Comic Con 2013 Part III

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This is Part III of my three part account of Comic Con. If you would like, you can view:

Part I

Part II

And what I wore

This is a recap of my favorite thing that happened at Comic Con:

My main goals at Comic Con are always to meet the following authors: George R. R. Martin, Patrick Rothfuss, and Brandon Sanderson.

Last year, I had a moment with Patrick Rothfuss (the author of my favorite book, “Name of the Wind”). I saw him walking down the street. Alone. I was with my children. It was either leave my children and chase him down. Or stay stationary and be a good mother.

This is what I did:

I stood up (we were sitting on a bench). I screamed, “YOU!”

He looked up startled. I would make a terrible hunter.

“YOU’RE AWESOME!” I screamed like a lunatic. My kids had no idea what the heck was happening. My daughter was mortified. Patrick Rothfuss quickened his pace. And he was gone.

I had scared away my prey. Darn!

But I know exactly what he looks like now. I will not be foiled again. Stares off into the distance creepily here.

Ahem.

This year, I got to accomplish another one of those goals. It was amazing.

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On Thursday, my husband and I were walking by a booth, when he leaned over to whisper to me, “Hey. It’s George R. R. Martin.”

My head fell off.

No, it didn’t. But it felt like it might float away. I was giddy.

He is my favorite author. I think he is the most brilliant man alive. His books are a series of fantasy novels,” A Song Of Ice And Fire.” The first book is “Game Of Thrones.” It has also been adapted into an HBO series. My husband and I have loved his books for more than a decade. I was shaking with excitement. I ran to the back of the line, where I was met by security. I was told I needed to have a ticket for the signing.

My heart sank. He was so close.

I walked away. Sad. But I was still excited we got to see him.

Thirty minutes later, we were leaving. I asked my husband if we could walk by that aisle one more time. I just really wanted to see him again.

We got there.

My husband left me to look at something. The “bouncer” was gone. George R.R. Martin was still there. There was a small line. I quickly got in it.

I am a rebel.

Apparently not a good one. My kids informed me that I stood there rubbing my hands together and saying, “He, He, He, He.”

Okay, a crazy rebel.

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And then he was in front of me. I started shaking.

I said, “I just love you.”

He politely said, “Really? Well, thank you.” He smiled. He was very kind.

I purchased a calendar that he had signed. My daughter took our picture. I might have touched him like a crazy person. I do not know. My daughter says I did. It was a quick blur. I thanked him.

And I left. My poor husband missed the whole thing. And he likes George R.R. Martin just as much as I do.

This was my highlight of Comic Con. Maybe my whole year.

My soul is full of happiness.

Have you met someone you idolize? How did it turn out? (In some future posts in the coming weeks or months, I will write about meeting Sean Astin and finally stalking, tracking, hunting down, meeting Patrick Rothfuss.)

Comic Con 2013 Part II

So, I just left you with the visions of what Comic Con looks, feels and smells like.

Now, let’s move along to its heart.

The merchandise.

Shopping. My favorite.

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First, my son bought himself some new Minecraft souvenirs. My daughter purchased t-shirts and art books. My husband purchased his comics and graphic novels.

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We got so many awesome books for free. This is always my favorite part. Is there a more beautiful word in the English language, other than, “free”?

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I also got to meet one of my favorite authors, Daniel Abraham.

Lines are long. Long. We wanted to make sure we got to the book signing by Daniel Abraham. We got there twenty minutes early. Just a bit later, he showed up. He is actually pretty good looking.

Since we were first in line and they were not starting yet, we were able to speak to him for a bit. He was so cool! They gave us the first book free. I have read his other series. I have not read this one. Yet. I just started it.

My husband, of course, has read them all.

He was saying to someone that his old assistant went to George R.R. Martin and if you needed to speak to her, she is the one who answers the phone.

So, I quipped, “and what would that number be?”

He chuckled and then told me that George R.R. Martin’s number used to be listed in the white pages. Can you believe it? I need to be a better stalker. It was a very cool experience.

After that, I went back to stalking:

Art.

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We stopped by one of my favorite artist’s booths. Rhode Montijo. It is always a pleasure to see him and his lovely wife. For the past two years, I have purchased his original drawings (future post to come). This year, he did not bring any. He was focusing on his book The Halloween Kid. I was sad, but very happy for him that his book is doing so very well.

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My husband found the neatest artist during one of my “time-outs.” His name is Martin Hsu. He purchased this really cool snake painting. My daughter purchased his art book. I later got to meet him. He was the sweetest. Lovely man. And I love the painting we purchased from him.

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We stopped by Becky and Frank’s booth. They are the creator’s of a Comic, called Tiny Kitten Teeth. We purchased a little llama painted to look like a tree creature. Oh my gosh! I love it so much! I will do a post about some of their art in my home in the future.

They are the sweetest couple that has ever walked this Earth. I am not kidding. To meet them, is to smile.

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I also stopped by Patara Vuduberi booth. She sell prints of her work on Etsy. I purchased two more originals from her. She was also so nice. I am so bummed I did not get a picture with her. Next time! I am very happy to have her art in our home. I love the fantasy pictures she creates.

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I also picked up this cute mushroom from Wool Buddy. I just adore his felt creations.

It was so much fun. I am glad all of our artwork we purchased was small. I am running out of wall space here!

