Been feeling really down today. Just really, really down. Of course, how the heck am I supposed to feel here considering the news I got yesterday? So guess who showed up today, just like the guardian angel he is?
Prime and I went to BK to grab some more of the ROTF kid's meal toys; this week it's Ravage and Bumblebee. So--Bumblebees!!
If I didn't see the pattern before...
--Weasel, "Yeah, it'd be pretty obvious by now."
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
The Man in the Mirror
I talked to my mother last night. Nothing terribly Earth-shattering, except this:
One of my aunts died suddenly. It happened this past Novemeber. She was fine in the morning, but when my uncle came back from work she had been dead for several hours. No one is really sure what happened.
Because of this, one of my uncles has decided to open up a restaurant. He's never been the type to take risks, but he's willing to start chasing his dream now. He figures he doesn't have a hell of a lot to lose, economy be damned.
I'm ready to start taking a few risks of my own. I'm thinking I don't have a lot to lose, either.
I started a fanfic last month. I'm giving myself until the end of this year to have it finished. Plenty of time, I'm thinking. After that is done, completely edited and as perfect as it will get, I'll start on something bigger.
I'm going to try and start on a manuscript. Fuck it, I'm going to take the plunge. Really now, what the hell do I have to lose? Better to at least try and chase my damned dream than sit on my ass and do nothing.
Here's hoping I don't screw it up too badly.
One of my aunts died suddenly. It happened this past Novemeber. She was fine in the morning, but when my uncle came back from work she had been dead for several hours. No one is really sure what happened.
Because of this, one of my uncles has decided to open up a restaurant. He's never been the type to take risks, but he's willing to start chasing his dream now. He figures he doesn't have a hell of a lot to lose, economy be damned.
I'm ready to start taking a few risks of my own. I'm thinking I don't have a lot to lose, either.
I started a fanfic last month. I'm giving myself until the end of this year to have it finished. Plenty of time, I'm thinking. After that is done, completely edited and as perfect as it will get, I'll start on something bigger.
I'm going to try and start on a manuscript. Fuck it, I'm going to take the plunge. Really now, what the hell do I have to lose? Better to at least try and chase my damned dream than sit on my ass and do nothing.
Here's hoping I don't screw it up too badly.
Friday, June 26, 2009
About Last Night...
Well, more like "About Yesterday", but I digress.
Yesterday was our little roadtip down to Madison to see ROTF in IMAX. It was a fairly uneventful, except towards the very last leg of the journey. More stupid road debris, what appeared to be pieces of a truck tire. This time it cost us a back tire. At least it wasn't the damned front windshield, thank Primus.
I wasn't able to take too many shots of the theatre; I got maybe two good ones. But I'm not complaining too much. I was there for the movie.
And what a movie it was. Prime summed it up best when we watched the last of the credits: "Critics are morons." For those of you who haven't seen it yet, I won't spoil it. But it's safe to say that if you enjoyed the first, you'll enjoy the hell out of this. (I'd write a full review, but I refuse to act like a film critic. I watch what the hell I like, dammit.)
We didn't stay in Madison long; once the movie was over we headed back home. But we did stop at a nearby convenience store to get some more air in the donut that is supposed to be a spare tire. That wasn't all we got. I (finally!) found the Snickers nouga-bot bars. I grabbed four. (Haven't eaten them... yet. I intend to savor them and save the wrappers. So much cute yellow goodness.)
But oh yes, much awesomeness. And I want to go and see it again.... and again.... and again... and.....
--Weasel, "I'm not addicted. Really, I'm not..."
Yesterday was our little roadtip down to Madison to see ROTF in IMAX. It was a fairly uneventful, except towards the very last leg of the journey. More stupid road debris, what appeared to be pieces of a truck tire. This time it cost us a back tire. At least it wasn't the damned front windshield, thank Primus.
I wasn't able to take too many shots of the theatre; I got maybe two good ones. But I'm not complaining too much. I was there for the movie.
And what a movie it was. Prime summed it up best when we watched the last of the credits: "Critics are morons." For those of you who haven't seen it yet, I won't spoil it. But it's safe to say that if you enjoyed the first, you'll enjoy the hell out of this. (I'd write a full review, but I refuse to act like a film critic. I watch what the hell I like, dammit.)
We didn't stay in Madison long; once the movie was over we headed back home. But we did stop at a nearby convenience store to get some more air in the donut that is supposed to be a spare tire. That wasn't all we got. I (finally!) found the Snickers nouga-bot bars. I grabbed four. (Haven't eaten them... yet. I intend to savor them and save the wrappers. So much cute yellow goodness.)
But oh yes, much awesomeness. And I want to go and see it again.... and again.... and again... and.....
--Weasel, "I'm not addicted. Really, I'm not..."
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Weasel, Out!
Just cleaned out the car; Prime and I will be leaving soon. Expect a full report tomorrow, since I'll probably be too exhausted to post anything major when we get back home. (If I do post anything tonight, it'll probably be extrememly short.) The camera's coming with me; I'm going to try and take a few pics of the theatre, if I can.
--Weasel, "This is gonna be great!"
--Weasel, "This is gonna be great!"
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Roadtrip!
So tomorrow's the day--Prime and I will be heading south to spend a couple of hours in an IMAX theatre. I can barely wait. Just knowing that I've given my money to a film that will piss off the rabid feminists gives me the warm fuzzies in ways you wouldn't believe.
--Weasel, "Yes, I'm evil that way. Who knew?"
--Weasel, "Yes, I'm evil that way. Who knew?"
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
It's the Heat
Customers are cranky. So is management. It doesn't help matters any that we don't have any freaking AC in the building. And the amount of stupid I had to deal with today was insane. (I'll spare the details for now. Suffice to say it's been a really stupid couple of days.) Frankly, it's driving me crazy.
I hope I can hold out until Thursday. Everything will be awesome on Thursday.
--Weasel, really looking forward to her little roadtrip and movie.
I hope I can hold out until Thursday. Everything will be awesome on Thursday.
--Weasel, really looking forward to her little roadtrip and movie.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
The Perfect Ending to a Not-So-Perfect Week
As I said before, this week hasn't been the world's greatest for me. To be totally honest, it has stunk out freaking loud.
But things are looking up, at last.
Today, Prime and I had a "day out", so to speak--it's rare that my days off (whenever scheduling feels like it) coincide with his (standard Saturday/Sunday). We hit our local comic shop and Prime picked up a nice stack of comics. (Just read Spotlight: Cliffjumper; good story, but a huge hankie warning on that one!) Afterwards, we headed over to my old store to hunt for these little guys. The old hellhole was a bust, so we headed to the nearby Target (a place at which I've also worked). They had them, but only the single packs, no six-pack boxes.
Prime grabbed a huge stack of single packs (he would've wiped out the display, but restrained himself), then we headed over to Toys. Prime spotted some blisterpacked packs (...pack pack packpackpaaaaaack) and a movie Bumblebee 'Wacky Wobbler'. Needless to say, the not-a-bobblehead had to come home with us. But it got better.
Target had Bumble Spud. On sale. (Yeah, okay, a dollar off, whatever.) So he had to come along as well. There was no way I was leaving him behind.
After we bought our swag, we headed to the Target across town. Prime figured that there was a good chance that they would have a hobby box or two. He was right; we snagged all three of their hobby boxes. After spending way too much money, we headed home.
We decided to make a quick stop at our local Burger King; they'll have ROTF kid's meals and we want to snag the displays and the like. Because we're dorks. So I headed in and left my information with the manager while Prime opened up one of our new hobby boxes.
Poor Prime. When I returned to our car, I noticed a somewhat pained expression on his face. It seems that the first boxed pack he opened had a rare card. An autographed card. Autographed by Mark Ryan.
I let loose the shriek to end all shrieks. Prime knew at that moment he was screwed; I was claiming that card as my own. Yeah, he kinda hated me for a bit. (Okay, it was longer than a bit...)
When we got home, Prime opened the rest of our cards. Remember the blisterpacks he had spotted? Prime had snagged one of them, after a little pawing to find one with a backer card that wasn't chewed (completism is a mental disease, and Prime's case is particularly gruesome). The first pack inside was a bust, but the second one he opened.... had an autographed card. A Mark Ryan autographed card. So now we both have one. 1:91 odds, according to the packs, and this happens. Heck of a lucky break, I tell you.
(Prime says: Oh, right, yeah. Five other autographed cards to track-and-acquire. Megan Fox's from the first set isn't hard enough with all the pathetic horndogs out there--now I have to fight with lonely women with disposable income to get Shia LeBeouf's, and nutbar basement-dwellers for Peter Cullen's. A. A. R. G. H.)
Perfect ending to a sucky week. The little angel strikes yet again.
(Oh, shut up.)
Quiet, grouchicon.
--Weasel, "Maybe this week hasn't been so bad after all..."
But things are looking up, at last.
Today, Prime and I had a "day out", so to speak--it's rare that my days off (whenever scheduling feels like it) coincide with his (standard Saturday/Sunday). We hit our local comic shop and Prime picked up a nice stack of comics. (Just read Spotlight: Cliffjumper; good story, but a huge hankie warning on that one!) Afterwards, we headed over to my old store to hunt for these little guys. The old hellhole was a bust, so we headed to the nearby Target (a place at which I've also worked). They had them, but only the single packs, no six-pack boxes.
Prime grabbed a huge stack of single packs (he would've wiped out the display, but restrained himself), then we headed over to Toys. Prime spotted some blisterpacked packs (...pack pack packpackpaaaaaack) and a movie Bumblebee 'Wacky Wobbler'. Needless to say, the not-a-bobblehead had to come home with us. But it got better.
Target had Bumble Spud. On sale. (Yeah, okay, a dollar off, whatever.) So he had to come along as well. There was no way I was leaving him behind.
After we bought our swag, we headed to the Target across town. Prime figured that there was a good chance that they would have a hobby box or two. He was right; we snagged all three of their hobby boxes. After spending way too much money, we headed home.
We decided to make a quick stop at our local Burger King; they'll have ROTF kid's meals and we want to snag the displays and the like. Because we're dorks. So I headed in and left my information with the manager while Prime opened up one of our new hobby boxes.
Poor Prime. When I returned to our car, I noticed a somewhat pained expression on his face. It seems that the first boxed pack he opened had a rare card. An autographed card. Autographed by Mark Ryan.
I let loose the shriek to end all shrieks. Prime knew at that moment he was screwed; I was claiming that card as my own. Yeah, he kinda hated me for a bit. (Okay, it was longer than a bit...)
When we got home, Prime opened the rest of our cards. Remember the blisterpacks he had spotted? Prime had snagged one of them, after a little pawing to find one with a backer card that wasn't chewed (completism is a mental disease, and Prime's case is particularly gruesome). The first pack inside was a bust, but the second one he opened.... had an autographed card. A Mark Ryan autographed card. So now we both have one. 1:91 odds, according to the packs, and this happens. Heck of a lucky break, I tell you.
(Prime says: Oh, right, yeah. Five other autographed cards to track-and-acquire. Megan Fox's from the first set isn't hard enough with all the pathetic horndogs out there--now I have to fight with lonely women with disposable income to get Shia LeBeouf's, and nutbar basement-dwellers for Peter Cullen's. A. A. R. G. H.)
Perfect ending to a sucky week. The little angel strikes yet again.
(Oh, shut up.)
Quiet, grouchicon.
--Weasel, "Maybe this week hasn't been so bad after all..."
Friday, June 19, 2009
Friday Photoblog: Chaos Bringer Edition
[clockwise from top: unreleased Generation One Unicron (planet mode), Transformers: Cybertron deluxe Unicron (robot mode), Robot Heroes Unicron, unreleased Generation One Unicron (robot mode), Transformers: Cybertron disembodied creepy-ass tentacular-locomotion-enabled head of Unicron (that'd be the horn point you see at bottom, as well as the shadow it casts above), Transformers: Armada Unicron (robot mode)]
The many faces of Unicron
The many faces of Unicron
The Week From Hell
(You might notice that things look different here. It's all thanks to Prime and I'm giving him a huge shout-out for his hard work. He did it all and I really appreciate everything. Thanks for bringing the blog into the modern age, big guy! It looks great and I love it!!)
Is it over yet? Because this week has completely and totally kicked the hell out of my ass. I am not even kidding.
This past Saturday I had to call into work. I was so blasted ill-feeling that I did not want to move. In fact, I felt so bad that I was afraid I was about to spew while I was on the phone. I spent most of Saturday laying in bed, praying to Primus that I wouldn't lose control of my own damned stomach. Not fun, I tell you.
Sunday was a bit better. Monday went straight to hell, though.
Monday was incredibly full of stupid. More than usual. I won't go into the details, but it was bad. Felt miserable at work, but managed to score a Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen microfiber throw. I know this one will keep me quite warm; it's got Bumblebee on it. Sooooooooooo cute. :)
I was off Tuesday, but it didn't get any better. Well, things were fine... until dinner.
I had just finished cooking my dinner in the microwave and was trying to get the bowl out. The bowl, which contained very hot liquid, refused to cooperate. Instead of sliding out, it tipped and spilled--all over my right hand and wrist.
I screamed loudly. Prime thought I was being attacked by a huge venomous spider. I manged to choke out a "No" and shoved my arm under the now running faucet. Prime raced upstairs, saw the mess and asked what happened. I had to force myself to speak, I was hurting that much.
I went upstairs and soaked my wrist in the bathtub for at least an hour. It was pretty badly scalded but it never blistered, thank Primus. (The frightening thing was it looked as if it was trying to blister. When I noticed that, I shoved my arm back under the faucet.) Needless to say, my dinner was ruined. Had to order pizza instead.
As of right now, my wrist is bandaged. It's still a nice shade of MSPaint red, but it doesn't hurt so badly. I've been coating it with aloe vera gel (which is slowly staining my skin Smurf blue), taking Advil PM to help me sleep at night and soaking it in cool water to keep the pain at bay. It's healing, but trying to move my wrist can be irritating at its best and outright painful at its worst. The worst thing? I'd love to cuddle with my Slumblebee right now (it would make me feel so much better) but I'm afraid to touch him. The last thing I want to do is stain him. Right now, I'm afraid to even touch my clothing or blankets; I don't need any of my stuff spattered with blue splotches.
But things are getting better. My store now has a nice big display of ROTF voyagers and deluxes parked in front of the toy department. And I managed to snag myself a Cannon Bumblebee. The picture on his cardback is utterly adorable; in robot mode he has this "Who, me?" look on his face. It almost looks as if he was caught with one hand in the energon-goodies jar and he's trying to play innocent. Seriously cute, believe me.
Next week will rock. I'll be seeing ROTF in IMAX. I can barely wait. (Wonder if I should take Slumblebee along? You know, just for fun.)
And Bumblebee's track record remains unbeaten. Have a few crappy days, the little bugger manages to pop up. Weird.
--Weasel, "I swear, you'd think he was my guardian angel this happens so often..."
Is it over yet? Because this week has completely and totally kicked the hell out of my ass. I am not even kidding.
This past Saturday I had to call into work. I was so blasted ill-feeling that I did not want to move. In fact, I felt so bad that I was afraid I was about to spew while I was on the phone. I spent most of Saturday laying in bed, praying to Primus that I wouldn't lose control of my own damned stomach. Not fun, I tell you.
Sunday was a bit better. Monday went straight to hell, though.
