It's been far too long, Anthrocon.

Two long years of waiting, after sitting out last year due to money troubles, to be exact.

I also had some doubts about this year, noticing that some of my good friends weren't going (or so I thought), and waiting until the month before to do something about room share, putting me at rooming with complete strangers, so I had my doubts. I began to wonder if I should do this con or extend the long wait to another year in favor of replacing my failing laptop and getting a WiiU as a result, but I eventually decided to stick it out and do the con anyway, because what would I rather have, something material or a fun experience that lasts a lifetime?

So I went to Anthrocon. 770 miles of driving twisted mountain roads dealing with impatient drivers later...

There it was. The Westin that I've come to know and love over the years. The escalators that always broke. That beautiful ballroom that everyone knows as the Zoo (at least until the end of Thursday...). The skybridge and the flight of stairs that led into the convention center. The walking. The walking. THE WALKING. Oh, and the convention itself.

I felt as if I came home from a long trip away. And the con itself had it just like it was the last time I was here, well, at least for the most part.

Any fears that I would have trouble meeting up with old friends quickly went away by the time the sun set on Thursday. I got to say hi to nearly all of the people I roomed with the last time I was there, and hang out with them like I used to do. I even met people I haven't seen in as many as 3 or 4 years!

I did all the usual things I usually do at the con. I got to visit Fernando's and enjoy their subs. I got to see some fursuits entertain the crowd at the Masquerade. I did the annual Tonic food stop again. I got to do the result of two years of practicing my dance moves during the nightly dances. I got some more art. I got some buttons and a plushie. I sat in on some pretty good panels, the best one of which is seeing Jim Cummings in person. But most of all, I enjoyed the company of everyone that I hung out with!

There were some other things that were a little bit different though. I got to finally experience the game of hockey with some of the Hockey Furs at a park a little outside the con. This was the first time I was out of town in a long time during the 4th of July, so watching the fireworks on the convention rooftop with a friend and his friends was a nice change.

Some things weren't all that perfect, for instance, while I understand the need for space and the difficulty in keeping the old Zoo without upsetting the hotel, the new zoo felt too much like the cafeteria of a state prison for me. Yet I noticed another change; the video game room was different, but this time in a good way; it's not too far out of the way of the rest of the con, and it is a lot bigger, so while the other game tournaments are going on, I can try out Mario Kart 8 since the other TVs are no longer taken up by the tournaments. I found that pretty cool, and Mario Kart 8 seems like a good reason to finally save up for a WiiU if anything! So those two things cancel each other out.

So yeah, that was Anthrocon 2014. Thank you to all the friends that made this con awesome, and thank you to all the con organizers and volunteers that made this awesome con possible!

I hope that I can return to this con a little sooner than two years from now, 2015 would be nice, but right now I'll take it one step at a time, as I've got other things that I'd like to save up for; namely, a new laptop, and then a WiiU, and then we'll see. If I don't make AC, I'll try for other cons, like Megaplex immediately after, and FWA the year that follows (I doubt it'd be this coming year, given a certain theme that I have a problem with, but that's another story and I don't wanna get into a debate about it right now). I've always wanted to do MFF too, but that falls during finals, and there's like a very slim chance I'd make up the money by then. "So you're saying there's a chance?"

This caps off a first half of a year where I slowly started to make new friends around the college, and first discovered that there are furmeets that take place close to home. Despite some troubles, I'd say this year is shaping up nicely so far! I hope it'll keep going like this. ^^

And now, back to real life!