This is just gonna be a more stream-of-consciousness (moreso than usual) post, where I just write out my thoughts and experiences.
Overall it was a good experience, although GOD DAMN there were some organizational silliness on the behalf of the con. Some of the staff could be pushy at times (and not in the 'understanding' way the staff at Ota was where it was a "sorry guys but you gotta make the line stay against the wall thanks for understanding" kind of thing) and handing out 18+ wristbands at a place OTHER than where you register is ... not a good way to go about it. But they also were flexible at times (which I'll get to in a bit)
This was my third con, my second "proper" con (first was Ota last year), and my first con where I cosplayed.
Let's get the cosplays out of the way:
Friday:
Tank top/muscle shirt Dirk. I do not have the arms for it.
Saturday:
Aces Suited Dave because I am a classy bastard.
I got some really nice compliments on this cosplay (BUT I JUST THREW IT TOGETHER. THE WHOLE THING COST 50 BUCKS AND MOST OF THAT WAS THE WIG LOL WAT) ... a Latula cosplayer called me 'senpai' o_o
Nobody laughed at me, so that's also good.
Friday I just went solo, but the amazingly nice thing about a moderate-sized con is that if you know someone, you'll run into them. I hung with friends from the college anime club that I used to go to (and founded), and also my SUPER AWESOME FRIEND ABE who went as Excalibur from Soul Eater (if that means anything to all two of you strangers reading this blog)
The first thing, after loitering with friends, was the How To Eat Cheap and Well At a Convention panel. I was in charge of information about local things, etc. The great thing about running into my friends earlier was that they gave me a WHOLE LIST of local things, much more than what I already had. We also went to the Central Market in Lancaster which was literally next door to the con. Great muffins.
My friend Abe (who was running the panel) was late, he was driving all the way from Philly and had missed his exit. I didn't want people to, like, wait outside the doors of the thing and possibly get frustrated and leave. If we got them into the room, and get them to sit down, and I just start at noon and tell them about local things and buy time. Which is what I did, nobody left and I only had to burn about two minutes. I'm super thankful for the flexible staffers who let me do that, even though I wasn't officially (As in on-paper) part of the panel.
Abe ran the panel for the most part, occasionally I interjected, and I shared my local stuff. Some people filtered out (jerks) but the panel seemed to be a success.
I also pimped Noodle King, and gave out menus. Later I was told that some Zenkai peeps went there so MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
John de Lancie was entertaining and educational and gave a thoughtful answer to my question (when it wasn't stupid questions, he generally gave thoughtful answers). He thought I was a chick at first (ahahaha). It was interesting that he was less about fan-pleasing minutia and more about the craft of acting -- which is refreshing because I really didn't want to hear every. small. detail. about teleporters or something.
A good chunk of Friday was spent in the dealer's room, as per usual, I bought nothing the entire weekend. I never buy anything at cons because I'm a cynical bastard who mentally judges prices constantly and actually knows what a Sonic the Hedgehog action figure costs at Suncoast Video.
Played, like, one game of that Naruto fighting game with some dude (he was cool). I sucked at it but hey!
The Homestuck photoshoot on Friday was alright... although we got relocated once in the time I was there. I accidentally touched someone's butt I'm sorry x_x
Also watched Serial Experiments Lain. Riffed it with some strangers, but I did enjoy it (both the riffing and the anime proper). The bad dub does kind of add an additional unintentional camp appeal but I do dig the stark art style and the plot and ideas behind the anime. At times I do miss some of the stranger aspects of 90's anime. Modern anime tends to be masturbatory otaku material (in both senses), and the international appeal of some of the more 'technological' and 'psychological' anime of the 90's and early 00's no longer exists. Thank God for Rebuild.
I've actually been meaning to see Lain for a little while now. Back when I was an animu-hater (for reasons that lose me) in the early 00's and late 90's, Lain was usually mentioned in the same breath as Evangelion (although it seems to have become more obscure)... and since I dig Eva... I figure I'd probably like Lain (which turned out to be correct)
The big thing friday was Cosplay Burlesque, which was one of the highlights of Ota for me (I got talked into going to the workshop at Ota, and I wanted to see their proper show) ... beforehand I actually got to talk with a few of the people in that before the event, namely the dude who was Belle last year and Irvine this year. I told him I was at the workshop at Ota and it was the highlight of the con, although I said that maybe my laughter (at the workshop at Ota) was probably not the best reaction... but he explained that burlesque started as a comedy-type thing so it was fine. They struck me as really nice/cool people.
I realllllllllllly don't need to explain why I enjoyed the show... Although I think Uncle Yo is rather unfunny. I don't care whether or not you use "bawdy humor" or are crude or whatever (esp. at a burlesque-type thing) but I do care if you're horribly unfunny. Whenever he was on stage, I just wanted him to get the hell off. If that was the point, then he did spectacularly.
But all-in-all I enjoyed it. I'd go see it again.
Saturday I went with my friend Kat. She had a good time (and thanked me for basically forcing her to go... she had a real rough week and it was good for her to get out of the house and hang out with people)
I don't have much to report about Saturday, other than Zenkai REALLY needs to space out the popular events and split them more evenly between Friday and Saturday. The selection of anime to watch on Saturday was .... very meh. Nothing amazing or awesomely bad.
I didn't attend the Homestuck drawmeet (which I REALLY wanted to do) but I was both exhausted and I didn't feel like waiting a whole 4-5 hours for it.
I bailed on the Saturday photoshoot (literally saying "I'm too old for this shit", haha) partly because I don't like being cramped and clueless, but mostly because I lost a button on my suit jacket. I am so glad I brought spare buttons + needle and thread. My friend helped put the button back on so I wouldn't go through the con looking stupid.
ALSO Noodle King for dinner. Seriously. That place is boss.
If the drawmeet was earlier, I would've went too it. I was planning on it, but was exhausted but didn't really have anything to do... and was afraid it'd be chaotic like the photoshoots.
And we also left because all of the people our age seemed to just ... vanish. Another friend of mine told me how the game room's average age seemed to plummet in the evening and he felt weird for it.
So basically me and some friends went and hit a bar instead. We have a lurking suspicion that's what everyone else over the age of 21 was doing.
TL;DR - I had a blast, and I'll go next year if friends are going.
Also, for my next con (Otakon), I really, really want to put together some sort of cosplay group.
UPD8:
Here's the first picture of my Dave cosplay in the wild:
