Once More unto the Breach...

Fanime has been a strange journey for me over the last three visits. The first year was not enjoyable and only had a few highlights. The second year was much better and I have many great memories. This year was better still and makes me look forward to next year. Overall the Fanime experience improves each year and I cannot say that for any other con. The adventures, the new friends, and the great memories are what make Fanime one of the most enjoyable conventions in California.

It was fun arriving early, it allowed me to enjoy the rain and find Original Joe's, the best restaurant around the convention center. The first day of the convention provided a brand new experience to me. I highly recommend volunteering for a charity center; it is a very rewarding experience. One of the most important parts of a convention is to try new things and I am a better man for having donated my time at Santa Maria Urban Ministry.

Day one also threw me into having to run two panels in a row for a total of three hours. I do not recommend doing a marathon of panels like that. My horror panel continues to improve, but sadly each time I do it I have to skip different titles in order to maximize time and to suit the audience. On the good side this means my panel is never the same, but it also means I have to skip out on some great recommendations. I am half tempted to make a handout featuring all the titles I cover, but that might just be a redundancy that no one would be interested in having. My convention horror stories panel however worked out pretty well even with the majority of the panelists not showing up. It would have been nice to have a bigger audience, but a panel that goes from eleven to one in the morning is asking quite a bit from the average con attendee. I think this panel should remain with two hours, but go from ten to midnight. The best part of that panel is that every con gives me a new story.

The next major highlight was the Black and White ball. Although, I had to miss part of the ball, I did have a good time showing off my moves. I was very lucky to have had recovered from my migraine earlier that day. I do feel that last years music was better, but this year had some great tunes.

The other memorable part of Fanime was the Fanimaid Café. We had some problems with the café last year, but this year it really seems to have hit a good stride. The maids were very pretty and polite. It was fun playing games and chatting with the maids. I still have the origami heart that was made for Victoria and me. I am glad to see such a strong improvement in the café and I look forward to returning next year.

One of the consistently good parts of the convention is the quality of the artist alley and dealer’s hall. Both were up to the Fanime standard and I spent a good chunk of money picking up figures, a wig, and even a nice necklace for Charlotte. Yet no matter how much I spend I cannot complain due to the fact that there is still so much more that I wanted.

Despite all the good points of the convention there were still some problems. The first problem was the lack of water stations. There were the usual water stations in the panel rooms and at the dance. However, there was no station in the convention center as there were in previous years. The second flaw was the lack of interesting panels. Fanime has always been hit and miss when it comes to panels. Sadly this year was a “miss” year. I found hardly any panels that interested me. Worse yet, those that did interest me were during my panels, but that is not the fault of the convention. It would be nice to see a bigger variety of panels and hopefully some more interesting/informative panels. Finally, there is the problem with the Marriot elevators. Once again this is not the fault of the convention, but I felt I needed to complain about it in hopes that someone will be able to do something about the weak elevator service.

I do have a few regrets from this convention. The primay regret is that I did not hit the dojo as I did last year. I had planned to go on Sunday, but my migraine made me delay and I ended up not making up for that delay. I did see the amtgard people and they always put on a good show. I love the dojo and I hope it remains at the convention. Other than that I am very satisfied with my convention experience.

On the social side I would like that say thank you to everyone who showed me hospitality at the convention. You are all great and I hope to hang out with everyone again soon. I want to give a special thanks to Dante for teaching me some new fighting moves and to Jorge for picking us up and dropping us off at the airport. As always if I did not hang out with you much or if I did not see you then I am sorry it is difficult to be everywhere at a con and I often walk right by people without even realizing it.

Fanime was one of my least favorite cons back in 2008, but now it is one of my favorite conventions. It is odd how things change year to year. This was one of the best convention experiences I have had in a long time. I can only hope that Fanime remains strong and continues to improve. I am very much looking forward to coming back next year. I leave you with my list and until next time give my love to the lovely ladies at the Fanimaid Café.

The List

1. Geography does not determine friendship
2. Where you read black I read white
3. Baka Survivor
4. Aoki didn’t get to play
5. I am a man! (punch)
6. Jerky is a great con survival food.
7. Jared is Jared
8. Here’s to the maids
9. Came home with tons of figures
10. Maybe Charlotte will show up next time
11. “Cry ‘God for Harry, England, and Saint George!’”
12. RE: 11- Read a book!
13. AMV contest…
14. The dance was pretty good
15. I regret not going to the dojo.
16. Thanks for the instruction Dante
17. Grey Goose in the hall.
18. Successful Interview!
19. Next cosplay: Gijinka Initial D
20. Chansey the luck pokemon
21. None of my new cosplays got completed for Fanime
22. Trust is a funny thing.
23. I could use another relaxing bath
24. I do love the ladies
25. Threesome?
26. Note to self: You go to events to have fun.
27. “Damn it Cartman, stop saying hella.”
28. So… thirsty…
29. Second list of the year, two is the first prime number, ironic? No.

If you have questions or comments feel free not to e-mail me: jared@scarlet-rhapsody.com.

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