[Creative Name]

I learned a song that gets on everybody's nerves...
Someone offered me a glowy thing to stop singing it. Being the cheap-o I am, I was more than eager to accept.

The help us waste an hour panel was just as great as last year.

Personally, I thought this year's AMV crop was a cut above.

Met some cool people, saw some cool cosplayers

[Kasin]

szwrld, on May 18 2008, 09:00 PM, said:

i am multi-talented but i wasn't the one taking the pictures . I was the one throwing pillows.
sorry but i doubt i could get one. its like a distant relation from me. sorry!

speaking of which. did you see the pillow in the hyatt, those long round ones...

what else could they be used for? they are meant for pillow fights!

[Kasin]

barnacles!

[Kyuu]

Kasin, on May 18 2008, 08:34 PM, said:

what else could they be used for? they are meant for pillow fights!

Penile extensions.

[Kasin]

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[sentinel28a]

I had a great time. It went by way too fast. My highlights:

1) Being recognized as Gendo. YEAH! Made all the trouble getting the cosplay done worth it. There's nothing more ego-boosting than someone coming up to you and saying "That's the best Gendo I've ever seen." I felt ten feet tall at this con.

2) Meeting everyone at the Meet 'n' Greet and the Steak 'n' Shake. That was fun. (Mock-Kappa, I owe you an apology. I should've stopped to say hi, but my brain was in my butt and I didn't make the connection until I was halfway across the street.)

3) Getting a hug from ThisChick. TC, you rawk.

4) Getting a hug from a random Rei cosplayer. It's the beard, isn't it? Chicks dig Gendo. (Given that I usually stalk Rei cosplayers, this was a nice twist.)

5) The only good thing about waiting in line is that you always make new friends.

6) Fanfiction panel was great. We had a big pizza party the night before and watched AMVs. Good questions at the panel as well.

7) Actually getting to spend the whole con with my old college buddy. In years previous, he had only been able to make one night of the three--this year, he went the distance.

8 ) Anime Trivial Pursuit became Anime Jeopardy, but what a success this year was! My room was packed and everyone was great. (And I even got to make things up for cancelling Thursday night's party to Ohki. Hope you like the book.)

9) Tammicakes and her hubby, plus Kahad. Part of what makes ACen great is being able to sit around, eat McDonald's and pocky (ew) and talk about random crap. They even helped me with my stuff, attended the room party, and managed to not panic--unlike me--when my Amtrak tickets went temporarily MIA.

10) Thank you, Midnight Madness, for bringing back Nescaflowne. I hate Fisting the North Star marginally less than Osama bin Laden, and it was nice to see something I haven't seen since 2004.

11) Giving Femme Fatale hell about the Patriots. It's a new season in three months, baby! Put your money where your mouth is! (But seriously, it was nice meeting you.)

12) Meeting all the people from the boards, and elsewhere. ACen continues to prove that you can have 15,000 people at a con and still feel like you've come home.

Some things were bad this year, but the overwhelming majority of things went very well. I had a great time and I just hope we can top it next year.

Ben Da Mad Irishman
"Only 365 days to go"

[simonsaz3]

I bought a fleece ears hat-- my first! Yay!!!!!
=D

[Kasin]

well night! have to pack and get going back home, and do some last minute thing here at the hyatt for some one. then work! pleasant dreams of cosplays to call, and good night!

[LADY SAKURA]

i got myself a neat little small samurai sword it was a good thing it was small enough to fit into my bag or else i wouldn't have been able to walk around with it the guy wrapped it up so good it wasn't even noticeable in my bag its my first sword of any kind so its not big ill work up to it and I've always enjoyed threating my 17yr old sisters boyfriends telling them i carry around a machete and if they touch i cut this time ill be serious and its no machete but its just as long *evil laughter*

[GenericDreamers]

Pretty much had minimal contact with all my usual friends, couldnt find any of 'em
Made plenty of new friends

Stayed up late havin a blast every night
Overslept and missed some good photoshoots and panels every morning

Had to waste time putting last minute touches on all my costumes
Got Mad Props for 'em

Stood almost all the way to the streetlights for soap bubble. Twice.
It was worth it

[Kasin]

but before i leave it will be so sad driving away, last to leave here and i saw acen slowly die, once a year isn't enough for me...

[Nero]

Academic Ninja, on May 18 2008, 06:10 PM, said:

This was my second time attending ACEN and this year totally blew last year away. My friend and I were the ones running the "Ethics of Death Note" panel, and it was INSANE how popular it was. So, I just wanted to thank everyone who came and talked, especially those guys who formed the mini discussion group after, you guys rock! Also, chatting it up with people at the "How to Talk to Girls (and guys) at Conventions" instead of actually paying attention to what the speakers were saying. All in all, I had a blast.

