Somehow, someway, I woke up at 5:45am in the morning...can't sleep, already have that con adrenaline going. By 6:30 I'm out the door and on my way to the convention. I wanted a big breakfast before the con, so I stopped by Dennys off of J and 3rd. A Super Grand Slamwich and some twisted OJ was the way go to. By 7:30 I'm already at the Radisson hotel, ready to pick up my pre-reg badge since pre-reg opened up at 7. With nothing to do, I sit outside and take time to chat with the game room staff despite them setting up. I even had the chance to test out Rock Band with Wendell from FanimeCon - it was nice to see him again. Meanwhile, it's getting hot with the forecast expected to be beyond 100 degrees, and in my Persona 3 uniform it got really hot. Luckily I had two Gatorades on ice...which I drank before 10am.
With the option to check-in online before the day, my room was ready around 9am. It was a bit far from everything, but then again so was everyone else. I take a small break, watch a small bit of the Ted Kennedy funeral, and get the high-speed internet working. I also adjust my Sleep Number bed to be really really really soft, although I would firm it up a bit later that night. With the long lines forming at the con, it was time to me to head back to check out the opening. I also needed to find my roommates - actually, they were people that I contacted them about sharing a room with me through the forums. It actually took them awhile to find the room mostly because I gave them the wrong room number, but it was nice knowing that I didn't pay the full price to stay the night.
From the get-go, it was packed and the narrow hallways didn't help. It wasn't as bad in the beginning but as the day got hotter and more people came it really got crowded. At least the choke points were there, everywhere else I could get through easily. There wasn't much to do in the morning so I stayed in the console gaming room, which surprisingly was air conditioned and was one of the coldest rooms at the con. I also make my rounds in the Artists Alley and the Dealers Room.
By 1pm, I'm 45 minutes away from doing my interview with Akai SKY, so I blitz on over to Subway to grab something to eat. I make it back in time to actually eat before I do the interview. I've already posted the interview, and thanks again to Akai SKY for doing the interview with me.
Right after that, I decide to play the 1st Twitter Prize Giveaway - today it would be the limited edition t-shirt that came with the pre-reg. After going from the panels room to the console gaming room, Robert Tokunaga finds me and wins my t-shirt. Needless to say others were mad at me.
Eventually I do get back into the Voice Actor panel and somehow I get called on. I ask Liam O'Brien if he had remember me from the last con and a Geass question.
(go to 4:59)
Also, during the panel we all "lost the game," but Liam was confused so I looked up the term and handed my BlackBerry for him to read it. He wanted to take it, but was joking and gave it back to me.
(go to 5:49)
Afterwords, I get into the autograph line to network and get autographs.
By 4pm, I was actually ready to grab dinner since most of what I had to do was during the evening. Since Costco was next door, I decided to go on a food run for the room, grabbing a whole bunch of Chicken Bakes and a whole pizza, all for under $30. I also took a shower, something that I really needed.
I knew the Masquerade line was going to be packed, so I didn't even bother to see the Masquerade, although later I did get a small peek - I got to see Bleach characters dancing to "Yuki, Muon, Madobe nite."
In between that, I witnessed something amazing - people going crazy over a pallet worth of Venom Energy. If you remember the June con, they were there handing out free bottles which I got like four or five. Anyways, they had a whole bunch to give away so I helped the console gaming staff truck boxes full of them - and also ran over Ramon's foot in the process...oops, sorry man. I get one to drink to kick things off.
8pm hits, and it's time to get a photoshoot with Cole in. We had some trouble getting good shots with the sun going down, but there were fantastic shots that she got of me - I'll post those a bit later.
I also notice that the Rock Band Freestyle tournament is going on. True story: I was walking with her on the other side of hotel grounds when all of the sudden I hear the guitar intro to (Don't Fear) The Reaper blasting through the hotel. They had the sound system cracking and it was freakin' awesome.
With the night still young, there was one thing I wanted to do - drink at a convention for the first time. I just had one though - a Heineken since I knew I'd be pounding Venom Energy.
Cosplay Poker would be starting soon, and I knew with the experience I've been gaining I'd have the edge. Yes, I did try to play bully but eventually ran out of cards with the blinds eating up my chips like Light taking his "potato chips...and [eating] it!" So with me out, I find myself shuffling cards since I wasn't the all-time dealer for the final table. I also hear the sounds of the rave going on, which actual good music. I wish that went until the early morning but it had to shut down by 2 in the morning.
Through all of this, there was one surprise waiting for me - a Carrot Juice Tournament. Yes, that game from Rayman Raving Rabbids. But with this one, this one was unannounced - it was part of their Easter Egg attempts at the console gaming room. With not having played that game in over a year and a half, I did poorly - one I did the double switch I knew I was done for. Hey, at least I knew that I took 3rd in the inaugural tournament. The crazy thing was that Robert was dethroned - by a mear six tenths of a second. The difference between first and second place was four hundredths of a second - all times were in the 2'10" range, nowhere near the record time of 2'18". Robert gave up his crown, but to someone who truly deserved it.
It's near 2am now, and time to get one last chat in with BSaphire before she leaves for the night. By 2:30am I'm back in my room trying to sleep...
Tomorrow, I will post the Sunday portion of the report as well as my overall impressions of the con.
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