One of the toughest parts of Comic Con was everything that I saw reminded of Tom - from the Hasbro booth to the Gin Ichimaru cosplayers. I had to pick up a Nemesis Prime (aka Evil Stan / Evil Isao). It was trickier to purchase Hasbro toys this year. Basically, if you wanted to shop at the Hasbro booth, you had to go upstairs to the pavillion to pick up a ticket to stand in line. I waited in line to get the ticket. It was already close to the time I could get in line. It took me 45 minutes to pick up a Nemesis Prime. I finally met up with the rest of Traveling Valentine at the exit of the dealer's room. I met Stan's San Diego buddy, Ramseys. Stan had to get into the hotel room to change into his Killer 7 costume. Ergo, he needed a hotel room key. We called Kat and Diana to finally meet up. They were waiting in the Avatar panel's line. Deb and I went over to Kat and Dai after fighting security. Unfortunately, Kat refused to give Stan the room key because she wanted to hold onto it until after the Avatar panel. Deb and I were also told that the Avatar panel was no longer accepting people waiting in line. So, we tried out luck for the Mystery Science Theater 3000 panel. They were also no longer letting people wait in line. Deb and I were really frustrated because those were the two panels we really would have liked to do on Friday. Deb and I started singing "Totally Fucked" from Spring Awakening because that's how we felt. We told Stan the news about the room key and all the lines being cut off. Stan and Ramsey's wanted to hit the Kevin Smith panel. Honestly, I don't see what the hype is about Kevin Smith. I took his panel as an oppurtunity to nap and reaffirm why I think this guy is overrated. Sure, there were a few laughs, but in summary the Q and A for Kevin Smith consisterd of his fanboys sucking up to him. One stereotypical fanboy after the other. I couldn't believe it. Originally, Nando wanted to invite us to dinner, but he cancelled plans. My friend, Freya, text messaged me that were were open seats in the Avatar panel, but Stan suggested we stick together as a group. Believe me, I would have done the Avatar panel over Kevin Smith. To end Friday, Stan, Deb, and I went to Dussini's, the Italian restaurant that Tom and I went to last year. It's become a Traveling Valentine tradition. Yet, before we could cross the street, we were greeted by the infamous biker gang from San Francisco, Critical Mass. Basically, they're a group of hippies that have serious vendetta against motorists. As Tom puts it, "Hippie version of Hells Angels. THIS is the one time and place I want a suicide bomber to strike." Stan wondered if Dussini's catered to Puffy Daddy. It had that ritzy, glamorous life feel to it. Remember, when you're with Traveling Valentine, you get the all star treatment. It felt somewhat awkard since we were the only cosplayers there. Yet, Stan, Deb, and I can agree that the food was delicious. Immediately after dinner, Stan, Deb, and I took the light rail back to the hotel. I called Diana and Kat to let them know we were on our way. It took us an hour to get back to the hotel due to waiting for the red line. My feet were killing me, I really needed to lie down. I kept leaving messages on Diana and Kat's cell phones. Two hours already passed. Deb and I went to the front desk to ask for the room information so maybe we could get a key. Yet, they refused us a key since we didn't know Diana's exact home address. I laid down on Deb's lap to take a nap. I thought I halluncinated and saw Shia LeBeouf standing right in front of us, but it turned out to be Justin's younger sibling, Jeremy who had dropped him off. We told Justin the situation with the hotel. Finally, at 11PM, we were able to reach Kat. They were already in the hotel room. As soon as we got in, we finally called it a night because Saturday was going to be one hell of a day. Pictures are copyright byTraveling Valentine. If we took your picture, feel free to use it on your site or cosplay gallery. If you want me to remove something, kindly email us . While you're here, do sign the guestbook. This site was brought to you by the font Troglodyte. |