Fin - Closing Thoughts

I apologize for my report being perhaps drier and more boring than usual. If I could sum up AX 2001 in one word, it would have to be disappointment. AX was huge this year, perhaps too huge - with everybody being spread out among 4 hotels, it was very difficult to see everything and meet everybody, even more so than previous years. I can't pinpoint where exactly, but I was getting bad vibes from this convention all weekend. In fact, I was acting very un-Genri like this convention:

1. I DDRed an HOUR at most the entire weekend
2. I was in NORMAL CLOTHES half the time
3. With the exception of Sunday, I barely ate any cookies.

The masquerade was more disorganized than last year - some groups had their soundtracks botched. Had that happened to our group, we would've been dead, since the soundtrack was essential for our skit. That was tech crew's fault though; otherwise, the masquerade was great in terms of getting all the groups together - everybody was given ample time to submit their entries, as well as the layout of the stage ahead of time, etc. Maybe this will encourage everybody to be more prepared with their skits, which is a good thing. For the record, our skit was NOT making fun of Sailor Jamboree - if anything, we were mocking all the teenage boy bands and the like.

I also wished I had the Chrono Cross and Guilty Gear groups together for pics. It also seemed to be the year of duplicates - two Magic Knight Rayearth groups in the same armor, two sets of Clover cosplay, multiple Moulin Rouge skits; was everybody on the same wavelength this year? KOF Friday night was prolly the highlight of the weekend - such a huge turnout! And finally, the ACP picture couldn't be taken, because again, everybody was too spread out to get together.

But for all these little things, it if anything gave me time to think, and to come to a conclusion to an issue that's been in the back of my head for a while.

I've decided to retire.

My life has taken a new route. This year's skit has inspired me to become part of a Korean pop band, H.O.T. I will be changing my name to Foon Seung Young, which roughly translates as "Spicy Beefcake". Our latest album is due in Asian stores very soon, here's the album cover:

Ok well, maybe not. I was just joking about the band. In fact, I don't even know if that name means anything in Korean - knowing my luck, it's prolly "Big Idiot" or somethin. But I was serious about the retiring part.

It's been one heck of a ride, back in AX98 when I was just a lil guy with a big Sano sword, to now, with the pride and joy that is my Serge costume. In the time in-between, I've made many new friends, performed totally whacky skits, and have gained unforgettable experiences. But now I leave the way open for a new generation of cosplayers, who will no doubt be 10 times better than I ever was. And so, we end this journey with a quote:

"We loved so many, yet hated so much,
We hurt others and were hurt ourselves...

Yet even then, we ran like the wind,
Whilst our laughter echoed,
Under cerulean skies..."

Bai Bai!