Epic Otakon/Vacation Post
The only thing in this that's going to be behind a cut is photos (if I have the gumption to post them tonight), so to avoid endless rambling about Otakon if you're not interested, please feel free to scroll down. And down. And down some more. :D
Okay, so!
Monday, the 4th: I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to make sure I had everything packed and organized. Eventually, I got frustrated with trying to fit everything in my suitcases, and ended up having Mom come over and do it for me, as she is the QUEEN of packing. ♥ Also, Monday I baked hermit cookies and coconut-oatmeal-chocolate-chip cookies to bring with me. Sticking Tetsuya in my hiking backpack was kind of hilarious, as he kept giving me dirty looks the entire time. XD; That night I also hauled my two suitcases down to the main landing, so I wouldn't have to carry them both (they weighed like 50lbs each xD;;) all the way down the next day.
Tuesday, the 5th: I got up early to finish the last minute cleaning and whatnot I needed to do before my bus at 11:40am. Then I said goodbye to my baby kitties and bunnies (and Axel, of course) and told them to behave while I was gone. I was somewhat dubious that would work, but hey, it was worth a try. XD;; Then Mom picked me up around 10:30am and we went to the bus station, where I paid for my extra bag; my backpack went onto the bus with me (since it had Tetsuya, and all my electronics in it, as well as some clothes just in case), but I had two suitcases to go underneath the bus. Aparently, you used to be able to take two for underneath no problem, but at the beginning of August they changed it to be just one. :P So I paid an extra $30 to get my second suitcase from here to Baltimore.
Now, the trip to Baltimore was... eventful, and at the same time not. There was a lot of boring sitting around doing nothing (especially after my mp3 player ran out of charge, and after dark when I couldn't read) usually. BUT. When we got to the US border and I went though Customs, they asked "what my business in the United States was" and I told the guy I was going to a convention. He got this super suspicious look and went "what kind of convention?" Seriously, a voice in the back of my head was going "A TERRORIST CONVENTION! >D" but I figured if I said that they'd send me to prison or something, so instead I told him an anime convention. And he got really pissed off about it. XD; It was actually rather hilarious. Then they searched my bag. You know, just in case all us otaku were planning to bomb something. xDD;;
Anyway! Once we got through Customs, we continued on to Buffalo, where our current driver was supposed to get off, and a new one get on. So we got there, and the driver left... and no one else showed up. FOR TWO HOURS. They didn't even come out and tell us what was going on. FINALLY, two hours later someone came out and said they were getting another driver because the one that was supposed to be there just didn't show up. So we waited ANOTHER hour until a new driver got there. Only she wasn't a driver. Like, she had NEVER DRIVEN A GREYHOUND BUS BEFORE. UGH. She was super nice though, and didn't get us killed, so it all worked out.
Now, after Buffalo I was supposed to have a three hour layover in New York, but since we were running three hours LATE, I arrived there just in time to grab my stuff and run across the terminal to hop onto my next bus. I'm so glad I had that layover! If I hadn't, I'd have been stuck there for another three hours until the next bus to Baltimore. D:
Wednesday the 6th: Boring as the rest of the trip had been though, the bus from Buffalo to NY was actually awesome; I got on and sat down, and about two seconds later this girl across the aisle from me leaned over and went "hey... are you on your way to Otakon?" So which I said ".__. Yes?" XD; She had seen my KH and Furuba keychains lawl. SO I scooted over so I was sitting on the aisle and she did the same, and we fangirled and chatted for the next like... four and a half hours. XD;
There were jokes about Marlyland. Especially when we crossed into it, and the Welcome sign had big flamboyant flowers on it. ♥♥♥
Z~ I SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN YOUR EMAIL! I TRIED TO LOOK FOR YOU AT ARTIST ALLEY BUT COULDN'T FIND YOU! DDDD: IF BY SOME MIRACLE YOU SEE THIS, COMMENT OR MESSAGE ME OR SOMETHING!
Right, so we got to the first bus terminal in Baltimore around noon, and Z and I both hopped off and got KFC for lunch because we were starving. But we took it back to the bus to eat because we were paranoid about them leaving without us. lol. Then it was around 12:45pm when we finally arrived at the downtown terminal, where Z and I were both getting off. I waited with her for ten minutes or so until her friends came to pick her up, then went outside and found a cab to take to the Sheraton.