Monday was incredibly full of stupid. More than usual. I won't go into the details, but it was bad. Felt miserable at work, but managed to score a Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen microfiber throw. I know this one will keep me quite warm; it's got Bumblebee on it. Sooooooooooo cute. :)
I was off Tuesday, but it didn't get any better. Well, things were fine... until dinner.
I had just finished cooking my dinner in the microwave and was trying to get the bowl out. The bowl, which contained very hot liquid, refused to cooperate. Instead of sliding out, it tipped and spilled--all over my right hand and wrist.
I screamed loudly. Prime thought I was being attacked by a huge venomous spider. I manged to choke out a "No" and shoved my arm under the now running faucet. Prime raced upstairs, saw the mess and asked what happened. I had to force myself to speak, I was hurting that much.
I went upstairs and soaked my wrist in the bathtub for at least an hour. It was pretty badly scalded but it never blistered, thank Primus. (The frightening thing was it looked as if it was trying to blister. When I noticed that, I shoved my arm back under the faucet.) Needless to say, my dinner was ruined. Had to order pizza instead.
As of right now, my wrist is bandaged. It's still a nice shade of MSPaint red, but it doesn't hurt so badly. I've been coating it with aloe vera gel (which is slowly staining my skin Smurf blue), taking Advil PM to help me sleep at night and soaking it in cool water to keep the pain at bay. It's healing, but trying to move my wrist can be irritating at its best and outright painful at its worst. The worst thing? I'd love to cuddle with my Slumblebee right now (it would make me feel so much better) but I'm afraid to touch him. The last thing I want to do is stain him. Right now, I'm afraid to even touch my clothing or blankets; I don't need any of my stuff spattered with blue splotches.
But things are getting better. My store now has a nice big display of ROTF voyagers and deluxes parked in front of the toy department. And I managed to snag myself a Cannon Bumblebee. The picture on his cardback is utterly adorable; in robot mode he has this "Who, me?" look on his face. It almost looks as if he was caught with one hand in the energon-goodies jar and he's trying to play innocent. Seriously cute, believe me.
Next week will rock. I'll be seeing ROTF in IMAX. I can barely wait. (Wonder if I should take Slumblebee along? You know, just for fun.)
And Bumblebee's track record remains unbeaten. Have a few crappy days, the little bugger manages to pop up. Weird.
--Weasel, "I swear, you'd think he was my guardian angel this happens so often..."
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Pardon Me While I Bitch a Little...
I'm not feeling the greatest at the moment; been a little sick for the past few days. It's getting better, but the whole 'coming-and-going' thing is irritating as hell.
I'm really sick of work. The amount of BS I've been putting up with seems to have increased exponentially. And I don't know how much more I can take.
For the past few days, I've been stuck on normal registers. Everyone knows how much I love being away from my self-checks (I don't...and a lot of other cashiers simply don't know how to run them...or don't care). If I haven't been doing that, then I've been stuck people greeting. Not something I enjoy, though I'm actually decent at it. (Hell, I actually know how to use the damned Telxon and printer. Most everyone else doesn't or won't.)
Customers are stupid, management doesn't know what the hell is going on and I'm feeling burnt out. AGAIN.
I miss BotCon already, and who knows when it'll be next year.
And I get it, I hate my job, why don't I find another one, yadda yadda. If it were really that simple...
I'm really sick of work. The amount of BS I've been putting up with seems to have increased exponentially. And I don't know how much more I can take.
For the past few days, I've been stuck on normal registers. Everyone knows how much I love being away from my self-checks (I don't...and a lot of other cashiers simply don't know how to run them...or don't care). If I haven't been doing that, then I've been stuck people greeting. Not something I enjoy, though I'm actually decent at it. (Hell, I actually know how to use the damned Telxon and printer. Most everyone else doesn't or won't.)
Customers are stupid, management doesn't know what the hell is going on and I'm feeling burnt out. AGAIN.
I miss BotCon already, and who knows when it'll be next year.
And I get it, I hate my job, why don't I find another one, yadda yadda. If it were really that simple...
Friday, June 12, 2009
Friday Photoblog: Walk of Fame Edition
Godzilla's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Too bad the big guy wasn't there to sign autographs. ;)
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Best News Ever!
Prime and I will be seeing Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in IMAX on the 25th. There will be much awesome. I can barely wait.
--Weasel, "Best news I've heard in a while."
--Weasel, "Best news I've heard in a while."
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Detritus
Most of my vacation laundry is already done; I've only got two shirts to wash and I'll be ready for next year. Once they've been washed and dried, I'll be done and I can re-pack the suitcase. It's never too early to get ready for next year.
Yesterday ended up being a "yardwork day". Seems we have a group of maple saplings that have taken up residence near the house. Normally, I wouldn't care but these are close enough to damage the foundation. So I spent about three quarters of an hour ripping up trees. It doesn't sound terribly demanding, but it actually is. My legs and arms are still a bit sore.
I also learned a little about our front yard. Namely, that it's a haven for spiders. After pulling up a few saplings, I'd see at least three spiders scurrying about, looking for shelter. Most were pretty small, but some were large enough to be intimidating. I kept my distance from the larger ones. (One particularly larger specimen would fidget nervously every time I came close. Rather than bother it, I gave it some space.)
I don't mind spiders too much, especially out in the wild. In the house it's a different story. But out in the yard, I'm fine with most of them. There's only one species that I don't like: the writing spider.
