Dragon*Con - the long version
Okay, after a 22 hour nap, I feel much better. On to the report.
First, unabashed honest gushing. I love this convention. Nowhere else in the world do I leave feeling like a million bucks. Really, I get my fill of attention for the whole year from this con. Not only the picture-taking - just the compliments and the conversations I get there. I think the moment I fell in love with Dragon*Con years ago was when I was sitting there, waiting for panel and I made a joke about Lord of the Rings and the whole room cracked up. I love this weekend. And it just gets better the more friends I make there.
Friday
All day long at work - counting down. I'd already packed, suitcases waiting at the door of my house. Once work ended, I grabbed my keys and ran. I went by the bank to get actual money, went by Wal-Mart to get Airborne (ended up not working, oh well) and disposable cameras, then went home. My parents had asked to come for the first night (pretty tame) and stay for the parade on Saturday. That turned out okay - I enjoy introducing new people to the madness, but I was a little worried of how they would take it. Actually, I think they finally have a vague understanding of why I like it so much. My mom said, after the long photo shoot on Saturday, that it's a little like being a celebrity, and a little like going to see Santa Claus as a kid. "He's real and you can talk to him!" Anyway, with them along, Friday was different. Not bad different, I just wanted to keep them away from anything really weird. We went out to dinner before we got there at a little airport restaurant, and watched the planes take off. I had Greek for the first time - it was great. By the time we ended up getting there and getting checked in and I got my badge, it was pretty late. We changed in our bathing suits and went swimming (again, avoiding the crowds). I met a nice guy in the pool from Texas - we talked Firefly. Then we went upstairs and changed, and took a few pictures. Then we went to bed.
Saturday
I woke up early and curled my hair (takes a long time when you've got a lot of it). Then I got into my big poofy white dress from Enchanted and went downstairs. I got congratulated twice on my marriage on the way by bellhops "Thank you - always did want to marry Patrick Dempsey. Or James Marsden." I got to the Fans for Christ table and met up with all my friends who were the reason I was going to be in the parade (including my mini-me!). We went down to the park where the parade started - me with a lot of help from big strong guys who held the back of my hoop-skirt on the escalators. I really appreciated all the help. We saw the millions of stormtroopers and everybody else. Then...the parade! Everybody cheering for blocks and blocks. Lots of outfits. A whole lot of fun. And a marching band! I never did figure out how we got the marching band, but that was a great idea.
After the parade, I hung out for a while with my parents, then went across the street to meet with three other girls who'd dressed up as Enchanted characters too. We thought we'd take a couple of pictures and that'd be it. Turned out, a lot of other people wanted pictures of us too. An hour and a half of flashing later (including a reporter from the AJC) we said goodbye and I went to change into my Kaylee outfit, of which I was sure I could blend into the crowd. I will tell you, though, it was lot of fun to get my picture taken that many times.
Once in the Kaylee outfit, I discovered that I'd not been to one panel or the dealer room or anything. And it was late Saturday afternoon! So I went to the panel for the Firefly actors (Kaylee, Inara, Wash, and Mal) and stood in a line that wrapped around the Hyatt. Luckily, I stood in line with some very nice people from North Carolina, so I was entertained for the duration. The panel was great, I went and ate lunch/dinner with the North Carolinians - I always forget to eat at the Con, which I think might contribute to the overall exhaustion and illness at the end of it. Anyway, then I went to another panel on the "Bad Boys of Fiction" or something like that. Very much fun. I got to talk about Severus Snape for 45 minutes - they snuck in Edward Cullen for the last few minutes, but it was decided that he wasn't a "bad boy" because he was the perfect man, despite his tendencies to stalk girls, appear in their bedrooms, and cut their brakes when he didn't want them to go anywhere. *sighs* Girls are weird. I completely understand Severus "He's just misunderstood. All those insecurities. Bad childhood." but Edward? Kind creepy. Plus, he sparkles.
