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argurotoxosWritten at last. Since there's roughly a month to cover, it's not as detailed as it might otherwise have been and there's not much emotion or reflection in this write-up since I primarily wanted to document the happenings. For PortCon and New Hampshire, I've based my descriptions on a combination of my memory and a set of quick notes I kept in a notepad for the purpose of remembering what happened on what day.
Everything is under cuts based on location and further sub-divided by date. Photo links are within the text.
-PortConMaine 2008-
Thursday, 3 July
This was the first day of PortCon, though only for pre-registered attendees. Originally, Sarah, Kun, and I were going to meet Shampoo at the hotel and stay with her until Saturday night, but we had a number of last minute complications this year, not the least of which being that Sarah wasn't able to get her birth certificate needed to cross the Canada-US border in time and Kun was sick. It was questionable for a while whether or not any of us would even attend PortCon, although I must admit that my reactions seem over dramatic in hindsight. There are few things I'm passionate enough about to be emotionally invested in, but I never tied this together with an overblown sense of upheaval and emotionalism if threatened.
Nevertheless, in the end, everything worked out for the best. Kun was still feeling under the weather Thursday, but came on Friday. Sarah had to miss PortCon, but was able to come at the end of July; it would have been difficult fitting her into the hotel room if she had made it. And so, even though I didn't attend PortCon on Thursday, I dressed up as L (Death Note) and spent time with my mum and aunt in Portland.
Friday, 4 July
My mum and I met Kun and her mother at the ferry terminal at 12:45 PM. After saying 'bye' to my mum, we loaded my luggage into Taco (the name of Kun's family's van) and made our way to the hotel. We ran into one of Kun's friends from high school early on and she graciously helped us carry everything up to the hotel room we were sharing with Shampoo and Tanya. The room itself was nice, although strangely set up. For one, the passage from the door to the beds was very narrow and we couldn't leave the bathroom door open without completely blocking this hallway. The other noteworthy unusual design feature was that the sink was located next to the bed with a vanity around it rather than in the bathroom.
Once we were moved in, Kun and I changed into Tenma (Harukanaru Toki no Naka de) and Killua (Hunter x Hunter), respectively, and made our way down to the main desk to pick up our badges. While we were there, Kun asked whether there was any space left for Masquerade walk-ons; I was expecting us to be out of luck (it was already Friday afternoon), but there were two left. I hadn't been in the Masquerade since PortCon 2004 and Kun since PortCon 2006, so we decided to do a walk-on together regardless of the fact that we didn't have any cosplays from the same series with us.
From there, it was the usual wandering around the convention and hoping to catch sight of some familiar faces. I ran into Jekka fairly early on and saw her several more times before the night was over, but it wasn't until past dinnertime that we came across Kelsey. Or, rather, that Kelsey ran over and flying tackled me, which led to the largest bruise on my leg I've ever had. It was a lovely purple and green for the next week. Oddly, it was the only time Kelsey and I met while we were both cosplaying Hunter x Hunter (she was York Shin-style Kurapika).
Since Friday was the Forth of July, we decided to see the fireworks. Unfortunately, we left a bit late and I underestimated where the best viewing location would be (both my fault), but we still caught the last five or so minutes of the show.
Saturday, 5 July
Kun and I (cosplaying as Nami [One Piece] and Killua) met up with Nate and Minkus in the morning. We talked and had breakfast, then went to watch the Sonic the Hedgehog movie in Japanese. 'Sonikku!'
We had to meet at the balcony above the ballroom for Masquerade set-up by 2 PM, but Kun and I hung around that area starting around noon. Nate, Minkus, Kun's high school friend from the night before, Kun, and I played a card game called Fluxx with another attendee to pass the time.
After we had lined up for the Masquerade, Jekka came over to say 'hi'. She was cosplaying Ritsuka (Loveless) [!], who I had taken out of my cosplay line-up once I learned that Sarah wasn't coming. It was a nice surprise and I dare say she makes a better (and cuter) Ritsuka than me; Jekka and Jenny moderated the Masquerade as Ritsuka and Soubi.