Tomorrow I will post about my best experience at Comic Con. Until then, have a great day!

You may view Part I here.

And what I wore to Comic Con here.

Comic Con 2013 Part I

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I love going to Comic Con. Scoring tickets to the event is always miraculous. Something always goes wrong with the ordering system. We have been very fortunate.

And getting to Comic Con is kind of scary. It is a task, in itself. Traffic is a nightmare. You have to buy your parking in March.

As we were about to get to our parking lot, we heard a loud “bang.” Metal on metal. We knew we had been hit. It was obviously not bad, but it was a bummer. The other car followed us, while we searched for somewhere to pull over.

Once we had, we got out to survey the damage.

There wasn’t any.

This is crazy. But his driver’s mirror hit my daughter’s side of the car’s door handle. There was not even a scratch.

Both cars were unharmed.

The driver’s wife started crying. She said, “It’s a Comic Con miracle.”

We left. Everyone wished each other a good convention and we were off.

But I cannot stop giggling. I thought you might appreciate this:

“A Comic Con miracle.”

I love it.

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We made our way into the convention. And I stopped in my tracks. The regressed memories overtaking me.

You see…

Every year I look forward to Comic Con. And every year, I am brought back down to Earth by the reality that is Comic Con.

Because, whilst Comic Con is amazing. Awesome. Very, very cool.

It is also draining.

Hot.

Smelly.

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And your soul feels crushed as you are packed body to body with other human beings as we are all herded to the next freebee. Body to body. And about 1/4 of the people are not wearing deodorant.

It is dizzying.

I have to give myself timeouts. So, I do not have a giant meltdown in the middle of the crowd.

I make myself leave the main convention for one hour breaks. Here, I can do my favorite thing to do at Comic Con. People watch. Because people watching at Comic Con is not like people watching at other events. It is interesting. You see more than your fair share of body parts. Body parts that are typically covered. And now they are not. Or they are covered in shiny lycra.

But finding a seat to people watch is impossible. There are no seats. Everyone piles onto the floor. Strangers next to strangers. And you look longingly for a place among them. Finding a seat on the floor is like scoring the lottery. I kid you not. It is a big deal.

It is amazing how human beings can adapt. Can change to their surroundings. Hunting for a spot on the floor becomes one’s main focus. A live or die survival instinct. Suddenly, what would have disgusted you the day before, is the most relevant and important thing today. You must sit next to the man in the Superman tights before that lady wearing the Wonder Woman outfit beats you to it.

And then…Victory! …That is Comic Con.

Here are some more photos of the costumes I snapped while enjoying my hard-won spot on the carpet:

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Photos from inside the convention of awesome stuff:

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Tomorrow’s post will also be about Comic Con. And the cool things we purchased. Until then, may your day be full of “Comic Con miracles.”

What I Wore To Comic Con

Comic Con just ended. I will have a three part recap (it was going to be two, but as I wrote it out today, it turned into three. It became its own beast. Sorry!) next week. But for now, let’s talk about the fun outfits you can wear at Comic Con. I admire those who dress up for the convention. I am not that brave. I chose a more subtle approach.

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The first day of Comic Con, I wore my Outta This World Skirt from Modcloth. I paired it with my purple Splendid shirt from Nordstrom Rack. I also wore my Anthropologie layering necklace, Calvin Klein belt, and sandals.

Reach for the stars!

This skirt has robots on it. It goes up to a size 3X. Which is another reason I adore Modcloth. I am wearing a size medium. The waistband is snug.

I felt flirty and fun in this outfit.

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Sorry this picture is so blurry. We were in a hurry that morning. Or my super powers are just showing through.

The next day did not go so well. I was so excited about these Pros and Comic Leggings also from Modcloth. I purchased the large, because the description said these ran small. They were not kidding. As I would walk, the leggings would slide down. I wore them as tights. Because, well, I’m thirty six.

I almost felt too “dressed up” in these. Like I was wearing a costume. Which I never want to do. I did meet George R.R. Martin in this outfit. So, I guess it was lucky.

I paired the leggings with an Anthropologie dress from six years ago. And boots. I am also wearing my Buddha head necklace from Bauble Bar.

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I skipped Friday. I was not feeling well. I was going to wear my Martha’s Air of Adorable dress from this post. But, imagine me in my pajamas. Because that is what I wore. All day. Doing housework. Making beef stroganoff. It was my “super housewife” outfit. Able to do two tasks at once! It is my husband’s favorite.

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Saturday came. This was the day I was dressing entirely to meet Sean Astin. I wore a dress I had seen on Modcloth, but I had tracked it down to the original artist. She is at La Casita De Wendy. She had it on sale. In Spain. I took a chance and purchased the XL. Yes, I am an XL in Spain. And yes, I am cool with that.

It is the neatest dress. It has flying rats, fairyland creatures, a giant head. I mean, come on, it’s perfect.

I paired the dress with my painted shoes I bought on sale from Anthropologie for $22.50 last year.

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The last day of Comic Con, I wore my Nanette Lepore dress I had purchased at Marshall’s for 75% off. It has dragons on it! I paired it with a Free People crochet sweater from The Nordstrom Rack. The earrings are from World Market.

What outfit should I definitely wear again next year (fingers crossed we get tickets)? What have been some of your wacky fun outfits this year?