SDCC- The Final Recap (a little photo heavy)

In my previous posts about SDCC, I basically ran down what I did each day I was in San Diego, but there were a few things I wanted to touch on a little more, so I figured I'd do a final recap and add a few pictures that I took with my phone (I really didn't take that many this year. I felt too awful). Also, I didn't get to do any of the off site stuff that's around the convention center this year (except Nerd HQ) and that sucked. There was a lot of cool stuff out there to do and see. But I did get to go to panels and the podcasts, which I haven't been able to do in the past. So while I felt like I wasted a lot of time this year, I don't think I did. It was just a different experience.

The first thing I wanted to write about was House of Blues (like that first post wasn't enough, right?). This wasn't a SDCC sanctioned event, but it happened during that time and I am still sorely disappointed with how they handled, or really didn't handle, the harassment my husband and I dealt with at the podcast. I have been to concerts at other HOB venues and at even the first inkling of trouble, the security guards have stepped in to intervene. So why it didn't happen this time, I don't know. Maybe they figured concerts get violent and podcasts don't? Or maybe they figured geek harassment is not as bad as concert-goer harassment? I mean, the security was lacking, not only in caring, but in numbers too. I think the venue should have known better. Anyone who had been to SD during Comic Con knows what the crowds are like, and they sold a certain amount of tickets, so they had exact numbers. I really enjoyed the podcast, but I don't know if I would see it again if they continue to do it there. 

Next up is Nerd HQ. This was my first year going to Nerd HQ and I was really impressed with it. Located in Petco Park, it was a free event that didn't require a SDCC badge. It had photo booths, panels that didn't cost money, video game demos, couches for relaxing and more. My husband and I were there mostly for the two Conversations for a Cause panels that we purchased tickets to. I really enjoyed my experiences there, although I saw online that some people didn't (mostly angry people wondering what the money raised during Zach's Indiegogo campaign went to since every station at Nerd HQ was sponsored, also some people were upset about not being able to get into the parties there). The only thing that was a little off-putting to me as a first timer was when someone would ask for an autograph or something in a panel, a price would be thrown at them. I get that the majority of what they're doing at Nerd HQ is for charity, but it was still a bit of a surprise. But I will say, that I can imagine running something like Nerd HQ must be stressful, and Zach never looked stressed, which I thought was amazing. He was always smiling, very friendly and polite to everyone. Even the staff and volunteers that were there were all very personable and cheerful, which is an amazing feat at a convention of that magnitude, not to mention a refreshing change of pace from some of the less than friendly vendors inside the convention. I don't regret purchasing panel tickets or photo ops, and I definitely hope that I get to spend more time at Nerd HQ next year. 

Also! The app they had for Nerd HQ was amazing! It is available for Apple and Android phones and was so helpful- in announcing when you could buy tickets to panels, when photo ops were happening....I hope they continue to use it next year. That app made my experience at Nerd HQ possible, not even joking.

The last thing I wanted to talk about was the line situation inside the convention center. If you attended the convention this year, you probably noticed the increased presence of actual police officers walking the convention floor, not just security guards. You may not have noticed the increase of fire marshals walking the floor, but they were there, and constantly harassing the security guards to get the crowds in order. I wrote about my  first experience at the Blizzard booth where they had capped the line due to security and how frustrating that was. When we were walking the floor, I noticed they did that to a lot of the larger booths (think video games or comic book companies), but signings seemed to be exempt from it. There were many book signing lines that went right in the middle of the walkways and nothing was said to them about it. To me, the rules didn't make sense. On Sunday, I wanted to look at the We Love Fine booth that was way in a corner. I couldn't. Why? Because there was a security guard standing right next to the booth saying, "If you're not buying anything, you can't be here." I said,"How do I know if I want to buy anything if I can't stop to look at the shirts?" and he said, "That's not my problem. No standing around. No lingering. Fire marshal's rules." How that booth did any business is beyond me. The regulating of the booth lines and walkways just seemed to add more stress. There were more guards yelling, and I felt rushed in everything I did. I appreciate the fact that they seemed to care about how things were moving this year (I didn't hit too many huge traffic jams on the floor), but at the same time, I think there could've been other ways to handle it. Hopefully next year will be better, and I can actually look at things without being yelled at. 

I didn't get to hit the Hall H line, but I am interested in how that wristband system worked out. If any of you did it, please let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

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And now for some pictures :)

Sanjay and Craig panel.

Alan Tudyk at Nerd HQ.

Norman Reedus, Robert Kirkman 

Skybound Panel.

Old fortune and Hearthstone token.

View from the bathrooms at

the Heroes Brewfest.

Those who arrive.....

(Did anyone else see Glenn hanging off the

 roof or was that just me?)

Felicia Day, Aisha Tyler, Wil Wheaton

at Nerd HQ.

Felicia Day and Wil Wheaton

<3

SDCC- Sunday and Post-SDCC Monday

Sunday was a pretty good day. I actually felt well, it was our two year wedding anniversary (we've been together much longer though), I wore shorts so I didn't melt. Good day.

