I made the mistake of reading through some of my old Blogger posts yesterday. I’m not entirely sure as to why. I haven’t posted on that blog for nearly six months and the template gives me some wicked eyestrain. Some of the posts dealt with politics, most were about my previous employer–whom I’d rather forget–and some dealt with geekier things. I posted rumors about the live action Transformers movie, the latest Transformers cartoon, that sort of thing. I also posted a bit about BotCon, whether it was dealing with pre-registration, or rumors about where it might be the following year, who we might have as a guest, that sort of thing. It seems I started blogging about the convention in 2007, a full two years after I had begun.
When I started that one, it was meant to be about my job, which was one of the biggest stressors in my life. Working at Wal-Mart was the center of the blog. So the idea of posting BotCon updates wasn’t really on my mind. But that changed in 2007 and I began posting updates on the convention, what was happening, who was attending and when my friends arrived. It was a stress reliever, typing out reports to my audience about the convention.
Some of the posts had musical links embedded in them, songs that summed up my mood or felt “right” for the occasion. Some of those old YouTube videos are long since gone, deleted when that user’s account was terminated for whatever reason. Others were removed for TOS violations. Still others were simply lost, either by a keystroke from the YouTuber or by other means. It’s a little tragic, to be honest, as music and BotCon became intertwined in my subconscious. Some songs bring back good memories while others, not so much.
Enya – Watermark: This one stirs up the strongest memories by far. It was 2004, my blog hadn’t even been thought about yet, 3H was in turmoil and the official convention, OTFCC–otherwise called “Oat Fuck”–was in Chicago. BotCon, which was unofficial that year, had been in Pasadena a month earlier. Prime and I attended both. While in the hotel in Chicago, one of the OTFCC attendees sat in front of a piano in the lobby as we waited in our queue and began to play. That was the song that she chose. She played it perfectly.
Those notes were still in my head as Prime and I drove back home to Wisconsin, back to Little Chute and to an uncertain future. The skies were grey and it was cool for August. The gloom matched how I felt, upset and unsure. No one was certain if we’d get another BotCon, if the convention would continue and everything felt frail and tenuous at best.
I still get that feeling, that unease, whenever I listen to this song. That feeling still seems relevant today, with all that is going on with Hasbro. Some things don’t change.
Vanessa Carlton – A Thousand Miles: This one brings back memories of rain. Prime and I were driving back home and got caught in a rainstorm; this one was bad enough to force him to pull over for a few minutes. Normally, Prime parks the radio on an AM talk station, but this time, he couldn’t find one and we had music instead. Just the opening notes of the piano reminds me of rain and overcast skies, the melancholy of returning home. The song is like a summer rain shower.
Savage Garden – I Knew I Loved You: Probably one of the best ways to wake up in the morning. Our friend DA played this one morning to wake us up. Prime and I, having met via the internet, consider this “our” song. Hearing it still makes me smile. I think it always will.
John Legend – All of Me: Leaving Los Angeles in a nutshell. Prime and I were up early that morning and we sat outside, waiting for our shuttle to the airport. It arrived, we loaded up our luggage and climbed inside.
This song was playing as we headed down those dark streets. It nearly broke me, hearing this. Something about the melody just matched my mood. It’s wistful, nostalgic and reminds me of better times. Hauntingly beautiful is the best term I can use to describe it.
Gwen Stefani ft. Akon – The Sweet Escape: This reminds me of friends and good times in our hotel room. If I recall correctly, DA played this one year, saying that BotCon was his escape. He was right. Sweet Primus, he was right.
There are others, of course. However, those were lost to time. It saddens me quite a bit, thinking about that. But other memories remain, like the line in front of the Apple store for the very first iPhone, or the year we spotted a chalk outline in the street in front of our hotel, or the year the trip to BotCon cost my poor car, Scamper, his front windshield.
I could go on, but I think you’ve got the point. There are a lot of memories, more than I could post here. I just hope that one day I can make more of them. Primus willing, of course.
The title is a line from the Little River Band’s song Reminiscing. Considering how this is a pretty nostalgic post, it seemed to fit.
Iacon East 