July 14, 2005

  • Well now, what a way to start off my San Diego trip. On the wrong foot
    it seems.  I suppose I can say it started with my friend at work
    teasing me, but throughout my pre-Comic-Con hours, all these
    discouraging situations kept happening to me. I didn't get much sleep
    at all, so the driving was entirely intact either, plus the fact that I
    was being followed by the CHP for a good forty miles didn't help. 

    I even called the Kevin & Bean show on the radio in their "what is
    your deal" segment, to maybe bring some positive vibes. I got in and I was actually on the air, but as soon as I
    said "comic-con" it was "uh-huh" *click*.  I suppose I should have
    expected them to hang up on me, since the comic convention isn't
    exactly a topic they would like to discuss.  I should have
    approached it differently and started talking about the celebrities
    first, THEN mention how they are going to be at the Comic-con. Instead
    I handled it the other way around. I wasn't even going to talk about
    comic books at all, which was probably what they thought I was going to
    do. Rejected, and perceived to be a nerd too. So sad. 

    I arrived at my hotel in San Diego at aproximately 7:40AM, and I was expecting to get
    lucky in getting a room right away, since that's what happened to me
    last year. Nope, I didn't get a room until 3:00PM. Do the math, and
    count how many hours I had to stall before settling in. It was hella
    bad trying to keep myself occupied for that many hours. I was even
    hoping to catch at least four to six hours of sleep, which ofcourse
    would have worked if I got a room right away. I ended up sleeping in my
    car.  Which brings me to another point in that I've always said
    that I did not like using a valet service for my car.  This hotel
    doesn't do valet, and now I kinda wish they did. At least when your car
    is in valet parking, no stranger can do anything to it.  Right
    now as I am typing this, my car is alone and defenseless in a public
    accessible garage.

    There were many other discouraging situations that morning before I got
    in my hotel room.  Let's just say that I was feeling really down
    and was practically regretting the whole thing.

    Thankfully, my luck started changing as soon as I got in my room. From
    that point on, things went a lot more smoothly (with only some minor
    glitches). The bus service from the hotel to the convention was
    reliable.  I did not have to wait in a line to get my membership
    identication badge, when last year I waited three hours in line for
    that. I was even able to find good deals in books that I've wanted, when
    last year a lot of the dealers were stingy with their prices. Things
    were just looking up.

    I'll say this though. The dealer's room was PACKED, and this is the
    pre-registration only crowd. What's it going to be like when the rest
    of the public comes in as well? But then there were no other events
    besides the dealer's room, so that could explain the increase in the
    number of people. Speaking of people, I mentioned this before in a
    previous post, but I definitely prefer the Anime Expo crowd over the
    Comic-Con attendees.  I think the main difference is that a lot of
    the Comic-Con peeps are people of all ages and ethnicity, while Anime
    Expo had primarily a High School / College crowd that makes the
    experience feel more relaxed and "cooler."

    Things may have started on a down note, but I think things will start
    looking up as the Convention continues. Next year, I'm definitely doing
    preview night again as it saves up on the waiting in line time. As for
    the hotel, I'm never going to assume that I'll get lucky in checking in
    early again.

                       
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