Dragon*Con... omg... so... freakin'... amazing... *ded*
I fail at Livejournal.
But I win at Dragon*Con!
And then I fail with con-crud.
Alas!
So, I'm back from Dragon*Con, and as usual, it was awesome beyond belief. They said there were 5,000 MORE people this year than any year prior. The crowds were enormous, but the registration line was shockingly fast. They were right... the new registration system was made of win. I applaud them. So many people I know, love, and at least recognize were there, which makes it even better. I made new friends, but my Trophy Wife has told me that it's impossible for me to go anywhere and not make new friends. And internet friends! The jim_and_bones crew had a meetup! So much talent in one place! I love all you ladies, really. ♥
I went into the convention with my health as good as it's been in two years, so I got to run around like a madman. No major malfunctions. It felt amazing. I actually made a valiant effort to get SOME sleep. Naturally, right now, I've got an obnoxious little cold (is coughing up blood normal?) and seem to be starting with a flare-up, but that's what meds, vitamins, and coffee are for. Am I right? And I must admit... five days of Dragon*Con madness in good health in trade for a month of recovering while my body decides to attack itself again? I actually think I got the better end of the bargain. Seriously, after last year's Dragon*Con in a knee brace, two Arisias in a row in a nasty flare-up, and one Naka-Kon in a flare-up... this was well worth it and then some.
So, there are so many ways I could do this write-up, but my throat is sore, my nose is running, my finger-joints are swollen, and I'm dead-tired, so... bullet points!
- Parade. I wasn't in it. I decided that I'd never WATCHED it, so we did, from our balcony room at the Hyatt. (Gee, don't I sound posh? I'm not.) And the parade was beyond incredible. I had no idea it was so enormous. The floats and costumes... incredible.
- The Trek Track staff. Lovely, wonderful people. All of them. I... uh... think I might have been welcomed into the fold. More on that in a f-locked post.
- Trek Track itself! Awesome panels, great discussion on the reboot movie (some very thought-provoking points made by some people in the room), and KLINGON KARAOKE. Oh yeah, baby.
- My LJ friends. Seeing kimuracarter again, absolutely (I'm so glad you made it, bb), but also everyone from the J&B comm. Ack! I require much Jim&Bones chatting, STAT! Well, not tonight. If I want to kick this cold, I need some sleep. (Remind me why I'm forcing myself to go to work tomorrow?) But there's just something thrilling when LJ spills over into RL. It makes me feel like the world isn't as distant and lonely as all that, and that my web of friends is this rich and intricate tapestry woven from fabrics too varied to name, but all beautiful and shiny and warm. (Is that delirium talking? I don't know.)
- Klingon Party. There's nothing like clinking flasks with Klingons and drinking a around to the glory and honor of the Klingon Empire. 'nuff said. QAPLA'!
- COSTUMES. Oh dear gods, it's Dragon*Con. The costumes are essential to existence. First, I SAW some incredible costuming. And yes, there's too much to list, so go do a google search for costumes from the con, and you'll see what I saw. And then, of course, there are the costumes I wore. Star Trek TOS Captain's uniform. Star Trek AOS cadet uniform... the MALE version. With the Jacket of Doom (TM). Pictures to follow, but yes, we did it. And I wore it to the Masked Ball on Friday night, with a Star Trek mask that I painted just to go with it. Very shiny. On Saturday night, my Trophy Wife and I wore our Princess Fiona and Donkey costumes, respectively... with a twist. It was "Princess Fiona and the Tijuana Donkey Show." Yes, we went there. And the sporfles from the crowd were priceless, and worth sweating my butt off in the damned donkey suit. But hey, I was a hot piece of ass.
- People I met! I met these three guys in the lobby of the Marriott the first night. One of them is an Army Major... and a die-hard anime fan. You should have seen him in costume. I had a blast hanging out and drinking with the bunch of them... and con hadn't even officially started yet! And I ran into someone else on the way back to my room that night who I'd met very briefly the previous year and we all (four of us total) talked for about 20 minutes (maybe more, lost track) and had a thumb-wrestling match in the Hyatt lobby (I lost, but dude, I've got arthritis, gimme a break) until we all really desperately needed to go to bed. And MORE people I met! Dear gods! This sweet 15-year old girl who was attending Trek Track alone... SO enthusiastic about Star Trek, making brilliant costumes already. I met her when she got up for her Klingon Karaoke song (wearing a Wesley sweater) and she asked someone to back her up, so I grabbed the other mic. It was AWESOME. And... the awesomeness of the random meeting of people sorta snowballed from there.