The Ethics of Death Note panel was extremely interesting, next time make the panel run a little longer and in a larger room. It seemed like a fan panel but there where a couple interesting ethics speakers.

Great job girls.

[LolipopGestapo]

1. I cosplayed as Miwako friday and had an AWESOME photoshoot with the other parakissers. That was super fun.

2. Cosplayed Black Lady with my two friends going as Mistress 9 and Sailor Galaxia. When we crossed paths with some other Sailor Moon cosplayers, we got stuck taking pictures for a long time.

3. Bringing my hookah was a great idea! I wish we hadn't gotten kicked out of the area near the soap bubble line, though, because that was amazing.

4. Lots of things I can never mention.

5. More hookah sunday!



This was my best acen EVER in the 5 years I've been going.

[Cherry_Wolf]

ACen 08 was much, much, much better than ACen 07. Every thing went so much smoother for me. So here are my list of positives and negatives-

+
Thursday-
Managed to figure out the blue line with the help of a group. Thanks guys!
Familiarized myself with where my room was.
Got my ticket for Masquerade.
Small, "unofficial" meet and greet.

Friday-
Pictures! Watching cosplayers roam as well.
Glomp Panel that was made of win~
Gurren Lagann photoshoot, small... but so much fun!
Gurren Lagann panel, once it started, it was epic.
ANIME HELL!!! Bigger every year... luckily I got in line early enough for a nice seat.
Midnight Madness too... yum!

Saturday-
Cliptomania, something new and it was interesting.
Masquerade, oh god... so many awesome cosplays and funny skits... oh and I loved, loved, loved the ticketed part. Anyone who was angry about it was probably B or higher. But hey, it's just like with a major concert, the earlier you get tickets, the better the seats, etc.
pizza and Escaflowne, sleep! EALIER~ sleep... it was nice.

Sunday-
more room to walk in.



-
Thursday-
Train Delays! And not being able to take my doll.
There was one thing that bugged me more than anything on Thursday and that was I.R.T members griping about con goers, before the con even started!! And it wasn't me listening in to a pair whispering, they were using outside voices. Now, I know I.R.T is a hard job for ACen staff, but you didn't have to do it. It was voluntary. Why don't you keep your complaints ready for Fri-Sun, instead of Thurs when hardly anyone is really there and even if they are there, not that many shenanigans are going around. Either way. Inside voices please. It's very insulting to con goers to hear I.R.T members being all pissy when nothing has happened yet. It makes me feel like they are just wanting to get after people.

Friday-
I couldn't find everything I wanted in the dealer's room but I kind of knew that was going to happen. x3
Gurren Lagann panel had a lot of techinical difficulties... it made me a sad person... but hey, I am a faithful fan and stuck it out. It was rewarding when I stayed.
Damn! That's Annoying... can anyone say small Your Favorite Anime Sucks? I thought it was going to be totally different. D8
homg, Anime Hell line was huge. Almost too big. XD

Saturday-
I was just so tired.
pizza delivery got a little confusing, but it does every year.
Masquerade went smooth except for one skit... maybe? I'm pretty sure that wasn't suppose to happen.


Overall-
I think ACen 11 was much better than last year, despite the horror stories of the reg line. Things just seemed to run more smooth to me, or maybe it was just me. Either way my overall complaint is this, and I think everyone could stand to listen this-


As a short person, even as an average size, tall, any type of person, I do not.... I repeat, do not! Like being treated like a ping-pong ball in the halls. I do not like people shoving me and practically running me over just so they can go talk to Sally, Vash-cosplayer, or some random Joe over in the corner. Or if they are even trying to get to a line.

Has everyone forgotten common courtesy at cons? You know, there are other things besides bathing that would make you all gain more friends and that's being respectful to other people. I don't know how many times I was either shoved, elbowed, or even nearly stepped on because people were rude and inconsiderate to their surroundings.

Now, I know some of these things are not done on purpose, but if you feel like you've hit some one or even shoved at someone(which you can tell when you've hit something when you are in the middle of the hall and the wall is about 3-6 feet away from you.), it won't kill you to merely turn your head to whoever you hit beside you or even passing someone and say 'sorry' or 'excuse me'.

I probably can't even count how many times I said those words, but I was expecting that, what I wasn't expecting was the high level of rudeness. It made me sad that people can't even show a little bit of consideration to other people around them.(that was just the majority, about 85% of the con-goers, 15% were good with me.)


So yeah... be more considerate and aware of people next year guys.

Either way I had an awesome ACen. 83

[Soy Sauce]

Thursday:
I dropped Usa-Chan from the 3rd Floor and I cried "Bunny!!!"

