Otakon 2009 – Day 0 – Nana Mizuki

Day 0 of Otakon 2009 has come and gone. At the end of the day good times were had, badges were picked up, plans for the con were made, and money for Nana Mizuki was taken.

Yes, that’s correct. Money was made in the name of Nana Mizuki.

Before I get to how money was lost again due to the Nana Mizuki kingdom, let me step back a bit and highlight the random ongoings of Day 0 of Otakon 2009.

If one has been following my twitter most of this will be a recap, but there should be a few random tidbits I didn’t write about as well.

The drive itself wasn’t too bad although how I made it without going nuts on a straight 3.5 hour drive down is beyond me. All I can thank is Monster (the drink), my Zune, and the hot weather for somehow keeping me up during the drive ^^;;

After meeting up with some of my roommates at the Renaissance, we headed to Five Guys for some quick food that would keep us alive while waiting in the pre-registration lines. And boy, thank god we had something as the lines were longer than the previous two years! Maybe I got lucky the last two years but this year, we had to wait a good 1.5 hours to get our badges… which would have been fine except I was sweating like a madman the whole time. I wouldn’t be surprised if I sweated out the Five Guys I ate while in line!

Anyway, after getting our badges it was a quick return to our hotel room to relax a bit before meeting up with Omo and random members of the MegaTokyo forums. The dinner itself was fine, nothing too special at Tir Na Nog, an Irish Bar & Grill. And while I did not talk too much to the other folks there, it was great catching up with Omo and his mis-adventures in Japan from a few weeks ago. Plus it was nice just to chill back with like minded individuals as we discussed plans for Otakon and other conventions in the future.

Great discussions aside, after dinner we split up as most of the MT folks lined up to get their badges while the rest of us chilled in the Hilton lobby for a bit. More discussion of Otakon, conventions, future plans for trips to Japan, and other “otaku” stuff kept the time at the Hilton lite and laid back. I may talk more about what Omo, Jabel, and myself talked about down the line but we’ll see depending on how the stars align ^_~

Eventually the MT crew finished getting their badges and it off to some light drinking at one of the local bars, Pickles, to cap off the night. More the usual otaku and general BS abound but just like the rest of the night, it was a nice way just to relax and prepare for the onslaught of Otakon the following day.

Drinks had, stories told, and good time had by all we parted ways a bit after midnight to get ready for tomorrow’s festivities. Well, almost all of us as I had to discuss with Omo and Lal about some Nana Mizuki related goods Omo mentioned a few weeks back ^^;; I won’t go into their mis-adventures in Japan since I wasn’t there, but Omo being the good man he is, and with the help of Lal picked up some of Nana Mizuki’s Live Diamond goods for me and it was high-time I paid them for it. And while they could not get me everything, overall I was pretty impressed with like the 70% they did manage to buy.

With money, goods, and thanks exchanged we parted ways back to our respective hotels. Some a bit richer while others a bit poorer, but overall I believe an excellent night had by all. I would talk more about the Nana goods but I believe danie has that covered rather thoroughly ^^;;

But yes, Nana Mizuki merchandise = both happy and sad Moy.

…. and I apologize in advance for the free flowing post. It’s way too early for me on a Friday morning (7AM) when I am vacation to try to write an coherent post. Figured, however, at least a few folks wanted a “live” report of sorts from the horse’s mouth about Otakon and whatever ongoings while I still remember everything ^^;;

Expect more updates depending on time and internet access! Also for those at or are going to Otakon, a few of us are thinking (epic) karaoke at the con this Saturday night similar to last year’s? Anyone interested, let me know!