T-Mode was this past weekend (9/5-9/7) in Arlington, Virginia. I was volunteering most of the weekend, so I didn’t get as many pictures as I normally do, but what I did get has been posted up in the Convention Galleries.

Shout Outs

First off, the staff was wonderful and it was a pleasure working with everybody. Renee really pulled together everyone to make this con into a wonderful tribute to Lawrence.

The VA guests (Johnny Yong Bosch and Stephanie Sheh) were so much fun to see. I haven’t laughed that hard in a panel in a long time.

The Itachi cosplayer who I monopolized on Saturday evening: I hope I didn’t bore you to death and hopefully I’ll see you at AnimeUSA. Congrats to the rest of the Naruto cosplayers on the Masquerade win.

Geeks Next Door! Not only is the comic awesome, but they are very awesome people.  I love chitchatting with you guys.

The Geek Comedy Tour! Always fun to shoot the breeze with and as hilarious as ever.

The Game Room was awesome (so was the Gaming Director). F-Zero in the game room, I almost shed a tear. Also congrats to the fantastic Snake player in the SSBB tournament. That was amazing.

And to just about everyone else at the con: You guys made the con!

The Good

Just like last year, there was a lot of phenominal talent at the con. I absolutely adored Monster Madhouse, the VAs, and the panels given by the guest cosplayers.

It was great to be able to chill at a convention and talk to the other attendees (not to mention the guests themeselves) I actually enjoy smaller cons for the relaxed atmosphere.

It’s impossible to get lost in the Hilton. If you reach the end of the horseshoe, turn around and go the other way.

The staff was really friendly and really great at adjusting things on the fly when things didn’t go as planned.

There was very little asshattery on the part of the con goers. I witnessed a few folks who needed a kick in the pants, but it was nothing like the proportion of jerks that show up to say, Otakon.

The dog tags as badges were great. As a cosplayer, they could easily be hidden for a photo and then pulled back out again without taking  them off. They were also lightweight and hard to duplicate.

The Not So Good

I live in the area and knew where the free parking is. The staff didn’t and thus the attendees didn’t. Parking in Crystal City is expensive.

The staff could stand to be a little more organized, but this is something I witnessed as a volunteer, not as an attendee.

While I’m sure the attendence numbers took a big hit because of Hannah, the con needs a serious PR push if it continues in 2009.

The Artist Alley was practically empty. Hopefully as the con grows, this problem will remedy itself.

The con is very ambitious, but doesn’t have the attendence to back it up. Hopefully the con will grow bigger and better, but in the meantime a lot of the events could be trimmed a bit to fit the actual numbers.

All In All

I had a grand time. I highly recommend the con if you’re in the area and you like talking to other fans. Yes, there are issues, but they’re nothing that can’t be fixed.

I hope Renee decides to continue T-Mode, but I totally understand if this T-Mode stands as a lasting tribute to a wonderful man instead.