Anime Weekend Atlanta 9:
Down that familiar road, to an unfamiliar place
Seeing as how attending AWA requires more effort and vacation time than
what I could put forth for two small conventions, its not often that I'm
able to attend. But, going to AWA is a treat that I don't pass up when
I can go. This is one of those times.
Thursday:
Zero Day.
Went to work for half a day, and left from there to take care of some
odds and ends and pick up Christian. Loaded his baggage into Yamiko-chan,
and off we went.
Maybe it wasn't ME who was the alien!
A little bit past 3 in the morning, we land at the Renaissance.
I have no idea how I stayed awake. Entering the hotel, we are greeted
by a massive ad for the Anime Network. Classy place, but where in hell
is the bathroom!? The first one was being cleaned, so I asked where
the next one was. All I got for a response was a look like I was a
tentacled monster from another planet. Ok then! Found one upstairs,
but only after an inordinate amount of walking, and the second one was being
cleaned, but by then I really didn't care, I was about ready to just find
a dark corner and let it fly. Thankfully, it didn't come to that.
Anyway, someone on staff here offered us crash space beforehand, so we
piled into the room. I just flopped on the bed and passed out.
By then I didn't really need to be in a bed to sleep, I could have conked
out just as easily on a pile of rocks or broken glass.
Zero Day: It is the day that I leave home for the weekend; all
preparations need to be done by then.
Friday:
Well, of course it's not like Otakon.
Woke up and found everyone had gone, so I got myself ready for the day.
The line for registration is insanely long. On the other hand, it
pales in comparison to the pre-registration line for Otakon on Thursday.
Registration materials were nothing out of the ordinary, but I felt it was
necessary to bring out the super-lanyard.
Bounced between the dealers' room and EK's table. Found a Scrapped
Princess doujinshi that someone else almost bought. That was close.
Haven't seen a trace of the Gendou's Groupies. Since the hotel is
attached to a mall, that meant cheap mall food. For a hotel full of
anime fans, that's a wonderful thing.
Three hours to hell
Anime Hell is coming up, and I intend to see it. Maybe not stay
for the whole thing, but I'll be there for some of it. Meanwhile, our
roommate dropped out of the room, and the entire convention, due to sudden
personal events. Checked out the con suite, there are some munchies
and such, and a TV playing anime music videos.
"I'll eat this with my fork!"
Since Gendou's Groupies has shown up, I passed on the first half of Hell
in favor of having dinner with them. Forgot where we ate, but it
was the kind of place where we expected better service than what we got.
Even after the food arrived, we still had to ask for silverware.
When that was done, went back to my original mission, and later on
was greeted by a parody called "Nescaflowne", which turned the original
plot into a story of a war about coffee. Beautiful. The one
after that looked promising, but I was gonna conk out soon. Today
has been rather satisfying, I must say.
Insomnia, why have thou forsaken me?
My last act in the room was to watch "Cat Soup". What a thing to
see before falling asleep.
Saturday:
Food. Hentai!
It was close to noon when I finally woke up. Showered, threw on
some clothes, the usual. Helped James find someone, then ducked into
the dealers room. Found a few things in there. Getting hungry
again.
A few hours later and all I have to show for myself is a foot-long sub
and a ton of doujinshi. Not bad, I suppose. Costume contest?
Nah, I'll pass.
"Drop the Pocky and save yourself!"
Later on, bought some Pocky and was chased by a pair of No-Faces.
I escaped by comically ducking into a video room, then moving into another
for Animation Runner Kuromi. When that was over, commissioned Doug
Smith for a picture of Belldandy, then set my sights for a viewing of G-on
Riders.
Yesterday, I wore my Niea_7 shirt, and received compliments on it, today
I have on my KMFDM:ATTAK shirt and have gotten even more. Saw the
second half of Millennium Actress, which is something I'll have to pick
up soon. Went to the con suite, but they were closed for the night.
So now it's random walking around. In that process, found someone
doing a closeout sale on anime stuff.
Anyway, I have to ask myself why I decided to partake of this weekend.
I guess it was a combination of the free badge, cheap room, and the chance
for another marathon drive. To see friends that I might see once
or twice a year, or less often than that. I can't imagine any single
reason, really. Because when all is said and done, there never is
one single reason.
Tired, so I'm going to bed.
Sunday:
I'm not even going to pretend I'm done in here.
Drifted awake, and quickly re-packed my luggage, and Christian and I
managed to get an elevator before the real rush began. Rare indeed.
While Doug is working on my Belldandy picture, I'm sitting in the dealers'
room. Oh, more than likely I won't leave without buying anything.
Yep, I am called to the doujinshi tables, and have gotten a few more.
No sign of Gendou's Groupies today. Perhaps they've gone home already?
Anyway, until I get the keys back for Yamiko-chan, I guess I'll have to
carry around this slab of doujinshi.
It's their hotel, so I guess they can do that here.
Got my keys back from Christian, but only after getting something to
eat. Bleh, this bag left black residue on my hands. The main
lobby of the hotel has turned into a massive banquet area, all but choking
the flow of foot traffic. Meanwhile, some of the dealers have already
packed up, and it won't close for another two hours. Lost track of
what I spent, but I can figure out that later on. Maybe. Perhaps
I should get a nap before leaving in three hours?
Did in fact find Gendou's Groupies one last time, although Casey had
already left. Bummer. But it's always fun to hang out with
them. The picture of Belldandy is moving along. A small bomb
must've hit the flyer table.
The trip home is going to be just as long, if not longer. Call
it a hunch. Because of the late departure? The first hundred
miles on the way down was broken up by a work commute and odds and ends;
won't have that on the way back.
Run for your life, Keiichi!
Ah, the picture of Belldandy is done. Hoo-hoo, just the way I asked.
Left at 5:30 in the afternoon, and 770 miles and 12 hours later, I touch
down at home, completely wired and ready to spontaneously collapse.
Yet I didn't get to sleep for another two hours. But upon arrival, found
that a special, wonderful surprise awaited me in the mail, in the form of
the Lament/Outflow CD set. What a lovely way to top off an anime convention.
It would have been nice if it arrived before I left for AWA, giving me
plenty of fresh listening material. But I'm happy that it's here
at all.
It is at this point that I must say it was a weekend that was well worth
the effort. Christian said he'll only return to Atlanta for Dragoncon,
which I don't foresee me going to in the near future. He also said
that he heard more anime/jpop music while riding in Yamiko-chan than he
ever heard in his life. As for me, I may or may not return to AWA
next year. I'd like to, I honestly do. If I'm able to, I will.
Nuggets of joy:
Attendance: 4600
Good stuff: There's too much to list, but hanging out with Gendou's
Groupies again, getting chased by the No-Faces, seeing Nescaflowne, and
the glorious road trip to and from the con certainly come to mind.
Bad stuff: Not sure what that would entail, as not much bad stuff
really happened. Ok, the main lobby getting turned into an impromptu
eating area kinda got on everyone's nerves, but if that's the worst that
happened, I can deal with it.
Food: Some fast food and restaurant-grade foods.
Cost overview: Probably the single biggest thing I spent money
on was doujinshi. Lots and lots of doujinshi must have accounted for
at least half of what I spent.
Conclusion: If all the enabling factors are in place next year,
then it's good to go.
Up next: AnimeUSA 5!
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