Yesterday was a recovery day of sorts; Prime and I did nothing more than relax and sleep. (He's feeling a bit better, in case you're wondering.)
Today's my laundry day. I've already got my black/grey load in the washer and my jeans are drying even as I type. I've hand-washed almost all of my 'Con tee shirts and they're now drying in the bathroom. I've only got one last shirt to wash and I'll be done with the clothes; when they dry they can then be packed for next year.
It begins again. I'm already doing my preps for next June. It gives me a little something to look forward to.
I've noticed something this time. I'm not as depressed this time around as I've usually been. I know when and where the 'Con will be taking place. Prime's already gotten our hotel room reserved. We can get better, cheaper flights this time around. I have an actual date on my pocket calendar that I can mark down. Whenever work starts sucking (which Primus knows it will), I can open it up and smile knowing that this too, shall pass. If I can get through the slag, I'll be fine.
In the next few months, I'll put in for the time off. (I won't be able to do it immediately because of that dumbass "no more than 180 days in advance" bullshit, but I will do it ASAP.)
Yes, it will not be easy getting back to the real world. There will be days I won't want to drag my sorry ass out of bed, but I'll be able to cope. I have something to look forward to. It doesn't seem like much, but it'll keep me going.
--Weasel, hoping her sorry skidplate might actually be published by next BotCon, that way her job won't suck as much...
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Homeward Bound
06282010 Monday
It’s a little bit before 11PM; Prime and I were listening to the Brewers game. (Stinkin’ Astros…) We’re home. The 'Con is over and we’re home. To be blunt, I have mixed feelings about that, but we'll get into it later.
We had to get up today at 3:10 in the morning; since we got to bed so late we both decided to hell with it and didn't really sleep much. I don't know if that was such a great idea or not. When we got up, we finished what little packing we had left (it wasn't much, believe me) and got ready. We did a little last minute cleaning up, grabbed our luggage and checked out.
I wasn't really surprised when we got to the front desk, the person who was taking care of us never asked for our door keys. I'm guessing a lot of people keep them as souvenirs. Pretty cool, if ya ask me. Once that was done, we headed outside and waited for our shuttle.
The shuttle got there early and we were on our way. Oddly enough, as we began to pull away from the hotel, I started to smile. I didn't feel too terribly sad about leaving. In fact, as we started our trip to the airport, I said under my breath, “Next stop, California.” You wouldn't believe how broadly I smiled when I said those words.
We arrived at the airport at around 4:45. We got through security, got to our gate and began to play the waiting game. While I was waiting, I grabbed my cell and sent a quick text to DA. He zapped me back, which put a pretty big smile on my face. I needed it, believe me. (And for pit's sake, ya gotta tell me about the dumbasses at the SuperShuttle! I'm betting it's one helluva story!) I managed to choke down a little food and spent the rest of the wait either reading a USA Today that Prime snagged from the hotel room or snoozing.
At 6:30, we began boarding our flight. It was a pretty full plane so I'm pretty glad that Prime went ahead and bumped us up to zone 2. We got to our seats and headed home. I pretty much spent the entire flight sleeping.
We got to Milwaukee at 8:40. We got off and I decided to hit the restroom. While there, I started digging in my pocket, trying to grab my cell so I could turn it on.
It. Wasn't. There.
My. Phone. Was. Gone.
The only thing I could come up with was it fell out of my pocket and into my seat while I was on the flight back home. Yeah, I damn near had a fucking heart attack right there in MKE. I tore through both of my pockets, trying to find her, then ran outside and asked Prime if he had my phone. He said no. So I raced over to the podium by our gate and managed to tell the woman there that I might have dropped my phone on the plane. She said I wasn't allowed back there, that someone would check and bring it out if they found it. Thankfully, one of the flight attendants came out and was told what was going on, so he escorted me back onto the plane and helped me find my cell.
I found my phone. She's sitting on the nightstand near the bed. I was never so grateful in my life.
Needless to say, I thanked that attendant profusely for his help (I believe his name was Christopher) and dashed off the plane so they could start boarding the next flight. Primus really cut me a break and sent one of his heralds my way. I am so blasted lucky and I can’t thank Primus enough for his divine intervention.
And those cute little Capri pants I was wearing? They're gone. They're not going on vacation anymore. If I get another pair similar to them, I’m checking the pockets. If they're shallow, I’m not buying them. I'm not risking anything falling out of my pockets ever again! Next time it could be my slagging wallet!
After handing Talkback (Yes, my cell phone has a name!) to Prime, we headed outside, got picked up and headed home. While in Milwaukee we did manage to stop by Miller Park and grabbed a couple of tickets for the September 7th Brewers/Cardinals game, so I have a bit more awesome to look forward to. As we journeyed through Milwaukee on our way back home, we passed a Chevy dealership, stocked to the gills with Camaros.
One was yellow, with black racing stripes. My guardian angel followed me home, it would seem. :)
We got home, crashed out and have been relaxing ever since. To be perfectly honest, I'm a little depressed. But I'm not as down as I was last year. Yes, this chapter is over, but I know exactly when the next one will begin. All I have to do is wait until next June. I'll be heading back to Cali, the home state of one of my best friends. If I'm lucky, maybe he'll be able to head out on one of the tours with me. (Primus forbid! We'll drive everyone on the tour bus insane. It will be awesome!) We already have our hotel room reserved and we can book our flight a helluva lot earlier than we could this year. And our food budget might be a bit more reasonable next year; if the Sheraton has a mini-fridge and that grocery store is still located across the street from the convention center, we're good. (If we do snag some food while we're there, feel free to help yourself, DA. I don't want you starving while you're on vacation. I'm not that evil, you know!)
BotCon 2010 is history. This chapter is over. But, to quote Simon Furman, “It never ends!”
--Weasel, already looking forward to next June.
It’s a little bit before 11PM; Prime and I were listening to the Brewers game. (Stinkin’ Astros…) We’re home. The 'Con is over and we’re home. To be blunt, I have mixed feelings about that, but we'll get into it later.
We had to get up today at 3:10 in the morning; since we got to bed so late we both decided to hell with it and didn't really sleep much. I don't know if that was such a great idea or not. When we got up, we finished what little packing we had left (it wasn't much, believe me) and got ready. We did a little last minute cleaning up, grabbed our luggage and checked out.
I wasn't really surprised when we got to the front desk, the person who was taking care of us never asked for our door keys. I'm guessing a lot of people keep them as souvenirs. Pretty cool, if ya ask me. Once that was done, we headed outside and waited for our shuttle.
The shuttle got there early and we were on our way. Oddly enough, as we began to pull away from the hotel, I started to smile. I didn't feel too terribly sad about leaving. In fact, as we started our trip to the airport, I said under my breath, “Next stop, California.” You wouldn't believe how broadly I smiled when I said those words.
We arrived at the airport at around 4:45. We got through security, got to our gate and began to play the waiting game. While I was waiting, I grabbed my cell and sent a quick text to DA. He zapped me back, which put a pretty big smile on my face. I needed it, believe me. (And for pit's sake, ya gotta tell me about the dumbasses at the SuperShuttle! I'm betting it's one helluva story!) I managed to choke down a little food and spent the rest of the wait either reading a USA Today that Prime snagged from the hotel room or snoozing.
