Updated at 3:15am on July 10th:
Back at it in the wee hours of the morning. The other Shortboxed crew have been waiting in the Hall H line since yesterday morning. I applaud them because they essentially lost all day Thursday of panel offerings, exclusive and autograph hunting, and shopping possibilities.
As for me, I’m back hunting autographs this morning. Such a difference in my journey from my hotel to the tents this morning than yesterday morning. This time, more people were still stumbling out of bars and such with tons of taxis hovering on the curb. Yes, I’m an hour or so earlier than yesterday and currently in the 2nd of 4 chutes under the first set of tents, so that might account for the activity outside at the moment. But this veteran knows the random drawing process has luck involved.
The early morning timing though is essential because I missed out on the Game of Thrones signing last SDCC visit because all the winning tickets had been won before I got my chance to draw. There were about less than 20 people in front of me at that time so right then and there I vowed I’d make the commitment next visit to come earlier. You can say that this signing is my white whale, and one I’m hoping to catch this time around.
Either way, being able to have the chance to meet my favorite actors and such is awesome in itself. I know that there are times when you commit all those hours sans sleep to stand, sit, or sleep in line for a random chance to win a ticket. But like I said a good friend of mine, it’s the game we play with this whole thing. Not to get all zen and all, but I think karma plays a key and trying to stay positive only will help. I, of course, have my rituals and strategies but they don’t always work. I do hope they will but at the end of the day, Lady Luck isn’t to blame. It just wasn’t meant to be or it was meant to be.
Getting a ticket for the limited Doctor Who signing was surprising because I had never attempted this autograph hunt before. It was a tough road to get there other cramped spaces and not going to bathroom for like an hour or so with the fear that I may miss my chance to draw a ticket (I don’t suggest doing what I did; if nature calls, please heed its call and someone will hopefully be nice enough to hold your place in line). But the light at the end of the tunnel was sweet and I’m happy to be able say that I met a Doctor, Companion, and Villian from one of my favorite shows on television. All thanks to San Diego Comic-Con and this brilliant community that I love so much.
I suppose that’s why I do this every year. I hope that my son will enjoy this community as well but it’s up to him. I know that I won’t be hunting these autographs forever and that my focus is beginning to shift to watching my son grow and walk wide-eyed through the convention floor at all the amazing things before him. Definitely a weird transition but one that I’m looking forward to experience very soon.
I have some Game of Thrones: A Song of Fire and Ice to read on my iPad Mini as I wait with a mass of my closest SDCC nerds so more updates on today will come soon enough!
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Updated at 8:30am on July 10th:
So once I was permitted to enter the convention center at around 6:30am, I made my way to Sails Pavilion and to the WB signings line. It was super organized and so I made my way past each WB sign to the end of the line at the bottom of the stairs closest to the marina.
At this point, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to have a chance to draw for Game of Thrones but I kept the faith and stayed positive. The time flew by chatting with two guys in the line and by the time we went up the stairs and snaked through the lists, we were inside the Sails Pavilion.
But the sad part of the story starts here. Immediately I noticed the table with all the bags to draw from. Each one has the name of the signing on it and I couldn’t find Game of Thrones. It was on the chair beside the table which meant they were out of tickets.
Yeah, super sad and made some of my line mates angry but I’ve been in this situation before and thought since I’d gotten up early and gotten in line, might as well ride it out. And I’m glad I did because out of the rest of the ones left, there was a Conan bag. Everyone in my area of the line started to question if it was actually Conan O’Brien aka Coco or the Conan movie or something. So just rolled the dice, swirled my hand around, and picked out a ticket. And lo and behold, it had “CON” on it, meaning I drew a winning ticket!
I didn’t realize until after they strapped my wristband on that it was really CoCo! Score!
Feeling pretty stoked and my line buddy, Mike from Las Vegas, got a winning ticket, too. So we’ll meet up later on. I’m currently on the shuttle going back to my hotel to shave, shower, and rest up before coming back at 10am for my 2nd autograph signing of the trip! I know I’m super lucky and appreciate all the luck I’m having because I’m able to write it down in these posts. So more updates to come later!
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Updated at 8:50pm on July 10th:
Sorry for updating so late. Things happened, mostly my fault, and my day didn’t turn out the way I wanted. I think since this was my return to San Diego, I wanted to make up for lost time. So getting the Conan signing was a new record for me bringing my total signings to 2 in a visit. Most of the time it’s one signing or none.
But I digress. I flat out missed the Conan signing. I decided to go back to my hotel after I got my wristband and took a shower. I should have walked back to the convention center, but I decided to travel with my family. I wanted to bring my son to meet Conan and then check out the floor with him. I guess it was a selfish reason to share the experience with my son, especially when it’s not about what I want anymore; it’s all about him and his needs.
So I walked back to the convention center with him in my arms and was able to watch Conan walk on by me and my son in a crowd of flashbulbs. Defeated, I pleaded to a few people to help me out since I did wait a long time in line for a chance to meet some celebrities. Luckily, a man named Ramos was my saving grace because he gave me the next signing which was The 100, a CW show.
I admit, I didn’t know anything about this show but I was a fan of Isaiah Washington, so I was determined to come away with a trophy. I guess I’m a different kind of con-goer because I love the hunt for autographs. Exclusives are cool but autographs require a bit of luck. And I pride myself on getting 3 WB signings, 1 limited signing, and a handful of Nerd HQ signings during the first year they were at San Diego. I say they are trophies but they are really just memories of what I had to do to obtain it. Especially at a place that I love so much.
So I met the cast of The 100 and it was fun because Aiden woke up right before we met them. Everyone was super chipper and cool to talk to, and commented how cute Aiden was. He was wearing his Ewok costume that I made him so definitely a compliment. I left with a signed poster and my first shared experience with my son. I think this may be the last hunt for me, but who knows what the future holds. But if there’s advice that I can give from this learning experience, make sure you have enough time to get back to the convention center before you’re signing, especially if you leave. I’m disappointed my choices made me miss out on meeting Conan on his first signing at San Diego. But I take the good with the bad.
Afterwards, we checked out the lawn in front of the Hilton which was FX’s installation.
It was cool to see some other things other than within the con walls but my son started to not feel well, so we headed back to the hotel after a missed meeting with my con group. The rest of the afternoon was resting and getting Aiden to nap.
We then headed out back to the convention center at around 4:30pm and checked out the Adult Swim installation on the way to Seaport Village behind the Marriot Marquis. It was fate because as we walked down near the water, the cast of the new show, Minority Report, came out of their shuttle and walked to a boat docked close by. Apparently Wilmer Valderama is in this new show. So that happened! Sorry no pics; I was pushing my sleeping son in his stroller at the time.
Since my son was feeling a little better, I attempted to walk the floor with him in his stroller. And with apprehension of being that parent, it went okay. I didn’t have a chance to take pics of him at the cool statues and stuff but hoping I can do that tomorrow afternoon.
For dinner, we headed to the Nerd HQ area and had the Super Q food truck. Apparently you have to say “super” whatever-the-dish is to add Mac and cheese in it. I have to do that next time! After that, called it night since I only had about 4 hours of sleep last night. I’m exhausted beyond approach!
Tomorrow’s update won’t be too extensive on the convention center since my family and I are going to do the other activities in San Diego. But come back tomorrow and read more of my experiences!
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