We started our day off at Nerd HQ. We had an early morning panel with Wil Wheaton and Felicia Day. I was so excited when I got tickets for this panel. Not to mention the fact that we managed to get pretty good seats for it too (third row, right in the middle!). Wil Wheaton was one of my earliest crushes in life, because I was a huge Star Trek TNG fan and I loved me some Wesley Crusher. And Felicia Day is a really good role model for girls I think, and I love The Guild, so I was glad to see her too (my husband was equally as glad, he thinks shes hot). They are the ultimate nerd couple to me. What is it that everyone says? I'd ship them so hard? Yeah. Anyway, the panel was amazing. Aisha Tyler moderated it because Zach had stuff to handle, and she is freaking hilarious. After the panel, we rushed to the photo booth area because we were told that they were doing a Smiles for Smiles photo op. Almost immediately, they said that Felicia Day wasn't going to, but Wil Wheaton would. This bummed my husband out, but the six year old in me was excited to be next to Wesley Crusher. So we stand in line some more and my Nerd HQ app goes off. It announces a photo op with Zachary Levi at the photo booth we are currently in line for. So everyone is like, WTF and the volunteers are like, yeah....Wil isn't going to do it after all. So that bummed me out, but we ended up taking a picture with Zach and he was just so nice. A lot of people started getting out of line after Zach was announced and waited for Nathan Fillion (who had a panel right after Wil and Felicia's), but there was never a Smiles for Smiles announced for him on Sunday, so I am curious if he came out and did one or not.

After the photo op, we ate at the taco stand they had in Nerd HQ. My husband had the nachos and he loved them, I had the Carne Asada tacos and they were alright. The meat was off, not true Carne Asada, and a little greasier than what I'm used to. It rained for a few minutes while we were there, then it cleared up like nothing had happened. When we finished eating, we went to the convention center and got in line for another panel in 6A. This time it was for Sanjay and Craig, the Nickelodeon cartoon.

We made it to the line pretty early, so we got good seats. The lady next to us was there to see an actor that was in Arrested Development, I had no idea he was a voice in the cartoon. We were there because Chris Hardwick voices Craig, the snake. We also found out that Matt Jones (Badger in Breaking Bad) is another voice actor in the cartoon. My kids love to watch Sanjay and Craig, so it was a neat panel. We got to see them table read two episodes, and they performed a version of the theme song made just for SDCC. Plus, they showed us an upcoming episode of the cartoon. I sat next to a girl who's boyfriend works on the show, he'd put together all the stuff they were showing on the screen. I let her know how much I liked it, and how much my kids enjoy the show. I imagine working on something like that must be stressful, so it might be nice for her boyfriend to know that people do appreciate it. At the end of the panel, they mentioned that they were doing a signing at the Nickelodeon booth, so a lot of us went over there. We didn't know that it was a ticketed signing, but because they'd mentioned it in the panel and so many of us showed up, Nickelodeon let us go through the line, which I thought was really nice of them.

I was pretty bummed to find out that the Sons of Anarchy panel in Hall H that was going on the same time as the Sanjay and Craig panel had been begging people to fill its seats though. We wanted to go to that because we love SOA, but we figured that because it was a Hall H event and we hadn't camped for it, there wasn't a snowball's chance that we'd get in. Later on in the day I was checking my Facebook, and a girl I'd gone to school with who was also at SDCC with her finance' had posted that they attended the panel- only because they were approached by SDCC staff. She said that they were begging people to fill the room! What?! Maybe it has something to do with that new wristband thing they were doing, I'm not sure. But if its like that next year, maybe I will attempt a Hall H panel. I would love to see what a big panel is like, even though I am still very happy with the two panels we did get into in 6A.

After that, I think we went back to the Blizzard booth. My husband wanted to get some more of those pins, and that's when we found out that they were trading them. They had a board set up where you could trade, or you could trade with other people that were standing around. I traded my gold Nobu (I think thats how you spell it) for a gold Sylvanas, and I was good. But my husband got all into it, and he was a trading machine. There was this guy there that I hung around with (and I'm horrible socially, I didn't even get his name), and he was explaining to me how things were working, how the people were operating, things like that. He was there observing. He'd gotten all the pins he wanted on Saturday, and was there on Sunday I think to see what kind of deals he could make with his extras, something that could be profitable (if you check eBay, those pins are very profitable right now). He did direct a guy to my husband that had a really rare gold pin (they were sold in blind bags, and then there were regular pins, and then their rarer golden counterparts), which I thought was cool. There was a lady that was frantic trying to get that pin, but she had tried to do a dirty deal with me earlier, and that guy didn't think that was right. I managed to get a rare gold pin from their toy dispenser though, which was awesome. If you bought tokens (they look like Hearthstone coins) and put them in this machine (they look like those machines you put quarters in for bouncy balls or stale candy at the store), you had a chance of getting these little dolls or the gold pin that also came with loot codes. I ended up with a lot of those little dolls, but it was almost closing time on Sunday and I tried the machine again and got my gold pin.

