by elizabeth on July 28, 2009
SDCC was so fantastic that there really aren’t proper words to describe it, but needless to say I had a complete blast — despite crowds, crazy lines, loss of credit card, frequently looking like a crazy fangirl, ridiculous amounts of money involved, and the fact that I didn’t get to see half of the things I wanted to see.
- I got to meet and hang out with some awesome folks I previously only knew online.
- Had a chance to hang out with Colin Baker (otherwise known as the Sixth Doctor). Even though until very recently, I was not at all a fan, this was definitely the highlight of the con. Despite the fact that I didn’t do much beyond skulk around the booth being unable to form complete sentences, he was friendly and talkative, with a welcoming smile. By the end of the convention (I stopped by the booth to say goodbye and wish him a safe trip home — he commented that I was actually talking) he remembered my name. (And whenever I went by the booth, he would call me “Elizabeth” instead of “Liz.” Which, wth, I am become Charlotte Pollard. Somehow I do not mind at all.) Lovely man and one of my favorite Doctors.
- Got an awesome piece of art from Ben Templesmith of the Tenth Doctor. Doctor Who isn’t his usual thing (and to be shamefully honest, I am not terribly familiar with any of the stuff that is his usual thing, though I’m working on it), but he’s done a couple of Doctor Who projects which I think are just about the most gorgeous things ever. Talked about how the BBC didn’t approve his original cover for “The Forgotten” and he had to change it to make the Doctor look happier — so he has a really odd smile in the final cover. My commission piece is not half as gorgeous as any of those, but it’s awesome and I loves it. I need to get it framed to put in my office, probably next to my “How to Talk to Girls at Parties” print.
- Got signatures on a poster from Gabe and Tycho (of Penny Arcade fame, if you hadn’t caught on). I love these guys so much that I couldn’t say a word to them. Oh well — maybe next year? Come to think of it, that ought to go up on the office wall, too. My post Comic-Con office is going to be awesome.
- Was surprisingly enough the first in line for IDW’s round of Doctor Who comic signings, so have some signed comics by the awesome Tony Lee as well. Hindsight being 20/20, I really should have introduced myself by my Livejournal name, since I’ve traded a few comments with him in the past, but I’m nothing if not bashful in front of strangers. He liked my “if you’re interested in time travel, meet me last Thursday” t-shirt, which I take as a sign I’m doing something right in my own quiet, fangirlish way.
- Discovered that John Barrowman and Captain Jack Harkness are the same person, just in different costumes. ‘nuf said.
- Saw David Tennant and Russell T. Davies from a distance and it was good. The term “adorkable” was pretty much invented to describe David Tennant, who is such a geek.
- Saw the Doctor Who finale trailer. Died. Regenerated. Died again.
- Had the best dessert ever at a place called Extraordinary Desserts. Very possibly worth the entire trip just for that.
- Oh, yeah, did some work, too. Saw DCUO, Free Realms, Aion, City of Heroes, and Dungeon Fighter Online. Missed The Old Republic, but I suppose you can’t have everything.
In short: had a ridiculous amount of fun. Would do it again in a heartbeat.
by elizabeth on July 25, 2009
Wednesday: I arrive in San Diego. Water bottle leaks in my bag and ruins my notebook, where I have my schedule and all of my notes on what I’m doing, where people are going to be, and questions to ask them. A lot of the pages are okay after it’s laid out to dry overnight, but the hard cover is soft and squishy and the pages aren’t quite attached anymore. (Today the damn thing is still damp.) On the up-side, I’m not carrying around my usual <<ridiculous dollar amount>> worth of electronics in my bag and my Kindle seems fine. Whew.
Thursday: I trip and skin my knee while hopping on and off a curb, dodging crowds. This may seem excessively whiny, but it hurts, okay? It still hurts. At some point during the day I lose my debit card. I never carry cash — I use that card for everything. I have a back-up credit card… but it’s closing on its limit with all of my travel stuff on it. Comic-Con is less fun when you’re broke. Pretty much all of my “work” was on Thursday, so the entire day is spent running at high speeds from meeting to meeting and taking lots of notes. By the end of the day, wow, tired.
Friday: After zero success finding my card, I call the bank to cut it off. They can’t replace it (even at a local bank branch) but will send a new one to my home address. I should see it in seven business days. Holy god, how will I live seven business days without a debit card? I may need to find my check book. I miss the Coraline panel because all the trolleys heading towards the convention center are overflowing and it’s a longish walk. Proceed to miss the Star Wars: The Old Republic panel because when I get there, the line goes down the hallway, down the next hallway, down the next hallway, and then outside through a small maze. When the line starts moving to go inside, half of the maze ditches the whole “line” concept and mobs the doors. I try to set them on fire with my mind, but fail miserably. I am surrounded by very intense Star Wars geeks in the interim. One of them threatens me with a lightsaber for saying bad things about Star Wars: Galaxies.
Throughout, I have maintained a complete inability to talk to anyone remotely famous. I kind of stand there and smile and sometimes manage to wrangle words at approximately kindergarten level, and tend to say “thank you” an awful lot.
Though I guess there are some good things out of this con…
- I met Colin Baker, who called me “my dear” and hugged me. Holy crap. I met the Doctor. Holy crap.
- I’m getting Ben Templesmith to draw me something. Think I managed not to come across as more or less a sane human being. More or less.
- I met John Barrowman, who liked my “you never forget your first Doctor” t-shirt. He signed a picture for me “love always, John Barrowman.” Now wondering how much of Captain Jack is scripted and how much is just John Barrowman being himself.
- Got autographs from Gabe & Tycho of Penny Arcade fame. Did not manage to say a single intelligent word to them in the process, which is a real shame. Tycho is more or less my idol and I’m just not sure how to tell someone that without sounding incredibly awkward.
- Had almost entirely non-fangirlish conversations with reasonably famous (to me) people Greg Dean (of Real Life) and R. Stevens (of Diesel Sweeties). Both revolved around Doctor Who. My “you never forget your first Doctor” shirt is an honest-to-goodness conversation-starter.
- Found someone selling Jelly Babies on the con floor.
- Had the best dessert ever. Still blissing out. May never be able to enjoy other food.
On Saturday I have big plans for meeting Russell T. Davies and on Sunday, Tony Lee. Here’s to hoping I manage to improve upon my rather limited past efforts at communication with famous people. And, oh, right, and there’s some guy named David Tennant hanging around here somewhere… Perhaps you’ve heard of him?
