Con report (incl. coffee lounges) Asylum 3 2009
Well, first I have to say that I thought the Salute to Supernatural Convention in Vancouver this year would be my first convention ever…and so I was thinking that I’ve still got enough time to brace up myself for that convention in August, but it came different than planned!
Friday, a week before the Asylum 3 in Birmingham, a friend of mine told me that there are still some tickets available (thanks Tina)! So I wrote to Rogue Events and got my ticket on Sunday evening!! Couldn’t believe that anyway!! Okay, then I made another friend of mine completely mad because of telling her that there are still tickets available and so she wrote to Rogue Events as well. She finally got her ticket on Wednesday before the Asylum!! So you can see that we haven’t had time to think too much about the fact that we’re going to see Jensen, Jared and all the other great actors in a few days, because we were busily engaged in booking our flight/hotel and packing our bags (not to mention what we’re gonna wear there *lol*).
Friday:
Finally our flight starts on 5:50 on Friday morning (or should I say „night“?) and with a stop in Zurich we were arriving in Birmingham at 8:05. So the weekend started with two dead tired girls and it should not be better during the next days.
When we’re arriving at the Hilton we met a few friends of us and then we all lined up for registration and it seemed that the whole hotel was one big queue. After a few hours of queuing (over 1500 people had to go through registration…that’s a real pleasure!) we got our badge with our registration number on it (that’s all we got). Other members who also paid for Photo-Tickets, Autograph-Tickets etc. were less lucky because most of them got an incomplete package and so they have to queue again to get their missing stuff at the ticket office. Me and my friend had nothing to do on Friday anymore, but some of our friends got the Double-Shoot-Photos with Jensen and Jared and they were telling us that Jensen and Jared were sitting too wide apart on chairs and so they felt a little bit strange standing between them while the photo was taken. When I saw their photos I could imagine how they felt because it really looked strange and there was too much space between them and her (so there was no hugging anyway), so I was glad that I didn’t get such a Photo-Ticket (btw, Jensen and Jared looked great as always on that photos).
Although I never won anything before, I took part in the raffle for the Coffee Lounges for Jensen, Jared and Misha and chanced my luck.
Sometime in the evening we were told that the additional Photo-Tickets for Jensen, Jared and Misha aren’t going on sale that evening and so we left.
Saturday:
Saturday started early with queuing (again) for the additional Photo-Tickets and after a few hours we’ve got everything we wanted. So it was time for the next queue to get a good seat for the panels. We joined the Opening Ceremony and the panel of Jensen & Jared (they did a great job on stage…as always). During the break two of my friends went out to see if we’ve won at the raffle…well, and guess what: I’ve won the Coffee Lounge with Jensen AND the one with Jared! I didn’t believe my friends and so I went out to the flip chart to see my number standing there with my own eyes! And from that point I was completely out of it, as you surely can imagine! The Coffee Lounge with Jensen started about an hour later and so I couldn’t manage it to think about a good question to ask him and so I decided to go there and enjoy the Lounge in hoping some of the other girls got good questions in their mind.
Jensen’s Coffee Lounge:
Me and 19 other lucky people (one of my friends was also one of the lucky ones!) were standing in front of the door to the Coffee Lounge and we were talking about having a coffee at that Coffee Lounge, but then we decided not to have one, because the risk to spill the coffee was too high. *lol* When we entered the room I was able to get a seat near Jensen’s chair (just two seats between us) and my friend was next to me. While we were taking our seats I recognized that Jensen was already in the room and went straight to his seat…I thought they would bring him in, when everyone was already sitting…but then, I was really taking by surprise.
Well, so the Coffee Lounge started and he was asked if he had been to a whiskey distillery while travelling through Scotland the days before and if he can remember the special Scottish words they used for the manufacturing of the whiskey. He remembered every word and pronounced them nearly correct. Then he told us the whole process of whiskey manufacturing in every detail and when they were standing in front of a big bowl, where the whiskey was distilled, they were asked by their tour guide, if someone wants to smell the vapors of that distillation. And now guess who’s stuck his nose/head in that bowl!? Right! Jensen said he took a deep breath and the acrid smell went straight up his nose and brought tears to his eyes. So funny, especially when you keep his art of story-telling in mind! *lol* Btw, did you know, that whiskey is produced of some kind of beer? It’s amazing what you all can learn in only half an hour!*grin*
Asked where he thinks home is (Texas, LA or Vancouver), he answered Los Angeles, because he has a house there. Vancouver is just work for him and Texas is home of the family. His parents just built a new house over there and he helped with the painting and designing of it and he still has a room there.
