I don't mind the rat race but I could do with a little more cheese.

This whirlwind weekend consisted of the Richmond Wizard World Comic Con and the Virginia BrickFair Lego Convention just down the road in Chantilly.

Neither the beau nor I cosplayed this con and it was weird not being dressed up. Being in street clothes did make it easier to navigate the vendor area and artist alley and race to panels without stopping multiple times for photos, but I did miss the attention. And Sean, whose first comic/sci fi con and cosplay experience was only two months ago, also admitted to missing the attention. Heh. We're so shallow.

HOWEVER

My reason for not dressing up was so that I would look like myself when I had my photo op with THIS GUY.


Yeah, that's Billy "Fool of a Took" Boyd, aka my most favorite Scottish actor EVER. There were posted rules prohibiting kissing the celebrities, but I noted there was NOTHING about licking them. I was good, though, and did not lick the Boyd. Nor did I bother him with fawning, gawking, or fangirling when he strolled up next to me at the hotel registration desk to check in while I was getting a second key card for my room. His panel was highly entertaining and he stated that his band Beecake was working on a US tour for this autumn. Time's running short, and they're feeling the crunch, but hopefully it comes to fruition. I told him that I hoped they would put the DC area on their schedule since I didn't know about Beecake when they toured the east coast in 2009.

Aside from trying to play it fairly cool while in the presence of the Boyd (but having a pretty big adrenaline let-offs after the photo op and autograph which made me weak and wobbly [Sean had to keep me upright after we got a few feet away from the booth]), the con was extremely low-key for the beau and myself. Sean attended a panel on working with various costume-making materials such as worbla and eva foam, plus did a little shopping which included stocking up on Star Wars Lego minifigs and a couple of Star Wars tees. I purchased a Stormtrooper-themed baseball jersey and some postcard-sized Adventure Time character sketches. Nothing else needed to come home with me. Watching, rather than participating in, the costume contest was also stress free and there were lots of great costumes which paraded across the stage. Sean and I spent a fair amount of time over dinner and on the drive home tonight brainstorming costume ideas for next year's contest. Heh heh heh.

And speaking of dinner, we had an amazing meal at a place called Pasture which is located only a block away from the Marriott. When I found it online that afternoon, I thought the tapas-sized dishes looked amazing and the craft beer list would please Sean. I got a delightful surprise when we entered the restaurant and I spotted the Boyd himself eating dinner at the bar. Sean suggested I send him a pint (ha. ha.), but I was respectful and left him alone. Merely glancing at his back multiple times through dinner counts as leaving him alone, right? Oh, and the food was gorgeous and Sean was VERY happy with the beer.

This past weekend was my second visit to Awesome Con in downtown DC and this time around I knew a bunch of folks going and actually met up with everybody except for one. This was also the first comic/sci-fi convention the beau attended and he didn't know what to expect. I guess there's not as much programing or celebrity run-ins at gaming conventions... He dressed as a Star Wars Rebel Trooper and I wore my Stormtrooper pin-up duds. (Gotta brag for a moment: he made his shirt [it was the first garment he'd made aside from silly pants and t-tunics during his SCA days and it gave him the confidence to make the British military tunic I have featured previously], the vest, and both of our blasters; I have GOT to get a close-up of my Stormtrooper blaster!) Before we even got in the main convention hall, he had people taking his photo because while Stormtroopers and Jedi are a dime a dozen at cons, there are few Rebel Troopers wandering about. Well, except for this con because the Rebel Legion was in attendance. A group even accosted him at one point with a "Why aren't you at your post, soldier??" It was all fun and games until the leader noticed my Stormtrooper dress and ordered the others to fire at me.

Star-crossed lovers.

( Aim for the dress! )

I actually did a pretty good job of not buying all the things, but I did score some artwork and a pair of panties feature Admiral Ackbar's face and the text "It's a trap!" on the front. I also got Rob "Pinky" Paulsen's autograph to bookend Maurice "The Brain" LaMarche's on my "Pinky and the Brain" DVD box. My con mission was accomplished.

We realized that we were done for the day around 3:30 and said our fond farewells to friends and limped our way to the metro for the (interminable) ride back to Virginia. Despite being exhausted, the beau said he had a great time. Of course, I had a good time; I almost always do. We then slept the sleep of the overtired in preparation for a second day of costumed fun.

