Diary of a Denver Comic Con Newb: Day Two
Day 2, Sunday
5:23am Wake in panic, thinking I have overslept. No. This is Sunday. Not a work day. Roll over and attempt to go back to sleep.
5:28am Get up. Brush teeth. Shower.
5:49am Dump giant basket of clean laundry all over bed in attempt to locate Agents of S.Q.U.EEEEEEEEE t-shirt. Cannot go to Comic Con in anything less than 100% geeky t-shirt.
6:02am Breathing treatment. Ramen noodles for breakfast again.
6:47am Consider nap. Read book instead.
7:17am Tear apart hall closet looking for hiking shoes. Find them at bottom of pile of winter boots and large part of husband’s baseball hat collection. Hiking shoes are ugliest shoes I own. But also sturdiest and easiest on lame ankle. Frown. Wish I could wear Wonder Woman shoes instead. Although they will not really go with Marvel-themed t-shirt.
7:28am Spend inordinate amount of time wondering if it is okay to wear Wonder Woman shoes with other, non-DC attire. Other geeks might not approve.
7:34am Doesn’t matter. Wonder Woman shoes are too flat. Feet would literally kill me by 11 o’clock if I wear them. Put them away, feeling sad.
7:45am Wake up son. Allow him five more minutes. Insist that he shower. Am told I am the meanest mom ever. He is kidding. I think.
7:50am Find socks to wear with ugly shoes.
8:00am Begin mad scramble for chargers and phones.
8:17am Pack bag. Check three times for passes. Leave all chargers on kitchen table. Don’t discover this until 3:30pm when phone dies.
8:34am Put on socks and ugly shoes.
8:38am Check bag for passes again. Get in car.
9:00am On train with other nerds. Son greets cute girl in a zombie outfit. Assume he is flirting. Turns out he knows her from school.
9:13am School cute girl’s dad in how panels work and how much autographs and photo ops cost. I am now Comic Con expert.
9:32am Train stops on side track and sits for no reason. Three other trains pass our train. Whine. Son whines. We are not pleasant travelers of public transportation.
9:39am Train moves on. Passengers cheer.
9:48am Enter convention center at media entrance. Crusty guy manning door gives me a hard time for bringing my son in with me.
10:00am Wait until opening time on the dot before trying to take my son onto exhibition hall floor. He is crabby. Tell him he should have eaten breakfast. Hand him twenty bucks and leave him to fend for himself.
10:20am Sit down in room where Music of Star Wars panel is being held. Bump into friends from Geeks Who Drink. Leslie is rocking a red-haired wig and tells us funny stories about people she saw walking through Denver that morning. Think it is weird that these are the first friends I have bumped into even though I could list at least 40 people I know who were coming to the con.
10:35am Panel begins. Panelists are from the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, including our friend Matt Krupa. There are musicians as well. Basically, we learn about how John Williams ripped the entire Star Wars soundtrack off from Gustav Holst, Wagner, and Carmina Burana. Matt ends the panel with trivia questions. Typical.
11:30am Head back up to the exhibition hall to locate son, who is participating in a team problem solving game hosted by the King of the Nerds cast. Find him in middle of Pop Culture Kids Lab. Kids have broken into teams and are building… something. King of the Nerds cast run around helping. Observe son standing to one side taking a more supervisory role on his team. Another parent tells me what the challenge was: to build a simple machine and at least three musical instruments out of the pile of supplies the team was given. Creation must be used to thwart a villain. Any villain. Surprising no one, my son is spokesperson for his team. Notice his team is made up mostly of cute teenaged girls dressed in various Doctor Who costumes. Also not surprising.
12:00pm Wander around exhibition hall. Look at more expensive swords. Buy Funko Pop figures. Look at more swords. I am tired of fake swords.
12:35pm Hungry son is hangry. Refrain from reminding him he should have eaten breakfast. Fear he will stab me with fake sword. Walk up street to Snarfs for yummy sandwiches. Son orders something that’s not on the menu. Snarfs guy doesn’t flinch. Competition for tables becomes cutthroat. Get a booth just as our sandwiches are ready. People in line eyeball us the entire time we’re eating. Hope I am chewing with my mouth closed.
1:10pm Back to convention center. Split up. Son heading for panel on video games. I’m getting in line for Sean Astin panel. I mean, he was Samwise Gamgee and Mikey from The Goonies, for god’s sake. I am not missing Sean Astin.