These were very common in North Carolina. It doesn't look too threatening, until you get close to the web. If you get too close to it, it will sit in the center of the web and bounce rapidly. Instead of a spider's web, it now looks like a trampoline. It's a disturbing sight to a six year old. Even worse was the old wives tale attatched to the creature: If you whispered the name of someone you hated three times to the spider, it would write the victim's name in its web and they would die.
Again, a frightening thing for six year old. Needless to say, I was never fond of that particular species. I may like spiders in general, but I never got over my fear of the writing spider.
Thankfully, we don't seem to have them in Wisconsin...
Yesterday ended up being a "yardwork day". Seems we have a group of maple saplings that have taken up residence near the house. Normally, I wouldn't care but these are close enough to damage the foundation. So I spent about three quarters of an hour ripping up trees. It doesn't sound terribly demanding, but it actually is. My legs and arms are still a bit sore.
I also learned a little about our front yard. Namely, that it's a haven for spiders. After pulling up a few saplings, I'd see at least three spiders scurrying about, looking for shelter. Most were pretty small, but some were large enough to be intimidating. I kept my distance from the larger ones. (One particularly larger specimen would fidget nervously every time I came close. Rather than bother it, I gave it some space.)
I don't mind spiders too much, especially out in the wild. In the house it's a different story. But out in the yard, I'm fine with most of them. There's only one species that I don't like: the writing spider.
These were very common in North Carolina. It doesn't look too threatening, until you get close to the web. If you get too close to it, it will sit in the center of the web and bounce rapidly. Instead of a spider's web, it now looks like a trampoline. It's a disturbing sight to a six year old. Even worse was the old wives tale attatched to the creature: If you whispered the name of someone you hated three times to the spider, it would write the victim's name in its web and they would die.
Again, a frightening thing for six year old. Needless to say, I was never fond of that particular species. I may like spiders in general, but I never got over my fear of the writing spider.
Thankfully, we don't seem to have them in Wisconsin...
Friday, June 05, 2009
Thursday, June 04, 2009
June Gloom
I'm listening to a suitably sad piece of music right now. I can't help it; I'm still feeling a bit down. I'll have to get back to the real world soon (this Saturday, specifically) and I am dreading it. But for now, I'll try and finish what I've started.
05/30/2009
We got up relatively early that Saturday; Prime wanted to hit the IDW panel while I had to head to one of the autograph lines. Thank heavens the buses in California actually run at a decent hour on the weekends. (Well... the Pasadena ARTS 10, not so much. It's not hard to figure out why their fares are fifty cents a pop when the Metro's a buck-twenty-five--they run less time and they're all shorties.)
By the time we got to the convention center, two very long lines had already formed. One was for Peter Cullen, the other (which was located at a different building entirely) was for Weird Al. I headed for the second line, since I absolutely had to have Weird Al's autograph on my Animated Wreck-Gar. To my surprise, it wasn't that long of a wait; we had some pretty good conversations to help keep things lively. And best of all, I got an autograph and shook Weird Al's hand. Total nerdgasm!
After all was said and done, I headed back to the convention center proper. Prime and I took in the Activision panel, along with the Animated panel which featured Weird Al and David Kaye. Interesting stuff, save for the occasional stupid question.
Then came the big one: The Hasbro review panel.
This one is always packed, since this is where Hasbro does their huge unveiling.... and I get to see firsthand how Primus-awful broke I'll be. And trust me, I will be one quite broke yet very happy nerd. Lots of movie stuff and a good amount of Animated coming down the pike. Like I said, I'll be broke, but very happy. But after the preview, I had to jump ship early; I had business to take of in the dealer room. At 2PM, Mark Ryan would be there, signing autographs. I had two movie Bumblebees that needed to have his signature on them.
After getting them signed, I ran into my friend Shawn, who asked if I could possibly get Mark to sign a greeting card which would be sent to our friend Stogey, who is currently stationed in Iraq (and is Prime's younger brother's C.O. or whatever it's called). So back through the line I went. Mark actually teased me a little bit when he saw me again. :blush: But I got that card signed. (It was no prob, Shawn. I'm glad to help.) By con's end, that card had scrawl from almost every person of note to attend--you have to admit, that's cool as hell.
Afterwards, I hit the club panel with Prime and stayed behind for Peter Cullen's panel; Prime decided to hit the dealer room once again. I'm actually pretty glad he did. He probably would not have been able to deal with some of the stupid that occurred at Mr. Cullen's panel. Especially one of the last questions.
The very last person to ask Mr. Cullen a question had to be the world's biggest flaming idiot. I do not exaggerate when I say this. Why? Because he asked Peter Cullen if he had ever read any Optimus Prime/Megatron slash fics. The entire panel room burst into a pained howl as Idiot Boy chirped, "I win." Thank Primus Rik Alvarez yanked the mic out of that moron's hand. I swear, I have never been more embarassed in my life. Way to go, dipshit. If panel attendees have to submit questions in writing beforehand beginning next year, we ALL know who to blame. Blame and commit grievous bodily harm upon. Yeah--hope you're not particularly fond of any of your limbs.... we's takun dem.