Another question was if he received an injury during shooting a fight scene and his answer was that he’s got punched by Dracula while shooting “Monster Movie”. Dracula was supposed to elbow him in the face and after the first couple of times he really hit him. Then Dracula asked him (still with Dracula’s accent/voice) if he’s okay. Jensen’s got a little bit of blood in his mouth, said that everything‘s okay and they went on shooting! *lol*
I can’t remember the question, but somehow Jensen told us the whole story how it comes that he’s living together with Jared now. He said that it was all because of the commute to work. He said that he had lived in Downtown Vancouver before, what’s further away from the set than Jared’s house, and that he had to pick up Jared every morning to drive to the set. The problem was, that he spent too much time for driving to Jared’s house and he also spent too much time for waiting until Jared’s ready (he often wasn’t ready)…and when Jared broke up with Sandra they decided that Jensen should move to Jared’s sort of guesthouse. For one thing, that the commute to work isn’t to long anymore and for another thing, Jensen thought it was a good idea to keep him company during the time after breaking up with Sandra. But now he’s looking for his own house/apartment for season 5.
Again I can’t remember the question, but he told us something about throwing the ball to that kid in „After School Special“. Jensen said that it was his idea and that he got a „yes“ from the producers to do it (that’s what he also told at the panel). Then he asked the kids if there’s anyone who would like to do that scene with him, throwing the ball in the stomach of one of them. A few hands shot up and so he picked one of the smaller kids and asked him if he really wants to do this. Kid: Yes. Jensen asked him if they should go through it first before they shoot. Kid: No. Jensen: Are you sure? Kid: Yes. Well, and we all know how the scene looks like right know! Just great!*lol*
We’ve got only 30 minutes with Jensen and believe me, they all elapsed too fast. He looked so damn hot and he seemed very relaxed as he was sitting there (not wriggling about on his chair - like Jared did) with the coffee cup in his hand all the time, and he was as reserved as we know him, but very kind with making eye contact once in a while and of course overwhelmingly gorgeous (can’t find the right words how I felt when he looked squarely with his wonderful green eyes into my eyes…*love*). Btw, I didn’t know that he’s got such big feet…I constantly had to look at them, besides of staring in his eyes...
After the Coffee Lounge my friend and I got us a drink at the hotel bar to calm down a little bit, because the last half an hour were too much for us. I’m sure, you can understand us. Then, sitting in the 4th row, we’ve watched the panel of Amy, Matt & Samantha (didn’t know that Matt looks so damn good!!) and the one with Misha. Misha was awesome…so funny and he’s got such a dry sense of humour that I had to shake my head all the time, because of his answers, while laughing!! :-)
Well, and then it was show time for Jared’s Coffee Lounge.
Jared’s Coffee Lounge:
While standing on front of the Coffee Lounge room, Jared (with his bodyguard) came along the way to the room and went in. A few minutes later we’re also allowed to go in and take our seats. Fortunately I got the same as I had in Jensen’s Coffee Lounge (just two seats between us). Straightaway he was talking about coming late to the panel that morning. He said he has to take a bath because he broke the shower. It was his first bath since a long time, so he didn’t exactly know how it worked and he had problems with washing his legs, because the liquid soap came off in the water immediately. *lol*
First Jared asked how a coffee lounge is usually done and then he asked us if we all were locals. We’ve had people from Iceland, Sweden, Denmark (Jared then told us that his sister was there because of her studies and that she loved it), Hungary, Germany (a few girls, including me, but they were too quiet with their “Germany”…mine was louder and so he looked at me!!*grin*) and a few other countries…so I guess there were more non-locals than locals!
