ANTHROCON, PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, July 5th-8th
For those of you who don't know what Anthrocon is, good--get out while you still can. It's an annual convention held in Pittsburgh, PA in celebration(?) of the furry fandom. If you're still confused, think Disney's animated Robin Hood movie from way back when. People have different reactions to furries (most negative), but there are a million different kinds, some who don't deserve the heat they get. For the most part, though, it's hard not to make fun of alot of them. It's like any anime convention, really: you see all the different strata of nerd and geek there, from the serious to the casual, from the cosplayer to the gamer. I'd always wanted to go to Anthrocon since I was a Freshman in high school (shameful, I know), and since I was single, I figured I might as well go before I have any relationship to damage.
I literally left for PA the second I got back from California. Dustin's mom picked us up from BWI, dropped me off at my dorm, I grabbed my car, got my friends, and left. I was kinda annoyed, but not from traveling; the two guys comin' with me decided that it was a good idea to bring almost all of their possessions to the convention. I'm surprised I didn't facepalm through my head. In retrospect, if the hadn't, then they wouldn't have brought one of the things that kept me sane those four days. After cramming everything into my Explorer, we hit the road. I got full use out of my TomTom GPS as we headed up through Central Maryland. We were starving by the time we hit Western Maryland, and ended up stopping in Frostburg at a Pizza Hut for a quick bite to eat. Some how, what was going to be a routine stop for food turned into a little adventure itself. The staff at the store that night were a real trip, and we ended up just chatting and having fun. One of the waitresses popped out of no-where with some plush animals from behind the counter and we got caught up in a plushie war. No one was spared, but it was a blast! I wonder how they're doing now... they were a fun bunch.
When we finally got into Pittsburgh, it was pretty late in the evening. The con was supposed to start officially on Friday, but of course everyone was there on Thursday getting all geared up. I parked in a crappy parking garage not too far way from the hotel, and we dragged some of our stuff several blocks to the venue. I was amazed: the hotel was very nice, and I felt a little better about staying there. According to my friend, we had to wait for the guy who we were staying with in the hotel, so we all took a seat in the lobby. There were already people walking around with ears and tails, a few fursuiters here-and-there, just chilling on the sofas and enjoying free wi-fi. For some reason, I didn't feel nearly as phased by all of this as I thought I would. The costumes I'd seen so far weren't at all disturbing, so I was somewhat impressed. My friend caught sight of the guy we'd be staying with, and we started moving up to the room. Now, I failed to mention two things: one, I had no idea about the sleeping arrangements--I was only told we had a place to stay; two, we were staying with a good... five other people? Never--NEVER--let a friend arrange for a room and not tell you any of the details. Luckily, everyone was at the convention for different events, so it was never all 8 of us in the room at once. THANK GOD.
We spent most of the night wandering around, chatting, hanging out with the other con-goers in the lobby and checking out The Zoo, where alot of artists hung out. We ended up talking with 2 the Ranting Gryphon, who I would describe best as Lewis Black + Howard Sturn, but a furry (check out his webpage or Podcast... good stuff). Confusing, yes, but damn he's frickin' hilarious. All of us just stood around exchanging stories and experiences, and it felt like a pretty close-knit group even though we were all basically strangers to one another. I didn't get to sleep until around 6am or so the next morning... on the floor no less. I got something resembling a cold (the "con crud" so I've been told) and thanked God profusely when everyone left the room. I jumped into one of the beds and slept until around 2 or 3 in the afternoon and updated the blog. I didn't do much else, since my charger and battery stopped working, so I was forced to go and check out the convention.
I don't remember the sequence of events at the convention so much as the events themselves. I remember checking out the zoo a couple times to see if I recognized any artists. Of course I was scared stiff half the time, like when a kid sees Goofy at Disneyland or something. Although I consider myself somewhat of an artist, I consider the others to be far better than me, and I get nervous because of that XD. I managed to get by this feeling thanks to a few friends from UMD that I saw at the convention, as well as my little book. I got this great book made out of bamboo and leaves from this new-age store near College Park, and I wandered around Artist's Alley asking some of my fav's to doodle/autograph the book. I got quite a few great sketches, and might try doing the same next time I go to an anime convention. It was a great conversation piece when talking to the artists, and I even got to invite one of my favorites to come play Halo 2 with me. Oh, and FURRY MASTER CHIEF (heresy never felt so good).
What kept me sane during the entire convention was Halo 2. Since my friends packed everything, they brought their projector and my Xbox as well, which turned out to be the best idea ever. I set up random games of Halo 2 at various times in different locations around the convention--anywhere that could support a projector. The first night I tried this I set up near the rave (the raves were amazing, btw -- the DJ's they had playing spun out some incredible mixes) and attracted a few players. The next day that I tried it, I set up the Xbox near the zoo and ended up attracting a decent crowd. We switched off the best player every two games, which worked out nicely. Met a few decent people this way, though there were of course a few odd-ones. The highlight of my con experience was when I got one of my favorite artists, Meesh, to play Halo 2 with me. He was pretty good, but some of the other players trounced us. I spent the remainder playing with this other artist and another fur, and I annoyed the hell out of him with a shotgun-punch combo. I almost felt kinda bad... almost.
The convention was, overall, an amusing experience. I didn't feel as shocked or out-of-place as I thought I would, and made a few spiffy friends during my stay. There were some foam boards set up near the Zoo for anyone to post messages, but a fair number of doodles and jokes got posted there... along with a grilled cheese sandwich. It was like I was walking through the internet the entire time I stayed there... though I was surprised to see less disturbing than amusing things at the con. Would I go again? I'm not entirely sure... probably not. But do I regret going? My autograph from Rob Paulson, Pinky, from Pinky and the Brian, says not at all.
1 comment:
Glad you enjoyed the con.
I think I hung out a bit with the Halo-playing folks next to the Internet Room late Sunday evening, so we may have actually crossed paths. :-)
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