Friday:
Opening Ceremonies was alot of fun.
Ran the Naruto photoshoot Part 1.
Ran the Cosplay.com Gathering
Attended the Masquerade Ball.
Seeing My Girlfriend
Getting tricked on listening to the Rick Roll
I slept in the closet? O.o

Saturday:
Ran the Naruto Photoshoot Part 2
Performed a skit at the ACen Masquerade Show
Telling over 5000 audience members that they "Lost The Game"
Winning Judges' Choice for me and my group's skit: Narutard Field

Sunday:
I bought Valor, Master, and Wisdom Form Sora Action Figures with a Buy 2, Get 1 Free Deal
Already created our 2009 ACen Masquerade Skit? <.<;

[KnitChick]

sentinel28a, on May 19 2008, 01:43 AM, said:

6) Fanfiction panel was great. We had a big pizza party the night before and watched AMVs. Good questions at the panel as well.

Yes, that was a lot of fun! And I really enjoyed getting to finally meet you after seeing your posts all over the forums for so long! The AMVs were a lot of fun too!!

simonsaz3, on May 19 2008, 01:56 AM, said:

I bought a fleece ears hat-- my first! Yay!!!!!
=D

LOL me too, I'm wearing mine now!


My highlights....hmm....

~Meeting GoddessAstra, and having a great time hanging out while waiting for our roomies at the airport

~Staying at the Hyatt, my first time staying at Acen (and only my second time staying at the Hyatt), it was a lot of fun and my roomies were all awesome *hugs*

~Squeeing about Doctor Who and Torchwood with friends

~The two Doctor Who shoots. Total WIN. I really wish everyone weren't so far away, I would have loved to hang out with everyone more.

~The Masquerade Ball, got to slow dance with a guy for the first time since before things ended with my ex-bf. Really helped a lot with getting past that, and it was a lot of fun. I wish my prom had been as fun as the Ball!

~My first private cosplay photoshoots. A new experience for me, I've always been more of the photographer, but now I'm experiencing the other side of the camera. So it was weird, but fun!

~The Bleach photoshoot on Saturday. My first really *large* group shoot. Wow! Major kudos to the gals running it, it ran very smoothly for having such a massive amount of people. And I got to hug a Kon!!!! SQUEE!!!

~Getting lots of hugs just for cosplaying Captain Jack Harkness. Which was mega fun. And I really did NOT want to take the costume off.

~Seeing friends I haven't seen in a long time, and making lots of new ones!

~Meeting Karan Ashley and Steve Cardenas

~My first ever RPG game experience. Paranoia on Saturday was an absolute blast, we hardly stopped laughing the whole time. And we ended by blowing up the entire universe, can't beat that!


Negatives....

~Didn't get much time in the dealer's room

~Got a bit sick on Friday, totally crashed during the GT panel and ended up missing the Harry Potter shoot (but in a way it was good cuz then I got to actually be in the Friday Doctor Who shoot)

~Didn't get to meet Jason David Frank because I was not able to get over to the con center for more than half an hour or so both Fri and Sat and he was already gone Sun. *pout*

~My boots for Captain Jack are full of fail. They're the right size and all but I think there must be just enough height to the heel that it put me in a lot of pain. My legs are still sore. *sigh* The suffering we do for cosplay....but before next con (possibly Wizard World) I need to find new boots.



Overall I had a blast! The elevator game wasn't quite as bad as I thought (last year I didn't stay in the hotel, I just commuted, so I never went past the second floor so I never set foot in the elevators). Next year though I am finishing my costumes EARLY so I'm not up to 5:30 am and getting no sleep the few days before. I think that's why I completely crashed on Friday, a build up of lack of sleep. But I already know what costumes I'm doing so it's just a matter of the motivation to get them done THIS SUMMER. Esp since one of the two new ones I would like to debut at Chicago TARDIS in November.

[wolverine33]

It's good that many had fun but I DIDN'T...... i did a little but only a little it was 80% staff stuff and 20% other stuff
(if that) i went to to much for what little i got to do during the con...



Later

[LADY SAKURA]

oh yeah how could i not mention the other things i did on that one day of ACEN that i atteneded soon as i walking into the dealers room i started stopping coplayers for photos

i didnt buy much got my bf a tshirt Cthulu for president felt sorry for him and his friends not wanting to waste hours in line and like i said in a earlier post got me a little samurai sword. walked around the dealers room some more found a little learn to draw mythical creatures kit for $8
OMG saw Karen Ashley and Steve Cardenas missed Jason
took for photos of cosplayers
finally made my way out of the dealers room for i had no idea where everything else was had to ask

walked around dumbfounded for a few mins to familiarize my self with where everything was

didnt make any of the panels *shakesfist*
but i did go to the AMV showing that was fun to watch afterwrds sat for the Gothic Lolita fashion show it was really nice to see such pretty things

made my way back to the Hyatt boy thats one nice looking hotel didnt do much there walked around aimlessly saw 2 shinigami Ryuuk's took more and more photos
sat for a while to watch a move in one of the rooms *Zebraman* didnt get to see much so im gonna look for it to watch at home it looked pretty funny.
had to leave for my bf was picking me up T_T
THE END lol
next year ill be able to do more hopefully not alone

