con report: dragoncon 2009
Sep. 13th, 2009 01:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
amezriI had a really awesome time at DragonCon this year even though I didn't go to any of the panels I wanted or see any actors I was hoping to. Instead, I hung out with some really awesome friends I only see a few times a year and got to know some people I only see once a year at DCon a bit better. It was also great to make some new friends. Seriously, right now I am having difficulty letting go. Is it time for the next DragonCon yet?
DragonCon 2009: Sept 3-7, 2009
This year, I once again stayed in one of a block of rooms Joel reserved. We were in the Marriott, which is the new Hyatt? Everything was happening there and it was pretty convenient to just roll out and head to panels or photo ops or what have you. Really great.
Thursday, September 3
Got up at 7:30a and ended up poking around the internet for awhile; emails and such. Showered and got dressed before getting the last of my stuff packed. Still feel like I'm missing something. Nevertheless, all set to go at about 9:30a so I figured I had time for breakfast... except there wasn't anything. Meh.
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
smashedrecords showed up right on time at 10a and we headed for the airport. She dropped me off and I got checked in ($15 extra for checking a bag!) and through the checkpoint in no time at all. Got the cheapest breakfast I could find that wasn't McDonald's - Starbucks' pound cake and a Tazo green tea for $5. Nice.
Waited at my gate for about an hour and used free airport internet. Why do all airports not have free internet? Boarded my flight which was slightly unbearable. The seats were uncomfortable and I got strangely motion sick. Air was all dry. Blah.
Finally landed in Atlanta and deplaned after some delay. Got my luggage. Pano asked me to get him some gold MARTA tokens, so I did that before meeting with Charles and Jay. Took the MARTA to Peachtree. Met up with Ben at the Marriott and dropped stuff off in my room. Liz, Pano, and Kittredge met me in my room and we headed to the Sheraton for registration. Hoooly crap that line was long. While in line, met up withhusher315 and Donna. Had some good times but crap that line was long. Got in it about 5pm and finally got out about 7:30pm. Immediately went for foods. Most things were closed, so I ended up at Moe's.
Headed to Liz & Pano's in the Hyatt to eat my food. Hung out there for a while.husher315 came up with his dinner and we just hung out. Tried to get in touch with Dan to get information about the fan table. Finally headed out to meet with people. Met up with stoyboy720. Found Jason and Dean. Ran around to rooms on errands with husher315. Liz & Pano & Kittredge went to Johnny Rico's room and husher315 and I went back to the Marriott with Dean and Jason. Eventually we all made it to the Pulse bar and just hung out there for hours and hours. At some point the boys got everyone to sing happy birthday to me and the some dude gave me a balloon hat. OMG. There are photos. Gareth showed up and then Abe ran around for a while.
Matt Hudson was sooo trashed, but highly entertaining. Dean and I had some random thoughtful conversations. We were all sitting together at Pulse until late in the wee hours.
Friday, September 4
Didn't sleep really well. Got up at 8am and showered and dressed in chick SGA costume. Went to the fan table and saw Gareth on the way. Joked that I was following him because we kept running into each other. Dan was still setting up the table. Jason and I went to buy breakfast for the people at the table. Helped with the rest of table setup - they were hanging a Stargate backdrop for people to take photos with.
Headed back to the Marriott to attend the Stargate panel with Liz. Flanigan missed his flight and wasn't making the panel so Paul McGillion fronted the panel on his own. Very funny. Told some good stories. He does a funny Flanigan impression. After the panel, Liz and I headed to the SGMT room so I could get the bag I ordered. Wandered to my room and dropped it off before heading to the Hyatt withhusher315 and Kittredge to check on the fan table. At some point we ran into Colin Cunningham on the way down from husher315's room. Had a nice chat. Told him that I met him at Shore Leave one year and had given him artwork. He said it was a nice piece and asked if I was still making stuff. I told him I still was and he said I should keep at it.
On the way back to the SFH table, we got some food. Mmm Subway. SFH table was crowded. Got a ton of photos of cool costumes though. Realized I missed a Farscape panel but can't seem to care.
Met up withfyrdrakken at the SFH table before a group of us headed to the Stargate Supergate panel with Ben Browder, Gary Jones, and Colin Cunningham. Was an okay chat. Nothing I didn't know but Ben was really awesome. He gets so excited when he tells stories. Someone asked how much improv Ben did on SG-1 and he said none except a couple times like the "bullets bounce!" line because he's familiar with firearms and thought it would be stupid to not say anything when Teal'c shot up the room with stone walls.
After the panel,husher315 and I checked on Flanigan photo op status (he still hadn't arrived) and then headed to the Walk of Fame. Did a quick tour. Chatted with Paul McGillion a bit and I said I'd met him at Shore Leave in Baltimore - gave him some artwork. He said that's why I looked so familiar. Asked how I was, blah blah. Mentioned SFH dinner but seems like he hadn't been formally invited yet.
Chatted briefly with Dave Tango and Steve from Ghost Hunters. Steve was kind of unengaging, but Tango always reminds me of a puppy. Saw Dustin Peri but didn't chat.
Got something signed by Julie Benz and told her I followed her on Twitter and that I was looking forward to BDS2. Gave her a print of Blackened Heart. She asked me about it and what it was supposed to be and said she was going to frame it and hang it up. She was in the middle of saying something when Lou Ferrigno and some other guy came and asked her to go to the gym, but she didn't want to because she had to go somewhere and wouldn't have time to get made up again. The conversation was just odd. She asked me to help her out and confirm that a girl's hair will get messed up by sweat, so I agreed with her and said that it did take a while to arrange hair.
Went to Lani Tupu next and gave him a print of Blackened Heart. He asked me how I made them and I explained about the digital photos and photoshop. I asked him about his pieces. They're mixed media and some are ink wash. I wanted to get something, but I didn't have the time to look and wasn't sure if I'd still have money.