Not long after, the show closed for the day. Since Prime, DA and I were signed up for the Paramount party, we headed up to Shawn's hotel room and yapped a bit. At quarter til 7, we headed back downstairs to wait for the buses that would whisk us away for a night of revelry. Shawn nearly forgot his ticket, so he dashed back upstairs to get it. Prime, DA and I waited for him. I am ever glad we did.
Not two minutes later, we saw Peter Cullen walking through the hallway. You could have knocked me over with a feather, I was so surprised.
DA and I managed to say hello. Now here's where it gets really cool: as he walked by, Mr. Cullen gave me a friendly squeeze on the arm. I could have fainted. Optimus Prime touched me! :insane fangirl squealing: We both thanked him profusely for coming. Me, I also blushed profusely. Prime thought it was quite hilarious. XD
Once we got outside and waited for a bit, we hopped on board the buses and were on our way. It took us a bit to get there, but it was worth it. Caught sight of a large ROTF billboard on the way.... yes, it was 'Bee.
There was a concert, food and much awesomeness. Weird Al was there, having his picture taken with adoring fans. Tyrese Gibson (Epps) and Ratchet came by for a visit and Ironhide was parked near the front. He didn't seem to mind me posing for a picture with him. But the best was yet to come.
Every one of the partygoers were given a wristband--some were blue, others were yellow. Prime, DA and I got yellow. Everyone who had a blue wristband were called first, while those of who had yellow waited. About twenty minutes later, the yellows were called. So off we went to the front of the studio.
We were led to the Paramount theatre, where we had surrender our cameras and cell phones before we were allowed to take any seats. The three of us managed to grab front row seats. How freaking cool is that? So we settled in and got ready for a show.
One of the Hasbro head honchos, Greg Lombardo, hopped up on the stage in front of the screen and announced what we would be viewing. We'd be seeing the trailer, which wasn't anything we hadn't seen before, but we'd see it in a much better theatre. Then a voice behind-and-right piped up, "I don't want to see that." We all turned and looked, confused.
It was Michael Bay. I actually yelled, "Oh my GOD!" Yeah, I was that surprised.
He hopped up on stage and said we were going to watch two scenes: One involving Devastator and the other was a Bumblebee fight scene. When I heard "Bumblebee", I cheered.
Without giving away too much, all I can say is this--Devastator is scary as hell and Bumblebee is now a badass. (Hey, it only took 25 years...) Spine-ripping badass. Once we had seen the sheer awesomeness, we picked up our confiscated items and rejoined the party.
At around midnight, we went back to the convention center. Prime, DA and I caught a cab and went back to our home away from home, the Travelodge. It didn't take me long to collapse and go to sleep.
05/31/2009
Prime and I got to the 'Con just in time for the Hasbro Design panel. Interesting stuff, I tell you (but can't show you). Afterwards, I was going to hit the dealer room, until I noticed something.
There was literally a ton of general admission people (hereby referred to as "shlubs") crowded around that huge Bumblebee statue. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem, but a mess of these dipsticks forgot or didn't care that barricades are erected for a fucking reason. There were shlubs going up under the damned cords, touching the statue and letting their kids try and climb on the blasted thing. Why, yes! That is dangerous as hell! Thanks for noticing.
I spent some time acting as Bumblebee's bodyguard. If I pissed any of those damned shlubs off, tough. If they don't have the common sense to fucking follow rules, too damn bad. They don't fucking need to be there. Grow a brain or GTFO.
I'm not sure for how long I did that. After ten minutes of watching it happen with me, though, Prime went to the club store to get a Fun Pub employee to make an address over the PA, which she did. But, you know, stupid people... ears don't work so well.
The stupidity did die down a bit, eventually, so I hit the dealer room. Took the Hasbro challenge and got a chance to spin the big prize wheel. I won a Robot Hero; I picked Bumblebee. Prime continued to pine after his personal TF Holy Grail, the G2 Megatron ATB (which you can sort of see here, it's pretty much dead-center), then took one last load to Shawn and his friend's vehicle while I took one last look around the dealer room. I bought two Stan Bush CDs and shipped them along with a small load that just wouldn't fit in the back of our friend's truck. UPS Store sure overcharges...
Things were winding down. You could feel it. The huge crowd in the dealer room began to thin down and it got thinner still after the 3PM drawing for a free trip to next year's 'Con. Although Fun Publications decided to keep the dealer room open an extra half hour due to the overwhelming walk-in response (a television commercial was probably the main culprit... promises of a free toy to the first one hundred kids under whatever age helped, I'm sure), it still didn't help assuage the mental ache I could feel coming on. Though chatting with my friends did ease it just slightly. What can I say--the whole experience makes for a very nice high.... from which I have no choice but to come down.
Soon enough, we were ushered out of the dealer room. As I stood in the hallway, a small group of dealers began to take down the barricade surrounding the Bumblebee statue. They were taking him down. That was a hard sight to see. I took video of it. I also got a couple of pictures with him, and with permission I was able to touch him. A few times, I caught myself pretty close to tears. It wasn't just the fact that the statue was being taken down; it was also the realization that it was over. It was truly over. I may, sometime in the future, post the video. And yes, my voice breaks at least once. It was pretty hard on me, all things considered.