Kun and I decided that all we were going to do for our walk-on was get up on stage and pose back-to-back. Sounds simple, but I was still nervous and probably shaking. Still, I'd have been more anxious if I had tried to go alone. I vaguely remember someone from the audience shouting something about Killua after we left the stage, but I couldn't make it out; Kun and I made our way back to the balcony to watch the rest of the Masquerade.
The Rave was Saturday night. Kun and I both took showers to get rid of our wig!hair, then she changed into Luffy (One Piece) while I just wore my Ritsuka top and a long black skirt I had bought with Maria-sama ga Miteru in mind. We spent the Rave dancing in a group with alternatingly consisted of Kun, Shampoo, Tanya, two of Kun's One Piece friends (whom she met earlier at the con), and myself. Ironically, Kun was the one who made it through the entire Rave while Shampoo, Tanya, and I all called it a night before the end.
Sunday, 6 July
The last day of the convention. I coplsayed Hisoka (Yami no Matsuei), as has been the established trend except for PortCon 2007. In the morning, we packed, put the room back together, and moved our luggage out. Jekka and I met again down in the dealers' room, where we were able to talk and exchange gifts. She gave me a Tomari figure from the series Kashimashi; I gave her a small owl figurine from Athens.
Kun and I left shortly after noon. And that was PortCon 2008.
Overall, a lot of fun and one of the best conventions I've been to, although I don't anything can replace PortCon 2004 (my first convention) or 2005 (the year I staffed) in my mind. My photos from PortCon 2008 are here; Kun's are here.
There were some surprises. I was expecting fewer Loveless cosplayers. Also, from comparing mine and Kelsey's experiences, it seems more people react to Kurapika than to Killua. Finally, I barely spent any money in the dealers' room or Artist Alley; I didn't expect to spend more than $40 to begin with, but there simply wasn't much there that I wanted.
-New Hampshire-
Monday, 7 July
Monday was a down day. Both Kun and I were tired, with a bit of post-convention depression. I expect we talked and possibly watched Houshin Engi.
Tuesday, 8 July
Kun and I went shopping with Caitlin (whose name I hope I spelled correctly) and Shara (whom I hadn't seen since Anime Boston 2006). We went to Borders, Barnes & Noble, Newbury Comics, and a few other places. (. . . I did say that this would be short and lacking detail, didn't I?)
Wednesday, 9 July
We saw Tomo! The three of us ate dinner at Uno's, talked, and split a Giant Peanut Butter Cup (which may not be what it's actually called).
Thursday, 10 July
Kun and I were originally going to take Saki (her puppy) and go for a hike and outdoor lunch in the woods, but the mosquitoes were brutal and we hadn't brought any bug spray. We came back after about an hour and swam in the pool.
Friday, 11 July
Nate and Minkus came over. We watched the Sonic the Hedgehog movie in English and played both Scrabble and Twister.
Saturday, 12 July
Kelsey, Tomo, Kevin, Kun, and I all got together to have dinner at Ginger Garden (Chinese), play in the pool, eat s'mores, and talk.
Sunday, 13 July
Tomo and Kesley spent the night. We were originally going to go to Mary-Ann's Diner for brunch, but there was a wait and we went to Uno's instead. Tomo and Kesley left in the early afternoon; Kun and I had dinner with her parents, grandparents, her sister, and her sister's fiancé.
Monday, 14 July
Kun and I visited Shampoo. We had dinner at Chili's, then met Tanya in the mall.
Tuesday, 15 July/Wednesday, 16 July
The only thing I have written for these days is 'crêpes?' because I know Kun made them one of the two days. They were delicious. If you can't tell, I had neglected to keep my notepad updated and then couldn't remember exactly what happened on what day when I sat down a week later. I'm generally good at remembering particular events, but not when they happened.