( More photos from the day. )

OMG OMG OMG

The guest list for this year's Wizard World Comic Con in Richmond, VA was looking pretty thin and pirategirleee and I were starting to think giving it a pass this year would be the thing to do. But today she discovered -- and kindly passed along to me -- that BILLY BOYD will be in attendance.

I'm dying. Dyyyyyyying.

PG sort of mentally shut down when we met Bruce Campbell at last year's con. I hope, hope, hope that I don't do that when I meet Billy. As the exchange in "Pulp Fiction" goes:

Jules: Now Yolanda, we're not gonna do anything stupid, are we?
Yolanda: You don't hurt him.
Jules: Nobody's gonna hurt anybody. We're gonna be like three little Fonzies here. And what's Fonzie like? Come on Yolanda what's Fonzie like?
Yolanda: Cool?
Jules: What?
Yolanda: He's cool.
Jules: Correctamundo.

Coincidentally, Henry Winkler will also be in attendance at the con...

Now, I don't want to be That Guy, but I might have to dress as a hobbit for a portion of the con. My 8th Doctor frock coat and waistcoat would fit the bill beautifully. Throw in a pair of capris, a shaggy wig, and some furry feet and I'm set!

I'm a-leavin' on a jet plane (puddle-jumper, actually) for the wilds of Alabama and Arkansas and not-so-wilds of Tennessee for an extended weekend visit to my hometown of Hughes, Arkansas. It seems that the student body of the school district is so small that the district is being consolidated with Forrest City -- a community about thirty miles away -- and some of the locals began plotting an All Years' Reunion for the alumni of Hughes High School before the closing of our alma mater. While I didn't graduate from HHS due to our move to Germantown, TN, I did attend the school from kindergarten through ninth grade. Add to that, my church is celebrating its centennial. The congregation decided that they would take advantage of the influx of former residents and host a special service and luncheon to commemorate the occasion.

Well. Besides my yearly trip to visit my father and his family who live an hour or so north of my hometown, the only other reasons for going to Hughes have been funerals. While it's sad that the school is being shut down, a reunion will be a fun event and the centennial celebration even more so. How could I resist?

The RSVP list was posted this week and I'm positively giddy about who will be attending! Old school chums, my sixth grade teacher (whom I adored), my algebra teacher (who was a terror, but we respected and learned SO MUCH from her; also? she was my father's, his brothers', and his sisters' algebra teacher as well), a whole mess of my besties, so many of my folks' besties, and my dad, uncle, and aunt. Not that I necessarily needed it, but this will be a lovely closure of my childhood.

Also? I get to spend several days with Mom and Pete at the lake house. Yay!

I woke Saturday morning with the remnants of two vivid dreams in my head. The first was about orange juice, and I could practically taste it. The second was a full length documentary about anime. Unfortunately, as I told the beau, I had no idea how accurate the documentary was because I don't speak Japanese.

The beau and I were invited to a "fancy dress" gathering at McClellan's Retreat in the Dupont Circle area of DC this past weekend. The friends who invited us are in the steampunk and dandy circles, and with this establishment evoking the American Civil War era through decor and drink menu, we plotted new clothing choices for the beau beyond his British military tunic. We settled upon a suit jacket and slacks, but he needed a waistcoat with more flair than the subtle pinstripe and more formal than the garish plaid vests already in his collection. We decided that a trip to the thrift store was in order.

I was quickly derailed by finding a red puffy vest the likes of which I'd been coveting for months. And not far from the vest was a sharp little tweed-ish dress suit which fit me perfectly. Oh, yeah baby. So, with my "kills" in hand, I went in search of the beau.

He had not found any suitable waistcoats in his size (only smalls and extra-extra larges), but he did discover TWO tuxedo jackets. I preferred the one with curved lapels and, happily, it fit him like a dream. He wondered if there might be a tuxedo shirt lurking about and I set to examining all of the white button-downs in his size. The sixth shirt I located was an honest-to-goodness tuxedo shirt with French cuffs and no buttons. Happily, it also fit! The beau did not own cuff links and wondered where we could find some on the cheap; I suggested the jewelry counter. He called me brilliant, kissed the top of my head, and grabbed me by the wrist to race over to the where we found both white and black cuff links. Oh, he also found an AMAZING full-length, wool dress coat (another item missing from his wardrobe). He walked out of the thrift store with a tuxedo jacket, tuxedo shirt, wool coat, and two sets of cuff links for about $60. (My suit and vest cost me just under $30.)

