Friday 30 April 2004

Collectormania 5

The road to Collectormania 5 was not an easy one. (Jay couldn't get up on time and I give HORRIBLE directions.) The one home was pretty nice though. (We went splashing through puddles at the services where we stopped.)

All in all, we ended up being five and a half hours late getting there. We were pretty tense. I got flustered and couldn't shake it all day. The convention itself was nice this time around, though,   because it was a lot smaller. (No getting trampled on for me!)

I gave into my darker urges and bought this great black and white photo of the main Star Trek: Next Generation cast (Worf, Troy, Riker, Picard, Beverly, Data and Gordie). Well, since Gates McFadden was there and all... Plus, I felt better because we got a flier for the next Collectormania in October and Worf, Gordie and Troy will be there. That's gonna be a nice collector's item, I reckon... That is, if I'm lucky enough to get Patrick Stewart's autograph... *fingers crossed*

 Anyway, I managed to wear my spiky shoes for all but an hour! That's impressive for me! (Hey, I'm a heathen. Lol.)

Jay spoiled me and bought me a Living Dead Doll. :) And all I had to do was promise to make him and Egg tea on the hour for the night. Lol. The doll is great though because it's one of the Hollywood Classics ones. It came in a coffin like the rest but the plastic cover was black so you couldn't see which doll it was. And, it was a normal doll from series 5 or 6 but it was done in black and white (hence the Hollywood Classics thing.) We got Hollywood from series 5. Yay! (If you don't know what the Living Dead Dolls are...Go here.)

Jay managed to pick up a couple of DVDs for himself too. (Can you believe that the stores in the mall where the convention was held won't let the dealers sell American DVDs because they're afraid of the competition? Sissies. Lol.) We went to get a roll of film developed and had some serious problems reloading the camera. It just refused to play nice with the film. It didn't help that I was talking away and opened the back of the camera before it had wound. Stupid hobbit. I SO know better but I did it anyway. I told you, it was a hard day... (I lost the pics of Brad Dourif. Well, not totally...Clever cropping might save them but don't hold your breath.)

Anyway, I ended up buying a new battery for my camera (that didn't help the problem) and a new roll of film (that did). That part sucked.

Jay bought me this wicked red hair dye while I was at the photo counter so we're gonna have fun playing with that when my hair starts to grow out again. :) Well, the stalls were closing up and the stars were going home when we finally left.

We got to meet all the people we wanted to meet and they were generally really nice so it was all worth it. (And, I only got us lost once on the way home.) No conventions for a few months now but anyway, here's what I thought of the guests:

Kristy Swanson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) I can't believe how good Kristy Swanson still looks. (I'm so jealous. Lol.) And she's a good sport...Jay was being a bit raunchy. Lol. She also told us that Luke Perry is appearing in a play in London (When Harry Met Sally) with Alyson Hannigan and that *hint, hint* we might be able to wait for them outside the theatre for autographs. Thanks, Buffy. ;)

Penny Johnson (24, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) I can't say with any honesty that I know who Penny Johnson is but she was pleasant enough. There was a dealer in front of us and she was signing about fifty pictures for him. (She stopped to see us though.) I was so tempted to stop him and ask what ridiculous price he'd sell them for but I was a good girl and kept my mouth shut...

Brad Dourif (LotR, Child's Play) Omg! Creepy looking old guy! Watching him in LotR (as Grima) you think, "Omg! That guy is so freaky!" and meeting him in real life is no different. He was thoughtful enough to take off his glasses for our photos though. (Of which there were four because the bloody flash wouldn't work...) Still...I wouldn't want to be stuck alone in the dark with him.

Gates McFadden (Star Trek: Next Generation) I was kind of bummed walking up to meet Gates McFadden because her sign said "no flash photography". It was a pleasant surprise though when we got to the end of the line and one of the workers for Collectormania offered to take a picture for me. (She just covered up the flash. Lol. If at first you don't succeed, cheat.) Jay went first though and missed out on getting his picture taken with her. I've already decided that if we get the chance to meet her again, I will because I didn't get my photo personalized.

Denise Crosby (Star Trek: Next Generation) I'm not gonna say that Denise Crosby is a little butch but...Well, yeah, she's a little butch. Not that I expected her to be all fluffy and glittery playing a security officer and all but still...She was polite but not really chatty. Her and Gates both, actually.

