祭

This predates all of my surviving social media by a year. Recollection depends partially on recreation, a dangerous game when probing memory. The number of things that can be extracted are slim, but a few shapely landmarks persist.

• A hallway with mirrored ceiling, and a noisy rug.
  
• A central lobby with an exposed glass elevator.
  
• The vendor hall, where a stranger harrassed me as I bought a figure.
  

The first scene that truly stuck was the staircase to the left of the entrance. What were on those diorama? There was a tower, Godzilla? Certainly Sailor Moon. Faintly lingering, far in the background, detail stripped away, that image remains.

Where did I pick up a badge? Did I actually get one? I must have, because I ended up in the dealer hall. Only now do I remember that I didn't know I'd be going at all… Think! Roll back one more day!

…

This was only the beginning of my junior year of college. For the first time I was out of the campus dorms, and for the only time I was living with other people. Conrad lived in the duplex first, had the master bedroom with a bath. His girlfriend was a de facto roommate who should have been paying rent. But in the far room down the hall was Henry.

Henry was a philosophy minor who had memorized the southern hemisphere night sky as a kid, and who I knew liked anime. "You've got to watch Higurashi", he cried, in between pitches that I invest 80 hours apiece into Persona 3 and 4. In retrospect there are many flags that I didn't heed, but I was still in my anime honeymoon phase. A friend of mine was headed off to Aki Con for the weekend, wouldn't it be great to go?

I had no car and the con was a solid 2.5 hour drive away. Why would I not have lobbied for the full adventure? Was he busy? A hotel too daunting? We came to the agreement that he would decide how he felt at 5am Sunday morning for a one day spree. It's not as if I had any leverage.

At 0500 I tip-toe out of my room and bump into him in the hallway.
"Yo, you ready?" he says. As if he had confirmed beyond a doubt that we were doing this.

Of course I'm ready.

I don't remember the drive or what car he drove. I do remember getting into the city and feeling giddy.

---

Aki Con 2011
October 7-9, 2011
Hilton Bellevue
Bellevue, WA