With a quarter of a yard of silky paisley material fashioned into cravat and one of my earrings as the pin, plus the tux shirt, pinstripe waistcoat, tux jacket, dark pants, shiny black shoes, top hat, and dress coat, the beau looked like a rail baron. Oh my goodness, but I am soooo disappointed that I did not snap a photo of him. Myself, I donned a black and gold brocade bustled jacket, maroon walking skirt, the semi-appropriate underpinnings, and a wool and shearling cape which belonged to my grandmother. We made quite the pair on the metro and had a few people ask where we were going. At one of the stations, I heard a group of guys blurt out, "I didn't know 'Gangs of New York' was in town!"

Due to all the track work on every single metro line, we were about an hour late arriving, but we quickly found our friends and discovered that they were in modern "fancy dress" and some of their friends considered "fancy dress" to be a tie over a button-down and jeans.

Oh.

Oh well. We looked fabulous and quickly settled in to getting acquainted with the assembled crowd, making all sorts of new connections, and getting cozy with ACW-era drinks. I had two Sherry Cobblers, which were delicious, and two Sangarees, which were AMAZING while the beau got cozy with a gorgeous port. I've got to redact that Sangaree recipe because I need lots more of it in my mouth even if it did make me a bit of a careless drunk resulting in the loss of my Smart Card while transferring trains at Metro Center. (Funny story: We raced back up to the red line platform to look for my card, but it wasn't to be found. I sorted through my purse when we got back to the blue/orange/silver line platform and then realized that I'd lost my gloves WHICH I'D JUST REMOVED to dig through my purse. The beau gamely returned to the red line platform and located my gloves. I nearly burst into tears from embarrassment, but he sweetly patted my hand.) Don't tell anybody, but I gate-jumped to exit the Reston metro station (okay, I followed the beau quickly through the handicapped gate) but only because there wasn't a station operator at the desk nor did anyone answer the intercom-pager thingy at the desk.

It was quite the day of lucky thrift finds, delicious drink, transit hijinks, and camaraderie, and I think I'm still recovering from all that fun.

July: Spent a week in Alabama (and a couple of days in Memphis) with my family and bestie. Got in lots of lake time and deck time and even a little pool time. Jumped off a 20 foot cliff into the Tennessee River and water skied for the first time in over fifteen years. Aside from the 24-hour stomach virus which ravaged each member of the household, it was a fabulous trip.

Ran into the ex at the shrink's office. She was running behind schedule, he was early for his appointment, and the staff didn't realize that they'd scheduled us for the same afternoon. Oh well. The brief conversation was polite.

Rode my bike the 9.5 miles to the beau's house, impressing the heck out of him. He assumed he would need to drive me back home, but he was very wrong. Rawr. My probably-original-to-the-house hot water heater sprung a leak the day before I left for a week-long business trip to Dallas. Luckily, I caught it early and was able to drain the heater and dry the basement before catching my flight. I ordered a new water heater during my last day in Dallas and had it installed when I got home. W00t. And then most of my SCAdian friends went to Pennsic and started posting pictures from Pennsic and I tried not to give in...
August: I gave in and scooted up to Pennsic for a long weekend and it was TOTALLY WORTH IT. I got to see almost everybody on my Must See list, especially Her Majesty Calontir, wombatgirl. The only drawback to the weekend is that rained pretty much the entire time, but that did make it a lot easier for me to say good-bye to the modern middle ages and get back home to modern conveniences such as not having to don shoes to make a privy run. The beau is still laughing about my lack of impulse control, I'm sure. However, getting to see far-flung friends and driving a VW Beetle Convertible as a "War Wagon" made it a worthwhile trip.
The next weekend psalite, pirategirleee, and I ventured to the wilds of Manassas for the Prince William County Fair where we took in a demolition derby, ate fair food until I (almost) got sick, rode the ferris wheel and tunnel of terror, and walked away with enough kettle corn to choke a family of mules. I even checked off another post-WLS bucket list item: mechanical bull riding! Wow, is that ever harder than it looks. I mean, I've got some pretty powerful thighs from all my bike riding, but I lasted only 32 seconds before sliding off the side of the bull. Ah well. A group of friends started up a DnD campaign and I spent an evening wearing my reading glasses and retainer while rolling up my gnome sorcerer character. The nerdineth ith thtrong with thith one. Also, I started a long and painful root canal process which wouldn't end until November when my dental benefits ran out for the year.