Then he was asked why he’s wearing a hat although the weather in Birmingham is real good/hot at that moment. He said that he’s been in San Antonio the days before and there it was really hot and that he hadn’t got used to the weather in Birmingham yet. He also said that he didn’t like his hair that day (after having a bath) and that he hasn’t had a hair dryer in his room. Everybody was laughing and then he realized that he was behaving like a girl and had to laugh at himself!*lol*
He told us that he had a full beard (like Richard Speight at the Asylum) a few days before while he was in San Antonio. He said his mustache was so long he could get it into his mouth and lick food off it! *lol* He said the beard also made him really warm and that he had to wash it, because it smells…everybody was laughing and making a face like “Aaahhh, that was too many detailed information!!” His reaction: You (girls) were lucky not having to shave your face…but then a girl replied that we need to shave/wax a lot of other stuff. Laughter again and Jared commented he just put his foot in his mouth. This guy is so damn funny!
One of the fans told us that she’d also been to San Antonio and at the River Walk over there and that there are so many pigeons. So Jared mentioned that the employees of the stores/restaurants always come out on the street and clap their hands or make noise to scare the pigeons away…and they doing it all the time and maybe for some of them it’s even their job to scare pigeons away! *grin*
Then he was asked if he’s got phobias or if he’s scared of something. He doesn’t like it to be tied down and can’t move (like in IMTOD), that freaks him out and so he doesn’t need to act a lot in such scenes because he’s naturally freaked. And it’s an uncomfortable feeling to be tied down while the crew walks around working and even playing pranks on him sometimes. He said that he never had problems with snakes, but the one in “Yellow Fever” scared him that much he couldn’t do the scene when the snake sneaking up behind him (although he tried it…and that “trying” should be on the gag reel) and so they had to re-write the scene for Jensen instead. Then he said something with “Bears”, but I didn’t get it. He also mentioned he had a spider on his hotel room the night before and that he put it away without problems. Well, I was just thinking of it, but someone really asked it: Because of the broken shower, no hair dryer and spiders in the room…someone wanted to know in what kind of hotel he’s staying at!! Laughter again on both sides and he just said that the hotel isn’t that bad…*lol*
The last question was if he’s got a funny/weird story about meeting a fan (or something like that…sometimes I didn’t get the questions right). A fan at a con wanted him so sign her tattoo she had on her body (on her hip)…and it was one with his and Jensen’s face on it! He was really flattered and confused about it and couldn’t believe that anyone would want a tattoo like that!
Well, again the 30 minutes with him elapsed too fast. He was gesturing and moving around on his chair all the time (not like Jensen), here and there drinking some coffee, which was standing next to his chair on the floor, including a glass of water and his cell phone. He was so damn funny and we laughed a lot (with him and because of him). Can’t believe that I didn’t recognize it before, but he looks so gorgeous if you see him in person. Maybe it was because of his two-day-old beard, the partly unbuttoned black shirt, the tanned skin or just because of the fact that he’s making eye contact more often as Jensen did, but he completely confused me in a very crazy way.*lol* Btw, he’s got bigger feet as Jensen (and Jensen’s are already big!).
After the Coffee Lounge I went straight back to the main room to watch Jared’s panel, which was just great! And with our 4th-row-seats I managed it to take some great photos (in my opinion, but I know there are already some better ones in the internet). A little time was left until Coby Brown’s concert started and so we went out to eat something. Back at the hotel we’re able to get seats in the first row (which means sitting on the floor, which I prefer than standing all the time; thx L & M *grin*). I haven’t heard any song of Coby Brown before, not even anything of his name, but he was really good and I greatly enjoyed his concert!
Now it was time for Jason Manns to come on stage and what should I say: he was/is terrific and we all really had a blast! For me the best moments were as he was singing “Hallelujah” (the crowd made an indescribable atmosphere) and of course “Crazy Love” (nearly everyone was singing with him)! I always admire people who are standing on the stage, just “armed” with a guitar, and singing their songs in such a great way (the same is true of Coby Brown). Jason’s concert was really a great experience and I can’t wait to see/hear him again!
We didn’t join the disco because we need some sleep and so we went back to our hotel.