- Star Trek actors! Finally met Gates McFadden, and she seems as kind, sweet, and lovely as I'd imagined. An absolute pleasure to meet her. I passed along a letter to Kate Mulgrew from a friend of mine who is a neurologist and Alzheimer's researcher as well as a huge Star Trek fan. Shatner remembered me when I got up to ask a question, even though he couldn't actually see me because the stage was bright and the audience dark, which was cool. I got to fist-bump with Wil Wheaton. I actually got Brent Spiner to shake my hand (story behind that one). Talked to Nana Visitor and Nicole de Boer, both of whom were absolutely lovely. Nicole, as it turns out, was raised as a Star Trek geek and grew up watching TNG. She's one of us!
- Star Wars actors! I met Carrie Fisher. Oddly, there was only one person in front of me in line at her table on the Walk of Fame. I didn't get to see her speak on stage, because there was too much going on, but I did get to chat with her in person for a minute, and she was quite pleasant, but not nearly as... I don't know the right word here. Personable? Warm? Friendly? THERE. She wasn't as there as the wonderful Star Trek actors I met. She was very cordial and pleasant, but I didn't walk away feeling like I'd met someone awesome. But I'm glad I got to meet her nonetheless.
- Even more actors! Damn, how did this happen? Okay, so you remember I mentioned something about thumb wrestling on Thursday night? Yeeeah, that was Richard Hatch from BSG. Heee. Yes, I'd met him the previous year, ever so briefly, and he was very nice, but I it's not like I knew him or anything, and BSG wasn't my focus. Still, I remembered the brief encounter fondly. Anyway... after the thumb-wrestling match and much laughing and chatting, he told me to go meet him down by the Walk of Fame and we'd continue the conversation. So I did. And kept swinging by, because (simply put) he's just an absolutely wonderful person to be around. I don't really care that he's one of the actors as much as that he seems like a really thoughtful person, a true sci-fi geek, and someone with a really positive energy. Poor guy also had a pair of vicious knots in his shoulders, so I gave him a shoulder rub. *grins* Anyway, like I said, wouldn't care if he was one of the actors or not. Great guy, hope to see him again, and glad I got to meet him. He gives a nice hug, and he kinda made my D*Con this year.
- Well, it's Dragon*Con... LOTS of things "make my Dragon*Con" every year. I had told myself that I would take a year off, go to World Con, and come back to Dragon*Con in 2012. Yeeeeeah... no. I'm coming back. Possibly (not sure yet) as a Staff member. I know... what am I getting myself into? More amazing adventures, it seems.
There's more to write, of course. There's always more to write, but I think this hits the major points, and I've hit my limit for the day.
And now... bed beckons. To sleep... perchance to dream...
But I win at Dragon*Con!
And then I fail with con-crud.
Alas!
So, I'm back from Dragon*Con, and as usual, it was awesome beyond belief. They said there were 5,000 MORE people this year than any year prior. The crowds were enormous, but the registration line was shockingly fast. They were right... the new registration system was made of win. I applaud them. So many people I know, love, and at least recognize were there, which makes it even better. I made new friends, but my Trophy Wife has told me that it's impossible for me to go anywhere and not make new friends. And internet friends! The jim_and_bones crew had a meetup! So much talent in one place! I love all you ladies, really. ♥
I went into the convention with my health as good as it's been in two years, so I got to run around like a madman. No major malfunctions. It felt amazing. I actually made a valiant effort to get SOME sleep. Naturally, right now, I've got an obnoxious little cold (is coughing up blood normal?) and seem to be starting with a flare-up, but that's what meds, vitamins, and coffee are for. Am I right? And I must admit... five days of Dragon*Con madness in good health in trade for a month of recovering while my body decides to attack itself again? I actually think I got the better end of the bargain. Seriously, after last year's Dragon*Con in a knee brace, two Arisias in a row in a nasty flare-up, and one Naka-Kon in a flare-up... this was well worth it and then some.
So, there are so many ways I could do this write-up, but my throat is sore, my nose is running, my finger-joints are swollen, and I'm dead-tired, so... bullet points!
- Parade. I wasn't in it. I decided that I'd never WATCHED it, so we did, from our balcony room at the Hyatt. (Gee, don't I sound posh? I'm not.) And the parade was beyond incredible. I had no idea it was so enormous. The floats and costumes... incredible.
- The Trek Track staff. Lovely, wonderful people. All of them. I... uh... think I might have been welcomed into the fold. More on that in a f-locked post.
- Trek Track itself! Awesome panels, great discussion on the reboot movie (some very thought-provoking points made by some people in the room), and KLINGON KARAOKE. Oh yeah, baby.
- My LJ friends. Seeing kimuracarter again, absolutely (I'm so glad you made it, bb), but also everyone from the J&B comm. Ack! I require much Jim&Bones chatting, STAT! Well, not tonight. If I want to kick this cold, I need some sleep. (Remind me why I'm forcing myself to go to work tomorrow?) But there's just something thrilling when LJ spills over into RL. It makes me feel like the world isn't as distant and lonely as all that, and that my web of friends is this rich and intricate tapestry woven from fabrics too varied to name, but all beautiful and shiny and warm. (Is that delirium talking? I don't know.)