***All photos are from eBay. Search Blizzard Pins SDCC and the listings should come up.*** 

We stayed at the Blizzard booth until it was time to shut SDCC down. That was a strange experience, I've never been there as it was closing. It was a mad house really, and vendors were still selling stuff even after they were told to stop. Aside from being sick, SDCC was good. We stayed an extra night since it was our anniversary (and we didn't want to deal with post-con traffic). We ate at this place called Bootlegger for dinner. It was very good, but the sickness kicked in after I ate, and kinda ruined the rest of the night :(  We had the Crispy Deviled Eggs as an appetizer, then my husband had a BYOBurger and I had the Chicken and Waffles (I'm a sucker for chicken and waffles). 

On Monday, we didn't really do anything in SD. We left the hotel right at checkout time (12pm), then headed to Los Angeles. We stopped at Universal CityWalk to catch a movie and to eat (I was feeling eh that day, and wanted to be close to home before I ate anything). We saw Lucy- I'll review it soon, but eh. After that, he ate at Tommy's (tons of chili on everything) and I ate at the Flame Broiler (something safe for my tummy).  The rest of the trip home was smooth sailing, and I felt relieved to be back in our smoggy, hot mess of a town. The weekend had been exhausting and I missed my children, and our cat. 

Did any of you attend SDCC?  What were your thoughts on the convention this year?

SDCC- Saturday (Our Longest Day)

Saturday, July 26th was my first official day at SDCC and let me just say- holy humidity San Diego! It was nasty. I woke up that morning feeling really, really sick. Maybe it was the lack of sleep (we didn't get back from the Hollywood Babble-On taping  until 2:30am), maybe it was undiagnosed issues, but I was feeling so terrible. I loaded up on all  my meds in the car, but the twenty minute drive to the Campus parking lot hadn't done me any favors, I was still feeling horrible. Stepping out into that humidity was a shock. I'd been hearing from other people how nice the weather in SD was, and that there was even a storm expected for the weekend. So smart girl that I am, I wore jeans. Double ugh. By the time my husband and I had made it off the Skywalk I felt like I was dying, and I don't use that term loosely. Once we made it upstairs in the convention center, I thought I was going to pass out. I was so shaky and could barely walk. Not the way I wanted to start off my convention experience.

My husband and I rushed to the Blizzard Entertainment booth because there were some exclusives and premieres that we wanted. Come to find out, the line had been capped, with no say in when it would be reopened. And we were pressed for time, because we were attending a panel at Nerd HQ not too long after we got the convention center. The Blizzard employee told us that the convention had put a bunch of new rules in place about vendor lines, that they couldn't obstruct the walkways, they couldn't have people lingering around. I will touch on this more in my final recap, but I think that while those rules were meant to be helpful, they also caused a lot of problems. So needless to say, we didn't get our loot before we had to haul buns to Petco Park and Nerd HQ.

By this time, I was still feeling pretty bad, but also feeling a little better. That quickly changed once we got seated for our Conversations for a Cause panel. It was hot in that little area, and heat does nothing for me. I think I spent the first ten or so minutes planning an escape route in case I had to vomit (yeah, it was that bad). Eventually that wore off and I got to enjoy our panel, which was Alan Tudyk with Zachary Levi moderating. It was very funny and it was definitely worth the stress of the ticket sales. I'll talk about Nerd HQ more in my final recap as well, but I was very impressed with what I saw.



I liked that Alan wasn't put out about talking about Firefly. I know some actors don't like to be remembered for just one role and sometimes hate talking about that said role, but he was so enthusiastic about it. And I loved that he answered a question in his King Candy voice. Wreck It Ralph is a favorite here in my house, so that was pretty great. After the panel, he did a Smiles for Smiles photo op, and my husband and I did that. If my scanner wasn't broken, I would share it with all of you :) They even let me hold a sign I made (very last minute, like while standing in line for the photo) that said "Hi Dad", because my dad is a huge Firefly fan.

After Nerd HQ, we went back to the convention center. We went back to the Blizzard booth, and this time we were able to get in line and get the stuff we wanted. I bought the Nether Faerie Dragon and my husband got the Heroes and Villains lanyard. We also got a Tyrael nightlight for our kids and the World of Warcraft Trivial Pursuit. We also bought these really cool pins that people were trading, it was crazy. Our adventures with that happened on Sunday though lol, so thats for another post.

We walked around, looked at a few more booths, then I remembered that there was a panel in 6A that we'd talked about going to see. It was a Skybound panel, with Robert Kirkman and some other guys. But the person we were most interested in seeing was Norman Reedus. Having no previous experience with panels at SDCC, I thought this was a smaller room and that it wouldn't be that hard to get into. So with thirty minutes until the panel started, my husband and I rushed over there to try to get a place in line. We managed to get a spot, but it was like, buildings away from 6A. We almost left the line, we didn't think we had a chance. But we stuck it out, and it paid off. We managed to get seats in the panel, and it was pretty awesome. They talked about some stuff they had going on with The Walking Dead, not the teevee show, but some of its other ventures, and they showed the trailer for their movie Air, which Norman Reedus and Djimon Hounsou star in. It looks pretty neat.