Sunday:
Because of our very uncomfortable bed (wooden-board with mattress over it) we couldn’t manage it to sleep very well, again. So we went, completely overtired, to the Hilton... We thought it would be a good idea to queue to get our first half of the autographs, but we were told that they go strictly after registration numbers and people with high numbers should go away until they’re called. We decided to watch Jensen’s and Jason’s panel until they’d call us for our photo shoot with Jensen. Jensen was in a really good mood (and good looking, but I think I don’t have to mention this again) and his panel was just wonderful! *grin* Then it was time for our photo shoot. I don’t know which timeframe is normal for a photo shoot at conventions, but ours wasn’t! It went like this: going into the photo shoot room, laying down your bags/stuff on a table, standing in the queue, being pushed by someone of the staff in Jensen’s direction. So you’ve got 1 sec to go one step to Jensen (in the meantime you have to say “Hi” as well), 1 sec to look into the camera while the photo was taken and 1 sec to say “Bye” and leave immediately because the next one was already standing next to him. Although it was a great experience to stand right next to Jensen (if only for 1 sec), it all went too fast and all I can say is that it was horrible to be treated like you were on an assembly line.
Well, I couldn’t believe it, but then we’re called for the first half of our autographs…so great that this went well without queuing that much, although Jared’s and Misha’s queue were the longest, but over the weekend we got used to it, anyway.
After lunch we still got our 4th row seats and watched Jared & Jason’s panel and Amy, Matt & Samantha’s. During that panel I had to run out to get my photo shoot with Misha, run back and watch the panel again, then run out to get my photo shoot with Jared…both proceeded like a mass processing again!:-(
Well, the last thing they showed on the screen was that numbers 1-1200 should go to the autograph room to get their second half of the autographs. We’ve had 1400+, so we stay seated (because they go strictly after registration numbers, that’s what they told us in the morning) and waited to be called, but nothing happened. Sometime during Misha’s panel we decided to go to the autograph room to have a look what’s going on over there. And there I was really pissed: on the flip chart was standing “1-1400” and under that “autograph session is closed!”!! I couldn’t believe my eyes…but it was true: we didn’t get our autographs because of the disability of someone who couldn’t manage it to show the information for “1-1400” on the screen and the staff did even know that!!! And they didn’t let us in (just me and two of my friends) to get our autographs…I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how I felt, because of NOT getting an autograph of Jensen…and NOT seeing him again!:-( It really made me wanna puke!
Back at the main room, Misha was still talking and he had to go on for another hour because Jensen was still writing autographs. Misha did a great job and again: I can’t believe how dry his sense of humor is!*lol* But I couldn’t laugh that much, because I was too sad for not getting my Jensen-autograph. After Misha’s extra-long panel they brought Charles and Gabriel on stage to play for time until Jensen was finished with writing autographs. Then the moderator came on stage an asked if everyone got what they want, if everyone got their photos and autographs and blah, blah, blah. I couldn’t hear it anymore! If I hadn’t been on the verge of tearfulness, I would have stood up and said “NO”. But what ever, I just wanted to see Jensen on stage for the last time! Finally everyone (instead of Jared who left earlier and said goodbye during Misha’s panel, which I think was a handsome gesture) came on stage for the closing (I don’t know if you can call THIS closing) and so did Jensen. I was just thinking: OMG! He looked so tired, very exhausted, his eye was more red/ annoyed than the days before and he seemed to be in a very bad condition. I nearly got tears in my eyes and I think I wasn’t the only one who felt like that. From that point on I’d completely forgotten my missing autograph, in fact I was glad that I didn’t get one, because if I had faced him and seen him in that condition, I’m sure I wouldn’t want him to sign it anymore. I really felt so sorry for him and at the same time I was so angry because RE made him looking like that…I was really glad that everything was over… Okay, not everything was over…we stayed at the Hilton and waited for our photo shoots to be printed until 1:30 am and what did I get? My photo with Jared, which is a little bit blurry! Thanks for that! But I think I should be glad about it, because as far as I’ve seen it, there were a lot of photos in more bad quality (very dark, etc.). I’m still missing my ones with Jensen and Misha (but they’re on their way as I was told on 21st, June).
Summary of the weekend: it was very unorganised and chaotic, which resulted in that the staff were completely overworked (although they attempted the impossible and more! Thanks for that!) and that most fans were dissatisfied.
Reviewing I have to say that I’m glad I’ve written the report now and not straight after the Convention, because now my anger has flown away a little bit and I don’t want to be annoyed again. Even so the RE made a bad impression on someone who joined their first convention! And if I hadn’t had all my friends around me (thanks girls (and one boy *lol*) for that great weekend) and if I hadn’t had the luck to win the coffee lounges, it would have been an very awful weekend…I hope RE has learned from mistakes and they do it differently for the next convention (btw, they already have for Ayslum 4 and Asylum Europe, thank god!!).