Dragon*Con 2007, part 3
Continued from [ here].
This just in: CDSers have overtaken the planet
but they're so cool no one really minds.
Christina and I ran into Deb, Rebecca, and some of the others on the way to the Marriott to pick up their photo-op pictures. We went with them, but the pictures weren't done yet. We actually got separated and got a little bit turned around... and there were these Kroger peaches involved... which Deb eventually presented to Hawera in a spirit of diplomacy. Or something. And then we took a picture with the James standee, but I don't have a copy of it. :(
However, I do have a copy of my photo-op with James.
What?
We all agreed to meet in the Casablanca Lounge at the Hilton later, and then Christina accompanied me to the Walk of Fame to meet James Marsters again.
This goes so far beyond carrying a watermelon.
*shakes head sadly*
I already said I get nervous in crowds, right? And so I'm counting on y'all not to be too hard on me here. I... don't even have words for the spaztastical display I made of myself on the Walk of Fame.
Oh, there's a word - spaztastical.
See, almost every time I've met a celebrity at a convention before, I had someone else there with me who would do most of the talking, and I could just stand there quietly and grin, which is something I'm proud to say I do well. But, even though Christina was technically there with me, she stood behind me and didn't say anything (except occasionally tell me to breathe), so it felt like I was doing this by myself. And I had no idea what to say.
So we stood in line for a few minutes - not nearly as long as I thought I'd have to - and paid $20 for the autograph. (Steve Himber kind of... rubs me the wrong way, but I'd probably feel that way about anyone who had his job.) When it was my turn, I stood in front of James' table and he said "Hey sweetheart, good to see you again," and took my hand.
Of course I realize now that the hand-taking was for shaking purposes... but I just sort of looked at his hand, and he looked, and it was... awkward, and then he let go. *headdesk* And then I remembered why I was standing there so, without actually saying anything, I just hoisted the standee and smacked it down on the table in front of him like some kind of caveperson.
James' face sort of lit up when he saw the thing, and he goes, "Hello, big Spike!" like he's talking to a little kid, and then he looks up at me and says, "You know when I first saw these things, my ego went," *big hand gesture* "shoooomp! Through the roof, man."
And, okay, this is what I say to him:
Yeah, I can't believe I bought it.
Because that is so what to say to the person whose entire body is painted on the very cardboard you're dissing, right? And then, just because it wasn't quite awkward enough:
But I have a lifesize poster of David Boreanaz, so...
Kill me now.
He just smiles and says, "Rock on," and signs the thing, and then he looks up pleasantly at me like he's inviting me to continue talking to him, and... you know, I do think I actually said something else to him, and he said something else back, but... I can't remember a word of whatever it was we said. I just know I acted like I didn't want to own his likeness except that I felt sorry for him because I had one of Angel, and then a minute later I found myself walking away from the table with a bright red face and not enough air in my lungs.
My mom keeps seeing this and nearly jumping out of her skin because she thinks it's a dude standing there.
So once I've got my standee signed in about the most embarrassing way ever, I figure there's nothing to lose by meeting Juliet Landau, who was sitting right next to James. Because there's no way I could flub it up worse than I just did.
Not exactly her best look... and there's Elizabth Rohm sitting in the back.
So I went and stood in Juliet's line, and when it was my turn to speak to her, I actually did have something to say to her. Thank God. We shook hands first - and I remembered the general up-and-down motion that goes with that this time - and I picked a picture for her to sign, the one from Angel where she and Julie Benz are sort of clutching each other in the street. And then I asked her what her favorite Drusilla line was, since there were so many really great/funny ones. And she sort of laughed and thought about it, but then said that the writing on both shows was so good and that there were so many different lines that she loved that she couldn't just pick one, and so she asked what my favorite Drusilla line was, and I said, "I like the one that goes, 'You know what I miss?'" and Juliet immediately says, "Leeches!" and starts laughing.
So I asked her to write the line on the picture for me, and she was happy to do so.