I took a couple of pictures of the other statues and the convention center itself, said good-bye to Bumblebee, and we left. Spent a good portion of time talking at the hotel room. Talking and packing. I never really mean to do so, but I always wind up packing slowly. Not hard to guess why, is it?
The next day, DA left for home. Prime and I flew back home not long after. The ride via Prime Time Shuttle... um, after we were picked up, the driver stopped at the Hilton to pick up an indeterminate number of people (they were no-shows), then same at the Sheraton. Two guys, one girl, all obvious fellow attendees. They got on and maintained a 'Con-versation... which we might've joined, but for, well, one of them stank like death mixed with ass sausage. At least, that's how I thought of it until Prime described it as ONIONSKUNK. His description is better. Or worse, however one looks at it. It was... it was memorable. How I wish it weren't. People like that (and we don't know which one it was) give convention geeks a bad name. Or bad reek.
At least the flight was uneventful. And not full like the plane was, previously.
Was this one of the best conventions I had ever attended? I think so. But it wasn't just the fact I got to sit in panels and buy cool swag. It was seeing my friends again. It was making new friends and having fun with a group of people that share my interest. That's what keeps bringing me back to BotCon. And that's what keeps me happy.
I can hardly wait until next year, whenever and wherever it may be.
05/30/2009
We got up relatively early that Saturday; Prime wanted to hit the IDW panel while I had to head to one of the autograph lines. Thank heavens the buses in California actually run at a decent hour on the weekends. (Well... the Pasadena ARTS 10, not so much. It's not hard to figure out why their fares are fifty cents a pop when the Metro's a buck-twenty-five--they run less time and they're all shorties.)
By the time we got to the convention center, two very long lines had already formed. One was for Peter Cullen, the other (which was located at a different building entirely) was for Weird Al. I headed for the second line, since I absolutely had to have Weird Al's autograph on my Animated Wreck-Gar. To my surprise, it wasn't that long of a wait; we had some pretty good conversations to help keep things lively. And best of all, I got an autograph and shook Weird Al's hand. Total nerdgasm!
After all was said and done, I headed back to the convention center proper. Prime and I took in the Activision panel, along with the Animated panel which featured Weird Al and David Kaye. Interesting stuff, save for the occasional stupid question.
Then came the big one: The Hasbro review panel.
This one is always packed, since this is where Hasbro does their huge unveiling.... and I get to see firsthand how Primus-awful broke I'll be. And trust me, I will be one quite broke yet very happy nerd. Lots of movie stuff and a good amount of Animated coming down the pike. Like I said, I'll be broke, but very happy. But after the preview, I had to jump ship early; I had business to take of in the dealer room. At 2PM, Mark Ryan would be there, signing autographs. I had two movie Bumblebees that needed to have his signature on them.
After getting them signed, I ran into my friend Shawn, who asked if I could possibly get Mark to sign a greeting card which would be sent to our friend Stogey, who is currently stationed in Iraq (and is Prime's younger brother's C.O. or whatever it's called). So back through the line I went. Mark actually teased me a little bit when he saw me again. :blush: But I got that card signed. (It was no prob, Shawn. I'm glad to help.) By con's end, that card had scrawl from almost every person of note to attend--you have to admit, that's cool as hell.
Afterwards, I hit the club panel with Prime and stayed behind for Peter Cullen's panel; Prime decided to hit the dealer room once again. I'm actually pretty glad he did. He probably would not have been able to deal with some of the stupid that occurred at Mr. Cullen's panel. Especially one of the last questions.
The very last person to ask Mr. Cullen a question had to be the world's biggest flaming idiot. I do not exaggerate when I say this. Why? Because he asked Peter Cullen if he had ever read any Optimus Prime/Megatron slash fics. The entire panel room burst into a pained howl as Idiot Boy chirped, "I win." Thank Primus Rik Alvarez yanked the mic out of that moron's hand. I swear, I have never been more embarassed in my life. Way to go, dipshit. If panel attendees have to submit questions in writing beforehand beginning next year, we ALL know who to blame. Blame and commit grievous bodily harm upon. Yeah--hope you're not particularly fond of any of your limbs.... we's takun dem.
Not long after, the show closed for the day. Since Prime, DA and I were signed up for the Paramount party, we headed up to Shawn's hotel room and yapped a bit. At quarter til 7, we headed back downstairs to wait for the buses that would whisk us away for a night of revelry. Shawn nearly forgot his ticket, so he dashed back upstairs to get it. Prime, DA and I waited for him. I am ever glad we did.
Not two minutes later, we saw Peter Cullen walking through the hallway. You could have knocked me over with a feather, I was so surprised.
DA and I managed to say hello. Now here's where it gets really cool: as he walked by, Mr. Cullen gave me a friendly squeeze on the arm. I could have fainted. Optimus Prime touched me! :insane fangirl squealing: We both thanked him profusely for coming. Me, I also blushed profusely. Prime thought it was quite hilarious. XD
Once we got outside and waited for a bit, we hopped on board the buses and were on our way. It took us a bit to get there, but it was worth it. Caught sight of a large ROTF billboard on the way.... yes, it was 'Bee.
There was a concert, food and much awesomeness. Weird Al was there, having his picture taken with adoring fans. Tyrese Gibson (Epps) and Ratchet came by for a visit and Ironhide was parked near the front. He didn't seem to mind me posing for a picture with him. But the best was yet to come.
