I'm looking over all the stuff i got at ECCC this year, and I'm kind of ashamed. I have the same amount of stuff from THIS convention that i would have come home from any other convention with, but the difference is that at any other convention i would have spent only $20 to $30 for this amount of stuff. And how much did i spend this year?

$120

There are 3 items that I bought this year which are my main shame-points. Three items which I broke my own Rules of Engagement in order to purchase:

• The Girl Genius "Jagermonster" Leather Back Pack - $25 Extremely nice bag, high quality, and awesomely designed. Can't order them on-line, have to get them at conventions.
  
• Star Trek: The Manga TPB Signed by Wil Wheaton - $20 Cover price is just $10, but it was the very last copy that Wil had at the convention and I kinda had him sign it before asking about the price.
  
• Kung Fu Joe DVD Movie - $15 Awesome looking action/comedy filmed entirely in Bellingham, the writer/director was there and he was an awesome guy and the trailer for the movie looked awesome and I had the cash on me and... I have no other excuse. I didn't even try to talk him down on the price. I'm so ashamed :(

That's HALF the money I spent at the convention, all on just those three items! If I had saved that money till the end of the convention, I could have QUADRUPLED the amount of stuff i came home with! As it is, all I ended up with was about two long boxes full of comics, 5 posters, 3 T-Shirts, a gazillion pins and buttons, 5 Wonder Woman tiaras, 3 Flash rings, an Easter Egg dying kit, 4 Action Figures, 5 trade paperbacks, 4 bottles of Venom Energy Drink, a ton of various Trading Cards, 2 pieces of original artwork and of course the three items listed above. How sad :(

Day Two was full of way too much awesome! Starting with:



After that, here's the short list of Highlights:

• Having Wil Wheaton sign a book for me only to discover that i was short on cash, havng to come back and plunk the money down on his table while angrilly saying "There's your BLOOD MONEY, Wheaton... I hope ya CHOKE on it!"
  
  
• My "Escalator moment" with nelbailey and tigernatch, them going up and me going down and then being swallowed in the crowd as i paraquoted Joel Robinson as he paraquoted The Wizard "I can't stop it I don't know how it works GOODBYE FOLKS GOODBYE!!!"
  
  
• Being the only person in line to respond to Angus Oblong when he came in all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and said "There's my people... GOOD MORNING, PEOPLE!" Dead silence from the crowd till I waved back "GOOD MORNING, ANGUS OBLONG! WE LOVE YOU TOO!" or something to that cheesy effect.
  
  
• Hunting high and low for a Red Pen so that Angus could complete a piece of artwork.
  
  
• Finding, losing, and then finding again the Mythical Retailer Who Was Selling All Action Figures For $5. He was an awesome dude, giving away toys to kids and having a great time just being a retailer. I *had* to spend money at his table! Such actions must be rewarded!
  
  
• Getting to hang out with teegin, even though it was never as a group.
  
  
• Showing baeleth that not all prices are set in stone, and showing him that pretty much ANY ITEM that's priced at $40 can be had for $20 to $25 by the end of the convention.
  
  
• The sad realization that most Suicide Girls suffer from "Cheerleader Syndrome" (see episodes of "How I Met your Mother" for details)
  
  
• My last purchase of the day: Sifting through a box of comics, I turned to the retailer and said "I'm way too tired for this right now and the Con is about to end... will you take a dollar for the whole box?" Retailer said they couldn't POSSIBLY let it go for less than $5. I said all I have is $4. He said he'd be willing to come down on his asking price. I offered $3. SOLD! Long box of random comics for $3!
  
  
• Giving my very last Convention Dollar to Jennie Breeden of http://www.devilspanties.com just because I felt that I needed to pay her *something* for all the awesome comic strips :)

It was especially awesome to see that the three guests I was most excited to see - Wil Wheaton, Angus Oblong and Jennie Bredeen - were either COMPLETELY SOLD OUT (Wil and Jennie) or VERY, VERY SATISFIED with their amount of sales (I heard that Angus had one of his best profits here this year). THAT IS SO AWESOME!!!

Great convention, now to try and shake off my ConSARS.