I suppose I could have titled this "agonizing reappraisal" as well, since that describes an earlier step in the decision process, not that it matters. What does matter is that I'm going to have to give Anime Detour a miss this year. It'll be the first time since it started in 2004 that I haven't been there, so it does bother me some, but the brutal facts of the matter are that unless I get a full-time permanent position between now and the end of tax season, I flat out can't afford it. Frankly, in this craptastic economy (which I predicted in this post) the chances of that happening are slim and none. Sure, I'll be getting money back on my taxes, but I need that for things like rent, and catching up on all the bills which are 30-60 days past due.

The base cost for me to do Anime Detour is $800, $300 for the airfare and about $500 for the room after taxes. This doesn't cover things like eating, drinking (I am too experienced a con veteran to rely on the consuite for these things) and any incidental expenses. Which always come up. I'll be grossing $400/week from H&R Block, which will probably be just enough to wipe out my unemployment -as it should- but not enough to let me do much more than pay the rent and (some) utilities while keeping a little gas in the truck and (hopefully) paying for the truck as well. Sure, I could blow my tax refund on Detour, but it would make a lot more sense for me to get caught up on my truck and phone payments.

So, yeah. I have a very very short list of people I'm checking with to see if they can use my room at the Sheraton. Please do not ask me if you are on that list. I also need to drop a note to Registration and ask them to roll me over to 2011, in the faint hope that things will be better then.

I guess that's about all there is to say about that. Going to go lay down and listen to country music until this feeling goes away, I think.