Once that panel was over, we headed to the Heroes Brewfest. I don't drink, especially beer (it doesn't even smell good), but my husband does, so this was more for him than me. He had a lot of fun tasting all the different beers (there were a ton). I sat under a tree and tried to feel better. It didn't help that a girl at the table near me had like, a mass exodus of everything she'd ingested that day. I can't deal with vomit, especially other people's. She did actually pass out though, which was sad. The EMT that was at the event took his sweet time getting to her, I'm sure just dismissing her as another girl who can't hold her liquor. The event staff didn't bother to clean up her mess (even though a maintenance man had volunteered to, the security guy told him not to), so plenty of people screamed when they saw it (and eventually the sea gulls came.....ugh....).

We stayed at the brewfest until it ended, then took one of those bikes that blasts rap music back to Petco Park so we could get ready to run The Walking Dead Escape. Now, I was still feeling like crap and I really didn't want to do it. But my husband got a little put out with me because he wanted us to do it together (and he also thinks I'm a bit of a hypochondriac, so I don't even think he really thought I was feeling shitty), so I decided to try it. Big mistake. I was still in my jeans, and just wearing Vans, and it was still super humid. So we start, and it doesn't take long before I almost crash into a wall because I feel like passing out and one of the workers called EMTs to wheel me off the course. That was embarrassing. Seeing all those zombie faces pity me was sad. The EMT that treated me was super nice though, and I appreciate that. He didn't make me feel stupid for being an out of shape heatstroke victim, even though thats probably all it was. I wouldn't mind doing the course again next year though, as a walker. That seemed like a lot of fun, and you don't have to run :)

After all that is over, our night still isn't complete! We then have to haul ass to Balboa Theater to see The Nerdist podcast with Chris Hardwick and crew. His special guest was CM Punk, and it was a really good podcast. I feel like I should mention that I've never listened to the Nerdist podcast before, but my husband and I are huge Chris Hardwick fans, and thats why we went. It was not disappointing. There was even a marriage proposal in the audience, it was the weekend of geeky love on podcasts I suppose. Click the link here to listen to the Nerdist podcast from July 26th.

And that concludes my Saturday at SDCC. Come back tomorrow for the Sunday run down!!

Pre SDCC- Friday

Whew! I feel like I have finally recovered from SDCC! Now, to be fair, I attended the convention sick. Not contagious sick, but more like organs failing sick. I had been having a lot of random pains and nausea in the weeks beforehand, and while my doctor tried to get me a diagnosis before my trip, it just didn't happen. So she sent me on my merry way with enough medications to make my trip not completely horrible, but it was still pretty uncomfortable. I figured I break my time in San Diego up by days, so you don't get bored :)

My husband and I left for San Diego earlyish Friday afternoon. We figured that traffic wouldn't be too horrible, and we would get into San Diego early enough to see some of the off site SDCC things before heading to the House of Blues for Kevin Smith's Hollywood Babble-On podcast. Wrong. So wrong. We hit L.A. traffic around 3pm, which didn't start out as anxiety inducing as it usually is, but quickly got that way. Our TomTom started alerting us to a traffic incident, and soon we were off the freeway and traveling through some very unsavory parts of various cities for about two hours. Come to find out, a tagger had been caught on an overpass and refused to come down, so the CHP shut the freeway down in both directions. Yeah. This standoff would end up lasting around three and a half hours, which was crazy. I mean, L.A. traffic. At getting off time. On a Friday. It was insanity (and thanks to KTLA, you can read about it here). Eventually we were able to get back on the freeway, and it was pretty smooth sailing from there, but the damage had been done to our timeline and we didn't get into Sad Diego until almost 8pm.

Since there wasn't too much time to do anything, we hung out in our hotel for about an hour then went to House of Blues to try to get something to eat before the podcast (the podcast taping started at midnight, way past my bedtime lol). I was feeling okay up until that point. Eating was a mistake. I couldn't finish my meal, but I took some of the meds I was prescribed and prayed I would make it through the podcast. I have been to other House of Blues locations, but I have to say that I really enjoyed the decor in the San Diego HOB. It was very cool. After dinner, we went outside and waited in line for the podcast. We weren't lucky enough to get seats, so we were part of the standing room only people, and at the time we thought our spots in line would mean something. It didn't. Anyway, we waited in the line for about an hour, then got inside. We were supposed to go to the ground level and stand behind the chairs down there, but they let some of us stay on the balcony, and my husband managed to get a pretty good spot there. I was standing a little behind him, because at that point I was feeling really sick and didn't want to be squished next to anybody. All of this is important because, I had a really shitty experience and I'd like to share it with all of you.

