Ask Kate

[Yuuji]

Originally Posted by katelynisspecial

I'm pretty sure that it's the original Negima.

And about the flag.. ignore my question about that in my email! I read that before I read this, and so I was kind of like... yeah, and?
But now I get it =D
That'll be helpful.

Understood, and will do.

Hmm, I actually never thought about it, but I should have enough bento boxes to be able to pack lunches for each of us for Saturday and Sunday, and keep them cold in a fridge..

Fridge?
You get a Fridge in your room?

I was planning on bringing some cold things as well, but I'll be bringing a cooler to fill up with ice when there.

it wouldn't be anything elaborate, but I could make fruit/veggies and sandwiches or cheese/crackers, things like that that wouldn't suffer from being made in advance, as long as they would be kept cold.

*nods* True. And it would save you $$$ while there, be healtier then what is offered, and completely be in theme!

Then they could be taken to the con, so we could save money on one meal a day. Hmm, I'll have to see if they're interested, and what they like xP

Oh, you figured that part out already.

And, cool.

Assuming that's what you meant, the lunches, not just the actual boxes xP

*chuckles* It t'was!

And, the school just called, we're off again tomorrow. I adore it when they call it off the night before.

Same here. Which I also mentioned in the pic I sent. Did you receive it?

So, what did you talk about in your meeting? I'm curious about what goes into planning a trip like that. Tell me a little about who is going. How old are they? Are you going to stick together at all?

Alright, there is a lot to mention, so I'm going to try and truncate it.

• Total people: 5
• Ages: 20, 22, 23, 25 and me. 3 males, 2 females (the other 30+ year olds had to cancel, and they were the Ohayocon veterans!)
• The two girls plan to stick together 75% of the time.
• We will be doing the first day dealer room/registration/hotel checkin at the same time. Furthermore we plan to get together at 7pm on Friday for a group meal (I'll be bringing a rice cooker, and portable range and cooking Japanese curry for them - I'm in the middle of packing that stuff actually)
• Once we get the Ohayocon scedule of events (they have YET to put it on their webpage! - bad them!) we will see when the rest of us will meet.

Here is a copy/paste from the email of things we discussed yesterday (as we went through it almost verbatum):

• Confirm Transportation.
• Confirm new arrangements (meeting place, time, etc) that might be affected by new transportation. (also included: breakfast, bathroom breaks, communication between vehicles, etc)
  
• Go over items to bring, especially if we have more room due to 2 vehicles.
• Confirm possible extra food/drink (probably more the later, as most of you plan to bring your own food, but drinks might be another issue)
• Go over the 'room rules' one more time.
• Collect everyone's Cellphone numbers. Type 'em up, and print 'em out for everyone to carry.
• Go over any set 'together' times, like curry (the food version, but will require the personal version for consumption), Mongolian BBQ (note: we planned to attempt this during the SuperBowl...might be a problem. ), and any other group plans.
• Time to ask final questions.
• Take the time to go over the Ohayocon Forums, for any other insights they might have. (love to avoid the dreaded: 'if only I knew!' moments. Or at least keep 'em to a minimum.)
• Etc.

Other issues/discussions:

• We will all meet at 11am Sunday, to start cleaning up the room as we must check out by Noon.
• On Friday I will see if I can sign up for a reservation at Mongolian BBQ - we must be prepared to not get it and take another restaurant. Baring that, we grab a snack and go home early.
• Some people want to catch some of the SuperBowl, therefore we must leave Columbus by 6pm
• Make sure to charge your cellphones.
• Bring ear plugs and a sleeping mask
• Bring collasp. bags for the dealer's rooms (in case they don't have bags)
• If one of the drivers cannot make it, we arranged for another driver...we have to go in 2 cars, no matter what.
• Confirmed that all cars can make the drive on one tank of gas.

Here are the room rules we agreed to:
No one other then us 5 are allowed in the room. Period.
Please shower whenever you can (this includes please bring clothes that are laundered/clean to begin with)
What for the sign on the door if someone is sleeping.
If someone is changing, use the bathroom. Or please chain the door.
Beds are first come first serve (which shouldn't be a problem as most of us don't plan on sleeping much or at normal times anyway)
Will try to store as many things as possible in the trunks of our cars, to keep room manuervable.
Any group food brought is for the group only, not to suddenly give out to your brand new 50 best friends.

