Katsucon 2017 AKA Kat-Sick-Con

Another Katsucon has come and gone.  I attended Katsucon for the 14th year in a row.  The weather was more like spring than winter, what my mother likes to call "pneumonia weather."  She wasn't too far off this time.  My husband, our friend Edward Thomas, and I all ended up with nasty colds AKA "con plague."  Today--Wednesday (2/22/2017)--is the first day I've felt well enough to work on this blog post.  It wasn't my best con.  I bought some accessories for my kimono, but didn't buy any DVDs this year.  I missed the Funimation panel and the Feedback panel, the 2 panels I usually make it a point to attend every year.    I also missed the chance to see Monica Rial, one of my favorite voice actresses!  On the up side, my cousin Janessa attended Katsucon for the very first time.  I'm pretty sure she had fun; I'll have to call and check on her soon.  Another thing that I always look forward to is seeing Steve Bennett, whom I've dealt with at previous cons and who is now considered a friend.  I am a little peeved at the whole weather situation; it forced me to change my cosplay plans at the last minute!  My original cosplay lineup was supposed to be my Totoro kigurumi, my Rainbow Brite cosplay, and my hamster kigurumi.  However, Mother Nature said it was going to be too hot for all of that, so I ended up wearing my ThunderCats skirt with the matching jacket and a red turtleneck on Friday, my Toad (Super Mario Bros.) cosplay on Saturday, and I wasn't feeling great on Sunday, so I just threw on a t-shirt and jeans.  I was originally supposed to wear my Mega Man T-shirt with my blue chiffon skirt, but I was just starting to feel ill, so I wasn't trying to dress up!  Another thing that I normally do that I didn't this year is take a lot of pictures.  I don't know if the costumes weren't remarkable or I just didn't care.  After 14 years of con-going, I may just be burnt out!  On the up side, I did get to see my friends Phyllicia Hart and Bertina Lomotey.  Unfortunately, I was kind of disoriented when I ran into Bertina and had no idea who she was, so I somehow found myself in the hands of Katsucon's medical staff.  They diagnosed me with low blood sugar, gave me some orange juice, and sent me on my way.  Bravo!  (And I mean that with the utmost sincerity).  I'm hoping next year's Katsucon (February 16-18, 2108) will be better!   In the meantime, I have the Sakura Matsuri to look forward to come springtime.  Also, a new con will be coming to Washington, DC this summer.  BlerdCon will be happening June 30-July 2!  (http://blerdcon.com/)  “Blerd” is an acronym for Black nerd; this has become a phrase embraced by minority nerds of all backgrounds, no matter what their skin color. The word blerd has evolved to become a symbol of unity for all nerds; BlerDCon is a team of lifetime geeks that has rallied around this concept to create a con for all.   Oh! And before BlerdCon, there will be Awesome Con.  (http://awesome-con.com/) Though why they put that one during Father's Day weekend is beyond me!  I've got a busy season ahead of me!  Not a free weekend in sight for the foreseeable future!  Ah!  The life of an Otaku!