"I attend conventions, write about my experiences there, talk to guests, and get paid for it."

Friday Gallery

I was around Fremont when I realized it: Singing along with an MP3 player full of Talking Heads albums provides as much entertainment as having a passenger riding with me on this two-hour road trip to Sacramento. The main difference is that the MP3 player has fewer bags of luggage to throw in the trunk, it does not complain about my taste in music, and it does not frequently ask me to to pull over at a rest stop for food or a break.

My trusty Toyota was unassuming among the caravan of Toyotas dotting the 680N provided you did not notice the bloodstains on the ceiling. I really should clean that out. In lieu of a human being, taking shotgun sat my netbook bag, my GPS telling me which roads to take, and the aforementioned MP3 player playing "Once in a Lifetime." As I related to the lyrics telling me I may find myself behind the wheel of a large automobile, my suitcase that was the size of a large automobile shifted to one side as I swerved to another lane. I hope the costumes inside still stay in the same space. Additionally, I packed a personal briefcase full of the essentials needed for this trip.

I arrived at my contracted odd job in Sacramento and finished it within an hour. It was an easy job that anyone who knew his ass from his elbows could do, but it paid enough for a decent meal and they would reimburse my mileage. Once I got my money and was tired of sitting on my elbows, I went back to the car and arrived at the Radisson Hotel where SacAnime was held. Upon arrival, I was asked to cosign a room for one of my friends who was under the age. I just know that if I get a bill for a damaged hotel room, I knew at least three people to kill the next time I see them.

I slipped into my costume--Shigure Sohma from Fruits Basket--at the parking lot and entered the convention halls. The last time I was here for SacAnime, the halls were a bottleneck of attendees trying to get from one side to the other. No one could actually get to where they needed to go. But now at 11AM on a Friday, the halls were empty save for an occasional cosplayer including one Trina-shaped, Little Sister #3 type and her little girl friend with a deep voice. I passed by them initially, but once they called out to me, I realized it really was Trina. And that little girl friend with a deep voice was her little boy friend with a really high-pitched voice named Jaimie who Trina told me about earlier. They would stick like glue to each other throughout SacAnime.

The registration staff handed me two Press badges as I requested, though I was wondering why I needed a second one since I was ready to cover this convention as an army of one. But then Ten did register for the convention as Press so she received the badge once I found her in the Dealers Room. It is rather redundant for someone to require two high-powered badges yet only making use of one.

But I should be one to talk. Between elbowing about waiting for 3PM for the Dealers Room and panels to start and getting Trina to make me into a pale Shigure who looked like he dipped into the cocaine bucket out of boredom, I finally got a text from Yomi the volunteer coordinator & interim video programming head to meet her in the video room. Before the convention, I communicated with her my need for crash space for the night. Knowing her as a friend, I offered her whatever I could to ensure crash space whether it was cash, hot dinners from actual restaurants, fine booze, or clumsy flirtations that would either end very poorly or very well. But Yomi had much more sadistic plans for me and my damaged body. She recruited me into her video room staff and expected me to work for my room. During conventions, I consider work to be a four-letter word. Cleaning up video rooms, folding sheets, straightening chairs, securing rooms to prevent theft... I thought I went to conventions to avoid work. But if I wanted any chance to sleep that night, I better do so. With my Press duties combined with Staff duties, I ensured that I would never be idle during SacAnime. I might even try to kill two birds with one stone.

I was not able to experience this at the last SacAnime but the main hall in August had rooms dedicated to Dealers, panels, video, and games. This caused most of the blockage that killed my coverage that summer. Now the Dealers Room got larger while video and game rooms were displaced away from the main hotel. It helped with the traffic, but walking to both would be an exercise in time consumption as well as aerobic.

As I walked around the convention and occasionally stopping for photos, I would often get asked who I was. I simply told them I was a writer who worked from home and had a thing for high school girls before realizing they were asking who I was cosplaying. It is funny how life imitates art. Just last year or last month I was at home writing various anime reviews for The Escapist and learning to use my new phaser while trying to see how else I could get paid for doing the things I liked. Then one afternoon I received an email asking me to be an Arts & Entertainment Contributor for a writing site based on the entertainment-related news I received from panels during anime and sci-fi conventions. It will not exactly pay the bills or contribute towards my retirement, but it does pay for convention expenses. I now find myself with a new purpose at conventions besides photographing cosplayers, shameless flirting, dancing, drinking copious amounts of adult beverages, and waking up having no idea who is lying next to me.

While at the Dealers Room perusing the wares, I ran into artist and cosplayer Pegasus Maiden. As we looked around the Dealers Room, we both could not help noticing how cosplay has changed. During our start, we made our costumes with blood, sweat, and tears before realizing fabric might have been better material. My stuff was usually simple or crap, but I still had pride in finishing. 2001-2003 was what I considered the golden years of cosplay when cosplayers were fewer in number and lauded when seen. Now thanks to big industry churning out costumes at various prices, cosplay is more an ice breaker than a craft. I could either spend $50 on material and a few hours making something or work to earn the $50 to buy a costume in a bag and get similar results of photos and hugs. Nowadays, I just take the earn and buy route since it is so much easier. I later bought a pocket watch off her as I promised.

So the Friday morning of SacAnime was a little dead. That is putting it mildly. A zombie horde could storm the hotel halls and complain about the lack of brains present. But all would change once 3:00PM hit and things officially started.