A Recording of the Trials and Tribulations of William T. McCall
Otakon 8)
August 01, 2011, 01:28:pm
This weekend I went to Otakon and it was lots of fun. lt was my first anime convention or convention in general and l had a blast.
There were ups and downs though.
The first downside was when I realized I had forgotten my boots at home... which were integral to all of my outfits that l was going to wear. =/ Luckily, (sort of) l found these boots at a hybrid furry/goth store. They were a few sizes too small but I thought it would be okay. l was WRONG. Holy crap... never do that... =( I had blisters everywhere and was forced to buy these Bruce Lee shoes, which are actually quite comfortable. ^^; If my friend can't fit into those boots, then I'll be selling them for the same price l bought them... 25 dollars.
I also didn't sleep at all the night before... a combination of getting sick, the lights being on, being in a new place, and nervousness made it hard to do so. I was also worried about a friend of mine who was going through a hard time. That same friend was a person I was going to meet at Otakon... well I did meet him... for about 15 minutes... -.-
I got an "I <3 Steampunk" shirt except instead of a heart it was a gear. xD I also bought a steampunk mask and some other neat stuff. I was feeling very ill but I stayed until the rave to see what it was like.
I met my online friend there for only 15 minutes like I said, and he didn't seem to care much about hanging out with me while at the con. He'd take long to respond to texts, he'd go off somewhere else before I could find him, etc. It annoyed me, just everytime I wanted to do something fun with him, it didn't work out. I admitted to him that I kinda liked him, and that while I wasn't interested in dating him immediately, I did want to hang out with him and get to know him a bit better. He told me that he wanted to be my friend, but no more than that. Which was kinda sad making (forever alone) because I knew it was gonna happen, it always happens with guys l'm interested in. For some strange reason everyone who likes me is not attractive to me at all. And those who l like don't notice me.
Although this person also doesn't seem to care about being my "just friend" either. l just want to hang out with him, maybe our 2 friend groups can do something, but nah. So l give up. lol. l know l'm an awesome friend, and l'm fun and stuff so it's his loss.
Seeing all those cosplayers, and all the neat merchandise... all the little memes that popped up from our experiences... like the "Marco Polo" thing, "Buttscratcher!!" and the "Ice Cold Water" guy lol, all of that was fun. xD I felt like I was in a gathering of a huge family almost. Everyone seemed to like and be friendly with each other. And Ice Cold Water guy was amazing... xD As with all large events in the city, there were black people standing outside shouting "Water! Right here! One dollar!" etc... trying to sell stuff to the tourists and convention goers that were passing by. But out of all the black guys selling water/soda, one of them stood out the most... this black guy without a shirt, who had a large megaphone and was rapping "I got da ICE COLD WAATAAAHH... and it's only ONE DOLLAH!! ICE ICE! COLD COLD!" lol. He's become an internet meme almost, because everyone who went to the con knows him.
Overall it was a great experience. I'm going to it every year l've decided. x3
So last night l got a chance to go to something l've been wanting to go to for a while, but never had a chance to: Dorian's Parlor... I first read about it on a flier at Nocturne, and it sounded interesting... a vintage victorian steampunk gathering featuring DJ's, a big ballroom, outside patio, and live bands.
Unfortunately it was for people 21 and over... But last night I had a friend pull some strings to get me in. x3 Because she knows Jesus. (Well he dresses like Jesus at Dracula's Ball, and looks just like him, and even is an ethnic Israeli Jew xD) He was one of the organizers of the event, and he's really nice.
Parking was almost a nightmare... I had to squeeze into a tiny spot, the only one available because the person next to me was over the line.
