I'm compressing all of the events of Days 1 and 2 of Comic Con 2010 together because the first consisted of mostly travel. Here is what most of day one was - I had to drag my bags to my stepmother's car, she drove me to the commuter rail stop, took an hour long train ride to Boston, then took a Silver Line bus to Logan Airport, arrived at Logan and got on my plane a couple of hours later. I had to switch flights in Chicago, but I was fine with this because my favorite sandwich shop in the world, PotBelly's, happened to be there. I grabbed a turkey on white with American (people who know me personally know I must love their sandwiches because I HATE American cheese with a passion, but something about the way their bread and turkey taste make it tolerable to me) and got on my next flight.
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I made it to California at LAX and waited for Christiane to come get me. She picked me up and we took the very long car ride to San Diego. When we got closer to our destination, I was a tad bit dismayed that it was cloudy and a little cool out - I was just hoping it wouldn't stay like that the entirety of my trip but I was grateful for the lack of humidity. About 3 or 4 hours later (I honestly stopped keeping track after hour two) we made it to San Diego. We checked into our hotel that was a few miles away from the Gaslamp Quarter and the first of many snafus would occur at this establishment.
They gave us the keys stating the building where our room was and while Christiane went to go see her friend in a nearby room, I walked my stuff all the way up to where I thought the rooms were only to find that our rooms were in the OPPOSITE building we were told. I brought my stuff down then back up again, only to find that they gave me a key that doesn't work to a room whose number was ripped off the wall outside our door. Other than this, our air conditioner was broken and a few days later, I had asked them for more pillows since I had to take the pullout couch because Christiane's husband and kids came to stay, and I was told there were no blankets and was given a pillowcase stuffed with scratchy towels while being told "this is just as good."
After getting settled in inside our overheated room, we made our way to the convention center so we could register our press passes and check out the floor for preview night. I was so excited to be there, to see the large banner outside of the HUGE convention center. I was giddy to already see people in costumes and news crews and everything there. We parked, Christiane frantically looked for her wallet that she thought she lost but thankfully didn't, and we went inside to check in. We registered our press passes, receiving a name tag, a "Dexter" promotional neckband and a free extra large swag bag to stick stuff into. We made our way to the floor to check everything out, then headed across the street to see the Cafe Diem.
We went across the street to the Gaslamp to see an awesome set up - there were street teams handing out items for various shows/events, as well as a promotional set up for "The Green Hornet" starring Seth Rogen complete with the car (or a car that looked like it) used in the movie. We walked past all this and into The Hard Rock Hotel where they converted their restaurant into The Cafe Diem, Syfy fan central. The menu items I already knew from what I read on Comic Con last year were themed after the shows on Syfy. We went into the Cafe and it was amazing - there were waitresses wearing shirts themed after Syfy shows, there was a DJ, there was a corner to get snacks/coffee if you couldn't sit down for dinner, and there was a Syfy photo booth you could take photos at for free and download later, as well as receiving a physical copy. We looked around but when one of Christiane's friends called needing a ride back to the hotel, we decided not to eat there quite yet and went back.
The next day, we headed for the convention center and it was again cold and rainy out. I got myself a snack at the Cafe Diem and we headed towards the line for Hall H. I assumed it would be a long line, but once we actually got there, I was astonished to see how long it was. I waited with Christiane towards what was then the end of the line for about 20 minutes (we were wrapped around the back of the building and the line was STILL going) and told her I was sorry, but I was giving up because there was no way we were getting in. She decided to stick it out and I headed towards the Gaslamp where I knew the Syfy street team would eventually be giving out their huge backpacks (better quality than the free bags you received with a Comic Con pass that kept breaking) and a button packs.
I went to the outside of the hard rock and not only got to meet Simon Pegg (of "Shaun of the Dead" and other films) but I also got myself a Syfy backpack and was given a bunch of extra button packs to give out to other fans. After doing this, I went back to the convention center to read up on what was going on - I was excited when I saw there was an impromptu "Quantum Leap" panel with Scott Bakula and made my way over. I made it to the room and not only got a front row seat, but I got to ask Scott a question during the Q&A (you can see that video HERE). I then made my way outside to an event that I equally looked forward to and dreaded).
I knew ahead of time that a certain hate group called The Westboro Baptist Church would be coming to Comic Con to protest. The deal with this group is that they believe every problem in America is caused by gay people and the people who support them (AKA support meaning those who don't enforce the death penalty on them, as they think it's a mortal sin punishable by death READ HERE IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME) - they picket at the funerals of soldiers who defend our country, they picketed at Ground Zero after 9/11, and they even go to funerals of hate crime victims to harass mourners into believing their point of view. I wanted to get a good look at these individuals myself and once I made my way outside, where it was suddenly sunny, I had to laugh. It was FOUR of them struggling to hold their signs against a sea of nerds looking out at them either with disgust or holding their own signs of protest. You can see the video HERE to see what I mean, but the counter protest was amazing - I even took to the bullhorn to give a few encouraging words to our guests (to leave, that is). They eventually ended up leaving early and it was awesome we drove them away.
