Well, another year and another fantastic convention has gone by. For those who didn't know (i.e. those poor otaku living under rocks or doing without an internet connection), the great east coast convention of choice for all otaku-Otakon-has came to fill us with joy and left us to wait for another year. I feel almost like a veteran, having two conventions under my belt; that is, until I see the signature con old guy with twenty assorted convention badges proudly displayed across his chest. Still, I walked into the Baltimore Convention Center and I felt like I was home, truly home. This is one of the few places on Earth where I feel accepted, where I can do or say almost anything and I get no funny looks, only laughs from people whose mindsets are not dissimilar from myself. Some may say that maybe it's time I went out and got some friendsc three-dimensional ones. Let me put it this way; take whatever you're most passionate about (and if you're not passionate about anything then you're the one who needs a hobby. May I suggest underwater basket weaving), then fill 28.1 acres of space with people who are exactly like you. Top it off with all the media you can feast your eyes and all the goods you could ever get your grubby little hands on. Welcome to an Otakon experience.

For those who read my report on last year (anybody? canybody?!), then you know it was quite an adventure within itself just getting there. I'm sad to say this year's trip was rather uneventful. No car breakdowns, no lying in the middle of the highway, no nearly killing ourselves half a dozen times or more. So essentially, all the fun was taken out of the voyage down to Maryland. This year's group was also much smaller. Last year there were nine of us, including myself. This year the number was cut to a total of six. It made it easier from a logistics standpoint, but nobody likes logistics, plus the more the merrier. Let me recount my tale from the beginning...

OK, so I arrive at my good friend (I always tell him how much he sucks and nobody likes him) Mike's house on Wednesday. After playing Morrowind on the X-Box for several hours, we pass out. I woke up pretty early and got ready. My mother arrived a few hours later with all my stuff. She made some cookies and brownies for us to eat on the way. I always knew mothers were useful for a reason. Besides equipment (clothes) and perishables (food), I also got some funds. This year's budget: $580. I knew over one hundred of that would be gone before I even got to the dealer's room. Let me explain this. First off, there were supposed to be more than just six of us going this year. In fact, the group was originally going to be broken in two, with Brian, Randy, Tyson & staying at the Hyatt and Jeff, Mike, myself, John & staying at the Radisson (I probably got this wrong, but you get the idea. There were more than six). However, far too many of us dropped out at the last minute, so rather than break it up in two and pay far too much for the hotel rooms, we contacted Brian and asked to bunk with him in his room. That was OK with Brian and his group, so Mike called the Radisson and cancelled. So with six of us staying in one hotel room, we each had to pay $60 for the entire stay. I didn't think that was too bad. Anyway, last year the pre-registered line was longer than the non pre-registered line, so I said to hell with it and didn't pre-register. So getting in was going to cost me $50 for all three days. That's $110 right there and I hadn't even done anything yet. Oh well, fun doesn't come cheap I guess. And money doesn't do any good sitting in my pocket so I'd gladly fork it over for Otakon 2k2.