If anything, 2009 went without a hitch, so I can consider the 2009 con season much much better than the 2008 con season. I didn't have any major troubles in 2009 unlike in 2008, so that's another big bonus.
There were only three "major" cons this year - Sac-Anime Winter and Summer 2009 and FanimeCon 2009. Again, no AX and no other Bay Area cons like WonderCon or Animation on Display (AOD). It would of been nice but with the economy the way it was I had to restrict myself to just a few, but despite that I actually spent more this year. Go figure.
As I kept saying in my FanimeCon 2009 overview, this was a "year of firsts." (Then again, I'll probably 100% say that again next year.) For one, I really focused on getting my blog out there by spending a lot on business cards to get the word out. I must say, they have done more than I have expected so much to the point where I have 2,000 cards sitting in my room waiting to be distributed in 2010. There were also the moments - meeting Halko Momoi and Hiroyuki Yamaga (for the 3rd time) at FanimeCon, seeing the Console Gaming Room evolve into a juggernaut at Sac-Anime, and the move from the cramped Scottish Rite to the "clusterfuck" known as the Radisson.
As I sit here looking at the clock wondering how much I have to go until 2010, I think to myself: "Is there anything I could of done differently besides going to more cons if I had more money?" The answer is an obvious no, because then things would of been differently.
As I look back at 2009 overall, I've learned a lot from running a "fan-made independent anime conventions blog" and how much people do appreciate seeing a con from a fan's point of view full of blurry con shots and omissions because the writer can't remember everything that happened at a con. In fact, I've made it my mission statement - to provide con coverage not from a press or industry point of view, but from an ordinary attendee's point of view.
