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March 29, 2005
Road trippin part deux
Here is the second installment of my b-day roadtrip story.
Saturday began with breakfast at a great diner with Brandi and Travis. The subject of our Monopoly game came up and we all decided that this world needs a Socialists game as well, to balance things out. No one would own any property ever and when any palyer lands on any spot they will pay all the other palyers and themselves an equal amount of money. Then things just got crazy as we made up more rules of this exciting board game.
After breakfast we ended up at Starbucks once again. I can't seem to get away from that place. After some chai and more ammusing conversation we headed next door to the drug store so that I could buy some expectorant. We somehow ended up with a bunch of candy too.
The convention was considerably more crowded on Saturday. We sat and listened to William Shatner who was his typical self, though a bit funnier than when I had seen him in the past. The rest of the day is pretty much a blur. I was really doped up on cold medicine.
Brandi and I were wandering around, looking at the wares that were being peddled when we came across a treasure. It was the picture on the box that first caught our attention. At first glance it looked like a young Ensign Crusher, but upon closer inspection it was just some other poser in a Starfleet uniform that had a similar haircut and much cheesier smile. The dork was prodly holding up a blue plastic shuttle pod and the package exclaimed "It's a disk holder!" in bold print. I thought it was pretty cool, but what the hell am I going to do with a 3.5 Floppy disk holder? I admired the box further, reading more about the product and on the back it elaborated further on its many merits. It not only holds 35 floppy disks, but also 10 CD ROMs if you so choose. I was sold. A treasure for only five bucks.
At the convention I also picked up two books for a dollar a piece, Tom Paris and B'Elanna Torres action figures, a Trek Fish, a poster to replace the one that was ruined two years ago (the third copy of that poster) and a sheet of stickers for a dollar.
After the con Brandi and I decided to once again take it easy and ordered some pizza and salad and watched some movies on cable. We also continued our game of Monopoly which took a vicious turn that night. Brandi finally realised that you had to spend money to make money, so we both bought up a bunch of space ships (houses) and space stations (hotels), and the money started flowing.
The next morning we woke up early (well, early enough) to meet Travis for breakfast again. We went to this great place called Vivian's, which is famous for their banana pancakes. Well, of course I had to try them, and not just because they are the character Belanna's favorite comfort food. They were freaking awesome. Wow. I thought that maybe the banana flavor might be too strong, but it was subtle and perfect. travis also ordered a blueberry muffin which came sliced into three pieces, buttered and grilled. Interesting way to serve a muffin, but it was also really freaking good.
Sunday morning/early afternoon was spent shopping somewhere in Hollywood.
I ended up heading out of town by about 2:30pm. The drive back was uneventful.
And that is the end of my tale.
Posted by amanda at 12:28 PM | Comments (2)
March 27, 2005
For my one reader...
Below are the details of my b-day road trip, as best as I can remember them. I was on cold medicine the entire weekend.
The drive out to LA was characteristically uneventful. I had decided to leave a bit later than usual so the first part of the drive was directly into the setting sun without the aid of sunglasses. Most of the trip was spent singing loudly to my iPod to keep myself awake. Considering that I had gotten no sleep the night before, the effort was also aided by a large bottle of mocha frappuccino.
I got into town at just about 10pm, which was the time my friend Brandi was supposed to be home from school. I dropped my stuff off at her pad and we went out for some late night Mexican food at a place up the street. Because of the late hour, the restaurant was empty except for an older couple and a loud group of thirty-somethings in the corner. After the late dinner we headed back to Brandi's place, I took a NyQuil and we watched Mothra III while I waited for the cold medication to kick in.
Friday Brandi had to work so I was left to my own devices. Since I had driven all the way out there to go to the Sci Fi convention (as well as see my good friend Brandi) I decided to make the trek out to the Pasadena Convention Center for day one of Creation's Grand Slam Sci Fi Summit. I arrived slightly early, but there were already people wait patiently outside for the doors to open. I turned the corner and head towards the parking garage. After paying my $7 I was instructed to take a right and head down a level. I followed the line of cars as instructed until we were stopped outside of the underground entrance to the hotel. We were told that there were no parking spots left, but that the graduation that was taking place at the convention center would be over shortly so we could leave our cars here until then, moving them when a spot was available. I pulled my car over and started the trek out of the parking ramp. Just as I made it to the from of the building, the afore mentioned graduation let out. It turns out it was a police academy graduation. I figured that there would be lots of mingling and milling about and no one was leaving anytime soon. I waded through the crowd and headed towards the box office to purchase my ticket. After killing some time at the mall across the street I noticed that the crowed looked like it had thinned a bit so I decided to go back to my car and hopefully find a parking spot for it. As luck would have it, I passed an empty one right next to the stairs. Rock start parking.
The convention was a lot smaller this year than last year. Everything was condensed into one room instead of two (the dealers room to the left and the big hall for the speakers to the right). This was a bit disappointing. Like Fridays of all the conventions I have been to, the attendance was scarce at best. I listened to Gates McFadden speak, perused the wares and said hello to Wil. Actually when I went up to Wil's table he was just finishing up a conversation with another guy.
"Hi!" He greeted me. "How's it going?"
"It's going good."
"Hey, have you met Eugene?" Wil asked, indicating the guy standing next to him.
"Uh... no, I haven't" Eloquent as usual.
