What strange planet and time is this?

Another year, another San Japan.  I’ve been going since the beginning and its been getting bigger and better ever since.  This year, I helped out at the Original-Gamer.com table handing out flyers and helping out with Video Game Jeopardy, which was another rousing success.  Of course, I noticed a few things along the way:

1. The Valero on I-37 near the Beeville exit makes bacon and egg breakfast tacos with the bacon MIXED IN…I think I just found my new place to stop for a bite when traveling to and from  Corpus Christi.
2. The convention center is FREAKING HUGE…and they’re using less than 20% of it.  Wow.
3. This is probably the first time I’ve ever felt COLD at a convention, and that is AWESOME.
4. Those complaining about having to go back and forth between the hotel and convention center don’t remember the 1-block walk between the Municipal Auditorium and El Tropicana hotel the first 2 years.
5. After a two-year layoff, Water Ninjas are now re-employed.
6. Idea that sounded good on paper that didn’t quite work out as well as it could have: “Late Night Artist’s Alley”
7. Found it hilarious that the “Mu Epsilon Kappa” table was next to the “Ushicon” table.  The Ushicon mascot is an anthropomorphic cow girl.  Mu, indeed.
8. I don’t know if it was the Alamo Drafthouse or the Doctor Who Fans Unite group that bought the TARDIS along, but whomever it was, YOU ROCK.  UPDATE: It was the Doctor Who fan group.
9. Wacky Japanese thing I saw there: Nekomimi ears or “mood ears” as I like to call them.
10. Sign that people have too much money: Nekomimi ears.
11. You knew how important you were based on how ‘finished’ the art on your badge was; I’m sure the art on my Con Alley badge looks awesome once its inked and colored.
12. You can never have too many flyers.  Unfortunately, we didn’t.
13. Raffling off videogames is a good way to get people to come to your videogame website table.
14. If you’ve been advertising the fact that you’re also giving away videogames at Video Game Jeopardy, expect a packed panel room.
15. Is it wrong that I take evil delight when people don’t know the questions to our Video Game Jeopardy answers?
16. Surprisingly, the site’s review copy of the latest Naruto game was NOT the first one to go when we let the winner pick her prizes.
17. The main area was fairly spaced out, which is a good thing because it means they have room to grow.
18. Okay, maybe a little too spaced out, it looked a little empty initially.
19. Next time I should NOT take the camera out of the camera bag…I bought the bag with me on Sunday but left the camera on my desk.
20. Bought a pair of Chinese iron balls in the dealer’s area, I’ve always wanted some.
21. I found it hard to resist saying “I’ve got balls of steel” in Duke Nukem’s voice to several friends after acquiring them.
22. Does Egoraptor have a street team? I was randomly asked by someone, “Do you like Egoraptor? He’s over there.”  Unfortunately, I had to be somewhere at the time.
23. For the record, I said “He’s okay.”  I’ve never met him but I do find his work entertaining and insightful at times.
24. The parking lot behind the Rivercenter Mall sucks and I am never parking there again.
25. Even though I missed the first day of SJ due to a family gathering, I am still tired as all heck after the fact.
26. The attendance was over 9,400 so we can expect to hear lots of lame jokes for the next year.