It says, Jen~ "You know what I miss... Leeches!!" All my best! Juliet Landau . After she finished signing it, I reached for it, and she said, "Wait, wait..." and then very carefully drew a smiley face on it too. Heh. So I thanked her, and I started to walk away, and she called out, "Nice meeting you!" and so I was like, "Oh yeah, you too!"
And then, since that went relatively well, and I had one last twenty in my pocket, I figured I ought to meet Elizabeth Rohm too, right?
This was a mistake.
Spaztastical
Oh. My. God.
First of all, she didn't have a line waiting at her table. So I walked right up and... was confronted with her. And I had nothing to say. I don't even know what I was thinking, doing this. I guess I thought something would just come to me, but... yeah, right, like that ever happens. So I pay my money, pick a picture for her to sign, and then gape at her like a fish.
And she goes, "Hey, I've met you before!"
Which... obviously she hasn't. But it was the last thing I expected to hear her say, so I, smoothly, stare at her in confusion and say, "Really?" like I can't remember it.
And then she gets this embarrassed look and goes, "Oookay, I guess not."
*headdesk*
So then she's sort of, "Well... what's your name?" And I'm like, *stares at her some more/tries to remember if we've ever met before some more.*
But then, after an awkward silence, I get this idea to have the exact same conversation with Elizabeth that I had with Juliet, right? Since that conversation seemed to turn out fairly decently. So I just blurt out, "What's your favorite Kate line?"
And she looks kind of surprised, and I go back and add in that my name's Jen, and then she ruins everything by telling me that she doesn't have a favorite Kate line. So I suddenly get scared that she's going to ask me what my favorite Kate line is, so I start trying to think of one and can't, and then I'm staring again...
And she starts talking about her favorite scene in Angel, which is the first "talking stick" scene in episode six of season one, Sense and Sensitivity. And then I bust out with - out of nowhere - "I've written Kate fanfic."
And she seems interested and says, "Oh yeah?" and asks me something like, do I have a favorite Kate line in my fic, or something... but then I'm just staring at her again, horrified, because I'm suddenly thinking, holy crap, I've written a story about this woman having big, sweaty sex with Angel and now she wants me to quote from it? So I'm just, like, completely blank, and while I'm staring at her, she sort of gives me this funny look, and then:
Elizabeth Rohm asks me if I'm okay.
What's the worse thing that's ever happened to you? Was it anything like this? Because I forgive you if it is.
And she's already signed the picture for me by this time, so, because I'm so smooth, I just reach out and take it, and look down at it silently for like a whole minute, trying to think of something to say back to her - some excuse for staring, or... I don't know. And when I can't think of anything, I just look back up at her and say thank you, and turn and walk away. God. And the whole time she was just looking at me like she's never seen anything quite like the thing that just got her autograph. And as I'm walking away, I hear her say, "I'm... sorry?" like maybe I'm leaving because she did something wrong!
I just... I just... y'all, I'm traumatized. Seriously. I can't even... you know, I totally blame my sister Sara. She was supposed to meet these people with me! Sara, I blame you. You get the blame.
Elizabeth, I am so, so sorry.
Sara, after I told her what happened: Jenny, why can't you just act like a person?
*sigh* Maybe [ CNN is right].
And now, to distract you from the copious pitying-of-me that you must surely be doing, here's a fun thing I like to call:
Overheard at Dragon*Con 2007
Here is a list of things that I actually overheard people saying at the convention this year!
1. Crossing the street: Whoa, that girl has lost control of her thong.
2. A drunk girl spots her celebrity crush: GANDALF THE WHITE! ...You so crazy.
3. At the Drum Circle: Dude, if I were going to do shrooms... I'd so do them right now.
4. Man taking pictures in the Hyatt: I just want to look at your eyes... they're so beautiful.
Goth girl he's admiring: I will eat you alive.
