Anime Boston 2010 - A Thank-You Note
Dear Boston,
Even though your drivers are scary as hell, and no one smiles unless they're laughing at someone, I want to stop and take the time to thank you for the most amazing weekend I've ever experienced.
Thursday, I ran around the eastern half of the country like a chicken with its head cut off. Chicago airport was horrendous (Sorry, Sami, but it's true). But the point is, I made it to my next flight, and without too many issues. When I finally got to the hotel (after the scariest cab ride in my life, BAR NONE), I had nothing to do but get my badge and sit around the hotel. It was amazing, seeing all of the cosplayers, even though the con hadn't even started yet.
Once I had my badge, I really had literally nothing to do. So I sat in the hotel lobby and chilled with Hungary, France, and Kakashi, and talked about nothing for a couple of hours while we all waited for our various room people
When my room people finally arrived, I got shuffled from room one to room two, and discovered I had been given the room full of Hetalia fangirls. MLIA. <3
I got a text from Spain, saying she and her friend had finally arrived, and were there. I finally got to meet my wife face-to-face! We had a cuddlepuddle, and it was amazing. <3 We wandered around, and I got to show off my scrapbook for a while at my hotel before I had to head back to get ready for bed (Sorry for abandoning you that night, Waifu. ;A; ).
Once I'd gotten back to the room it was pretty uneventful. We laughed, talked, and tarded for a couple of hours, but we were mostly out by midnight.
We woke up to cupcakes. Ariana (to whom I owe so much right now, since she let me crash with her after the con) was late arriving Thursday because she took the time to make everyone in the room parties cupcakes. So, the Thursday people had breakfast (Ari, they were delicious, just FYI).
A small side note - My roommates were legitimately shocked that I had never eaten marshmallow fluff, or had Dunkin Donuts, in my life. I was introduced to both. The fluff is SO NASTY.
Now, to the NebrasKon people, I know I said I'd take lots of pictures, but it ended up being mostly the Hetalia stuff. I apologise in advance. The Friday panel was really entertaining. There wasn't a whole lot else that I really went to, but that's okay. The Townsends in Artist Alley, and the random cosplayers in the halls more than made up for the lack of panels that I wanted to attend. It is absolutely true when people say "At any con, if you walk into any given room, everyone in it immediately becomes your best friend."
Friday night, I was wandering around with Wife's Lovi wig on, and my overcompensatingly huge flag. A North Italy badtouched me (;A; I-It was awful, flags should not be used like that!), and then suddenly, Ash and Man-Misty come up and are all "HEY GUIDO PRIDE YOU SHOULD LET US TAKE PICTURES, JERSEY SHORE!" It was fucked up. They found me like four times over the next 18 hours, and I had to report them to con security. ;A; It was, however, the worst thing that happened the whole con, and if a couple of creepers get the boot, then I'd call it a pretty successful con.
SATURDAY. Saturday was fun. I debuted my Romancing Hetalia cosplay (Kenie, it got a LOT of attention, it turned out really well!), and every time someone took my picture, my inner thought was "Hello, Gilbert's Ego, when did you get so tiny? 8D" I even got time at the photoshoot dedicated to fan videos, and I was the only RomaHeta cosplayer at the whole con. I got pictures with the babysitter Switzerland. <3
Saturday was also the first Q&A for Nobuo Uematsu, whom I know I have left strangely out of this note so far. I got a text saying that people were lining up, so I rushed to buy something FF9 from Artist Alley (I got a really nice print of Zidane, actually), because I thought it was the autograph session. Well, as you saw, it was a Q&A. The MC told us to get in line without killing each other, and we would get to GO UP AND ASK HIM OUR QUESTIONS. It was the most incredible thing. I got to SPEAK to Uematsu. I asked him what he did to get into the "composing mood," and apparently taking his pants off is part of the process (His real answer involved being motivated to really get something done that you're satisfied with).
With the knowledge that Uematsu had answered my question (that I actually spent most of the plane ride thinking about), I sat back down next to Ali, then realised that oh hey, I'm having A Moment. I had to excuse myself to wibble in excitement until the panel was over. I felt a little pathetic, but hey, it was kind of an emotional overload.
[My apologies. Due to the fact that I am currently in massive sleep-debt, I know that I'm missing a bunch of really fun little detail-y things.]
After that, we mostly all ran around for a while, chilled with the cosplayers, bought shit at AA and the dealer's room, until we had to go get ready to have dinner with Ali's parents. Ali, tell your parents thank you so much again. It was really nice meeting them, and I can't hardly believe we spent that long just sitting there with everyone chit-chatting (It had to have been at least 2 1/2 hours).