In any case, since I don't have anything else to say for these two days, I'll just list the anime and manga series we watched and read over the time I was at Kun's. We finally finished watching Houshin Engi and Strawberry Eggs, started Infinite Ryvius and Heat Guy J, and saw most of the Ranma 1/2 OVA. I read all of Yurara, re-read all of Pet Shop of Horrors (I borrowed Kelsey's copies), and got through the first nine volumes of Fruits Basket.
Thursday, 17 July
Kun and I tried eating Spaghettios, which was a major disappointment. (They're not as good as they used to be.) However, it also apparently made us hyper. I had just finished reading Yurara and liked it, so Kun and I decided to run out to Goodwill and throw together cosplays for Mei (for her) and Takatoki (for me). We also stopped at Shaw's to buy ingredients for Shirley Temples.
It was much fun. My photos are here; Kun's are here.
Friday, 18 July
Kun and I picked Shara up and went shopping. That is all I have written.
Saturday, 19 July
I went over to Kelsey's and spent the day and night with her. We briefly considered seeing The Dark Knight, but thought lines would be too bad on opening weekend, plus I wanted Sarah to see it with us. Instead, we watched Batman and Robin, which is so bad it's moderately hilarious. We also watched episodes of Bones and ended the night with the Avatar finale - which I liked even though I've only seen two other episodes in the series - and a few episodes of Hunter x Hunter.
Sunday, 20 July
Kelsey and I visited a video rental store in hopes of picking up either Gotham Knight or Jacob's Ladder, neither of which they had, but they were selling off their old VHS; I picked up a Sherlock Holmes movie, an Outer Limits episode (guest-starring David McCallum of all people), and a volume of Yes, Prime Minister for less than $1. However, both Kelsey and I decided we still wanted to see Gotham Knight, so we went to BestBuy and split the cost. It was very good, much better than either of us expected.
Kun came over in the evening. We ate dinner with Kelsey's mum, then watched some episodes of Family Guy, American Dad, and Gargoyles.
Monday, 21 July
Kun, Tomo, and I went to Shampoo's and spent the day with her.
Tuesday, 22 July
Kun and I went out shopping and stopped at Goodwill, Newbury Comics, and a few other places. We tried on collars at Petco. Kun also bought blue hair dye, although we didn't get a chance to use it.
Wednesday, 23 July
Shara, Kun, and I went to Goodwill and the mall. In the evening, Tomo came over and the four of us sang karaoke.
Thursday, 24 July
More random cosplays! I took pictures of Kun's Kouji cosplay from Infinite Ryvius (my photos are here; her's here), then we decided to have a random Yuu Yuu Hakusho photoshoot with Kun as Yuusuke and me as Hiei. Kun offered to dye her hair a blue-black for Yuusuke, but unfortunately we had a minor disaster in the bathroom when some of the dye got on the door and walls. It washed off well enough; we cleaned the entire bathroom while we were at it.
My photos of the Yuu Yuu Hakusho photoshoot are here, Kun's here. I didn't have any black face paint with me, so I mixed purple with the blue and red I did have for Hiei's dragon and jagan. That's also my real hair that's spiked up with styling glue and lots of hairspray; it wasn't the nightmare to wash out that I thought it would be.
Finally (yes, it was a busy day), Kun and I changed out of cosplay and picked up Shara and Shampoo to eat dinner at Cracker Barrel before going to the Breezeway for Tomo's last drag performance in the immediate future. The occasion was that one of Tomo's drag sisters was going back to Brazil and he wanted to perform on the night of her last show. I felt less uncomfortable than I did the last time (which was my first time at a club/bar) and I enjoyed myself.
Friday, 25 July
Sarah arrived. Kun and I picked her up from the train station in Haverhill. After settling her in a bit, we picked up Shampoo and we went swimming and made a giant chocolate chip cookie. We also had a random photoshoot with all four of us in (mostly) non-series matching outfits. My photos are here; Kun's are here.
