At five in the morning, the NyQuil I had taken the night before to knock me out wore off, and my eyes flew open.

"Damn," I thought. Actually, I thought a word stronger then "damn", but I am trying to make this a PG site. "I'm not going to be able to go today."

I felt that horrible. My throat was still sore, my nose alternated between being clogged and needed a tissue every five minutes, and of course it and my cheeks were red and raw from using those tissues, and now here it was 5 AM, and I was already awake.

I agonized over this for another three hours. I thought about how I had bought a full weekend pass for the first time ever, and how I was already going to lose out because I couldn't go on Sunday, because it was Father's Day. I thought about how Lou was dressing up as Vash, and I wouldn't be there to be his Meryl. I thought about how I wasn't going to get to see Jamie, who I hadn't seen since Otakon last year, and I missed her terribly, and how I wasn't going to get to see Selphie Fairy, who always makes me smile. I tossed and turned and I couldn't get back to sleep, so finally I gave up and got up at 8 AM.

As soon as I stood up, I felt a little better. Oh, my throat still hurt, and my nose was still stuffed, to be sure. But I stood there, and I thought to myself, "If I had work today, I feel well enough to go in." I realize that's kind of backwards logic, that if I feel well enough to work, I feel well enough to have fun, but it made sense to me at the time. So I covered up my red nose with lots of makeup, got dressed, and out I went.

So if you see any pictures of me from this con where I'm doing that anime thing where my lips are slightly parted...I'm not doing it for dramatic effect. I was doing that to BREAHTE.

So again, I made excellent time to the con, and didn't have to wait on line, and this day, I had even less scheduled to do, so I could go anywhere and do anything on a moment's notice. Ger arrived with Lou around the same time I did, and since Ger had remarked yesterday that he felt left out not being in costume, I brought my pair of kitty ears for him to wear. I *almost* brought the tail for him as well, but I didn't want to press my luck. He looked adorable, and one girl even asked if she could squeeze his ears! I think he enjoyed that.

We met up with Jess and her group to have a little picnic lunch on the grass in the back of the hotel. That was really nice and relaxing, and I got to browse Tony's wedding album while we were waiting. Thank you so much, Tony! He also popped up to photograph FreakyArcher in her new EGL Saturn costume, which came out amazingly as usual. You know what drives me crazy? Incredibly talented people who complain about how much they suck. Do you know what sucks? Not being able to sew! Try that some time! :) And oh of course this rant was completely unrelated... ::grin::

Throughout the whole day, I kept trying Jamie's phone, going, "Where are you? Where are you?" Now, of course, she had a lot of things to do, what with just arriving that day, checking into her hotel, getting into her costume, and rehearsing her skit, because she and her friends were entering the masquerade that night. Well, finally, as we were heading outside, we found her. Yay! Lou and I pretty much tackled her from both sides at the same time, and I bit her a little bit on the shoulder because that's my best way of expressing my happiness sometimes. :) (That, and she had bare shoulders. How could I resist?) And then Lou picked her up in his arms so we could get another photo. That was too much fun. Also, Louis reports that Jamie officially weighs 50 pounds, if that. So now you know.

We grabbed Tony again so we could get some more photos, as Lou loves being Vash most of all, so we're always looking to take some cool shots. Tony got some great action ones, but then, I always love 1) his pictures and 2) pictures of Louis, so I'm admittedly a little biased. :)

Before we left for the day, I made sure we got a group photo of all of our "real life" friends at the con. It's funny; when I started going to anime conventions five years ago, it was primarily to meet new people, and see what all the fuss is about. Now anime conventions are like block parties to me--I'm seeing the same people I always see, plus some people I don't always get to see, but all in a really relaxed party setting, and none of us have to clean up afterwards. Plus, there's tons and tons of photographs. If there is a heaven after we die, that just might be it for me.

Although the coup d'etat of the day just might have been as we were walking back to the bus stop, when I heard Louis mutter under his breath, mostly to himself, "You know, these things are a lot more fun in costume then out of costume."

I LOVE being right.