Kalagei the Fox's Post K-Con Advice Topic

[kalagei]

Yet another Kumoricon has ended, and with the prospects of next year' convention to come, I thought that I (with my 4 years of K-con experience) would post a little advice for people wanting to attend next year. Please feel free to come in and add advice as you see fit.
Well, here's the list


1:  Bring twice as many socks/ underwear as you planned to bring. These things are hot and you'll be everyone's friend if you plan on changing them twice as much

2: Just because shoes look cool and are a part of your costum doesn't mean that they'll be comfortable for all three days of the con. Might be worth it to consider bringing those worn out nikes.

3: For those of us old enough too, bring extra cigarettes nothing spoils a con like running out of smokes at 2 am and going through nicotine withdrawal for the rest of the con.

4: Actually sleep. There are no events between 2 and 9 am for a reason.

5: Never Count on there being restaurants nearby to supply you with food/drink. A cooler filled with water/soda/Gatorade/energy drinks will save you. Also, those in room coffee pots are a great way to make top-ramen.

6: Never piss off the Yojimbo. Never know when you're going to need their help

7: If your sharing a room with anymore than 2 other people (I had 7 in mine) bring earplugs to sleep with, and remember, whoever goes to sleep last sleeps on the floor.

8: Never bring exactly enough money for room and food. If you don't bring extra money, you will starve.

9: WEAR DEODORANT!!! Consider this: Angry anime nerd + Sword that gets bought in dealer's room and isn't peace bonded yet + your smelly arm-pits = STAB

10: This goes with the last one, SHOWER!!! They have them in all of the rooms. If you run out of towels, ask anyone from housekeeping and they will get you more.

I feel this list is a good start. May this be a healthy jump off into the next Kumori-Con.

[totemo_oishii]

I want to stress the deodorant bit as well. I carried one in my bag throughout the whole con.

CON FUNK = BAD!

[Ryu-chan]

one thing i'd recommend, bring febreeze lol if ur wearing the same costume all 3 days....i made that mistake by not ;o; and my shirt stunk, and bring mouthwash

[Ren+Pocky]

Eat something sustaining, as in, something besides Ramune and pocky.

Wear some kind of undershirt under your costume so that your costume doesn't get all sweaty and gross. o__o That should be obvious.

[kalagei]

11: Don't bring alcohol. Especially if you're underage. It just creates drama

[Lit_of_Fey]

okay something weird I saw that really grossed me out (my room was right across from the workout facilities)

PEOPLE WERE WORKING OUT IN THEIR COSPLAYS.....wtf...WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY *dies*

why would you want to make your costume MORE sweaty and icky than normal DX PLUS you're getting OTHER PEOPLE'S sweat on you too.

okay rant over.

Um YES! haha I was considering bringing my axe around with me to spray other people with especially at the dance >_< no wonder no one would get too close to anyone else, (besides the whole paralyzing shyness thing) you might pass out from the noxious fumes >_<



BATHE!

[stcrx]

how about this one

If you don't have your deodorant with you, and you know you stink, go into any bathroom and wash your pits... even if it's just with a paper towel and some water!!!!

Those in the bathroom will not think you're gross - they'll more than likely be thankful that someone is taking initiative on the stinko-factor.

[rictheron]

  Bananas and Water will save your life!  When, like me, you get no sleep, no breaks, and no real food, bananas and water will save you.

    Drink at least a gallon of water every day, 2 if you are going to be physically active or the temperature is going to be high.  Soda pop is good and common but high amounts of sugar will leave you more thirsty, so counter productive.

    Eat some salt, this will help you retain that water.

    Eat high potassium foods.  Candy and chips are quick eats but burn off quick leaving you feeling more drained.  Bananas and Nuts are much better.

   Try to get some sleep.  I know there are plenty of things to keep you interested but if you collapse from exhaustion you might miss something you would rather see by doing something only minorly interesting.  And if any of my staff reads that last one I will never hear the end of it.

[kalagei]

I second the banana thing.

Also if you don't like the taste of water (lol) drink gatorade and orange juice. 

Both are serious win.

[Ryu-chan]

i third the Bananas! and the water thing xD i did a lot of karaoking so my throat was always dry lol probly a good thing cause i have so much fun that i forget im hungry or thirsty xD

[Sakaki Onsei]

Big thing that helped me during the con: If you have anything sour and can be in liquid form, make it so. Drinking something sour helps to quench the thirst and can also help to flavor water, so it's more palatable...especially if it's drinking water.

[TanisNikana]

Although it is tasty, cheap, and vaguely asian, RAMEN IS NOT GOOD FOR YOU IN LARGE QUANTITES.

There, it has been said.

[superjaz]

this s somthing i've noticed after goin to the past 5 k-cons
if you can eat one good meal a day during a con (perferably high in protein some dairy and veggies and gives you comfy feeling inside) it can give you miles of enegery and help you beat the con cold and the tummy pains from eatting too much crap

[reppy]

I second the deodorant notion. (I hope I didn't stink! You never know!) I made sure to shower + brush + mouth wash + deoderant + Old Spice spray/cologne daily.. I never noticed any unusual funk coming from myself.. >_> But you never know!

One thing I noticed that TOTALLY GROSSED ME OUT .. and I hope this isn't something with the girls too .. but .. I would go into the bathroom and when I was washing my hands .. well .. let's put it this way: I was one of the few that washed my hands after using this restroom. THAT'S DISGUSTING! WASH YOUR HANDS!!!!!!!!! If I meet people, it'd be nice to be able to shake their hand and not go, "I wonder where that thing was an hour ago.."

In fact, after shaking a lot of people's hands, some with questionable hygiene, I ended up thinking about it so much that I ended up running to the bathroom and washing my hands clean. Next time I'll be sure to bring a portable bottle of Purell with me, haha.

I've been contemplating setting up a semi-humor/semi-serious website about this very topic. Include all sorts of tips that the average person wouldn't need, but for some reason some otakus seem to overlook. ^_^;

[gemineye42]

Vendors could make some bank selling deodorant, perfumes and colognes, and soaps and shampoo/conditioners in the exhibitors hall, methinks!

[reppy]

Vendors could make some bank selling deodorant, perfumes and colognes, and soaps and shampoo/conditioners in the exhibitors hall, methinks!

With some people... I don't think it's a lack of access to those items.. it's a lack of care. ^_^; Maybe it'd be nice though, to have some sort of Perfume Brigade or something that would go around and spray people so they'd smell nice and pretty. :O I might volunteer for something like that!!

[rictheron]

I find that particularly amusing since there was a somewhat running gag between myself and the Ops Manager that we needed to assign someone to stand at the door to Ops and febreeze all the staff as they left.

[stcrx]

Sadly it is a problem in the girls bathroom, too. As one girl (me for example) washes her hands, 2 or 3 come out of a stall, fix their hair/makeup (yes, without washing), and leave.  kinda gross... kinda really gross.

[BlackjackGabbiani]

That's why I rarely shake hands with people any more. And I make sure that any guests to my house know that they have to wash their hands.

It's mostly men, but I find it even grosser when a woman doesn't wash, since the parts are "wetter". TMI, but still. And people *eat* with their hands, their UNWASHED hands! How sick is that? It's a wonder they don't all get bacteria infections.

[reppy]

That's horrible. There are 2 things in life that piss me off: people that don't wash their hands, people that litter and people that don't know how to count.