Meet Musings

[palitoy]

To be quite frank, I was completely stressed out about MM 2017. Due to complications in my personal life, I hadn't given Steve the help he deserved this year.

So much so, that when folks would ask me if I've booked my hotel, it would cause my blood pressure to rise.

Fortunately, it all just started coming together. Old friends returned, new friends we made in Skokie were on their way. People cared and it showed.

Generous customizers kicked in treasures for our auction. Figures Toy Company donated everything for kid's custom contest. The folks at the big toy auction came through. Robyn managed to create four new trading cards and the Fiores blew them up good. Austin and Roberto created epic displays that just gave the event something we had been missing.

It not only clicked, it went smoothly.

So many thank yous:

First, tip of the hat to Steve for the incredible work here. It was perfect.

Robyn- even though you couldn't pull off attending, your cards were a giant hit.

Art- the pre party at AYC gets everybody in the right mood cause you're infectious.

The Mego Customs Community- I actually want to do another piece about this and thank you all personally.

The Big Toy Auction- always a delight.

Austin and Roberto- what you guys did was special and made the meet special. Thank you for doing that.

Tom- I don't know what I do to deserve you bringing me Portillos but thank you.

Angela- your help was SO appreciated, you improved the experience of the meet for all our newbies and walk-ins in a way I could not have done.


All of our dealers- thanks for setting up and taking all of my money. Bless you.

Toyman Chris- you picking me at the airport was so damned nice that it totally eroded the bummer of the flight delays.

All in all, we may not be the biggest show but we're the warmest. I go to a lot of toy shows and none of them have this kind of bond. If blowing this thing up into something huge meant losing that, I'd walk away but that's just me.


Expect a million photos and some cool videos from me this week. I sleep now.....

[nvmbrsdoom5]

I was really happy that you wound up coming after all this year. Even though we only chatted a tiny bit as usual, it just really wouldn't be the same without you there.

Again I didn't get to spend nearly as much time there as I would've liked. Being in my hometown actually makes it harder on me in that respect. I'm actually looking forward to next year being out of town so I can get away for a few days and just focus on Mego Meet 100%!!

I'll even offer to guest DJ the after-party with plenty of Jesus Christ Superstar, Flash Gordon, and Ramones thrown in for you Brian LOL

[Bronxboykev]

Everything you said is why we make it a point to come EVERY YEAR!!! Can't wait till Mego Meet reveal 2018 the countdown begins... in a few weeks after I recover lol

[Hector]

Very cool, Brian...and the rest of the gang as well of course...

[VintageMike]

Always great to see you Brian. This was one of those years where everything clicked on all cylinders and it made it extra special. Great finale for the Skokie era.

[EMCE Hammer]

What is Jorge getting ready to do to me in that picture? Did I even really make it home, or am I experiencing some Sixth Sense phenomenon?

Photoshopping Dave into the pic is a nice touch - I miss that guy.


All kidding aside, you must have done something right. There's lots to do around Chicago but we still managed to draw a good crowd of great people.

[justzeg18]

It was a blast.
Got me thinking about trying to participate a bit more legitimately next year.
Since you guys bought me out pretty hard this week, I'll probably have to do something beyond vending.

It was super interesting meeting a bunch of people that you feel like you already casually know by proxy, god help me I'm sure I still don't know most peoples names.

[rche]

I would hit a like button for your thread if we had one.

[Grimjohn]

Many, many thanks to you and Steve for the magnificent Last Call in Skokie.

I am so glad that my brain kicked in and said "Hey, jerk, that's Brian/palitoy...go introduce yourself!" Friday evening. My only regret is that we didn't get a chance to chat a bit more but, we both seemed to be in the middle of handling our own Meet tasks in that fleeting moment of a formal introduction and the whirlwind of exhilarating chaos that filled the rest of the Meet never gave us an opportunity to chat a bit more...hopefully, we can fix that next year

[EMCE Hammer]

A recurring thing after each meet is always a laundry list of things we all would have like to have done but there just wasn't enough time. After we're all retired we should do a Mego CAMP.