Ran in to Dean who was working Malcolm McDowell's line.husher315 and I chatted with him briefly before leaving him to work. James Marsters' line was strangely short, as was Gareth David-Lloyd's.
Went back to my room to change into Jubilee costume. Felt a bit dizzy and definitely needed food. Finally in Jubilee costume, I met up with Pano &husher315. Must have food before something gets killed. Went to Peachtree center to buy a sandwich. Returned to Marriott and ate food at Pulse Loft. Food, yay! After food, we wandered a bit. Liz was getting some zombie make-up done by Spat and friend. Pano presented me with a birthday cookie signed by some SciFiHero people! So nice. Went back to Liz and Pano's room for a little bit. Relaxed. Julian headed out for Buffy Horror/Dr. Horrible, which I should have gone to. I just really wasn't feeling it. Eventually did make it to the Sheraton for the Zombie Prom with Liz & Pano & Kittredge. We were actually following Felicia Day and crew there, but I didn't say anything to her. A guy in her entourage recognized me as Jubilee & wanted a photo, though. Then he & another guy talked about how Jubilee's earrings used to look like the UK Underground sign.
The party was okay. The zombies did a practice run of the Thriller dance for the World Record attempt later in the weekend. Nothing exciting so we went back to the Pulse bar at the Marriott. The place was packed of course. The BSG people were there and I got a photo with Michael Trucco, Aaron Douglas, and Kandyse McClure. I told Aaron I'd met him in Baltimore and had given him artwork and he said he thought I looked familiar. Starting to wonder if they just say that to be polite.
We all hung out for a while before getting bored. Jason was in High Velocity, so we went to check it out but it was a non-event. After trying for more seating, decided I had enough and went back to my room. Ended up reorganizing my bag and getting stuff out for tomorrow's parade. Not feeling well, so I don't know how long I'll last, but hopefully enough to get some things done. Sorted through schedule. Joel and Ben came in and we chatted. Went to bed much earlier than I planned.
Saturday, September 5
Woke up at 7:45 am and got ready for the parade. Got breakfast and snaggedhusher315 something since he texted me on the way. It's entirely possible I got to the SFH table and threw his breakfast at him. I was tired and hungry and the fruit cup I got was possibly the smallest I'd ever seen.
Our group gathered at SFH table before heading out. We had several SG-1 people, a few Atlantis people, and a group with the new Stargate: Universe uniforms. Liz was wearing her new Hak'tyl costume, which looked awesome. I was wearing my SG-2 chick variant. Eventually, we made our way to parade start. It threatened to rain, but thankfully it didn't. The BSG group was definitely larger this year! Parade was fun and the weather was great. Spottedspeakerwiggin in the crowd toward the end.
After the parade, all the SFH people met at Sun Trust plaza for a group photo shoot. Always good times. Headed back to the Marriott to hunt for some needed things. Found them at a shop in the lower level of Peachtree Center and went back to the room to sit for a bit and change into my Rogue costume (which i have no pictures of me in). Once changed, I headed to the Hyatt, but there was a bottleneck everywhere due to the Patrick Stewart panel about to begin. Ran intothepeopleseason in the Marquis Tower on the way and chatted briefly. Seriously amazing that with 80,000 people at the con I can randomly run into people I know. Made it to the SFH table for my shift a little bit late.
Ended up hanging around the table until it was time for the Supergate SGA panel, but once I saw how long that line was I really didn't want to deal with it. Met up with Julian and headed to the Walk of Fame instead. Got an autograph from Ben Browder and gave him a print of Atropos II. He kind of looked a little confused, but he was nice.
Got in line for Michael Trucco next. While waiting, I spotted James Cawley at Gil Gerard's table. Sent Julian to say hello to James. Michael Trucco was really nice. Gave him a print of Blackened Heart and he took a minute to look at it and thank me. I thanked him for taking a photo with me at the bar the night before and he said it was no problem; they were just down having a drink and then everyone kind of swarmed them. I did feel a little bad about being part of that.
Chatted with James Cawley for a bit at Gil's table. Patrick needs to chillax. James possibly talked Julian into volunteering for Phase II.
Went back to the Marriott for Charlaine Harris' signing. Couldn't find the room for the life of me. Ended up way back in the line. The line control guy was saying that she had to leave at 6:40p and it was already nearly 5p. Argh. I spent most of the time wondering if I should stay in line or not. Made friends with a girl name Courtney. Was pissed with people taking photos with Harris and chatting. Hello, there are people waiting in line here! I just made the deadline at 3:38p. Woot! Gave her a print of Paleo and said she didn't have to look at it now. Thanked her for coming and signing everyone's books.
Headed to the room to change into my Blink shirt and ended up taking awhile. After stopping to get a sandwich, I finally made it to the Star Trek track to see the end of the Phase II panel and the showing The Child. It didn't suck.stoyboy720 was there in his beat up Red Shirt costume. Ben Alpi, Carlos, James, and Patrick were there and I said hello. After that we went to James' awesome Presidential Suite to chat for a bit. Then it was time for the TCF party!
Holy crap line was loooong. I met up with Liz, Pano, Kittredge and Matt Hudson. Joel and Trent were in line and I also sawspeakerwiggin and Mel. There was some biotych who was bitching that Felicia Day just walked into the party and I got into an argument about guests being able to cut line. She said just because you can doesn't mean you should and I said she'd be mobbed. Well, crazy cow says Felicia would be mobbed inside too. The difference is that security could get her out faster if needed. I said I would cut the line if I could and she said she fears for the future of humanity. Look bitch, nothing ever got done maintaining the status quo. I had to stop talking to her otherwise I was going to hit her.
We got in to the party and found Dean, Jason, Dan and a bunch of other ScifiHero people. Hung out for a while being subjected to bad music and then they did an auction which killed the party. A group of us decided to get out of there and headed to the Trek track party... which was scary? Once we got near there, the fact that it was a Rainbow party scared people so we didn't go.
