Animazement 6:
No good reason required
Last year, I had a blast, which was enough incentive to go again.
Made room reservations for several people, expecting a sizable turnout. There were some complications, and more people dropped out than I thought
would. Oh well.
Friday:
It's an omen!
After staying up entirely too late, I finally set out onto the wet roads. I have a feeling the trip isn't going to be as easy as it was last year.
Look, if you ain't got any nuts, leave me the hell alone.
It was a rough trip. A hundred mile long fistfight with I-95, traffic
slowing down for no reason. Must be a dihydrogen monoxide spill or something;
I hear those are nasty. Although one highlight was a stop at the NC
welcome center, which was populated by very tame squirrels. They had
no problem with people's footsteps mere inches from their bushy tails, and
at the same time, didn't go out of their way to mooch.
So I finally rolled in, arriving at 6 pm. Got a room, and it's as
close to the con as possible. Set up the air mattress for Mike.
Looked over the video schedule; a lot of what I want to see I had already
gotten ahold of two weeks ago, just haven't watched it yet. Hm.
Excuses, excuses
Waiting on Anime Hell to start, meanwhile checking out the karaoke. Someday I might do that. But certainly not this time; pesky cold remnants. Eh, I might find something else to explore.
At long last, I finally meet some folks that I missed at Katsucon. It was great meeting them, and all the goofing off that ensued.
Functionally, this con hasn't changed much. Which isn't bad, really.
Saturday:
"Hey, this key doesn't work anymore... (heheheh)"
Woke up after a restful sleep, and got another room key for Justin and Sarah,
using a sneaky method. Helped get the AUSA table get setup FINALLY,
wondering why much of the stuff was sent with me, despite the known fact that
I wasn't going to be there early. The box of t-shirts didn't seem heavy
at first, but a large box with no handles? But deliver I did, and on
the way, said goodbye to Marc.
Putting in some time at the table, might see the cosplay again. Wasn't
planning to originally, though. Bought only a cd and some ramune soda,
which I promptly sprayed all over. Call me an old-fashioned simpleton,
but I prefer the standard screw-top bottles.
"As long as you don't point that thing at someone..."
True to my nature, I did indeed buy more stuff. Some of the costumes
have props that wouldn't be allowed at Otakon, Katsucon, or most other cons
for that matter, due to being too similar to actual weapons. The local
police, an active presence here, seem as unfazed as the hotel staff. It's Animazement's third year at this hotel, so they must be getting along.
A mish-mash of events
The day went on, and when the dealers room closed, we shuttled everything
back to the room. Ventured out on my own, and found CaseyLou and co. Hung out with them for awhile, then when the cosplay started, went with J
& S to Wendy's. Put together some figurines I got earlier, then
all of a sudden there's a knock on the door. A pizza delivery man is
here, as Mike ordered some. Good thing he told me about it. Once
back inside, goofed off with Gendo & Co. for some random fun, including
attacking a stalker with squirt guns.
Finally got back to the room, and slowly drifted off to sleep. It
is a strong hunch that I won't see any anime or AMV's this weekend.
Intentionally skipped the Cosplay. But I'm ok with that, because as
long as I'm having fun, that's what counts.
Sunday:
An itch to finally scratch
Woke up, and shifted our stuff around to our cars and the table. Been
kinda slow today, and a lot of things are winding down. For my last
(hah!) trip to the dealers room, got a couple more things, including a Belldandy
figure that I thought about getting for a long time now. Ah, to think,
mere hours from now, I'll be on my way home.
Pocky for the masses!
Went to move my car, and in doing so, found Inky and made a quick, final
jump into the dealers room and got a big 10-pack of Pocky. Upon exiting,
I shared most of it before they left. Watched some stuff on Justin's
computer, including something about Gackt going fishing. Gonna take
one look around for any other things going on, then head out with Justin and
Sarah for some food at Arby's, and then... home.
The trip back home started well, then was rainy past Richmond. But
the rain wasn't at the front of my mind. What was, was the events of
the weekend itself and my brain trying to sort them. Doing these reports
help. I know I'll never remember everything, but this way, I can remember
some of it.
Tidbits and such:
Attendance: I'm gonna guess somewhere between 2000 and 3000.
Highs: Aside from a few snafus, went rather well throughout.
Lows: Travel was yucky, missed a few things that I probably shouldn't
have, but all minor things, really.
Food: Whatever I could scrounge up, on both ends of the spectrum.
Cost overview: Hell if I know, lost track of it too easily.
Not as much as last year, I'd imagine, since I didn't eat a hotel bill all
by myself. Close to it, though.
In conclusion: Yep, this one's on my schedule for next year.
Up next: Anime Mid Atlantic 3!
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