Yes another year has passed and so has Animefest 2017. I guess after 17 years you had to get some firsts. This was the first year of the con doing a Thursday to Sunday program. Turns out it was ideal for the convention since School started on Monday this year after the con for Most of the Dallas area. So this was the last weekend off. It was also the first time I was asked to come in for the night before to work Registration. It was a four pm to nine Pm shift. We were rather busy.

It was also the first I worked all evening shifts the whole con. Evey day was four pm to nine except the last day Every year up to this one I worked mornings. I will have to say that I liked evenings as it was not so full of massive rush to registration for the con.The part that sucked was that most of the good programing happened just before and crossed over or during the shift times I had. Still I had my normal schedule of life I did and that worked out ok.

One thing that very much surprised me was crash space. For years I stayed in crash space with the same people. It was something I normally counted on. Prior to the convention I had asked several times if I would be rooming again with them and got no answer. Finally I was told neither of them were working this year. I was surprised. Considering like myself they were always there.Well the con is now on year twenty five so I can assume most of the old guard are retiring or just to old or sick to come anymore.

So I am sharing a room with perhaps three new and unknown girls. Wednesday night I had room all to myself. I should have just laid in the center of the bed. But I had assumed I would have roommates. Same for Thursday a girl showed up all upset and bitched about my cooler next to the other bed. I told her. "If i bothers you then move it. I had it there to unload into the mini fridge when it got cold. It was delivered earlier." She moved it and grumbled more and then left... That night I had again assumed I would have roommates and none showed. Again I spent my night sleeping on one side of the bed.

Friday night I just said Fuck it and slept in the center of the bed. I had the place to myself. Saturday night I was alone also. Now I can make perhaps two assumptions. One might be my Transgendered status. The girls that I was with the previous years had no issues. Perhaps the girl that came did. Or Con Staff were worried about it because of the fucked up Texas laws stuff. Even if it was a fluke that I had my own room it was nice and I enjoyed the peace and quiet. (Well Mostly other room down hall was noisy and I had to turn on TV to cover them.)

The Con had begun the new mail out badges if you registered early enough. It seems to be a great thing. This year they had about Eight Thousand of them. That meant that our Registration area did not have to handle them at all other then giving over half the are to Swag bag hand out to them as they arrived. That left the Register on site people for us. I handled the cash only most of the days. I always do that.

This year was perhaps the biggest con ever for Animefest. Now only did they have a great line up of guests they had a record crowd to see them. they topped twelve thousand this year. I managed to get my Staff T-Shirt and the new AF 25 tag to go on my lanyard. I had time to walk the con and pick up two nice wall scrolls for the house. All in all it was a weekend of firsts and nice non crazy work. I will work again next year if they will have me. After all its been over 10 years now of me volunteering...