LOL AE2009 (I just felt like having a retarded title)
Whew, AE2009 is finally over! I must say this year was perhaps the most exhausting AE I have been. The last time I went was in 2006, where I staffed in the registration department. That was exhausting as well, since I had to wake up at 5:30am everyday to work in the registration department (I signed up for morning shifts so that I can play for the whole afternoon). The lineups back in 2006 were always uber long (for Friday morning, the pre-reg people had to wait in line for over an hour to get their pass), but for 2009 it was a lot better. Other than the fact they have failed to open registration on time like they do for every year, once registration opens (it opened at 8:40am as opposed to the announced time 8:00am), it only took me and my friend 15 minutes in the lineups, so it wasn't bad at all. What sucks is that AE reg staffs have spelled my name wrong despite I e-mailed them 5 times (and they replied to the first 4 e-mailes) to get it corrected. *sigh*
So, why was this year the most exhausting year? As some of you may know already, I decided to give the Artist Alley a try by selling my crappy art. 8D; I was worried that I may not be good enough and I really want to get to know the people who bought from me (although I ended up being too nervous to talk), so the overall experience in the AA is quite... exhausting. But, it was still fun... just that, I didn't really enjoy the convention as much as I did back in 2004-2006,
because I have focused 99% of my energy into stalking my own AA table. xD;
~*~Friday~*~
I woke up at 6am (went to bed at 4am, was making some last-minute charms) to get dressed. I cosplayed as Rokujou Miharu (from Nabari no Ou) that day. First difficulty: HOW TO GET THE CONTACTS INTO MY EYES? Wow, that took like 10 minutes. My right eye seems to really hate contact lens so it took forever to get it in... Next: HOW TO STYLE MY HAIR INTO MIHARU'S HAIR STYLE? I tried for 10 minutes. It didn't look right. So I gave up (brought the hair spray w/ me so that I can ask ppl for help later). Next: Because I was too slow, my friend aiwa09 (who I shared my table with) had to wait for me at the bus stop for 10 minutes. I'm so sorry. ;_;
(no one recognized my Miharu cosplay OTL)
And so, we arrived at Vancouver Convention Center at 8:20am. Got our pass after reg opened, and then we went into the washroom... to style my head lol! I think we killed the hair spray bottle after 30 minutes xD; Oh wellz. After aiwa finished styling my hair, we went straight to set up our table... and I pretty much sat there for the rest of the day making new charms, chatting with my friends, and guarding the table (since aiwa had to go to school at 2pm). 8D; It sounds boring, isn't it. What's most annoying is that the Artist Alley is located RIGHT NEXT to the concert, so my (and other artists') ears were continuously bombarded with loud rock music. Some customers were even scared away because they couldn't stand the loud music... orz. I started to get really worried by 5:30pm, since my stuff aren't selling well, so I was afraid that I won't be able to break even with the material cost and admission cost... Not to mention that I was stationed next to a lot of famous artists that are a lot more attractive in many ways than I am... (And this has happened over 9000 times)
Afterwards, I went to check out the 404 Improv group, and then joined the Anime Idol Audition... I was debating between singing Kesenai Tsumi (I'm more confident in this) and HIKARI, and I chose HIKARI simply because I'm cosplaying as Miharu (although no one could tell)... The judge cut me off while I am singing ;_; Com'on, my singing can't be that bad... (I was so nervous that I froze and closed my eyes while singing lol)
And after that, I went home... by the time I got home it's already midnight @_@; After showering and chatting w/ ppl for a while it's already 2am OTL
~*~Saturday~*~
I planned to wake up at 7:45am but overslept and didn't wake up until 8:10am... and so, the first difficulty again. Except that this time it took 15 minute to get the darn (disposible) contact lens onto my eyes. And so, I was late to meet up aiwa again... OTL. I bought a wig for my Edward Elric cosplay, so it was easier to style... (we styled my wig right behind our table in the Artist Alley LOL) Then ShaoranKun came by and bought an Italy charm from me 8D (a different friend also bought one yesterday) *hugs*.
Something "unfortunate" (sorta) happened later in the afternoon though... A girl came over and bought 6 charms from me (yay!). She then asked for a discount for my calendar and I said yes. I let her choose a colour she likes and handed the calendar to her...and forgot to get money for the calendar (she did pay for the charms before asking for calendar discount) from her! OTL I realized that 5 minutes afterwards, so it was kinda impossible to chase after the girl for money x_X I'm pretty bad with faces too, so I already forgot how that girl looks like... OTL. I certainly hope it was unintentional and she really did forgot to pay...
By the end of Saturday, I haven't broke even yet... still haven't earned the money for the con pass and AA table cost yet... so after I had dinner with aiwa, I went to seek the truth of the world out a way to break even... by reading the Death Note. xD *gets bricked*
After that I went to check out the Voice Actor Idol and the Japan Dramas panel. Both were interesting. I wanted to go to the 404 late-night improv event too, but I was too sleep so I went home... again, it was midnight when I got home. And it's 2am after showering and stuff.
Edit: Forgot to mention this, lol. I went to have dinner with ~aiwa-9 at a nearby food court, and when I went to the washroom (still fully cosplayed as Ed) a little girl stared at me and asked if I'm Edward from FMA O_____O Wow, a little 6 years old who watches FMA! And her MOM watches it too! (since her mom recognizes me as Ed as well) wow...
~*~Sunday~*~
Same morning routine as Saturday... overslept a little, took 10 minutes to put contact lens on... today, I went with rabi instead, because aiwa has to go to school. She also brought the plushies she made (aiwa was selling plushies as well), so our table is filled with a ton of plushies lol.
I didn't do much today other than sit around and sell my stuff. But I did take a break and walked around to check out artists' stuff. =3 Everyone have awesome drawings that it makes me feel so inferior xD;; There was also a few people who asked for my photo because I'm the only Edward in the "right size" in this convention LOL XD There were two other Ed's in the con that are like 180cm tall... xD; (I'm 153cm) More people came today to buy stuff (everyone is last minute shoppers? lol) and there were quite a few charm requests too. Happy origami folding? 8D At the end of today, I managed to break even and not lost money on the production cost of my calendars, prints, and charms x3 I was really happy about it in the end.
I also checked out the dealer's room, but I didn't really buy anything... my room is running out of space to put stuff and I don't want to throw anything away, so I managed to hold back from buying stuff xD; I wanted to buy doujinshi, but no one has EdxAl (to be expected since it's so rare)... It's all RoyxEd @___@;
Mudkip cosplay is super special awesome!
After the Artist Alley closed, rabi and I packed up and went home. It was 6pm, and AE 2009 is officially over. I think AE improved (compared to 06) this year because it's hosted at an actual convention center instead of at an university. There is air-conditioning inside the center, so I didn't feel hot at all wearing the Ed costume. =3 It would be nicer if the AA wasn't located next to the concert... whenever the concert is going on, the AA area is really quiet, but once the concert is over, there are a lot of people. Some customers were scared away by the music too x_x ("Hey, ket's leave since it's so noisy here) Anyway, although it was pretty exhausting and tiresome, I still had lots of fun at AE and the AA this year. Cosplaying Ed is fun cuz I can chase after people and (pretend to) beat the crap outta them when they call me short. xD; But I'm a rather timid person in real life so I never managed to scream "DON'T CALL ME SHORT" at them xD;; (It seems I'm the one who needs the Ed charm the most! lol) I wonder if I'd have the chance to go to AA and AE2010 next year?
Anyway, overall I feel I did well, considering that this is the first con I have had my own table. =D