5. Also at the Drum Circle: What happens in Drum Circle stays in Drum Circle!
6. Religion at Dragon*Con?: *Pointing at Buddy Christ* Look! I've found Jesus!
7. Cheer up, emo kid: Don't say that! That's mean, and you'll feel bad when I die.
8. Nerds need protection too: The 501st don't even do anything anymore. They don't even protect anyone. That's so lame.
9. Outside the Marriott: No, dude. We're artists. There's like 40 of us, man. We're creating a community that doesn't suck.
10. In the bathroom: Wait a sec, I think I've got a pubic hair in my mouth.
Alright, now that everyone has forgotten about my Walk of Fame nightmare... moving on!
The Sooper Sekrit CDS Panel
After I embarrassed the hell out of myself vowed never to meet another celebrity met James, Juliet, and Elizabeth, I had about an hour to kill before meeting up with the CDS ladies again. I went back to my room at the Hilton to drop off my Spike standee and write a bunch of cuss words in my notebook, and about ten minutes before 6, I reckoned it was time to go downstairs to the Casablanca Lounge. Obviously, I had forgotten that it takes half an hour to get down to the Hilton lobby level from the sixth floor, so I was a bit late.
From left to right: Christina, Cindy, Kerry, Rebecca, Karen, [Berengaria], and Deb.
Once everyone was gathered, we all just sat around and talked for a while, and then we went downstairs to Trader Vic's to see about having supper. The elevator wait was insane. Not all of us fit on it, so Deb and Rebecca went outside and walked around to get to the restaurant. And then it turned out that the wait was going to be an hour and half for a party of 11, even if we split into two groups. So this time, we all went outside and around the building to get back up to the lobby area. There was a restaurant called Le Cafe up there (what an original name... doesn't that mean "the restaurant?"), so we checked out the wait for that one - forty minutes - and decided it would do. What's kind of funny is the host dude wouldn't let us be "CDS." Like, he looked really uncomfortable with the idea and sort of demanded a last name, so Berry gave hers. Which was amusing to me because Berry has a kind of unusual last name and it probably would have been easier for him to write down CDS anyway. :)
So while we were waiting, we went to the Marriott to see if their photo op pictures were ready yet, but they weren't. And then we came back to the Hilton, and I had my first actual meal of the weekend.
I don't really know of the food was as spectacular as I remember it... I kind of get the feeling it wasn't, but omg, I was so hungry! I had fried chicken and macaroni and cheese... and something green that I didn't eat but Rebecca tried it and pronounced it bitter. And I met a really nice English girl named Elizabeth, who goes by Busybee on the boards, but I didn't catch which boards. And two other women were there who, I think, are somehow involved with the Dresden Files audio books? But they sat at the other end of the table from me and I don't think I actually met them, but I remember both of their names started with J. (ETA: Cindy cleared this up for me: "The ladies at dinner on Sunday night were indeed 2 with names starting with the letter "J" -- Joy and June, aka the Buzzy ladies, who are the publishers of the Dresden Files audiobooks (and other titles too). I'm sorry that you were at the other end of the table and didn't get to talk with them. [commercial plug] If you haven't seen their tee shirt line, some of the quotes on them crack me up. www.teeswithatwist.com and their audiobook site: www.buzzymultimedia.com. [/commercial plug]")
Cindy had brought her little photo printer to the con, and she gave each of us some pictures she took of James from the concert! Isn't that awesome? And a little clear frame with a magnet. :D
I spent most of the meal talking to Christina, Rebecca, and Elizabeth. Such nice people! Actually, everyone I met from CDS was nice. Although I did try to talk to Berry before we got a table and she just kind of wandered away while I was talking... but I'm pretty sure she didn't realize I was saying something to her. :) Heh.
So it was about 10PM when we left the restaurant, and everyone ran across the street back to the Marriott to check on the pictures, except Deb and Rebecca, who hung back to say goodbye. ♥ I also said goodnight to Christina and headed back up to my room, completely exhausted and planning to fall immediately to sleep, but when I tried to open the door, the inside lock was locked, which was sort of shocking since I shoved the door open about two inches before it caught. And then my sister Sara ran over and peeked out, then let me in quickly because she was just wearing a towel and a towelturban.