CABS IN BALTIMORE ARE DIRT CHEAP HOMG. O___O;; Why can't cabs here cost that much? ;w;
Wow, I'm easily distracted lol. Moving on! I got to the Sheraton and checked to see if Maddie and Chloe had arrived/checked in yet, and they hadn't. So I checked my bags and sat down in the comfy comfy chair by the computer in the lobby to wait for them. About half an hour later they arrived, and there was much hugging and bitching about various modes of transportation. Then we checked in and went up to the room to crash and wait for Mel and Michelle. ♥
The rest of the day was pretty much organizing things and chatting, and deciding sleeping arrangements (Maddie/Chloe/Reno/Link/Rufus/etc. in one bed, Mel/Michelle/Kanda/Eiji/Naoji/Irvine/etc. in the other, me under the desk (NO I'm not kidding XD;;) with Kadaj/Kurai/Luke, Hikaru and Kaoru in the closet, Shuichi/Chrono/Mahiru in the bathtub, and a lot of others that I'm sure I'm forgetting. Sephiroth slept standing up when he wasn't busy with prostitutes. xDD;;) We also went out to a mall and got dinner, then a t-shirt for Michelle. I had to resist the urge to play in the fountains there, Demyx muse thought that would be FUN. :D
Thursday, the 7th: We all slept until noon out of sheer travel exhaustion. Then we had donuts for breakfast, and got into Cosplay to go and pick up our con badges. Michelle and I were RY-highschool!Kadaj and Luke, Maddie was casual!Rufus, Chloe was Reno, and Mel was turk!Kanda. The story was that Rufus was babysitting Luke and Kadaj and Reno and Kanda were along as his bodyguards. Kadaj was NOT AMUSED to have a babysitter. >.>;
After we got our badges we all split up (I believe Maddie wasn't feeling well, so she and Chloe went back to the hotel ahead of us, and Michelle went to dinner with Alicia), and on the way back to the hotel, Mel and I got caught in a random torrential downpour. XD;; So we were soaked and pathetic looking by the time we got back. I'm glad I was wearing a tank top underneath my school uniform shirt. .__.;
Later on after we were changed and dry, we went out for dinner, and on the way was when we stopped to play at the fountain by the harbor and I did my EPIC FACEPLANT. YAY my first injury of the vacation! =D;;
No big deal though. ♥ After I got myself picked up, we headed off to the harbor front center and got dinner. I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but the service SUCKED. Good thing the food was AWESOME or I'd've been pretty pissed. Seriously though, I got the BEST FREAKING SAMMICH IN THE WORLD there. *drool*
Michelle met us at the restaurant, and after that it was back to the hotel for sleep, but not before making our first voice post to the RY OOC comm and coloring our RY shirts. ♥♥ That was awesome fun, especially after a while since the markers were permanent and we didn't have a window open.
THERE WILL BE SEPHIROTH COOKIE JOKES FOREVER. XDD
Friday the 8th: First day of the con! ...we all slept in and missed our morning panels. XD;; D'OH. But we were all exhausted, so it wasn't really a surprise. >>;
When we finally did get up, we all got into our cosplay for the day and headed off; Mel and I were running late trying to get my skirt done, and finally I just pinned it and wore it like that. We went and wandered around the convention center a bit; took some pics. I found an awesome Zelos, and should have taken a pic with her, instead of just of her, since I was in my Kyo outfit. Boo, boo, I faaaaail.
Eventually we found the dealer's room, and wandered around there for about half an hour. I got my brother a cute stuffed dragon for his dragon collection (I almost kept it. >.>;;) Then it was off again to the D.Gray photoshoot, where there was INSANITY. It was fun though, I'd never actually gone to a photoshoot at a con before. It was utter CRACK, but so awesome. :3
Then after the photoshoot ended, we all sat down together to read porn. XD;;
After the porn, Mel went off with some of the D.Gray people, and Michelle, Maddie and I went to look for Chloe. We were supposed to go see the Lolita fashion show, but we couldn't get in, so instead we went back to the dealer's room. I got some manga (Loveless, Furuba, Tsubasa), and there was a booth selling bondage gear, so I got a leather collar with a bell on it for my Kyo costume. xD; Kekeke.
That night I went with Maddie and Michelle (and Chloe? You were there, weren't you?) to the yaoi panel in Kadaj-in-a-dress cosplay just for the hell of it. ^.^; My muses haet me so much now.
