Kumoricon Report pt 1
So, before I attempt to catch up on what LJ has been up to, I am going to tell you aaaaalll about my weekend!
First, it was last Thursday. First, I worked on packing my clothes and food for the Con. Then I went over to ActuarialMan's house in order to facilitate loading the truck with the Game Library. After that, plus a couple of errands, I headed to the hotel. The Event Company got to the hotel and set up the Exhibit Hall and Main Events. I had to waaaait until the Treasurer came with their check...and of course we determined that a couple things on the stage needed to be altered. (By morning, of course, we realized a couple of other things needed to be fixed as well, but we got it done!) Then I headed over to MG's and made sure she had what she needed for the weekend and took her trash out :-)
Friday morning I finished my packing, loaded MG's van and headed to the hotel. It was a looong day filled with...very little, now that I think about it. I checked up on the setup going on in the garage, checked in with my Director and eventually (around 6ish) got checked into the hotel room I was sharing with my mom, the Guest Manager and her mom.
The Industry Dinner went well. David Vincent and his wife really struck up a friendship with my mom :-) LWK as she became known, grew up in Nampa! So of course there was talk about how to pronounce the names of the little towns in Idaho and the like. (How do you pronounce Kuna?) We had a fabulous time and the food was really good! As usual, there were more seats and food than there were people. A lot of the Directors couldn't make it because they were working. Hazards of the job :-(
Afterwards we went back to the Hilton and, since the Green Room was not officially open yet, sat in my room next door with Chris Cason and some others and chatted about *stuff*. Like how poor Chris would not have any time to go to Timberline Lodge to see where the Shining was filmed, or to Astoria where the Goonies were filmed or to go to any of a dozen food places that we mention.... Poor Chris! If he comes again (and he seemed open to the idea), Relations will have to make sure he comes in a day early or leaves a day later! LOL.
Also chatted a few minutes with the two Cosplay Groups that were Guests as well, Slightly Anime and then later, the Anime Hunters. Both full of very nice people :-) Got them their badges and etc. :-)
Then, it was Saturday. Oh, my gosh. Opening Ceremonies was fun, as usual! I'm glad I was staff and didn't have to wait in line :-) Actually, I was in Main Events putting the new VIP chair back covers on the chairs and saving a few for the Guests of Honor.
After that, I tried to get hold of my Director to see if she needed anything, but she did not respond...so I went to the Exhibit Hall to see if there was anything to buy. There was a long line...my badge says Assistant Director of Relations...I didn't have to wait in line...but I did anyway, since I had some time to kill. Took 15 minutes and I was in. That was pretty awesome. The other two times I came later, Exhibit Hall was still nice and crowded, however there were no lines to get in. Awesome!
Over the course of the weekend I bought: 1 DVD, 2 wall scrolls, 5 manga, a small poster, three key-chains and 5 Prince of Tennis card holders. And I just barely spent half the money I had carefully budgeted for this convention :-) Yay! I like good deals!
I helped a couple of our Guests with their panels...one of which had some nasty tech issues (which turned out to be a communication issue *sighs*).
The VIP Meetup/Mixer was that evening...the food was marvelous and I really liked the Mixer style. Buffet, lots of food, room to roam and mingle :-) Everyone seemed to be having a good time :-) I chatted with three delightful young men (yes, I got pictures of them, they were in costume after all!) and I had a great conversation with Carl Horn, who is the guy you *want* to have trap you in a corner and talk to you for a couple of hours! LOL!
After mingling myself to fullness, I went to the Cosplay Contest pre-meetup. Andi got everyone signed in and then I spoke to them about what to expect the next day and answered questions while she figured out about when people should arrive for their tech rehearsal the following morning. Again we broke records on entries, this time it was for the Costume Judging :-)
I mingled a bit more in Green Room before heading to bed early...I had to be up and downstairs ready for the Cosplay Contest Tech rehearsal at 7:30 the next morning.
Of course, there had to be delays and miscommunications and etc. or it wouldn't be a tech rehearsal, would it? *shakes head* So much of it could have been dealt with easier...and will be next year. Time for the Main Event Techs to give their input on certain parts of the Cosplay Contest Rules, I think. Or at the very least, get Jamiche's input! Let's just say that there had been workarounds going on that I hadn't been aware of and this year with the changes that were made, those didn't work so well. Eh, it's on my list of things to take care of, even if I don't return as Stage Manager next year...I want my successor not to have to deal with the headache! :-)
I had the middle of the day free, after that. I wandered out and about for a while again, then, just as I was to go to the Meetup for the people who had entered the Fan Fiction Contest...more Tech issues came up. I got to go to the panel, only a little late, but got interrupted several times. *whew* Responsibility means you are never really off duty, you know?
So, the fan fiction contest :-) I had entered, "Talking is a Dangerous Activity," my Prince of Tennis story (archived here and at AO3). At the meeting they did not announce the winners, but did talk to us about what they enjoyed about our stories :-) Apparently they had a little argument about which category mine fell under. At Closing Ceremonies I discovered that I had won for Best Romance! Yay!!