At 6:30, we began boarding our flight. It was a pretty full plane so I'm pretty glad that Prime went ahead and bumped us up to zone 2. We got to our seats and headed home. I pretty much spent the entire flight sleeping.
We got to Milwaukee at 8:40. We got off and I decided to hit the restroom. While there, I started digging in my pocket, trying to grab my cell so I could turn it on.
It. Wasn't. There.
My. Phone. Was. Gone.
The only thing I could come up with was it fell out of my pocket and into my seat while I was on the flight back home. Yeah, I damn near had a fucking heart attack right there in MKE. I tore through both of my pockets, trying to find her, then ran outside and asked Prime if he had my phone. He said no. So I raced over to the podium by our gate and managed to tell the woman there that I might have dropped my phone on the plane. She said I wasn't allowed back there, that someone would check and bring it out if they found it. Thankfully, one of the flight attendants came out and was told what was going on, so he escorted me back onto the plane and helped me find my cell.
I found my phone. She's sitting on the nightstand near the bed. I was never so grateful in my life.
Needless to say, I thanked that attendant profusely for his help (I believe his name was Christopher) and dashed off the plane so they could start boarding the next flight. Primus really cut me a break and sent one of his heralds my way. I am so blasted lucky and I can’t thank Primus enough for his divine intervention.
And those cute little Capri pants I was wearing? They're gone. They're not going on vacation anymore. If I get another pair similar to them, I’m checking the pockets. If they're shallow, I’m not buying them. I'm not risking anything falling out of my pockets ever again! Next time it could be my slagging wallet!
After handing Talkback (Yes, my cell phone has a name!) to Prime, we headed outside, got picked up and headed home. While in Milwaukee we did manage to stop by Miller Park and grabbed a couple of tickets for the September 7th Brewers/Cardinals game, so I have a bit more awesome to look forward to. As we journeyed through Milwaukee on our way back home, we passed a Chevy dealership, stocked to the gills with Camaros.
One was yellow, with black racing stripes. My guardian angel followed me home, it would seem. :)
We got home, crashed out and have been relaxing ever since. To be perfectly honest, I'm a little depressed. But I'm not as down as I was last year. Yes, this chapter is over, but I know exactly when the next one will begin. All I have to do is wait until next June. I'll be heading back to Cali, the home state of one of my best friends. If I'm lucky, maybe he'll be able to head out on one of the tours with me. (Primus forbid! We'll drive everyone on the tour bus insane. It will be awesome!) We already have our hotel room reserved and we can book our flight a helluva lot earlier than we could this year. And our food budget might be a bit more reasonable next year; if the Sheraton has a mini-fridge and that grocery store is still located across the street from the convention center, we're good. (If we do snag some food while we're there, feel free to help yourself, DA. I don't want you starving while you're on vacation. I'm not that evil, you know!)
BotCon 2010 is history. This chapter is over. But, to quote Simon Furman, “It never ends!”
--Weasel, already looking forward to next June.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Day Four
Right now, it's raining a little bit, which suits my mood perfectly. Don't expect an update tomorrow, as that's our travel day and Prime and I will probably collapse the moment we get home. I'm doing this because if I don't... well, let's not go there, okay? I really don't want to flood our hotel room.
Prime and I woke up pretty slagging early this morning; we didn't have to be down to the panel room until 11 but we got up at 7:25. I guess we trained ourselves to get up early. Prime thought it was around nine when he sat up. Boy, was he ever wrong! We got up, got dressed and I went and grabbed breakfast. We ate and DA and I lit out for the panel room while Prime hit the dealer room.
DA and I got there at around 10:10 or so. We listened to the Budiansky panel again, saved a seat for Prime and waited for the Hasbro Designers panel.
A lot of good shit was revealed. It's all over the usual websites, so I'm not going to post that info here. Very informative. Apparently, with TF: Prime, we're only dealing with the show. No toys just yet. But that could change...
After the Hasbro panel, the group and I headed to the dealer room. DA had to head up to our room and pack up, as he had to leave at a little after four. At a touch after 1, I got in the autograph line for Scott McNeil. Got his signature on my autograph litho and tried to get in the line for Paul Eiding (G1 Perceptor).
The line was capped. I really thought I was screwed, but fortune shined upon me. I will leave it at that. (And I owe a certain someone a lot for the help given.)
After getting the autographs taken care of, Prime and I wandered around the dealer room a bit. We ran into DA and the three of us hung out, waiting for the drawing for a chance to win a trip to next year's 'Con.
None of us won. Oh well.
We hung around for a bit, I got to hug Karl Hartman and told him I'd see him next year. The three of us eventually made our way to the front of the Dolphin and waited for the shuttle to come and pick up DA.
It came too blasted soon. DA was loading up his luggage and left much sooner than I had wanted. Prime and I stood and waved good-bye.
I was fine 'til I got back to the hotel. That's all you're gonna get outta me.
Not long after as I started to pack our bags, it started to rain. Seemed a bit fitting to me. I have a few shots of the skyline. Might post one some Friday.
DA called a bit ago and let us know that he was on time and on his flight. That was really good to hear, believe me. It cheered me up like you wouldn't believe.
Watching Transformers on TNT at this very moment. It's rather fitting. It helps ease the transition back to the real world and reminds me that I have next year to look forward to.
I can't wait for my early birthday present in June 2011. I'll see everyone then. Until then, I'll miss all of you. May Primus watch over you.
--Weasel, dreading the return to the "real world" already.
Prime and I woke up pretty slagging early this morning; we didn't have to be down to the panel room until 11 but we got up at 7:25. I guess we trained ourselves to get up early. Prime thought it was around nine when he sat up. Boy, was he ever wrong! We got up, got dressed and I went and grabbed breakfast. We ate and DA and I lit out for the panel room while Prime hit the dealer room.
DA and I got there at around 10:10 or so. We listened to the Budiansky panel again, saved a seat for Prime and waited for the Hasbro Designers panel.
A lot of good shit was revealed. It's all over the usual websites, so I'm not going to post that info here. Very informative. Apparently, with TF: Prime, we're only dealing with the show. No toys just yet. But that could change...
After the Hasbro panel, the group and I headed to the dealer room. DA had to head up to our room and pack up, as he had to leave at a little after four. At a touch after 1, I got in the autograph line for Scott McNeil. Got his signature on my autograph litho and tried to get in the line for Paul Eiding (G1 Perceptor).
The line was capped. I really thought I was screwed, but fortune shined upon me. I will leave it at that. (And I owe a certain someone a lot for the help given.)
After getting the autographs taken care of, Prime and I wandered around the dealer room a bit. We ran into DA and the three of us hung out, waiting for the drawing for a chance to win a trip to next year's 'Con.
None of us won. Oh well.
We hung around for a bit, I got to hug Karl Hartman and told him I'd see him next year. The three of us eventually made our way to the front of the Dolphin and waited for the shuttle to come and pick up DA.
It came too blasted soon. DA was loading up his luggage and left much sooner than I had wanted. Prime and I stood and waved good-bye.
I was fine 'til I got back to the hotel. That's all you're gonna get outta me.