Saturday the 9th: I was supposed to go to a D.Gray photoshoot with Mel that morning, but... I slept through it. Bah. So when I got up I waited until everyone was gone (since there weren't really any panels I wanted to go to) and then tidied a bit. Seriously, our freaking hotel room looked like a tornado had gone through it, and I was starting to have OCD twitches at the mess. >.<;
Then after a while, Maddie and Chloe came back (with foodz!) and we ate there. While we were eating, Mel showed up with Lavi (whose name I don't remember); they weren't there long, but they were there long enough for us to get Lavi/Reno photos. lmao. ♥
When we were done eating I got into my Haruhi outfit (contacts and all), and we went to this comedy thing at the con... Japanese comedic storytelling, which has an actual name but I can't think of it right now. -.-; But it was very funny and I enjoyed it immensely. Haha. After that, Maddie, Chloe and I went to the Mason building to take EPIC Turk photos. Seriously. When I say epic, I mean EPIC. >w<~ We also took a few pics of Haruhi!me as well, but I like the Turk ones better. :3
After the photos we actually found an open pharmacy for me to get bandages for my knees. HUZZAH. We also got more donuts for breakfast the next day. Later I dressed up as casual!Allen using my Kadaj wig and was supposed to go to the D.Gray shoot that night (there were like ten of them lol), but we were running late so Michelle and I had to skip it and go straight to the old school yaoi panel we wanted to attend.
Sunday the 10th: ...was mostly packing, organizing, and then going to the dealer's room, where I bought even more stuff. >>; I got a bunch of buttons, an adorable plush bunny-thing, and Sephiroth, Kadaj and Roxas figures. It was a tossup between Roxas and Axel, really. Axel next time I have some cash! ♥
EDIT: Oh yes, before the dealer's room we went to the D.Gray panel, and then took photos outside that room. Then was also when we got out the leftover cookies to give out. Chloe was adorable handing them out. Eventually we just started yelling "FREE COOKIES!" and we went through TWO AND A HALF CONTAINERS of them in like two minutes after that. XD; But that's good because I really didn't want to have to haul them home. ♥ Haha.
After the dealer's room, the con was pretty much closed, so we went for lunch, then back to the hotel to get our things. Mel, Maddie and I took everything in a cab with us to the new hotel (CHEAP CAB WAS CHEAP) while Chloe accompanied Michelle to her place to drop some stuff off and get her car.
We got to the new hotel and I promptly fell asleep. .__.;; On their way to there, Michelle and Chloe picked up snacks and cup noodles for us, and that night we pretty much just chilled and watched movies; first, Sensitive Pornograph (which the DVD player there didn't like D:), then Brokeback Mountain (WHICH I NEED A COPY OF DAMMIT) and finally Black Sheep. Hehehe zombie sheep ftw. ♥♥
Monday the 11th: WAS AQUARIUM DAY. \o/\o/\o/ Demyx-muse APPROVES OF AQUARIUMS.
We all slept in again (I was under the table in the new room, whereas I was under the desk at the old one lol), then got into cosplay to go to the aquarium at 2pm even though the con was over. Aquarium cosplay is fun. :D
My legs tried to die on the way there, but once we were inside and moving more slowly they decided they didn't hate me too much anymore. That was the best aquarium ever though. ♥ I could have watched the manta ray pool all day, or the sharks, or the dolphins. ^__^ We pretty much stayed until closing, then did a bunch of photos by the fountain (where I fell before), and headed back to the hotel. Mel and I went swimming for a while, then I re-packed everything, bashed my arm in the bathroom, and went to sleep since I had to get up at an ungodly hour the next morning. D:
Tuesday the 12th: Got up at like 5am. UGH. Got showered and dressed, then hauled all my stuff outside so that I wouldn't disturb everyone else. Sat around and waited for my cab. And waited. And waited. It never showed up. Luckily, another cab happened by and I flagged him down to take me to the greyhound station. Whoot.
Cue 13-hour ride to Dayton. When I got to the station the woman at the counter was an utter BITCH to me, to the point I was about to cry because I didn't have enough cash to get my second suitcase on the bus and she wouldn't take my Mom's credit card number WHICH I HAD ON ME FOR JUST SUCH AN EMERGENCY. >__O;; Then after watching me freak out for ten minutes she just looks at me with an annoyed expression and goes "just ask the bus driver, he'll probably let you take it on anyway."
WHAT. FUCK YOU LADY, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT TO BEGIN WITH?!
Whatever. So I spent all of the drive to Dayton with my backpack and a suitcase on the bus with me. It was a pain, but at least I didn't have to leave anything behind. Then when I got to Dayton, Maddie and Chloe weren't there to pick me up. ;~; It wasn't their fault, their plane had been delayed, but I panicked a little until I finally got Michelle's text about it at TEN. wtf phone? Delayed text messaging much?