Saturday, 26 July
Sarah, Kun, and me. Kun took a nap in the afternoon while Sarah and I went swimming, then we all went out for ice cream (both for-puppy and for-human varieties) and watched Ranma 1/2 and Flint the Time Detective.
Sunday, 27 July
Sarah, Kun, Tomo, and I went to Shampoo's and spent the day with her. We made food at her house (which was provided in large quantities by Kun's mum), talked, and watched Shrek, random things online, and the first episode of NANA.
Monday, 28 July
Kun drove Sarah and me to the bus station; our bus left at 9:30 AM. Which leads us into the next part . . .
-Sarah's visit-
Monday, 28 July, continued
For some unfathomable reason, I neglected to consider what I mess I am after I leave Kun's. Sarah put up with me well, but I had the usual crying spells throughout the day. We transferred from the bus to the train in Boston. The overall price ended up being more than expected, but it was still cheaper than taking the bus the entire way would have been.
I thought I wouldn't need to keep a notepad with dates for Sarah's visit, but it's taken me longer to type this than I anticipated, so I might put a few of the events on the wrong days.
Tuesday, 29 July
I showed Sarah around. There's more to do within walking distance than I considered, though it's still not ingratiating me. Spent some time in one of the elementary school's playgrounds before walking over to the park. We ended up at CVS and the local grocery store to stock up on food for the week. I believe we watched the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Our Man Bashir" (the James Bond parody) and a Man From U.N.C.L.E. episode this night.
Wednesday, 30 July
Sarah and I watched Amadeus. We also went to the grocery store with my mum to buy sushi for a picnic lunch. On the way back, we also stopped at Wal-Mart, which I generally avoid but is the only place nearby that sells music CDs, one of which Sarah wanted. I also wanted to buy the special edition of Gotham Knight (it was that good) and also picked up TMNT and a DVD set of some of the 1940s Batman serials. Sarah bought several things, including the 1960s Batman movie, which we watched when we got back. At some point, we also watched the A-Team episode with Murdock's infamous trash bags.
Thursday, 31 July
We saw The Dark Knight. I wrote my impression/review here. I considered going in Joker make-up, but we were going to be walking around the city after, which would probably have been . . . awkward. Sarah and I met my mum at the library, then ate dinner at a crêperie.
Friday, 1 August
Sarah and I had our sushi lunch at the park while cosplaying Hikaru no Go, her as Waya and me as Isumi. My photos are here; Sarah's photos aren't linked because they haven't been uploaded yet. We also did a Loveless photoshoot when we got back with her as Kio and me as Ritsuka; my photos are here. The two of us sang a bit of random karaoke, then watched Interview With The Vampire and the first part of the musical Lestat.
Saturday, 2 August/Sunday, 3 August/Monday, 4 August
We finished watching Lestat (the San Francisco version), which I liked more than I did when I first saw it. At least I think that's what we did on Sunday; my day order is blurry from this point. Regardless, we did finish Lestat and also watched The Queen of the Damned and the Kyouto arc of Yami no Matsuei. After the latter, I felt like cosplaying Tsuzuki and we ate dinner at the Dragon Garden (Chinese), which wasn't as good as it used to be.
Tuesday, 5 August
Sarah's last full day. We ordered pizza from Domino's for dinner and watched episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Most of the afternoon and night was spent trying to do everything we hadn't done yet, including looking at the Hunter x Hunter Gameboy games Sarah had and looking at Armand wigs. We packed, though we talked into the night and didn't end up falling asleep until around 5 AM.
Wednesday, 6 August
Sarah's bus left at 8:40 AM. My dad and I dropped her off. I have a list of things we had planned to watch but didn't: Gotham Knight, the 1940s Batman, Gankutsuou, more Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the Death Note movie, the second Hellboy movie (primarily Sarah's suggestion; I didn't like the first movie), Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz, Hellsing, Rocky Horror, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Camelot, and Card Captor Sakura. We also didn't play any Vampire: The Masquerade or much Thief. At Kun's, we never went to Canobie or the ocean. Nevertheless, I am happy with what we did do and don't regret not doing more.