I didn't mind standing behind my husband. He wanted to get some pictures, and I didn't want to be pressed against a railing. Plus, I had a perfect spot where I could see everything between him and the guy he was standing next to. And I didn't mind when this obnoxious group of college kids stood next to me. Ugh, I should have known better. Almost right away, one of the girls steps on my foot. Hard. But she wasn't a bitch about it, she apologized, and I thought that was the end of it. Wrong. From there, it got worse. She was constantly pushing me and hitting me. At first I let it go, chalking it up to her probably being one of those people that is an animated talker and also doesn't realize personal space. During this time, I should also note that two guys took this opportunity to hit on me. Not to bring it up to be vain, I was honestly flabbergasted (I do not get hit on. Ever.), but its important because the last guy that did it returns later in the story. It should be noted that once he found out I was there with my husband he flat out turned and walked away from me while I was mid sentence. But I digress. So I text my husband and tell him that this girl has pushed me out of  my spot. He turns around to assess the situation and a few minutes later he texts me with a way for me to come stand next to him. I follow his instructions and almost immediately the girl who had been pushing me all night gets in my face. She starts yelling at me that she was there first and I can't just shove in and blah blah blah. I told her that I had been there before she was, that she had been pushing and hitting me all night and she knew it because she had apologized for it. She tried to deny it and then one of her other friends tried to join in. At that point, I really wanted to punch someone, but I'm not a violent person. My husband then let her know that she was full of it and they kindly needed to back off. Which she did, for a minute.

It would be nice if that was the end of the story, but sadly it isn't. From there, she and her group of friends were screaming about how they had integrity and how cool they were and how they were tall and didn't really need to see the podcast but they could because they were tall and rambles for days. I had hoped that once Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman came onstage they would shut up, but they didn't. They talked and yelled through the whole thing. I felt them tugging at my shirt and my pants, and I heard their phones going off, so I'm sure there are some unflattering pictures of me somewhere online. The last guy to hit on me tried to hit on them, telling them he'd do anything to have sex with them. So they told him about what I had done and they wanted him to do something about it. That only marginally backfired as I had already told him what she had done to me (you know, before he walked away from me so rudely), and he told her that I was nice and wouldn't do it. So instead he tried to fight with my husband and the guy he was standing next to. It didn't work, and the guy looked like an asshole. They also spilled a drink on my husband, screamed and yelled constantly in my ears and spit on me repeatedly. I had high hopes that Kevin Smith's warning at the beginning of the show about people acting a fool would be thrown out would actually be enforced, but the security guys at the HOB didn't seem to give a shit, which was really disappointing. There was one standing about three people away from my husband, and I know he saw everything that was going on, he just didn't care.

All that aside though, the podcast was amazing. I had never heard an episode of Hollywood Babble-On, so I didn't know what to expect. It was pretty standard Kevin Smith though. Everyone was hoping that Ben Affleck would make a guest appearance, but he didn't. Instead, he had Kevin Conroy, which was pretty bad ass. Kevin Smith also married a couple dressed like Thor and Jane Foster and showed the trailer for his movie Tusk. Ralph Garman was just there for looks. Lol, just kidding, he was equally as awesome. Click this link to hear/see the podcast (yes, their podcast had a ton of visuals) from July 25th.

Did any of you attend the Hollywood Babble-On taping? Or were you doing something else equally as awesome on Friday night?

One Week til SDCC!

Just one more week until thousands of nerds will descend upon sunny San Diego for Comic Con. Here's my checklist of things to do in the week leading up to the big event. They are mostly for those of us who are traveling to San Diego, but I think there are some things that are good even for people that do live in SD.


One Week:
*Car maintenance. This is for all of us out of towners who are driving there. Get your oil changed, tires rotated, filters changed. Not only will it help with  your gas mileage, you'll have some piece of mind that your car isn't going to crap out on the way there or on your way back home. Also, if you take it to get maintenanced and they find something majorly wrong with it, this week will give you the chance to a) fix it or b) secure another source of transportation.

*Confirm accommodations. Make sure the hotel knows you're coming! If you're staying with other nerds, make sure those arrangements are still in place, and make sure you know how everything will be split (food/gas/hotel room costs) so there's no surprises.

*Check for tickets to events. Yes I realize you should have been doing this for months now (I know I have), but it seems like a lot of the announcements for things happen in the days leading up to it, and even during the convention itself. Its also wise to set up your phone's Twitter notifications now for NerdHQ and any other vendor/celebrity/event that you're hoping to see. Sure the notifications might be annoying for this week, but you'll be grateful to have them once its go time.

Four Days- Shopping!
*Snacks. I can get away with buying things about four days away from an event without having someone in my house finding it and eating it! Pack snacks that are lightweight, don't require refrigeration, that are filling yet easy on your digestive system. I would also suggest water over sodas or energy drinks, but thats up to you. I like to bring a few flavor packs for my water bottles for variety.

*Toiletries. If you don't travel much, you may not have your toiletries in order. Basics are shampoo/conditioner, soap, toothbrush and toothpaste, a razor, Q-Tips, hair brush and deodorant. But you know what you need, so shop accordingly. If you're flying in, you may want to avoid the TSA hassle and just buy them once you get to San Diego.

Two Days- 
*Paperwork. Put all your SDCC paperwork in an envelop and then pack it! Or put it somewhere you'll remember to grab it when it's time to leave. I have a binder where I keep all of our important household papers and I have a folder just for SDCC stuff. Its easy to locate, and easy to remove all the stuff once I need it.

