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August 21, 2005
Post-convention depression
A week has past and I am finally finishing up my Vegas weekend recap. I have been suffering from post-convention depression all week.
Saturday morning Brandi and I started our day off with breakfast at the Buffet. Although it was $17, the food was really good. I even had a but of prime rib because I figured if I paid so much for breakfast I would make it worth it.
After breakfast we parted ways and Brandi headed to Terrible’s Casino up the street to play some bingo and I headed to the convention.
The first guest I caught was Conner Trinneer who was a last minute replacement for Jolene Blalock. He was cute and entertaining, but I was antsy because next up was the guest I had been waiting to see ever since he had to cancel last year.
At the end of Conner Trinneer’s time Robert Duncan McNeill came out on stage to say hello to him. They knew each other because Robbie had directed a few episodes of Enterprise.
Robert Duncan McNeill was absolutely adorable, as I had expected him to be. He talked about all the directing gigs he has lined up – that man is staying busy. He also mentioned that Ronald D. Moore had contacted him about working Battlestar Galactica, which if you know me, you know that that is my favorite show on TV. Unfortunately he was already booked up, but he said that he was going to work something out because he ‘LOVES that show!’ He said that every aspect of the show, the writing, directing the characters, everything, is just incredible. He pretty much said everything I have been saying about the show to anyone who would listen. You might recall my previous post.
A fan asked him about the CD he did and how he choose the songs. Apparently it’s a wide variety of styles. He said that he just loves anything from show tunes to alternative rock. The girl then asked if he would sing something for us. Since he “has no shame,” he did an excerpt from the Steven Sondheim musical “Into the Woods.” In 1988-89 he played the lead role of Jack in the touring company. He has a wonderful voice and it was so cool that he sang for us.
After he spoke it was time for me to stand in the autograph line. The line moved fairly quickly and soon it was at the table.
I was so proud of myself that I successfully had an intelligent conversation with him while getting the autograph. First I told him that him and Wil Wheaton were at the top of my list. He smiled sweetly and thanked me. Then I let him know that I hope he gets to be a part of Battlestar Galactica because it is the best show on TV and that everything he said on stage about the show I have been telling my friends over and over. I think I also told him that he rocked and thanked him for being there. It's all kind of a blur now.
Because Jonathan Frakes cancelled at the last minute, I was stuck with an autograph ticket. In order to get your money back you needed to mail it into Creation after the convention. The other option was to trade it in for another autograph ticket. I decided to trade mine in for a photo op with Robert Duncan McNeill because he was even more adorable than I had hoped, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
When it was my turn he recognized me from the autograph line. He smiled, shook my hand and asked me my name. I replied and sat down in the chair next to him. Our attention turned to the photographer and Robbie proclaimed “Oh! I have to get closer.” He leaned over the arm rest that was separating us, our heads almost touching. I was sure I has a huge goofy grin on my face when they took the picture.
Before I left I mentioned that I thought I was one of the few who liked both show tune and alternative rock. “Just throw in some punk rock and that’s a huge chuck of my music.” He said that he liked the old school punk like The Clash. Rawk \m/
I was floating on air the rest of the evening.
Next I went on Star Trek The Experience with my friends from my mailing list. It was their first time on the ride and I just loved watching their reaction. After that we grabbed some food at Quark’s and then Brandi and I headed to the bar to check and see if our friend the cute bartender was working yet.
We hadn’t really planned on staying long, just a quick hello and then off to the room to freshen up, but David and Alicia were there. We got to chatting and ended up ordering a Warp Core Breach.
At about 9:30 we decided to ride the ride once more before it closed, so we sucked down the last of the giant drink. Let me tell you, riding that ride after a drink like that is an interesting experience.
The rest of the night was filled with a lot of drinking and another drunken conversation with Dean Haglund. I also vaguely remember giving him a drunken hug good-bye when he left for the night.
The party once again was moved up to the Galaxy bar after Quark’s closed. When I decided it was time to call it a night Brandi was nowhere to be found. I didn’t have any pockets so she had the only key to the room as well as my ID. I figured she had gone up to the room and passed out. I tried knocking on the door, but no one answered.
