Almost two weeks ago, I knew that Kollision Con was going to be a nice small con with a chance for fun and a break from a very very busy week. Looking back, I’d say that in a lot of ways, Kollision Con more than met my expectations. It was a small con with more than a few very tasty nuggets of fun mixed in!
I had to work on Friday which is unusual for me when cons come around, but since checkin and parking at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles wasn’t available until after 4pm, it didn’t matter. I packed my costumes and supplies in two bags, stuffed them in the trunk and went to work just like any other day. After work and a drive from Chicago that seemed to take forever, I arrived at the hotel and was able to get parking that turned out to be close to the room I would have for my stay.
I didn’t do that much on Friday except fret about my costume before working up the energy needed to get it ready and go sing at Midwest Karaoke Madness. Even after 5 years of cosplay, I still need a minute or two to cross the initial threshold. Oddly enough though, I have no trouble getting up on stage! Once I got out, I was pleased to see a number of familiar faces from Youmacon, Ohayocon, and of course, ACen!
My goal for the weekend was singing karaoke, concerts, and seeing the guests. So Friday night karaoke was a great start with Shizukana Yoruni, followed by Unwritten a little later. I still remember singing Unwritten at the last Reactor convention with just me and Neo Saturn in the room wondering if anyone else was ever going to show up. I started poorly, but with emotion welling up inside of me, I had a strong finish. More than singing myself though, I really enjoy watching others perform as well and singing along to everything from Mulan’s I’ll Make A Man Out of You, to Cee Lo Green’s Fu*k You!
As usual, I got out an hour late on Saturday morning, missing opening ceremonies. But I did get to see voice actress Jamie Marchi who even complimented my Uhura cosplay as I came in, yay! I’ve been improving my Uhura since its Otakon debut in July and it’s still my favorite right now. So with that encouragement, I later registered for the craftsmanship competition of the masquerade. The judging was done right at sign-up and I had a good time explaining all that went into the costume as well as things like makeup and shape wear. I think the fun I was having actually helped me a bit later at the masquerade, but I’ll have to go into that when I finish this up in the next installment!
