Anime Central 2011 and moving forward in life...

It's been almost a week since I left for Anime Central but due to time and energy constraints on my end, I haven't been able to sit down and recollect on my experience. So here is a quick wrap up of my weekend, better late than never.

It starts on Friday where I shot up I-55 past Lake Shore Drive (which was wrong by the way) so I had to pass back on the highway to 294 before I even got to the center. But in a convoluted way I made it past the tolls... I guess that's a victory. After walking around real quick before things opened up I spent some time in my buddy's hotel room where I proceeded to spill Chef Boyardee on my pink shirt. Yeah, whoops.

My hotel mates got in from Michigan shortly thereafter, and after we exchanged pleasantries we got geared up for a Bleach gathering later that day. There were an obnoxious amount of people there so getting photos of everyone was a challenge in and of itself. But we got a few good ones so it wasn't a total loss.

We wandered around a bit longer before attending a Gaia Online fun hour 23 year olds on Gaia, I'm not surprise) where our poor pal was subject to humiliation during one of the challenges. He had his eyes closed as he was moving his hands back and forth as per the challenge and when he was left alone up there I was going to spook him but the fag running the panel asked me to sit down. Screw him.

The hotel room that night I decided it was a good idea to get drunk. However I stopped myself at three cans on Leinenkugels and a bit of Captain Morgan. But this is when I discovered I am actually pretty contained when buzzed. That doesn't mean my companion was when he decided to bring his drink with and spill some of it on the floor, while he cleaned it up with me standing guard but oh well. We just talked a bit about life and our pals. Alcohol does stuff to people, ya know?

Saturday was supposed to be the end of the world but actually ended up being alright. I ran the Tenchi cosplay shoot before we were moved by the Black Butler shoot due to weather. But that went off without a hitch and we had a 250% bigger turn out than last year. We attended the masquerade later that evening, and I almost cried because in that span of time there were no less than four Game references and no less than 3 Rick Rolls. I wanted to leave but my judgement got the better of me. The Pasta reference was better, but not by much.

We had dinner in a nearby restaurant but for some sad reason it took us forever to get our drink order and our menu. Even so it still took a while to get our food, but I understand the biz. But we kept feeling like we were being chastized due to our appearance and size of our group. So when we got our bill we had an "18%" written on it, and in all of his infinate wisdom, my buddy wrote "Why?" next to it. That was absolutely hilarious.

Sunday was the end. My friend had to leave early for a party for her brother who is joining the Marines next week, so we talked a bit before they left. Saying goodbye is always hard to do, especially when you care about someone so much, but it was a happier send off this time. I spent most of the remaining day in the dealers room where I found some awesome prints. I was there for probably an hour making my choice before I decided on what I wanted. But it wasn't soon after that when I decided to head home. I was tired, and had a long few days ahead.

Which brings me to my next point. Throughout the weekend I felt pains of bitterness, frustration, and fear due to my worrying. I excused myself to a bathroom on Friday because, really I had to go, but I also looked at myself in the mirror as questions ran through my head; Is going to these things worth it? When will it end? Why do I do this? Why subject myself to feeling that are, at best, lasting only a weekend before going back to my lonely old life?

You obviously guess that I may have plenty of friends, it's just that they're all hours away from me, and to see them requires lots of time off in a row or an afternoons worth of driving. They have a group dynamic I strive to have since I left culinary school in 2008. It's not perfect, but even closest friends have their beefs with each other. I spent some time with my lady friend discussing my future. I have a job offer out in Colorado and while I already took him up on it and hopefully will leave in November to go there, I wanted her opinion on it.

She was very supportive, actually. She said she felt a lonely feeling from my words during our talks stemming from the feeling that I hated where I was and that I know there's better opportunity out there. Her friend also shared the sentiment, and I found out we all three want to leave our homes. We know there's something better out there for us. I want to find it.

I told her I loved her, and that she will find her way, just like I'm going to be doing later. It made me feel better knowing she wants me to be happy, and that she understands. I should have known that, though. Working for a bitch manager at three different Ethan Allens isn't really the glamorous life, nor is getting over worked and underpaid at an upscale McDonalds. It makes it hard for me to know our paths may not cross again, but I'm planning on spending a few weeks out there before heading west and starting a new chapter in my life. While I felt frustrated, confused, and a bit distraught, I also felt relieved and somewhat happy we were finallly able to have this talk.

All this aside, I'm sure you didn't come here to read my life story. If you did, thanks for listening, but I'm sure you're here for pictures! And I got plenty of them! I hope you enjoy them.

Jesus
Double dose of Seras Victoria
Brak
Poptart Cat
Squall
Corseplay
Bowser and Peach
Katz
Pink Castle Crasher
Super Mario Sunshine
Daft Punk
Mike Haggar
Spike and Edward
Frog
Neon Genesis Evangeleon
"I'm Buzz Lightyear...
"...And I'm Mrs. Nesbit!"
Zoidberg with Leela and Bender!
Bioshock
Metalocalypse
Fucking Clowns scare everybody.
Con Mom! Hope you showered.
Dividing by Zero