There will always be a special place in my heart for FanimeCon. While I did attend other conventions before Fanime, this one sucked me in and I've been attending every year since. I suppose there are a few reasons for this, from the transformation of San Jose to a cosplay paradise, the 24 hour immersive nature of the event, to the fact that I ended up with my boyfriend thanks to this convention. Additionally, I spent my first year of FanimeCon as a volunteer in order to get a free pass, and had a great time meeting people and getting the inside scoop on everything.
While being a volunteer was a great experience, I wanted extra time to attend panels and explore the convention. Thus, I spent the next two years as a regular attendee. During this time FanimeCon introduced Clockwork Alchemy, a steampunk addition to the convention. I really enjoyed the interactive panels of Clockwork Alchemy and felt that I found the right place to spend my time as I aged out of FanimeCon's dominant age demographic (not that there's an age limit to attending Fanime!). However, I missed being able to help out and often found myself with more downtime than I wanted. This year after some internal debate, I decided to volunteer once again.
I definitely took on more responsibilities this year, and even got assigned a walkie-talkie for the first time. Being a volunteer was rather nerve-wracking at times since I didn't want to be "that person" who screwed up and made into one of those "what not to do" stories they tell during trainings. Working this convention was no joke, and I'll admit that the shifts were long, grueling, and stressful. While I am a social worker by trade, managing mobs of congoers (with the occasional angry person) was really different from anything I've ever experienced at work, and I definitely gained insight on interpersonal skills I should hone for next year.
Was the experience worth it? While I found that I spent even less time exploring the convention than that the last time I volunteered, I'd definitely do it again. Volunteering for Fanime allowed me to experience the event in a different way, a way that allowed me help others better enjoy themselves. Furthermore, I really enjoyed getting to see more of how Fanime/Steampunk Alchemy is put together, and working with those who are just as passionate about the convention as I am.
I realize that FanimeCon/Clockwork Alchemy 2013 has its fair share of problems, and I also realize that tons of improvements need to be made for next year (especially after reading the forums). This is one of the reasons I'd like to return and increase my involvement in the planning process of the convention. With my increasingly busy schedule, hopefully I'll have the time to volunteer again next year! We shall see how things go over the next several months!
Showing posts with label Clockwork Alchemy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Clockwork Alchemy. Show all posts
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
The Pre-Summer Convention Lull
Seems like the last time I posted was when I secured tickets to Comic-Con. Not much has happened since then, other than lots of working and lots of planning. Work has been a grind, but hopefully it's worth it come summer!
Anyway, here's what I've accomplished since my last post:
-Secured cheap bus tickets for my San Diego and Las Vegas trips thanks to Megabus
-Purchased parts for my Pinkie Pie cosplay and steampunk outfit
-Purchased fabric for my Star Trek cosplay (though I may pay someone to make it for me per my mom's recommendation)
-Worked tons of hours so I have money to blow this summer!
Fanime/Clockwork Alchemy is coming up fast - exactly a month from today! Leading up to that are the releases of both Iron Man 3 and Star Trek: Into Darkness! As I write this, I definitely feel the excitement starting to build.
To end this post, I'll share a picture from one of the more exciting moments from the past few months: Giants baseball opening weekend!
Anyway, here's what I've accomplished since my last post:
-Secured cheap bus tickets for my San Diego and Las Vegas trips thanks to Megabus
-Purchased parts for my Pinkie Pie cosplay and steampunk outfit
-Purchased fabric for my Star Trek cosplay (though I may pay someone to make it for me per my mom's recommendation)
-Worked tons of hours so I have money to blow this summer!
Fanime/Clockwork Alchemy is coming up fast - exactly a month from today! Leading up to that are the releases of both Iron Man 3 and Star Trek: Into Darkness! As I write this, I definitely feel the excitement starting to build.
To end this post, I'll share a picture from one of the more exciting moments from the past few months: Giants baseball opening weekend!
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| Giants Opening Day Ring Ceremony |
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Fanime Prep 2013: Pre-registration and Hotel Madness!
Today was the day many Fanime fans have been anticipating for months! At noon, the Fanime 2013 website went live, and along with it pre-registration and hotel registration. Here's how it all went down for me:
I happened to be at work today, so I gave my credit card number to my boyfriend and asked him to book a room for me. As noon approached, I began to becoming increasingly nervous about my chances of getting the room I wanted, so I opened up a browser with an online analog clock. I entered in the Fanime website address and pressed "enter" as soon as the second hand hit 12:00.
To my horror, absolutely nothing happened. My boyfriend promptly messaged me, informing me that he could not access the site. I told him to keep trying and in the meantime continued to refresh my screen while my coworkers weren't looking.