Not long after as I started to pack our bags, it started to rain. Seemed a bit fitting to me. I have a few shots of the skyline. Might post one some Friday.
DA called a bit ago and let us know that he was on time and on his flight. That was really good to hear, believe me. It cheered me up like you wouldn't believe.
Watching Transformers on TNT at this very moment. It's rather fitting. It helps ease the transition back to the real world and reminds me that I have next year to look forward to.
I can't wait for my early birthday present in June 2011. I'll see everyone then. Until then, I'll miss all of you. May Primus watch over you.
--Weasel, dreading the return to the "real world" already.
Day Three
Got up early again today (technically yesterday, but I digress); the Hasbro Studios panel was due up at 10. Got in, listened and got a few insights on the upcoming Transformers: Prime animated series that will be hitting the Hub in the fall of this year. We got to see Optimus, Megatron and Bumblebee in both 'bot and vehicular modes ('Bee's a muscle car/Camaro, which is freakin' awesome!) and we learned a bit about the cast.
Frank Welker is Megatron.
Peter Cullen is Optimus Prime.
When that panel was over, I asked the studios guys for some autographs and asked the a quick question concerning the show. If you don't want to be spoiled, do not highlight the following text:
I asked them if Bumblebee would be speaking or not in the show. He will not. He will be mute. Again. So no VA for Bumblebee, it would seem. But they'll be handling it differently than the movie and I'll probably be able to accept it pretty well. I really hope so.
After this was the Hasbro Marketing Review and Q&A. Lotsa interesting stuff, but most of it we've all seen/known about. After that panel was done, I zipped up front, got some more autographs and asked Aaron Archer a quick, rather goofy (and severely nerdy) question. Don't want to know? Don't highlight:
During the previous panel, one of the studio guys said that the different Transformers characters have different Cybertronian astrological signs. This was info that Mr. Archer knew. So I asked. Technically, it isn't astrological signs as much as it has to deal with their DNA and how they descended from the original Thirteen. This part of their history/back story will be revealed over the next few years and at later dates. Yes, I am very intrigued. If I can hear anything else on Bumblebee's cyber-genealogy, I'll be one happy-ass geekbot!
Prime and I stuck around for about half of the Activision panel, then we decided to head down to the dealer room and do some wheelin' and dealin'. We got ourselves some nice ass swag, ran into a friend or two and just had a blast. We headed back up here to our hotel room, chilled for a bit then ran down to the Hall of Fame dinner.
There was drinking, dining, and some weird ass mystery veggie that was on my plate but I freaking ate it anyway. So much fun. After dessert was served, we got the real party rolling.
We were treated to a group of short videos detailing both the Transformer and human inductees to the HOF. The first Transformer featured? Only the absolute best. Yep, my sweet little baby, Bumblebee. The vids were set to music and Bumblebee's "song" was You're the Best from The Karate Kid. I admit I've always liked the song, but now I love it like you wouldn't believe. Just hearing the chorus puts a giant grin on my face. And no, I was not quiet at all when I saw that vid. With all the screaming I did during the ceremony, I won't be able to talk for a friggin' week. Oh well...
After the known inductees received their honors, the Transformers fan pick was revealed. We had been given five choices: Soundwave, Grimlock, Shockwave, Jazz and Dinobot from Beast Wars. The winner was:
DINOBOT!!
When that announcement was made, I literally jumped out of my seat, screaming and pumping both fists in the air. Out of those five, I really felt that old Chopperface deserved the honor. He was one of my favorites from the Beast era and the main reason I utterly and absolutely adore velociraptors. (Seriously, I love the buggers. I used to hate them but now I think they are so damned cute it isn't even funny. I even have a little pewter statue of one that's on the prowl. Sooooooooo cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute!) Yes, there was much merriment to be had.
After the main ceremony, Greg Lombardo, one of the bigwigs from Hasbro let us in on a dramatic reveal: we already had the dates/location for next year's 'Con.
BotCon 2011
June 2 through 5, 2011
Pasadena, California
We're goin' back to Cali!
The site itself is live, but don't even bother with trying to reserve a room at the Sheraton. Prime called the place and reserved our room (he was the second person to do so, if I recall correctly), then proceeded to tell everyone that the site wasn't up so here's the number to call.
The entire damned block is now sold the hell out. Awesome work, Prime. At least we have our room for the event in question. And we have about a year to save up. Hell, we'll be able to book our flights sick ass early!
I actually dread tomorrow a little. It's the last day of the 'Con. On top of that, DA will be leaving in the afternoon. That's something I really don't want to think about. (For the love of Primus, DA, do not get choked up. We will flood the damn Dolphin if you do!)
Yeah, trying to think happy thoughts here. Don't really know how much good that's doing.
--Weasel, "I won't cry, I won't cry, I won't cry... ennnnhh, I'm totally gonna cry..."
Frank Welker is Megatron.
Peter Cullen is Optimus Prime.
When that panel was over, I asked the studios guys for some autographs and asked the a quick question concerning the show. If you don't want to be spoiled, do not highlight the following text:
I asked them if Bumblebee would be speaking or not in the show. He will not. He will be mute. Again. So no VA for Bumblebee, it would seem. But they'll be handling it differently than the movie and I'll probably be able to accept it pretty well. I really hope so.
After this was the Hasbro Marketing Review and Q&A. Lotsa interesting stuff, but most of it we've all seen/known about. After that panel was done, I zipped up front, got some more autographs and asked Aaron Archer a quick, rather goofy (and severely nerdy) question. Don't want to know? Don't highlight:
During the previous panel, one of the studio guys said that the different Transformers characters have different Cybertronian astrological signs. This was info that Mr. Archer knew. So I asked. Technically, it isn't astrological signs as much as it has to deal with their DNA and how they descended from the original Thirteen. This part of their history/back story will be revealed over the next few years and at later dates. Yes, I am very intrigued. If I can hear anything else on Bumblebee's cyber-genealogy, I'll be one happy-ass geekbot!
Prime and I stuck around for about half of the Activision panel, then we decided to head down to the dealer room and do some wheelin' and dealin'. We got ourselves some nice ass swag, ran into a friend or two and just had a blast. We headed back up here to our hotel room, chilled for a bit then ran down to the Hall of Fame dinner.
There was drinking, dining, and some weird ass mystery veggie that was on my plate but I freaking ate it anyway. So much fun. After dessert was served, we got the real party rolling.
We were treated to a group of short videos detailing both the Transformer and human inductees to the HOF. The first Transformer featured? Only the absolute best. Yep, my sweet little baby, Bumblebee. The vids were set to music and Bumblebee's "song" was You're the Best from The Karate Kid. I admit I've always liked the song, but now I love it like you wouldn't believe. Just hearing the chorus puts a giant grin on my face. And no, I was not quiet at all when I saw that vid. With all the screaming I did during the ceremony, I won't be able to talk for a friggin' week. Oh well...
After the known inductees received their honors, the Transformers fan pick was revealed. We had been given five choices: Soundwave, Grimlock, Shockwave, Jazz and Dinobot from Beast Wars. The winner was:
DINOBOT!!
