I have been to Daytona. I have been to Indianapolis three times. I have been to so many Bucks and Brewers games. I have been to Lambeau when the Packers were undefeated in December. I have even been to a concert before. I can say up until last week, I had never really been to a convention. That was until I got the chance to go to Reconnect.
For those that wonder.. what is Reconnect? Well the best way that I have a definition for it is: It's a convention for people who love Kingdom Hearts but who also like being a part of amazing communities in video game streaming. We descended upon Dallas, TX the weekend of September 15th (Spoiler: My birthday was the 13th so to say this added a bit of extra meaning was cool.) I drove the distance there, and I would have regretted not flying if I didn't save money. I got there on the 14th which leads to my story really starting.
When I got to the hotel, I got everything situated. Then I got to the convention hotel. My first person to see? None other than the guy who makes his own guides for Kingdom Hearts, has a great merchandise line and the creator of Reconnect, KHGuides. After a massive hug and a much nicer hug to his spouse, I got to meet Lanz and Fae, as well as Wally and Churro right after. I think I have mentioned on social medias enough about what I think about all of these amazing people but it goes again, all of these people I met were absolutely fabulous and so beyond terrific and I still might be understating it. I also met right away my good friend Espy, who got a copy of FF3 on the DS, and I ran (for me, that is full on sprinting, and an athletic persons slow walk) to meet my friend Shawn and give him a massive hug. In the midst of all of this, Lanz gave me a Jordy Nelson jersey just out of the kindness of his heart. That guy is absolutely goated and deserves the best ever stuff in the world. A bunch of us watch the PS State of Play which was honestly cool because it's people I have seen behind a screen finally meeting up in real life and having fun. I guess another good thing that could happen is that we could have a dinner before the event gets real.
Preconnect was a dinner that we had that had about two dozen people at it, all of whom had a great vibe. This is where we probably got that selfie game going. Getting pictures with a lot of people there was amazing. Meeting amazing friends like Bambina, Volt, Nick and Snoko just.. made all of the things better. Without these friends, it wouldn't have been as amazing and I can guarantee that. The food was absolutely great as well and just the whole vibe of the event was terrific. With that, we can transition right?
Or I can see more people back at the convention hotel, which was led by the SuperSpikeGhettiBros. To say these two are absolute gems to life may honestly be an understatement. They are extremely awesome but also have hearts of gold. Meeting everyone there that night was absolutely fabulous, and if I put everyone in this blog, it would take you about an hour to read and I want you to have time to do other stuff but the entire time was awesome there. That included me giving JIP my copy of Re:Coded on the DS. Everyone there was having a great time, just being a whole vibe and just supporting each other. This is also where I met friends RoyalAqua and Xekbar, the latter who I met for the first time ever and we instantly clicked. With that.. we transition to Friday.
After the mandatory waking up, seeing a work conference thing, I got to the hotel late in the morning Friday. One of the best highlights was meeting my bestie on Twitch, PreferredWhale. For the context of why besties, So in the SpikeGhettiBros stream, they were playing Cult of the Lamb. The community got to play this game with the bros, and Whale's character and my character in there gelled right away and one of us said we were best friends, so we just became besties! However, I introduced her in such a monotone way that when I met her partner, Water, I had to laugh at myself due to this because he mentioned who Whale was. After absolutely redeeming for a better introduction, it was a cool rest of the afternoon before the registration. Needless to say, both are incredibly special people and those two, along with Rybs, we went from a bestie duo to a bestie quartet. As the afternoon wore on, we got to registration and I registered and then I made a mistake only I could make but one that I think can live in lore. After registration I went to Raising Cane's.. because there isn't one within 500 miles of where I live. Therefore, I was like "Oh good, time before Chad's concert, we got this." Only.. after dinner at Raising Cane's did I forget that they made dinner at the convention. Listen, I still win because that chicken is freaking fabulous. Chad absolutely killed it at the concert. He is also such a nice guy and a new friend who I hit it off with right away. Same with Garnet, who is beyond a sweetheart and so kind. After Chad's concert, the Women of KH panel took over and all five of them did a terrific job. Women gaming has been on the rise and I am so so proud of the women creators that find success and those who just try to make a name for themselves. After that, it was time for hanging out, karaoke and much more. I got to drive two groups of people, including Damo and Elise in one of those groups. To say they are just incredibly nice and special is also being an understatement. They are both exceptional people and Damo also became a quick friend. After karaoke, it was time for some sleep and Saturday.
