Back from Fan Expo 2006

I'll have more (and better) drawings done during the convention later.


Just got back from the Toronto 2006 Fan Expo. The rats had ran out of food when I arived home, even though I left them two huge fists full. o_O But they weren't probably hungry for very long, maybe a day. And they seem fine.


This has been the most difficulty I've ever had to get to that convention. Or to get anywhere for that matter. I couldn't take the train to get from Montreal to Toronto because since the Expo was held during the Labor Day weekend, it was too expensive. So I had to take the bus with a friend. We had to buy our bus tickets three times, because the cashier kept skrewing us over. And again, because of the fucking Labor Day weekend, the bus tickets were almost double what we expected paying. Then I was able to get us the only hostel beds available in Toronto during Labor Day weekend. The hostel turned turned out to be dirty and one of the guy sleeping in the dormitory had his cellphone ring at night. There was a final fuck up with the bus. We were forced to take the express bus, which normally would have been fine, but since we were leaving on Thursday night to arrive on Friday morning (at 6am), that meant we arrived in downtown Toronto at 3am instead. The bus station was closed, so we had to wait a few hours at a coffee shop. The Expo only opens at 2pm, so we were pretty much zombies for all of Friday.


As much as I was tired, I really had trouble sleeping at the hostel. I felt so bad on Saturday morning I wasn't even sure I could make it to the con. My stomach was all turned up from the lack of sleep. The rest of the weekend went more smoothly. I was able to sell enough stuff to pay for my expenses, so I'm not in the red. The Sex Sells sketchbook got sold out (I think I had 25 copies). Don't worry, there will be a 2nd print run for online sales. I met a lot of fans, and unlike last year, a lot of girls were buying my manga, which was a cheer up. X-) Trent also kept me company for a while. And thanks to him, someone thinks Sirkowski is black... And thanks to my friend Éric, I was able to sneak into the Diamond Industry Night without paying and got a free meal. I pity the sucker who paid to attend that diner though. There wasn't much there.


But in the end, here's my problem with the Toronto Expo. Either I take the train, a good hotel and I end up losing money. Or I take the bus, a shitty hostel, don't lose money, but spend an awfull weekend. Or I stay home. If I lived in Toronto it would be worth it, but making the trip from Montreal isn't. I'll concentrate on conventions in Montreal for the next years. I possibly got an invitation to the 2007 OtakuThon.


"Bring out the Gimp!"