When that announcement was made, I literally jumped out of my seat, screaming and pumping both fists in the air. Out of those five, I really felt that old Chopperface deserved the honor. He was one of my favorites from the Beast era and the main reason I utterly and absolutely adore velociraptors. (Seriously, I love the buggers. I used to hate them but now I think they are so damned cute it isn't even funny. I even have a little pewter statue of one that's on the prowl. Sooooooooo cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute!) Yes, there was much merriment to be had.
After the main ceremony, Greg Lombardo, one of the bigwigs from Hasbro let us in on a dramatic reveal: we already had the dates/location for next year's 'Con.
BotCon 2011
June 2 through 5, 2011
Pasadena, California
We're goin' back to Cali!
The site itself is live, but don't even bother with trying to reserve a room at the Sheraton. Prime called the place and reserved our room (he was the second person to do so, if I recall correctly), then proceeded to tell everyone that the site wasn't up so here's the number to call.
The entire damned block is now sold the hell out. Awesome work, Prime. At least we have our room for the event in question. And we have about a year to save up. Hell, we'll be able to book our flights sick ass early!
I actually dread tomorrow a little. It's the last day of the 'Con. On top of that, DA will be leaving in the afternoon. That's something I really don't want to think about. (For the love of Primus, DA, do not get choked up. We will flood the damn Dolphin if you do!)
Yeah, trying to think happy thoughts here. Don't really know how much good that's doing.
--Weasel, "I won't cry, I won't cry, I won't cry... ennnnhh, I'm totally gonna cry..."
Friday, June 25, 2010
Day Two
Had to get up pretty early today; the Club Store opened up at 8AM today and I didn't want to miss out on the Sharkticons set. I was up at 7:15 and out the door about twenty minutes later.
The line was still insane. I got the Sharkies, though.
I headed back to the hotel room, dropped off the Sharkies and relaxed for a little bit, then headed to the panel rooms for a couple of panels. First up was TakaraTomy.
Yoke-san struck me as a bit sarcastic at times, which was pretty awesome. We now know why the G1 Constructicons were green (it was Hasbro's idea) and the story behind Optimus Prime (which Yoke-san asked us never to repeat, so I won't) and various other cool facts. After that was done, it was time for Mr. Bob Budiansky.
Again, very interesting. Apparently, there were two names circulating for Bumblebee: Bumblebee and Goldbug. It seems the "upgrade" name's a bit older than I thought. And it would seem that Spike Witwicky predated the name Buster when it came to the comic. Again, really interesting.
And Mr. Budiansky is officially my god. He wasn't really sure if he created Bumblebee but said he'd take the credit for it. That makes him god. ;)
After those panels were over, I headed back to the hotel room and rested for a little bit. Prime was still crashed out; he didn't come along with me for anything today because he still feels like slag. (He seems slightly better right now and I can only hope that he's up to running around tomorrow.) Our friend Shawn dropped by and asked if we still needed the KissPlay Sparkbots and we said yes, so he nabbed us a set. DA and I headed down to the dealer room at 2 for the "private experience". Prime stayed here and dozed.
The very first thing I did in the dealer room was run to the back corner and take pics of the Bumblebee statue and Camaro. It's a dealer's Camaro but I really don't care.
I got to sit in the Camaro. As in, behind the damn steering wheel.
I completely dorked and asked Bumblebee permission before I got inside. DA snapped a pic of me and when I stepped out, I thanked both DA and the car! (Got a pretty sweet pic of DA lookin' chill behind 'Bee's steering wheel. Good times, good times.)
After that, me and DA did a bit of training at the Autobot Alliance Academy. I have never dorked so much in my freaking life. Before we go in for our training, we have pictures taken and get briefed. The woman who briefed me told me I could only shoot Decepticons and no Autobots. She also noticed my shirt and asked, "Who is that on your shirt?" I replied, "Bumblebee." She warned me not to shoot him and I said I wouldn't even dream of it. She also told me not to make out with him.
Oh Primus, I turned Autobot sigil red! I guess everyone knows that I'm a flaming robosexual now! But it was a freaking blast, believe me.
I also ran into mine liege. There was laughing and hugs and other such dorky things.
I wandered around, snagged a Galaxy Force Megalo Convoy and a pair of Bumblebee tee shirts from Stylin' Online. Not a huge haul, but very satisfying.
I also took a look at the Hall of Fame display and took a few pictures. As I was snapping a shot of a rather unusual Bumblebee RPM, I read the type on the bottom front of the backer card.
HASBRO EMPLOYEE EXCLUSIVE
Oh yeah, I nearly shit my pants when I saw that. I took a couple of really good shots of the front and a nice one of the back before I wandered away to cry.
As I walked away, I saw Aaron Archer. So I figured, what the slag, I'll asked about that 'Bee.
No chance of a retail release, natch but it seems there was anywhere from 50 to 100 of these little guys produced. If you worked at Hasbro, you got one. Basically, there was a sticker on the back with the recipient's name, no bar code. Unfortunately, Mr. Archer liked his way too much to ever part with it. (I do not blame him at all. It is a royally sweet toy.) I thanked him profusely for the info and told him I can work as a slave whenever Hasbro needed. Just pay me in Bumblebees and I'm good. XD
I headed back up to the hotel about 45 minutes before the dealer room closed. I managed to show Crazy Steve and Karl Hartman the shots of Exclusive 'Bee. As I told them both, it kinda makes me wanna cry. But I'm not terribly worried. He will be mine. Oh yes, that little Exclusive RPM Bumblebee will be MINE! :cue evil laugh:
I'm just chillin' here in the hotel room right now. Prime and I have eaten and we're watching NCIS on USA. (Quick tip: If you're staying at the Walt Disney World Dolphin, your best bet for food is Picabu. They are very reasonable and the food is pretty damn good.) Tomorrow's going to be a full day: lots of panels, autographs and the Hall of Fame ceremony. I'm going to scream my head off when they induct Bumblebee. Just letting everyone know in advance.
--Weasel, "Only took 26 years before my baby got props. So yeah, I'm gonna be a little hyper..."
The line was still insane. I got the Sharkies, though.
I headed back to the hotel room, dropped off the Sharkies and relaxed for a little bit, then headed to the panel rooms for a couple of panels. First up was TakaraTomy.
Yoke-san struck me as a bit sarcastic at times, which was pretty awesome. We now know why the G1 Constructicons were green (it was Hasbro's idea) and the story behind Optimus Prime (which Yoke-san asked us never to repeat, so I won't) and various other cool facts. After that was done, it was time for Mr. Bob Budiansky.
Again, very interesting. Apparently, there were two names circulating for Bumblebee: Bumblebee and Goldbug. It seems the "upgrade" name's a bit older than I thought. And it would seem that Spike Witwicky predated the name Buster when it came to the comic. Again, really interesting.
And Mr. Budiansky is officially my god. He wasn't really sure if he created Bumblebee but said he'd take the credit for it. That makes him god. ;)
After those panels were over, I headed back to the hotel room and rested for a little bit. Prime was still crashed out; he didn't come along with me for anything today because he still feels like slag. (He seems slightly better right now and I can only hope that he's up to running around tomorrow.) Our friend Shawn dropped by and asked if we still needed the KissPlay Sparkbots and we said yes, so he nabbed us a set. DA and I headed down to the dealer room at 2 for the "private experience". Prime stayed here and dozed.
