I cannot believe it's been that long. I never thought that this series would have a significant impact in my life, but it did. How did it begin? I had watched Foster's since it debuted on Cartoon Network back in August 2004 -- nearly 11 years ago. To be honest, when I had a first glance of the promos, I didn't have a significant interest in watching. With me enjoying Craig McCracken's past works, I gave FHFIF a chance.
After watching "House of Bloo's," I thought the series had a lot of potential and continued to watch the series through the end. The style of the art/animation really grew on me, the way the show was written, the acting, the music -- I'm definitely a fan of the show.
I discovered this place, after I ran into some people from TV.com (it may have just been TV Tome right before the change to TV.com) that were animation fans, and I believe that's where I ran into Sparky. I joined the forum right before NF switched to the current message board system. Then, there was San Diego Comic-Con International. This wasn't my first con of any kind. I had previously done Anime Expo for about five years, through 2006. Some of my friends outside of NF were talking about attending the convention, and I gave it great consideration. For some reason, I knew I had to give Comic-Con a try. I remember getting the 4-day w/ Preview Night badge, and I wondered around the exhibit hall to see what was there. Then, I ran into the CN booth. I met a woman named Lori over there, and I asked her what was going on over there. So, I learned that there were going to be multiple signings and a panel for Foster's. My interest level went through the charts. So, I ended up meeting Lauren Faust and Craig McCracken, voice actors Phil LaMarr, Candi Milo, Grey Griffin (DeLisle), Keith Ferguson, Tom Kenny, and Sean Marquette, writers Tim McKeon and Adam Pava, Khaki Jones (was at CN at the time, now with Disney -- you always saw her name at the end of the credits). I would end up meeting Tom Kane and Tara Strong after the 2006 SDCC. I didn't just do Foster's stuff, but I also met the creators of KND, Camp Lazlo, Ed, Edd 'n Eddy, etc. Finally, I met Sparky and Government Man. It was great! Yes, I remember saying how "it was great!" In the next year or so, I met taranchula, Cassini, Ceeg (CG), BBF, Lynnie, Howard, and cartman.
Let's not forget the Bloo costume -- I wore it at AX 2006, as well as SDCC 2007 and 2008 (both years, Keith and I improvised random dialogue on camera), and I wore it 2-3 more years. I have to admit, the first year of wearing the costume, I was super nervous. I never thought I'd get into cosplay, but it was a really fun experience for me. I've definitely grown from that, as well as meeting the talent from my favorite shows. I never really did the "OMG, I'm the biggest fan" thing, though I was definitely excited to see these people.
Oh, I forgot about the
Burger King banner.
I think during the 2006 convention, Sparky thought about appointing me as a moderator, and that happened at some point right after the con, so that's how I ended up with the role.
Anyway, I'm not so sure I would still be doing these conventions, if it weren't for Foster's. I made a lot of friendships, both from the forum, outside of the forum, and from those that work in animation. While there have been moments here on the forum where I wanted to pull my hair out, the positive experiences I've had here and outside of the forum from Foster's have made this a really amazing experience.
