Comic Con International 2009

The checker at Trader Joe's asked me casually, "So did you do anything interesting this weekend?"

"I just got back from Comic Con, " I answered.

He looked at me a bit funny and then we had a pleasant conversation of what I saw. So this is the recap of two days of comics, movies, and mayhem. Well, maybe... not really.

We arrived at the San Diego Convention center what I considered early, maybe around 9. I started getting flashbacks of three years ago when we weren't able to get in, but Monkeynova kept reassuring me that we'd get in. But you have to realize why I was so concerned: the line snaked around the building, through the parking lot and down the marina along the water. I kid you not that the line was a mile long. We waited for almost two hours just but did get our passes. No one got heatstroke this time, which was fortunate.

Once on the convention floor, we we inundated by all the wondrous things. There were so many that I cannot recount them all now, but you can see the pictures. Monkeynova and I both went around taking pictures off all the cool booth things. Though really my favorite pictures were those of Bruce Campbell at the Burn Notice Signing and Adam Baldwin ( aka Jayne Cobb) at another booth. For both, I tried really hard to get good pictures. I made a miraculous shot of Bruce, where I had the camera up high, and just took the shot. The picture came out perfectly. For Adam, all I got were some fuzzy pictures. I had to come back later to take more and finally got one, even though its kind of silly.

We ended up meeting our friends, who we normally stay with while in San Diego, and we got to wander the floor with them, which was very cool. At the end of the day, Mongolian BBQ was had. Afterwards there were drinks at The Field with my cousin, while Monkeynova and our friend, had an all engrossing brain dump.

On Friday, I tried dressing up, but it didn't feel right so I changed midway through the day. We totally expected the con floor to be crazy and we were right. I usually like to wander the con and then do the algorithmic pattern to make sure I didn't miss anything. This year due to the sheer quantity of people, that was impossible. We spent and hour looking at about 4 isles. Just because you had to fight your way through.

The crowds were just too much after a while, so we went to have lunch at the SyFy booth. Yep, you heard me right. This channel's marketing coup was renting out one of the Hard Rock's restaurants and turning it into Cafe Diem from the show Eureka. They had flat screens inside showing previews from all the SyFy shows and cut outs off all the characters so you could take pictures with your favorites. And to tell the truth, the food wasn't half bad either. Lastly, we got to see Joe Morton, the actor who plays Henry on Eureka, and I thanked him for a great show. Monkeynova was a bit star struck. It was awesome!

We tried to see some panels but only got into one. The Big Bang Theory Panel and the misfortune of being in the same room as the Dollhouse/Joss Whedon Panel so people were lining up 6 hours early and filled the line to the point that the officials weren't letting anyone else join it. Needless to say we and many others who really wanted to see that panel weren't let in. I do wish they'd empty the rooms between panels. I think it be a fairer system, but hey what do I know?

We did get to see the Eureka Panel which was awesome, especially when they called the actor who plays Jack Carter in Bulgaria on the SyFy VP's iphone. And yay they will have a next season!

Friday was also my shopping day. I got the next Mouseguard graphic novel, a super awesome book, which I heard about through one of my favorite podcasts, To Old to Grow Up. At another booth, they were selling all graphic novels for 50% off cover price so I got some more books that I'd wanted. Finally I got the GI JOE graphic novel. I heard that the new series was good and wanted to check it out. It was the last one they had. Score!

Due to getting our passes late, like in April (wtf?!), we were only able to get tickets to Thursday and Friday, though I wish we could have stayed longer. I wanted to see the masquerade and the Eisners, but there just wasn't enough time. Fortunately for us, we got next year's four day passes already.

Ultra High Heels!

Ultra High Heels!, originally uploaded by What Makes The Pie Shops Tick?.

I love me some heels but honestly 5 inches are redunkulus!

But I still want them.

My shoe fetish may slightly be out of control.

Personal Assisting

As I was driving back to Emeryville from Pleasanton today, sipping on my orange mango vivanno, watching the sun sink down behind the hills on the 580, I pondered over my experience as a Personal Assistant. 

Current events have made me wax nostalgic I suppose.

In the beginning, I had no idea what I was getting into. I was hired for one day a week to help my original boss (Boss A) publish a book. I had some graphics experience mostly gleaned off my mother from so many years of living with her.  Boss A then paid for me to learn Adobe Illustrator because she thought I could illustrate her book. But in addition, I was the personal shopper and gopher when I wasn't working on the book. 

Eventutally, the book thing sort of fizzled (in terms of me working on it) and the personal shopper/gopher role became more predominant.

And then I became the handyperson. (and hired the guys when I couldn't do the job.)

And then the decorator (for the house in Florida.)

And then they moved and I was the packing person (and sometimes the moving foreman.)

And then I called and set up their utilities and waited for all the people to come and set them up.

And then I became the maid, and finally drew the line (cause really I hate cleaning.)

