K-shinju at Sakura-Con

k-shinju88:

Back home and resting after this year’s Sakura-Con! The whole weekend was fun, but the BEST moment out of everything I experienced was meeting Hideo Okamoto, hands down. Got his autograph, a photo op, and sat through the YST/RW 30th Anniversary panel all in one day.

Good news for those who couldn’t be at the con with me: I recorded most of the panel! Read the vid’s description for extra info. ^__^ (Video is currently unlisted- only those who get the link can view it.) Enjoy!

I’m Going to Anime Weekend Atlanta

It’s official. Today I bought tickets for Anime Weekend Atlanta. AWA takes place from September 24th until September 27th.

This is the first convention I’ve been to in years. Basically because this is the first time in years my husband and I have been able to afford to attend a convention again. And all those years of not being able to afford to go anywhere has made me a bit stir crazy. I need to get out and do things again.

This is also the first time we’ll be doing AWA for the full weekend. We went to Anime Weekend Atlanta once several years ago for a day, so we didn’t really get a feel for the con. We hope to change that this year.

My husband and I are still debating about MomoCon. (May 28-May 31st) Since we’re at the last cost tier before walk-in registration we have some time to see if we have the money and can take the time off.

Now some of you may be saying, what about DragonCon? Um. No. Just no. We went a couple of times (2 years in a row) several years ago. It was before they expanded DragonCon again. It’s become too big and too expensive for us. Too many different hotels that you’re constantly walking to and from to attend panels. Saturdays are just a massive amount of people, front to back and shoulder to shoulder. And then there’s the temptation in the dealer rooms to spend money we really shouldn’t be spending. So we’re going to try just anime conventions and see how it goes.
Also the Decatur Book Festival falls on the same weekend as DragonCon. Admission to that is free, so I just end up spending my money on lots and lots of new books. A much more enjoyable experience even though the book festival is held outdoors.

So long post to say, I’m finally attending a convention again, and with any luck maybe two this year!