This reminds me, the 'no one else other then us in the room' is basically when all of us are NOT there. (if we are all there, then we can all make a decision)

So at 7pm (estimated, we might change this if someone ultra-cool is going on at that time) we will be all together eating dinner. Japanese Curry.

Question: Although my Japanese curry is not completely authentic, it is close. Have you had Japanese curry yet?
And on Saturday, would you like to try some?

[katelynisspecial]

By fridge, I meant cooler >_>
I must've gotten distracted. We're not staying in the con hotel though, my dad didn't book the room quickly enough. So we're going to stay at the other Hyatt and get dropped off for the day each time. But he's only making each of the four of us pay $25 for our own room, so it's worth it!

Wow, no school again tomorrow. But we will be getting up there the same time, because we have to wait for my dad to get off work. And I rethought it, and I'm probably going to just do snack bentos for Saturday, because I don't know how well things would keep until Sunday. I'll do fruit/crackers/cheese/nuts/veggies/etc that will be good in protein and not be junk, since we'll be buying candy and stuff, probably.

And yeah, I got the email. Thanks for the picture! I'll look for you and the flag, then. I don't want to rely on my ability to remember your face only!
Has the Ohayocon schedule come out by now? I'd really like to see that X_x

And I'd love to try some, but I'll see if I will be able to separate from the group during that time. But I'll tentatively plan on coming then. Which day do you want to meet? Friday? Saturday? Both? Just trying to get a vague idea of how my weekend will go, so I can let my friends know.

ETA: I did read the rest, and I would normally comment more, but I still have a lot to do!

[Yuuji]

Originally Posted by katelynisspecial

By fridge, I meant cooler >_>

Ah, IC.

And as you probably guessed when I called over the weekend, I did not get this post (until now)

I must've gotten distracted. We're not staying in the con hotel though, my dad didn't book the room quickly enough. So we're going to stay at the other Hyatt and get dropped off for the day each time. But he's only making each of the four of us pay $25 for our own room, so it's worth it!

True. That is not so bad.
I did have to arrange for our room almost half a year in advance (although they told me that the 5th floor would be an 'open lounge' floor...which it wasn't! Which meant one more flight of stairs to climb)

Also, it turns out that the 6th floor was about 12 flights of stairs above the 3rd floor entrance (not 3 floors, as I thought). And during the multiple climbing trips, I have injured my left knee...which severely influenced my actions for the rest of the con (only when stairs were involved though, I was fine walking straight, and it only started throbbing last night, but tolerable)

Wow, no school again tomorrow. But we will be getting up there the same time, because we have to wait for my dad to get off work. And I rethought it, and I'm probably going to just do snack bentos for Saturday, because I don't know how well things would keep until Sunday.

*nods* True.
How well did that go over?

My group said they were going to be fine with food and drinks....but I still brought 24 cans of juice and soda. And 4 Turkey sandwitches. They all did not last long.

I'll do fruit/crackers/cheese/nuts/veggies/etc that will be good in protein and not be junk, since we'll be buying candy and stuff, probably.

I could not believe that the dealers room had

1. No bento boxes!
2. So little food! No Japanese inports!

That was dissapointing! I'm used to Cons (many years ago) having tons of Japanese-only snacks.
Nowadays these dealers apparently go from con to con to con, and are not some store that goes to say...5-10 cons a year. Too many of the dealers sold the same stuff...not a great deal of variation between shops as I was hoping for.

And yeah, I got the email. Thanks for the picture! I'll look for you and the flag, then. I don't want to rely on my ability to remember your face only!
Has the Ohayocon schedule come out by now? I'd really like to see that X_x

Welcome for the picture.
And I got tons of questions by people on Sunday, wondering why I was carrying the flag around (as well on as Saturday night). 'Twas actually fun explaining to them the 'ancient' history of the net, when people finally decided to meet each other (after talking to them for years).

And as you now know, the Ohayocon schedule was nicely posted and distributed only AFTER you got there! Pain in the butt....last minute %@$%@$%#$%!!!

At least it was a decent schedule, but because of not knowing ahead of time -- dinner got put off til 9:30pm, which meant our meeting was put off until 10:30pm, and sure enough - something then got in the way because out schedules were so strained. *sigh* Oh well.

Hopefully most of that drama you were going through got cleared up on Sunday, so that you got to enjoy the last day.

And I'd love to try some, but I'll see if I will be able to separate from the group during that time. But I'll tentatively plan on coming then. Which day do you want to meet? Friday? Saturday? Both? Just trying to get a vague idea of how my weekend will go, so I can let my friends know.