My Sister the Bellydancer
So Sara had gone to the Drum Circle the first night we were there and immediately decided to become a bellydancer. She even went to one of the dealer rooms and bought a jangly scarf thing to tie around her hips so her ass would jingle while she did it. She was in the room getting ready for the Drum Circle that night when I came in, but she wanted to go over to the Hyatt early so she could ask someone who knew something about bellydancing to show her some moves.
I let Sara borrow my Cordy skirt to dance in (luckily it has a drawstring, or it would have been WAY too big for her). With a black tank top, bare feet, and the jangly hip scarf thing, she actually looked like she belonged with the other dancers. I slumped on the bed for about half an hour, failing to fall asleep while Sara talked about what they had done that day, and found myself agreeing to go to the Drum Circle that night to watch her dance even though I was severely pooped.
As we made our way over to the Hyatt, Sara and I watched two [Disco Party Buses] pull away from the Hilton, disco parties in full swing on board. On a Sunday night. (This may have been the most awesome thing I have ever seen.) And two drunk guys walking behind us checked out Sara's jingly butt and made comments that I don't think she heard. Oh, and we also ran into Deb, Rebecca, Kerry, and Karen on the escalator in the Marriott and spoke briefly.
The Hyatt was crowded. And they were telling people not to take pictures, which sucked. The International Ballrooms were still being used for something else, so the Drum Circle crowd was all milling around outside, and I got the impression Sara was a little nervous about going up to anyone and asking how to bellydance, so we did a lot of standing around and admiring people's costumes.
I have never seen so many [ boys dressed as girls] in my life. And not just, you know, girly costumes, but like... men walking around wearing high heels, stockings, panties, and a leash. Like, that's the whole outfit. O.O *fans self* And we saw these two hot young guys murmuring to each other with their foreheads touching and then sharing very tender kisses, and... wow. Like, I'm not normally a big fan of PDAs, but this was hot.
Ahem.
And Sara did finally approach another girl dressed for the Drum Circle and ask to be shown a few moves, but the girl seemed kind of... I don't know, a little annoyed maybe. Like she didn't have time to be bothered, even though she was just standing there waiting like everyone else. And so she told Sara just to do whatever she felt like doing, that there was no wrong way to dance in a Drum Circle, which is actually kind of true, but it just seemed like she didn't want to take the time to show her anything. But she was standing with this really nice dude who was dressed as a knight, and he was like, show her the figure eight thing! And the girl said there wasn't time, and he was like, I bet she can do it, it's like this! And then he did it and Sara copied him, picking it up immediately, and he was like, see! She's doing it!
It was at that point, I think, that some D*C staff came marching through the lobby yelling, "Make a hole! Clear the path! Coming through!" and everyone scrambled to move to the sides of the room and then... nothing happened. We were like, ooookay... who did we just make a hole for?
Anyway, Drum Circle!
Click to viewThe girl with the white skirt who spins by and flashes my camera? The people around us kept making fun of her. It was sad.
The dancing started at midnight. Sara didn't get up to dance right away because she wanted there to be a lot of people doing it before she joined in, so people wouldn't really notice her. We stayed for a loooong time. But it was entertaining. For some of us.
Brad and Nat fell asleep at the Drum Circle. Aww!
Some of the women there were pretty amazing. There were these two in particular that I couldn't take my eyes off of. They balanced swords across the top of their heads and seemed able to move their chests independently of the rest of their bodies... it was awesome. And later a Princess Leia started dancing with them and I found myself having a hard time not drooling over her. I don't know what it is about that damn gold bikini costume, but it really gets to me! Oh well, at least I'm [ not the only one]...
Sara eventually worked up the nerve to dance. And she was good! Like, people were actually looking at her and trying to copy her moves. I was so proud. :) I took several pictures of her dancing, but it was dark in there and I couldn't see what my camera was pointing at, so most of them have her head sort of cut off.
