My cheating heart ~ volunteer, otaku, or pressboy: JAFAX report (part 2)

Saturday morning:

The otakus showed up at the con door around 6:00 am.

I’m still asleep in my dorm room dreaming of being Great Teacher Onizuka- I kid you not. Anyway, it seems that the very presence of otakus have disturbed my pleasant slumber. I awake shortly and stumble towards the con around 7:30 laden with a ton of Anime Food “Samlers” in my pack- I think I’ll need to see my chiropractor after that. I see the long line of peeps and think aren’t they a little early? Shouldn’t they be watching Saturday Morning cartoons? Do they even do that anymore? Anyway, I snap a few pics and then find my way to the con ops room. I get permission from the director of ops to place the samplers at the door for the con goers to pickup. I was scheduled to help set-up, however, there was nothing for me to do but hold the door for vendors, guests, and artists as they arrive. One frustrated artist, Shannon Townsend (Otaku-no-Yen), asked me for directions. My first gut response was to say, “I don’t know, I’m not from around here.” But being a volunteer, I had to help. She needed to find a place to buy clips or some office supply stuff. Since GVSU is in the middle of Nowhere, MI (Allendale, MI to be exact). She had to drive a quite a distance to find something… luckily there is a Meijer about 20 minutes away. As it turns out she and her husband (Richard) are from the Chicago-land area too. So I hand her my Streets & Trips map/ directions for her to follow in reverse. Achieving useful volunteer status is very rewarding. The doors later opened at 9:45. The patient otakus slosh their mud caked shoes into the con. So far, I think I’m balancing the whole I’m a volunteer and a pressboy (and an otaku) thing pretty well. Opening Ceremonies. Dubbed room (Comic Party Revolution: it was mildly entertaining and the dub was awful). Break -so rush to Panel 1 (Artist Alley 101: was hosted by Kristene Onyskow from Dragon Spirit Studios, she made our badges) . That’s when my heart began to crack. I missed the entire panel. Stupid volunteer… grumble…grumble… I soon buck up and wander to my next assignment: Main Room (Coyote Ragtime Show: its a lot of fun, a great show). I soon receive a break. I wander into artist alley; little did I know that my pressboy would soon reveal itself.

Saturday Afternoon:

12:00. I soon realize that I am the only press at the con. Exclusive for Anime Food! I’m rockstar rookie! So I wipe the humid sweat from my brow and begin the gauntlet. Dozens of artists, waiting to be interviewed! Experience has informed me that Artist Alleys at larger cons tend to have good and wannabe artists. So I expected the same at this little con. WRONG! Not a wannabe in the bunch. My heart leaped as I was swept away into the torrent of creative energy waves emanating from the artists. I treaded through the whitewater and ended up spending a whole wad of cash, the most I’ve spent in any artist alley. Oops, otakuboy consumed pressboy. I gather my composure: “WWGD? (What would Geraldo Do?)” So I introduce myself: “I’m Joe from Anime Food Magazine: we are a new magazine that will go national in November. We are unique because we focus on the otaku culture and the industry. Here is my card.” *blush* Some of the artists were really cute. (pics of two artists from the alley) There goes my boy heart… is that my otakuboy or pressboy or… whatever. I take pics and spend like a drunken politician. I try to be a good pressboy, but my otakuboy rages within – he oozes out. Soon, I’m talking graphic novels, lite novels, anime, manga, NewtypeUSA, Animerica, and webcomics. Am I really a pressboy? Well, I do have contact info for about sixteen artists – and some interviews lined up for later issues. Plus a backbreaking daypack full of art. Soon it is 3:30 and it time for me to volunteer in the Family Friendly room. Just as I was going to have an Otaku-no-Yen custom button made, well I hope there is a tomorrow. My sorrow is instantly transformed into laughter – LOUD laughter- as I drag my broken frame into the room. Panda Z: the Robomation. The funniest anime EVER! Here I am; the volunteer. I’m supposed to be running the room and maintain order. I’m laughing so hard I cry. Soon, the ecstasy-agony of the artist gauntlet has been quenched by the cute fireman-robobear and the Panda Z mecha taking on the forces of evil and the confuZed. I wanted to run down stairs to the vendors and demand a copy of the DVD- price didn’t matter. I opened my wallet. Oops, a dead fly *flick* no cash. Well, the otakuboy sinks back into the sighing shell and the volunteer justifies my responsible action of remaining in the room. Besides- Hello Kitty: Stump Village is next. I whistle the catchy theme song. The little kids stare at me. I’m sure they were thinking: “Damn what a strange man- he likes Hello Kitty too!” Later my replacement begrudgingly arrives: “I’m here…grumble, grumble, stupid volunteer…” at least it wasn’t me this time. I’ve learned to be happy as a volunteer, otakuboy, and a pressboy. I think. I drag my two-ton pack out to my car and call Carmella- the editor and chief and tell her about the day. Just as I finish talking with her a minivan pulls up. A clan of InuYasha cosplay girls (Keiko, Sango (and battle Sango), and Kagaome) hop out followed by their otaku mom: Luffy. I take their pics, give them my business cards and tell them about the magazine. As they leave the Not Ready for Bandai Players zip by in a car. Josh Medin says that they are ready for dinner and I should come with them if I want my interview. So I jump into my VW and follow them to a grinder-pizza joint. They are all masterotakus- they are the godfathers and godmothers of the American otaku race. We talk for about 3 or 4 hours, right through the cosplay masquerade (pressboy heart breaks) and the tear-down session (volunteer heart breaks). I will write about them as soon as I have time to sort through dozens of misspelled notes…

Saturday night:

I crash into my quiet dorm room and decide not to creep around the hotel parties. I call my editor and tell her about the crazy day. I boil some water and eat some instant miso tofu noodle soup. I write about the day, listen to Yoko Kanno albums (Cowboy Bebop and Macross Plus OST’s)- late into the evening and into the morning. Perhaps, in the end, there can be only one. Otaku.

Sensei no Otaku says: “You cannot serve three masters; you will serve one and piss off the others.”