AnimeUSA 5:
The Bird’s the Word
This is one of those conventions that started off as an instant favorite of mine, and evolved into so much more. This year marks my third consecutive year as a staffer, and for reasons beyond my comprehension, I keep going back for more.
Thursday:
The high price of goofing off.
After inflicting brutal hours at work on myself earlier in the week, I
got today and tomorrow off. Woke up late, and consolidated my convention
materials in a disoriented manner. Finally, got moving around 3, stopped
to get more Yamiko-chan badges printed up. Faced the beltway at the
peak of rush hour! But I wasn't scared. Slightly annoyed, but
I wasn't scared.
Welcome to the front lines.
Finally at the hotel, I am almost instantly put to work. Sizing
up the main rooms, and helping assemble registration bags into the wee hours
of the night. Put together some Yamiko-chan badges, drank some wine,
and did some oddball work before conking out for the night. Steve S.
got a sponsor badge, and went above and beyond the call of duty by helping
out with assembly. +5 respect for the man. Meanwhile, Patti and
Siham seem to be getting along well. It's the first time either of
them helped to staff a convention. I hope for their sakes they know
what they're getting into.
Friday:
Main screen turn on.
My waking was not unlike a large heavy object being dredged from mud.
A little over 3 hours of sleep was acquired through the night. As my
senses slowly regained themselves, switching themselves on with great difficulty,
I got the AUSA shirts somewhat organized, with help from &rew.
Mostly people with silver/sponsor badges are picking up their shirts.
There's a strange girl here, wandering around. People either hate her,
like her, fear her, or any combination. I'm... Ok with her, and
perhaps she's ok with me. But how did she get a staff badge?
Denied!
Meanwhile, I suffered a defeat! There was a dealer at AWA that was
selling doujinshi by the ton, knew what was in each box, and was even familiar
with which artist did what. I was pleased to learn that they'd be here.
So, an hour before the dealers room was supposed to open to the general public,
I used the power of the staff badge and marched in, seeking out that dealer,
finding him at the back of the room. But! All they brought with
them, was not hentai, but yaoi. All the hentai doujinshi went to Sugoi-con,
which was running the same weekend. Someone deserves to get their
ass kicked for that. I made my displeasure known, and sulked out of
the dealers room. I guess I won't be buying much this weekend.
"You dragged his libido out into the street, shot it, ran over it with
your car, and ran over it again with your other car."
Later on, I told this tale to Joe, who in pure jest, suggested I give
yaoi a try. Then I successfully embarrassed him by loudly accusing
him of trying to seduce me, much to the giggly delight of some nearby girls.
Making the most of it
Decided to give in and buy some wi-fi internet usage in the hotel.
Getting decent download speeds. I want to take a break and wander to
the bathroom and eventually get something to eat.
There was a lot happening, but most of it didn't involve me. Sat
around trying to sell t-shirts, and lost track of how much anime I downloaded.
After packing up the shirts for the evening, I wandered around, mostly with
Patti. I suppose she's holding together, but she is showing some wear.
A little tired. Going to bed.
For various reasons, we were stuck with the weekend before Thanksgiving, which certainly isn't the best weekend for a convention. It was either this or the weekend after, which would have been disastrous at best. Fortunately it looks like we advertised enough to balance out being on a questionable weekend.
Saturday:
Um, hey... wait a minute...
Woke up when the phone rang. Got a shower, then got all the shirts
set up. There is a LOT of people here. I'll be somewhat surprised
if we don't hit 1500 this weekend. Set up the laptop to leech, then
took a break to see the art show. Much better than Otakon's, seeing
as how they didn't really have one.
And he did return, and with Dew!
Later on in the day, snuck off for a quick dealers room jaunt. Suddenly,
Brian returns from the store with a 12-pack of Mountain Dew for me!
He had gone out to get a ton of supplies for the con suite, so I asked him
to bring back the aforementioned 12-pack. Convention life can now return
to normal, however that can be defined.
Dude, there's a line for the Cosplay!
Yes, there is a significant line for the cosplay. I see it, yet
it borders on disbelief for me. Someone else is going to be in charge
of taping it, which means I don't have to! I feel so free! The
room isn't packed, but empty seats aren't obvious. I'm watching it anyway,
as there are some very good costumes. It's always been one of the less
taxing cosplays to watch.
In fact, a lot of people including myself feel that this is one of the
better cons to attend. Staffing will always be stressful, but there's
always going to be something that makes it all worthwhile. Something
that makes us come back for more.
Battle of the sexists, or, the hentai dilemma
At 11PM, con-goers have a choice of either the Gothic/Lolita panel or
Fanservice. I was one of the hosts for the fanservice panel, so that's
where I went. Ah, that was fun, even though it didn't go as well as
either of us had hoped. Then I checked out Kaiju Big Battel!