Wish I had time to have checked Quarrel...but by the time this was posted (late on Thursday night) I was in the middle of finishing packing, and other responsibilities...let alone sleep, since I had to wake up early (6:30 am) to gather everyone for the trip.

Sorry I missed this post. :/

ETA: I did read the rest, and I would normally comment more, but I still have a lot to do!

*chuckles*
So we both did.

Now that the Con is over. I guess my first question would be: What goodies did you get?
I targeted taping more parts of the con (people who had visited Japan like me, a panel of other 30+ year old anime fans, etc), and just having things run smoothly for my group.

Otherwise on the last day I picked up a Ryo-ohki backpack (it's mostly a large plushy, and I found it at one dealer 40% cheaper then the others), and a Gundam 0083 wallscroll which was vastly on sale for $5. (of course, both of these series were from the early 90's)
Since I did not buy anything else (even food, as I brought my own) I figured I could splurge 21 bucks.

[katelynisspecial]

The bentos went well, here's a picture:



We ate them while waiting in line for the cosplay skits/masquerade on Saturday.
It ended up being..
Top Tier: ritz crackers in airtight containers, cheese cubes, and carrots
Bottom Tier: a bunch of different kinds of fruit
They were tricky to pack but awesomely color coded =D

Yeah, the dealer's room was pretty boring this year, there was nothing that unique, just the same things as every year.
And like you said, no snacks?!

Let's see, I bought the last three Shuffle! DVDs, and a bunch of figurines. Both things I said I wouldn't buy, but whatever :x
I couldn't resist, and there was nothing else I particularly wanted.

Then this past weekend, I went BACK to Columbus (our hotel was literally right next to the convention center), and saw a Ludo concert with my friends. So now I'm way tired.

And then I strained my neck, so we had to go to urgent care, and those things are why it took me so long to reply!

[Yuuji]

[quote=katelynisspecial;437569]The bentos went well, here's a picture:
Excellent!
I recognize three of them from the top. (from the covers).
I assume the toothpick-looking things are...well, toothpicks that you used to spear the food.
Did they come with the Bentos? Or did you just find ones that colored coordinated?

And once again, healthy looking fruits - and marbled cheese! (again, I lament not enjoying fruit enough - that's gonna cost me in the future, as I definitely need to eat more fruit and veggies). And I just scanned below - so you put crackers in those

We ate them while waiting in line for the cosplay skits/masquerade on Saturday.

Good thing to do, as I heard the line was long.
BTW:
1) How did your friends enjoy them? (I mean past getting free healthy food - did they appreciate the consideration of eating from a Japanese bento, during a Japanese con?)
2) Did any of the other guests comment?

It ended up being..
Top Tier: ritz crackers in airtight containers, cheese cubes, and carrots
Bottom Tier: a bunch of different kinds of fruit
They were tricky to pack but awesomely color coded =D

*laughs*
True. You did get the full spectrum, from red strawberries, to violet blueberries.

Yeah, the dealer's room was pretty boring this year, there was nothing that unique, just the same things as every year.
And like you said, no snacks?!

Thank you! I'll admit that I felt like I mislead my friends for their first con. I just couldn't believe some of the monotony, let alone NO SNACKS(!), at these places. It's almost like they've gone too corporate with moving mass-items, instead of providing variety (but that would take work).

I'll admit its been a long time since my last con, but its good to hear another voice that I wasn't wrong with what to expect. Just dealers have evolved with the rush of cons that have popped up -- and not in a good way.
I heard one dealer saying he's on the road 40+ weeks in a year. I'm used to the day when a brick-n-mortar place, with an online assortment, would go to maybe 10 cons a year bringing with them some of their supply. This allowed for the more varied goods (especially snacks, even if overpriced). I don't think these new con dealers have time to resupply easily, let alone study the market (with other outlets (online) for backup).

I was glad though, when I did find those two items on sale (The Ryo-Ohki and Gundam wallscroll. Otherwise too many places had the same items. There should be a little competition.

Let's see, I bought the last three Shuffle! DVDs, and a bunch of figurines. Both things I said I wouldn't buy, but whatever :x

*hehs* It happens...but I bet you resisted better then more con-goers.

When you say the last three Shuffle! DVD's - of which series?
And the figurines, I assume they were Shuffle! as well?

I couldn't resist, and there was nothing else I particularly wanted.