There was a lot of aimless wandering. We tried the 10th floor party, which was good until security kicked us out due to people yelling. We started losing people to fatigue once we sat at Pulse. Tried to find Jason, but just ended up wandering around withhusher315 and Dean.
There was a rave party in the Atrium Ballroom. Decided to head in with Dean andhusher315. I don't know what party this was, but it was a crazy good time. Dean was wearing BSG dress blues and had to go out to cool down. Ended up meeting with Jason in the Atrium as he didn't have his badge to get in and just sat down for a bit. It was 5am by this time so we all decided to head for some sleeps.
Sunday, September 6
Got up at ungodly hour and got dressed in SGA gear. Grabbed some breakfast at the cafe in the Hyatt. Went down to the Flanigan photo op withhusher315. It went really quickly and Joe was pretty nice. While in line waiting, Paul walked by and his handler pointed me out again and Paul stopped to say hello. :D [Also, I really need to stop doing these photo ops because I always look like a goon.]
Ran through lower level dealer's room and bought a couple things - Doctor Who figures and a few blind box toys.husher315 bought lunch and we met up with Jason in the bar area to eat his food. husher315 headed off to take a nap. Jason chatted with me for a bit before also taking off for some sleep. Weaklings!
Liz and Pano were headed to get food, so I met up with them and got some chicken from Dairy Queen. Headed back to the Marriott to sit and eat. After that, headed to the Walk of Fame and got to Joe's table as he was walking away. Figured we'd go back at 4pm when he got back from the Stargate panel.
Waited in line a bit with Liz for Patrick Stewart before I decided to go get changed. On the way to my room, I got a call from Dean saying I was supposed to be at the SFH table. So, I headed down to check on the debacle.
Apparently people can't read a spreadsheet. Columns match up, people. I sat there anyway so Thunderduck could go eat and waited until Liz showed up to take over. Dean showed up with lunch and I sat with him. He called his wife, Krysten, and had me chat with her. I kind of hate phones being shoved at me, especially when I don't really know the person or have anything to say. I said hello and she asked me how the con was and what costumes I wore. She was really nice, but I felt dumb and passed the phone back. Did I mention I hate talking on the phone?
Somehow we ended up swapping ghost stories at the SFH table with some people. Eventually, I decided to head out and finally get changed. Roswell costume is cute, but not comfortable for sitting. Changed over to Fangtasia outfit. Met up with Liz & Pano and headed for the Walk of Fame again. This time I did get Joe's autograph! He was super nice and I gave him a print of Atropos II and told him that a couple years back I had sent him some artwork . He looked puzzled and said he thinks maybe they're not forwarding him his fanmail. He asked who else I sent them to and I just said all the cast - should have mentioned Paul and Rachel.
Ran into Dean and Rachel. Jason, who'd come with us to the walk of fame, was talking with them. Liz & Pano went back to their room and I went to drop off most of my bags before going to the SFH dinner. Put in my fangs. Met up with Jason, Dean, and Rachel on the way... somewhere. Decided to check out the custom fangs in the lower dealer's room. Kind of pricey but I think I might do it. Hung out at the SFH table for a while before meeting up with Liz, Pano, and Kittredge at the track room. Colin Cunningham & Gary Jones were doing a panel.
Once Carlos & Donna arrived, we headed to Barley's for the dinner. Jason caught up with us. Place was already pretty full of people, most of which I didn't recognize. Actually, I found that the most annoying part of dinner. Who were these people? I felt like they were usurping our dinner with their massive crowding and fangasming over Michael Hogan. Meh. Colin Cunningham was already there and was going around talking to people and then taking pictures with us. I thought that was pretty awesome of him. Michael Hogan showed up soon after and he seemed to be having a good time. Dinner was a bit of a debacle due to food prep issues - half of the tables didn't get food after an hour and a half and our waitress kept checking and saying they'd run out of whatever. How do you run out of food for a dinner that was planned weeks ahead of time?
Food debacle aside, it was nice to sit and chat with people. I hadn't even seen Carlos most of the weekend. During the dinner, I introduced Carlos to Dan & Dean for future production related thingies. We had goodie bags at dinner this year - QMx gave everyone a set of Saul Tigh dogtags and there was also an unpainted resin Atlantis GDO. Sweet!
After dinner, they showed Michael Hogan the Tigh cake and he started munching on the end! So funny! There's a video on youtube.
Next was the prep for the auction and then the actual auction. Lots of stuff sold, including the cake Hogan chomped on which Dan took a bite of, and then Dean face-planted. That went for $50. Good cause, but really?
Went back to my room to change into pants and relaxed a bit before Carlos' room party. I wandered around in the Atrium with Liz, Pano, Kittredge, and Julian. Sawspeakerwiggin as Sabretooth and got a picture. Mel was with him, of course, but not in costume that I could tell. I missed her in her Selene costume, which I'm a little bummed about because it is awesome. Got a text from Carlos saying party was open so we headed up.
Eh. The room party was kind of a bust. Dean left to go find food and thenhusher315 wanted to walk around before he fell asleep so we wandered out. Found Dan, Jason, Ginny & Rob at High Velocity so we hung out there for a little while.
Liz, Pano, and Kittredge had to call it a night since they were leaving early in the morning. I thinkstoyboy720 left about that time too. Hung out in High Velocity until they closed. We moved out to the Atrium where there was still a ton of people. Ran into Rachel and some other people. I was starting to get sick of all the noise and standing around. No one was moving; they were all just standing.
Jason and I decided to ditch everyone and walk around while they drank. It was pretty fun, actually, looping around the quieter floors of the Marriott and the Hilton. Sometimes we'd sit down in seats at the Hilton or in the area outside the SGMT track room. I'm sure people were wondering what the hell we were doing. Actually got to see some cool costumes like the trio dressed as the Fruity Oaty girls with a Maidenhead River. I should have gotten a photo but I was kind of over photos by then. As we were walking, saw that Dean and his crew did manage to move around. Didn't really stop to hang with them though. Jason and I ended up walking around until about 6am. Awesome time. I wouldn't say it was the greatest thing that happened at con, but I'd definitely do it again.
