Sakura-Con 2005

I'm tired as hell, but I have to try and get this written down as memory is shit and I want to get it all out before I forget most of the details. `^_^

Thursday:

I finally got to the hotel by about 5pm. Immediately put to work. :) Not a big deal as it's Thursday. Heh, it was awesome. I asked Stef to grab my badge. He brought down Stephen King Jr.'s (yes, there's ANOTHER one there!). Doh! So I sent him back. Eric came down with the SAME badge. `^_^ I laughed again and said I'd handle it. The other Stephen came down later with MY badge...oh, that was funny. :)

I spent most of the night in the Operations room (actually, spent most of the con there). Basically I helped with badges, those missing and those that somehow got lost in the shuffle. I'm pretty sure Nate was there that night and helped out a lot.

This was also my first time getting to use the radios. Of course I stayed professional on them and all, and I know I'll sound like a little kid on this, but I had a BLAST using them. :) "Rob, this is Dude Love, please come in." :) :) :)

Did I eat that night? I'm sure I did, can't remember what. I crawled into the hotel room around 4am and crashed hard while Nate, Pam, Colin, and Stef stayed. Sadly, certain...ah, events prevented me from getting a full night's sleep, so I only slept about an hour and a half.

Oh, and here's...well, honestly, probably my highlight of the con. Earlier in the day (who was I with? Was it Stef?) we were walking by Spencer's and this girl and her boyfriend(?) stop us and wanted to get a pic of Stef (so I thought). But she made me get in the picture with him touching my stomach. I was like, "Er, okay." So they got a pic, and we all walked along to the elevators. She then takes of picture of me flashing my tummy. `^_^ To top that, later that evening I found her in the lobby area. Did I mention she was cute, petite, and had the HOTTEST British accent? And the line she dropped me was one of the sweetest things that have ever been said to me.

"You're like a desert. Like Angel Food Cake that I could just eat up." *turns a bit red* I guess it was her birthday, too, so I let her have one of my Nintendo pins. Wish I would've gotten her e-mail address, she just seemed cool in general. :) She seemed a little drunk...but still. Yeah, that was definately a good time. :)

Friday:

Stef, thank you SO much. I awoke to a mocha. Damn, did I need that. I had planned to do a quickly thrown together Fighter, but alas it was not to happen. Stef and I hit the breakfast buffet were I snarfed down my meal and headed to Ops.

Most of the day was a blur, though I can tell you I spent most of it in Ops. People came in and visited me from time to time, and though there were times of a bit of chaos (just having so many people in the room), things went fine. I eventually left Rob in the room around 3amish and headed back to the hotel room. Oh! I know I got in my tux for the dance...but...by the time I left, the dance was over. :(

Saturday:

Got about five hours of sleep, the most for me during the con. `^_^ This time my breakfast was a mocha.

Same thing in Ops, just generally helped people who filed in, usually about badges or if they needed to contact someone. I was able to escape for a bit with Ashley and hit the Dealer's Room. I was happy with my purchases (Ninja High School Textbook 2, Penny Arcade Year 1, GTO 14 and Kare Kano 4 (manga, both at 50% off)). Headed back to Ops for more of the same. Sadly, the same thing happened with the dance that night as the evening before. I was ESPECIALLY upset since the Canadians had invited me to their party and I ended up missing it. :(

A lot happened in the later hours, a lot of which I really WANT to forget. Don't get me wrong, I had some good times, but I had some drama I had to deal with that I would have preferred not to. Ah well, it ended up being managable. Though someone did wreck their car outside the Hilton...that was interesting...

After having the "attempted" room party in my room, then heading over to the Marriot for a bit, then to Kazzar's room party...I was exhausted. I called Dan at 6am to ask about the Penny Arcade books...I woke him up (I just thought I could leave a voicemail! Gomen Dani-chan!!!!).

Sunday:

I got into Ops at about 7am where it was reported that I fell asleep (i.e. passed out) and could not be awoken until 10am. Good times. :) And apparently I was snoring. *turns red*

Anyway, I was in Ops most of the day. Attended Assault & Flattery and was glad to hear that the critism's were not too harsh.