After that I raced downstairs to the Cosplay Contest Green Room...and discovered another small issue I hadn't thought of, of course. They scheduled us to have the room 1/2 hour before the Contest started, rather than the hour of setup time I had requested. Of course the panel before us saw that there was a half hour between them and us and was all, "no problem we can go over if we need to!" Darn those communication issues *sighs*
But, we got everyone into the room and calmed down. We reminded them to drink their water, I read the order in which they would be going onto stage and answered more questions :-) I just want to point out that *we* were ready to go at 6pm! First time we beat the Main Event crew ;-) But they had issues with the projector that would be showing us in the Green Room what was going on onstage :-) After that was dealt with and the crowd was seated, I had the Walkons (people who were just there to show off their costumes, as opposed to those doing a skit) line up in a row.
I had a wonderful crew helping me keep people organized and energized and all :-) We got people onto the stage and off of the stage in an efficient and hopefully low stress kind of way. No one passed out or flubbed their lines...I call it a success! :-) We did not finish early this time, but as Jamiche had asked us not to...and we'd started late and the judges took a hair longer than expected (we had the Guests of Honor judge the skits :-)
There was a...in-joke that started during the contest and quickly snowballed. One of the chairs was being used as a stage prop got...attention. It was just an ordinary chair, honest. However, due to the in-joke, it ended up getting the most votes for the Audience Choice Award. I realize that it amused people...and fortunately the Cosplayers themselves found it amusing...'cause otherwise, that would have been a bit hurtful. The Actual Winner was the entry that had met earlier that day at the Cosplay Skits 101 panel, Final Fantasy Ball Z :-)
During the music playing portion of Stalling For Time until the Judges were done, we had a ton of fun in the Cosplay Green Room. I have video, even :-) And then, when they were calling up the winners, the loudest cheers were coming from the Green Room. We compete hard, but we are in this because we love it and our camaraderie is deep :-)
I had one more panel later that night to help with (and I trolled them...really they made it too easy!). It was an 18+ panel which meant people needed a handstamp to get in...which if they didn't have one they had to go up to the Ops Office on the 3rd floor to get one! So, since it was a Roast, the Main Guest couldn't come in until he was called for. Well, inside they're stalling for time while we load the room, so I called into the room and told them that he was running late 'cause he had to go get his hand stamped. They were all like, "what??" and of course he was actually standing behind me and waving at them all. Silly peoples! :-)
Okay, I am falling asleep at my keyboard! I will post this and finish in a second post, I think :-) *hugs the flist*
First, it was last Thursday. First, I worked on packing my clothes and food for the Con. Then I went over to ActuarialMan's house in order to facilitate loading the truck with the Game Library. After that, plus a couple of errands, I headed to the hotel. The Event Company got to the hotel and set up the Exhibit Hall and Main Events. I had to waaaait until the Treasurer came with their check...and of course we determined that a couple things on the stage needed to be altered. (By morning, of course, we realized a couple of other things needed to be fixed as well, but we got it done!) Then I headed over to MG's and made sure she had what she needed for the weekend and took her trash out :-)
Friday morning I finished my packing, loaded MG's van and headed to the hotel. It was a looong day filled with...very little, now that I think about it. I checked up on the setup going on in the garage, checked in with my Director and eventually (around 6ish) got checked into the hotel room I was sharing with my mom, the Guest Manager and her mom.
The Industry Dinner went well. David Vincent and his wife really struck up a friendship with my mom :-) LWK as she became known, grew up in Nampa! So of course there was talk about how to pronounce the names of the little towns in Idaho and the like. (How do you pronounce Kuna?) We had a fabulous time and the food was really good! As usual, there were more seats and food than there were people. A lot of the Directors couldn't make it because they were working. Hazards of the job :-(
Afterwards we went back to the Hilton and, since the Green Room was not officially open yet, sat in my room next door with Chris Cason and some others and chatted about *stuff*. Like how poor Chris would not have any time to go to Timberline Lodge to see where the Shining was filmed, or to Astoria where the Goonies were filmed or to go to any of a dozen food places that we mention.... Poor Chris! If he comes again (and he seemed open to the idea), Relations will have to make sure he comes in a day early or leaves a day later! LOL.
Also chatted a few minutes with the two Cosplay Groups that were Guests as well, Slightly Anime and then later, the Anime Hunters. Both full of very nice people :-) Got them their badges and etc. :-)
Then, it was Saturday. Oh, my gosh. Opening Ceremonies was fun, as usual! I'm glad I was staff and didn't have to wait in line :-) Actually, I was in Main Events putting the new VIP chair back covers on the chairs and saving a few for the Guests of Honor.
After that, I tried to get hold of my Director to see if she needed anything, but she did not respond...so I went to the Exhibit Hall to see if there was anything to buy. There was a long line...my badge says Assistant Director of Relations...I didn't have to wait in line...but I did anyway, since I had some time to kill. Took 15 minutes and I was in. That was pretty awesome. The other two times I came later, Exhibit Hall was still nice and crowded, however there were no lines to get in. Awesome!