Er. The 18+ Hetalia panel was the next "Big Thing" that I went to. >u> Prussia showed lots of porn. Inner!Catholic!Lovino did not approve, even if Killian did. I got to finish the panel by telling everyone that Dat Ass belongs to me. 8D It was glorious, and the Spain I'd attached myself to was adorable, and her Conquistador costume was amazing.
When I got back to the room, I WAS BANISHED TO THE FLOOR. D8< It's not my fault that I was trying to navigate by cell phone screen, and that the pile of blankets on the chair looked like a person. Just so my room people feel bad, I had two pillows and a towel to sleep with. |: That was it. No blanket, nothing underneath me to make it comfy (that's what she said), nada.
Now, normally, Sundays are the days when everyone blows off steam at cons. It's pretty laid-back, not a whole lot tends to happen. Not so much with me.
I woke up, got showered, and ended up falling back asleep while waiting to change into my cosplay. I get a text message from Ali and Brit, asking where the hell am I, the Uematsu thing is starting. I assumed this was the second autograph session, so I booked it like a bat out of Hell. Turns out, it was another Q&A (Ali had Uematsu sing happy birthday to her, it was great <3).
So I find the person I need to talk to about getting a ticket into the autograph session. I plead my case, saying I flew all the way from Nebraska, just to meet Uematsu. I was originally not going to go to Anime Boston, but then I found out that Uematsu was a guest. She just gives me a sad look and says "Sorry, the tickets for autographs ran out yesterday. I can't help you."
So I'm there with Heather in the hallway, absolutely bawling my eyes out, when the security lady comes up again with another woman behind her. She says that this other woman has a question for me. The exchange went approximately like this:
"What's the matter?"
"I flew 1800 miles to meet Uematsu, and I'm not going to get to."
"Do you only have one thing for him to sign?"
"Well, there was one thing I really wanted him to sign, yeah..."
"If you take my notebook for me, I'll give you my ticket."
I was floored. Absolutely stunned. This woman, who I had not even seen the whole weekend, came up out of nowhere to offer me what amounted to the most amazing thing I could experience in my life. I lost count of the number of times that I hugged her over the course of that day. After the fact, she handed me a little card that said "Just a reminder that you really matter." It is something that I don't hear from my own parents, let alone from complete strangers.
BUT WAIT. THERE'S MORE. I went back down at noon, to get her notebook and ticket, and the security girl comes up again. She announces what happened to the entire line, and I told everyone "This woman is a SAINT. If you have the chance, give her a hug." And out of nowhere, someone left his place in line to give Kimberly a hug. But after that, the security girl (I never did learn her name) comes up to us and says "I found an extra ticket, because you did not have to do that, especially for a stranger." We both got to go in and get our autographs, and I managed to get one for someone really special to me.
BUT WAIT. THERE'S MORE. I asked the security lady if I could give my ticket to the event people, and then get it back for my scrapbook after the event was over. She looks around, says "I shouldn't do this, but hide your ticket between your badge and your ID," and hands me a different one, so I could keep the original ticket.
Sunday marked the end of the best weekend I have ever experienced. It also marked the teariest con-hangover I have ever had. I got to meet Libs and Wife and Poland and Turkey, and the whole thing was so amazing. While we were together, it seemed like it would never end, and really, I kind of hoped it wouldn't. We laughed, we hugged, we just enjoyed being face-to-face with each other, and honestly, that's not something you can really take for granted. When Wife left first, I completely broke my promise to myself not to cry when people started going home. I watched your flag disappear around the corner, Caitlin, and then totally broke down under the gay statue. ;A; Then Ali had to leave, to drive back to Canadia (Sorry, one last jab, and you know it was needed. <3), and after Turkey left, it was just one big "I already miss everyone so much, and it's only been five minutes" emotion-fest.
This was easily the most amazing weekend I've ever had. I want to thank everyone that made it so. To my roommates, thank you for being amazing and awesome, and hopefully, we'll get to do this again. Hit me up if you want to go to a tiny con in Nebraska. <3 To the con-goers that I met, thank you for making me feel welcome at your con, especially considering how far I came, and how lost I was at first among all the people. To the convention staff, thank you for putting on an amazing show this year - I'm already planning my return.
To my family that I saw for the first time this weekend, thank you for being sweet and funny and adorable and amazing. It was nice, having familiar, friendly faces while I was a stranger in a strange land. You guys were the real reason I came, guests of honour be damned. There was never a dull moment with you, even as my huge flagpole got made the 53rd state, or while Wife's friend was being a creeper. I love you guys, so so much, and I'm looking forward to the next time we're together again.
