Ahhhh, last day. But what a day it was. I'm exhausted, I'm sore, but damn it I'm happy! And I'm so glad I did all three days to get the true experience.
So, to recap: Got down to the convention center right around 10 am. The line down Lower Simcoe was almost under the tunnel, but not quite, and before too long I was back up across the parking garage and very nearly where I was yesterday. But Lord it was hot. I stood baking in the sun for over an hour, listening to very loud geeks discuss whether or not David Tennant's sideburns are real and whether or not Data could have a child biologically. Sigh. I ended up meeting one of those geeks, dressed head to toe in a Doctor Who suit, named Ellen, when I discovered she was also racing to the line-up to get James Marster's autograph. It was just after 11am by that point, and he was starting at 11:30. She made a beeline for one of the merchant tables, however, to buy a sonic screwdriver, so when I got to the line-up a mother/daughter team by the name of Denise and Alicia got in behind me, and then Ellen got in behind them. Denise and Alicia chatted me up as we waited, and it turns out they're pretty hardcore fans. Alicia apparently had even been to a Twilight convention.
As we got closer, and I could see Mr. Marsters sitting up front, dressed in a blue t-shirt that hugged his torso nicely, I began to get nervous. Just as I had done with Bruce Campbell the year before, my nerves were getting to me. I checked with my new friends if I looked alright, and they assured me I looked fine and to relax, it was going to be fine. But still, this is James Marsters were talking about. There was no relaxing here.
Once I paid for my autograph and handed over my DVD cover of Spike episodes that I wanted him to sign, I found I was having the opposite problem that I did with Mr. Campbell. Instead of rambling, I clammed up! The two people ahead of me had lovely chats with the man at the booth, and he seemed happy to talk with them (this was a little less formal than the session I went to last year), but as soon as I got up there it was almost death. I smiled and said hi, he said hi and shook my hand (I TOUCHED HIM!), I asked how he was and he said fine. He complimented me on my hair, and I said thanks, I had just got it done. Then there was a lull as he signed my cover, so I mentioned that I had been to the Q&A yesterday, and it was a lot of fun. He said he had fun to, but wished that the hosts hadn't asked quite so many questions so that the fans could get more of an opportunity. And here's where I choked. In retrospect, I could've said how his singing was my favorite part, but my mind went blank at that moment. I smiled, nodded, said thank you very much it was nice to meet you, and made a hasty retreat. Gaaah. I hope he could see I was nervous and he didn't think anything of it. He meets lots of people, I'm sure, so he could probably tell. But I went and stood at one of the tables behind the lines for the autograph tables and waited until I settled down and was sure that the ink had dried on the signature before sliding it back into the DVD case with trembling fingers. Still, I looked at that signature, in silver ink, and was so happy. I had done it! I had met Mr. Marsters, shaken his hand, spoken with him and got his autograph. So cool! That disc will now have a place of honor on the shelf.
After that I had another mission. I had t-shirt requests from my brother and my roommates sister and brother-in-law. After looking at some of the tables that had shirts, and getting side-tracked at the Marvel table with free comics and a photograph with Captain America's shield (which made me look so tiny, as you can see) I went back to the big Stylin booth to find two Bazinga shirts for my roommates people, and a Green Lantern shirt for my brother. Mission accomplished, and they still had the sizes I was looking for.
After all this, I figured I'd earned a break, and I was not going to make the same mistake I did yesterday, where I only lived on granola bars. I got a slice of pizza to keep my energy up (and listened to a kid have a full blown tantrum in a stroller. Lovely). Then, as it was just past 1pm by that point and I had some time to kill before the afternoon events I wanted to attend I worked the floor, searching through boxes and boxes of discount graphic novels and getting some more free stuff. There weren't quite as many people as there were yesterday, which made navigating the crowds easier.
By the time I made it to the lowest floor for the Vampires in Film and Television panel discussion I was really feeling the exhaustion. Because of that, and because of the podium blocking off the table from where I was sitting so I could only see three of the five people, and the guy sitting beside me leaned forward the entire time, so I had to as well to see even that, I didn't catch every point that was made. But what I did catch was very interesting, like how some mediums use vampirism as a commentary on homosexuality, and the defanging, so to speak, of vampires in YA fiction when adult vampire fiction is so mature. There was a little talk on the difference between Western and Eastern vamps, and on favorite vampire movies or books. I do love my vampires.
Once the discussion was over I raced up one floor to find the room where they were screening an episode of Supernatural. I found it full, so I stood for the first few minutes, but people were coming and going, so it didn't take long to find a seat, and even though it was in the back I could see everything perfectly. I hoped it would be one of the many episodes I haven't seen yet, but nope; it was "Lazarus Rising". Still, an excellent episode, introducing favorite character Castiel, and I stayed and watched the whole thing.
After that it was just before 5, with a little more than an hour until the Expo shut down. So I decided to make a few last loops around the convention floor. At the Tron booth they were throwing out t-shirts and light disc frisbees, but I was not fortunate enough to grab one. What I did find though was the other iTunes card I wanted sitting out on the DC table, so I grabbed one for myself and some for other people. Sweet.
A lot of the collectibles I was looking at were so expensive, so I ended up getting one more graphic novel. By then it was twenty to 6, so I took a moment to take every in one last time, and then went downstairs to head back out onto Front street and to Union station. The ride back had a slight delay (what is with Subways this weekend?) but nothing major, so I got back home alright.
I'm sad it's all over, but I'm also wiped, so maybe it's good that it is only three days. Back to work I go tomorrow, but I feel happy. I feel like I was a part of something special, something big, and the more I go to Fan Expo, the more I feel that these memories will stay with me forever. I really feel I belong, and it's a great feeling.
Another year until we do it all again. I'll see you there.
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