Thursday, February 15, 2007

   Stuck To My Katamari: Friends

Current Mood: Loved Hope the day was good for everyone. John and I didn't do much for Valentine's Day. We don't do anything special on Valentine's Day since we don't feel that we need to have a special day to tell each other how much we love each other. Of course this is not to say we didn't do anything fun. John told me we had to go run some errands. Since we are both working from home any reason to get out of the house is an excuse to leave, so I tagged along. He ended up taking me over to this cute little coffee shop in the small town 30 minutes away from our hometown. I had a wonderful dessert and some coffee. Who needs flowers when you can have coffee?! I also recently had some more confirmation that I have a wonderful network of friends who really, honestly care about me. It's is very nice knowing that there are people who are there for you when you need them. Thanks. ^_^ Ramblings and Thoughts concerning the con... Victims of scams generally don't report they are victims. Per the National White Collar Crime Center only 7% report it (NWC3, 2002). Why? Because of the guilt they feel for being taken advantage because of the additional guilt dumped upon them from their family and friends. Nobody likes to be told they got played. "You should have known better...I wouldn't have done that....You should have done this...." Hindsight is 20/20. Don't you think the one taken advantage of already feels bad enough? Do they need more judging? No they don't. Those taken advantage of are not weak, many are used for their strengths. In other words: what can the victim do for the scammer? Anime Vegas got used because they are an established convention that people trust. Their staffers and volunteers are familiar faces in the anime community in Vegas. There is no reason to doubt their legitimacy since they are the same people who run an established convention. The vendors who traveled to the con to do business. They are all vendors that many of us have seen at other cons. Let's not forget the voice actors and DJ who were used for their names to bring fans into the con. Not to mention the fans, the attendees who got the short end of the stick since very few of the convention events that were advertised were actually run. When I think about how theOtaku.com was used I see they used us for our strengths as well. We have a strong sense of community. Not just our members but for the community at large (Heck yeah we want to help find a cure for Breast Cancer! Who wouldn't want to find a cure?!). We have millions of hits on our site every month, that is great advertising if you want to get the word out there for your cause. They used us for our connection with the anime industry. They wanted to use all of our dedication to our community to fulfill their own dubious ambitions. There are those who say things like "Well, we are only hearing one side of the story...All this only allegedly happened..." Well, if you haven't noticed yet, as soon as the con ended they locked their message boards so no one could post in the forums. They then took their website completely off the internet. You can't email them anymore since all of their emails will bounce back as undeliverable. It really appears like they are trying to cover their tracks and hide from everyone. There is no reason for us, all the attendees of the con, the volunteers, Anime Vegas, Susan B. Komen Foundation and the vendors to make this stuff up and put our reputations on the line. In a perfect world the individuals who "ran" this con would apologize, make retribution for financial losses incurred by those involved and make that donation to help Breast Cancer research. And I know what I would do if they compensated me for my travel time, gas and 2 paid parking passes for the airport. I would accept their money and promptly donate it to help Breast Cancer research. I know first hand what chemo does to a person. I have been on it for treatment for my Rheumatoid Arthritis. I've been sick from the injections and pills. I wasn't even on major doses compared to cancer patients. No one should ever have to go through that. I've also watched several family members suffer through cancer treatments. Several of them lost their battle. That donation of money from the con could have gone to help find better treatments or the cure. I want the con to come clean about what happened. I want them to apologize to all those hurt by their actions. I want them to make that donation to the Breast Cancer Foundation. I'm not holding my breath for them to make things right. I do take some comfort knowing they are going to have to deal with all of this bad karma they have created for themselves. If anything we've made an environment for scammers to not want to mess with the anime community ever again. We can't let them take advantage of us. Cookies and Comments Fallen Angel: In the end I am lucky I didn't go to the con after all the nightmares everyone else had to deal with. I need to count my lucky stars I didn't loose anymore money than I did! I was looking forward to cosplay though...bummer. Mimmi: Oooooh! A backrub AND margarita from Mimmi. I am one lucky bear! If any good comes out of all of this I hope these people can never take advantage of anyone anymore. They've got bad, bad, bad karma. blackwings: Ah the whole confirmation thing. I only found out after the fact from a friend that there is a way to get all your flight information, all the way down to seat number, without actually getting a ticket. Adam's flight that morning was fine, why wouldn't ours be? Well, I think we all know the answer to that now. Duzell: True, true. It's a bummer I didn't get to go but I did get to chat with Adam on the phone. To quote a line from the Cromartie High School anime: "His voice, it's so soothing..." LOL CosmicSailor: No worries. Water under the bridge. As for airports and snow. When we finally left the airport the de-icing crew was out on the tarmac spraying the wings on the planes with de-icing solution. Monkey Orange: With all this terrible con stuff it's going to be nice to be going to a real convention in Seattle. We are so going to have a good time. Sakura-con this year has a great line up of guests, it's going to be amazing! I can't wait to see you (and your crew) at Sakura-con! KitsuneTsuki: Looking at the picture I posted last compared to what the east coast is getting slammed with is like night and day! Thank goodness I'm not in that snowy mess they are all in. I hope everyone on the east is staying warm!! BankofKev: Unfortunately I did have to move him since the angle to take a picture of him up on the shelf was not very good. So he is below the shelf-o-pandas but you get the idea. Mariskah: Of course Charlie looks cute in a sea of pandas! *points above* How can anyone/anything NOT look cute in a sea of pandas! ^_^ Hope the weather is being kind to you! *hugs* Wensdayskitten: I hear you. I use to always wonder if the other stuffed animals were jealous of him. I wonder if the pandas are wondering why he's on their shelf... Mew Wem: I will tell you the only down side to having your childhood pictures and toys at a wedding is dealing with weepy moms. As if moms aren't emotional enough at weddings you add those cherished memories and that just starts the "my baby is all grown up" tears and hugs. SunfallE: To continue our weather reports, the weather currently here is: 41 degrees! Heat wave!! LOL jazzy711: Hey you gotta admit I was much better than those psycho girls you see on Bridezilla! o_O;; indifference: You are so sweet! *glomps*

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