I then hung out in Ops for most of the night until I just could not stand it and had to head home. I felt kind of bad leaving Ops like that (even if Rob did give me the okay). I gave Nate a ride and pretty much passed out at home. Spent all day today sleeping and recovering.

So, did I have fun? Well, it's hard to say. This was my first year of actually doing work at the con, as opposed to web/publicity stuff. So, it was a bit of a shock. Even though looking back it doesn't seem like that much work, I know that I got very little sleep and helped a good number of people, so I guess I had to of. `^_^

We'll see what happens next year. I will definately be on staff, though we'll see about in which capacity. I didn't get to see and enjoy enough of the con as I wanted, as well as not see and visit people that I don't usually see.

So, a few shout-outs...

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_ray_: Sorry I saw so little of you. :( At least I got a hug or two outta ya. :)

afreak2600: Heh, it was cool to see you. :) I definately need to come up to Canada to hang with ya. Maybe I can talk my wallet into making it to AE this year! I can't wait to see the pics of me you took of me posted; they looked awesome!

hentainobaka: It was lame I only saw you for like the few minutes you were in Ops. At least it looked and sounded like you were having a good time. :(

osiris_n: Nick, you sexy beast. :) It was so good to see you, though I didn't get to hang out with you nearly as much as I wanted. Trust me, sometime we're getting together to drink. :) And let me know when your next show's coming up!

dessa_gepichu: I'm really sorry about your Yuki costume. :( It looked really cool, too. I think you had fun for the most part, though. :)

di_gi_ryuu: OMFG! You're just the cutest thing I've ever seen. I so wanted to take you home and put you in a cardbord box next to my bed and give you some warm milk! Hope I didn't pinch your cheeks too hard. :) I hope I can see you again soon!

makotochan: Sorry I didn't say hi when you walked into Ops. `^_^

maetel9: Where were you? I didn't get to see you at all during the con...

picakuma: Man, I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to dog ya like I did. I know you got in okay, but I wish I could've been more concrete on helping ya get in. And I just kind of wandered off from ya Saturday night... :(

saxytenshi: Thank you for taking the time to stop by and say hi. Believe me, you were a nice breath of fresh air, even if I didn't really show it. KICK ASS costumes by the way!

flyingpuck: Glad you had a good time. :) I wasn't sure what your first Sakura-Con experience was gonna be like, but I'm glad you walked away with a good impression. Maybe we can even get you to cosplay next year? :) Regardless, we're totally gonna have to play golf and get drunk sometime!

ff8squall: It was good to see you and your woman (god, why can't I remember her name? Fucking memory).

kittykitsune: I know you were under stress, but you did a fantastic job. It was so much fun hanging out with you!

knonymous: Awesome to see you and get some sexy hugs! I wish I remember more of our Sunday morning conversation...but I think we were both out of it. `^_^

quetz: Holy crap man, you were awesome! Thank you SO much for your help. During those little times that I was feeling the strain, you helped out; whether it was getting me a mocha or running something up to registration or making me a drink. Thank you Stef, thankyouthankyouthank!!!! :)

cplslicks: I have to have respect for a guy that forces his staff to get some rest. :) Didn't see too much of you as well (for obvious reasons), but I hope you enjoyed yourself.

p38_lightning: I think a lot of people see me as just a party person. I'm extremely honored and grateful that you gave me a chance despite that. I know I wasn't the best assistant pre-con, but I hope I was able to lighten your load at least a little bit during the con. Thanks. :)

oishii_lemons: I know it wasn't your fault, but I was extremely sad that I didn't get to see more of you during the con. I really missed you a lot. Plus I didn't get to see your's and Charlie's outfits (I saw some pics, she's so damn adorable!!! And you were awesome looking yourself!). I'm sure you did a lot of work! I just didn't get to see it. `^_^

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I have more people to thank and make comments to, but, I have to get to bed for work. I'll edit/update this entry tomorrow night.