*nods* If I actually saw something more unique, I probably would have gone for that as well. But only the backpack and the wallscroll caught my eye.

Then this past weekend, I went BACK to Columbus (our hotel was literally right next to the convention center), and saw a Ludo concert with my friends. So now I'm way tired.

If only there was frequent-driver miles for Columbus!
Oh, and if I knew, I would have suggested going to the BD Mongolian BBQ - it was delicious (and only about a 4 minute walk from the convention center).

Now time for me to google 'Ludo'....
Hmmm, is it this guy/band:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludo_(band)

If so, I've seen the video for 'love me dead' - which my brother enjoys because of his divorce. He didn't notice it at first, but the video actually only has two scenes, as there was only one break in the action during it. An artistic point he missed at first.

And what is this song: Go-Getter Greg?
For obviously selfish reasons, I might have to listen to that. Let alone, I hope its really, really good. (again, for self-centered needs).

And then I strained my neck, so we had to go to urgent care, and those things are why it took me so long to reply!

*erk!* That bad???
I remember once I hurt my neck, and had to look at the floor for 2 days, and then slowly I started to be able to look up (hell on driving).
And ever since I've lost the weight, I'm happy to say those kind of injuries haven't occurred since (knock on wood).

How is your neck now?

[katelynisspecial]

Neither the food picks nor the silicone cups that the blueberries are in came with the bentos, I bought those separately, and they just happened to match.
Yeah, the line was looooooong. We were in it for probably a couple of hours. They had fun eating them and squealed over the cuteness for a bit. No one else really commented, but then again we were kind of in a private huddle type thing. Bad news is, they all packed the empty bentos in their bags for the ride home because I lacked the room, and they STILL have them. =P

Haha, well. The actual series was called Shuffle!
And the figurines were Shuffle, Death Note, and Final Fantasy.

Haha yeah, that's Ludo!
Sooo awesome.
Love Me Dead is awesome, but so are: Hum Along, Go Getter Greg, Broken Bride, and Good Will Hunting By Myself
GGG is kind of a creepy stalkerish song, but it makes me giggle because I know a few people as desperate as the guyt in that song.

My neck is better now =D
Oh, and I guess I forgot to link my photo album from Ohayocon!
There are lots of really random and silly pictures, as a forewarning!

Ohayocon 09 pictures by katelynisspecial - Photobucket

[Yuuji]

[quote=katelynisspecial;437709]Neither the food picks nor the silicone cups that the blueberries are in came with the bentos, I bought those separately, and they just happened to match.[/qoute]
They did match well.

Yeah, the line was looooooong. We were in it for probably a couple of hours.

Ouch.

They had fun eating them and squealed over the cuteness for a bit.

Cool.

No one else really commented, but then again we were kind of in a private huddle type thing. Bad news is, they all packed the empty bentos in their bags for the ride home because I lacked the room, and they STILL have them. =P

*erk* That's bad.
But I have to admit that I've encountered it before myself....I have to be very, very careful when I bring t hings for groups. Strange things, like that, happens. And I have to accept the extra work, even though I'm doing someone else a favor. Sucks that there are costs for such good deeds, but it happens.

Haha, well. The actual series was called Shuffle!

Yes, but there were two series: Shuffle! (around 25 episodes), and that cheap mostly-reused 13 parts series which only had some slight changes and one new episode.
So you got the three original DVDs? Or that remake?
(Just found out it was called: Shuffle! Memories, and was only 12 episodes)

And the figurines were Shuffle, Death Note, and Final Fantasy.

Cool. I'm going to assume you took pictures of them.

Haha yeah, that's Ludo!
Sooo awesome.
Love Me Dead is awesome, but so are: Hum Along, Go Getter Greg, Broken Bride, and Good Will Hunting By Myself

Ahhh. Cool. And I did know the right guy.

GGG is kind of a creepy stalkerish song, but it makes me giggle because I know a few people as desperate as the guyt in that song.

*groans* Maybe I don't want to hear the song then. What I hate is that such a song can 'pigeon-hole' someone -- regardless of facts.

I'll probably still youtube it anyway.

Sure enough, my network is having trouble right now. Only got halfway through the video. But it seems to be a twisted song.

My neck is better now =D

Good.

Oh, and I guess I forgot to link my photo album from Ohayocon!
There are lots of really random and silly pictures, as a forewarning!

Already saw the sock pics, but now both youtube and photobucket are having 'server troubles' which means there is something wrong on my end. I can only hope this message even gets through. We'll see.

