Last last week, I received my confirmation for this year’s Anime Boston. And, like the groundhog that comes out of the ground every year to gaze at his shadow, I hurried and booked a room at the Sheraton Boston in preparation for the event. It hasn’t really occurred to me, but I’ve been doing this for just about eight years now. It hasn’t always been the same location, or even the same event. However, this cycle of registering, reserving, and generally preparing for the year’s major con.This also marks the beginning of the news cycle, once again. As the events begin to unfold, the workload increases, and I find myself struggling to keep up with the news cycle. Still, funny enough, I look forward to it.

With every cycle comes a new feeling of excitement. Curiosity, hope, and even a slight feeling of dread begins to set in, as the news rolls in. New shows, casting reveals, and convention reports become a large part of my day-to-day life, and the days toward my own chance to enter the madness begin to tick down.

The convention becomes a working weekend – a period where I am constantly hunched over a notebook, snapping photos, or taking video that will be used in convention reports and articles. Still, for the interesting people I have the opportunity to meet, and the unforgettable experiences to be experienced, I’d gladly put in a 50-hour, four-day weekend.

This year is shaping up to be an interesting year already, with troubling revelations from Borders, and a troubled, though recovering economy. How this will affect announcements at the major events has yet to be seen, but I have no doubt that it will lead to an interesting series of events, at the very least.