At least while I was waiting, I taught myself how to use the phone more. Even how to text. Whoo, go me!
They got there to pick me up around 11:20pm, and we went back to their place and chatted/organized/gave pets to kitties before dying some more.
Wednesday the 13th: Chloe had to work. T__T So after sleeping half the day, Maddie and I took Dayton's busses out to Walmart to pick up her last paycheck, and while we were out there we found a bank that would exchange Canadian monies, since I was out of American ones. Yay.
After that we went back to their place and did not much, though I did do some laundry in their haunted basement and was stared at from the corner the whole time. o__o;; I hope I didn't make anything angry.
That night we ordered pizza and these chocolate dipper things that were SO GOOD. =w= We don't have them at the Pizza Hut here, I already checked. >>; We also watched Dog Soldiers, but we only half paid attention to it. *shrug*
...finally at midnight-ish we decided to go to bed, which was awful because I had to get up at 3:30am the next morning to have a bath and get all my stuff together for the bus to Ashtabula. It was even worse because SOMETHING was playing with the zippers on my suitcases while I was trying to sleep, making them jingle. Could have been worse, I suppose.
Thursday the 14th: Got up at 3:30am for a bath, and when I came back down from that, I thought I saw a cat in the corner of the dining room. But I knew Saiga and Kakei were locked away upstairs. I kind of shrugged it off. Then later at the bus stop, I mentioned that something had been jingling the zippers all night and they were like "maybe it was the ghost cat" and I was like "... o__o;; Srsly?"
XDDD;;
Then, bus to Ashtabula! ...I fell off it. >___>;;
When we got to Ashtabula, I was stepping down and tripped, and fell on my face on the pavement. I scraped my knees up again, and this time my right one bled like It'd been cut down to the bone or something. Everyone that had been on the bus rushed to help me up, which was very nice, but I really was alright. ^^;;
That was when Cat McD and her kittens came to get me, and we went back to her place. Jasmine and AJ are so cute! And while I'm generally not fond of children, they were pretty much non-offensive. I got a lot of hugs and stuff. Hehe.
That night after they were in bed, Cat and I watched Black Sheep, and then a really terrible viking movie that I can't remember the title of. XD;; It was SO awesome. I think I need a copy of it. We also started to watch Dog Soldiers, but then we both fell asleep in the middle of it. FAIL~ lawl.
Friday the 15th: Got up early because that's what one does when there are childlings in the house. ♥ Watched Numbers and generally were tired and lazy until it was time for me to catch the bus. Cat and her kids saw me off, and I promised to come back and visit again some time. Possibly next year after Otakon again, depending on finances...
BUS AGAIN. This time to Toronto. lmao, the best thing was when we went through Canadian Customs! When I went through the US Customs they were all "RAWR!" over the anime con thing, but when I went through Canada Customs and said "I was at an anime con" the girl went "AWESOME! :D" XDDD; YAY CANADA CUSTOMS OMG HEHE!
When I got to TO, I took an {expensive} cab to the hotel -cat was staying at, and met up with her. =3 We went for FOOD, which was awesome because I was getting seriously tired/sick of the crap I'd been living off of the previous week and a half. I mean seriously. I got a burger, but it had VEGETABLE MATTER on it, and came with a salad. SO YUMMY AFTER VENDING MACHINE/CONVENIENCE STORE FOOD. \o/
Saturday the 16th: I slept in while -cat went to some con stuff, then around lunch time I finally got up and ready and we went to the World's Biggest Bookstore via the subway. Subways... make me nervous. I mean, I know it's no big deal, but for some reason I'm not super comfy on them. Probably because I've only been on one twice in my life. ^^; Oh well.
The bookstore was awesome as usual. I spent like $130, which was fine since I'd set aside about $150 for the bookstore alone. xD;; I finally got some D.Gray manga. Then I got lots of books, hehe. So happy~ and when we got back to the hotel -cat helped me streak my hair pink, which I LOVE. Then she had a pizza party thing, so I hung around and watched TV, and used her computer a little.
Sunday the 17th: The next morning I slept in again, and said goodbye to -cat since she was off to do more con stuff. I tried to get ahold of Kerry, but my phone didn't like her number. ;~~~; So I missed her! No fair! ...at least she was having fun at her con and everything though. ♥ Sorry Kerry! Next time I promise!
EDIT: This was the day I fell in the shower, too. >>;;
And finally, a bus home to Orillia! SO EXHAUSTED, but it was SO MUCH FUN. ^__^
...and yeeeah. Photos later. >>;; Just typing this took like two hours. Now is time for sleeps.