Monday, September 7
Weird day. Up at 10am. Dressed. Got food. Talked to Jeffrey, who just joined TCF. I told him to check out scifiHero.net. Met up with Jason who had to check out of his room. He needed to drop off his armor tub in my room for a while before he moved it to Dan's room. We got the rest of his stuff to Dan's room at the Hyatt before going to the food court so Jason could get lunch. I went to walk of fame for awhile. No one was there really, but bought art from Lani Tupu who was just about to leave. Had a quick chat with him and told him that I've been wanting one of his pieces for a long time.
Went to dealer's rooms and didn't see anything great. Of course that freed up some money so I could finally get some custom fangs. The first guy I went to was booked the rest of the weekend so I ended up at Maven's table. They were a bit more than I wanted to spend, but it was only going to take 20 minutes. Plus, he's been making fangs for a long while in New Orleans. Jason showed up while I was getting mine fitted and decided to get a pair too. I walked around the dealers while he got his made. Once we were done, we met up with Dean at the fan table. Ended up going back to the other dealers rooms with Dan and Dean since Dean hadn't gone through yet and wanted to find something for his son.
On the way out, we ran into Ginny & Rob and chatted for a while. Dean had to run off and pack and catch his flight. It was past lunch time, so Jason and I went to get food w/Ginny and Rob. Headed back to the Marriott to get their luggage as they had to catch their flight. So... back to fan table to figure out breakdown and packing of table stuff. How many people does it take to strap a wire rack to the top of a van? Too many.
After the van was sorted, we went in search of dinner. I was pretty hungry and crank by then. I'm sure it was awesome to experience me snapping at people. Was looking forward to sushi, but apparently it was Labor Day and everyone was closed. Ended up walking around and went to the 24 hour diner on the corner. They had the weakest Greek salad ever. No olives and the feta came in stick form. Whaaa? Salad of fail for sure.
After dinner, I went back to my room to pack while the guys went to sort out the rest of Dan's stuff. I was waiting to hear from Jason to see if they needed any help, but never heard back.
Hung out with Joel, Carlos, Ben, Trent, Bryan, Chasity, and Scott in the Atrium. Spat's crew was still roaming about with Aaron Douglas so I introduced Spat to the gang. Jason did finally show up. Couple hours of low key chatting and watching people hang on to the last bit of con, Joel, Carlos & crew headed to bed. Chatted with Jason for awhile before we both decided it was time to crash. Nooo! I didn't want to let go of con.
Tuesday, September 8
Awake after 8 hours of sleep. That was definitely the longest sleep I had the whole weekend, but I felt wiped. Got dressed and had breakfast at the Corner Bakery with the rest of the St. Pete crew, Carlos, and Ben. So tasty! Why was I not having breakfast here every morning? Went back to the hotel to finish packing and check my bag at the desk. Said goodbye to the gang driving back to Florida before dashing over to the Hyatt to say goodbye to Dan and Jason. Wandered around the Marriott and sat in the Pulse Loft for a while with Ben.
Decided we should check out the Museum of Design Atlanta. On the way out of the hotel, I saw Aaron Douglas waiting for a cab to the airport. Said hello and asked how the con was. He said he had a great time as always. Wow, the MODA is so full of fail. Galleries 1-3 were closed and Gallery 4 was empty. Walked through the Peachtree Center and decided to just go back to (an empty!) Pulse for a while.
Left the hotel about 1:30pm and got the MARTA to the airport. At the Delta counter, I tried to see if I could switch my flight. They wanted me to pay $50 to change to an earlier flight - even though they rescheduled this - and there was no way. I figured I could tough it out. (In retrospect, I should have just done it.) Hung out with Ben at his gate and went with him to look for food before his flight finally boarded and I was left to my own devices for 5 more hours.
Hanging in the airport sucks. So boring. I couldn't get the free wifi points to really work and then I couldn't figure out how to buy the paid wifi the airport offers. Did finally figure it out once I went to my concourse and gate. Paid $7 to use the internet for a few hours; such a rip off. I was charging Agathon and dropped it on a pebble and gouged the skin. Ugh. I hope it's fine underneath, but I'm afraid to check.
My flight kept changing gate numbers and then the boarding time kept being pushed back due to some problems with other flights. Seriously a nightmare. If I weren't on a direct flight, I'd have been really distraught.
Was finally able to board at 9:30pm, which was over an hour later than I was supposed to. The girl sitting next to me kept leaning over to my side and jabbing me with her elbow. The only thing that kept me from shoving her back was that I was too tired to really give a crap.
Mom met me at baggage claim when I finally arrived. Once home, I just wanted to go to bed, but ended up chatting with her until about 1am. Oops.
It's taken me two days to unpack and four days to work out this report. I'm still not recovered yet, but at least I don't have con crud? I hope not anyway. Figured if it hasn't hit by now, I should be safe. I'm hoping the fact that I ate sort of well this time helped.
Additional links and media:
+ all my DragonCon photos are here
+ daily tweets (with pics): thurs, fri, sat, sun, mon, tues
+ Phil's photos
+ Blackhawk's photos: parade, con
+ Tim Fritz's photos
+ Michael Hogan attacking a cake at the SFH dinner
+ Abe the Alien at a Thriller dance practice
+ Paul McGillion panel on Friday
+ DragonCon parade: part 1, part 2, part 3 (ScifiHero is at 2:33 in Part 3)
+ Shatner & Nimoy panel (7 parts)
+ Stargate SG-1/Atlantis Panel (7 parts)
+ Stargate Multiverse Panel (7 parts)
+ crapload of other youtube vids
And that concludes my awesome DragonCon trip for this year. I can't wait til next year when, hopefully,smashedrecords will be coming with me as I know she will have an awesome time.