Eight minutes later, I still couldn't get the site to load. In fact, the 2012 site loaded instead. I grabbed my cell phone and went to the Fanime facebook page. To some relief, it looked like many others were having the same issues. When I refreshed the facebook page several minutes later, I noticed that someone had posted a direct link to the housing website. I tapped it and it worked! Unfortunately, I didn't think I could enter my information quickly enough, so I copy/pasted the link to my boyfriend hoping that he would get my message. When he didn't respond, I typed the website address into my browser and decided to try for a room myself.
By then, all of the hotels adjacent to the convention center were completely sold out, along with the double beds in my preferred hotel. Fortunately, they still had the room I book every year, so I picked that and started entering my information, using an alternate e-mail address since my boyfriend was already using mine. Unfortunately, being in a rush I entered in the WRONG E-MAIL ADDRESS. However, the registration site lets you send a carbon copy of your registration to another person, so I simply entered the correct e-mail address there. I didn't want to risk going back and losing my room.
After I checked out, I looked at my phone and found out that my boyfriend had successfully booked the same type of room in the same hotel! At this point, I decided to just take my lunch break before I got written up being on a non-work related website. In the break room, I went ahead and cancelled my room so as to free it up for someone else. For fun, I went to see what rooms were left.
By 12:40pm, all the available hotels in the Downtown San Jose area for Thursday-Monday were completely sold out. As of now (7:30pm), the only Thursday-Monday bookings that are left are at DoubleTree near the airport. Now, if you plan on spending most of your time at Clockwork Alchemy, this is actually to your benefit.
I really feel that I got lucky this year. Hotel rooms sell out faster each year, and at this rate I probably won't get my preferred hotel next year! While the hotel registration went pretty smoothly once the Fanime staff fixed the website problems, the process produced an adrenaline rush I'd rather not experience until I have to do this again in 2014. If Fanime hotel room registration is like this, I can only imagine what Comic-Con badge registration is going to be like! Hopefully it'll be on a weekend or else I'll get written up at work for sure!
Fanime badge pre-registration, on the other hand, was a total breeze. I purchased my badge when I got home from work and had no issues whatsoever. $50 is such a great deal for a four day convention, plus a few extra hours on Thursday night.
Looks like I'm all set to go to Fanime (minus the cosplays)! Can't wait 'til May!
I happened to be at work today, so I gave my credit card number to my boyfriend and asked him to book a room for me. As noon approached, I began to becoming increasingly nervous about my chances of getting the room I wanted, so I opened up a browser with an online analog clock. I entered in the Fanime website address and pressed "enter" as soon as the second hand hit 12:00.
To my horror, absolutely nothing happened. My boyfriend promptly messaged me, informing me that he could not access the site. I told him to keep trying and in the meantime continued to refresh my screen while my coworkers weren't looking.
Eight minutes later, I still couldn't get the site to load. In fact, the 2012 site loaded instead. I grabbed my cell phone and went to the Fanime facebook page. To some relief, it looked like many others were having the same issues. When I refreshed the facebook page several minutes later, I noticed that someone had posted a direct link to the housing website. I tapped it and it worked! Unfortunately, I didn't think I could enter my information quickly enough, so I copy/pasted the link to my boyfriend hoping that he would get my message. When he didn't respond, I typed the website address into my browser and decided to try for a room myself.
By then, all of the hotels adjacent to the convention center were completely sold out, along with the double beds in my preferred hotel. Fortunately, they still had the room I book every year, so I picked that and started entering my information, using an alternate e-mail address since my boyfriend was already using mine. Unfortunately, being in a rush I entered in the WRONG E-MAIL ADDRESS. However, the registration site lets you send a carbon copy of your registration to another person, so I simply entered the correct e-mail address there. I didn't want to risk going back and losing my room.
After I checked out, I looked at my phone and found out that my boyfriend had successfully booked the same type of room in the same hotel! At this point, I decided to just take my lunch break before I got written up being on a non-work related website. In the break room, I went ahead and cancelled my room so as to free it up for someone else. For fun, I went to see what rooms were left.
By 12:40pm, all the available hotels in the Downtown San Jose area for Thursday-Monday were completely sold out. As of now (7:30pm), the only Thursday-Monday bookings that are left are at DoubleTree near the airport. Now, if you plan on spending most of your time at Clockwork Alchemy, this is actually to your benefit.
I really feel that I got lucky this year. Hotel rooms sell out faster each year, and at this rate I probably won't get my preferred hotel next year! While the hotel registration went pretty smoothly once the Fanime staff fixed the website problems, the process produced an adrenaline rush I'd rather not experience until I have to do this again in 2014. If Fanime hotel room registration is like this, I can only imagine what Comic-Con badge registration is going to be like! Hopefully it'll be on a weekend or else I'll get written up at work for sure!
