DAY ONE: FRIDAY
Even though I knew it was going to be a small and relatively uneventful con, I couldn't wait to go to Bakuretsu; it had been too long since I'd last had an excuse to cosplay, and a nice low-stress November con was just what I needed. I was also looking forward to attending an event I could actually drive myself to. . . packing was a cinch! I had spent most of Thursday night ironing and putting the finishing touches on my costumes, but I still managed to get up, get the car loaded, and be on my may to Vermont by 9AM. The drive was easy and the Hampton Inn and Conference Center was a cinch to find, looming right above the off-ramp from the highway. As soon as I parked around 11 AM, I called my roommate, Dizzy, and found they were still getting dressed for the day. Picking up my luggage, I headed for the room -- a cosplay den filled with wig heads, fix-it boxes, ironing boards, props, makeup cases, and lots and lots of bags. Dizzy was in the midst of helping Starlightslk fix her hair into Temari from Naruto's signature style before getting into her Time-Jump costume, while he was doing Axl from Guilty Gear. Our other roommates, AkaneSaotome, Mike, and Mesoian were already dressed and headed out the door. I claimed a corner and threw on my Classic Rinoa Heartilly costume, and Starlightslk, Dizzy, and I headed out to get our badges and check out the con. 
There wasn't a whole lot to do at that point; after signing in and getting our pictures taken by several con-goers (the Temari fan was a huge hit, although a struggle for Starlightslk to take out and put back in its holster), we checked out the tiny dealer's room and a few of the tables in artist's alley, saying hi to PatrickD. After blowing through that, we found the rest of the roomies.
By this point it was almost dark, so we decided to head back to the con and see if things had picked up. Upon returning, we found a lot more people had shown up; school being out for the day probably helped. We hung out in the game room for a while, playing Naruto and Sailor Moon fighting games. Later, Starlightslk and I were pulled into the panel on how to start your own convention by PatrickD, where we hung out until con attendees began to pile in for the improv game., Anime Unscripted Being a big fan of the television show, Whose Line Is It Anyway? and having done some improv in the past, I jumped at the chance to volunteer. Starlightslk ended up being recruited for "Newscasters" and had to read the news as George W. Bush, while I was picked for “Superheroes” where four made-up characters need to solve a crisis. Since I was chosen to begin, the audience decided my super hero title (Spandexman) 
and the crisis (the world is out of Red Bull energy drink). I began pretty well; I pretended the con was wearing me out and mimed searching a fridge for more Red Bull. Finding none, I called the world (duh) to find more, but GASP! they were all out! A job for Spandexman! I then faked donning my spandex suit, and called on Twirls Her Hands In The Air Girl to help out, followed by Emo Kid. Things remained relatively funny, but then we weren’t sure how to wrap it up. Luckily, Twirls Her Hands In The Air Girl grabbed me from behind and turned me so the back of my Rinoa costume faced the audience. “Look,” she said. “we don’t need any Red Bull after all. You’ve got wings!” Brilliant. The rest of the show was fun to watch, and we even picked up a souvenir: a sign saying: “A Lost Little Girl Looking For Her Parents” from one of the games. Dizzy’s sister’s Meowth plushie was the first recipient of the sign which made the rounds of our group for the remainder of the weekend.
from my group to sit in the editor seating, I started to feel nervous. I had no idea how the crowd would react, although I felt slightly better when one of the other AMV makers said he’d seen my Tonight vid during a contest preview Thursday night and had liked it. I was also really excited to see the other entries, since I love music videos almost as much as I love costumes. On the whole, I enjoyed the other videos in the contest; I was surprisingly impressed by the high quality of some, given that it was such a small con, while others were obviously a first attempt at AMV making. The drama category was first, and there was an excellent Naruto vid entitled The Human Equation which immediately stood out. The song, editing, and quality of the footage were all excellent, and I ended up voting for that one. There was also a good Samurai X vid entitled Enjoy the Silence. 
The reception to my Tonight vid was decent; in fact, if was surprisingly well-received considering it's one of my weaker AMVs. Next up was the romance category, and my anxiety kicked into high gear. While I was able have a "whatever" attitude towards my Tonight screening given that I had entered it really just to test the waters, Breath of Release is my baby. I love it, and I was really on edge waiting to see if the audience would be moved or annoyed. Adding to my nerves was the fact that romance tends to be, in my opinion, the weakest category in AMV contests; perhaps it is because editors can't rely on flashy effects or fast music sync alone to make the vids work, or maybe because it is awfully difficult to create something "romantic" without it coming off as "cheesy." However, whether the audience loved my vid or not, 
I knew it was edited simply but effectively, and it had enough balance between gravity and romance that I firmly believed it wouldn't come off as ridiculous. Therefore, unlike Tonight which I never expected to even make it into the finals, I knew Breath of Release had a really decent chance of winning. As I was having these complex thoughts, the romance category got underway. I felt the first vids were pretty blah, but when they got to mine, I still had a difficult time watching it because I was so distracted trying to discern, from my spot in the front row, what people were thinking. On the whole, I'd say it was pretty mixed. Some parts people seemed to like, others some didn't. Of course, being a Final Fantasy video, I knew it was going to be an uphill battle with a good chunk of the audience, but even with that I really couldn't tell if people liked it or not, or if anyone was moved. 
I was a bit saddened by this, but mostly shrugged, decided I was still learning, and took comfort in the fact that I make all my videos for me first, and as long as I like it, that's what matters. After this point, the contest began to drag for me. There were lots of entries for action and humor, but none really interested me for a while. They also began pumping cool air into the ballroom right near where I was sitting, and I was starting to slowly freeze. Thankfully it was almost over, and with a couple of bright spots near the end. There was a really clever Kingdom Hearts AMV done to a song from the Broadway musical Wicked entitled Defying Gravity which I voted for, and there was also a really innovative vid called A Never-ending Dream done using Final Fantasy X-2. 
However, by the time the contest wrapped up, I was tired of sitting and relieved that I could finally turn in my votes and leave.