Everything is under cuts based on location and further sub-divided by date. Photo links are within the text.
-PortConMaine 2008-
Thursday, 3 July
This was the first day of PortCon, though only for pre-registered attendees. Originally, Sarah, Kun, and I were going to meet Shampoo at the hotel and stay with her until Saturday night, but we had a number of last minute complications this year, not the least of which being that Sarah wasn't able to get her birth certificate needed to cross the Canada-US border in time and Kun was sick. It was questionable for a while whether or not any of us would even attend PortCon, although I must admit that my reactions seem over dramatic in hindsight. There are few things I'm passionate enough about to be emotionally invested in, but I never tied this together with an overblown sense of upheaval and emotionalism if threatened.
Nevertheless, in the end, everything worked out for the best. Kun was still feeling under the weather Thursday, but came on Friday. Sarah had to miss PortCon, but was able to come at the end of July; it would have been difficult fitting her into the hotel room if she had made it. And so, even though I didn't attend PortCon on Thursday, I dressed up as L (Death Note) and spent time with my mum and aunt in Portland.
Friday, 4 July
My mum and I met Kun and her mother at the ferry terminal at 12:45 PM. After saying 'bye' to my mum, we loaded my luggage into Taco (the name of Kun's family's van) and made our way to the hotel. We ran into one of Kun's friends from high school early on and she graciously helped us carry everything up to the hotel room we were sharing with Shampoo and Tanya. The room itself was nice, although strangely set up. For one, the passage from the door to the beds was very narrow and we couldn't leave the bathroom door open without completely blocking this hallway. The other noteworthy unusual design feature was that the sink was located next to the bed with a vanity around it rather than in the bathroom.
Once we were moved in, Kun and I changed into Tenma (Harukanaru Toki no Naka de) and Killua (Hunter x Hunter), respectively, and made our way down to the main desk to pick up our badges. While we were there, Kun asked whether there was any space left for Masquerade walk-ons; I was expecting us to be out of luck (it was already Friday afternoon), but there were two left. I hadn't been in the Masquerade since PortCon 2004 and Kun since PortCon 2006, so we decided to do a walk-on together regardless of the fact that we didn't have any cosplays from the same series with us.
From there, it was the usual wandering around the convention and hoping to catch sight of some familiar faces. I ran into Jekka fairly early on and saw her several more times before the night was over, but it wasn't until past dinnertime that we came across Kelsey. Or, rather, that Kelsey ran over and flying tackled me, which led to the largest bruise on my leg I've ever had. It was a lovely purple and green for the next week. Oddly, it was the only time Kelsey and I met while we were both cosplaying Hunter x Hunter (she was York Shin-style Kurapika).
Since Friday was the Forth of July, we decided to see the fireworks. Unfortunately, we left a bit late and I underestimated where the best viewing location would be (both my fault), but we still caught the last five or so minutes of the show.
Saturday, 5 July
Kun and I (cosplaying as Nami [One Piece] and Killua) met up with Nate and Minkus in the morning. We talked and had breakfast, then went to watch the Sonic the Hedgehog movie in Japanese. 'Sonikku!'
We had to meet at the balcony above the ballroom for Masquerade set-up by 2 PM, but Kun and I hung around that area starting around noon. Nate, Minkus, Kun's high school friend from the night before, Kun, and I played a card game called Fluxx with another attendee to pass the time.
After we had lined up for the Masquerade, Jekka came over to say 'hi'. She was cosplaying Ritsuka (Loveless) [!], who I had taken out of my cosplay line-up once I learned that Sarah wasn't coming. It was a nice surprise and I dare say she makes a better (and cuter) Ritsuka than me; Jekka and Jenny moderated the Masquerade as Ritsuka and Soubi.