- Klingon Party. There's nothing like clinking flasks with Klingons and drinking a around to the glory and honor of the Klingon Empire. 'nuff said. QAPLA'!
- COSTUMES. Oh dear gods, it's Dragon*Con. The costumes are essential to existence. First, I SAW some incredible costuming. And yes, there's too much to list, so go do a google search for costumes from the con, and you'll see what I saw. And then, of course, there are the costumes I wore. Star Trek TOS Captain's uniform. Star Trek AOS cadet uniform... the MALE version. With the Jacket of Doom (TM). Pictures to follow, but yes, we did it. And I wore it to the Masked Ball on Friday night, with a Star Trek mask that I painted just to go with it. Very shiny. On Saturday night, my Trophy Wife and I wore our Princess Fiona and Donkey costumes, respectively... with a twist. It was "Princess Fiona and the Tijuana Donkey Show." Yes, we went there. And the sporfles from the crowd were priceless, and worth sweating my butt off in the damned donkey suit. But hey, I was a hot piece of ass.
- People I met! I met these three guys in the lobby of the Marriott the first night. One of them is an Army Major... and a die-hard anime fan. You should have seen him in costume. I had a blast hanging out and drinking with the bunch of them... and con hadn't even officially started yet! And I ran into someone else on the way back to my room that night who I'd met very briefly the previous year and we all (four of us total) talked for about 20 minutes (maybe more, lost track) and had a thumb-wrestling match in the Hyatt lobby (I lost, but dude, I've got arthritis, gimme a break) until we all really desperately needed to go to bed. And MORE people I met! Dear gods! This sweet 15-year old girl who was attending Trek Track alone... SO enthusiastic about Star Trek, making brilliant costumes already. I met her when she got up for her Klingon Karaoke song (wearing a Wesley sweater) and she asked someone to back her up, so I grabbed the other mic. It was AWESOME. And... the awesomeness of the random meeting of people sorta snowballed from there.
- Star Trek actors! Finally met Gates McFadden, and she seems as kind, sweet, and lovely as I'd imagined. An absolute pleasure to meet her. I passed along a letter to Kate Mulgrew from a friend of mine who is a neurologist and Alzheimer's researcher as well as a huge Star Trek fan. Shatner remembered me when I got up to ask a question, even though he couldn't actually see me because the stage was bright and the audience dark, which was cool. I got to fist-bump with Wil Wheaton. I actually got Brent Spiner to shake my hand (story behind that one). Talked to Nana Visitor and Nicole de Boer, both of whom were absolutely lovely. Nicole, as it turns out, was raised as a Star Trek geek and grew up watching TNG. She's one of us!
- Star Wars actors! I met Carrie Fisher. Oddly, there was only one person in front of me in line at her table on the Walk of Fame. I didn't get to see her speak on stage, because there was too much going on, but I did get to chat with her in person for a minute, and she was quite pleasant, but not nearly as... I don't know the right word here. Personable? Warm? Friendly? THERE. She wasn't as there as the wonderful Star Trek actors I met. She was very cordial and pleasant, but I didn't walk away feeling like I'd met someone awesome. But I'm glad I got to meet her nonetheless.
- Even more actors! Damn, how did this happen? Okay, so you remember I mentioned something about thumb wrestling on Thursday night? Yeeeah, that was Richard Hatch from BSG. Heee. Yes, I'd met him the previous year, ever so briefly, and he was very nice, but I it's not like I knew him or anything, and BSG wasn't my focus. Still, I remembered the brief encounter fondly. Anyway... after the thumb-wrestling match and much laughing and chatting, he told me to go meet him down by the Walk of Fame and we'd continue the conversation. So I did. And kept swinging by, because (simply put) he's just an absolutely wonderful person to be around. I don't really care that he's one of the actors as much as that he seems like a really thoughtful person, a true sci-fi geek, and someone with a really positive energy. Poor guy also had a pair of vicious knots in his shoulders, so I gave him a shoulder rub. *grins* Anyway, like I said, wouldn't care if he was one of the actors or not. Great guy, hope to see him again, and glad I got to meet him. He gives a nice hug, and he kinda made my D*Con this year.
- Well, it's Dragon*Con... LOTS of things "make my Dragon*Con" every year. I had told myself that I would take a year off, go to World Con, and come back to Dragon*Con in 2012. Yeeeeeah... no. I'm coming back. Possibly (not sure yet) as a Staff member. I know... what am I getting myself into? More amazing adventures, it seems.
There's more to write, of course. There's always more to write, but I think this hits the major points, and I've hit my limit for the day.
And now... bed beckons. To sleep... perchance to dream...