At the DoubleTree Hotel, it looked like it was in its own bubble of alternate history timeline, around the 1800s... tophats, corsets, goggles, brass gears, vests, canes, etc... While outside of our little bubble, was a bustling 21st century city with cars, tall buildings, traffic lights, etc. The normal people outside found it interesting, seeing a gathering of people all wearing victorian and vintage clothing with a weird futuristic twist on it. There was a fire show early in the night, in which performers took various objects and lit them on fire while dancing around with them as we watched... the first man had a ball on a rope, the second lady had 2 shorter ones. The third girl had 2 flaming whips that flashed whenever she snapped them... but unfortunately they went out early. The last act was a lady and gentleman dancing together with flaming balls around them, it was just very interesting to watch... come to think of it, they asked for donations and I totally forgot to donate.
Inside they had lots of interesting stuff... steampunk jewelry, top hats, gas masks, canes, fans, etc... One of the hosts announced that he had released his steampunk novel today, so I went and bought it... from what I read, it was an alternate timeline in which the Tungusta event of 1908 nearly destroyed the world, and it takes place in an alternate future 22nd century where civilized society comes into constant attack by sky pirates who live beyond the rim of their cities. I can't wait to read it. He read us the prologue but everyone was too noisy so I could not hear.
Then some gay South African guy in his mid 30s took a picture of me.
I sat down and watched the fashion show... it was interesting... although something I didn't understand was the peoples obsession with wearing those things I don't know what they're called, but they make a dress look poofy if you wear them underneath... for some reason a lot of people were wearing those on the OUTSIDE... and I thought it looked just downright ugly... >.< But whatever, its their life and their outfit. x3
I went to get a drink. I asked the Bar tender if he had spite. He said "yes......"
... ... ...
"...is that all?"
lol of course I hate drinking anyway, plus l'm not old enough. The guy gave it to me for free for some reason... the gay south african appeared again and said I didn't have to pay him, just tip him... unfortunately I only had a 20 so he was like "Don't worry honey, l'll take care of it,"
Dj's began playing music... not much of the industrial club music that I'm used to... more Dark Cabaret, slow gothic rock, and steampunk. They played Back and Forth by Dr. Steel. It made me so happy. Some random girl asked me to dance, so I did. x3 Most people had dancing partners rather than themselves.
This way to the Egress played after that, they're an interesting band I must check them out. They had strippers on the stage at times too. Not something l really cared about. l'm beyond that stage of being totally utterly frightened of seeing that. l just see it and shrug my shoulders lol... They didn't expose any hidden body parts obviously just got really skimpy... like the really tiny thong and tape on the nipples kinda skimpy. But oh well. Everyone is expected to be 21+ at that event so I guess they didn't see a need to censor anything.
More Steampunk, goth adn dark cabaret music followed, until Voltaire came on.
Voltaire was hilarious. He had no band with him, instead he brought only a semi-acoustic guitar. He sang his songs for us, often stopping in the middle to crack funny jokes. He even made some mistakes during his performance but turned them into a source of comedy. He even invited anyone who knew the words to come onstage and sing like a background choir... and was surprised when have the audience ran onto the stage. I could tell he was completely improvisational and really laid back and fun. He had a great time in that atmosphere, as I read from his facebook. I was too nervous to say hi or take a picture with him... not because he's famous but because he's a new, eccentric person. I seem to have a hard time befriending really loud and eccentric people. But being involved in the Northeast coast goth scene, l'm sure to run into him again someday.
He said he is releasing his new album in September, called "Riding a Black Unicorn Down the Side of an Erupting Volcano While Drinking From a Chalice Filled With the Laughter of Small Children!" and told us the story of how he came up with the title... he was about to email his fans asking them to describe his music for him (because he didn't know exactly how to explain it himself) when right before he sends it, someone described his music on his wall as "Riding a black unicorn down the side of an erupting volcano while drinking from a chalice filled with the laughter of small children" So he used that. xD
Ultimately it was fun... I've never been to a steampunk gathering, only to goth clubs and metal concerts. But I am a steampunk too and I belong to places like that. l'm definitely going to Dorian's Parlor again. =D Steampunks everyone, it was awesome... there was also a random cybergoth and a random metalhead, but oh well haha. We're all tied in together somehow. xD Mood: Happy =3 Music: Vermillion Lies - Circus Apocalypse