Wil smiled again and made the introductions. "Eugene, this is Amanda. Amanda, this is Eugene Roddenberry."
Eugene Roddenberry smiled and offered his hand. Stunned and flabbergasted, I still managed to take the proffered hand. "Great to meet you." He smiled warmly. He was really cute.
I smiled back. "Yeah. Great to meet you too."
Holy shit. I was just introduced to Gene Roddenberry's son. This is the only coherent thought I remember having. Damn. Did I mention that he was cute?
I chatted with Wil for a bit and proudly showed off my new lappy. When he say the pristine white shell of my iBook he reached down beside him and grabbed his bag (NOT A MANPURSE!). He riffled through it for a second before pulling out a small white rectangle and handing it to me. It was none other than an ultra cool WWdN posse sticker.
"I only have a couple of these left." He said.
"Wow! Too cool. Thanks." I said as I took the ultra cool sticker. "I will have to put this on my lappy right away." I peeled off the back, deciding on the best place to put it.
"It's hard to decide if you want it displayed while the iBook is opened or closed." He commented.
"I think opened would be cool"
"Yeah, I had mine there," he said indicating the lower left corner from his perspective. "Unfortunately, my iBook took a dump and had to be sent in for service. I lost all of my cool stickers. I had an Arrogant Bastard Ale one."
"Dude, that sucks."
"Yeah." Another fan came up to his table and he turned to give his full attention to them.
I carefully aligned the sticker in the chosen lower left corner, and when I was satisfied, pressed it down firmly, devirginizing my pristine white laptop. I admired the new look. It was pretty bitchin. I showed it to Wil before slipping it back into its protective sleeve and into my bag. I waved good-bye and wandered off.
After that, the convention on Friday was pretty much anti-climactic. I listened to a few more speakers and played some free Internet poker before deciding to brave traffic and head back to North Hollywood.
That evening Brandi and I had dinner at this cute restaurant whose name escapes me at the moment. I had some sort of pasta dish that was quite good. When we got back to her place we played a few rousing rounds of Star Trek Uno and then busted out the Star Trek Monopoly game. Midway through the game her boyfriend Travis called asking if we were up to going out for some coffee. The exciting game was put on hold while we made a run to Starbucks.
The coffee was good, typically Starbucks, and the conversation was rather amusing. Travis and Brandi are really funny and Travis is a great story teller. What happened next might astound you.
Apparently throwing a cup away is a skill I take for granted, one that some have yet been unable to master. When we had reached the bottom of our coffee cups and all the chocolate cake and caramel and chocolate covered pretzels were eaten we decided to take our leave of the lovely establishment that is Starbucks. Brandi went to the counter to return a pen we had borrowed while Travis and I went to dispose of our coffee cups. Strangely, there was a line for the trash can, not something you usually encounter. The hold up was this woman who was apparently perplexed by the workings of said trash can.
She stood there, confused, three cups in her arms. One by one she held each of them up, giving them a shake, muttering to herself and looking down at the small trash bin situated next to the exit. This continued for entire too long as Travis and I exchanged confused looks behind her. Finally, apparently discovering the secret workings of a trash can, she threw the cups inside and joined her group of friends that were waiting patiently for her outside. Maybe this was a frequent scene for them. You would think that they would assign the coffee cup disposal to another in their group who was more familiar with the mystery contained within a trash can.
The only good thing that came out of this painful incident was the many laughs that ensued during the retelling of the tale to Brandi, who was busy with the counter staff the entire time.
The rest of the evening consisted of more NyQuil and bedtime.
Since this tale is out-of-control long, I will continue with Day Two at another time.
Disclaimer: None of the conversations in this tale should be considered quoted verbatem. My memory is not that good. They are simply approximate recollections.
Posted by amanda at 03:28 AM | Comments (2)
March 20, 2005
The same old boring shit
I started this blog as a way to get me to write. I had never considered myself a prolific writer and was looking to improve my skills. I know I don't suck, but I also have absolutely no delusions of grandeur either.
Unfortunately I feel like this whole thing has turned out to be one big huge steaming pile of poo.
I am basically keeping a boring record of the boring things that happen in my life. The anecdotes aren't even well told and no one ever visits this place as far as I can tell.
Yet I keep on posting.
Sad, isn't it.
My life is just so udderly mundane that even I don't want to read about it anymore.
Posted by amanda at 09:28 AM | Comments (1)
March 09, 2005
Birthday Road Trip
Tomorrow I will be leaving for yet another raod trip to California. Why, you ask. Because it's my birthday weekend and I want to go. So there.
There also just happens to be a big Sci Fi Convention in Pasadena this weekend that I might go to... OK, that I will definitly go to.
Also, Wil's episode of CSI will be airing on CBS tomorrow night. I am excited. And I get to actually talk to him in person that next day.
My dad is also in town for a visit. Not to visit me, since I am going out of town tomorrow, but to visit all the baseball teams here for Spring Training.
When I was at work this morning I could feel myself starting to get sick. There is a horrendous cold that has been going through the office that has been leaving people sicks for two or three weeks. I refuse to be sick. I stop at the drug store after work and picked up the economy pack of NyQuil and DayQuil. I took a NyQuil before going to sleep and when I woke for class I was already feeling better. Hopefully I have caught it in time.
*fingers crossed*
Posted by amanda at 08:43 PM | Comments (0)