The rest of the day was pretty much a blur of walking around the Con, checking out random celebrities wandering around and getting free stuff. I also got to finally meet Matt Nix, the show runner of "Burn Notice" who also created the "Singularity" short film starring Josh Gates, which was the namesake of my series of fan pages. Christiane and I went back to the hotel where I received an email from Danny, the production coordinator of "DT". He told me Josh was very busy, but he wanted to make time for me and any other "DT" fans I had rallied up for a meet and greet. I let Danny know how many people were planning on coming, I let the fans know via phone and we were all set for Day 3 to happen.
They gave us the keys stating the building where our room was and while Christiane went to go see her friend in a nearby room, I walked my stuff all the way up to where I thought the rooms were only to find that our rooms were in the OPPOSITE building we were told. I brought my stuff down then back up again, only to find that they gave me a key that doesn't work to a room whose number was ripped off the wall outside our door. Other than this, our air conditioner was broken and a few days later, I had asked them for more pillows since I had to take the pullout couch because Christiane's husband and kids came to stay, and I was told there were no blankets and was given a pillowcase stuffed with scratchy towels while being told "this is just as good."
After getting settled in inside our overheated room, we made our way to the convention center so we could register our press passes and check out the floor for preview night. I was so excited to be there, to see the large banner outside of the HUGE convention center. I was giddy to already see people in costumes and news crews and everything there. We parked, Christiane frantically looked for her wallet that she thought she lost but thankfully didn't, and we went inside to check in. We registered our press passes, receiving a name tag, a "Dexter" promotional neckband and a free extra large swag bag to stick stuff into. We made our way to the floor to check everything out, then headed across the street to see the Cafe Diem.
We went across the street to the Gaslamp to see an awesome set up - there were street teams handing out items for various shows/events, as well as a promotional set up for "The Green Hornet" starring Seth Rogen complete with the car (or a car that looked like it) used in the movie. We walked past all this and into The Hard Rock Hotel where they converted their restaurant into The Cafe Diem, Syfy fan central. The menu items I already knew from what I read on Comic Con last year were themed after the shows on Syfy. We went into the Cafe and it was amazing - there were waitresses wearing shirts themed after Syfy shows, there was a DJ, there was a corner to get snacks/coffee if you couldn't sit down for dinner, and there was a Syfy photo booth you could take photos at for free and download later, as well as receiving a physical copy. We looked around but when one of Christiane's friends called needing a ride back to the hotel, we decided not to eat there quite yet and went back.
The next day, we headed for the convention center and it was again cold and rainy out. I got myself a snack at the Cafe Diem and we headed towards the line for Hall H. I assumed it would be a long line, but once we actually got there, I was astonished to see how long it was. I waited with Christiane towards what was then the end of the line for about 20 minutes (we were wrapped around the back of the building and the line was STILL going) and told her I was sorry, but I was giving up because there was no way we were getting in. She decided to stick it out and I headed towards the Gaslamp where I knew the Syfy street team would eventually be giving out their huge backpacks (better quality than the free bags you received with a Comic Con pass that kept breaking) and a button packs.
I went to the outside of the hard rock and not only got to meet Simon Pegg (of "Shaun of the Dead" and other films) but I also got myself a Syfy backpack and was given a bunch of extra button packs to give out to other fans. After doing this, I went back to the convention center to read up on what was going on - I was excited when I saw there was an impromptu "Quantum Leap" panel with Scott Bakula and made my way over. I made it to the room and not only got a front row seat, but I got to ask Scott a question during the Q&A (you can see that video HERE). I then made my way outside to an event that I equally looked forward to and dreaded).
I knew ahead of time that a certain hate group called The Westboro Baptist Church would be coming to Comic Con to protest. The deal with this group is that they believe every problem in America is caused by gay people and the people who support them (AKA support meaning those who don't enforce the death penalty on them, as they think it's a mortal sin punishable by death READ HERE IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME) - they picket at the funerals of soldiers who defend our country, they picketed at Ground Zero after 9/11, and they even go to funerals of hate crime victims to harass mourners into believing their point of view. I wanted to get a good look at these individuals myself and once I made my way outside, where it was suddenly sunny, I had to laugh. It was FOUR of them struggling to hold their signs against a sea of nerds looking out at them either with disgust or holding their own signs of protest. You can see the video HERE to see what I mean, but the counter protest was amazing - I even took to the bullhorn to give a few encouraging words to our guests (to leave, that is). They eventually ended up leaving early and it was awesome we drove them away.
The rest of the day was pretty much a blur of walking around the Con, checking out random celebrities wandering around and getting free stuff. I also got to finally meet Matt Nix, the show runner of "Burn Notice" who also created the "Singularity" short film starring Josh Gates, which was the namesake of my series of fan pages. Christiane and I went back to the hotel where I received an email from Danny, the production coordinator of "DT". He told me Josh was very busy, but he wanted to make time for me and any other "DT" fans I had rallied up for a meet and greet. I let Danny know how many people were planning on coming, I let the fans know via phone and we were all set for Day 3 to happen.
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