Public Entry - Dragon*Con, Saturday August 30, 2008
My Dragon*Con started with my trip to the airport at approximately 4:30 AM on Saturday. My flight was not set to arrive until 9:00 AM in Atlanta, so I did not plan on making it to the first Q & A session. I must admit I am not familiar with Atlanta, so I was fearful I would be able to find my why to the convention site. However, I learned quickly how easy it is. I took the train directly from the airport to Peachtree Center, which is only 1 1/2 blocks to the entrance of the Hyatt. After walking about for a bit from the train station, I quickly spotted crowds of folks crossing the streets and realized I was in the right place.
I found my way to the registration hall and picked up my badge and con catalog. Since I'd already pre-registered, this was an extremely smooth process (thanks DCON). It then took me 20-30 minutes trying to orient myself. Some people hate crowds. While I found the amount of people was certainly intimidating, it was a small price to pay for the energy and fun that was everywhere at the con. You get the sense the crowds make absolutely no difference because you are in a place where you know there are people who love the same things as you do.
I eventually found the Atrium Ballroom in the Marriott hotel and saw a huge queue of folks. The first thing I did was walk up to the sign and read the events that were taking place in the room. I now know it's just better to ask the person at the end of the queue what event they are in queue for. The people I met and talked to at the end of the queue were great. At that moment I realized whatever else happened at the con, I would have already had a great time. Meeting and touching base with people who love the same thing you do is the best thing anyone could hope for.
After waiting for about an hour or two (the time went by quite quickly) we headed into the room and took our seats. I was sitting in the second group of seats behind a first group, with a large aisle between us to allow for cross-traffic. The lady who sat beside me was a real sweetheart, from Tennessee, who does not do the online fandom but said she has been a con-goer for eight years. I had a lot of fun talking with her until the guests came in. I cannot tell you how thrilling it is to know there are other folks who enjoy Torchwood and get excited about meeting the cast of the show.
The Q & A session was all I could have asked for and more. It was really amazing. I have been watching many other people's reports and videos for other conventions, and I have to tell you I did not think I would ever have the opportunity to share, or give back, for those people's efforts. Instead of explaining what happened, here are links to videos of the entire Saturday Q & A I've uploaded to YouTube. Please apologize for the shaky video, as I had to zoom in severely and the "shake factor" increases dramatically when you do that. Also...I think there might be a problem with the scenes in the vids. My video conversion program played up on me and I think some stuff might be out of place. Sorry about that.
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six
After the talk, I wandered around a bit trying to get my bearings. I oriented myself to the other hotels, Hilton and Sheraton, so that I would know how to get there for some other great panels. I settled on the Hilton and headed up to the "Walk of Fame" which is quite a surreal experience, to say the least. It is guarded heavily by crazy con fighters, who will hunt you down if you don't show them your convention badge! When you enter, you find yourself in a maze of tables where people queue up and gather for a glimpse of their favorite celebrity. OK, I admit it, I snapped a couple of photos:
Later in the day, when things calmed down considerably (and Gareth's queue was significantly shorter) I decided it was time to defeat my shyness and get an autograph. I stood behind a group of folks I thought were in a queue for Gareth, but seemed to be completely depths of conversation. After standing there for one moment, the lady who was assisting Gareth's autograph session looked directly at me and started to wave me forward. I think there was a moment of confusion for me, and then Gareth peeked around the group in front of me curiously. I was seriously rattled, but dragged myself to the desk not quite sure of what the hell I was doing! The lady asked, "For Gareth David-Lloyd?" and I said, I think, "Yeah!" quite forcefully. There were tons of thoughts running through my mind...should I look at Gareth? I was too shy at that moment, suddenly. I think both the lady and Gareth thought I was quite odd, as she asked, "Which photo?" and I awkwardly snatched one out of the four randomly. And, uh, I don't think I was supposed to do that as she seemed perplexed. Finally, I put my focus on Gareth and that's when I went into total brain-block...I mean, absolutely no coherent thought went through my head other than, Wow, he's quite gorgeous. You idiot, say something, shake his hand, smile, say hello....just do something!
He said, "Hi, what's your name?" All the while I'm standing there staring at him trying to think of my name. Yeah. Once I remembered it, I said it with more force than I thought I should have, and he looked confused and repeated it, and then I repeated it. While he was signing I just stood there staring at him. Like a complete fool. And then, when my time was running out, all I could think of was, You idiot, you didn't properly introduce yourself, you are staring at him far too much, and he seems quite perplexed by this....maybe say some thing nice, smile a bit, try to act socially adept! So, at the end, when he smiled and thanked me - which warmed my heart quite a bit - I did do the right thing and smile and thank him.
And then all I could think was run away, run far, far away!
On hindsight, I should have asked the people in front of me if they were in the queue for Gareth. I apologize to those people I may have cut in front of. I kick myself really hard about that, and the entire encounter. Better luck next time? Or maybe I could stick with the retcon.
The next Torchwood related panel I went to that day was the Gay and Lesbian themes in Doctor Who/Torchwood which was really great. The room was filled to capacity (it was actually a very small room). If anyone is interested in this, I can write up a separate short summary. Just comment here and I can do that for a follow-up post. BTW, this panel did not include any of the actors.