The rest of Saturday night was spent with my friends from Fans for Christ in the free gaming room playing Uno, Spoons, some betting on numbers game and an Anne McCaffrey dragon game, which, strangely enough, involved a lot of physical violence. Lots of laughing, though.
Sunday
Our church service was great. I liked the singing, even if I was a bit sleepy through most of it. The message was awfully good. It was about comparing God and Christians to superheroes. God's kind of like Wolverine. *grins* I'll never be able to get that picture out of my mind.
After that, I was going to take a nap, but I was sidetracked by filkers. After listening to them for a while, I went to the dealer's room and checked it out. I ended up buying a... I think they're called a circlet? Like Elrond in Lord of the Rings. Except mine is a lot simpler and has a bead hanging from the middle. Then I went to find the Doctor Who panel at the Sheraton (I was very impressed with myself for not getting lost). That was a GREAT panel - lots of talk on season 4 and Donna and expectations for the upcoming years. It was actually so crowded that the room was full before the starting time and there was a line all the way down the hallway. The Sheraton people said we could have a ballroom instead, though, so we all trooped down the stairs and pretty much filled the ballroom. Who knew there was so many Doctor Who fans? Also, I met a David Tennant look-alike there. I got all nervous asking to take his picture (ten thousand other people were taking his, so I thought he'd be impatient) but actually, when I asked him, he said he wanted a picture with me on his camera too. *sigh* This was my first swoon of the day.
Anyway, after Doctor Who, I went to the Hilton to find the Walk of Fame, which I had heard of before, but never knew what it was. Turns out, it's where you go to get autographs. I got in line for Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk (Mal and Wash from Firefly). It was a pretty long line, and they cut it off about twenty people behind me, so it was good that I got in line when I did. Anyway, I got up to the front and started getting pretty nervous, because what do you say to a celebrity? They've probably heard "I love your character. I love your movie" way too many times today. But before I could think of anything to say, Nathan looked at me and said "Can I take your picture?" (still wearing the Kaylee outfit) *grins* I'm living in Nathan Fillion's digital camera. After the picture, as he was getting ready to sign my picture, I told him that he was the first movie star I'd ever met. He looked at me and said, "Wait, you mean..here? Right now? I'm you're first one?" Then he held my hands and said "Then we need to remember this moment. Here, on the thirty first of August, in a crowded, kind of humid room, we were together..." he kept on going. It was hilarious. Finally, he signed my picture and told me that I had the cutest voice he had ever heard. *sighs* Needless to say, that was my second swoon of the day. What a nice man.
After that, I met Alan Tudyk, who was just as nice. Then I saw the guy who plays Lex Luthor on Smallville, Michael Rosenbaum. I told him that I'd heard people saying he looked better bald (someone said he'd commented on it in one of his panels) but I thought he looked good with hair. He smiled and said "Thank you" and asked if I minded if he drew on the picture of himself he was going to sign for me. He took his Sharpie and drew hair on the picture and signed it. I thought it was hilarious. Then right before I left, he said "I have to let you know. I think you have the sweetest voice." So, bewildered girl here. Two movie stars within the space of about ten minutes commenting on my speaking voice? In heaven, but also in confusion. Oh well. I'm just glad they liked me.
Okay, we're getting towards the end. I met up with my friends in the dealers room, bought a blue Chinese dress and changed into it (I really liked the color) then went to a Stargate panel where they were showing other strange shows that the cast members had been on. About halfway through, I realized that I was getting dizzy. I thought back and realized I hadn't eaten anything since a coffee that morning to keep me awake. Come to think of it, it might have been a first inkling that I was getting sick, too, but I didn't know it at the time. So I excused myself, went upstairs and ate some crackers, then came back just as the panel was ending. We went to the food court and ate some hot dogs and smoothies, then went upstairs to rest. I curled my hair again while I was watching the last part of the Masquerade on t.v. and put on my pirate outfit for the Pirate Party. It turned out not to be that good of a party (I wanted to dance) but we tried our best to dance to the flute music and had a good time hanging out. The Yule Ball was over by the time we left, or we would have gone to that. Anyway, we ended up back at the Marriott, getting ready to head over to the Hilton to the gaming room, but some of our friends called and said there wasn't anybody over there. So we hung around the lobby and got pictures taken of us (my good friend was Carmen Sandiego - she was very popular. "Hey, I found you!" became a common joke the whole weekend) I was still in my pirate costume, so that got quite a few pictures taken too. We met two guys who overheard us lamenting the lack of dancing at the pirate party, and they invited us to another party at 2, that would play eighties/techno music.
