Well, the 'con has ended, and it was a moderate success. Got one figurine, a bunch of card game stuff, and some cosplay pics. It taught me a few things, which should make next year go even better.
-Nothing important was scheduled before 10AM. I made a point of never showing before 9:30, and it worked wonderfully. Got ~7 hours a night, and didn't crash any time after Day 1.
-If you've not done this before, you don't need as much food as you think, and you'll pack less than half as much drink as you deserve.
-HYDRATE. More importantly, pay attention to how you hydrate, and what you do it with. Space it out, mix it up, and lay off the energy drinks 1-2 hours before the end of the night. I went with some flavored water, some juice drinks, and one coffee drink (The Monster coffee options are remarkably good) a day, and I was covered beautifully.
-Just because you *can* carry it with you, doesn't mean you *should*. I was wearing a backpack and a lunchbox to carry a handful of games and a day's food/snacks. What I should've done was carry a smaller bag with half that stuff, and refresh it from a cooler in my car. Too much bulk.
-It's not enough to plan where, when and how. You also need to plan the what- specifically, what you're doing, and what is required to do it. A bit more planning would've made the difference between me not going to the rave, and me in a rave with fancy lights and ear protectors, dancing away.
-Never visit an exhibition hall immediately. Wait for a few hours, and the lines will be much more manageable.
My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.
I've been writing a bit.
-Nothing important was scheduled before 10AM. I made a point of never showing before 9:30, and it worked wonderfully. Got ~7 hours a night, and didn't crash any time after Day 1.
-If you've not done this before, you don't need as much food as you think, and you'll pack less than half as much drink as you deserve.
-HYDRATE. More importantly, pay attention to how you hydrate, and what you do it with. Space it out, mix it up, and lay off the energy drinks 1-2 hours before the end of the night. I went with some flavored water, some juice drinks, and one coffee drink (The Monster coffee options are remarkably good) a day, and I was covered beautifully.
-Just because you *can* carry it with you, doesn't mean you *should*. I was wearing a backpack and a lunchbox to carry a handful of games and a day's food/snacks. What I should've done was carry a smaller bag with half that stuff, and refresh it from a cooler in my car. Too much bulk.
-It's not enough to plan where, when and how. You also need to plan the what- specifically, what you're doing, and what is required to do it. A bit more planning would've made the difference between me not going to the rave, and me in a rave with fancy lights and ear protectors, dancing away.
-Never visit an exhibition hall immediately. Wait for a few hours, and the lines will be much more manageable.
My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.
I've been writing a bit.