Boston, I bid you adieu
Even though your drivers are scary as hell, and no one smiles unless they're laughing at someone, I want to stop and take the time to thank you for the most amazing weekend I've ever experienced.
Thursday, I ran around the eastern half of the country like a chicken with its head cut off. Chicago airport was horrendous (Sorry, Sami, but it's true). But the point is, I made it to my next flight, and without too many issues. When I finally got to the hotel (after the scariest cab ride in my life, BAR NONE), I had nothing to do but get my badge and sit around the hotel. It was amazing, seeing all of the cosplayers, even though the con hadn't even started yet.
Once I had my badge, I really had literally nothing to do. So I sat in the hotel lobby and chilled with Hungary, France, and Kakashi, and talked about nothing for a couple of hours while we all waited for our various room people
When my room people finally arrived, I got shuffled from room one to room two, and discovered I had been given the room full of Hetalia fangirls. MLIA. <3
I got a text from Spain, saying she and her friend had finally arrived, and were there. I finally got to meet my wife face-to-face! We had a cuddlepuddle, and it was amazing. <3 We wandered around, and I got to show off my scrapbook for a while at my hotel before I had to head back to get ready for bed (Sorry for abandoning you that night, Waifu. ;A; ).
Once I'd gotten back to the room it was pretty uneventful. We laughed, talked, and tarded for a couple of hours, but we were mostly out by midnight.
We woke up to cupcakes. Ariana (to whom I owe so much right now, since she let me crash with her after the con) was late arriving Thursday because she took the time to make everyone in the room parties cupcakes. So, the Thursday people had breakfast (Ari, they were delicious, just FYI).
A small side note - My roommates were legitimately shocked that I had never eaten marshmallow fluff, or had Dunkin Donuts, in my life. I was introduced to both. The fluff is SO NASTY.
Now, to the NebrasKon people, I know I said I'd take lots of pictures, but it ended up being mostly the Hetalia stuff. I apologise in advance. The Friday panel was really entertaining. There wasn't a whole lot else that I really went to, but that's okay. The Townsends in Artist Alley, and the random cosplayers in the halls more than made up for the lack of panels that I wanted to attend. It is absolutely true when people say "At any con, if you walk into any given room, everyone in it immediately becomes your best friend."
Friday night, I was wandering around with Wife's Lovi wig on, and my overcompensatingly huge flag. A North Italy badtouched me (;A; I-It was awful, flags should not be used like that!), and then suddenly, Ash and Man-Misty come up and are all "HEY GUIDO PRIDE YOU SHOULD LET US TAKE PICTURES, JERSEY SHORE!" It was fucked up. They found me like four times over the next 18 hours, and I had to report them to con security. ;A; It was, however, the worst thing that happened the whole con, and if a couple of creepers get the boot, then I'd call it a pretty successful con.
SATURDAY. Saturday was fun. I debuted my Romancing Hetalia cosplay (Kenie, it got a LOT of attention, it turned out really well!), and every time someone took my picture, my inner thought was "Hello, Gilbert's Ego, when did you get so tiny? 8D" I even got time at the photoshoot dedicated to fan videos, and I was the only RomaHeta cosplayer at the whole con. I got pictures with the babysitter Switzerland. <3
Saturday was also the first Q&A for Nobuo Uematsu, whom I know I have left strangely out of this note so far. I got a text saying that people were lining up, so I rushed to buy something FF9 from Artist Alley (I got a really nice print of Zidane, actually), because I thought it was the autograph session. Well, as you saw, it was a Q&A. The MC told us to get in line without killing each other, and we would get to GO UP AND ASK HIM OUR QUESTIONS. It was the most incredible thing. I got to SPEAK to Uematsu. I asked him what he did to get into the "composing mood," and apparently taking his pants off is part of the process (His real answer involved being motivated to really get something done that you're satisfied with).
With the knowledge that Uematsu had answered my question (that I actually spent most of the plane ride thinking about), I sat back down next to Ali, then realised that oh hey, I'm having A Moment. I had to excuse myself to wibble in excitement until the panel was over. I felt a little pathetic, but hey, it was kind of an emotional overload.
[My apologies. Due to the fact that I am currently in massive sleep-debt, I know that I'm missing a bunch of really fun little detail-y things.]
After that, we mostly all ran around for a while, chilled with the cosplayers, bought shit at AA and the dealer's room, until we had to go get ready to have dinner with Ali's parents. Ali, tell your parents thank you so much again. It was really nice meeting them, and I can't hardly believe we spent that long just sitting there with everyone chit-chatting (It had to have been at least 2 1/2 hours).