*Start packing. I don't know about you, but I have a tendency to procrastinate. Starting early gives me the chance to come back to it when I want, or as the laundry is clean. Its also a good way to see if I'm forgetting something.

One Day-
*Fill Up Your Gas Tank. Better to do it the night before, that way if you're running late in the morning its one less thing you have to worry about.

*Finish Your Packing. If you didn't finish it yesterday, do it now! Don't forget your paperwork, toiletries and chargers for your phone, laptop, camera, etc!

*Make A SDCC Mix. I like to make CD mixes and playlists, so any excuse to make one is good for me.

*Go To The Bank. Remember, you're going to need some cash. Not all vendors take cards, and you might just need it for incidentals.

*Go To Sleep. Its going to be a long, exciting, busy day tomorrow, you're going to need your rest!

Happy Comic-Conning everyone!

What's In My Bag- SDCC Edition (GIVEAWAY CLOSED)

Its that time, people! No more counting down the months until San Diego Comic Con, its now just days away! Today I'm sharing what I plan on taking to SDCC with  me, what I recommend you bring with you, and....there's a tiny, non St Jude related giveaway at the bottom of all this :) So lets get started.

1. You will need something to haul your goodies. Yes, you get that free bag when you come into the convention, but I find them not at all practical for my hauling needs and usually just fold it up and put it in my backpack. Backpacks or messenger bags are my bags of choice for conventions, but everyone has a preference. I just like them because you can distribute weight evenly across your back (backpack) or switch shoulders accordingly (messenger bag).

2. Cash or Credit Cards. Nobody fools with checks anymore, just don't do it. And sometimes, people don't mess with credit or debit cards either, so cash is always a good idea. Large amounts are not recommended, if it gets lost or stolen, well, you're out a lot of money. I say, bring $50-100 cash per day, and leave your cards for the rest.

3. Pens, pens and more pens! Or at least enough that if you lose one (or two), you will have another for those impromptu "Can I have your autograph!?" moments. I like Sharpies because they don't usually smear, but again, its really your preference. Also, the scrapbooker in my says to chose something acid and lignin free, so they will last as long as you need it too.

4. Notebook, sketchbook or other writing surface. This goes along with the pens. If you run into a celebrity, you need to be prepared. I like to carry a Moleskin or Mini Smashbook with me for just that occasion. They also make really awesome mini scrapbooks. Wristbands, ticket stubs, stickers, etc can all be put into it at random, and you come away with a fun souvenir at the end of the con.

5. Medication and bandages. I have carried a mini pharmacy with me ever since jr high (maybe that's why I chose it as my career path lol). The Girl Scout in me lives by that Boy Scout motto of Alway Be Prepared. I'm not suggesting bringing prescription meds into the convention (unless you absolutely need them), because they run the risk of getting stolen. I'm talking the travel size painkillers, anti-diarrheals, Dramamine (random nausea is an issue for me), those types of medications. You don't want to miss out on anything because of an upset tummy or a raging headache. I also carry a travel size first aid kit with me, because I'm clumsy and nobody wants me bleeding all over their merchandise.

6. Personal care items, whatever that means to you. I like to bring hand sanitizer (usually more than one bottle) with me, because I'm a little germophobic. I think that comes with being a mom. I wasn't as obsessive about germs until I had kids. I also carry flushable wipes, because sometimes you have to use that stall without toilet paper. Some people bring toothbrushes and things to the convention for touchups throughout the day, I just bring a lot of gum.

7. Electronics. (Cell phone, camera, iPod, Nintendo DS, etc) Bring at your own risk, but if you want a way to unwind or to capture those "OMG I can't believe that just happened/that's so cool/WTF moments", you will need to bring at least one of those items. That also entails bringing the proper accoutrements. Extra batteries, charging wires, whatever. I personally bring my phone and camera, and then hope they don't die. I am notorious for leaving my charging wires at the hotel or even at home, meaning I usually have to go out and buy some aftermarket wire.

8. Snacks. Convention food is way overpriced and not that great, so I like to bring in my own snacks. Dried fruit, fruit snacks, 100 calorie packs of anything are usually good enough to hold me over until we can find a restaurant to go to, and they are small enough that they don't add a lot of bulk to my bag. My husband will usually bring his Camelback with him, so we just drink from there as needed.

9. A deck of cards. Or any other small, portable game. I haven't had the pleasure of waiting in that Hall H line, but I've heard its a doozy. What better way to bond with your fellow con goers and choke back the boredom than with a game? Cards Against Humanity is great for those with a twisted sense of humor, Uno is nice for those who might be a little more timid. Or just bring a regular deck of cards. You can play countless games with it, and they double as a nice writing surface should you run into a celebrity and you don't have anything else for them to sign.

10. Poster tube. This is not a bag item, but you will definitely need one. We bought one at WonderCon this year for $10 and it was a good investment. Our posters came home in one piece; I can't say the same for other years when we just rolled them and put them in the bag.