Fanime badge pre-registration, on the other hand, was a total breeze. I purchased my badge when I got home from work and had no issues whatsoever. $50 is such a great deal for a four day convention, plus a few extra hours on Thursday night.
Looks like I'm all set to go to Fanime (minus the cosplays)! Can't wait 'til May!
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
FanimeCon Prep 2013: Lodging and Registration
According to Fanime's facebook page, convention pre-registration and hotel registration go live this Thursday at noon Pacific Time! Unfortunately, I have work that day, so hopefully my boyfriend or a friend will be kind enough to help me out!
I'm not too worried about getting a Fanime badge, and will probably purchase between Thursday and when pre-registration ends. By registering early, you get a discounted rate and a laminated badge with your name on it. The catch is that (save for special circumstances) you don't get a refund if you can't make the convention.
However, what might cause some mild stress is hotel room registration. Last year, hotels sold out in around the same time as Comic-Con badges. Fortunately, my preferred hotel is a little ways away from the San Jose Convention Center, so there were still a number of spots left when I finally got through to the Fanime housing site. Despite this, I'd never book my hotel any other way as Fanime offers generously discounted rooms for attendees.
If for some unfortunate reason I happen to miss out on a room, I'll probably check the roommate thread on the forums. It helps that I'll be volunteering this year, so maybe I'll be able to find housing that way.
Best of luck to everyone vying for a room this Thursday!
I'm not too worried about getting a Fanime badge, and will probably purchase between Thursday and when pre-registration ends. By registering early, you get a discounted rate and a laminated badge with your name on it. The catch is that (save for special circumstances) you don't get a refund if you can't make the convention.
However, what might cause some mild stress is hotel room registration. Last year, hotels sold out in around the same time as Comic-Con badges. Fortunately, my preferred hotel is a little ways away from the San Jose Convention Center, so there were still a number of spots left when I finally got through to the Fanime housing site. Despite this, I'd never book my hotel any other way as Fanime offers generously discounted rooms for attendees.
If for some unfortunate reason I happen to miss out on a room, I'll probably check the roommate thread on the forums. It helps that I'll be volunteering this year, so maybe I'll be able to find housing that way.
Best of luck to everyone vying for a room this Thursday!
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Tentative Travel Plans for 2013
My travel plans for this year are the most ambitious yet! Thinking about it really encourages me to be more frugal and put in extra hours at work so I can save up a decent fund for hotels, food, cosplaying, and shopping! Trips I am actively planning include the following:
-San Jose, CA for FanimeCon and Clockwork Alchemy
-San Diego, CA for Comic-Con International
-Las Vegas, NV for Creation Entertainment's Star Trek Convention
-Numerous day trips to places like San Francisco and Napa
-Cruise with the parents
Additional trips I may throw in include:
-Disneyland in Anaheim, CA
-Disneyworld in Orlando, FL
-New York City, New York
-Europe (specifically Great Britain, Germany, France, and Greece)
So far, I have secured the time off from work for my convention trips. The day trips can easily be done over a weekend or when I'm not scheduled to work. The Disney theme parks are up in the air due to expensive ticket prices (unless I take my parents and use their military discount) and the fact I was just at Disneyland a few months ago. If I go to New York and Europe, they will likely be trips taken with my parents since we have never been to either.
Personally, I try not to get too excited about upcoming events because they are always subject to change. For instance, today I missed a sporting event I was looking forward to due to a stomach bug! However, I can't help but feel a little excitement looking at my plans for 2013. It should hopefully be a fun and adventurous year!
-San Jose, CA for FanimeCon and Clockwork Alchemy
-San Diego, CA for Comic-Con International
-Las Vegas, NV for Creation Entertainment's Star Trek Convention
-Numerous day trips to places like San Francisco and Napa
-Cruise with the parents
Additional trips I may throw in include:
-Disneyland in Anaheim, CA
-Disneyworld in Orlando, FL
-New York City, New York
-Europe (specifically Great Britain, Germany, France, and Greece)
So far, I have secured the time off from work for my convention trips. The day trips can easily be done over a weekend or when I'm not scheduled to work. The Disney theme parks are up in the air due to expensive ticket prices (unless I take my parents and use their military discount) and the fact I was just at Disneyland a few months ago. If I go to New York and Europe, they will likely be trips taken with my parents since we have never been to either.
Personally, I try not to get too excited about upcoming events because they are always subject to change. For instance, today I missed a sporting event I was looking forward to due to a stomach bug! However, I can't help but feel a little excitement looking at my plans for 2013. It should hopefully be a fun and adventurous year!
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