I see you baby, shaking that... Cordelia skirt.
Excerpt from Sara's con report:
I stood in line for the Klingon Bikini contest until I realized it was NOT the line for the second BSG panel. When I left the line, I felt as though I may have disappointed some of the trekkies. But I think I made up for it that night in the Drum Circle, wearing my jingly skirt and halter top and squirming around like a snake charmer. I've never belly danced before, and though it took me about an hour and a half to work up the nerve, once I got out there, I really enjoyed myself. A guy dressed as a fawn (fur pants, horns and no shirt) kept wiggling closer and closer to me, and as I danced away from him, I ended up sandwiched between a middle-aged pirate and slutty bo peep. It was a great night. Nothing beats watching Link and Princess Zelda dry hump to tribal drumming.
That about sums it up, don't you think?
Sara and Scott stayed longer than the rest of us. Brad and Nat went back to the Sheraton and my mom and I popped up to the Consuite for a snack before going back to the Hilton. They had vanilla ice cream with different sundae toppings. :) Before we went to bed, we stopped by the front desk to ask about checkout the next morning and what we should do with our bags if we weren't ready to leave yet, and they told us we could check our bags at the bell station - along with the other five bazillion people who weren't ready to leave either. We finally got to bed at about four.
Am I Dead? I Feel Dead.
By Monday morning, all of us had dark circles under our eyes, and we looked like drug addicts in withdrawal. I had actually [ lost three pounds], no lie. We had to be out of the room by eleven, and our plan was to take our stuff down to the Sheraton and leave it in Brad's room because he didn't have to check out until four, so Sara and Scott went on without us, and my mom and I followed a few minutes later, after checking to make sure we'd gotten everything (last year we left some stuff behind).
The wait for the elevator was hell as usual, only worse because we had our suitcases and Big Spike with us. We finally got one that was empty, and we jumped on even though it was on its way up instead of down. So we went up several floors first, and more people got on, and then, on like floor 23 or something, this dude got on the elevator dragging a big cooler behind him, and, as soon as he got inside, the thing dumped out.
Yes, this really happened.
Drinks and ice went everywhere, and then the elevator doors wouldn't close because there was ice in the way, so the guy salvaged his drinks and then tried kicking the ice into the corner of the elevator to get it out of the way of the doors, and the rest of us were squished into the back corner to try and keep from standing in it. When the doors finally managed to close, we started going down, but of course we had to stop on every single floor on the way because there were so many people needing an elevator. So it went something like this:
*ding*
*doors open and ice spills into hallway*
People waiting for elevator: Dude, what happened?
*doors close*
*ding*
*doors open and ice spills into hallway*
People waiting for elevator: Holy shit, man! What did you do?
*doors close*
*ding*
*doors open and ice spills into hallway*
People waiting for elevator: Whoa, I'll get the next one.
*doors close*
*ding*
*doors open and ice spills into hallway*
People waiting for elevator: *stares*
*doors close*
*ding*
*doors open and ice spills into hallway*
People waiting for elevator: Haha! Y'all check out this elevator - look, they've got ice all in the--
*doors close*
*Collective facepalm of all passengers*
Anyway, we finally got down to the lobby and had to grab our suitcases and leap over the pile of ice to get out of the elevator. On the way out the door of the Hilton, we saw a big group of Japanese flight attendants and very nearly took a picture of them because my mom thought they were part of the con. But they weren't.
And so we dragged our stuff two blocks to the Sheraton, and when we got there, Sara and Scott were coming out of it and still had their stuff with them. Apparently, the Sheraton people suddenly decided not to make late checkout an option on Monday, so Brad actually had to have everything out of the room by noon instead of four, meaning we couldn't leave our stuff there. So we hauled it back to the Hilton and ended up checking it there anyway. (Big Spike got his very own luggage tag.)
