Monkeys and keyboards aside, one Random + CSS still doesn't make poop.

Acen was awesome--and not just because I brought in a startling, somewhat depressing, record amount of money. zen_of_nihilism and I drove out from Pgh to Chicago in what would've been a 7.5 hour trip had we not gotten lost. Driving in Chicago is very much like taking Pittsburgh's lack of understandable street signs and mixing them with Washington DC's I-95 traffic insanity. (Let's just call it a bit of hell on earth.) But directional aptness aside, we still pulled it off in eight hours--and I immediately commenced my "Sleep is for the weak" con status. Getting buzzed at 5:30am by the planes coming into Ohare didn't help, but it made for some interesting moments as we stood at the window and worried out loud about them clipping our building.

At the Artists' Alley, I very quickly learned one thing--I hadn't made enough anklets. And I didn't make enough anklets. And even though I made anklets all weekend, I didn't have enough anklets. Or $40-range belts. Or piratey hair dangles. Or cowrie falls, or dreads.

There came a point where I stopped making things (for a few minutes) and just laughed about how my stock wheelie would be forty pounds lighter. It was a hysterical sort of laugh and I'm pretty sure Zen gave me an odd look for it. Then I went back into "OH SHIT!" panic mode. I didn't even get out of the alley all weekend--every time I tried, someone needed something resized or the table got swarmed. But that's okay, because the money was good and there were still epic noms.


So Chicago has a Mitsuwa. The Alley closed at 7, Mitsuwa closed at 8 . . . our group figured we'd run out there and eat. Except . . . we got lost again. Fifty U-turns later, I called purplepopple, who walked us in--and told us that Mitsuwa'd closed before we got there. (Contrary to popular belief, purplepopple has neither horns nor cooties nor rabies. She does have very small teeth, but that's no big deal. Just so you know.)

As Mitsuwa options were dead, purplepopple knew of this cool little Korean restaurant half a block away. I still don't remember the name of it, but it was the absolute best Asian restaurant I've been to. Ever. We played musical tables in order to get our group seated together, only to find that the group of Korean guys beside us were having a birthday party--and we were invited to help them drink. Their one recipe (involving a bowl, lemons, honey, ice, Korean vodka, and Japanese beer) later became our Bucket of Awesome.

Later, as well, we found out that the one guy at the birthday party was the manager of the restaurant/owner of the plaza. And so, we kept getting extra food. We spent three hours there the first night and two and a half the second. 'Twas fabulous. (This is also where I ate Godzilla/Godzillar, a sushi roll made with cream cheese, shrimp tempura, and crab meat, then covered in eel and avocado. OMGNom.) We made it to Mitsuwa before it closed on Sunday, so there were epic noms there as well.



But yeah. melodicrevival's friend bought a stuffed chocobo and named it Winston Churchill, so I hugged it. Same with the follow-up chocobo, Margaret Thatcher. A Doctor Who cosplayer had a plush Tardis, so I hugged it too. I talked to a few dealers who also had hell at NYAF, I took some neat pics here and there (which may or may not make it up), I drank a lot, I danced on the table at one point, and I tried to perpetually restock. It was good times.


Now to drop $300 on supplies, so I can do it all again next month at ANext. I am so screwed. :P