General Con thoughts:
Well, this con felt a LOT shorter than the other two I'd been to, even though I was in LA for an amount of time in between what I spent at the other two cons. A lot of this was, as people said, driving. The time felt shorter either because we were all in cars, or because everyone else was in cars and we were waiting for them. LA is not a particularly well designed city.
I agree with what the Commander said about this being Food Con. Even as picky as I am (and I think that became very apparent at least one or two times during the con), I still found myself eating a few things I normally don't, and also Teriyaki Beef and Sushi, both of which I never had. So that worked out fairly well for me.
Generally sat around and volunteered to play whatever games were opening up when I was there. Turned down a couple. Don't think I won anything this year, but I generally had a decent showing in everything but the maid game.
Post con Disney trip was a lot of fun. Really only freaked out a little at Space mountain, since I have terrible anxiety. After that, everything was golden, unless you count my money woes. We ran into HONORARY ZENNY. Some guy that had a similar face and beard and bright red hair was randomly behind us in line. I was dancing because I was bored, then I turned to Sopko and said "I apologize for my dancing", and random dude says "As well you should." Him and Sopko proceed to banter back and forth about my dancing. Later a little girl bounced into me, and gets super embarrassed. "I'm so sorry," she says. "I didn't see you there." Her father responds with "Really? You couldn't see
those socks?" Disneyland: 2 VSM:0
1. Niu~Niu is easily the person I interacted with least this con, possibly because he was host, possibly because he was always driving a vehicle I was not in, and driving was like, a huge part of the Con. I feel a bit ashamed that I didn't talk to him more, as I wanted to show my appreciation for having all of us there. I also would like to extend my thanks to his parents for putting up with everyone. I debated buying a card, but :effort:
2. Dhyerwolf~Most of my interaction with Dhyer was him picking me up from the airport, and being peripheral in conversations that he was having with Djinn or Super. I didn't really learn anything new about him, but it's always a pleasure to see him, and his sense of humor is the sharp, biting kind that I adore.
3. Tallychu~Played some mahjong with, or watched him play. Generally shot the shit about mahjong. Can't remember what we/the other mahjonger's mostly talked about, but I remember laughing so much my belly hurt, so it was definitely fun.
4. Ashley~Was fried from all the driving. Interacted with her often, because I was usually in her car, otherwise known as the cool people car, for most of the driving. Wrecked us at whatever the Warhammer game was called, her and Sopko had a sound plan for how to move through Disney.
5. Andrew~Brought lots of cool games and was also in the cool kids' car. Was always around Ashley for
some unknown reason. Anyhow, gaming! It's super awesome fun time. Applying Andrew's philosophy of "Fuck it" made the Con much easier, when things got complicated. Thanks Andy!
6. Gatewalker~Much like last year, I found myself talking to Gate a
lot. We have just a silly amount of stuff in common, and our personalities mesh really well. It surprised me last year, because we never really interacted all that much, but this year, it was just, "Hey, it's Gate. I like talking to Gate." And then I proceeded to talk to Gate. Like, a lot.
7. Laggy~Played Mahjong, the way men play Mahjong. Laggy's Going for it kept ripping my sides up, and generally made everything better.
8. Alex~Also had games/taught me games. Generally was a good teacher. Alex opened up a lot more this con and seemed more relaxed, which is great, because a relaxed Alex is incredibly funny and fun to be around.
9. Tonfa~First person at the Con I got to see. Tonfa overheard me talking to Dhyer on my cell phone trying to find him, and then I was like, staring at Tonfa, telling Dhyer, "Yep. I'm looking right at him, and he's looking at me like I'm an idiot." Didn't interact all that much outside of Mahjong. I was told, though, by others, that I have a challenger to the Meat Throne, and assuming I have money next time we meet, I'll have to defend my honor.
10. Grefter~Looks like the guy who kicked the previous Grefter's ass and took his place. It's great having someone around who is very laid back and centered. Even when things are frustrating to Gref, he takes a deep breath and generally does the mature-person thing, regardless of situation. Always really good for a well-timed one liner. His interaction with Sopko is a joy to watch.
11. Archmage~I didn't get to share his Gin, and that makes me REALLY SAD, because it seemed higher quality than what I usually drink. (Beefeater being prolly the top end of what I spring for). Played Mahjong and a few other games.