Kun and I decided that all we were going to do for our walk-on was get up on stage and pose back-to-back. Sounds simple, but I was still nervous and probably shaking. Still, I'd have been more anxious if I had tried to go alone. I vaguely remember someone from the audience shouting something about Killua after we left the stage, but I couldn't make it out; Kun and I made our way back to the balcony to watch the rest of the Masquerade.
The Rave was Saturday night. Kun and I both took showers to get rid of our wig!hair, then she changed into Luffy (One Piece) while I just wore my Ritsuka top and a long black skirt I had bought with Maria-sama ga Miteru in mind. We spent the Rave dancing in a group with alternatingly consisted of Kun, Shampoo, Tanya, two of Kun's One Piece friends (whom she met earlier at the con), and myself. Ironically, Kun was the one who made it through the entire Rave while Shampoo, Tanya, and I all called it a night before the end.
Sunday, 6 July
The last day of the convention. I coplsayed Hisoka (Yami no Matsuei), as has been the established trend except for PortCon 2007. In the morning, we packed, put the room back together, and moved our luggage out. Jekka and I met again down in the dealers' room, where we were able to talk and exchange gifts. She gave me a Tomari figure from the series Kashimashi; I gave her a small owl figurine from Athens.
Kun and I left shortly after noon. And that was PortCon 2008.
Overall, a lot of fun and one of the best conventions I've been to, although I don't anything can replace PortCon 2004 (my first convention) or 2005 (the year I staffed) in my mind. My photos from PortCon 2008 are here; Kun's are here.
There were some surprises. I was expecting fewer Loveless cosplayers. Also, from comparing mine and Kelsey's experiences, it seems more people react to Kurapika than to Killua. Finally, I barely spent any money in the dealers' room or Artist Alley; I didn't expect to spend more than $40 to begin with, but there simply wasn't much there that I wanted.
-New Hampshire-
Monday, 7 July
Monday was a down day. Both Kun and I were tired, with a bit of post-convention depression. I expect we talked and possibly watched Houshin Engi.
Tuesday, 8 July
Kun and I went shopping with Caitlin (whose name I hope I spelled correctly) and Shara (whom I hadn't seen since Anime Boston 2006). We went to Borders, Barnes & Noble, Newbury Comics, and a few other places. (. . . I did say that this would be short and lacking detail, didn't I?)
Wednesday, 9 July
We saw Tomo! The three of us ate dinner at Uno's, talked, and split a Giant Peanut Butter Cup (which may not be what it's actually called).
Thursday, 10 July
Kun and I were originally going to take Saki (her puppy) and go for a hike and outdoor lunch in the woods, but the mosquitoes were brutal and we hadn't brought any bug spray. We came back after about an hour and swam in the pool.
Friday, 11 July
Nate and Minkus came over. We watched the Sonic the Hedgehog movie in English and played both Scrabble and Twister.
Saturday, 12 July
Kelsey, Tomo, Kevin, Kun, and I all got together to have dinner at Ginger Garden (Chinese), play in the pool, eat s'mores, and talk.
Sunday, 13 July
Tomo and Kesley spent the night. We were originally going to go to Mary-Ann's Diner for brunch, but there was a wait and we went to Uno's instead. Tomo and Kesley left in the early afternoon; Kun and I had dinner with her parents, grandparents, her sister, and her sister's fiancé.
Monday, 14 July
Kun and I visited Shampoo. We had dinner at Chili's, then met Tanya in the mall.
Tuesday, 15 July/Wednesday, 16 July
The only thing I have written for these days is 'crêpes?' because I know Kun made them one of the two days. They were delicious. If you can't tell, I had neglected to keep my notepad updated and then couldn't remember exactly what happened on what day when I sat down a week later. I'm generally good at remembering particular events, but not when they happened.