Since we were already in the Hilton anyway, my mom and I went down to the dealer rooms again. I came so close to buying [one of these], but they didn't take debit cards. *sigh* And I saw an awesome poster that I just had to take a picture of:
The Love Wanga? Seriously? I so have to see this movie if it's a real thing.
Yeah, um... while I was getting my camera out to take a picture of that poster, someone came by and farted right next to me. And it was like, really smelly. So I just held my breath, right, because I really wanted this picture. But while I was waiting for my camera to come on and everything, people were walking by and giving me these wrinkle-nosed looks. But it wasn't me, I swear! Mr. Anonymous Farter, if you ever read this, just know that I am very upset with you.
Then we met up with Sara, Scott, Brad, and Natalie at the Peachtree Center Mall for lunch at Chick-fil-a, followed by a trip down to the Walk of Fame so Sara could meet the Harry Potter actors. They weren't there, but Sara asked me if I wanted to go over to Elizabeth Rohm and apologize for being such a total spaz. As if! God. I couldn't even look at her. I wonder how many people pull a total freakout when they meet celebrities... like, does it happen often enough that they wouldn't remember a specific case? Please tell me it does. I don't want to be that one girl that Elizabeth Rohm remembers meeting at Dragon*Con who stared and couldn't talk and went out of her way to make everything completely awkward and then finally just walked off.
After this, I think I went back to the dealer rooms with Brad and Nat since they hadn't had a chance to go there yet... Oh, and then I left them down there because the crowd was sort of getting to me, and I ended up falling asleep sprawled out on one of the couches in the Casablanca Lounge like a hobo. But I did see the boy I met in the Consuite again on my way there... we waved at each other on the escalators. XD
Some guy woke me up to point out that we had on the same shirt. I asked him if he got it in New York and he said yes - he lives there. And I reached for my camera to take a picture of the two of us, but when I looked back up he was walking off, so... yeah.
What else...? I was so tired at this point I had stopped writing anything down. I don't think anything else noteworthy happened. So then my mom and I got our stuff from the bell station and headed for Peachtree Center to get back on the MARTA. We ran into Deb and Rebecca on the way (Deb had done another James Marsters photo op) and my mom, uh... thanked them for hanging out with me. Yeah. *facepalm* There's really nothing like a mother when you want to be really embarrassed, is there? I'm 24 years old, and the woman makes me feel like I'm 12. *sigh*
Things I Left Out by Accident
So I was just looking through my pictures and notes again, and I realized I left a couple things out, so I decided to stick them on at the end instead of trying to figure out where they actually go. You're cool with that, right?
Excellent.
I love this costume. It's the house that fell on the Wicked Witch of the East, right? But like, who comes up with that? What kind of person is like, "Hey, for Dragon*Con, I wanna go as a house?" I love this person for thinking that way.
My brother went as a fanboy.
I had wondered what Cary Elwes was up to these days...
I didn't get any pictures of [ the Marvel Zombies], but they were awesome.
[More fantastic James Marsters pictures] by Chrisuk.
This Ninja Turtle was drawn on the sidewalk outside of the Marriott. I like it because only the highlights are drawn. And because it's a Ninja Turtle. Like, I was thinking about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the other day, and I'm just like... who in the world even came up with these things? Because they're turtles, right, but they're as big as people, and they can talk, and they're ninjas, AND - they're teenagers! Someone was on crack...
Where can I get a hat like that?
[ Closing words] from the Whedonverse Track Director, Wayne.
Sara: The bottom row deleted itself right after this picture was taken.
My mom: Look, a Dalek! *snaps picture*
Brad: You realize you just took a picture of four dicks in a box?
My mom: ...bwah?
The End.
My con report ends here. If you made it all the way to the end, you win my undying love and respect. I almost didn't make it all the way. Thank you to everyone whose posts I linked, especially the people I didn't get permission from!
And thank you Elizabeth Rohm, wherever you are. I promise you didn't do anything wrong. It's not you... it's me.