A Decade of Homecomings: UPAME

To start, it doesn't feel like a High School reunions you see on TV, if there were any drama, they definitely didn't show it, not yet maybe, ehe.

Yesterday, I attended the UPAME Grand Homecoming at Teacher's Village near UP. I received the invitation almost two months early via email and random sightings in cons by members. The reunion is done every five years and hosted by the current batch, which is aptly described as BATCH 10. The numerical designation serves also as a perfect reminder how long has been since UPAME sprouted from the minds of four young anime manga enthusiasts (or geeks, if you please XD) and decided to create an org dedicated solely to the appreciation of the then hard to acquire (and understand!) media called anime and manga. From a humble starting group of twenty on the first semester, to the almost riot number of new members lining up to be part of AME we see today.

UPAME Track 10 Convention Review

UPAME Track 10 turned out ok at the start, although they were late around 20 minutes. Entrance was slow due to the ticketing being just one line. Most of the people who were already inside were there because they bought advance selling tickets. The line snaked all the way almost to the other end of the convention, and was forced to fold the line four to five times to avoid crowding the other already ongoing events such as the World Robotics Olympiad and the Canon Photography Marathon. That was just for those who got inside SMX.

Outside SMX was weirder. UPAME did not have direct control on the decision on how the entrance should be done, instead the security of SMX were the ones who controlled the number of people going inside.

Why so slow?