To say the mood was tired but energetic was absolutely on par. Seeing Saturday's opening was great. My friend Landi got his podcast roaring and going and it was a great time. His guests of Bio, Damo, Fae and Aqua were absolutely phenomenal. After that, the Ansem Report Podcast (Featuring the bros I mentioned earlier) got the house rocking as well. Damo rocked that podcast, as did Fabio and Kim. Fabio's music is goated and I highly recommend seeing his YouTube for this. When the Million Dreams Awards came around, there was a lot of energy. When PrincessKaiora won her award for art and illustration, the crowd was absolutely stoked. When Fae won for Cosplay, it was just as electric. When Damo won for Content Creator of the Year, it was absolutely ballistic. However, when Lanz won for Gameplay Challenges, that was the absolute loudest of any crowd I have ever been around (remember what I said at the top? Yeah louder than any of those.) Everyone's speeches were absolutely phenomenal. After that, it was chill time. I don't know if it was Thursday or Saturday but Bambina, Mochocolate and a bunch of others started singing Simple and Clean and I joined in the party and it was just an incredible vibe. Such a vibe that led into the last day.
Sunday at Reconnect featured the opening ceremonies, then giveaways with Data Battles and a last day for everyone to meet up again or some for the first time. One of the coolest things was getting everyone to sign my book. In total, 57 people signed mine. I never imagined this happening but it did and I was exceptionally happy to get this. Last selfies were made, talks were done. However, there was a new twist. A wedding. And before we get to that, I want to shoutout Water for this. Some people wanted to meet him and he so graciously said yes. Guides gave him some little papers. One dropped and Water gave it to me. I was the first person to receive this paper. After the Data Battles, the surprise finale happened. The wedding. To say I was already exceptionally proud of Water and Whale is probably understating this. They are literally two of the most amazing people ever. When Water came to the stage, I smiled widely. When Whale came in, I sobbed a lot. Credit to Mrs. Guides to come up clutch when I was in my feelings with a big hug and letting me say how my best friend is getting married and I am so proud of her. I said words failed me then, but I think words were here now. I am so exceptionally proud of both of them and I wish them nothing but the absolute best. With that, Reconnect ended, but we still had fun for the next several hours. We had sea salt ice cream, which I got to win. My prize? Being able to griddy, then griddy with the master Espy, then get a trash can due to the wrappers (Mrs. Guides, you are always amazing.) Then after lunch and dinner, it was a very emotional goodbye. Fighting back the tears, saying bye to the SpikeGhettiBros group was tough. Seeing my bro Treehouse and Fae and having to say bye to those absolute gems was just as tough, and saying bye to the Guides', Aqua, Wally, and Key (a new friend as well) was just as tough as well. I never wanted to leave, but unfortunately a vacation is just that, and it ends eventually.
To say Monday and Tuesday were tough on my emotions was polite. I was a mess. I never thought a convention would be this tough to go away from. I think I know the reason. My mental health was garbage in July and August, and if ANYONE had told me that this would be the best weekend in my life I would have said you were lying to me. At one point in August I said "It has to be better than this" and I actually said September can't be any worse. At the time I was looking for ANY positive. Well September got better for me. I started believing that this weekend would have been great. I didn't in my wildest dreams though think it would be the best weekend of my life, which it was. This was more than just friends getting together.
You all that I met at Reconnect are more than friends. You are family. All of you. Sid, you are family who I enjoyed every single minute of being around. Taking you to Starbucks was amazing, I wear your friendship bracelet all the time minus at work because I don't need that getting work on it. Lanz, for the jersey which I never expected, you are a God my friend. Kokiri, you got 358/2 Days and I couldn't think of a person who deserved it more. Tara, Frank, Corn, Tyler, Espygal, Swarlz, Nesquick, Boomer, Ed, Danghus, Keric, Agro, Panda, Mango, Angel and everyone else who hung out with the SpikeGhettiBros group, you all know already how much like family you became to me. KT, Rich, Kay, Jash, Landi, KTab, Violet and so many more, all of you became family to me that weekend in Dallas. And that just is scraping the surface of those. I have way too many people to say so if I forgot you I totally apologize. You are literally all family now, and I wouldn't have it any other way. This was my story, and I thank you for reading it.
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