The very first thing I did in the dealer room was run to the back corner and take pics of the Bumblebee statue and Camaro. It's a dealer's Camaro but I really don't care.
I got to sit in the Camaro. As in, behind the damn steering wheel.
I completely dorked and asked Bumblebee permission before I got inside. DA snapped a pic of me and when I stepped out, I thanked both DA and the car! (Got a pretty sweet pic of DA lookin' chill behind 'Bee's steering wheel. Good times, good times.)
After that, me and DA did a bit of training at the Autobot Alliance Academy. I have never dorked so much in my freaking life. Before we go in for our training, we have pictures taken and get briefed. The woman who briefed me told me I could only shoot Decepticons and no Autobots. She also noticed my shirt and asked, "Who is that on your shirt?" I replied, "Bumblebee." She warned me not to shoot him and I said I wouldn't even dream of it. She also told me not to make out with him.
Oh Primus, I turned Autobot sigil red! I guess everyone knows that I'm a flaming robosexual now! But it was a freaking blast, believe me.
I also ran into mine liege. There was laughing and hugs and other such dorky things.
I wandered around, snagged a Galaxy Force Megalo Convoy and a pair of Bumblebee tee shirts from Stylin' Online. Not a huge haul, but very satisfying.
I also took a look at the Hall of Fame display and took a few pictures. As I was snapping a shot of a rather unusual Bumblebee RPM, I read the type on the bottom front of the backer card.
HASBRO EMPLOYEE EXCLUSIVE
Oh yeah, I nearly shit my pants when I saw that. I took a couple of really good shots of the front and a nice one of the back before I wandered away to cry.
As I walked away, I saw Aaron Archer. So I figured, what the slag, I'll asked about that 'Bee.
No chance of a retail release, natch but it seems there was anywhere from 50 to 100 of these little guys produced. If you worked at Hasbro, you got one. Basically, there was a sticker on the back with the recipient's name, no bar code. Unfortunately, Mr. Archer liked his way too much to ever part with it. (I do not blame him at all. It is a royally sweet toy.) I thanked him profusely for the info and told him I can work as a slave whenever Hasbro needed. Just pay me in Bumblebees and I'm good. XD
I headed back up to the hotel about 45 minutes before the dealer room closed. I managed to show Crazy Steve and Karl Hartman the shots of Exclusive 'Bee. As I told them both, it kinda makes me wanna cry. But I'm not terribly worried. He will be mine. Oh yes, that little Exclusive RPM Bumblebee will be MINE! :cue evil laugh:
I'm just chillin' here in the hotel room right now. Prime and I have eaten and we're watching NCIS on USA. (Quick tip: If you're staying at the Walt Disney World Dolphin, your best bet for food is Picabu. They are very reasonable and the food is pretty damn good.) Tomorrow's going to be a full day: lots of panels, autographs and the Hall of Fame ceremony. I'm going to scream my head off when they induct Bumblebee. Just letting everyone know in advance.
--Weasel, "Only took 26 years before my baby got props. So yeah, I'm gonna be a little hyper..."
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Day One
This was my "down" day, so to speak. Prime headed downstairs at around a little after 8 to help with today's customization class and to get the paint on our G2 'Swipe touched up a bit, while I camped out here. My job? Stay here and wait for DA.
At around 1:30, I heard a knock at the door. It was none other than DA, bearing cups of awesome. He was sporting a short purple mohawk and had gone to Starbucks. Yes, DA is freakin' awesome like that. He came in, got a bit settled, I hugged the hell out of him (I pretty much always do), he showed me some pics he got of the oil spill in the Gulf and we started chatting.
We talked for damn near two hours.
The topics ranged from the zany to the serious. We went from laughing, to waxing nostalgic to occasionally touching topics that could be considered rather deep. Most of the time we laughed, a couple of times I felt a bit like crying. It was something I really needed. You have no idea how badly I needed this. I feel so much better right now.
At four, I headed down to get into the line for the club store. DA caught up with me a bit later and I was joined by Prime a little bit later. (Prime's not feeling too great right now. I am trying not to act worried. I think I'm failing at it.)
I was the first in the number two credit card line. I got my stuff and took it all over to a nearby table to organize it. As I was organizing everything, I looked up and caught a glimpse of the back corner of the dealer room.
I saw yellow. And gold.
The gold belonged to this little guy, while the the yellow belonged to...
A Camaro.
Bumblebee is here. In both forms.
I'm surprised everyone in the room didn't hear my gasp. It was all I could do not to race behind the tables and into the dealer room just to throw my arms around the both of them. I managed to yelp out, "Honey, he's here!"
Prime: (still in line and looking confused) "Who?"
Me: "BUMBLEBEE!"
Prime's dreading tomorrow a little. There's a private dealer room experience at two o'clock tomorrow and I'll be there, snapping pics. I'll try not to throw myself at the car and hug it too tightly. XD
After Prime got his items, we headed back to the hotel, I went on a food run, went downstairs to swap out a couple of damaged items for better ones and came back to the room. Prime's crashed out right now as I'm blogging. And DA helped a little bit with my magnum opus. (Needed a word check. Gracias, DA!) It's wonderful. I wish this would never end.
This is why I love BotCon. It's not the convention, it's not the toys. It's the experience and the people that make it special. I can barely wait for tomorrow.
--Weasel, stopping her post before she gets too sappy because she totally will get sappy...
At around 1:30, I heard a knock at the door. It was none other than DA, bearing cups of awesome. He was sporting a short purple mohawk and had gone to Starbucks. Yes, DA is freakin' awesome like that. He came in, got a bit settled, I hugged the hell out of him (I pretty much always do), he showed me some pics he got of the oil spill in the Gulf and we started chatting.
We talked for damn near two hours.
The topics ranged from the zany to the serious. We went from laughing, to waxing nostalgic to occasionally touching topics that could be considered rather deep. Most of the time we laughed, a couple of times I felt a bit like crying. It was something I really needed. You have no idea how badly I needed this. I feel so much better right now.
At four, I headed down to get into the line for the club store. DA caught up with me a bit later and I was joined by Prime a little bit later. (Prime's not feeling too great right now. I am trying not to act worried. I think I'm failing at it.)
I was the first in the number two credit card line. I got my stuff and took it all over to a nearby table to organize it. As I was organizing everything, I looked up and caught a glimpse of the back corner of the dealer room.
I saw yellow. And gold.
The gold belonged to this little guy, while the the yellow belonged to...
A Camaro.
Bumblebee is here. In both forms.
I'm surprised everyone in the room didn't hear my gasp. It was all I could do not to race behind the tables and into the dealer room just to throw my arms around the both of them. I managed to yelp out, "Honey, he's here!"
Prime: (still in line and looking confused) "Who?"
Me: "BUMBLEBEE!"
Prime's dreading tomorrow a little. There's a private dealer room experience at two o'clock tomorrow and I'll be there, snapping pics. I'll try not to throw myself at the car and hug it too tightly. XD
After Prime got his items, we headed back to the hotel, I went on a food run, went downstairs to swap out a couple of damaged items for better ones and came back to the room. Prime's crashed out right now as I'm blogging. And DA helped a little bit with my magnum opus. (Needed a word check. Gracias, DA!) It's wonderful. I wish this would never end.
