Last year, I went to Neko Con Ichi. It was small, which wasn't bad. It just had more
than it's share of rough spots, despite having experienced staff. But for the first time,
that happens regardless. That's why I wanted to go again, hoping that things have
shaped up.

3:30 pm: Arrived at the Holiday Inn. Took care of registration, and inside the packet
with the program guide... What's this!? It's a video schedule! Right away, I see
improvements. Not much on the schedule that impresses me, but at least there's a
schedule...

4:30: Finished watching opening ceremonies. The main events room and the dealer's
room have switched places this year, likely for the best. The next three hours was
basically scoping out the layout of the convention, and searching for my roomies.

7:30: Secured the room. Eek! Five to a room again! At least there's enough keys for
everyone. A look around the room: Wall scrolls hanging, a big plastic container of
tapes, a modded Playstation hooked up to the TV, and assorted luggage.

7:45: Got a Slayers Next CD, right before dealers' room closes. Then I bring my luggage
in.

8:45: After a refreshing shower, decided to take care of food for the weekend. This
means Leaving The Hotel. I didn't want to face the expense of room service or
restaurants, and in a fairly densely populated area, there should be a grocery store
nearby. My calculations were right. For $20, I got enough food to easily last me the
entire weekend. After finding another parking space, discovered it was amazingly
close to the room.

10:15: Finished a sandwich and other munchies, moseyed about, but nothing grabbed my
interest, so I headed back to the room.

10:45: The gang and I converse for awhile, as well as poking fun at two for attempting
to pick up girls at the con. One of them, it's his first convention. He has a lot to
learn...  (You know who you are!)

12:00 am: Head out to see some music videos. Watched only seven of them, and left
after Chris' video was shown.

12:45: Me tired. Me have big day. Me go to bed.

Thoughts on Friday: There was something missing from the dealer's room. Can't put my
finger on it yet. Otherwise, this con is living up to standards. Still not the best I'd
ever been to, but the improvements over last year are substantial. That is why giving a
convention a second chance is important, because that second chance is rarely, if ever,
wasted.

9:45: After basic preparations, I go out to my car for my Otakon '99 badge, thinking I
can use the chain from that for the Neko badge. It works. Found the fastest way from
the room to con is by going outside.

10:30: My second objective in the dealer's room is done. I'd like to get some more LDs,
but I'm trying to keep a grip on existing bills.

That's what's missing! Bootleg CDs! Wow, they're really cracking down on those things
here...

2:45 pm: A while later... Finally got to deliver the O'99 cosplay tape to Steve Bennett.
Came to the conclusion that I bought too much food last night. I'll have enough leftover
cheese for a week! And what was I thinking when I bought 20 of those little fruit drink
boxes? Anyway... Figure I'll get in line this evening for the Cosplay. Earlier than
normal, even. Checked out my camcorder, everything's cool, and I brought my tripod
this time.

5:00: The con-time-warp effect is really kicking in now. Didn't think those past two
hours would go by so fast. Gonna grab some munchies and such, pick up my camcorder,
and head out.

5:30: Milling about, I don't see anything resembling a line yet. I know that'll change.

7:00: Seating for the Cosplay begins. As anticipated, I get a good seat, and my tripod
lifts my camcorder past head levels.

9:45: It's over, finally. Had a few rough shots, but my footage is otherwise intact.
Total running time from beginning to end is a little over two hours. I could probably
trim it down for distribution to fit on a T-120 tape. Looks like the Anime Con
Personality Deathmatch is becoming a regular Cosplay event.

10:45: After sharing a few con stories with Bob, (there were two Bobs in the room) I
head out to see what else was there to do.

11:45: Reminded myself that I can't dance, even though I'd like to. My knee gave me a
scare earlier that week, so I wasn't going to push it. The ability to walk is important
to me, and I have a stick-shift car to drive home tomorrow. Bought some Slayers
fan-art in the artist's alley. Went back to the room, and watched an episode of Trigun
on tape before fatigue got the better of me.

In the "No... I'll pretend I didn't see that" category: A man dressed as Rei Ayanami, and
glimpses of anime music videos using Britney Spears and Backside Boys songs.

Jeez, what was I thinking in the grocery store!? I'm not gonna eat two pounds of
cheese in one weekend!

10:30: Finished moving all my stuff out of the room and to my car, and handed the key
over to Chris. Looked over the schedule, figured that there wasn't much that I wanted
to see, and the panels didn't start till noon.

11:00: Neko staff had recorded their own copy of the Cosplay, and re-played it on
Sunday afternoon for the benefit of many that may have missed it last night. Plenty of
seating anyway, I could stretch out over five chairs and take a nap without bothering
anyone. Nevertheless, a great idea for any convention.

1:30 pm: Checked out the art auction, and saw Chris out-bid someone on a Devil Hunter
Yohko picture for a nice chunk o' change. I was not surprised he would do that.

2:15: While Chris is waiting in line to pay for the picture, Joe and I ponder on climbing
to the ceiling using the diagonal rafters. When Chris is done, they both head home.

3:30: After spending a little over an hour wandering about watching everything
shutting down, I can't help but feel a little down myself. It's not the 4 1/2 hour trip
home that bothers me, it's just having to go home at all. Anyway, the feedback panel is
about to begin.

4:00: No major complaints from me, and since I didn't want to get home too late, I
figure I can skip the rest of the Q & A and the closing ceremonies to give myself an
extra two hours travel and recovery time. For me, Neko Con R is over, and much better
than last year.

8:30: Including a stop at Stuckey's, I reach home quickly.

Attendance-wise, they went from under 500 last year to well over 1100 this year.
That's not bad; the hotel can handle crowds that size. It also translates to something
else, namely more attendees = more volunteers, which in turn means smoother
operations. That's something I had not considered before.

Highs:

being able to watch tapes in the room
not too big, not too small

personal high point:

got a great seat for the Cosplay, without having to wait in line forever, letting me
record without many intrusions, and was still able to walk straight afterwards

Lows:

surprise in doujinshi I picked up--Nope, too young... Gotta throw her back...
almost ran out of clean clothes

Tips:

When making a music video, be sure that the music choice is not something overly
popular. You're trying to appeal to a comparatively fringe element, after all.
Room service and hotel restaurants are fine, if you can afford it.
If you take the grocery shopping route, don't underestimate the power of fruits and
veggies! They can really add to your stamina.
Know where the stairs and exits are, primarily because elevators can get crowded fast.

This report subject to updates as I see fit. BWAHAHAHA!!

Up next:  Katsucon 6!
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