Every one of the partygoers were given a wristband--some were blue, others were yellow. Prime, DA and I got yellow. Everyone who had a blue wristband were called first, while those of who had yellow waited. About twenty minutes later, the yellows were called. So off we went to the front of the studio.
We were led to the Paramount theatre, where we had surrender our cameras and cell phones before we were allowed to take any seats. The three of us managed to grab front row seats. How freaking cool is that? So we settled in and got ready for a show.
One of the Hasbro head honchos, Greg Lombardo, hopped up on the stage in front of the screen and announced what we would be viewing. We'd be seeing the trailer, which wasn't anything we hadn't seen before, but we'd see it in a much better theatre. Then a voice behind-and-right piped up, "I don't want to see that." We all turned and looked, confused.
It was Michael Bay. I actually yelled, "Oh my GOD!" Yeah, I was that surprised.
He hopped up on stage and said we were going to watch two scenes: One involving Devastator and the other was a Bumblebee fight scene. When I heard "Bumblebee", I cheered.
Without giving away too much, all I can say is this--Devastator is scary as hell and Bumblebee is now a badass. (Hey, it only took 25 years...) Spine-ripping badass. Once we had seen the sheer awesomeness, we picked up our confiscated items and rejoined the party.
At around midnight, we went back to the convention center. Prime, DA and I caught a cab and went back to our home away from home, the Travelodge. It didn't take me long to collapse and go to sleep.
05/31/2009
Prime and I got to the 'Con just in time for the Hasbro Design panel. Interesting stuff, I tell you (but can't show you). Afterwards, I was going to hit the dealer room, until I noticed something.
There was literally a ton of general admission people (hereby referred to as "shlubs") crowded around that huge Bumblebee statue. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem, but a mess of these dipsticks forgot or didn't care that barricades are erected for a fucking reason. There were shlubs going up under the damned cords, touching the statue and letting their kids try and climb on the blasted thing. Why, yes! That is dangerous as hell! Thanks for noticing.
I spent some time acting as Bumblebee's bodyguard. If I pissed any of those damned shlubs off, tough. If they don't have the common sense to fucking follow rules, too damn bad. They don't fucking need to be there. Grow a brain or GTFO.
I'm not sure for how long I did that. After ten minutes of watching it happen with me, though, Prime went to the club store to get a Fun Pub employee to make an address over the PA, which she did. But, you know, stupid people... ears don't work so well.
The stupidity did die down a bit, eventually, so I hit the dealer room. Took the Hasbro challenge and got a chance to spin the big prize wheel. I won a Robot Hero; I picked Bumblebee. Prime continued to pine after his personal TF Holy Grail, the G2 Megatron ATB (which you can sort of see here, it's pretty much dead-center), then took one last load to Shawn and his friend's vehicle while I took one last look around the dealer room. I bought two Stan Bush CDs and shipped them along with a small load that just wouldn't fit in the back of our friend's truck. UPS Store sure overcharges...
Things were winding down. You could feel it. The huge crowd in the dealer room began to thin down and it got thinner still after the 3PM drawing for a free trip to next year's 'Con. Although Fun Publications decided to keep the dealer room open an extra half hour due to the overwhelming walk-in response (a television commercial was probably the main culprit... promises of a free toy to the first one hundred kids under whatever age helped, I'm sure), it still didn't help assuage the mental ache I could feel coming on. Though chatting with my friends did ease it just slightly. What can I say--the whole experience makes for a very nice high.... from which I have no choice but to come down.
Soon enough, we were ushered out of the dealer room. As I stood in the hallway, a small group of dealers began to take down the barricade surrounding the Bumblebee statue. They were taking him down. That was a hard sight to see. I took video of it. I also got a couple of pictures with him, and with permission I was able to touch him. A few times, I caught myself pretty close to tears. It wasn't just the fact that the statue was being taken down; it was also the realization that it was over. It was truly over. I may, sometime in the future, post the video. And yes, my voice breaks at least once. It was pretty hard on me, all things considered.
I took a couple of pictures of the other statues and the convention center itself, said good-bye to Bumblebee, and we left. Spent a good portion of time talking at the hotel room. Talking and packing. I never really mean to do so, but I always wind up packing slowly. Not hard to guess why, is it?
The next day, DA left for home. Prime and I flew back home not long after. The ride via Prime Time Shuttle... um, after we were picked up, the driver stopped at the Hilton to pick up an indeterminate number of people (they were no-shows), then same at the Sheraton. Two guys, one girl, all obvious fellow attendees. They got on and maintained a 'Con-versation... which we might've joined, but for, well, one of them stank like death mixed with ass sausage. At least, that's how I thought of it until Prime described it as ONIONSKUNK. His description is better. Or worse, however one looks at it. It was... it was memorable. How I wish it weren't. People like that (and we don't know which one it was) give convention geeks a bad name. Or bad reek.
At least the flight was uneventful. And not full like the plane was, previously.
Was this one of the best conventions I had ever attended? I think so. But it wasn't just the fact I got to sit in panels and buy cool swag. It was seeing my friends again. It was making new friends and having fun with a group of people that share my interest. That's what keeps bringing me back to BotCon. And that's what keeps me happy.
I can hardly wait until next year, whenever and wherever it may be.
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