Man, what a weekend!
Alright, so... starting with after work on Friday, I did some random things (and some packing) and eventually went with Take and Jaz to see Dark Knight Rises. Short form, it was pretty good, weird but I liked it and will ~probably~ own it some day when I find it for cheap enough.
Saturday involved getting up at pretty much the same time I normally do on work days, then rushing to get my stuff into the car and get the neighbors (Cloud and Wolki) in the car too so that we could set out for Mississauga way up in Ontario, Canada. The drive was uneventful and the passengers took turns napping, we got through customs pretty quickly, and true to my predictions got to TFCon ere noon (was it maybe around 11?). We couldn't check in at the hotel proper until 3 or later for some bloody reason (seriously guys WTF), so what did I do? I shopped, of course. Found lots of neat stuff, my group met up with another group (resulting in making new friends, woohoo, one of them was dressed as Animated Swoop and actually later won the costume contest) for foods, and things pretty much consisted of gallivanting and buying toys until we all pretty much spontaneously crashed in the hotel room before 10. I'm pretty sure the other two only intended to nap, but we were all so wiped from the night before and the long drive and such that we just slept all the way to morning. It's probably to date the earliest time I've ever gotten to bed at a con.
Sunday was pretty much more of the same, running about and seeing and buying more stuff. Sunday has the advantage, however, in that you've got a little more bargaining power. I went pretty far over my intended budget (not cripplingly so, but still), but I'm still of the opinion that it was worth it. I only met up with one of my comrades from the forums all weekend, but that's alright. My group and the other from the day before reconvened for various things (and I got temporarily deputized as security for one panel, because apparently I can look pretty imposing when I need to), and when the whole thing was starting to wind down we went to a local spot for proper food and just to talk at length. We actually didn't get back on the road until almost 7 PM, resulting in it being a touch after midnight when we got back home, making it a damned good thing I reserved today off. So far I've spent it unboxing my haul and applying what turns out to be only a small percentage of an absolute ocean of decals. DAMMIT.
So the con itself was interesting on reflection. Me not really being into the fandom so much, coupled with there not really being a whole ton of events (there were ~some~, just not lots), it felt more than anything like a lengthy overnight trip to visit a flea market or something. It was nifty watching all the goings-on, but when you get right down to it I was there to buy all the toys I possibly could, and outside that particular goal there wasn't a lot on my agenda. So once again it was a pretty laid-back time - might've been a good idea to bring the GBA and CotM along for this one too. I certainly enjoyed talking to all the new and already-familiar people, but...yeah, it mostly felt like an aggrandized shopping trip. Which is cool in itself, y'know, but not like any other con I've seen. Still really glad I went though, and stoked about doing it again next year.
I will say one more thing - it would've been nice to stay one ~more~ day after the con was over, and have some more time to get to know the area. Canada's a pretty interesting place from where I sit, and the new people I met weren't coming home until today, so having some more hang-out time with them would've been cool. So maybe next year I can plan ahead some more and restructure things, we'll see. For now, it's time to clean the Roost up a bit, get a little exercise, and try for the life of me to find shelf space for all this new stuff.
Peace out.
Saturday involved getting up at pretty much the same time I normally do on work days, then rushing to get my stuff into the car and get the neighbors (Cloud and Wolki) in the car too so that we could set out for Mississauga way up in Ontario, Canada. The drive was uneventful and the passengers took turns napping, we got through customs pretty quickly, and true to my predictions got to TFCon ere noon (was it maybe around 11?). We couldn't check in at the hotel proper until 3 or later for some bloody reason (seriously guys WTF), so what did I do? I shopped, of course. Found lots of neat stuff, my group met up with another group (resulting in making new friends, woohoo, one of them was dressed as Animated Swoop and actually later won the costume contest) for foods, and things pretty much consisted of gallivanting and buying toys until we all pretty much spontaneously crashed in the hotel room before 10. I'm pretty sure the other two only intended to nap, but we were all so wiped from the night before and the long drive and such that we just slept all the way to morning. It's probably to date the earliest time I've ever gotten to bed at a con.
Sunday was pretty much more of the same, running about and seeing and buying more stuff. Sunday has the advantage, however, in that you've got a little more bargaining power. I went pretty far over my intended budget (not cripplingly so, but still), but I'm still of the opinion that it was worth it. I only met up with one of my comrades from the forums all weekend, but that's alright. My group and the other from the day before reconvened for various things (and I got temporarily deputized as security for one panel, because apparently I can look pretty imposing when I need to), and when the whole thing was starting to wind down we went to a local spot for proper food and just to talk at length. We actually didn't get back on the road until almost 7 PM, resulting in it being a touch after midnight when we got back home, making it a damned good thing I reserved today off. So far I've spent it unboxing my haul and applying what turns out to be only a small percentage of an absolute ocean of decals. DAMMIT.
So the con itself was interesting on reflection. Me not really being into the fandom so much, coupled with there not really being a whole ton of events (there were ~some~, just not lots), it felt more than anything like a lengthy overnight trip to visit a flea market or something. It was nifty watching all the goings-on, but when you get right down to it I was there to buy all the toys I possibly could, and outside that particular goal there wasn't a lot on my agenda. So once again it was a pretty laid-back time - might've been a good idea to bring the GBA and CotM along for this one too. I certainly enjoyed talking to all the new and already-familiar people, but...yeah, it mostly felt like an aggrandized shopping trip. Which is cool in itself, y'know, but not like any other con I've seen. Still really glad I went though, and stoked about doing it again next year.
I will say one more thing - it would've been nice to stay one ~more~ day after the con was over, and have some more time to get to know the area. Canada's a pretty interesting place from where I sit, and the new people I met weren't coming home until today, so having some more hang-out time with them would've been cool. So maybe next year I can plan ahead some more and restructure things, we'll see. For now, it's time to clean the Roost up a bit, get a little exercise, and try for the life of me to find shelf space for all this new stuff.
Peace out.