I’m very comfortable at conventions. I like being behind a table and interacting with people. I like having new experiences with folks and making new memories. I am in my element when I’m exhibiting at a convention. It feels natural for me.
But there is one aspect of conventions that always stresses me out, and that is setup day.
Anime Boston begins on Friday but today I will be heading to the convention center to check in and begin the setup process. I do Thursday setup for every show I can manage, but if I’m traveling long-distance for a show a Friday morning setup happens instead. This is the time where I’m always the most nervous that something will go wrong, and this is a fear that has only begun to manifest in the last few years of my 20+ year career.
It’s because conventions are a lot more involved than they used to be. Back in the early 2000s when all of this was just starting to get momentum, there wasn’t much to convention setup than paying for your table and showing up on time to get your table ready. Now that conventions are Big Business (ugh) there’s a lot more paperwork involved involving taxes and insurance and such, so it’s during setup that I’m always worried I’m going to discover I missed an important aspect of the process; a missed signature, a forgotten form, you name it.
Mind you, I’ve never actually run into a major problem because I’m (usually) pretty good about staying on top of the setup and check-in process. But each year holds the possibility for new experiences, or in my case new screw-ups, so every setup day for every convention I’m holding my breath until I have my badge and my merch is physically dropped off at my table.
So be sure to come see me at Anime Boston this weekend, because I don’t want all this pre-show stress to have been for nothing.