Okay, so!
Monday, the 4th: I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to make sure I had everything packed and organized. Eventually, I got frustrated with trying to fit everything in my suitcases, and ended up having Mom come over and do it for me, as she is the QUEEN of packing. ♥ Also, Monday I baked hermit cookies and coconut-oatmeal-chocolate-chip cookies to bring with me. Sticking Tetsuya in my hiking backpack was kind of hilarious, as he kept giving me dirty looks the entire time. XD; That night I also hauled my two suitcases down to the main landing, so I wouldn't have to carry them both (they weighed like 50lbs each xD;;) all the way down the next day.
Tuesday, the 5th: I got up early to finish the last minute cleaning and whatnot I needed to do before my bus at 11:40am. Then I said goodbye to my baby kitties and bunnies (and Axel, of course) and told them to behave while I was gone. I was somewhat dubious that would work, but hey, it was worth a try. XD;; Then Mom picked me up around 10:30am and we went to the bus station, where I paid for my extra bag; my backpack went onto the bus with me (since it had Tetsuya, and all my electronics in it, as well as some clothes just in case), but I had two suitcases to go underneath the bus. Aparently, you used to be able to take two for underneath no problem, but at the beginning of August they changed it to be just one. :P So I paid an extra $30 to get my second suitcase from here to Baltimore.
Now, the trip to Baltimore was... eventful, and at the same time not. There was a lot of boring sitting around doing nothing (especially after my mp3 player ran out of charge, and after dark when I couldn't read) usually. BUT. When we got to the US border and I went though Customs, they asked "what my business in the United States was" and I told the guy I was going to a convention. He got this super suspicious look and went "what kind of convention?" Seriously, a voice in the back of my head was going "A TERRORIST CONVENTION! >D" but I figured if I said that they'd send me to prison or something, so instead I told him an anime convention. And he got really pissed off about it. XD; It was actually rather hilarious. Then they searched my bag. You know, just in case all us otaku were planning to bomb something. xDD;;
Anyway! Once we got through Customs, we continued on to Buffalo, where our current driver was supposed to get off, and a new one get on. So we got there, and the driver left... and no one else showed up. FOR TWO HOURS. They didn't even come out and tell us what was going on. FINALLY, two hours later someone came out and said they were getting another driver because the one that was supposed to be there just didn't show up. So we waited ANOTHER hour until a new driver got there. Only she wasn't a driver. Like, she had NEVER DRIVEN A GREYHOUND BUS BEFORE. UGH. She was super nice though, and didn't get us killed, so it all worked out.
Now, after Buffalo I was supposed to have a three hour layover in New York, but since we were running three hours LATE, I arrived there just in time to grab my stuff and run across the terminal to hop onto my next bus. I'm so glad I had that layover! If I hadn't, I'd have been stuck there for another three hours until the next bus to Baltimore. D:
Wednesday the 6th: Boring as the rest of the trip had been though, the bus from Buffalo to NY was actually awesome; I got on and sat down, and about two seconds later this girl across the aisle from me leaned over and went "hey... are you on your way to Otakon?" So which I said ".__. Yes?" XD; She had seen my KH and Furuba keychains lawl. SO I scooted over so I was sitting on the aisle and she did the same, and we fangirled and chatted for the next like... four and a half hours. XD;
There were jokes about Marlyland. Especially when we crossed into it, and the Welcome sign had big flamboyant flowers on it. ♥♥♥
Z~ I SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN YOUR EMAIL! I TRIED TO LOOK FOR YOU AT ARTIST ALLEY BUT COULDN'T FIND YOU! DDDD: IF BY SOME MIRACLE YOU SEE THIS, COMMENT OR MESSAGE ME OR SOMETHING!
Right, so we got to the first bus terminal in Baltimore around noon, and Z and I both hopped off and got KFC for lunch because we were starving. But we took it back to the bus to eat because we were paranoid about them leaving without us. lol. Then it was around 12:45pm when we finally arrived at the downtown terminal, where Z and I were both getting off. I waited with her for ten minutes or so until her friends came to pick her up, then went outside and found a cab to take to the Sheraton.