This is why I love BotCon. It's not the convention, it's not the toys. It's the experience and the people that make it special. I can barely wait for tomorrow.
--Weasel, stopping her post before she gets too sappy because she totally will get sappy...
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Gettin' Schooled
So today Prime and I got up nice and early to hit the customization class. Together, we built a nice, shiny new G2 Sideswipe. I sorted some of the smaller parts and acted as the gofer while Prime put everything together and did the painting. (His hands are a lot more stable than mine, trust me.)
I took pics. I'll try and post a good one.
It's actually been a pretty quiet day. Tomorrow will be ever quieter; Prime will be helping out with the customizing class tomorrow and I'll be here in the hotel room, waiting for DA to arrive. It'll probably be my only "day of rest" before the party really starts.
Bring it on!
--Weasel, "Time to par-tay, bay-beeeee!!"
I took pics. I'll try and post a good one.
It's actually been a pretty quiet day. Tomorrow will be ever quieter; Prime will be helping out with the customizing class tomorrow and I'll be here in the hotel room, waiting for DA to arrive. It'll probably be my only "day of rest" before the party really starts.
Bring it on!
--Weasel, "Time to par-tay, bay-beeeee!!"
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Live from Orlando
So, I finally freaking made it. I am completely exhausted, but I made it.
Yesterday was busy. Lots of last minute prep, running around to get a few items, you name it. We were so busy that Prime and I went to bed pretty late.
That was not a good idea. We kinda had to be up at 2 in the morning, so we could leave for the airport by 3. Our flight was at 6:35. The lines for security were completely dead, which was nice but Primus the layover in Atlanta was a killer. I nearly fell asleep three times waiting for our connecting flight. Ugh. (Yeah, I'll probably crash shortly. I am freaking exhausted. My eyes are stinging; they are that tired.)
Tomorrow will be very interesting. Prime and I will both be in the customization class. Basically, you put together and paint a brand new character...you even get to cut it off the sprues. I've never done this before. I cut my damn fingers with butter knives. Yeah, I know I'll be injuring myself somehow doing this slag. But it'll be an interesting way to spend the day.
Party won't really get started 'til Thursday. DA will be arriving that day, and so that's when the real fun begins.
And yes, I'll be taking pics. I'll see if I can't post a few.
--Weasel, "I'll have more fun tomorrow. If I'm awake, that is."
Yesterday was busy. Lots of last minute prep, running around to get a few items, you name it. We were so busy that Prime and I went to bed pretty late.
That was not a good idea. We kinda had to be up at 2 in the morning, so we could leave for the airport by 3. Our flight was at 6:35. The lines for security were completely dead, which was nice but Primus the layover in Atlanta was a killer. I nearly fell asleep three times waiting for our connecting flight. Ugh. (Yeah, I'll probably crash shortly. I am freaking exhausted. My eyes are stinging; they are that tired.)
Tomorrow will be very interesting. Prime and I will both be in the customization class. Basically, you put together and paint a brand new character...you even get to cut it off the sprues. I've never done this before. I cut my damn fingers with butter knives. Yeah, I know I'll be injuring myself somehow doing this slag. But it'll be an interesting way to spend the day.
Party won't really get started 'til Thursday. DA will be arriving that day, and so that's when the real fun begins.
And yes, I'll be taking pics. I'll see if I can't post a few.
--Weasel, "I'll have more fun tomorrow. If I'm awake, that is."
Monday, June 21, 2010
Counting Down the Hours
Before you ask: yes, that is the correct time. I've been up for the past hour. If you know me well, you know it's damn near impossible to get my ass out of bed at a decent time. So yeah, pretty slagging excited here!
Today's zero hour. Prime and I will be making final preps for our trip to Orlando and BotCon. I'll have to pack Prime's suitcase (I've pretty much been packed since last year!), we'll have to get Alexa ready, and we'll have to grab a few last minute items.
I can hardly wait. Even though tomorrow we'll have to deal with a three hour layover in Atlanta, I'm still excited as hell. I'll just use that lovely layover as writing time. I've got an idea for a future story that's going to have a scene in something similar to an airport, so I can just scribble a few things down for future reference. I'll just need to find an outlet so Alexa's battery doesn't run dry.
When we get to Orlando, I'll try and make a quick update... if only to tell you how frickin' bad the flight was. Wish me luck; we all know how bad I am at getting on board airplanes!
And to all my friends who will be there, consider this your warnings: you're gonna get hugged and I'm gonna scream my head off during the Hall of Fame ceremony when Bumblebee gets inducted. (Hey, I'm sure there will be people screaming for Optimus, Megatron and Starscream. I'll just be super-loud when it comes to my 'bot. It's been 26 years. He's earned this honor, IMNSHO.)
For now, I leave you with a quick "See y'all in Florida" and some awesome music. Ciao!
--Weasel, counting down the very seconds now...
Today's zero hour. Prime and I will be making final preps for our trip to Orlando and BotCon. I'll have to pack Prime's suitcase (I've pretty much been packed since last year!), we'll have to get Alexa ready, and we'll have to grab a few last minute items.
I can hardly wait. Even though tomorrow we'll have to deal with a three hour layover in Atlanta, I'm still excited as hell. I'll just use that lovely layover as writing time. I've got an idea for a future story that's going to have a scene in something similar to an airport, so I can just scribble a few things down for future reference. I'll just need to find an outlet so Alexa's battery doesn't run dry.
When we get to Orlando, I'll try and make a quick update... if only to tell you how frickin' bad the flight was. Wish me luck; we all know how bad I am at getting on board airplanes!
And to all my friends who will be there, consider this your warnings: you're gonna get hugged and I'm gonna scream my head off during the Hall of Fame ceremony when Bumblebee gets inducted. (Hey, I'm sure there will be people screaming for Optimus, Megatron and Starscream. I'll just be super-loud when it comes to my 'bot. It's been 26 years. He's earned this honor, IMNSHO.)
For now, I leave you with a quick "See y'all in Florida" and some awesome music. Ciao!
--Weasel, counting down the very seconds now...
Sunday, June 20, 2010
BotCon Memories: On the Streets of Durham
Several years ago, I had to return to my old home state. It wasn't exactly by choice.
Back in 2001, BotCon was held in Durham, NC. Granted, I had taken many trips to the neighboring city of Raleigh, but I had never gone to Durham once.
After BotCon 2001, I could see why.
The following is a true story. I am not making this up in any way, shape or form.
As our usual, Prime and I were rooming with our friend, DA, but we also had another friend crashing with us, a guy who goes by the handle of Leemur, who is also from NC and has an accent thicker than mine.
He found a little something in the street that was the talk of our room for days. After we had all settled in our room, Leemur looked out the window. Not five seconds later, I heard him say, "Wut the hell?!"
Curious, DA and I headed over to the window and peered outside. After a few moments of silence, one of us (and I'm not entirely sure who) asked, "Uh, am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?"