[katelynisspecial]

Yeah, the original Shuffle! not Memories, it actually occurred to me that that's what you meant after I posted =P
I hope that your computer is working now, and you were able to see the pictures and video =)

I've been slow replying lately, just a lot busier this semester.
So much homework every day, last semester I got off easy.
Japanese is still awesome, sensei continues to be amazed at how quickly I'm picking it up, having never had another class, unlike most of the other excelling students.

Also, someone in my class, Lulu said she's interested in taking a trip to Japan with me during the time I'm wanting to go. I said it would be nice to have a companion, and she also said we could visit Taiwan around the same time, because that's where she's from and her family is. She's actually 32, which I did a literal jaw drop upon finding out, I thought she was in her early 20's. I now have a new mantra: Never guess the age of an asian female -- you WILL be wrong.

[Yuuji]

Originally Posted by katelynisspecial

Yeah, the original Shuffle! not Memories, it actually occurred to me that that's what you meant after I posted =P
I hope that your computer is working now, and you were able to see the pictures and video =)

Yep. Its working now (at least this connection, computer worked just fine, just it would not connect).
Although a funny song, I think I won't remind anyone for it...not the nicest 'Greg' song, y'know.

As for your pics:
I see you had fun with those pillows. Seriously, we had no idea WHY they gave us all those long pillows, which had beads (or something) on them. You couldn't even use 'em for anything. (other then as a prop)

Ah, you got a picture of yourself and Stripper Vash!
Wait....what in da hell was he doing????
(that lip thing...and why?)

And I see you enjoy 'sniping' with your camera from above.
Uh-oh...yaoi pic...

And wow, I think you got the only picture of the only oriental at a Japanese convention (and she was cosplaying too).

I've been slow replying lately, just a lot busier this semester.

*nods*
That's the whole 'getting older' thing.

So much homework every day, last semester I got off easy.

Remember those words, you'll probably say it next semester too. (everything is relative)

Japanese is still awesome, sensei continues to be amazed at how quickly I'm picking it up, having never had another class, unlike most of the other excelling students.

Excellent!
Isn't it nice having real motivation to learn?
Now just imagine actually getting paid for doing something you enjoy...maybe not 100% enjoy, but intrinsically enough to make it worth it.

Also, someone in my class, Lulu said she's interested in taking a trip to Japan with me during the time I'm wanting to go. I said it would be nice to have a companion, and she also said we could visit Taiwan around the same time, because that's where she's from and her family is.

Ah, this must not be your Japanese friend (I have forgotten her name).
And as long as you feel you can trust her, yeah....its better to go with someone else. At least for your first time.

She's actually 32, which I did a literal jaw drop upon finding out, I thought she was in her early 20's. I now have a new mantra: Never guess the age of an asian female -- you WILL be wrong.

*heh* You might want to tell her that.

But it is true, my generation does look younger today then the 30 year olds when I was a teenager. Better health. They do say 40 is the new 30, in more ways then one.

The good news for you is: You'll get to feel very young well into your 20's. Which just wasn't true for earlier generations. Of course, that's assuming you take care of yourself!

[Yuuji]

Yeah, a 'double-post'.
But I've been responding here for years, and I'm sure no one expects me of doing anything 'underhanded' and besides, my last post is 2 days old now.

Just did a quick read of your blog/journal Kate, and I noticed you said about your wisdom teeth.

I'm a little rushed now, otherwise I would just write about my own experience (and we'll see if 16+ years have made a difference in procedure/technology)it -- but I do remember when all 4 of my teeth were removed.

I never experienced pain before the removal, like you are (x-rays showed a problem before the pain hit...they were very compacted and needed to come out), but quite frankly I was knocked unconscious by drugs before the operation. The drugs hurt worse then the removal (as they made me feel sick, but not to a great degree)

There were other things as well, but its nothing to be afraid of.
Of course I'm assuming that its just a normal removal, and that there isn't a specific problem in your case that I don't know of.

Anyway, don't be like my brother...who tried to delay....big mess, literally. Let's just say pus was involved, and anything else would make you lose your lunch.

Mine was show up, get stuck with needle, go blank, wake up woozy...deal with some blood (little pain), handle the drugs...move on.

We didn't even have a VCR back then, so at least you could get the whole day off with DVDs and vid games! Me, all I could do was scan the 29 cable channels we had back then...and, of course....nothing was on.

*looks above*

Sheesh...and I was trying to write a short message.