I haven't really been updating anything here lately. I've been so darn busy with stuff at home that all I've been able to do here is answer messages. Things should be calming down in another couple of weeks, but in the meantime I'll try to update with a few A-kon photos

A specific apology goes out to my 75k kiriban winners. You gave me your requests ages ago and I still have them, but again I've been so busy since getting back home that I haven't had any time for pictures. But I promise that before long I'll get it done for you both!

Of all the cons I've been to thus far, this one managed to make it to the top of the list for fun times and good memories. There were a few rough spots, as should be expected for any con, but overall I have to say the staff did a remarkable job, and there were many many people there to make it a memorable experience this time around.

Highlights:

-Pre registration was practically non-existant. This a very small and simple highlight, but I consider it a major improvement on A-kon's behalf. Last year we were stuck in the pre-reg line for hours, and nearly didn't get our badges because they technically closed before our part of the line got to them. This year there was a very short line, and it went really fast. I got my badge only a few minutes after getting in line. My friends, who went to get their badges a bit earlier, had more of a line, but still managed to get their badges pretty quickly. Way to go A-kon!

-Winning 1st place in Friday's Hallway contest with my King and Queen outfits. It's one thing to win a cosplay contest, but it's quite another to win with your own original designs. I'm happy that the judging was not biased to anime specific characters, and I feel honored to have gotten the award that I did.

-Walking into the 1st floor of the Convention Center while wearing Jack Skellington and receiving a round of cheers and applause. This completely astounded me! I've gone to A-kon for 3 years now, and I've never seen such a vast and immediate recognition for a single costume. I know it helped that I was 8 feet tall and thus very easy to see, but never the less...walking in and instantly (no exaggeration) hundreds of people start cheering and applauding...it made me feel pretty darn awesome

-All of the great photoshoots. This is what really made up the bulk of A-kon 20 for me, and it's what made it so much fun for me. Lots of fun times and great pictures. And I feel very lucky for all of the great photographer friends that I've made over the last few years who came to this con and took pictures at all of the shoots.

-All of the fun times I had with my friends from home. We had a large group of 8 people coming from Jefferson city, and all of them are close friends of mine. Some of them I've known for years and years, and some of them are much more recent additions to what I consider family. I've been going to college out of state, and may end up doing more out of state schooling in the future. I treasure all of the memories made with my friends, and this year's A-kon was certainly no exception! I'm so glad that they all got to go down to Akon with me this year. I wouldn't have had half as much fun if it weren't for all of them.



Shoutouts:

A-kon Staff- Is it weird that I want to personally thank you guys for doing such a bang up job this year? Last year was pretty bad because a lot of the staff members had poor organization and poor attitudes. But this year most of what I saw was pretty organized, and nearly every staff member I ran into had a pretty good attitude. Congratulations, you guys definitely convinced me that this con has not degraded to the point of no return, and I will be sure to return to it either next year, or sometime in the future.

and - I'm glad we ran into each other, but I'm sad we didn't get to hang out more. We shall have to fix this at Afest and Izumicon!

and - You two have truly been through a lot, and I wish your experience this year could have been better. I'm glad that we got to hang out though, and I can't wait for Afest, it'll be a blast! It was also great to get to meet your other friends as well, and thank Colt for the deck help ;D

and Hopie- You two are a ton of fun, and you made the NBC shoot worth happening. I look forward to more fun times at future cons! And congrats on your awesome skit, you never cease to amaze and bring laughter to the crowds, and I count myself among those that crack up every time ;D

- You make an excellent Christmas Town Sora, and it was great to hang out at the NBC shoot. I hope you'll be at the Afest one as well, and I look forward to hanging out more in the future.

and - I'm sorry that we didn't see too much of each other this time, but your Skit was truly awesome. I can't wait to see you both at A-fest, much fun will be had!

and all the other fellow yugioh cosplay buddies- You all keep the Yugioh fandom alive with us and that never ceases to bring a smile to my face. Thanks for all the laughs and good times! I enjoy all of the other cosplay groups that you collab with us, and I can't wait to see what will come together in the future.

Eri- You make a great Aisha, and I can't wait to have more Outlaw Star fun later on. And I definitely look forward to the fun we'll have at Afest ;D

and - It's a bummer we didn't see a lot of each other, but those few times we did bump into each other were great. Let's plan to hang out more at the next con we all go to :]

- You may not have managed to finish your costume on time, but you still make a great Jet in my book! And you have some pretty decent photographer skills too, I give you two thumbs up for whichever path you decide to take for conventions. It was great to hang out with you again, and I'll be looking forward to more fun times in the future!

- You sir are the man! You never cease to amaze me with your mighty photographing skills and witty humor. It's an honor, as always, to have worked with you, and to consider you a friend as well. I look forward to future shoots with you!

EBK- You always managed to find us for pictures, and you seem to keep a really good attitude about what you're doing when you're around. I look forward to seeing the pictures you took!

Mike Boike- Thanks so much for the Yugioh GX photoshoot, you are an awesome photographer and an awesome guy in general. I can't wait to see the pictures from the shoot, and I hope to hang out with ya some more in the future.

Pongo- It was good to see you again, and I look forward to the photos you took of us at A-kon. Hopefully we'll meet up again at Afest.

- Can you ever not be awesome? Your props continue to make me drool, and your artwork is fantastic. But neither of those compare to your friendly personality. I'm glad I met you at Akon a couple of years back, and this year it was great to see you again. Hopefully I'll be able to catch you at more cons than just Akon. Take it easy and don't get too worn out from all of the commission work!

And last but not least, my close friends from Jeff city!

- You've always been one of the funniest people I know, and also one of the coolest. You're always on the up-beat moods and you know just how to bring laughter to the group. I'm glad you were able to make it to A-kon this year

- You totally rocked as the Joker. I have to give you props for making the duck-tape your new trademark and I can't wait to see what you'll come up with next. You've got some mad skills my friend and as always it was great to go to A-kon with you

Ben - You shall henceforth be known as Ben-anna xD...seriously though, I'm so glad you were able to come. You definitely added plenty of laughs and good times to the fun that was had this year. I hope you'll be able to go to more cons with us in the future, but even if you don't it will never degrade your value as my good friend

- I'm very glad you were able to make it to A-kon this year. I've had lots of fun times with you at previous cons, and while I may not always show it, I appreciate the variety and fun you bring to our group of friends. I'm happy that you are Malinda's roommate, and I look forward to all of the cons we'll go to as a group in the future.

- You managed to steal the spotlight for our Yugioh shoots, and you couldn't have deserved it more. I'm glad you came with us to A-kon, and I hope you'll be able to go to more cons with us in the future. You're a very awesome person and it was great getting to know you a bit more as well.

- It's been a long time coming, but you finally got to join in on the fun and it was more than worth the wait for all of us. Lots of fun was had and good memories made, and they'll only multiply with any cons you come to us with in the future. It was a real treat to have you come with us to A-kon this year!

- Can I even go to a con without you anymore and have the same kind of fun? It would be hard to imagine! A-kon wouldn't have been the same without you, and I was very happy to have shared the fun and memories with you this year. I know there were a couple of rough spots this year, but we pulled through and had the time of our lives in the end. Thanks for putting up with me through the good and the bad. You are my soul-mate, and I love you very much ^_________^

I'm actually debating on whether to do a kiriban for 100k or not. I already did one for 75k and I have a few other ideas for the occassion already, but if enough people comment in this journal saying they'll participate in a kiriban then I'll go ahead and do that as well. So it's really up to you guys on that one...

and Aaron