Ethan Phillips (Star Trek: Voyager) Ok, I'll admit right away that I don't watch Voyager. (The only episode I ever watched was the one with Q in it.) I can't say anything bad about Ethan Phillips. None of the Voyager or Enterprise guys were very busy at all. Btw... It's kind of scary when you can look at a picture of someone in all their alien make up and then look at them in person and think, "Yeah, I can see it..."

Robert Picardo (Star Trek: Voyager) What's up with stars not wanting flash photography lately? Prudes. Lol. Jay was SO not impressed with the dear holographic doctor. He was sort of curt and went back to reading his book as soon as he signed the autograph. The only real disappointment of the day.

John Billingsley (Star Trek: Enterprise) John Billingsley was fun to talk to. He and Jay chatted a bit about Enterprise and how the show "hasn't been picked up yet" for the next season. (It was canned). I couldn't help but notice Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) at the table next to him and holy hairballs, Batman! That man has huge hands! (Jay's met him a couple of times and he says he walks with a bad limp too...) He didn't have anyone at all at his table and I felt really bad...I would've gone up and asked for a picture but honestly, he looked like he stepped out of Deliverance...

Sarah Douglas and Jack O'Halloran (Superman 2-Superman 1 and 2) When we walked up to the table, Jack was giving Sarah a neckrub that looked a wee bit painful. Since they were both standing there together, Sara told me to go ahead and take a picture because "it's not very often that you get them together". Well, who am I to pass up a photo opportunity? O:) When Jack walked away, she said she was going to start calling him "Touch like bull". When she asked Jay what name he wanted on his photo, he said "Hung Like Donkey". (This is a shortened version of the story but it's been a stressful day and I'm very tired so that's all you're getting.) Of course, Jay couldn't help a naughty joke as we left...Lol. Btw...That chick is TALL.

Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger) Ah...The man we waited all day to see. (Our ticket numbers were 359 and 360.) Actually, Robert was leaving at 6pm and we were the second to last people in the line. I was lucky because a couple of people cut in front of us to have their picture taken with both Freddy and Jason (Well, that wasn't the lucky part.) and they got a picture of Freddy and Jason alone...Well, I couldn't help but sneak over and have a picture of them myself, could I? O:) Anyway, Freddy ROCKS. My autograph says "For 'Wondra', Sweet Dreamz! 'Uncle' Freddy" (and his autograph) :) He he he....(Only I could get excited about that...Lol. To make the whole thing even better, he even THANKED us for waiting in line! How cool is that?!?

Sunday 18 April 2004

Spring Memorabilia

Jay and I had to be up and out by a quarter after seven this morning to make the early bird ticket into Memorabila (that means we got in at 9am instead of 11am like everyone else) and it's a good thing we did because we actually had to get tickets for Eliza Dushku.

Jay, Dale (his friend that drove for us since our car is dead), and I got tickets 368, 369 and 370 to meet her and it was only twenty-five past nine. I felt bad for all the poor people who came in at eleven and found out that they couldn't meet her because they stopped giving out tickets. We met a few poor sods who had tickets up in the 700's and were told that the only chance they stood was to come back the next day. Yikes.

It was past three before our numbers were called. Talk about a long day! Poor Jay was ready to drop after about the first two hours. (He DID stay up until twenty past four...) Waiting around in the crush of people to meet Eliza didn't help him much. We had to keep taking thirty minute breaks just to escape outside and get a breather.

I did end up buying a couple of cool things even though money was very tight for us this time around. I got a Jack Skellington wallet (I'd been eyeing it since the first time we went to Memorabilia so I finally just gave in.) and a Living Dead Doll. Jay and I have been talking about starting to collect the Living Dead Dolls for a long time and when I saw this one ("Isaac") dressed as a scarecrow, I just had to have it. It was one of the cheaper ones there (they were everywhere at the convention) so I didn't feel too bad about it.

I did miss a couple of things I would've liked to have gotten-including a Monkeemobile still in it's box-but you can't win them all. Jay had the same problem with the movies he wanted to buy. His favourite DVD dealer wasn't there so he had to spend a little more than he wanted to on horror movies. We had a great time (we usually do) but the best part was coming home again and collapsing in bed.

Check out my impression of the guests:

Brian Blessed It took forever to reach Brian Blessed and as soon as we made it to the front of the line, I could see why. The man LOVES to talk. I suspect that if you ran into him at the pub, he'd keep you entertained for hours with his stories. While we were there, he and Jay had an engaging chat about Welsh rugby. (Sadly, I actually understood part of it...Must be I'm starting to assimilate. Lol.) Let me tell you, that guy's voice BOOMS. He's a very dramatic speaker and good fun.