DragonCon 2009: Sept 3-7, 2009
This year, I once again stayed in one of a block of rooms Joel reserved. We were in the Marriott, which is the new Hyatt? Everything was happening there and it was pretty convenient to just roll out and head to panels or photo ops or what have you. Really great.
Thursday, September 3
Got up at 7:30a and ended up poking around the internet for awhile; emails and such. Showered and got dressed before getting the last of my stuff packed. Still feel like I'm missing something. Nevertheless, all set to go at about 9:30a so I figured I had time for breakfast... except there wasn't anything. Meh.
smashedrecords showed up right on time at 10a and we headed for the airport. She dropped me off and I got checked in ($15 extra for checking a bag!) and through the checkpoint in no time at all. Got the cheapest breakfast I could find that wasn't McDonald's - Starbucks' pound cake and a Tazo green tea for $5. Nice.Waited at my gate for about an hour and used free airport internet. Why do all airports not have free internet? Boarded my flight which was slightly unbearable. The seats were uncomfortable and I got strangely motion sick. Air was all dry. Blah.
Finally landed in Atlanta and deplaned after some delay. Got my luggage. Pano asked me to get him some gold MARTA tokens, so I did that before meeting with Charles and Jay. Took the MARTA to Peachtree. Met up with Ben at the Marriott and dropped stuff off in my room. Liz, Pano, and Kittredge met me in my room and we headed to the Sheraton for registration. Hoooly crap that line was long. While in line, met up with
husher315 and Donna. Had some good times but crap that line was long. Got in it about 5pm and finally got out about 7:30pm. Immediately went for foods. Most things were closed, so I ended up at Moe's.Headed to Liz & Pano's in the Hyatt to eat my food. Hung out there for a while.
husher315 came up with his dinner and we just hung out. Tried to get in touch with Dan to get information about the fan table. Finally headed out to meet with people. Met up with stoyboy720. Found Jason and Dean. Ran around to rooms on errands with husher315. Liz & Pano & Kittredge went to Johnny Rico's room and husher315 and I went back to the Marriott with Dean and Jason. Eventually we all made it to the Pulse bar and just hung out there for hours and hours. At some point the boys got everyone to sing happy birthday to me and the some dude gave me a balloon hat. OMG. There are photos. Gareth showed up and then Abe ran around for a while.Matt Hudson was sooo trashed, but highly entertaining. Dean and I had some random thoughtful conversations. We were all sitting together at Pulse until late in the wee hours.
Friday, September 4
Didn't sleep really well. Got up at 8am and showered and dressed in chick SGA costume. Went to the fan table and saw Gareth on the way. Joked that I was following him because we kept running into each other. Dan was still setting up the table. Jason and I went to buy breakfast for the people at the table. Helped with the rest of table setup - they were hanging a Stargate backdrop for people to take photos with.
Headed back to the Marriott to attend the Stargate panel with Liz. Flanigan missed his flight and wasn't making the panel so Paul McGillion fronted the panel on his own. Very funny. Told some good stories. He does a funny Flanigan impression. After the panel, Liz and I headed to the SGMT room so I could get the bag I ordered. Wandered to my room and dropped it off before heading to the Hyatt with
husher315 and Kittredge to check on the fan table. At some point we ran into Colin Cunningham on the way down from husher315's room. Had a nice chat. Told him that I met him at Shore Leave one year and had given him artwork. He said it was a nice piece and asked if I was still making stuff. I told him I still was and he said I should keep at it.On the way back to the SFH table, we got some food. Mmm Subway. SFH table was crowded. Got a ton of photos of cool costumes though. Realized I missed a Farscape panel but can't seem to care.
Met up with
fyrdrakken at the SFH table before a group of us headed to the Stargate Supergate panel with Ben Browder, Gary Jones, and Colin Cunningham. Was an okay chat. Nothing I didn't know but Ben was really awesome. He gets so excited when he tells stories. Someone asked how much improv Ben did on SG-1 and he said none except a couple times like the "bullets bounce!" line because he's familiar with firearms and thought it would be stupid to not say anything when Teal'c shot up the room with stone walls.After the panel,
husher315 and I checked on Flanigan photo op status (he still hadn't arrived) and then headed to the Walk of Fame. Did a quick tour. Chatted with Paul McGillion a bit and I said I'd met him at Shore Leave in Baltimore - gave him some artwork. He said that's why I looked so familiar. Asked how I was, blah blah. Mentioned SFH dinner but seems like he hadn't been formally invited yet.Chatted briefly with Dave Tango and Steve from Ghost Hunters. Steve was kind of unengaging, but Tango always reminds me of a puppy. Saw Dustin Peri but didn't chat.
Got something signed by Julie Benz and told her I followed her on Twitter and that I was looking forward to BDS2. Gave her a print of Blackened Heart. She asked me about it and what it was supposed to be and said she was going to frame it and hang it up. She was in the middle of saying something when Lou Ferrigno and some other guy came and asked her to go to the gym, but she didn't want to because she had to go somewhere and wouldn't have time to get made up again. The conversation was just odd. She asked me to help her out and confirm that a girl's hair will get messed up by sweat, so I agreed with her and said that it did take a while to arrange hair.
Went to Lani Tupu next and gave him a print of Blackened Heart. He asked me how I made them and I explained about the digital photos and photoshop. I asked him about his pieces. They're mixed media and some are ink wash. I wanted to get something, but I didn't have the time to look and wasn't sure if I'd still have money.