In the middle of the street directly below our hotel was a faint white outline. You've probably seen something like it if you've watched Law & Order. Yeah, it was one of those outlines. It was the chalk outline of what appeared to be a dead body.
Now, I had a few theories about it. It could have been:
A) some poor schmuck who had been inadvertently hit by a passing car,
B) some poor schmuck who had decided to end it all and jumped from the roof, or
C) some poor schmuck who died via a hail of bullets or getting stabbed.
...yeah, I guess there weren't really very many possibilities. In any case, it was creepy as hell. And very ghetto, as DA said.
I don't remember much else about our stay, except I went on all of our food runs as I had no difficulty with the temperature and the guests that year were awesome. It was just too bad that the city itself sucked out loud.
--Weasel, "And people wonder just why in the hell I left..."
Back in 2001, BotCon was held in Durham, NC. Granted, I had taken many trips to the neighboring city of Raleigh, but I had never gone to Durham once.
After BotCon 2001, I could see why.
The following is a true story. I am not making this up in any way, shape or form.
As our usual, Prime and I were rooming with our friend, DA, but we also had another friend crashing with us, a guy who goes by the handle of Leemur, who is also from NC and has an accent thicker than mine.
He found a little something in the street that was the talk of our room for days. After we had all settled in our room, Leemur looked out the window. Not five seconds later, I heard him say, "Wut the hell?!"
Curious, DA and I headed over to the window and peered outside. After a few moments of silence, one of us (and I'm not entirely sure who) asked, "Uh, am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?"
In the middle of the street directly below our hotel was a faint white outline. You've probably seen something like it if you've watched Law & Order. Yeah, it was one of those outlines. It was the chalk outline of what appeared to be a dead body.
Now, I had a few theories about it. It could have been:
A) some poor schmuck who had been inadvertently hit by a passing car,
B) some poor schmuck who had decided to end it all and jumped from the roof, or
C) some poor schmuck who died via a hail of bullets or getting stabbed.
...yeah, I guess there weren't really very many possibilities. In any case, it was creepy as hell. And very ghetto, as DA said.
I don't remember much else about our stay, except I went on all of our food runs as I had no difficulty with the temperature and the guests that year were awesome. It was just too bad that the city itself sucked out loud.
--Weasel, "And people wonder just why in the hell I left..."
Friday, June 18, 2010
Friday Photoblog: "Well, I Tried" Edition
Prime's mother's attempt at decorating a decidedly non-standard cake during Thanksgiving 2009.
(Tasted okay. Prime himself has never been a MMM FROSTING kind of guy, anyway.)
(Tasted okay. Prime himself has never been a MMM FROSTING kind of guy, anyway.)
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Let the Frenzy Begin!
Unless you've been living under a rock (or don't like the franchise), there are two new Pokémon games coming out this fall in Japan. The States should get them in the spring of 2011. They're Pokémon White and Pokémon Black, respectively. Yesterday, some new info surfaced about the games.
Oh yeah, I'm excited as hell. And I've already started falling in love with the legendary mascot for Black: Reshiram. I'm feeling the same odd tug that I felt when I first saw Palkia. Prime can have Zekrom, I'll happily take Reshi. (I've already picked a name and it's an original one.)
--Weasel, "When do the preorders start?"
Oh yeah, I'm excited as hell. And I've already started falling in love with the legendary mascot for Black: Reshiram. I'm feeling the same odd tug that I felt when I first saw Palkia. Prime can have Zekrom, I'll happily take Reshi. (I've already picked a name and it's an original one.)
--Weasel, "When do the preorders start?"
BotCon Memories: One Night in Cincy
Because we're getting so close to the 'Con, I decided I'd share a few memories of conventions past.
The following is a true story. I am not making this up in any way, shape or form.
Back in 2008, BotCon was held in the "lovely" city of Cincinnati. (I use the term loosely, trust me. Because everyone knows just how much Ohio sucks. But I digress.) Anyway, the trip to Cincy was bad enough; poor Scamper lost his front windshield thanks to construction in fucking Illinois (I swear to Primus, they are never going to finish that stretch of highway!) and Prime and I weren't really sure we were going to make it to the convention on time. But poor sweet Scamps, injured as he was, got us there.
Prime and I, along with our friend from Cali were staying at a local Ramada and not the convention hotel that year. It wasn't a huge deal for us; we had Scamps so we could drive wherever.
Later on during our stay, I started thinking that maybe we should have driven to a different damn hotel.
You see, the Ramada was across the street from a gas station that had a White Castle. It turned out that the White Castle was a pretty popular local hangout. That really didn't bother me, until one night at around one o'clock in the morning while Prime and I were trying to sleep.
Now this particular night (I believe it might have been Friday) there was an enormous group of people hanging around the White Castle. A lot of people standing around their cars, a few groups standing near the gas station talking and one guy who happened to be riding a motorcycle. We could hear a few people yelling from time to time, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Then all of a sudden, we heard it.
Pop.
Pop. Pop.
I rolled over and looked at Prime. We asked each other if we had heard what the hell we thought we heard. After several seconds, we agreed. It sounded like it might have been a drive-by shooting.
I was freaking out. I have never, in my short and rather sheltered existence, been anywhere near anything like that.
We woke up our friend DA to tell him what the hell was going on. He said we'd be fine and not to worry about it.
He then promptly went back to sleep. No joke.
Me and Prime were more than a little shocked. How the hell could he be so calm about this?! Like I said, my ass has been pretty damned sheltered.
I managed to get to sleep sometime after two in the morning. Nothing else "interesting" happened that night. The incident was also the talk of the convention center; it seems it was the guy on the motorcycle, just showing off. But, according to one 'Con goer, the police had said that drive-bys were pretty common in that area. (Wish to hell I had known that beforehand!)
At the time, it really wasn't funny, but now that I look back on it I can't help but break into giggles. It doesn't matter where I am when I'm thinking of it either; I've started snickering over it while I've been standing at my register, taking people's credit card payments. The story's been told quite a few times to my friends at work and it never fails to get laughs. Especially when I tell everyone "Yeah, my friend just went back to sleep like nothing was happening!" (That's the point where I break into a fit of hysterical laughter.)
Hell, I can't stop laughing right now. It kinda hurts to breathe a little. Here's hoping this BotCon won't be so "eventful".
--Weasel, "Never a dull moment, I tell ya."
The following is a true story. I am not making this up in any way, shape or form.
Back in 2008, BotCon was held in the "lovely" city of Cincinnati. (I use the term loosely, trust me. Because everyone knows just how much Ohio sucks. But I digress.) Anyway, the trip to Cincy was bad enough; poor Scamper lost his front windshield thanks to construction in fucking Illinois (I swear to Primus, they are never going to finish that stretch of highway!) and Prime and I weren't really sure we were going to make it to the convention on time. But poor sweet Scamps, injured as he was, got us there.
Prime and I, along with our friend from Cali were staying at a local Ramada and not the convention hotel that year. It wasn't a huge deal for us; we had Scamps so we could drive wherever.
Later on during our stay, I started thinking that maybe we should have driven to a different damn hotel.
You see, the Ramada was across the street from a gas station that had a White Castle. It turned out that the White Castle was a pretty popular local hangout. That really didn't bother me, until one night at around one o'clock in the morning while Prime and I were trying to sleep.
