Was a good time, even if I only got to be there for two days. Left realllllly late, ended up getting to the con 30 minutes before reg closed on Friday (9:30 PM). From there, we decided it was best to go to the hotel and check in, and pack things away, since I had to get some sleep due to having a table in the Alley for Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday, woke up and had a good breakfast at the hotel, then drove over to the convention center and booked it on up to the doors to the dealer's room and alley... where there was already a substantial line. After waiting in that line for what seemed like ages, I get turned away at the door, due to not having a receipt book... didn't see any table out there to get one, but was pointed in the right direction. The sign for the table was hidden away behind two people sitting at the table and a group of people standing around it... kind of similar to every other table out there at the time, so it didn't seem special. Perhaps next year they could move the sign to the left side of the table, where it's more visible. :P Then I won't feel dumb.
Well, finally got in and got my table - it was a pretty good day, got five commissions, though most of my time was indeed sitting and trying to interact with people, who seemed disinterested in my stuff in favor of people with colored things. Funny, that. The past few years I've gone to AC, no one wanted colors. It was always sketches. I got tired of carrying around the case full of stuff, so left it at home this time... Lo and behold, four or more people on the first day ask me if I can do badges/colored pics. :| Where were you guys the past few years? xD If I had known, I would have brought them - really! I just thought I had learned from prior experience.

So, after the alley, I waited in line to get paid - and I must say it's a much more efficient system now. Instead of the line taking almost two hours to get paid when in the middle of a line, I was passed through the line in 45 minutes - and I was near the end! Huge improvement.

Went up to the zoo after that and wandered around looking for someone, but didn't find them. Ended up sitting and drawing ponies for my boyfriend (pics in gallery) - since I didn't have examples of ponies other than the ACEO that I sketched on Saturday. Finished that up, made one last round, and then decided to hit the proverbial hay.
Too bad the room smelled like someone had been smoking crap quality weed right in our room. :| Seriously. I was ready to crash and open the door to the skunkiest smokey stench I've ever encountered. Called up the front desk and they moved me from the first floor to the fifth floor - fine with me, cause it smelled nice and fresh, and had fresh towels (looked like our "cleaning lady" just tossed the ones we used up on the hanging rack) to take a shower before going to bed (since I smelled like the Con. Needed desperately to hug my soap at that point).

Slept pretty hard that night, and woke up to some more awesome hotel breakfast (well, pretty decent. Nothing can beat fresh waffles though, but it's hard to find those places and it's weird to ask "do you have a waffle maker at the breakfast bar?" when booking a room), packed the car, checked out of the hotel, and headed back to the convention center. Went back to the Alley after getting my receipt book, and decided to take up residence in the same spot I was in the day before - hoping someone was wanting to get back to me and just couldn't find the time on Saturday...

That's when I noticed... there were three people (myself included) sitting on the far side of the Alley.. everyone was coming in on the first row, walking down between the second and third... and then leaving. Without even walking by me. This went on for a good two hours before others started actually showing up and sitting down on the fourth row of tables. That'll show me, to try and be considerate and help people remember who I am. :P Next time I'm just bringing Hashbrown and he can sit on my head so it doesn't matter where I sit - I'm the girl with the fox on her head... unfortunately, I did not bring him, partially because he needs a bath and partially because I just didn't think about it.

Well, after a really slow day (but a couple of great customers, and a lot of people getting my contact info), we decided to drop in to the Sonoma Grill and eat...
The food was delicious, don't get me wrong... but I won't be eating there again. $120 for two people is... a little rich for my tastes. I'll stick with Carrabas or a steakhouse.

Unnnfortunately, I knew about thirty minutes before the alley closed that I was crashing - and hard. My face was apparently so flushed, my boyfriend could tell from the end of the table rows that I wasn't feeling well. I hadn't eaten since breakfast and hadn't had anything to drink at all since I sat down. Eating and drinking at dinner helped a little, but I still feel like a train wreck. My sinuses are going nuts, my feet are raw (nervous bouncing on my toes while sitting down), my wrist is killing me, my back aches, my butt aches and my head is pounding. Been sneezing and coughing a bit too. So... any bets on "concrud" with a dash of "overworked?"

That's been my weekend. I'm back home, my kitty is SO happy to see me (she's drooling everywhere and nuzzling everything) and all I want to do is curl up in bed and not get up for a week.

Hope anyone else who went had a great time - I know I did. :)