12. Soppy~His mastery of theme parks helped a lot on the Disney trip, and he stepped in a few times to organize things when other people were waffling. Sopko was also in the Cool Kids' car, and thus we interacted fairly often for most of the trip. I'm thankful he dragged us to Captain EO, because that was the single greatest thing I have ever seen. God damn it, Hooter.
13. Jo'Ou~Needs to realize that he is a dear friend and I want him to be happy/feel good. We didn't interact that heavily, this year, even spending quite a good deal apart during the Disney trip for whatever reason. Nonetheless, it's always a great pleasure to see him, and I'm glad he continues to find his way all the way to the States.
14. Cmdr King~Unlike the Austin Con, I spent a great deal of time with and talking to CK in this con, as we shared a room, both did Disney, and generally were hanging around the house instead of going out to do things. It was usually very fun to get to know him better, and I owe him and Djinn and Snow for convincing me to try Sushi, and for doing it in a way that made me comfortable. CK's flight delay meant that he was the last person I got to see at the Con, and it was nice to be able to have someone to shoot the shit with in the airport. He really didn't like our room's towel rack. Gave me a free game.
15. VSM~Didn't put on his best during the Con. Could not, for the life of him, Wreck, and instead, Got Wrecked. Also, I fear that others' perceptions of me won't be as awesome as last year's con, where at least two people said I was sexy, and a third said they were sure I was packing heat. That was a fun aftermath topic. I miss it.
16. Djinn~Spent a long time with Djinn, for similar reasons to why I was around CK a lot this year. Had to take a cab with him one day, and he had to rent a car to get our room to Disneyland. Was clearly irritated for part of the Con, but in addition to being a driver for the second half, he had food poisoning for the first half. Poor Djinn. When bad things weren't repeatedly happening to him, he was/had fun. Thanks again for introducing me to Sushi in a way that made me comfortable and not super nervous. Oh, and thanks for the game.
17. Meep~Shared a room with Meeple, too. Meep and I always get along really well, and this Con was no different. I sort of Defaulted to hanging out with Meeple if I wasn't playing games or in someone else's car. Spent a long time talking to him at Disney, as well. Thanks for the comic.
18. Nitori~Wins the Seamstress award for pointing out that I have an orange stitch, and a green stitch, and a white stitch, and another white stitch. Played lots of Mahjong and other games.
19. Super~Got to shoot the shit with Super during the mandatory drinking night, and the night before Disney. And at the Sushi place. Otherwise, interacted a surprisingly small amount with him. I think it was largely because I spent most of my time at Niu's playing assorted board games, and he was doing, uh, whatever the people inside were doing. NOT board games, I guess. Anyhow, Super somehow managed to hit his face on Niu's hanging lights than CK knocked down our bathroom's towel rack, and that is
goddamn impressive20. Tide~Speaking of board/card games, Tide is
freakishly good at them, and generally wrecked shit. In addition:
Wish I'd gotten to talk to Tide more - I spent a lot of Thursday trying not to bother him thinking he was one of Niu's family members. Oops!
THANK CHRIST I'm not the only one.
Additionally, Tide has the same voice as my fake cousin Cole, and it took me until after the con to realize who he reminded me of and why.
21. Elf~After Niu, I spent the least amount of time with the Elf, and it's no real surprise why. He/Ciato were around for a very small amount of time, and generally weren't into the board gaming thing. I wish we could have talked more, but perhaps next time.
22. MC~Also wished she could be around longer. However, she usually either watched board games or Mahjong, so we talked at least a
little bit. Still not as much as last year, though.
23. Ciato~Though I talked to her more than the previous two, it's never enough Ciato. Still, I'll take any interaction with her, the Elf, and Met, as it's definitely better than nothing. Felt pretty bad about taking away her Persona 4 arena casual crown, but in my defense, it gave me a pretty solid reason to interact with her that I otherwise didn't have.
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In conclusion, a good con. Not my favorite con, but I still got that glurgy "I'm home because this is where my friends are" feeling I always get. I've been super confident/attractive since I've gotten home, and I feel like I can do some writing. Cons recharge my batteries like nothing else does, and it's always the best part of my year. I cannot wait until I can meet up with you guys again.