Over the course of the weekend I bought: 1 DVD, 2 wall scrolls, 5 manga, a small poster, three key-chains and 5 Prince of Tennis card holders. And I just barely spent half the money I had carefully budgeted for this convention :-) Yay! I like good deals!
I helped a couple of our Guests with their panels...one of which had some nasty tech issues (which turned out to be a communication issue *sighs*).
The VIP Meetup/Mixer was that evening...the food was marvelous and I really liked the Mixer style. Buffet, lots of food, room to roam and mingle :-) Everyone seemed to be having a good time :-) I chatted with three delightful young men (yes, I got pictures of them, they were in costume after all!) and I had a great conversation with Carl Horn, who is the guy you *want* to have trap you in a corner and talk to you for a couple of hours! LOL!
After mingling myself to fullness, I went to the Cosplay Contest pre-meetup. Andi got everyone signed in and then I spoke to them about what to expect the next day and answered questions while she figured out about when people should arrive for their tech rehearsal the following morning. Again we broke records on entries, this time it was for the Costume Judging :-)
I mingled a bit more in Green Room before heading to bed early...I had to be up and downstairs ready for the Cosplay Contest Tech rehearsal at 7:30 the next morning.
Of course, there had to be delays and miscommunications and etc. or it wouldn't be a tech rehearsal, would it? *shakes head* So much of it could have been dealt with easier...and will be next year. Time for the Main Event Techs to give their input on certain parts of the Cosplay Contest Rules, I think. Or at the very least, get Jamiche's input! Let's just say that there had been workarounds going on that I hadn't been aware of and this year with the changes that were made, those didn't work so well. Eh, it's on my list of things to take care of, even if I don't return as Stage Manager next year...I want my successor not to have to deal with the headache! :-)
I had the middle of the day free, after that. I wandered out and about for a while again, then, just as I was to go to the Meetup for the people who had entered the Fan Fiction Contest...more Tech issues came up. I got to go to the panel, only a little late, but got interrupted several times. *whew* Responsibility means you are never really off duty, you know?
So, the fan fiction contest :-) I had entered, "Talking is a Dangerous Activity," my Prince of Tennis story (archived here and at AO3). At the meeting they did not announce the winners, but did talk to us about what they enjoyed about our stories :-) Apparently they had a little argument about which category mine fell under. At Closing Ceremonies I discovered that I had won for Best Romance! Yay!!
After that I raced downstairs to the Cosplay Contest Green Room...and discovered another small issue I hadn't thought of, of course. They scheduled us to have the room 1/2 hour before the Contest started, rather than the hour of setup time I had requested. Of course the panel before us saw that there was a half hour between them and us and was all, "no problem we can go over if we need to!" Darn those communication issues *sighs*
But, we got everyone into the room and calmed down. We reminded them to drink their water, I read the order in which they would be going onto stage and answered more questions :-) I just want to point out that *we* were ready to go at 6pm! First time we beat the Main Event crew ;-) But they had issues with the projector that would be showing us in the Green Room what was going on onstage :-) After that was dealt with and the crowd was seated, I had the Walkons (people who were just there to show off their costumes, as opposed to those doing a skit) line up in a row.
I had a wonderful crew helping me keep people organized and energized and all :-) We got people onto the stage and off of the stage in an efficient and hopefully low stress kind of way. No one passed out or flubbed their lines...I call it a success! :-) We did not finish early this time, but as Jamiche had asked us not to...and we'd started late and the judges took a hair longer than expected (we had the Guests of Honor judge the skits :-)
There was a...in-joke that started during the contest and quickly snowballed. One of the chairs was being used as a stage prop got...attention. It was just an ordinary chair, honest. However, due to the in-joke, it ended up getting the most votes for the Audience Choice Award. I realize that it amused people...and fortunately the Cosplayers themselves found it amusing...'cause otherwise, that would have been a bit hurtful. The Actual Winner was the entry that had met earlier that day at the Cosplay Skits 101 panel, Final Fantasy Ball Z :-)
During the music playing portion of Stalling For Time until the Judges were done, we had a ton of fun in the Cosplay Green Room. I have video, even :-) And then, when they were calling up the winners, the loudest cheers were coming from the Green Room. We compete hard, but we are in this because we love it and our camaraderie is deep :-)
I had one more panel later that night to help with (and I trolled them...really they made it too easy!). It was an 18+ panel which meant people needed a handstamp to get in...which if they didn't have one they had to go up to the Ops Office on the 3rd floor to get one! So, since it was a Roast, the Main Guest couldn't come in until he was called for. Well, inside they're stalling for time while we load the room, so I called into the room and told them that he was running late 'cause he had to go get his hand stamped. They were all like, "what??" and of course he was actually standing behind me and waving at them all. Silly peoples! :-)
Okay, I am falling asleep at my keyboard! I will post this and finish in a second post, I think :-) *hugs the flist*