Lesson 1: Don't go to conventions in Knoxville

So, this past Saturday I went to Knoxville Comic and Anime Con. I expected very little from something in the Knoxville area, but I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

I thought I'd end up being in a small dealer room with few things of any interest, being the only female that would dare set foot in such an event. I wasn't even expecting there to be anything worth buying.

It was INSANE. The room wasn't nearly as small as invadercon had been, but it had to be just as crowded if not moreso. Not to mention that they had no rules for costumes, so this one girl was walking around with a friggin' sign saying "Have you seen Sasuke?" and I think she may have been trying to be naruto. I have no earthly idea if she really was, cause it looked very little like him. Combine this with it only being the dealer room, and the fact that I had to resort to going with my very comics-illiterate mother, and  the fact that I am not into small rooms full of people and you have the perfect calculation for disaster.

I also realized that people in my hometown area are really weird. A guy walked by with a camera man recording us all as if we were some cult performing a strange ritual of some sort, saying things like "Oddities you'll only see at this type of event!" and "It's unbelievable that there are this many nerds in the area!"

So yeah, that was fun...but it really wasn't all bad. I finally got to meet Richard Horvitz, who is a total sweetie. I wasn't expecting to, but at the sound of his voice I just felt this overwhelming force of pure joy. It may just be the fact that Invader Zim was a good part of my childhood, or it could be that he's been the voice for so many characters that I adore. To be perfectly honest, he's the most fan-loving famous person I've ever met.

Rikki Simmons was there too, and he's just as sweet and friendly, but unfortunately after caving it to get an autograph from Richard, I didn't have enough money for him too. Luckily, he goes to Anime Weekend Atlanta (AWA) every year, so I'll have another chance.

There were a few other memorable things on my trip, namely this awesome booth that had epic sculptures of very creepy things, including a tiny Audrey II from The Little Shop of Horrors. I'm insanely in love with the movie, so when I saw it I almost spent my money there. I was hoping to find them online, but they don't seem to be listed on the dealer's list. If anyone knows, please email me! I'd like another chance at that Twoey!

 

I could've kicked myself for not buying him, but I did get my autograph. So I'm pretty pleased with myself.

Also, I've noticed a recurring theme for Conventions that I go to.

SOMETHING BAD ALWAYS HAPPENS.

Usually, it's something that's scary and terrible at the time, but hillarious later. For example, my first con, AWA 2009, we got lost on the way there and back, and I get extremely nervous and crabby when I'm lost. 

My roommate had felt sick so we went home early, but it quickly got dark and we got turned around.The driver was also kind of paranoid about the big city, and didn't want to use any directions but her sister's. We ended up driving for hours in some creepy wooded area with a few fancy houses here and there. My natural instinct to freak out when we're lost kicked in, and it started an argument.

I went in and got directions while she got some gas and calmed down. The lady working there barely spoke english, but she knew where out road was, and I got a satisfactory route home.

Apparently, our arguement must have been very annoying to Sara, because she went out of the car to use the restroom, and when we got back in the car we assumed she was there. As we drove off, me on my phone with my mom and Alicia trying to follow the directions I'd acquired, I was nearly in a hysteric fit. My mother, knowing the only truly sane person in the vehicle would be Sara, asked to talk to her.

Still a little frustrated, I shoved the phone in her general direction and said "here", but got no response. Turning around I was met by a completely empty back seat.

I began crying uncontrollably, assuming we'd let my roommate get kidnapped by some wild murderer and I would never see her again. Alicia began to squeal her tires and made a turn-around through a walgreen's parking lot and rushed back to the gas station.

At the time, Sara was wearing the most socially acceptable attire to be at a public gas station. I was wearing a crazy hat and goggles, and Alicia was wearing a full-on cosplay of a gay, cross-dressing, man in six-inch-platforms. So it must have been a sight to see that the "friends who left her behind" were these two blubbering maniacs that came shuffling/sobbing up to her. I'm quite certain we made somebody's night.

We learned later that if we had been a second more, the two of us would have lost sara to a nice lady who wanted to help her, but I have a really bad feeling about the whole situation. If we hadn't made it, My roomate could have been gone forever...

Yeah, we're really luck we noticed when we did.

At the second AWA i went to, I got to pull off my first cosplay! I was Rhyme, from The World Ends with You. It was really fun, and my friend's roommate was nice enough to give us a ride, even though she had no interest in attending an anime convention.

So we're finally out of the con, having had a very nice afternoon, and my friend see's her roommate's car. We're getting in and I toss my stuff in and have one foot in the vehicle, and she mistakes my stuff for me and begins to slowly pull out.

I was lucky that my shriek of pain and cursing was enough to cause her to retract the car. I had previously broken a toe on the other foot, so the fear of breaking another one is constantly on my mind. The whole week had been a "inanimate objects against kaesta's feet" contest, ranging from broken bowls to poorly place door stops, so when the car hit my foot I panicked.

Luckily it did no real damage and I put it on ice as soon as we got back to the dorm. It was a really interesting experience, because in between the "Oh gosh I'm so sorry" and "do you need a doctor?"'s I realized my character dies by being ran over by a car. I thought it was hillarious, and made sure to word it perfectly to my friends when I saw them. "AWA was great! I got ran over by a car and everything!:D"

Invadercon was amazingly not so bad, but it was the first time I heard Rebecca Black's "Friday".

At KnoxCon, I was feeling like absolute crud the whole time. Alternating from freaking out about the huge crowd in close quarters to holding my stomach in pain, I didn't really get to enjoy to weirdness that is a convention.

I went to the doctor today, and he gave me some anti-biotics for the infection, but I spent my entire father's day in bed, when I had planned on doing a drawing for my Papaw. Oh well....I'll get to it soon.

All in all it wasn't terrible, but I don't think I want to go to another con with only one room...