Pretty soon, here came more friends and they said some Stargate actors were upstairs in a bar. Now, keep in mind I've probably seen two or three episdes in my life, and that just because my brother is obsessed. We trooped up the stairs and stood in the bar (me, looking for actors who I probably wouldn't recognize anyway) I ended up getting in a conversation with a nice older man who liked my pirate costume and a blonde girl he was talking to. I was informed later that he was the father of Daniel Jackson's wife on the show, and the blonde girl was the girl who played Kaylee on Firefly (I can't believe I didn't recognize her.) Anyway, they were both very nice. Also, there was a guy who played someone called Rainbow something on the Atlantis show.
Anyway, we ended up sitting outside Starbucks and people watching for a while. Then we took more costume pictures. Then we went upstairs to the party to see if it was any good - it was!! I was about dead on my feet before I got there, but the music woke me right up. I ended up dancing and jumping up and down until almost 4, thinking I could dance all night. Then my friends were leaving, so I thought I'd go too, and the minute I stepped in the elevator, all adrenaline left me and I barely made it upstairs. I woke up with a fever about 7, and everyone came up and said goodbye to me in my room instead of me going to find them all. My dad came and got me and my stuff and drove me home. Then I slept for a really long time and took today off of work. I feel a lot better now, though, just weak. I think I'll be fine for tomorrow.
Anyway, this weekend was totally worth getting sick. I had such a good time. Pictures will be coming when I get my film developed. I hope you guys had just as good a weekend.
First, unabashed honest gushing. I love this convention. Nowhere else in the world do I leave feeling like a million bucks. Really, I get my fill of attention for the whole year from this con. Not only the picture-taking - just the compliments and the conversations I get there. I think the moment I fell in love with Dragon*Con years ago was when I was sitting there, waiting for panel and I made a joke about Lord of the Rings and the whole room cracked up. I love this weekend. And it just gets better the more friends I make there.
Friday
All day long at work - counting down. I'd already packed, suitcases waiting at the door of my house. Once work ended, I grabbed my keys and ran. I went by the bank to get actual money, went by Wal-Mart to get Airborne (ended up not working, oh well) and disposable cameras, then went home. My parents had asked to come for the first night (pretty tame) and stay for the parade on Saturday. That turned out okay - I enjoy introducing new people to the madness, but I was a little worried of how they would take it. Actually, I think they finally have a vague understanding of why I like it so much. My mom said, after the long photo shoot on Saturday, that it's a little like being a celebrity, and a little like going to see Santa Claus as a kid. "He's real and you can talk to him!" Anyway, with them along, Friday was different. Not bad different, I just wanted to keep them away from anything really weird. We went out to dinner before we got there at a little airport restaurant, and watched the planes take off. I had Greek for the first time - it was great. By the time we ended up getting there and getting checked in and I got my badge, it was pretty late. We changed in our bathing suits and went swimming (again, avoiding the crowds). I met a nice guy in the pool from Texas - we talked Firefly. Then we went upstairs and changed, and took a few pictures. Then we went to bed.
Saturday
I woke up early and curled my hair (takes a long time when you've got a lot of it). Then I got into my big poofy white dress from Enchanted and went downstairs. I got congratulated twice on my marriage on the way by bellhops "Thank you - always did want to marry Patrick Dempsey. Or James Marsden." I got to the Fans for Christ table and met up with all my friends who were the reason I was going to be in the parade (including my mini-me!). We went down to the park where the parade started - me with a lot of help from big strong guys who held the back of my hoop-skirt on the escalators. I really appreciated all the help. We saw the millions of stormtroopers and everybody else. Then...the parade! Everybody cheering for blocks and blocks. Lots of outfits. A whole lot of fun. And a marching band! I never did figure out how we got the marching band, but that was a great idea.