So those are my SDCC must haves. Did I miss anything? And since I rely on these items so much, I thought I'd share some of them with one lucky winner! I know its not as cool as The Nerd Fu's Comic Con Survival Pack giveaway, but its my way of sharing my SDCC excitement with all of you! Also, you can enter this even if you're not attending a convention any time soon, I seriously carry most of this in my car/purse at all times.

Prize includes:
*1 Smash journal
*1 Smash gluestick/pen combo
*1 roll of Scotch comic washi tape
*2 black Sharpies
*1 Bandaid travel first aid kit
*1 travel pack of Cottonelle flushable wipes
*1 pack of  Doublemint gum
*1 Dial hand sanitizer
*1 travel sized Advil
*2 sheets of stomach relief tablets

Rules are in the Rafflecopter Terms of Service, but the basics are that this is open to US addresses only. No giveaway accounts allowed, you will be disqualified. None of these options are mandatory, enter as many or as few ways as you like. Contest ends on July 17, 2014 at 12am Pacific Time. Good Luck!




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Currently/Recently

Watching-

Firefly! Its about damn time, right?! Its been sitting in my Netflix queue forever, but my husband and I have finally made the time to start watching it. Its pretty freaking awesome. 

Reading-

Lumberjanes! Well, not really. I have been desperately trying to secure a physical copy of issue number one that doesn't cost a million dollars and have had no luck. I did get number two and added it to my comic subscription list, but I am hesitant to read it without reading number one first. I have been keeping up with the other comics in my subscription though (Ms. Marvel, Sex Criminals, Rat Queens, She-Hulk and Deadly Class), so that makes me happy. I am also getting ready to reread The Fault in our Stars. All the pictures of that book blowing up my Instagram feed lately has made me want to read it again. 

Listening- 

Ed Sheeran- Sing

The Lonely Island ft Pharrell Williams- Hugs

I have been listening to this song since The Wack Album was released, and was excited to see that they made a video for it to play while Andy hosted SNL's season finale last week. The song in the video is a little different than the song on the CD, but its still good. 

Happenings-

Currently, I am sick. It might just be really bad allergies, but either way, it blows. I am sneezing nonstop and my throat is so itchy and hurty! Bummer that it has to happen right before I have more dental work done (the past few weeks have involved a root canal and a deep cleaning, I just need to get a crown and a filling and I should be good to go). To me, there's nothing worse than having to have your mouth open for long periods of time when you're not feeling well, its like asking to vomit (or is that just me?). Its also my son's last week of school. I can't believe the school year is over already! I am relieved though. I have really been hating on his school this year. Its like they don't even care about educating the kids....but that's a rant for another day.

A couple weeks ago, my husband and I went to see Jay Mohr perform his stand-up with my sister-in-law and her boyfriend. She'd actually purchased the tickets as a birthday present for my husband and as an anniversary present for her boyfriend. Not going to lie, we all came in with expectations kinda low. The role I could most easily place him in was moderator for BlizzCon's costume contests. Ouch. But I guess he does a sports radio show, so there were a lot of dudes in the audience. There were also a lot of old people there, which was surprising. I think they were surprised too, because most of them were visibly offended by Jay's act (and really offended by his opener- Dean Delray). The show was dirty and vulgar and pretty awesome. When we went to see Aziz Ansari, it was good. He was funny, but it all felt really rehearsed and scheduled. Dean and Jay were both really out there, and actually responded to hecklers in the audience....it just a little more natural. Also, they took the time to come out to the front of the venue after the show for pictures and things, which was pretty cool.

Around that time, we found that the kittens had returned to our backyard (have I mentioned the kittens here? I know I have on Instagram). I was determined to keep them here this time, so I put more food and water out for the mommy kitty in hopes that she'd stay. I checked on the kittens constantly, as she had placed them in a shed this time (my mother-in-law left it full of junk...we rent from her..). Things seemed to be okay, but after two days we noticed that the sickest looking kitten had disappeared. We thought maybe it had wandered off, since they were pretty mobile by that point. Well....sadly that was not the case. A few days later the other kittens were making horrible cries that had drawn the attention of our neighbors. I went to check on them and saw that another kitten had gone missing, yet I could hear her. We moved a bunch of stuff around and found her stuck in a box. And upon removing her from the box, my husband found the sickest kitty behind the box...dead. I was devastated. The kitties were looking rough, one was dead, and I hadn't seen the mommy kitty since we found the kittens in the shed. So we called the cat rescue people and they finally agreed to take the remaining two kittens. They were both very ill with upper respiratory viruses and fleas, so the chance of them surviving I was told, was slim. I haven't had the nerve to call them and find out, but I do have a claim on the spotty one if she makes it :)

The orange one in the middle is the one that passed away. The white one with spots is the one I'm hoping we'll get when/if she recovers. Also in backyard news- this cat:

I feed this one, since it pretty much lives in my backyard now. I think he/she has some relation to the kittens. I've named it Oreo, just because I hate just calling it Kitty. 