In my inebriated state I thought that maybe she was somewhere in the casino. While I was looking for her I was ‘hit on’ by this creepy guy. Apparently I am a nice drunk because I couldn’t bring myself to tell this guy to fuck off. I finally got away from him and went to the front desk. They called security and had them meet me at the room. They let me in, and I showed them my ID.
Brandi was indeed safely passed out on her bed.
The next morning Brandi was seriously dehydrated and not feeling too hot and there was a bit of unnecessary drama that surrounded that.
I watched Brent Spiner and Patrick Stewart speak that day and caught the costume competition. At the end of the convention I also caught the last part of Robert Beltran’s talk.
I met my shuttle to the airport at 7:45pm, was delayed at the airport until midnight and didn’t get home until almost 2am.
The whole weekend was absolutely wonderful. By far the best convention I have been to so far. I can’t believe I have to wait an entire year for the next Vegas Con.
Now I have two more excuses to drive out to LA as often as possible. Hopefully I will be able to move out there next year.
Posted by amanda at 03:33 AM | Comments (2)
August 18, 2005
A Ferengi, a Borg and a transvestite walk into a bar…
The plan for Friday night was to hang out at Quark’s Bar and have some drinks. At about 11pm Brandi and I headed down there only to find that the private party was still in full swing.
We decided to kill some time and hit the nickel poker machines to get a free drink. After one Jack and diet and $3 in my favor on video poker Brandi and her sixth sense decided it would be a good time to check out Quark’s again. We took our second drinks with us and found that the ropes were gone and there was no longer anyone guarding the entrance.
Making our way down to the bar we noticed that the festivities were just wrapping up. There was still some food sitting out on the tables and some people were still milling about.
We spotted our friend Brandon the cute bartender serving up drinks. He informed us that it was coming close to last call at this bar, but that the party will be moving up to the Galaxy Bar up in the casino. He asked us what we were drinking and hooked us up with our next round.
As we were chatting at the bar one of the guys that had been standing behind me approached us with a drink in his hand.
“Eugene Roddenberry ordered this drink and then just walked away. My girlfriend won’t try it, so I thought I would ask if you ladies would like some.” He held up the plastic cup and the dark liquid swirled, leaving behind a think film. From the looks of it I guess it contained Jaggermeister.
Brandi and I exchanged a look and shrugged. Taking the offered glass we each took a tentative sip. It was good and I was right, Jaggermeister and some coconut rum.
The guy finally introduced himself. Turns out he’s the owner of LA Weekly and a good friend of Eugene Roddenberry.
It was about that time that my new friends David and Alicia showed up. We were chatting for a bit when a I noticed a slight commotion behind me. I turned to see Garret Wang walking up to our little group.
Apparently David and Alicia had chatted with him at the end of the Happy Hour party so he stopped by to say hello.
I was pretty relaxed after two drinks so I actually had the courage to tell him that he was awesome and that after this weekend he was so on my list.
Unfortunately he had to ask what list I was talking about. I am sure I was bright red when I replied that it was my list of the hottest guys in Star Trek.
After a short conversation Garrett left and it was announced that the party had to be moved to the bar up stairs.
The four of us made our way to the Galaxy Bar (or whatever its called), where a pretty sizable crowd was already forming. I noticed that one bar stool was occupied by none other than Dean Haglund who played Langley on The X-Files. I was amused and delighted to see one of the guests of the convention hanging with us mere mortals. He was also a bit on the happy side
I wanted to say something to him, because seriously, how many more opportunities like this one would I have in my lifetime. I couldn’t figure out anything intelligent or amusing to say beyond the usual obnoxious fangirl “You’re so cool!”
After finishing my drink it hit me and I worked up the nerve to go up and talk to him.
Finally I saw an opening. “Hi, I just have one questions that I have to ask.” I took a deep breath and dove in. “Did Chirs Carter really have a plan or was he just pulling things out of his ass as he went along? Because it sure seems like he was pulling it out of his ass most of the time.”