CABS IN BALTIMORE ARE DIRT CHEAP HOMG. O___O;; Why can't cabs here cost that much? ;w;
Wow, I'm easily distracted lol. Moving on! I got to the Sheraton and checked to see if Maddie and Chloe had arrived/checked in yet, and they hadn't. So I checked my bags and sat down in the comfy comfy chair by the computer in the lobby to wait for them. About half an hour later they arrived, and there was much hugging and bitching about various modes of transportation. Then we checked in and went up to the room to crash and wait for Mel and Michelle. ♥
The rest of the day was pretty much organizing things and chatting, and deciding sleeping arrangements (Maddie/Chloe/Reno/Link/Rufus/etc. in one bed, Mel/Michelle/Kanda/Eiji/Naoji/Irvine/etc. in the other, me under the desk (NO I'm not kidding XD;;) with Kadaj/Kurai/Luke, Hikaru and Kaoru in the closet, Shuichi/Chrono/Mahiru in the bathtub, and a lot of others that I'm sure I'm forgetting. Sephiroth slept standing up when he wasn't busy with prostitutes. xDD;;) We also went out to a mall and got dinner, then a t-shirt for Michelle. I had to resist the urge to play in the fountains there, Demyx muse thought that would be FUN. :D
Thursday, the 7th: We all slept until noon out of sheer travel exhaustion. Then we had donuts for breakfast, and got into Cosplay to go and pick up our con badges. Michelle and I were RY-highschool!Kadaj and Luke, Maddie was casual!Rufus, Chloe was Reno, and Mel was turk!Kanda. The story was that Rufus was babysitting Luke and Kadaj and Reno and Kanda were along as his bodyguards. Kadaj was NOT AMUSED to have a babysitter. >.>;
After we got our badges we all split up (I believe Maddie wasn't feeling well, so she and Chloe went back to the hotel ahead of us, and Michelle went to dinner with Alicia), and on the way back to the hotel, Mel and I got caught in a random torrential downpour. XD;; So we were soaked and pathetic looking by the time we got back. I'm glad I was wearing a tank top underneath my school uniform shirt. .__.;
Later on after we were changed and dry, we went out for dinner, and on the way was when we stopped to play at the fountain by the harbor and I did my EPIC FACEPLANT. YAY my first injury of the vacation! =D;;
No big deal though. ♥ After I got myself picked up, we headed off to the harbor front center and got dinner. I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but the service SUCKED. Good thing the food was AWESOME or I'd've been pretty pissed. Seriously though, I got the BEST FREAKING SAMMICH IN THE WORLD there. *drool*
Michelle met us at the restaurant, and after that it was back to the hotel for sleep, but not before making our first voice post to the RY OOC comm and coloring our RY shirts. ♥♥ That was awesome fun, especially after a while since the markers were permanent and we didn't have a window open.
THERE WILL BE SEPHIROTH COOKIE JOKES FOREVER. XDD
Friday the 8th: First day of the con! ...we all slept in and missed our morning panels. XD;; D'OH. But we were all exhausted, so it wasn't really a surprise. >>;
When we finally did get up, we all got into our cosplay for the day and headed off; Mel and I were running late trying to get my skirt done, and finally I just pinned it and wore it like that. We went and wandered around the convention center a bit; took some pics. I found an awesome Zelos, and should have taken a pic with her, instead of just of her, since I was in my Kyo outfit. Boo, boo, I faaaaail.
Eventually we found the dealer's room, and wandered around there for about half an hour. I got my brother a cute stuffed dragon for his dragon collection (I almost kept it. >.>;;) Then it was off again to the D.Gray photoshoot, where there was INSANITY. It was fun though, I'd never actually gone to a photoshoot at a con before. It was utter CRACK, but so awesome. :3
Then after the photoshoot ended, we all sat down together to read porn. XD;;
After the porn, Mel went off with some of the D.Gray people, and Michelle, Maddie and I went to look for Chloe. We were supposed to go see the Lolita fashion show, but we couldn't get in, so instead we went back to the dealer's room. I got some manga (Loveless, Furuba, Tsubasa), and there was a booth selling bondage gear, so I got a leather collar with a bell on it for my Kyo costume. xD; Kekeke.
That night I went with Maddie and Michelle (and Chloe? You were there, weren't you?) to the yaoi panel in Kadaj-in-a-dress cosplay just for the hell of it. ^.^; My muses haet me so much now.