Now this particular night (I believe it might have been Friday) there was an enormous group of people hanging around the White Castle. A lot of people standing around their cars, a few groups standing near the gas station talking and one guy who happened to be riding a motorcycle. We could hear a few people yelling from time to time, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Then all of a sudden, we heard it.
Pop.
Pop. Pop.
I rolled over and looked at Prime. We asked each other if we had heard what the hell we thought we heard. After several seconds, we agreed. It sounded like it might have been a drive-by shooting.
I was freaking out. I have never, in my short and rather sheltered existence, been anywhere near anything like that.
We woke up our friend DA to tell him what the hell was going on. He said we'd be fine and not to worry about it.
He then promptly went back to sleep. No joke.
Me and Prime were more than a little shocked. How the hell could he be so calm about this?! Like I said, my ass has been pretty damned sheltered.
I managed to get to sleep sometime after two in the morning. Nothing else "interesting" happened that night. The incident was also the talk of the convention center; it seems it was the guy on the motorcycle, just showing off. But, according to one 'Con goer, the police had said that drive-bys were pretty common in that area. (Wish to hell I had known that beforehand!)
At the time, it really wasn't funny, but now that I look back on it I can't help but break into giggles. It doesn't matter where I am when I'm thinking of it either; I've started snickering over it while I've been standing at my register, taking people's credit card payments. The story's been told quite a few times to my friends at work and it never fails to get laughs. Especially when I tell everyone "Yeah, my friend just went back to sleep like nothing was happening!" (That's the point where I break into a fit of hysterical laughter.)
Hell, I can't stop laughing right now. It kinda hurts to breathe a little. Here's hoping this BotCon won't be so "eventful".
--Weasel, "Never a dull moment, I tell ya."
Friday, June 11, 2010
Friday Photoblog: "Even More Cuteness" Edition
A Bumblebee sketch that I was so graciously given at BotCon 2008(That's Transformers: Animated 'Bee. There are at least four, soon to be five different versions of the character. And I adore them all, so don't ask me to pick a fave, all right? I'm pathetic, I know.)
I Quit Humanity.
This is why.
Yep, BP don't want y'all to see what's going on down there. But, don't worry; it ain't so bad. (Better have a strong stomach if you click that link. It'll make you sick. Trust me)
Somebody get me the hell off this damned planet. I'm done. I have no faith in the freaking lifeforms that are running the place. I swear to Primus, nothing can fuck things up like a human.
--Weasel, "Somebody get me off Planet Dirt. Now."
Yep, BP don't want y'all to see what's going on down there. But, don't worry; it ain't so bad. (Better have a strong stomach if you click that link. It'll make you sick. Trust me)
Somebody get me the hell off this damned planet. I'm done. I have no faith in the freaking lifeforms that are running the place. I swear to Primus, nothing can fuck things up like a human.
--Weasel, "Somebody get me off Planet Dirt. Now."
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Akirameru*
Yes, it's been a while. No, work hasn't gotten a slagging bit better. In fact, it's gotten a slagload worse.
In the past couple of weeks, we've had a shitload of people get canned. Most of them were cashiers. One that I heard about yesterday worked at the service desk and I have no damned idea why in the hell she'd get termed. That same damned head who loves riding my ass has been riding it still, but not quite as much. But a lot of other people at the front end are having problems with her. I finally found out why: she wants to move up in the company, so she's acting like a total bitch to impress management. I have no idea if Bitch Convoy (that's what I'm calling her from now on) has attracted the attention of the higher ups; I'm praying to Primus that she hasn't. But the real kicker came about a week and a half ago.
One of the good head cashiers got reamed out by management. He was told he needed to make better decisions and be more responsible. This shit was said to him after he stopped a jackass customer from ripping off the goddamn store. Awesome job, idiots. You think he's going to try and bust his ass to help that miserable hellhole now? Of course the fuck not. Primus, I'd love to slam my head into a fucking wall right about now.
Oh, and I'm getting two days off... but not in a row. To say I'm exhausted would be putting it gently.
Oh well. In 12 more days, I'll be on a jet heading to sunny Florida and BotCon. I can hardly wait until I get there. I can see (and hug the living hell out of) my friends again. (Consider that your warning, DA!)
--Weasel, "At least life won't suck while I'm there."
* means: to give up; to abandon; to resign oneself to.
In the past couple of weeks, we've had a shitload of people get canned. Most of them were cashiers. One that I heard about yesterday worked at the service desk and I have no damned idea why in the hell she'd get termed. That same damned head who loves riding my ass has been riding it still, but not quite as much. But a lot of other people at the front end are having problems with her. I finally found out why: she wants to move up in the company, so she's acting like a total bitch to impress management. I have no idea if Bitch Convoy (that's what I'm calling her from now on) has attracted the attention of the higher ups; I'm praying to Primus that she hasn't. But the real kicker came about a week and a half ago.
One of the good head cashiers got reamed out by management. He was told he needed to make better decisions and be more responsible. This shit was said to him after he stopped a jackass customer from ripping off the goddamn store. Awesome job, idiots. You think he's going to try and bust his ass to help that miserable hellhole now? Of course the fuck not. Primus, I'd love to slam my head into a fucking wall right about now.
Oh, and I'm getting two days off... but not in a row. To say I'm exhausted would be putting it gently.
Oh well. In 12 more days, I'll be on a jet heading to sunny Florida and BotCon. I can hardly wait until I get there. I can see (and hug the living hell out of) my friends again. (Consider that your warning, DA!)
--Weasel, "At least life won't suck while I'm there."
* means: to give up; to abandon; to resign oneself to.
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Thanks for the Memories
It is with a heavy heart that I post this: Robert O. Smith, the voice of Soundwave from Transformers: Cybertron, has passed away. To some, he will be the master DJ from Planet X, but to me he will always be known as Genma Saotome from Ranma 1/2.
Ranma was a huge part of my teenage/young adult years. There are a lot of memories attached to that series; it was one of my first hardcore forays into anime. Hearing this news is a bit like hearing I've lost a family member. I never got the chance to tell him how much I enjoyed his voice work and how many fond memories of Ranma I have. I wish I could have at least told him 'thank you'.
Since I didn't have the chance anywhere else, I'll say it here: Thank you, Mr. Smith. For everything. I just wish I could have told you that when it really counted. I'll miss you.
Ranma was a huge part of my teenage/young adult years. There are a lot of memories attached to that series; it was one of my first hardcore forays into anime. Hearing this news is a bit like hearing I've lost a family member. I never got the chance to tell him how much I enjoyed his voice work and how many fond memories of Ranma I have. I wish I could have at least told him 'thank you'.
Since I didn't have the chance anywhere else, I'll say it here: Thank you, Mr. Smith. For everything. I just wish I could have told you that when it really counted. I'll miss you.
Sunday, June 06, 2010
Sunday Photoblog: "I Was REALLY Busy Friday" Edition
An original (they think) Monopoly game set, seen during the tour of Hasbro during BotCon 2007.(Covered this one previously, but it's a more expansive photo, this time. BTW, hopefully I'll be able to tear myself away from my writing to, well, do some writing here on Monday.)
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