Er. The 18+ Hetalia panel was the next "Big Thing" that I went to. >u> Prussia showed lots of porn. Inner!Catholic!Lovino did not approve, even if Killian did. I got to finish the panel by telling everyone that Dat Ass belongs to me. 8D It was glorious, and the Spain I'd attached myself to was adorable, and her Conquistador costume was amazing.
When I got back to the room, I WAS BANISHED TO THE FLOOR. D8< It's not my fault that I was trying to navigate by cell phone screen, and that the pile of blankets on the chair looked like a person. Just so my room people feel bad, I had two pillows and a towel to sleep with. |: That was it. No blanket, nothing underneath me to make it comfy (that's what she said), nada.
Now, normally, Sundays are the days when everyone blows off steam at cons. It's pretty laid-back, not a whole lot tends to happen. Not so much with me.
I woke up, got showered, and ended up falling back asleep while waiting to change into my cosplay. I get a text message from Ali and Brit, asking where the hell am I, the Uematsu thing is starting. I assumed this was the second autograph session, so I booked it like a bat out of Hell. Turns out, it was another Q&A (Ali had Uematsu sing happy birthday to her, it was great <3).
So I find the person I need to talk to about getting a ticket into the autograph session. I plead my case, saying I flew all the way from Nebraska, just to meet Uematsu. I was originally not going to go to Anime Boston, but then I found out that Uematsu was a guest. She just gives me a sad look and says "Sorry, the tickets for autographs ran out yesterday. I can't help you."
So I'm there with Heather in the hallway, absolutely bawling my eyes out, when the security lady comes up again with another woman behind her. She says that this other woman has a question for me. The exchange went approximately like this:
"What's the matter?"
"I flew 1800 miles to meet Uematsu, and I'm not going to get to."
"Do you only have one thing for him to sign?"
"Well, there was one thing I really wanted him to sign, yeah..."
"If you take my notebook for me, I'll give you my ticket."
I was floored. Absolutely stunned. This woman, who I had not even seen the whole weekend, came up out of nowhere to offer me what amounted to the most amazing thing I could experience in my life. I lost count of the number of times that I hugged her over the course of that day. After the fact, she handed me a little card that said "Just a reminder that you really matter." It is something that I don't hear from my own parents, let alone from complete strangers.
BUT WAIT. THERE'S MORE. I went back down at noon, to get her notebook and ticket, and the security girl comes up again. She announces what happened to the entire line, and I told everyone "This woman is a SAINT. If you have the chance, give her a hug." And out of nowhere, someone left his place in line to give Kimberly a hug. But after that, the security girl (I never did learn her name) comes up to us and says "I found an extra ticket, because you did not have to do that, especially for a stranger." We both got to go in and get our autographs, and I managed to get one for someone really special to me.
BUT WAIT. THERE'S MORE. I asked the security lady if I could give my ticket to the event people, and then get it back for my scrapbook after the event was over. She looks around, says "I shouldn't do this, but hide your ticket between your badge and your ID," and hands me a different one, so I could keep the original ticket.
Sunday marked the end of the best weekend I have ever experienced. It also marked the teariest con-hangover I have ever had. I got to meet Libs and Wife and Poland and Turkey, and the whole thing was so amazing. While we were together, it seemed like it would never end, and really, I kind of hoped it wouldn't. We laughed, we hugged, we just enjoyed being face-to-face with each other, and honestly, that's not something you can really take for granted. When Wife left first, I completely broke my promise to myself not to cry when people started going home. I watched your flag disappear around the corner, Caitlin, and then totally broke down under the gay statue. ;A; Then Ali had to leave, to drive back to Canadia (Sorry, one last jab, and you know it was needed. <3), and after Turkey left, it was just one big "I already miss everyone so much, and it's only been five minutes" emotion-fest.
This was easily the most amazing weekend I've ever had. I want to thank everyone that made it so. To my roommates, thank you for being amazing and awesome, and hopefully, we'll get to do this again. Hit me up if you want to go to a tiny con in Nebraska. <3 To the con-goers that I met, thank you for making me feel welcome at your con, especially considering how far I came, and how lost I was at first among all the people. To the convention staff, thank you for putting on an amazing show this year - I'm already planning my return.
To my family that I saw for the first time this weekend, thank you for being sweet and funny and adorable and amazing. It was nice, having familiar, friendly faces while I was a stranger in a strange land. You guys were the real reason I came, guests of honour be damned. There was never a dull moment with you, even as my huge flagpole got made the 53rd state, or while Wife's friend was being a creeper. I love you guys, so so much, and I'm looking forward to the next time we're together again.
Boston, I bid you adieu