Tuesday August 18th

Driving Route

We set out using the route TomTom gave us and it was a taxing ride. After cutting over to the 40 in Amarillo there was non-stop crazy rain until about the border of New Mexico. My 3 wiper settings went from sprinkle to crazy to shut your eyes because you’ll see about as well. Incredibly, I navigated through that mess.

Splitting up the drive among 3 people meant it wasn’t really as bad as it could have been, but there was a fatal flaw. I ate breakfast on Tuesday around lunchtime and that was it. Approaching something like 5am CST when we’re about 50 miles outside of Kingman, Arizona I was really feeling the fatigue. Not only that but it was super cold in the car. One thing about my car is it’s either freezing, or uncomfortably muggy. So I decided on an empty stomach and feeling very tired I’d turn on the heater just a tad. Plus I thought it might be more comfortable for everyone else in the car.

Then, hitting me like a ton of bricks, I had to pull over. Ashley asks if I’m ok, and I say that I just need some fresh air. The instant cold air rushes over me, I throw up. Fortunately all outside. She asks if I’m throwing up, and I say yes at which point she wisely realizes it’s time to trade drivers. At this point I need food, but since I just threw up for the first time in like 5 years, I have zero appetite for anything. So my leg of driving is over forever, which makes me quite nervous as we enter the megalopolis that is Los Angeles.

Wednesday August 19th

My concerns however were unfounded as we arrived safe and sound at the Hilton right beside the convention center. We had a nice sized room with a fantastic view (asides from the disgusting smog). It had two queen sized beds and we shared a room with one of my guild mates. The siblings shared a bed and I alternated between the bed and floor which we setup with an inflatable mattress and sleeping bag. The only complaint is the bathroom had no fan and no locking door. It was just a sliding door. Oh and I guess they totally screw you on Internet fees by charging you per device. However I bamboozled them and wired my laptop in and then setup an ad-hoc wireless network to share between the other laptops.

We met up with my good buddy (whose wedding I went to 4 weeks ago) and shipped out to the Elephant Bar for dinner. I had the most tender lamb shank I’ve ever seen. If I had picked it up it would have fallen apart off the bone. Then we went out for some yogurt afterwards and called it a day.

Thursday August 20th

Thursday morning the maids came knocking at a nice and bright 8:30AM which served as a wakeup call. It’s decided that we’re going to eat at the IHOP across the street but after seeing the 20 dollar bill for an omlette I decided I’m never going there again. Maybe if it was the world’s largest mass of eggs I’d have felt justified, but it was about the size of something I’d get for like 5 bucks in my hometown.

For the most part, this day was mostly dead except for picking up tickets which was much more streamlined than in years past. Previously the convention center foyer area was split up by last names (such as AA-AS etc.) and you had to be verified on a printed list, but now it was setup by barcoded emails so you just went down with the barcode, had it scanned and picked up your stuff. Though the line was long, it was mostly in constant motion.

Afterwards we shipped out to dinner at Buca di Beppo with a good lot of guild members and their friends. We crammed in and shared a huge family style dinner with a Pope lavished lazy susan. Amazingly the bill was correctly paid for. We also convinced the waiter that it was our friend’s birthday and we got him a cake and sang to him, only about 4 months late.

We shipped back out to the hotel and in the bar we spotted Felicia Day and the rest of The Guild milling about. She was mobbed and in constant conversation. We approached and tried to weasel in a picture but I couldn’t manage to be that guy that interrupts her just for a picture moment, though there were many others who did successfully. We saw the guy who plays Zaboo walking around and he was usually alone. We joked that even in real life he’s the outcast as we watch him throwing away a ton of trash like the slave of the crew. I spoke to their manager and he said not to sweat it and that they’ll all be at the booth at 10:30, so we mingled a bit and then called it a night