Ran in to Dean who was working Malcolm McDowell's line.
husher315 and I chatted with him briefly before leaving him to work. James Marsters' line was strangely short, as was Gareth David-Lloyd's.Went back to my room to change into Jubilee costume. Felt a bit dizzy and definitely needed food. Finally in Jubilee costume, I met up with Pano &
husher315. Must have food before something gets killed. Went to Peachtree center to buy a sandwich. Returned to Marriott and ate food at Pulse Loft. Food, yay! After food, we wandered a bit. Liz was getting some zombie make-up done by Spat and friend. Pano presented me with a birthday cookie signed by some SciFiHero people! So nice. Went back to Liz and Pano's room for a little bit. Relaxed. Julian headed out for Buffy Horror/Dr. Horrible, which I should have gone to. I just really wasn't feeling it. Eventually did make it to the Sheraton for the Zombie Prom with Liz & Pano & Kittredge. We were actually following Felicia Day and crew there, but I didn't say anything to her. A guy in her entourage recognized me as Jubilee & wanted a photo, though. Then he & another guy talked about how Jubilee's earrings used to look like the UK Underground sign.The party was okay. The zombies did a practice run of the Thriller dance for the World Record attempt later in the weekend. Nothing exciting so we went back to the Pulse bar at the Marriott. The place was packed of course. The BSG people were there and I got a photo with Michael Trucco, Aaron Douglas, and Kandyse McClure. I told Aaron I'd met him in Baltimore and had given him artwork and he said he thought I looked familiar. Starting to wonder if they just say that to be polite.
We all hung out for a while before getting bored. Jason was in High Velocity, so we went to check it out but it was a non-event. After trying for more seating, decided I had enough and went back to my room. Ended up reorganizing my bag and getting stuff out for tomorrow's parade. Not feeling well, so I don't know how long I'll last, but hopefully enough to get some things done. Sorted through schedule. Joel and Ben came in and we chatted. Went to bed much earlier than I planned.
Saturday, September 5
Woke up at 7:45 am and got ready for the parade. Got breakfast and snagged
husher315 something since he texted me on the way. It's entirely possible I got to the SFH table and threw his breakfast at him. I was tired and hungry and the fruit cup I got was possibly the smallest I'd ever seen.Our group gathered at SFH table before heading out. We had several SG-1 people, a few Atlantis people, and a group with the new Stargate: Universe uniforms. Liz was wearing her new Hak'tyl costume, which looked awesome. I was wearing my SG-2 chick variant. Eventually, we made our way to parade start. It threatened to rain, but thankfully it didn't. The BSG group was definitely larger this year! Parade was fun and the weather was great. Spotted
speakerwiggin in the crowd toward the end.After the parade, all the SFH people met at Sun Trust plaza for a group photo shoot. Always good times. Headed back to the Marriott to hunt for some needed things. Found them at a shop in the lower level of Peachtree Center and went back to the room to sit for a bit and change into my Rogue costume (which i have no pictures of me in). Once changed, I headed to the Hyatt, but there was a bottleneck everywhere due to the Patrick Stewart panel about to begin. Ran into
thepeopleseason in the Marquis Tower on the way and chatted briefly. Seriously amazing that with 80,000 people at the con I can randomly run into people I know. Made it to the SFH table for my shift a little bit late.Ended up hanging around the table until it was time for the Supergate SGA panel, but once I saw how long that line was I really didn't want to deal with it. Met up with Julian and headed to the Walk of Fame instead. Got an autograph from Ben Browder and gave him a print of Atropos II. He kind of looked a little confused, but he was nice.
Got in line for Michael Trucco next. While waiting, I spotted James Cawley at Gil Gerard's table. Sent Julian to say hello to James. Michael Trucco was really nice. Gave him a print of Blackened Heart and he took a minute to look at it and thank me. I thanked him for taking a photo with me at the bar the night before and he said it was no problem; they were just down having a drink and then everyone kind of swarmed them. I did feel a little bad about being part of that.
Chatted with James Cawley for a bit at Gil's table. Patrick needs to chillax. James possibly talked Julian into volunteering for Phase II.
Went back to the Marriott for Charlaine Harris' signing. Couldn't find the room for the life of me. Ended up way back in the line. The line control guy was saying that she had to leave at 6:40p and it was already nearly 5p. Argh. I spent most of the time wondering if I should stay in line or not. Made friends with a girl name Courtney. Was pissed with people taking photos with Harris and chatting. Hello, there are people waiting in line here! I just made the deadline at 3:38p. Woot! Gave her a print of Paleo and said she didn't have to look at it now. Thanked her for coming and signing everyone's books.
Headed to the room to change into my Blink shirt and ended up taking awhile. After stopping to get a sandwich, I finally made it to the Star Trek track to see the end of the Phase II panel and the showing The Child. It didn't suck.
stoyboy720 was there in his beat up Red Shirt costume. Ben Alpi, Carlos, James, and Patrick were there and I said hello. After that we went to James' awesome Presidential Suite to chat for a bit. Then it was time for the TCF party!Holy crap line was loooong. I met up with Liz, Pano, Kittredge and Matt Hudson. Joel and Trent were in line and I also saw
speakerwiggin and Mel. There was some biotych who was bitching that Felicia Day just walked into the party and I got into an argument about guests being able to cut line. She said just because you can doesn't mean you should and I said she'd be mobbed. Well, crazy cow says Felicia would be mobbed inside too. The difference is that security could get her out faster if needed. I said I would cut the line if I could and she said she fears for the future of humanity. Look bitch, nothing ever got done maintaining the status quo. I had to stop talking to her otherwise I was going to hit her.We got in to the party and found Dean, Jason, Dan and a bunch of other ScifiHero people. Hung out for a while being subjected to bad music and then they did an auction which killed the party. A group of us decided to get out of there and headed to the Trek track party... which was scary? Once we got near there, the fact that it was a Rainbow party scared people so we didn't go.
