Long entry is LOOOOOOOOONG. So due to a severe lack of time online lately, I've condensed my experiences at Port Con Maine and Otakon this year into 1 blog.

Port Con Maine:

Longest. Drive. Ever. Albeit it was only 6 hours away, it seemed more like 10. XD We stayed at the Days Inn down the street from the con venure, and the pool was so tiny!! You could sit in it and that was pretty much it. I spent the night walking around the mall with a couple of my friends since the others were running a Dr. Horrible panel at the con on Thursday. Apparently all the mall employees knew about the con cause they doubled up security and moved all the anime-related stuff to the entrances of stores like FYE and Best Buy. Pretty funny. You couldn't have more than 3 people in the Apple store at a time cause of security issues that weekend. XD

So Friday I cosplayed Akito from Air Gear. There was one other Akito there, and we chatted for a bit on how I made my costume. People seemed to love thte leg chains. They would keep chasing them or hooking me onto things. I was actually attached to someone's belt loop for a couple hours, which made not clotheslining people a chore. I met some awesome new people, and had fun parading around the mall in my straight jacket while trying to eat ice cream.

Saturday I cosplayed Hani from Ouran. Definitley the fan favorite. I got so many compliments on how I looked just like him, it was completely flattering. I even did a small walk-on skit where I came on stage rubbing my eyes like I was tired, and apologized for being like cause I fell asleep waiting for Takashi. I got a ton of fangirl squeals for that one. XD I made an attempt to go to the rave, and even got dressed up, but as soon as we got there we were invited to a swimming party at another friend's hotel. Silly me didn't bring a bathing suit, not that that stopped anyone from tossing me in anyway. And somehow I managed to get another 3 people to jump in fully clothed. XD

Sunday I cosplayed Fai from Tsubasa. Only 1 person recognized me, but considering it was an artbook version, I was pretty damn happy. Managed to get a lot of swag and artwork from this con, including some black/blue cat ears. Now I can be just like every other fangirl!!! XD The car ride back seemed shorter this time, and we pretty much spent the whole car ride talking about stupid stuff and taking pictures. All in all, I loved Port Con, and for a small local con, it was pretty amazing. I definitely plan to go again next year.

Otakon:

I have very mixed feelings about this con, of which I won't go into detail here.

5 of us left Wednesday afternoon in a rental van. Now when I say van, I mean a HUGE van. It was awesome. XD The drive down to MD took forever but it was fun cause I got to sing and talk and have fun with everyone. We finally got into Baltimore at about 10 to return the car, where a good friend of mine picked us up to crash at his place. I got to see my BFF Heather after 2 years, and we had a mini celebration for her belated birthday. I was pretty beat so I crashed not too long after, but I know there was a lot of Guitar Hero going on for a long time. XD

Thursday morning we ended up taking 2 cars to Baltimore cause we had so many people with a ton of luggage. Kind of a cramped ride as I had to sit on someone's lap in order to fit in the car. We finally got to the Marriott where my friend was staying and made our way to the pre-reg line, AKA Line Con. The heat was awful. I wore my Naoto cosplay all of about an hour, if even that before I gave up and took it off. XD I waited for about 4 hours before I decided to walk the few blocks to my hotel to check in. I can offically say I'll never book a room at the Sheraton again. They gave us so much grief, and by the time we got to the room it looked like it hadn't even been cleaned, not to mention there was a hole in the bathroom wall. O_o So we went back down to pre-reg for another hour or so until we finally got our tickets. And then it was luggage time. We had to make 2 seperate trips to get all our bags and props out of my friend's car and hike the next 3 blocks back to my hotel. Not a fun time when it's over 100 degerees outside. >_< Finally managed to get everything into the hotel, and we were about to have a nice swim in the pool when guess what: the pool's still being filled!! So I basically sat around the room trying to clean up for most of the night, or bickering with other people. I was not a happy camper that day. XD I ended up sleeping in the middle of the floor where people stepped on me cause I couldn't fit in the bed I'd called dibs on with 2 other people. XD

Friday I cosplayed Simon from Gurren Lagann, and there was also a Viral, adult Simon, and Kamina cosplayer too. Being a perfectionist, I attempted to do open-chest binding. It all worked well until a few hours into the con when it started raining. The rain began soaking the double-sided tape holding my jacket partly closed. I managed to sneak into California Tortilla with some friends for a quick dinner, then bolted back to the hotel so I could change. I went back to the con later with a small group to go see Bible Black at midnight. I decided to leave early cause I was wicked tired, and lo and behold, as soon as I get to the hotel my anemia kicks in and I get a nosebleed. What amazing timing. XP Didn't go to the rave that as I was too tired and cranky, so I attempted to crash early, with the exception of someone who couldn't get to sleep until about 4 in the morning, even on 4 Nyquil. -_-

Saturday I cosplayed ABA from Guilty Gear. Let me tell you, folks: that key is HEAVY. Made completely out of wood and metal, there's nothing like carrying 50 lbs on one shoulder all day. XD And the bandages I wore? Self-adhesives sports tape. Bad idea. It doesn't come off as easily as one might think. >_< Got a bunch of pictures taken which I'm still scavenging for, and I got a ton of compliments on it, which was pretty exciting. A few of my smaller keys I wore ended up breaking, including my headband by the time I left. And just as I was about to leave, I finally get stopped by a staffer only to be told that since the chain was metal, I couldn't have it in the con. Jerks. >_> So back to the hotel to change for the rave. The events of the night have proved how much of a lightweight I am with alcohol, as after only 1 cup I was cracking my head off the glass shelf in the bathroom trying to reach my badge which had fallen. And I did it twice. Within a minute. XD The rave was pretty awesome. The music was great, but I ended up leaving early due to some creeper issues.
After the rave was where things went downhill very fast. A certain member of our group ended up getting completely wasted to the point of having security called on him. Again, for privacy reasons I'm not going into detail. Let's just say that as he was the only 21 year-old with a driver's license to rent a car back to NY, suddenly there were 4 people left without a ride back home. -_- The rest of the night was spent in hysterics and a group hug of awesomeness. XD

Sunday was pure insanity. Everyone was running around trying to pack everything up before checkout, while at the same time trying to find rides home with little or no money. It all worked out in the end, but not without an incredible amount of stress involved. I was supposed to cosplay Ari from Okage, but as my ride home was leaving as soon as they checked out, I basically got 1 picture taken on my way to their hotel. XD The ride back was mostly spent sleeping the weekend away. After we got back to Rochester we went out to see Bruno, which is an awesome movie I'd totally recommend seeing.

Otakon was definitley epic, and I will be going again next year in the company of my best friends ever, and hopefully it'll be a more drama-free time.

In other news, I'm setting a Kiriban!! The # is 1337.