Between all of us bloggers here at Nerdophiles, we get to a lot of conventions and we have a blast at each and every one. Relive some of our favorite moments with us and let us know in the comments about some of your favorite experiences at conventions!
San Diego Comic Con & Awesome Con
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Convention: San Diego Comic Con 2013
It’s hard for me to pick a favorite moment at San Diego Comic Con 2013. It was my first convention ever because I go big or go home and it holds a special place in my heart. I think the story I tell the most is about how I got a free pint of chocolate chip ice cream while they were trying to promote Elder Scrolls Online. I don’t know anything about Elder Scrolls and Sam questioned my ability to eat the entire pint by myself (none of them got through the first few bites), but I sat in their hotel room and easily polished it off. Never question my ability to eat ice cream.
Free food aside, I actually loved running The Walking Dead Escape last year and plan to do it again this year if I can fit it into my schedule. I met a very nice woman who I thought I could keep up with (I could not, but she would wait around “safe” areas for me) and we ran the entire thing in about twenty minutes, though neither of us survived the quarantine at the end. I ran it Saturday night and it made Sunday an interesting experience with bruised knees and achy legs – but they were the bruised knees and achy legs of someone who almost survived the apocalypse. As far as outside events at San Diego Comic Con go, it was my favorite and I’m glad to see it returning this year.
Convention: Awesome Con 2014
I got to see Danai Gurira, better known as Michonne on The Walking Dead, speak at Awesome Con 2014 and it was the highlight of my weekend. She’s funny and interesting and the moderator did a good job of balancing her other interests with the audiences’ clear interest in only hearing about The Walking Dead. The best part was, as a member of the press there for Nerdophiles coverage, I was able to sit up in the front of the room and take amazing pictures throughout. I can’t imagine getting that close at a bigger con like SDCC and I think that might be one of the perks of a smaller, local con as well. As my second convention overall and my first local con, I can’t wait to watch Awesome Con to continue to grow and make more of these awesome memories over the years.
San Diego Comic Con
Convention: San Diego Comic Con 2013
My best moment was probably deciding to leave Hall H (after waiting in line early in the morning to get in) to go back to the hotel room, shower, feel clean, and then head over to NerdHQ. I don’t know what it was about sitting in Hall H that was making me so anxious, but I really didn’t want to be there after I sat through the panel for The World’s End.
I wandered around the Gaslamp for a bit, picked up some awesome swag, and then ended up at Zachary Levi’s NerdHQ where I chilled out on some very comfortable couches and disappeared into my iPad for a while. As I was sitting, an adorable older couple dressed up like characters from UP came and asked if they could sit next to me on the couch. I said of course and we ended up talking and I made some new friends. The real kicker, though, was when the lady’s husband returned and said one of the volunteers had told him Zachary Levi was going to be doing pictures for $20 and they could go line up now before they announced it.
I jumped on that and we all gathered up our stuff and hopped in line. Turned out we were close to the front of the line and within about ten minutes I was standing next to Zachary Levi, gushing at him about how much I love what he does for Operation Smile, and getting a picture that I will always treasure.
The thing about this which I think is important, and something I will take with me to every con, is this: be willing to give up the guaranteed for the chance to do something spontaneous. I had guaranteed seats in Hall H. I was not required to leave. I would have gotten a ton of swag, seen a ton of panels, and had a lot to talk about. Instead, I decided to give that up to go do something that would have possibly ended up with me wandering around San Diego all afternoon, but ended in me getting to meet a favorite actor and some other really cool people.
So my best con moments almost always come from spontaneous decisions, which can be tough in the middle of a con when you’ve planned out everything you want to see. Still, I encourage everyone to make spontaneous decision whenever possible because you never know what might happen.
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