In any case, since I don't have anything else to say for these two days, I'll just list the anime and manga series we watched and read over the time I was at Kun's. We finally finished watching Houshin Engi and Strawberry Eggs, started Infinite Ryvius and Heat Guy J, and saw most of the Ranma 1/2 OVA. I read all of Yurara, re-read all of Pet Shop of Horrors (I borrowed Kelsey's copies), and got through the first nine volumes of Fruits Basket.
Thursday, 17 July
Kun and I tried eating Spaghettios, which was a major disappointment. (They're not as good as they used to be.) However, it also apparently made us hyper. I had just finished reading Yurara and liked it, so Kun and I decided to run out to Goodwill and throw together cosplays for Mei (for her) and Takatoki (for me). We also stopped at Shaw's to buy ingredients for Shirley Temples.
It was much fun. My photos are here; Kun's are here.
Friday, 18 July
Kun and I picked Shara up and went shopping. That is all I have written.
Saturday, 19 July
I went over to Kelsey's and spent the day and night with her. We briefly considered seeing The Dark Knight, but thought lines would be too bad on opening weekend, plus I wanted Sarah to see it with us. Instead, we watched Batman and Robin, which is so bad it's moderately hilarious. We also watched episodes of Bones and ended the night with the Avatar finale - which I liked even though I've only seen two other episodes in the series - and a few episodes of Hunter x Hunter.
Sunday, 20 July
Kelsey and I visited a video rental store in hopes of picking up either Gotham Knight or Jacob's Ladder, neither of which they had, but they were selling off their old VHS; I picked up a Sherlock Holmes movie, an Outer Limits episode (guest-starring David McCallum of all people), and a volume of Yes, Prime Minister for less than $1. However, both Kelsey and I decided we still wanted to see Gotham Knight, so we went to BestBuy and split the cost. It was very good, much better than either of us expected.
Kun came over in the evening. We ate dinner with Kelsey's mum, then watched some episodes of Family Guy, American Dad, and Gargoyles.
Monday, 21 July
Kun, Tomo, and I went to Shampoo's and spent the day with her.
Tuesday, 22 July
Kun and I went out shopping and stopped at Goodwill, Newbury Comics, and a few other places. We tried on collars at Petco. Kun also bought blue hair dye, although we didn't get a chance to use it.
Wednesday, 23 July
Shara, Kun, and I went to Goodwill and the mall. In the evening, Tomo came over and the four of us sang karaoke.
Thursday, 24 July
More random cosplays! I took pictures of Kun's Kouji cosplay from Infinite Ryvius (my photos are here; her's here), then we decided to have a random Yuu Yuu Hakusho photoshoot with Kun as Yuusuke and me as Hiei. Kun offered to dye her hair a blue-black for Yuusuke, but unfortunately we had a minor disaster in the bathroom when some of the dye got on the door and walls. It washed off well enough; we cleaned the entire bathroom while we were at it.
My photos of the Yuu Yuu Hakusho photoshoot are here, Kun's here. I didn't have any black face paint with me, so I mixed purple with the blue and red I did have for Hiei's dragon and jagan. That's also my real hair that's spiked up with styling glue and lots of hairspray; it wasn't the nightmare to wash out that I thought it would be.
Finally (yes, it was a busy day), Kun and I changed out of cosplay and picked up Shara and Shampoo to eat dinner at Cracker Barrel before going to the Breezeway for Tomo's last drag performance in the immediate future. The occasion was that one of Tomo's drag sisters was going back to Brazil and he wanted to perform on the night of her last show. I felt less uncomfortable than I did the last time (which was my first time at a club/bar) and I enjoyed myself.
Friday, 25 July
Sarah arrived. Kun and I picked her up from the train station in Haverhill. After settling her in a bit, we picked up Shampoo and we went swimming and made a giant chocolate chip cookie. We also had a random photoshoot with all four of us in (mostly) non-series matching outfits. My photos are here; Kun's are here.
Saturday, 26 July
Sarah, Kun, and me. Kun took a nap in the afternoon while Sarah and I went swimming, then we all went out for ice cream (both for-puppy and for-human varieties) and watched Ranma 1/2 and Flint the Time Detective.