After the parade, I hung out for a while with my parents, then went across the street to meet with three other girls who'd dressed up as Enchanted characters too. We thought we'd take a couple of pictures and that'd be it. Turned out, a lot of other people wanted pictures of us too. An hour and a half of flashing later (including a reporter from the AJC) we said goodbye and I went to change into my Kaylee outfit, of which I was sure I could blend into the crowd. I will tell you, though, it was lot of fun to get my picture taken that many times.
Once in the Kaylee outfit, I discovered that I'd not been to one panel or the dealer room or anything. And it was late Saturday afternoon! So I went to the panel for the Firefly actors (Kaylee, Inara, Wash, and Mal) and stood in a line that wrapped around the Hyatt. Luckily, I stood in line with some very nice people from North Carolina, so I was entertained for the duration. The panel was great, I went and ate lunch/dinner with the North Carolinians - I always forget to eat at the Con, which I think might contribute to the overall exhaustion and illness at the end of it. Anyway, then I went to another panel on the "Bad Boys of Fiction" or something like that. Very much fun. I got to talk about Severus Snape for 45 minutes - they snuck in Edward Cullen for the last few minutes, but it was decided that he wasn't a "bad boy" because he was the perfect man, despite his tendencies to stalk girls, appear in their bedrooms, and cut their brakes when he didn't want them to go anywhere. *sighs* Girls are weird. I completely understand Severus "He's just misunderstood. All those insecurities. Bad childhood." but Edward? Kind creepy. Plus, he sparkles.
The rest of Saturday night was spent with my friends from Fans for Christ in the free gaming room playing Uno, Spoons, some betting on numbers game and an Anne McCaffrey dragon game, which, strangely enough, involved a lot of physical violence. Lots of laughing, though.
Sunday
Our church service was great. I liked the singing, even if I was a bit sleepy through most of it. The message was awfully good. It was about comparing God and Christians to superheroes. God's kind of like Wolverine. *grins* I'll never be able to get that picture out of my mind.
After that, I was going to take a nap, but I was sidetracked by filkers. After listening to them for a while, I went to the dealer's room and checked it out. I ended up buying a... I think they're called a circlet? Like Elrond in Lord of the Rings. Except mine is a lot simpler and has a bead hanging from the middle. Then I went to find the Doctor Who panel at the Sheraton (I was very impressed with myself for not getting lost). That was a GREAT panel - lots of talk on season 4 and Donna and expectations for the upcoming years. It was actually so crowded that the room was full before the starting time and there was a line all the way down the hallway. The Sheraton people said we could have a ballroom instead, though, so we all trooped down the stairs and pretty much filled the ballroom. Who knew there was so many Doctor Who fans? Also, I met a David Tennant look-alike there. I got all nervous asking to take his picture (ten thousand other people were taking his, so I thought he'd be impatient) but actually, when I asked him, he said he wanted a picture with me on his camera too. *sigh* This was my first swoon of the day.
Anyway, after Doctor Who, I went to the Hilton to find the Walk of Fame, which I had heard of before, but never knew what it was. Turns out, it's where you go to get autographs. I got in line for Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk (Mal and Wash from Firefly). It was a pretty long line, and they cut it off about twenty people behind me, so it was good that I got in line when I did. Anyway, I got up to the front and started getting pretty nervous, because what do you say to a celebrity? They've probably heard "I love your character. I love your movie" way too many times today. But before I could think of anything to say, Nathan looked at me and said "Can I take your picture?" (still wearing the Kaylee outfit) *grins* I'm living in Nathan Fillion's digital camera. After the picture, as he was getting ready to sign my picture, I told him that he was the first movie star I'd ever met. He looked at me and said, "Wait, you mean..here? Right now? I'm you're first one?" Then he held my hands and said "Then we need to remember this moment. Here, on the thirty first of August, in a crowded, kind of humid room, we were together..." he kept on going. It was hilarious. Finally, he signed my picture and told me that I had the cutest voice he had ever heard. *sighs* Needless to say, that was my second swoon of the day. What a nice man.