There was a lot of aimless wandering. We tried the 10th floor party, which was good until security kicked us out due to people yelling. We started losing people to fatigue once we sat at Pulse. Tried to find Jason, but just ended up wandering around with
husher315 and Dean.There was a rave party in the Atrium Ballroom. Decided to head in with Dean and
husher315. I don't know what party this was, but it was a crazy good time. Dean was wearing BSG dress blues and had to go out to cool down. Ended up meeting with Jason in the Atrium as he didn't have his badge to get in and just sat down for a bit. It was 5am by this time so we all decided to head for some sleeps. Sunday, September 6
Got up at ungodly hour and got dressed in SGA gear. Grabbed some breakfast at the cafe in the Hyatt. Went down to the Flanigan photo op with
husher315. It went really quickly and Joe was pretty nice. While in line waiting, Paul walked by and his handler pointed me out again and Paul stopped to say hello. :D [Also, I really need to stop doing these photo ops because I always look like a goon.]Ran through lower level dealer's room and bought a couple things - Doctor Who figures and a few blind box toys.
husher315 bought lunch and we met up with Jason in the bar area to eat his food. husher315 headed off to take a nap. Jason chatted with me for a bit before also taking off for some sleep. Weaklings!Liz and Pano were headed to get food, so I met up with them and got some chicken from Dairy Queen. Headed back to the Marriott to sit and eat. After that, headed to the Walk of Fame and got to Joe's table as he was walking away. Figured we'd go back at 4pm when he got back from the Stargate panel.
Waited in line a bit with Liz for Patrick Stewart before I decided to go get changed. On the way to my room, I got a call from Dean saying I was supposed to be at the SFH table. So, I headed down to check on the debacle.
Apparently people can't read a spreadsheet. Columns match up, people. I sat there anyway so Thunderduck could go eat and waited until Liz showed up to take over. Dean showed up with lunch and I sat with him. He called his wife, Krysten, and had me chat with her. I kind of hate phones being shoved at me, especially when I don't really know the person or have anything to say. I said hello and she asked me how the con was and what costumes I wore. She was really nice, but I felt dumb and passed the phone back. Did I mention I hate talking on the phone?
Somehow we ended up swapping ghost stories at the SFH table with some people. Eventually, I decided to head out and finally get changed. Roswell costume is cute, but not comfortable for sitting. Changed over to Fangtasia outfit. Met up with Liz & Pano and headed for the Walk of Fame again. This time I did get Joe's autograph! He was super nice and I gave him a print of Atropos II and told him that a couple years back I had sent him some artwork . He looked puzzled and said he thinks maybe they're not forwarding him his fanmail. He asked who else I sent them to and I just said all the cast - should have mentioned Paul and Rachel.
Ran into Dean and Rachel. Jason, who'd come with us to the walk of fame, was talking with them. Liz & Pano went back to their room and I went to drop off most of my bags before going to the SFH dinner. Put in my fangs. Met up with Jason, Dean, and Rachel on the way... somewhere. Decided to check out the custom fangs in the lower dealer's room. Kind of pricey but I think I might do it. Hung out at the SFH table for a while before meeting up with Liz, Pano, and Kittredge at the track room. Colin Cunningham & Gary Jones were doing a panel.
Once Carlos & Donna arrived, we headed to Barley's for the dinner. Jason caught up with us. Place was already pretty full of people, most of which I didn't recognize. Actually, I found that the most annoying part of dinner. Who were these people? I felt like they were usurping our dinner with their massive crowding and fangasming over Michael Hogan. Meh. Colin Cunningham was already there and was going around talking to people and then taking pictures with us. I thought that was pretty awesome of him. Michael Hogan showed up soon after and he seemed to be having a good time. Dinner was a bit of a debacle due to food prep issues - half of the tables didn't get food after an hour and a half and our waitress kept checking and saying they'd run out of whatever. How do you run out of food for a dinner that was planned weeks ahead of time?
Food debacle aside, it was nice to sit and chat with people. I hadn't even seen Carlos most of the weekend. During the dinner, I introduced Carlos to Dan & Dean for future production related thingies. We had goodie bags at dinner this year - QMx gave everyone a set of Saul Tigh dogtags and there was also an unpainted resin Atlantis GDO. Sweet!
After dinner, they showed Michael Hogan the Tigh cake and he started munching on the end! So funny! There's a video on youtube.
Next was the prep for the auction and then the actual auction. Lots of stuff sold, including the cake Hogan chomped on which Dan took a bite of, and then Dean face-planted. That went for $50. Good cause, but really?
Went back to my room to change into pants and relaxed a bit before Carlos' room party. I wandered around in the Atrium with Liz, Pano, Kittredge, and Julian. Saw
speakerwiggin as Sabretooth and got a picture. Mel was with him, of course, but not in costume that I could tell. I missed her in her Selene costume, which I'm a little bummed about because it is awesome. Got a text from Carlos saying party was open so we headed up.Eh. The room party was kind of a bust. Dean left to go find food and then
husher315 wanted to walk around before he fell asleep so we wandered out. Found Dan, Jason, Ginny & Rob at High Velocity so we hung out there for a little while.Liz, Pano, and Kittredge had to call it a night since they were leaving early in the morning. I think
stoyboy720 left about that time too. Hung out in High Velocity until they closed. We moved out to the Atrium where there was still a ton of people. Ran into Rachel and some other people. I was starting to get sick of all the noise and standing around. No one was moving; they were all just standing.Jason and I decided to ditch everyone and walk around while they drank. It was pretty fun, actually, looping around the quieter floors of the Marriott and the Hilton. Sometimes we'd sit down in seats at the Hilton or in the area outside the SGMT track room. I'm sure people were wondering what the hell we were doing. Actually got to see some cool costumes like the trio dressed as the Fruity Oaty girls with a Maidenhead River. I should have gotten a photo but I was kind of over photos by then. As we were walking, saw that Dean and his crew did manage to move around. Didn't really stop to hang with them though. Jason and I ended up walking around until about 6am. Awesome time. I wouldn't say it was the greatest thing that happened at con, but I'd definitely do it again.
