con. I went without my costume that day because I didn't have the pliers needed to repair it. Got to enjoy getting photos of lots of different costumes... when I could get them to stand still. At the last minute, people go kinda crazy.
Nothing particularly epic happened that day, but that evening, my friends and I got to spend a while hanging out at Nyaasu's place. We played Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Pop'n music, and Donkey Konga before watching The Wizard and eating pizza. We couldn't help but turn it into a MST3K session while we were at it. Before leaving, we sat outside and told a few ghost stories while watching the fireflies.
The drive home on Monday was only a little more eventful than the drive there. The biggest reason why was the stop at Burger King.
Now I'm home and have a crap ton of laundry to do, as well as planning for next year. Hopefully I'll be able to afford to go.
Also, commissions officially open tomorrow. Watch for the journal.
I loved the hugs.
I'll be getting the pics up soon-ish. I meant to start posting them last night, but I got distracted by my cat and getting laundry done.