Eliza Dushku Eliza was the whole reason we went to Memorabilia this time around but she was probably the most disappointing person we met. It's not that she was rude or anything, it was just that, because of the vast number of people there to see her and the time restraints, we were unable to have our pictures taken with her. She did take the time to personalize her autographs but she didn't say more than "Hello. How are you?" to any of us. (It was probably the jet lag... She had some serious bags under her eyes even though she looked pretty glam.) Jay thought she looked pretty awful and didn't even flirt with her like I expected him to. We did get to meet Eliza Dushku though and that's more than most people can say so I won't complain.

Brian Thompson I think Brian Thompson had a big of jet lag today. Even so, he was very nice. He talked about my name for a minute (I get that a lot) and Jay mentioned how he just started watching The Kindred. We both had our photo taken with him at once... He just sort of walked up and grabbed both of us. That's a big guy! Lol. Personally, I thought it was really nice that he took the time to get up and come around the table. It could just be me but that guy has a scary face. He's not unattractive or anything, he's just got this "I was born to play the monster" face. The only thing I was disappointed with was that he didn't have any photos from The Kindred. Jay and I both got the same photo in the end which made us wonder why we don't have some autographs made out to the both of us...


Patricia Quinn Patricia was winking at Jay before we even went up to her table. When we met her I thought, 'Wow, she's as wild as her hair!' I think she's one of the nicest and most talkative stars we've met. Of course, Jay's met her before and told me exactly that. She didn't hesitate for a second to jump up and put her arm around me for a photo. Jay had trouble with the camera (he forgets that it closes by itself after a few seconds) and while we were waiting I turned to find myself nose to nose with Patricia! That was strange. And, of course we had to talk about my name! Lol.


Ken Foree Jay and I met Ken Foree the last time we went to Memorabila but Jay wanted to met him again and I'm not sorry we did. He was a great sport the last time we met him and this time was no exception. Actually, I think I like him more each time we met. He and Jay talked about his role in the new Dawn of the Dead movie and they both agreed that it was far too short. He mentioned that he's doing House of 1,000 Corpses 2 next (he says he plays "a swindler")...at which point I begged him not to. Lol. He promised that it'll be better than the first one (and agreed that it would HAVE to be) and that he'd make it extra funny for me. Lol. He even told us to keep in touch when we left.

David Emge To be honest, I didn't really know who David Emge "flyboy" was when we went up to meet him. Actually, I'm not sure I do now. I know that he's one of the important zombies in Dawn of the Dead but they all sort of blend together into one terrible nightmare figure for me. Anyway, I thought David was reserved but nice. Which makes sense since he said he's given up acting for a paralegal job. From an evil flesh eating creature of the night to a lawyer...Makes sense. Lol. Jay took great delight in telling him about my zombie fears. Especially of my zombie COW fears... (I shudder to think of it.)


Craig Parker I only went to meet Craig Parker to get SOMEONE *cough*Katie*cough* an autograph. Don't get me wrong, I'm going to get the LotR autographs...I just want to work on a few other series' first. Before I even went up and introduced myself, I was shocked at how different he looked from Haldir. I mean, I didn't expect him to have pointy ears or anything I just didn't expect him to look well, normal. Lol. He was really cheerful when I told him that I was getting his autograph for a friend and I hoped I'd get some cookies out of it. He asked where I was from (I also get that a lot. Must be the accent.) I was greatly amused by the way he said, "So what are you doing HERE?" and then thought about how rude it sounded. So, of course I explained that Jay and I are getting married soon and Craig wished us luck. Twice actually. I even had my picture taken with him "So I can say 'na na na na'" to Katie. Lol.

Saturday 17 April 2004

Xanga Post: Saturday, April 17, 2004

Long time, no post, eh? Well, if you didn't already know, Jay and I set the date for Friday, June 11.

*happy dance* We're getting married! Yay! (Why hasn't that sunk in yet?)

Today, when we went to Memorabilia, Jay introduced me a couple of times as "Wondra Vanian" and I was like, ! *ahem* Ok, I'm gonna stop rambling now... I'm just happy about that.

Like I said, Jay and I went to Memorabilia today in Burmingham. It was great but tiring. I gave up on my spiky, three inch shoes less than half way through. I'm not even gonna MENTION the state of my feet. I'm just gonna say *shudder*.

Other than that, nothing much is going on... I'm just getting over a bad cold and I've got a sore tooth so if you can think happy, healthy thoughts about me, that'd be great!