Monday, September 7
Weird day. Up at 10am. Dressed. Got food. Talked to Jeffrey, who just joined TCF. I told him to check out scifiHero.net. Met up with Jason who had to check out of his room. He needed to drop off his armor tub in my room for a while before he moved it to Dan's room. We got the rest of his stuff to Dan's room at the Hyatt before going to the food court so Jason could get lunch. I went to walk of fame for awhile. No one was there really, but bought art from Lani Tupu who was just about to leave. Had a quick chat with him and told him that I've been wanting one of his pieces for a long time.
Went to dealer's rooms and didn't see anything great. Of course that freed up some money so I could finally get some custom fangs. The first guy I went to was booked the rest of the weekend so I ended up at Maven's table. They were a bit more than I wanted to spend, but it was only going to take 20 minutes. Plus, he's been making fangs for a long while in New Orleans. Jason showed up while I was getting mine fitted and decided to get a pair too. I walked around the dealers while he got his made. Once we were done, we met up with Dean at the fan table. Ended up going back to the other dealers rooms with Dan and Dean since Dean hadn't gone through yet and wanted to find something for his son.
On the way out, we ran into Ginny & Rob and chatted for a while. Dean had to run off and pack and catch his flight. It was past lunch time, so Jason and I went to get food w/Ginny and Rob. Headed back to the Marriott to get their luggage as they had to catch their flight. So... back to fan table to figure out breakdown and packing of table stuff. How many people does it take to strap a wire rack to the top of a van? Too many.
After the van was sorted, we went in search of dinner. I was pretty hungry and crank by then. I'm sure it was awesome to experience me snapping at people. Was looking forward to sushi, but apparently it was Labor Day and everyone was closed. Ended up walking around and went to the 24 hour diner on the corner. They had the weakest Greek salad ever. No olives and the feta came in stick form. Whaaa? Salad of fail for sure.
After dinner, I went back to my room to pack while the guys went to sort out the rest of Dan's stuff. I was waiting to hear from Jason to see if they needed any help, but never heard back.
Hung out with Joel, Carlos, Ben, Trent, Bryan, Chasity, and Scott in the Atrium. Spat's crew was still roaming about with Aaron Douglas so I introduced Spat to the gang. Jason did finally show up. Couple hours of low key chatting and watching people hang on to the last bit of con, Joel, Carlos & crew headed to bed. Chatted with Jason for awhile before we both decided it was time to crash. Nooo! I didn't want to let go of con.
Tuesday, September 8
Awake after 8 hours of sleep. That was definitely the longest sleep I had the whole weekend, but I felt wiped. Got dressed and had breakfast at the Corner Bakery with the rest of the St. Pete crew, Carlos, and Ben. So tasty! Why was I not having breakfast here every morning? Went back to the hotel to finish packing and check my bag at the desk. Said goodbye to the gang driving back to Florida before dashing over to the Hyatt to say goodbye to Dan and Jason. Wandered around the Marriott and sat in the Pulse Loft for a while with Ben.
Decided we should check out the Museum of Design Atlanta. On the way out of the hotel, I saw Aaron Douglas waiting for a cab to the airport. Said hello and asked how the con was. He said he had a great time as always. Wow, the MODA is so full of fail. Galleries 1-3 were closed and Gallery 4 was empty. Walked through the Peachtree Center and decided to just go back to (an empty!) Pulse for a while.
Left the hotel about 1:30pm and got the MARTA to the airport. At the Delta counter, I tried to see if I could switch my flight. They wanted me to pay $50 to change to an earlier flight - even though they rescheduled this - and there was no way. I figured I could tough it out. (In retrospect, I should have just done it.) Hung out with Ben at his gate and went with him to look for food before his flight finally boarded and I was left to my own devices for 5 more hours.
Hanging in the airport sucks. So boring. I couldn't get the free wifi points to really work and then I couldn't figure out how to buy the paid wifi the airport offers. Did finally figure it out once I went to my concourse and gate. Paid $7 to use the internet for a few hours; such a rip off. I was charging Agathon and dropped it on a pebble and gouged the skin. Ugh. I hope it's fine underneath, but I'm afraid to check.
My flight kept changing gate numbers and then the boarding time kept being pushed back due to some problems with other flights. Seriously a nightmare. If I weren't on a direct flight, I'd have been really distraught.
Was finally able to board at 9:30pm, which was over an hour later than I was supposed to. The girl sitting next to me kept leaning over to my side and jabbing me with her elbow. The only thing that kept me from shoving her back was that I was too tired to really give a crap.
Mom met me at baggage claim when I finally arrived. Once home, I just wanted to go to bed, but ended up chatting with her until about 1am. Oops.
It's taken me two days to unpack and four days to work out this report. I'm still not recovered yet, but at least I don't have con crud? I hope not anyway. Figured if it hasn't hit by now, I should be safe. I'm hoping the fact that I ate sort of well this time helped.
Additional links and media:
+ all my DragonCon photos are here
+ daily tweets (with pics): thurs, fri, sat, sun, mon, tues
+ Phil's photos
+ Blackhawk's photos: parade, con
+ Tim Fritz's photos
+ Michael Hogan attacking a cake at the SFH dinner
+ Abe the Alien at a Thriller dance practice
+ Paul McGillion panel on Friday
+ DragonCon parade: part 1, part 2, part 3 (ScifiHero is at 2:33 in Part 3)
+ Shatner & Nimoy panel (7 parts)
+ Stargate SG-1/Atlantis Panel (7 parts)
+ Stargate Multiverse Panel (7 parts)
+ crapload of other youtube vids
And that concludes my awesome DragonCon trip for this year. I can't wait til next year when, hopefully,
smashedrecords will be coming with me as I know she will have an awesome time.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-09-13 06:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-14 03:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-14 09:59 pm (UTC)My mother went spelunking on YouTube and found two parade vids that I apparently showed up in, but I still haven't viewed them. I don't have video on the computer I spend 40+ hours a week on, so YT links mostly don't get followed up by me.