He laughed and leaned forward slightly, placing his hand on mine. “I will tell you. There was a plan, but then Gillian got pregnant.” I nodded in understanding and he continued. “So the plan had to be changed to work around it. That plan was for five years.” He paused, maybe checking his math. “That took it up to the movie. But then Fox wanted three more years…” He waived his hand dismissively letting the end just hang and changed the subject.
"Did you know that Piper is like 15 now!" (Piper is Gillian's daughter).
I did the math in my head as quickly as the alcohol would allow and figured she was closer to 11 or so, but Dean was already back talking to his friend about Gillian or something. I don't really remember.
Gary Graham from Alien Nation was there too and he almost spilled his drink on me, but luckily my reflexes were still decent and he ended up just spilling it all down his own back.
After a while most of the crowed dispersed and eventually Brandi and I made our way back up to the room to crash.
Man that night was bizarre. I still can’t believe that it actually happened.
Oh and a Ferengi a Borg and a transvestite really were all in the bar that night.
Posted by amanda at 10:54 AM | Comments (2)
August 16, 2005
Don’t touch what you can’t pay for…
This past weekend was absolutely crazy fun. I don’t know how else to describe it, and hopefully I will be able to recall some of it.
I arrived at the Las Vegas Hilton with just barely enough time to check in, dump my stuff in the room, freshen up and make the 1pm meeting that I had set up with my list buddies. Unfortunately, since there was another convention that was still running, the Trek convention wasn’t set up the same so the place I had chosen to meet didn’t exist. Luckily we had all exchanged cell phone numbers and found each other near the registration table.
I really don’t remember too much about Thursday because I had been up all night at work and ended up in the deliriously giddy tired stage by the evening and crashed at about 8pm. This turned out to be a good thing because I was rested and refreshed for the rest of the weekend.
Friday began with breakfast at the café and then it was time to watch the first speaker on my list, Garrett Wang who played Harry Kim on Voyager. Sporting long hair, he said that he grew it out because he had to get a hair cut every week for seven years, so he needed a break. He was so adorable and personable, entertaining the crowed with his impressions of George Tekai and Kate Mulgrew. I wasn’t a huge fan of Harry Kim or Garrett Wang before, but I definitely am now.
After some lunch and some shopping I caught the end of Kate Mulgrew’s talk. She was classy as always and looked fabulous.
Michael Dorn was running a bit late with his photo ops, so Marina Sirtis took the stage without him and “ragged on Dornie” for a bit. She told us that when he came out someone had to make a comment about all the weight he’s lost and stroke his ego a bit. When he did come out on stage it was obvious that he really had “lost half a Dorn” as Marina claimed.
Marina reluctantly set up a joke for Dorn. Rolling her eyes she said, “don’t touch what you can’t pay for.”
“I think I have a dollar here somewhere.” The audience roared with laughter, and he waited for them to quiet before he dug the hook in deeper. “Do you have any change?”
Their talk continued on that playful, teasing path and was really fun to watch.
Right after they got off stage it was time for the Happy Hour party down by the pool. I actually just ended up drinking only water and took one bite of the appetizers that were sitting out in the hot sun.
Marina Sirtis and Garrett Wang were the guests of honor at the party. They worked the crowed, taking pictures with everyone that wanted one.
Garrett is awesome. So absolutely adorable and approachable. Great guy.
Marina looked awesome, even though we were all melting out in that hot sun.
It was at this party that I met two of the coolest people ever. Brandi and I ended up hanging out with David and Alicia a good chunk of the weekend.
Pretty much the only other things that happened Friday happened at Quark’s bar that night. And that night deserves its own individual story. Seriously.
TBC
Posted by amanda at 12:04 PM | Comments (0)
August 08, 2005
Pinch Me
Yesterday was a long and exhausting day.
I got off of the graveyard shift just after 8am and headed straight to The Pointe South Moutain resort for the Arizona State Championship Feis. I wasn't scheduled to dance until about 12:30pm, but I didn't really wan to head in the opposite direction home, and I wanted to get a good parking spot and a place to stash all my stuff.