[Light]

Ahhhh, sadly, I didnt have too much fun. The hotel shuttle dropped us off at the vendor building at 9 on Saturday, and I went up to some ACen worker, and asked them where I'm supposed to go, and he was very rude and told me to stand against the wall. I told him I wasn't planning on buying anything and wanted to know where the session things were, and he just told me to stand against the wall, again, because it didn't open until ten. Nobody would help me, and I was very disappointed.

Sooo, basically, since this was my first convention ever, we walked around the vendor building buying anime crap, thinking there was only one building, until finally! After 1 sometime, I asked some random girl where something was and she was the only person to help me. Then we followed Jadwin around the rest of the day until 6, when we got too hungry to walk, and went home.

It was kind of suckty ^^;;;

I wish people would be nicer.

Oh... And I even missed the photoshoot I was going to attend, because nobody would tell me where the fountain/rain location was. Finally I found it v_v, wayy after the photoshoot.

[jabroninwarrior]

Kasin, on May 18 2008, 03:41 PM, said:

we waited like 15 minutes for her to get to her own panel, and waited even though she was late!!!

that was my bad, i was supposed to take her to the panel and we got lost....sorry all

[Kasin]

jabroninwarrior, on May 21 2008, 09:51 PM, said:

that was my bad, i was supposed to take her to the panel and we got lost....sorry all

then you caused major issues for me the next day, but it was worth seeing her sexy ness, and having her sign my sign, and paper with ghetto

[your_angel]

Other than standing in line for 8 hours to get a badge, I had a great time.
Cosplaying as Tidus and Yuna with my boyfriend was the best part.
Everywhere we turned people were taking pictures of us.
It made me feel special!

I bought lots of art, and meet some pretty cool people.
Oh and I finally got to see my boyfriend break dance!
Crazyy stuff

[`Ghost`]

I wish some people that went to acen knew what deodorant was.. srsly

[Kyuu]

`Ghost`, on May 22 2008, 09:34 AM, said:

I wish some people that went to acen knew what deodorant was.. srsly

This is what you do:

Run around with Febreeze.

[Amunet]

Oh the best part by far was walking around the Dealer's room on Saturday like I was some mental patient (my brain pretty much just stopped working) then later that night, coughing up mucus.
Total highlights

I didn't have much fun at acen, I demand another! Lol.

Though, I was well on Friday and I did like the panel I did, nice to have that done and over with. Oh and the fact that I DID pack the buttons
What was really funny was no one recognized me in my cosplay >.>

[Femme Fatale]

I had an absolute great time at Acen. To bad the days went by so fast....


Best of Acen 08:

1) Staying at the Embassy Suites O'Hare/Rosemont.
2) The cosplayers
3) Getting my picture taken by other fellow cosplayers and by professional photogs.
4) Eating
5) Sleeping
6) My Suigintou and Chobits cosplays. It was my first time cosplaying anime characters.
7) Didn't get con plague


Worst of Acen 08:

1) Scheduling was out of whack
2) People smoking
3) The weather. It was nice Friday and Saturday, but sucky on Thursday and Sunday
4) Long lines
5) Being on your time of the month
6) Feet were hurting

[Kasin]

Amunet, on May 23 2008, 04:28 PM, said:

Oh the best part by far was walking around the Dealer's room on Saturday like I was some mental patient (my brain pretty much just stopped working) then later that night, coughing up mucus.
Total highlights

I didn't have much fun at acen, I demand another! Lol.

Though, I was well on Friday and I did like the panel I did, nice to have that done and over with. Oh and the fact that I DID pack the buttons
What was really funny was no one recognized me in my cosplay >.>

tell me about it i've been coughing up stuff for weeks, and now i got bruises appearing. i think i'm sick

[Amunet]

Kasin, on May 24 2008, 12:52 PM, said:

tell me about it i've been coughing up stuff for weeks, and now i got bruises appearing. i think i'm sick

Awe *hug* O.O Maybe YOU are the culprit that gave it to me!! GASP

I'm still coughing up stuff but it's not bright green and I can breathe out of my nose more now, I still can't smell anything though.

[Kasin]

i've never been able to breath thru my nose good...dang nose breathers. probably not amunet, i have pneomonia, just suffering the side effects