1:25pm People in waiting room for Main Events are sitting on floor. Consider sitting too. Fear I won’t be able to get back up, as tired as I am. Stand and read book on iPhone kindle app. Regret this later when phone dies. Watch Batgirl try to flirt with Star Lord. Star Lord is oblivious. Watch girls dressed as hobbits attempt to consume nachos without dripping cheese on their cloaks.
2:00pm Finally sitting again. Thank all the gods, old and new.
2:05pm Rudy/Samwise/Mikey takes the stage. Reminds us he was in Encino Man.
2:16pm Rudy/Samwise/Mikey has very polite diva tantrum about bright lights in his face. “I need to be able to see My People”, he says. Lighting guys are not impressed.
2:17pm Rudy/Samwise/Mikey opens panel up to questions. Warns that he spends too long on his answers. He is not lying.
2:19pm Suddenly realize I am in the same room as Sean Astin. Feel momentarily overwhelmed.
3:00pm Head for Women of Nerdom panel with King of the Nerds cast. King of the Nerds cast is everywhere at this con. I’m cool with that. The ladies of King of the Nerds are all about science and engineering and teaching and being super smart. I am looking forward to hearing what they have to say about being women in their chosen careers.
3:10pm Check phone. See series of panicked texts from son saying that his photo op time with Manu Bennett has been moved from 5:45 to RIGHT NOW. Send text back telling him I will head right up there since I have his ticket. Notice phone is down to 10% power. Need to find a charging spot as soon as I get this photo op thing straightened out.
3:17pm Arrive at Celebrity Summit. Never has there been a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than this area. It smells of farts and desperation. Spend last of phone charge calling son to find out where he is. He finds me. He is near tears. Apparently Manu Bennett is leaving the Con early and the photo company moved his photo op time to 3:00. Except by the time we get there, he is done with photos and won’t be returning. He will sign autographs at his table starting at 4, though.
3:30pm Find someone to complain to. She is a volunteer. She doesn’t care. Puts me at front of line waiting for photo ops with Patrick Warburton, the guy who played The Tick, and tells me I am now her “customer service” line. People waiting for Patrick Warburton seem surprised to hear this.
3:35pm Hand son 60 bucks in cash and tell him to go get in Manu Bennett’s table line.
3:40pm Wait.
3:45pm Wait some more. Annoyed and disappointed that I am missing things I wanted to do to deal with this.
3:47pm Some guy wanders into cashier area. Tries to appear clueless. Cuts line of 100 people waiting to pay for photo ops. No outcry. Everyone too exhausted.
3:52pm I cut line of 100 people waiting to pay for photo ops and march up to the lady I was told could help me. She appears surprised to hear that she can help me. I ask for a refund. She asks if my son would like a photo with Patrick Warburton. I ask for a refund. She asks if we would like a photo with the guy who played the Governor on The Walking Dead. I narrow my eyes and ask for a refund. She asks if there is anyone else my son would like to have a photo with. Apparently I am not being clear. “No,” I say. She types into her computer and tells me I should have my refund by Wednesday or Thursday. I ask whom I should call when I do not have my refund by Wednesday or Thursday. “You will,” she says. I repeat my question. She says they are more an “email based company” and that I should email them if I don’t see the refund by then. I ask again for a phone number. She sighs and shows me the phone number in the fine print of my paperwork. “Thank you,” I say, not meaning a word of it. (Note: I am writing this on Saturday. I still don’t have my refund.)
4:15pm Sink into empty sofa in media lounge. Thank all the gods for the media lounge.
4:19pm Should charge my phone. Look in bag for charger. It is not in the pocket it should be in. Look in other pockets. Nothing.
4:22pm Dump contents of bag all over floor near where I sit. No charger. Am super annoyed. Might actually cry.
4:25pm Guy from major media outlet stares at me as though trying to figure out why I am there. Hastily stuff everything back into bag. Try to appear more official. Maybe I am waiting for someone! Someone who is not my son! What does he know?
4:38pm Guy from major media outlet finally leaves. He has all his chargers with him. Asshole.
4:45pm Carolyn shows up to wait for her 5pm interview. Realize we haven’t seen each other all day. She tells me how fun Women of Whedon and Alan Tudyk panels were. I tell her the Manu Bennett photo op saga. I am bummed that I missed all the afternoon stuff I had planned.
4:55pm My son shows up. He is walking on air after talking to Manu Bennett and getting him to autograph his Deathstroke Funko Pop. He is so happy. I am no longer sad.
5:10pm Train home. Fewer Rockies fans. More random weirdos.
To learn more about Denver Comic Con and their partnership with Pop Culture Classroom, check out their websites here: Denver Comic Con Pop Culture Classroom