This is all for now. I will post a separate report for my Sunday at the con, perhaps tonight. I do have an audio of the Q & A with Anthony Lewis and Gareth that I am still converting, so watch this space.
ETA: And I've just found out my comment settings were on "Friends Only" so I've switched that off for the moment. I apologize to anyone who might have been trying to comment here.
I found my way to the registration hall and picked up my badge and con catalog. Since I'd already pre-registered, this was an extremely smooth process (thanks DCON). It then took me 20-30 minutes trying to orient myself. Some people hate crowds. While I found the amount of people was certainly intimidating, it was a small price to pay for the energy and fun that was everywhere at the con. You get the sense the crowds make absolutely no difference because you are in a place where you know there are people who love the same things as you do.
I eventually found the Atrium Ballroom in the Marriott hotel and saw a huge queue of folks. The first thing I did was walk up to the sign and read the events that were taking place in the room. I now know it's just better to ask the person at the end of the queue what event they are in queue for. The people I met and talked to at the end of the queue were great. At that moment I realized whatever else happened at the con, I would have already had a great time. Meeting and touching base with people who love the same thing you do is the best thing anyone could hope for.
After waiting for about an hour or two (the time went by quite quickly) we headed into the room and took our seats. I was sitting in the second group of seats behind a first group, with a large aisle between us to allow for cross-traffic. The lady who sat beside me was a real sweetheart, from Tennessee, who does not do the online fandom but said she has been a con-goer for eight years. I had a lot of fun talking with her until the guests came in. I cannot tell you how thrilling it is to know there are other folks who enjoy Torchwood and get excited about meeting the cast of the show.
The Q & A session was all I could have asked for and more. It was really amazing. I have been watching many other people's reports and videos for other conventions, and I have to tell you I did not think I would ever have the opportunity to share, or give back, for those people's efforts. Instead of explaining what happened, here are links to videos of the entire Saturday Q & A I've uploaded to YouTube. Please apologize for the shaky video, as I had to zoom in severely and the "shake factor" increases dramatically when you do that. Also...I think there might be a problem with the scenes in the vids. My video conversion program played up on me and I think some stuff might be out of place. Sorry about that.
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six
After the talk, I wandered around a bit trying to get my bearings. I oriented myself to the other hotels, Hilton and Sheraton, so that I would know how to get there for some other great panels. I settled on the Hilton and headed up to the "Walk of Fame" which is quite a surreal experience, to say the least. It is guarded heavily by crazy con fighters, who will hunt you down if you don't show them your convention badge! When you enter, you find yourself in a maze of tables where people queue up and gather for a glimpse of their favorite celebrity. OK, I admit it, I snapped a couple of photos:
Later in the day, when things calmed down considerably (and Gareth's queue was significantly shorter) I decided it was time to defeat my shyness and get an autograph. I stood behind a group of folks I thought were in a queue for Gareth, but seemed to be completely depths of conversation. After standing there for one moment, the lady who was assisting Gareth's autograph session looked directly at me and started to wave me forward. I think there was a moment of confusion for me, and then Gareth peeked around the group in front of me curiously. I was seriously rattled, but dragged myself to the desk not quite sure of what the hell I was doing! The lady asked, "For Gareth David-Lloyd?" and I said, I think, "Yeah!" quite forcefully. There were tons of thoughts running through my mind...should I look at Gareth? I was too shy at that moment, suddenly. I think both the lady and Gareth thought I was quite odd, as she asked, "Which photo?" and I awkwardly snatched one out of the four randomly. And, uh, I don't think I was supposed to do that as she seemed perplexed. Finally, I put my focus on Gareth and that's when I went into total brain-block...I mean, absolutely no coherent thought went through my head other than, Wow, he's quite gorgeous. You idiot, say something, shake his hand, smile, say hello....just do something!
He said, "Hi, what's your name?" All the while I'm standing there staring at him trying to think of my name. Yeah. Once I remembered it, I said it with more force than I thought I should have, and he looked confused and repeated it, and then I repeated it. While he was signing I just stood there staring at him. Like a complete fool. And then, when my time was running out, all I could think of was, You idiot, you didn't properly introduce yourself, you are staring at him far too much, and he seems quite perplexed by this....maybe say some thing nice, smile a bit, try to act socially adept! So, at the end, when he smiled and thanked me - which warmed my heart quite a bit - I did do the right thing and smile and thank him.
And then all I could think was run away, run far, far away!
On hindsight, I should have asked the people in front of me if they were in the queue for Gareth. I apologize to those people I may have cut in front of. I kick myself really hard about that, and the entire encounter. Better luck next time? Or maybe I could stick with the retcon.
The next Torchwood related panel I went to that day was the Gay and Lesbian themes in Doctor Who/Torchwood which was really great. The room was filled to capacity (it was actually a very small room). If anyone is interested in this, I can write up a separate short summary. Just comment here and I can do that for a follow-up post. BTW, this panel did not include any of the actors.
This is all for now. I will post a separate report for my Sunday at the con, perhaps tonight. I do have an audio of the Q & A with Anthony Lewis and Gareth that I am still converting, so watch this space.
ETA: And I've just found out my comment settings were on "Friends Only" so I've switched that off for the moment. I apologize to anyone who might have been trying to comment here.