I also got caught up in the parking pass drama related to SDCC. I managed to get parking passes late that night, but boy was it a pain! Maybe next year they can use a different parking company? Or maybe that parking company can use servers that can handle that type of traffic? But on the good side of San Diego Comic-Con (besides the fact that I'm going), I did get tickets to see Nerdist Podcast Live! Super excited for that, I really love Chris Hardwick. Anyone know of anything else that's going on that Saturday and Sunday? Those are the only con-related days I'll be there.

So that's it for me right now. I hope everyone has a safe Memorial Day weekend, and while you're out there B-B-Qing, please remember to take a second to reflect on all that the Armed Forces has done and will continue to do for us as a nation. 

Currently

I had a feeling I wouldn't keep up with these Currently/Recently posts, but I here I am trying another one :)

Gone Girl

Reading: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I thought I'd be more into than I am, to be honest. Maybe its because I've been so distracted with other things that I haven't given it a fair shot. I might just start over (I'm not that far into it).

In the comic book front, I have been reading Rat Queens, Sex Criminals and Deadly Class. I am hoping to get my hands on Ms. Marvel, I've heard its wonderful.

 

Happenings:

I had to wear a heart monitor the other day for 24 hours. I couldn't shower with it, so that was gross. And the white things had a ton of adhesive on them, which I had happen to be sensititve to, so I was itchy and I now have welts where they were placed. Minimal complaints considering that I was wearing a freaking heart monior because my heart has been going super wacko lately. My doctor seems to be going towards stress/depression/anxiety as the cause. He didn't come right out and say it, but he sent home this huge questionnaire about it (not very discreet). But I also had to have a bunch of blood drawn, and I Googled some of what they were testing for. That wasn't smart, because it was for things like blood clots and toxins released from heart damage and lots of things relating to mortality rate. Made me a little anxious (okay, absolutely terrified). I still have some more tests to do, and I'll know everything by the end of the month. I figure that if something comes back really bad before then, they'll call me. So, no news is good news for now right? (Or that's what I'm telling myself at least). 

But, on a super happy note, I got badges to San Diego Comic Con this morning :) Only for Saturday and Sunday, because that's what my husband and I had budgeted for. The four day preview night was still an option, because I got in right away, but it just wasn't in the cards for us financially. Maybe next year :) We're also seriously considering going to Phoenix Comic Con this year, so we will need money to make that trip as well.

Listening: 

Dreamer by Ghost Town

Watching: 

Source.

Pretty Little Liars. This season is so good. *Spoilers ahead* Now that we can see Ezra being A, isn't it even more creepy? He's still not working alone, but did he really make an alliance with Mona like it was hinted a few episodes ago, or is it someone else? And why is Ezra after Ali? Still so many questions. And I really can't wait for Aria to find out. She should've stayed with Jake.....

Keeping Up with the Cons- SDCC Pre-Registration and Badge Prices

I have been avoiding all the badge changes for San Diego Comic Con. They were a little confusing to me, and I worried that after all my years of trying and failing at getting badges (and then finally procuring them last year) were in vain, because the way it was originally worded, it was like they were giving up on their old system. I was like seriously, I'm going to have to battle it out again? Recently they have updated their preregistration page to include some more details that have put my mind a little more at ease. I still get to try and purchase badges before the masses, but apparently, they are randoming the waiting room. It will be open at 7am but sales won't start until 9am, and they say that your entry time doesn't matter (so rushing in at seven won't guarantee you a great spot.). I'm not sure how I feel about that. Also, every person is given a registration code, this is to avoid bots. You can only use it in one spot though, so no multi-devicing hoping for that great spot in the waiting room either. This I can get behind. I know people that try to do multiple devices for tickets to things like BlizzCon, and it bogs the system down so much that most of us have never have the opportunity to get near the buying option. Also, you're supposed to get that code from your badge, but CC is being nice and emailing it to everyone this year. Thank goodness, because my badge seems to have magically disappeared (I think my kids were playing with it, so who knows where it is now). Once you're in, you can purchase tickets for yourself and two other people. Make sure everyone has their own unique Member ID, you can't buy them a ticket without it. Also, make sure you have your credit card info ready, as you only have 15 minutes to enter all your information and purchase your badges. I know that doesn't seem like a lot of time, but if you just calm down and focus, you'll do just fine. Here is a link to the preregistration page for all the fine details, and make sure you check your Comic Con affiliated email frequently. Badge sales should be happening soon.

And if you still haven't heard, badge sales are a little different this year. There are no four day passes. If you want to attend all four days, you will have to select all four days individually (and hopefully they'll all be available when its your turn to purchase). Also, preview night is not offered as a stand alone badge. You have to purchase all four days to get preview night. It was explained that they are trying to get more people into seeing the Con. I get it. Its difficult to get into. Just breaking down they way they did, I think a lot of people had a heart attack.

Prices.

I am hoping I can get badges again this year- I had a lot of fun last year (even though some of it was stressful) and I look forward to seeing what's there this year and hoping to experience more of what's offered at the convention. Are you going to SDCC this year?