Saturday the 9th: I was supposed to go to a D.Gray photoshoot with Mel that morning, but... I slept through it. Bah. So when I got up I waited until everyone was gone (since there weren't really any panels I wanted to go to) and then tidied a bit. Seriously, our freaking hotel room looked like a tornado had gone through it, and I was starting to have OCD twitches at the mess. >.<;
Then after a while, Maddie and Chloe came back (with foodz!) and we ate there. While we were eating, Mel showed up with Lavi (whose name I don't remember); they weren't there long, but they were there long enough for us to get Lavi/Reno photos. lmao. ♥
When we were done eating I got into my Haruhi outfit (contacts and all), and we went to this comedy thing at the con... Japanese comedic storytelling, which has an actual name but I can't think of it right now. -.-; But it was very funny and I enjoyed it immensely. Haha. After that, Maddie, Chloe and I went to the Mason building to take EPIC Turk photos. Seriously. When I say epic, I mean EPIC. >w<~ We also took a few pics of Haruhi!me as well, but I like the Turk ones better. :3
After the photos we actually found an open pharmacy for me to get bandages for my knees. HUZZAH. We also got more donuts for breakfast the next day. Later I dressed up as casual!Allen using my Kadaj wig and was supposed to go to the D.Gray shoot that night (there were like ten of them lol), but we were running late so Michelle and I had to skip it and go straight to the old school yaoi panel we wanted to attend.
Sunday the 10th: ...was mostly packing, organizing, and then going to the dealer's room, where I bought even more stuff. >>; I got a bunch of buttons, an adorable plush bunny-thing, and Sephiroth, Kadaj and Roxas figures. It was a tossup between Roxas and Axel, really. Axel next time I have some cash! ♥
EDIT: Oh yes, before the dealer's room we went to the D.Gray panel, and then took photos outside that room. Then was also when we got out the leftover cookies to give out. Chloe was adorable handing them out. Eventually we just started yelling "FREE COOKIES!" and we went through TWO AND A HALF CONTAINERS of them in like two minutes after that. XD; But that's good because I really didn't want to have to haul them home. ♥ Haha.
After the dealer's room, the con was pretty much closed, so we went for lunch, then back to the hotel to get our things. Mel, Maddie and I took everything in a cab with us to the new hotel (CHEAP CAB WAS CHEAP) while Chloe accompanied Michelle to her place to drop some stuff off and get her car.
We got to the new hotel and I promptly fell asleep. .__.;; On their way to there, Michelle and Chloe picked up snacks and cup noodles for us, and that night we pretty much just chilled and watched movies; first, Sensitive Pornograph (which the DVD player there didn't like D:), then Brokeback Mountain (WHICH I NEED A COPY OF DAMMIT) and finally Black Sheep. Hehehe zombie sheep ftw. ♥♥
Monday the 11th: WAS AQUARIUM DAY. \o/\o/\o/ Demyx-muse APPROVES OF AQUARIUMS.
We all slept in again (I was under the table in the new room, whereas I was under the desk at the old one lol), then got into cosplay to go to the aquarium at 2pm even though the con was over. Aquarium cosplay is fun. :D
My legs tried to die on the way there, but once we were inside and moving more slowly they decided they didn't hate me too much anymore. That was the best aquarium ever though. ♥ I could have watched the manta ray pool all day, or the sharks, or the dolphins. ^__^ We pretty much stayed until closing, then did a bunch of photos by the fountain (where I fell before), and headed back to the hotel. Mel and I went swimming for a while, then I re-packed everything, bashed my arm in the bathroom, and went to sleep since I had to get up at an ungodly hour the next morning. D:
Tuesday the 12th: Got up at like 5am. UGH. Got showered and dressed, then hauled all my stuff outside so that I wouldn't disturb everyone else. Sat around and waited for my cab. And waited. And waited. It never showed up. Luckily, another cab happened by and I flagged him down to take me to the greyhound station. Whoot.
Cue 13-hour ride to Dayton. When I got to the station the woman at the counter was an utter BITCH to me, to the point I was about to cry because I didn't have enough cash to get my second suitcase on the bus and she wouldn't take my Mom's credit card number WHICH I HAD ON ME FOR JUST SUCH AN EMERGENCY. >__O;; Then after watching me freak out for ten minutes she just looks at me with an annoyed expression and goes "just ask the bus driver, he'll probably let you take it on anyway."
WHAT. FUCK YOU LADY, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT TO BEGIN WITH?!
Whatever. So I spent all of the drive to Dayton with my backpack and a suitcase on the bus with me. It was a pain, but at least I didn't have to leave anything behind. Then when I got to Dayton, Maddie and Chloe weren't there to pick me up. ;~; It wasn't their fault, their plane had been delayed, but I panicked a little until I finally got Michelle's text about it at TEN. wtf phone? Delayed text messaging much?
At least while I was waiting, I taught myself how to use the phone more. Even how to text. Whoo, go me!