People in monster suits wrestling! Complete with flashy sound effects!
The actors must have had some significant wrestling training, if they weren't
wrestlers to begin with, because foam padding or not, these guys are taking
a pounding. Intentionally and lovably cheesy overall. After
that, wandered into a room party for a few minutes, then guarded a room until
hotel security locked it for the night, and stumbled back to bed.
The day was certainly full of activity for me, much of which was behind-the-scenes
type stuff. But, I get comments about how things are doing, from suggestions
on how to genuinely improve some trouble areas, to simple praise about how
things are done. Both of them are nice, really. The constructive
criticism is a good sign, as it shows that those that offer it haven't given
up on the con itself. Gushing praise is good too, and bolsters the
ego.
Sunday:
Hm, clog a toilet, get free breakfast?
Not sure when or how I woke up, but the toilet had plugged up and overflowed,
and since maintenance had come to fix it, the hotel offered us a choice of
goodies. I opted for the breakfast buffet for two. Just what's
needed for that last push on Sunday morning.
Didn't have much traffic for t-shirt sales, so I was only open for that
for a couple hours. After all, I had to go to the Anime Tractor Pull,
which is an AUSA thing that Keith and I came up with one year because we
needed panel ideas. Some joking around for a few minutes gave birth
to this idea. So that took up a good two hours, then it was time to
start breaking down stuff. Mostly helping to load convention stuff
onto a van. Saw a girl who had spent countless hundreds of dollars
on yaoi doujinshi. At least someone got a rise out of all that.
Picking up the pieces of sanity...
Eventually I had to go home. Patti was about to leave as well; it
was obvious that she was completely worn out and frazzled. So, &rew
and I loaded up Yamiko-chan, and set forth towards home.
The trip technically didn't take any longer than normal, aside from a
stop for some fast food. We opted to not partake of the ethnic cuisine
that was part of the Dead Dog party. In the normal course of a day,
yeah we would have gone for it, but right after a convention? &rew
and I agreed that "static foods" are better for this situation. So
Burger King it was. If I thought about it then, I would have continued
a few more miles and we could have pigged out at Old Country Buffet.
...and cleaning up the fallout.
The remainder of the trip home was a blur for me. My brain had stopped
using anything more than basic functions necessary for driving. Anything
beyond that wasn't impossible, but it would have used more mental clock cycles
than normal. Work waited for me the next day, although I wasn't too
keen on that prospect.
All in all, it was fun, even though I was there mostly for functionality
of the con, doing mostly odd jobs through the weekend. Not surprising,
I'm still on board for next year. Patti is as well, although she would
like to see some changes in how things are done. Fair enough.
These are changes that need to happen anyway. Oh, what the average attendee
doesn't see. People that have never been on staff but consider joining
up, think otherwise when they see actual staffers in action.
Since I was mostly working during the convention, there wasn't much that
I actually saw. Anime? The only thing I watched was the Kaiju
Big Battel. The rest of the video schedule I either already have (such
as Scrapped Princess) or can easily get. Cosplay? Watched it,
but didn't tape it. It was nice to be able to simply walk in and watch
it, rather than go in earlier, set up the camcorder and such, and hope I
get a good usable copy. Someone else had that job, and he did far better
work than what I could even hope to do. Anime music videos contest?
Ok, I would have liked to see it. But then there's that accessibility
card I play so often when it comes to AUSA. Fan Parodies? Same
deal with that. Somehow I'll find a way to get a hold of all the stuff
I missed, knowing that it's only a quick blurb away on a message board or
the email list.
Anyway, there's next year, and the convention will be on Halloween weekend.
Should prove interesting.
A lov-a-ly batch of coconuts:
Attendance: As I thought, it was over 1600! Initial estimates
were lower until we actually counted.
Highs: Probably the biggest thing is to see many people having fun,
and knowing that I helped with that, even if it was in some small way.
Plus, even though I didn't get to as much as I would have liked, it was still
fun to hang out with the friends that showed up. And there was also
the treat that was Kaiju Big Battel!
Lows: Is it just me, or did this weekend seem to wipe me out more
than usual? Plus there were some problems involving the weird girl
mentioned earlier. I didn't see her do anything directly, but I heard
too many things.
Food: Whatever I could grab. It was at least meal-grade food.
Cost overview: Seeing as how I didn't have to spend money on hotel,
registration, or most of my food, and getting the proverbial wind knocked
out of me when it came to doujinshi, I didn't spend much at all.
Conclusion: Again, next year!
Up next: Ohayocon 4!
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