Toylanta prep

Firecons are kinda my mental mascot for this years con

It's Monday night as I'm writing this. I'm at my desk taking a small break from my work. Despite it only being a 4 day week this week (taking Friday off for the con), I'm pretty busy. I always try to make up ahead of time for time off I take as to not burden my department too much. It's also going to be a long week for a 4 day work week, as I got Toylanta to look forward to this weekend and I'm pretty excited. These days it's pretty much the only con I go to and honestly, it's the perfect con. Just a giant adventure of toys everywhere you look (and even more just out of sight) and fortunately for me, the stuff I'm into usually goes for a pretty fair price.

I like digging in bins for figures, scouring for deals, and this con has plenty. I dig the shows vibe too. Relaxed, laid back, meant to be fun. No anxiety or various fandom drama, just a bunch of cool people enjoying their various hobbies together. The high quality conversations I have over the weekend cannot be replaced. One year I spoke for hours with a dude about discount store fantasy figures. Another about Starriors. Just a great convention.

Fortunately the show is just a short road trip for me, so I just have to plan for the drive each day, which isn't too bad. Mainly anticipate where I'm eating lunch more-so than really anything else. Looking forward to the Transformers panel I help line up each year. Dusty and I are planing some good conversation and hoping those in attendance participate.

I've been slowly working on a list for stuff to look out for, though I wonder just how much I'm going to adhere to it. I don't really buy a whole lot at the show, but what I do get is generally great. I still fondly remember my main purchase of 2016. Aside from some great Beast Wars stickers I got, I hadn't really bought anything until I was about to leave that Sunday ending out the con. As I walked around and said goodbye to friends I dug through one last dump bin and there it was. A gallon zip lock bag containing about 75% of a G2 Bruticus in fairly good condition for 20$. Well shucks.

Just a few more days and we'll see what fun I'll have this year. What's great about this show is it's always an experience. Each year I have a different experience and that's the kind of thing you can't buy.