After that, I met Alan Tudyk, who was just as nice. Then I saw the guy who plays Lex Luthor on Smallville, Michael Rosenbaum. I told him that I'd heard people saying he looked better bald (someone said he'd commented on it in one of his panels) but I thought he looked good with hair. He smiled and said "Thank you" and asked if I minded if he drew on the picture of himself he was going to sign for me. He took his Sharpie and drew hair on the picture and signed it. I thought it was hilarious. Then right before I left, he said "I have to let you know. I think you have the sweetest voice." So, bewildered girl here. Two movie stars within the space of about ten minutes commenting on my speaking voice? In heaven, but also in confusion. Oh well. I'm just glad they liked me.
Okay, we're getting towards the end. I met up with my friends in the dealers room, bought a blue Chinese dress and changed into it (I really liked the color) then went to a Stargate panel where they were showing other strange shows that the cast members had been on. About halfway through, I realized that I was getting dizzy. I thought back and realized I hadn't eaten anything since a coffee that morning to keep me awake. Come to think of it, it might have been a first inkling that I was getting sick, too, but I didn't know it at the time. So I excused myself, went upstairs and ate some crackers, then came back just as the panel was ending. We went to the food court and ate some hot dogs and smoothies, then went upstairs to rest. I curled my hair again while I was watching the last part of the Masquerade on t.v. and put on my pirate outfit for the Pirate Party. It turned out not to be that good of a party (I wanted to dance) but we tried our best to dance to the flute music and had a good time hanging out. The Yule Ball was over by the time we left, or we would have gone to that. Anyway, we ended up back at the Marriott, getting ready to head over to the Hilton to the gaming room, but some of our friends called and said there wasn't anybody over there. So we hung around the lobby and got pictures taken of us (my good friend was Carmen Sandiego - she was very popular. "Hey, I found you!" became a common joke the whole weekend) I was still in my pirate costume, so that got quite a few pictures taken too. We met two guys who overheard us lamenting the lack of dancing at the pirate party, and they invited us to another party at 2, that would play eighties/techno music.
Pretty soon, here came more friends and they said some Stargate actors were upstairs in a bar. Now, keep in mind I've probably seen two or three episdes in my life, and that just because my brother is obsessed. We trooped up the stairs and stood in the bar (me, looking for actors who I probably wouldn't recognize anyway) I ended up getting in a conversation with a nice older man who liked my pirate costume and a blonde girl he was talking to. I was informed later that he was the father of Daniel Jackson's wife on the show, and the blonde girl was the girl who played Kaylee on Firefly (I can't believe I didn't recognize her.) Anyway, they were both very nice. Also, there was a guy who played someone called Rainbow something on the Atlantis show.
Anyway, we ended up sitting outside Starbucks and people watching for a while. Then we took more costume pictures. Then we went upstairs to the party to see if it was any good - it was!! I was about dead on my feet before I got there, but the music woke me right up. I ended up dancing and jumping up and down until almost 4, thinking I could dance all night. Then my friends were leaving, so I thought I'd go too, and the minute I stepped in the elevator, all adrenaline left me and I barely made it upstairs. I woke up with a fever about 7, and everyone came up and said goodbye to me in my room instead of me going to find them all. My dad came and got me and my stuff and drove me home. Then I slept for a really long time and took today off of work. I feel a lot better now, though, just weak. I think I'll be fine for tomorrow.
Anyway, this weekend was totally worth getting sick. I had such a good time. Pictures will be coming when I get my film developed. I hope you guys had just as good a weekend.