I’m not really up for coherence tonight (and I hear all half-dozen of my regular readers asking, “This is different from normal exactly how?”) but here’s a few tidbits of amusement from my second anime convention weekend experience:

• If you’re going from Portland to Seattle and you don’t drive, take Amtrak. Seriously. It’s comfy, relatively quiet, and your fellow passengers are several cuts above the riffraff you get on an average Greydoggie run.
• Not to put too fine a point on it, but there’s something damned nifty about sharing a hotel room with just a significant other and nobody else. Yeah.
• The AMV contest Friday evening fired up my enthusiasm to make videos again. I saw a truly kick-ass action video, two great comedy videos and a few side-splittingly funny parody trailers. Hmm, that’s not a bad idea… I haven’t done one of those yet…
• Trying to fill a minor, if useful, staff function when you’ve got a head cold is difficult at best. Let’s hear it for antihistamines and decongestants!
• Some girls just should not wear fishnets. Sorry, but it’s true.
• Some boys just should not wear fishnets. Period.
• In an alternate universe, I’d probably dress up as an anime character at a convention. This alternate universe would be one in which I possessed a whole lot more money and something resembling style and/or flair.
• Speaking of cosplay, I managed to avoid catching a glimpse of Man-Faye. I count this as one of the many not-so-minor blessings from this past weekend.
• I went up with a spending budget for nifty trinkets. I came back having spent it on foodstuffs. I’m not entirely certain how that happened. Then again, almost nothing I saw at the merchandising booths grabbed my attention. Those objects that did were simply out of my affordable price range or were of the “I don’t really need it” variety. Take the Onegai Twins poster set, for instance, or the Fullmetal Alchemist art book… okay, so I’m still sort of agonizing over that one…
• If I ever do the “photo monkey” gig again, I will get my hands on a better camera. Argh. ‘Nuff said.
• My phone was frequently out of service. Near as I can tell, the Hilton considers blocking cellphone reception to be an added feature of one’s stay. Le sigh. If you tried to call and I didn’t answer, now you know why.
• Did I have fun? Yes, I had fun. Am I glad I went? You bet I am. Will I go next year? Um… ask me again in a few months.

So there you have it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to download more AMVs and kick back to relax for one last evening before getting up for work in the morning…