Sunday, 27 July
Sarah, Kun, Tomo, and I went to Shampoo's and spent the day with her. We made food at her house (which was provided in large quantities by Kun's mum), talked, and watched Shrek, random things online, and the first episode of NANA.
Monday, 28 July
Kun drove Sarah and me to the bus station; our bus left at 9:30 AM. Which leads us into the next part . . .
-Sarah's visit-
Monday, 28 July, continued
For some unfathomable reason, I neglected to consider what I mess I am after I leave Kun's. Sarah put up with me well, but I had the usual crying spells throughout the day. We transferred from the bus to the train in Boston. The overall price ended up being more than expected, but it was still cheaper than taking the bus the entire way would have been.
I thought I wouldn't need to keep a notepad with dates for Sarah's visit, but it's taken me longer to type this than I anticipated, so I might put a few of the events on the wrong days.
Tuesday, 29 July
I showed Sarah around. There's more to do within walking distance than I considered, though it's still not ingratiating me. Spent some time in one of the elementary school's playgrounds before walking over to the park. We ended up at CVS and the local grocery store to stock up on food for the week. I believe we watched the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Our Man Bashir" (the James Bond parody) and a Man From U.N.C.L.E. episode this night.
Wednesday, 30 July
Sarah and I watched Amadeus. We also went to the grocery store with my mum to buy sushi for a picnic lunch. On the way back, we also stopped at Wal-Mart, which I generally avoid but is the only place nearby that sells music CDs, one of which Sarah wanted. I also wanted to buy the special edition of Gotham Knight (it was that good) and also picked up TMNT and a DVD set of some of the 1940s Batman serials. Sarah bought several things, including the 1960s Batman movie, which we watched when we got back. At some point, we also watched the A-Team episode with Murdock's infamous trash bags.
Thursday, 31 July
We saw The Dark Knight. I wrote my impression/review here. I considered going in Joker make-up, but we were going to be walking around the city after, which would probably have been . . . awkward. Sarah and I met my mum at the library, then ate dinner at a crêperie.
Friday, 1 August
Sarah and I had our sushi lunch at the park while cosplaying Hikaru no Go, her as Waya and me as Isumi. My photos are here; Sarah's photos aren't linked because they haven't been uploaded yet. We also did a Loveless photoshoot when we got back with her as Kio and me as Ritsuka; my photos are here. The two of us sang a bit of random karaoke, then watched Interview With The Vampire and the first part of the musical Lestat.
Saturday, 2 August/Sunday, 3 August/Monday, 4 August
We finished watching Lestat (the San Francisco version), which I liked more than I did when I first saw it. At least I think that's what we did on Sunday; my day order is blurry from this point. Regardless, we did finish Lestat and also watched The Queen of the Damned and the Kyouto arc of Yami no Matsuei. After the latter, I felt like cosplaying Tsuzuki and we ate dinner at the Dragon Garden (Chinese), which wasn't as good as it used to be.
Tuesday, 5 August
Sarah's last full day. We ordered pizza from Domino's for dinner and watched episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Most of the afternoon and night was spent trying to do everything we hadn't done yet, including looking at the Hunter x Hunter Gameboy games Sarah had and looking at Armand wigs. We packed, though we talked into the night and didn't end up falling asleep until around 5 AM.
Wednesday, 6 August
Sarah's bus left at 8:40 AM. My dad and I dropped her off. I have a list of things we had planned to watch but didn't: Gotham Knight, the 1940s Batman, Gankutsuou, more Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the Death Note movie, the second Hellboy movie (primarily Sarah's suggestion; I didn't like the first movie), Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz, Hellsing, Rocky Horror, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Camelot, and Card Captor Sakura. We also didn't play any Vampire: The Masquerade or much Thief. At Kun's, we never went to Canobie or the ocean. Nevertheless, I am happy with what we did do and don't regret not doing more.