With the increasing work, the one day a week gig turned into two (sometimes more) days and I was up to my eyeballs in errands.

The perks were cool though. I got to use the VW when Boss A was out of town. When the insurance changed, I got an old company station wagon that no one was using. Definitely not as cool as the original car, but still not bad. I also got to make my own hours, and got to travel a bit. 

Then there were the other cars...Boss B started out with a Mercedes and then got a Lexus. Boss A also had a Mercedes, then traded it in for a Lexus coupe and finally upgraded to their sporty convertible. And I got to drive them all. (for some strange reason this is a perk to me. Go figure.)

And during it all, I became friends with the cleaning people, the cable guys and the security guys. Chatted cars with the dealership service people hearing all their war and horror stories. (Enough so that I don't think I'll be purchasing a Non-three-letter-German-car should I ever have the wherewithal to do so.) Then heard all about the life of the home warranty guy. 

It became my job to do all the stuff that my bosses didn't want to do for themselves. That was the best way to explain my job to people.

I'm the one that found the jewelers to get the watch band fixed and traveled to Marin to get it done.

I'm the one that returned the stuff purchased on a whim that Boss A then later felt guilty about.

I'm the one that purchased the socks and underwear, when the old ones got too holy.

As you can see I know way too much about my bosses That's the downside of the whole thing really. You are much too close. You become part of the family, and a failing on your job becomes a personal affront to them. They come to depend on you more and more, until you sometimes think that they have forgotten how to do some of this stuff for themselves. And you feel guilty, like the world will end, if heaven forbid you need to take a sick day.

The dissolution of Boss A and B sort of became a custody battle for me as the PA. They got shared custody of me really. I still do work for both A and B, though mostly for B,and sometimes for Boss C (who is a friend of A and B). 

I've gotten into an email sort of place with Boss B where I just get errands and do them.  Don't disucss much, just "this is what got done". 

It's not as glam as "The Devil Wears Prada" makes it out to be nor is it as much fun as it was in the beginning, when every new errand was an adventure. I suppose once you've gone to Safeway once a week for 6 years to purchase the same stuff every time,  it can get a bit monotonous. But hey, its a living.

Giving up the 818

So yesterday, Kong and I went to get new phones. I've needed one for a while. Ishy, (the dog) got hold of mine and made a chew toy out of it. It still worked, mostly. It would every once and a while, turn off for no good reason. Of late though, it had come to a point where the phone wouldn't stay on long enough for me to make a call.

So off to the AT&T store we went. My happiness at getting a new phone was rudely interrupted by the news that I'd have to change my phone number, they couldn't combine phones from two separate markets.

Now I've had my 818 number for years. I'd gotten it back when AT&T was Pac Bell, which was before it was Cingular. It was a source of pride for me to have been a cell phone customer for so very long. Also it was the last thread holding me to LA.

The area code 818 covers Glendale, a town which I lived in for many years. It was where I lived for a time in Jr. High, and where we moved back to during my last year of High School. It was where I got my first paying job, and where I had some of my best jobs (shout out to Panda and UMS). It's even where I remember meeting Kong for the first time. It was the number that all my friends had for me, and even though I wasn't in LA, they'd all still know where to find me.

So in the AT&T store, I felt like crying because I would no longer be an LA girl. But then Kong reminded me that I am now fully committed to being a Northen Californian. So with that, I have crossed over to the Dark Side and am rather pleased to be a 415. And honestly really happy not to be a 925.

The March of Time- random thought of the day

Today, I went on myspace and found out that an old friend of mine, Fancypants is married with a kid, and the kids who were toddlers when I left to SF are now close to being teens.

I know things change, I see it happening here around me. Heck, all I have to do is look in the mirror to see the laugh lines getting deeper every year. But back in LA where I just go to visit, its hard to see the changes until it smacks you in the face like a mack truck.

wedding blog

If I haven't mentioned it before, we are doing a wedding blog over at http://blog.genandkeith.com/. There is also a site http://genandkeith.com/, which at this moment just redirects you to our Knot site.

So it is officially less than one year to the big day (give or take a week if we can't secure a venue on the day we want) and the wedding planning has officially begun. Here is a taste of some of the stuff we're working on.

Who You Gonna Call....GENNY!!!

My boss lives in a large building with doormen/security people. One of them in particular has been there forever; he's really an institution. Anyways, over the last several years, he has seen me come and go, and knows that I work for several people in the building as a PA. Today, as my boss was leaving for work, he mentioned to her that he had several packages for her. She didn't have time to pick them up so he said "You should make a Genny Call" meaning have me come pick them up for her. To her it was the most hysterical thing that he should suggest that. It also made her realize that there are no secrets from the security guys. They know *everything*.

It's also cool to know that I have my own secret red "Genny phone" for the "Genny Call" and a "Genny Signal" that cuts through the night...I think.