The competition started a little late and just got more and more delayed as the morning went by. I was smart enough this time to make sure that I ate some at least an hour before I was scheduled to dance, which actually turned out to be more than two hours before I did dance.
I am not sure what time I was when my competitions finally started, but I am sure it was pushing 2pm.
The Feis was in one giant room - a tent actually - with three stages along one long wall (A,B, and C) and another stage along the opposite wall for the championship competitions(D). Stages A, B and C had one musician and stage D had one musician. This was a horrible setup. The sound system and accoustics were crap. Not only could I barely hear my music, but I could also hear the music coming from stage D. Not fun.
After a very long afternoon I walked away with a 4th in my Light Jig, a 2nd in my Traditional Set, a 1st in my Slip Jig and a 1st in my Treble Jig. Those last two dances are now up into Prizewinner, which means that I only have to win my Reel competition and I am a preliminary championship dancer! I can't believe it. I have waited over 4 years to move up those dances. The last one to move up was my hornpipe almost a year and a half ago.
I ended up only getting about 4 hours of sleep before heading back into work, but it was a good day.
Posted by amanda at 12:55 AM | Comments (2)
August 05, 2005
Which Cylon are you?
I have been perusing the BSG message board over at SciFi.com and came accross this ammusing little quiz.
What Cylon Model are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
This show keeps getting better and better. Every week is more incredible than they last, even when I didn't think it could get any better.
If you have not checked out Battlestar Galactica, I seriously recommend that you do.
Posted by amanda at 08:45 PM | Comments (1)
August 02, 2005
Drug Haze Lifting
I actually have a good excuse for not posting in a while. First i was out of town, visiting my family. When I got back I came down with a knock-me-on-my-ass flu thing and really didn't even want to get out of bed for about three days. I did anyway and went to work for a shift and a half and a meeting because I am such a good employee with no sick time that likes to spread the disease to my fellow workers.
I do have a tale to tell. I had the weekend from hell as far as cell phones are concerned.
I was in Minnesota visiting the family and the family's boat. Friday we were out on Lake Minnetonka having some good times. While on the boat, I tend to keep my cell phone in a cubby or cup holder, but since I was expecting a call from Tammy I decided that it would be a good idea to keep it close, so I put it in the top of my swimsuit. It's a small clamshell phone so it fit nicely and didn't bug me. In fact, I hardly knew it was there, which is why I promptly went swimming with it.
After about 20 minutes in the water I climbed back up on the swim deck of the boat. As I leaned over to pick up a towel I felt something in the top of my swimsuit and realised what I had done. Not cool. It was completely filled with water.
My cell phone was the only way for my friend Tammy to contact me. She was supposed to be meeting us later in the day to get our drink on and cruise around the lake.
Luckily my sister also uses T-Mobile so we took my sim card and put it in her phone. Unfortunately all my contacts were saved to the phone and not the sim card, so the only thing I could think to do was change the greeting on my voicemail. I simply said that my phone was out of commission and to call my sister's phone if you needed to talk to me.
One good thing came out of all this. I had been eyeing a sweet new phone for a while now, the Motorola A630 but couldn't justify buying it when my current phone worked just fine.
I made a quick trip to the Mall of America to pick up a sweet new phone at the T-Mobile store. And all was good again.
Until I was standing in the security line at the airport.
I dropped my precious new phone. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal. I've dropped my phones more times than I can count. This time, however, I must have hit it just right. The freaking LCD screen cracked. Though I could still make calls, all the other sweet features of the phone were unuseable since the screen on the inside was completely white. There was no other sign of physical damage. No scratches or anything as a result of dropping it. Needless to say, I was pissed. I had barely had the phone for 6 hours and it was already toast.
There is a happy ending to all this though. The guy at the T-Mobile store at Metro Center was really cool and replaced the phone. I didn't mention that I had dropped it since, besides the cracked LCD, you couldn't tell.
The only thing that really sucks is that I lost all the cute pictures I had taken with the camera. I had an awesome one of my new niece with a huge toothless grin. Oh well, at least I didn't have to shell out more money.
Posted by amanda at 07:28 AM | Comments (0)