Lessons from Otakon 2005:

1) Plan ahead. If the schedule's posted prior to the con, check it out ahead of time. And actually make plans to meet up with folks ahead of time - I got so sidetracked by stupid stuff like my car and the exploding kitchen light bulb I didn't manage to contact jonathlee and several others who went to the con so we could meet up.

2) If you cosplay, be practical. A costume with decent pockets is a GOOD idea. It's harder to lose track of something if it's always in your pocket. I'm just glad my wallet wasn't MIA as well. (And I'm reconsidering my idea to go as Ritsu Sohma next year. Even if I do manage to make his kimono, I don't think another pocket-free costume is wise.)

3) If you want to advertise, don't get sidetracked. Had I not been freaking out over the car, I'd have been able to get my act together to have fliers for G2006 to drop around the convention center.

4) Neck strap for camera = good idea. Seriously, I think that's the only way I'm going to be able to take a nice camera to a con: it's the best way to keep it on hand without having it taken from me. I no longer think that I should not own and use a camera of that caliber, I just need to have a way to store it easily and safely when I take it with me.

5) A simple costume will work if it's accurate. I was really, really surprised how many people recognized who I was and wanted my picture. Even without a stuffed Peropero. (I was one of the two Yukino Miyazawas in "slob" mode wandering around the con - the one whose headband apparently was glow-in-the dark.)

6) Layers are happy things. Friday was actually cool, but on Saturday I was glad I had a white tank top on beneath the red zip-up sweatshirt for my costume. It was good to be able to take it off when we left the convention center to find food.

7) If you don't have a specific costume in mind, do something different. Anyone see the married couple, both wearing corsets and skirts, and the guy in the couple wearing the fairy wings? Yep, Vengeance got more people wanting to take his picture than the rest of us combined. *grin*

8) If you have a kickass costume, be prepared to spend 75% of your time getting hijacked for pictures. Enough said.

9) You can get better and potentially cheaper food outside the convention center. Not knocking the Terrace Cafe, but we only ate there when we were desperate - and the restaurants in Harborplace were passing out coupons to con attendees to get them to return.

10) The Light Rail is your friend. If you can't get to the con early enough to find a space in the convention center lot - which is relatively affordable - it's only $2.20 for a day pass with a student ID on weekdays, and $3.50 for a day pass on Saturday and on Sunday. Also, no traffic.

11) It is possible to have some restraint in the dealers' room if you really are trying. I spent a total of $31 on stuff this year. Just $31. Got a Fullmetal Alchemist mug, a Kare Kano book and a Trigun beach towel. That's about it.

12) If the cab company has NO QUESTIONS about how to find the place you're staying at, verify they know where to go anyway. Dude, I am never recommending Columbia Cab to anyone ever again; I should have been suspicious when they didn't ask for clarification when irenak gave them the address. Idiots.

Anyway, Otakon WAS fun. I am sorry we didn't have the time or energy to go back on Sunday, although I concede that it was better for my wallet that we didn't. It was marred by a couple of incidents: the camera hijacking, and the spectacular Saturday morning lightbulb explosion in the kitchen light fixture.

The latter problem has been solved - this was the first time the upstairs shower was used with any regularity, and my cousin and I discovered that it was due to the seal around the temperature control knob doing nothing to keep water from getting into the light fixture. The problem has since been caulked thoroughly.

On another note, congrats to laurean on getting married this Saturday. :)