Tuesday, May 15, 2007

ACen Report 2007-Thursday
Due to length, I decided to break up my ACen report by day. Today tells the harrowing events of Thursday, where I got to meet up with Schultzie and MsKeller for the first time. A preview for friday follows and a pictures post will follow after the written accounts.

Thursday
After going back and forth about whether or not to do a couple of job interviews on the way to Nashville, waking up at 5:30am made the decision for me. I gassed up the van and hit the road with resumes in hand. I was in J-town (new Internet name for the city I will be working in) at a little before eight. I filled out some paperwork and did an interview on the spot and then hit the road for Nashville. I left with a good feeling about the job as they even set up an orientation schedule “if my references checked out.”

I left J-town at around nine am and ended up in Nashville at eleven-ish. I bought some snacks and water and a couple of small trinkets for MsKeller and Schultzie (sorry K, I couldn’t find a Nashville key chain with ‘Katana’ written on it :P. That goes for you too, Bellpickle). I was there way early for my flight so I made some phone calls to kill time and after a few hours, I was airborne and on my way to the Windy City.

The flight was only just over an hour, but it was crammed, hot, and a screaming baby with endless lung capacity sat two feet from me. I was working on a migraine by the time I got off the plane and collected my one checked bag. After numerous text messages and phone calls, I managed to meet up with Schultzie who was kind enough to pick me up at Midway and make the painful trek across town in rush hour traffic all the way to O’Hare. Of course he gave me crap about it because, well, he is Schultzie! At least he didn’t rib me about having to drive around the airport a zillion times because me being a dumb butt, couldn’t figure out that I had to go pass the taxi and limo lanes so he could find me and pick me up!

Finally, we were on the way to O’Hare. The traffic was crazy and we stayed mostly at a crawl, but I got an extended view of parts of the city, and Schultzie was an excellent guide, pointing out buildings and other points of interest as we inched along. I also got to flip through Schultzie’s sketchbook during the drive (it is a shame he doesn’t post his work to MyO). I really didn’t mind the drive, but it wasn’t me having to maneuver through 5 o’clock traffic in Chicago on a Friday afternoon *pokes Schultz*.

After about an hour and a half, we arrived at the hotel, checked in, and rested up for a bit before heading off to the convention center to pick up Schultzie’s badge. More bummers occurred. There was no microwave or fridge as promised and I couldn’t use the high speed Internet access due to technical issues. I figured that we would muddle through despite these atrocities! :P

If I remember correctly, it was on the way to the hotel that I got a text from MsKeller saying that she would be in town around 9pm. I also got a voice message saying that I GOT THE JOB!!! I somehow managed to lose my phone between that time and the time we got to the hotel, so I headed to the convention center phone-less, hoping that MsKeller didn’t arrive at the hotel before we were done.

I want to take this time to mention that I ordered my badge in the mail, and I was one of the lucky ones who actually got it. Katana ribbed me endlessly for doing so, claiming that she only waited in line only five minutes last year. Yeah. I think Schultzie and I waited for at least two hours, and almost an hour past when MsKeller was supposed to arrive but I had no way to contact her.

It was madness. There were some really good Ranma cosplayers behind us who did make it a little more bearable. Wish I could have gotten a pic. They did a good job ^^. Someone with a video camera also interviewed me so I might be floating around in cyberspace somewhere, ha. The major bummer was that they were out of schedules by the time we got through the long line >_<.

We headed back to the hotel at around ten-ish pm. I was worried about MsKeller and I was starving (I ate a pack of crackers and that was it up to that point). The plan was to track down MsKeller, order in some food, and go to sleep so that we would be ready for opening day.

When we got to the hotel, there was a strange black duffle bag sitting on one of the beds. We were a little freaked. I almost knew it had to be MsKeller’s, but I couldn’t imagine a hotel just letting someone in to the room that was in my name. In the end, it did turn out to be her and I am glad they let her in and gave her a key so she wasn’t stuck waiting on us for hours, but I still can’t believe that they did. A little freakin’ scary. o_O

So MsKeller, Schultzie and I shot the crap for a little while, and then I rolled over and went to sleep. I was still hungry, but I was so tired that it kind of overrode my hunger and I went to sleep pretty fast. MsKeller was way more hyper than I imagined and she was gung ho Navy all the way. She was very excited and I am very excited for her. She was fun and I am only sorry we didn't get to see more of her because she had a booth in artist alley.

THE END

On the next installment of the ACen report: The fire marshal won’t let us in, we get mistaken for VIP guests, we get evacuated during opening ceremonies and more! That's right, more craziness and panel geekness coming your way in Friday’s installment of the ACen report.
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