They got there to pick me up around 11:20pm, and we went back to their place and chatted/organized/gave pets to kitties before dying some more.
Wednesday the 13th: Chloe had to work. T__T So after sleeping half the day, Maddie and I took Dayton's busses out to Walmart to pick up her last paycheck, and while we were out there we found a bank that would exchange Canadian monies, since I was out of American ones. Yay.
After that we went back to their place and did not much, though I did do some laundry in their haunted basement and was stared at from the corner the whole time. o__o;; I hope I didn't make anything angry.
That night we ordered pizza and these chocolate dipper things that were SO GOOD. =w= We don't have them at the Pizza Hut here, I already checked. >>; We also watched Dog Soldiers, but we only half paid attention to it. *shrug*
...finally at midnight-ish we decided to go to bed, which was awful because I had to get up at 3:30am the next morning to have a bath and get all my stuff together for the bus to Ashtabula. It was even worse because SOMETHING was playing with the zippers on my suitcases while I was trying to sleep, making them jingle. Could have been worse, I suppose.
Thursday the 14th: Got up at 3:30am for a bath, and when I came back down from that, I thought I saw a cat in the corner of the dining room. But I knew Saiga and Kakei were locked away upstairs. I kind of shrugged it off. Then later at the bus stop, I mentioned that something had been jingling the zippers all night and they were like "maybe it was the ghost cat" and I was like "... o__o;; Srsly?"
XDDD;;
Then, bus to Ashtabula! ...I fell off it. >___>;;
When we got to Ashtabula, I was stepping down and tripped, and fell on my face on the pavement. I scraped my knees up again, and this time my right one bled like It'd been cut down to the bone or something. Everyone that had been on the bus rushed to help me up, which was very nice, but I really was alright. ^^;;
That was when Cat McD and her kittens came to get me, and we went back to her place. Jasmine and AJ are so cute! And while I'm generally not fond of children, they were pretty much non-offensive. I got a lot of hugs and stuff. Hehe.
That night after they were in bed, Cat and I watched Black Sheep, and then a really terrible viking movie that I can't remember the title of. XD;; It was SO awesome. I think I need a copy of it. We also started to watch Dog Soldiers, but then we both fell asleep in the middle of it. FAIL~ lawl.
Friday the 15th: Got up early because that's what one does when there are childlings in the house. ♥ Watched Numbers and generally were tired and lazy until it was time for me to catch the bus. Cat and her kids saw me off, and I promised to come back and visit again some time. Possibly next year after Otakon again, depending on finances...
BUS AGAIN. This time to Toronto. lmao, the best thing was when we went through Canadian Customs! When I went through the US Customs they were all "RAWR!" over the anime con thing, but when I went through Canada Customs and said "I was at an anime con" the girl went "AWESOME! :D" XDDD; YAY CANADA CUSTOMS OMG HEHE!
When I got to TO, I took an {expensive} cab to the hotel -cat was staying at, and met up with her. =3 We went for FOOD, which was awesome because I was getting seriously tired/sick of the crap I'd been living off of the previous week and a half. I mean seriously. I got a burger, but it had VEGETABLE MATTER on it, and came with a salad. SO YUMMY AFTER VENDING MACHINE/CONVENIENCE STORE FOOD. \o/
Saturday the 16th: I slept in while -cat went to some con stuff, then around lunch time I finally got up and ready and we went to the World's Biggest Bookstore via the subway. Subways... make me nervous. I mean, I know it's no big deal, but for some reason I'm not super comfy on them. Probably because I've only been on one twice in my life. ^^; Oh well.
The bookstore was awesome as usual. I spent like $130, which was fine since I'd set aside about $150 for the bookstore alone. xD;; I finally got some D.Gray manga. Then I got lots of books, hehe. So happy~ and when we got back to the hotel -cat helped me streak my hair pink, which I LOVE. Then she had a pizza party thing, so I hung around and watched TV, and used her computer a little.
Sunday the 17th: The next morning I slept in again, and said goodbye to -cat since she was off to do more con stuff. I tried to get ahold of Kerry, but my phone didn't like her number. ;~~~; So I missed her! No fair! ...at least she was having fun at her con and everything though. ♥ Sorry Kerry! Next time I promise!
EDIT: This was the day I fell in the shower, too. >>;;
And finally, a bus home to Orillia! SO EXHAUSTED, but it was SO MUCH FUN. ^__^
...and yeeeah. Photos later. >>;; Just typing this took like two hours. Now is time for sleeps.