Fred's Nose

There was a story I forgot to tell on my Salute to Supernatural report over at Supernatural Sisters.

Fredrick Lehne (aka Fred*) was so cool up on stage and walking around, that Number One and I got a photo op with him when we hadn't originally planned to. He was taking time to chat with everyone (normally against the rules, but his line wasn't that long). I told him he convinced me to break the bank, and he said it's worth it [so far as memories go]. He talked about when his kids swam with the dolphins, and it was a buttload of money, and then they wanted, like, $50 for the CD of pictures, and he rolled his eyes and grumbled.

And then he said, "I'll tell ya something, though, I'd have paid five HUNdred dollars, I'm that glad to have them. I don't know, I could push her around with my nose if you want." And he made a move like he was going to! We understood the reference and laughed, but he explained anyway about having a photo of his daughter being pushed by the dolphin's nose. :)

Anyway, he was just cool.

~~~
*We had dinner with my nieces last night, their last night before they went home, and celebration for Number One's birthday. She made a few more references to Supernatural and the convention, and one of her cousins complained that she needed to use the character names rather than the actor's first names, because they don't know those. That's what happens when you spend 15 seconds with someone! You suddenly "know" them! LOL

The Convention

I just posted my con report at Supernatural Sisters. It's late and has been a very long week, so I'm tired and it's probably dull as dirt, but hey, there are some pictures! :) Check it out.

I Survived!

So I'm home from my three days unplugged. It was torture!

Partly it was torture because I had images of my e-mail backing up. I only have two client projects (next on the to-do list!), so my occasional anxiety was unfounded. I considered going to the business center, but there really wasn't ever time.

Partly it was torture because all around me people were using their smartphones to access Twitter and Facebook, and the celebrities were doing the same, and I felt a little left out. But I also was glad I have a cheapo non-smartphone and am not on Twitter, because those people who were reading and/or typing weren't paying full attention, and for the money we paid, I wanted to pay full attention! :)

So here's what I came home to:

368 e-mails in my inbox

32 e-mails in my spam folder (all deletable)

20 of the e-mails were old, from Thursday night, that I either had to save or act on (8).

59 e-mails I deleted as junk, irrelevant, or stuff I didn't need to read. There were a few more I should have just deleted unread. :)

75 of the e-mails were introductions in one of my writer chapters. Which is great, but figures they did that the weekend I was gone!

I'm down to 27 e-mails that need action. Then I have regular mail to go through, checkbooks to update, and a kid I really need to spend time with. What I CAN'T do and really want to is troll Facebook and Twitter. Eventually, I'll post pictures and reports.

But first, to work!

I'm Unplugging. Hold Me.

Tomorrow--very early, way too early for the summer--Number One (see how I used the correct designation there?) and I are going to the Creation Entertainment Salute to Supernatural in New Jersey. And I made a radical decision.

I'm not bringing my laptop.

Normally I would refuse to leave it behind no matter what, but

1) they charge for Internet access;

2) it's a very full schedule with very late nights, two early mornings, and sleeping in on the third morning;

3) I'll be with friends, so even down time won't be down time.

I leave the house before 8:00 a.m. tomorrow and don't get home until late Sunday.* Three. Whole. Days. With no e-mail or Internet. Some of you are baffled. You go whole weeks without checking, right? Maybe a couple of days at a time. You don't understand. I hardly go a couple of hours without checking e-mail. 100% of my work is done that way, so I'm conditioned. And almost inevitably, if I let it go for a day or two, something important comes up and I regret it.

But I'm doing it this weekend, and anticipate a huge flood when I return. Hopefully, the likes of Misha Collins, Aldis Hodge, and Matt Cohen will be enough to stave off withdrawal symptoms, and if not, I can always have Lori, Megan, and Number One comfort me. :)

Wish me luck!


*Don't bother putting us on the "empty house, let's go rob them" site, the house won't be empty.

My July

July is my favorite summer month. I'm not sure why. Maybe because it has a holiday, which mattered back when I had an outside day job (and will again!). Maybe because June has the end of the school year, and August has the beginning, so July is the only truly open summer month.

Plus, July usually has great events, and this year is no exception.

This Saturday is another City Islanders game. This one is regular season, but it's more exciting after we beat the MLS NY Red Bulls on Tuesday, in the Lamar Hunt Open Cup. We've got one win in the regular season (6 losses, 4 ties), so as much as I love watching the guys, it's less exciting when you expect to not win. But in Open Cup play, it's been awesome. The Red Bulls had won 8 games at a much higher level than we play at, and slaughtered their competition in open cup play. We didn't expect much, but it was an awesome game.

Next week Number One and I go to New Jersey for the Salute to Supernatural. We're still annoyed that this is the ONLY convention Jared and Jensen refused to sign up for, but since they started filming this week, they'd have canceled anyway, and that would probably have been worse. We'll be with my good friends Megan and Lori, so we'll have a great time.

After that, I've got:

Hersheypark with the kids and their cousins, and my SIL, on July 13
Paperwork at new job on July 14
Training at new job on July 15
Start new job July 19
Next Open Cup game against DC United on July 21 (and a few more home games along the way)
Lamenting not attending the RWA National Conference July 28-31

How's your July looking?

NPH and Dryers

I dreamed this morning that Neil Patrick Harris was trying to sell me a dryer at Montgomery Ward.

It was really Neil Patrick Harris, too, not some appliance sales guy who looked like him. I was surprised, of course, I didn't think he'd need to have a job like that, but then, I wouldn't think Aldis Hodge needed a Taco Bell commercial, either.

Anyway. He was really sweet and helpful and eager to sell me the dryer I really wanted but then I found out it was $1300 and I can't afford that. So I never bought a dryer, but I did get to hang out with NPH outside the job because he was lonely and friendly and that's always my fantasy with celebrities I like--that we can hang out like friends. No, that we can BE friends.

Which was why the Salute to Supernatural last year was so awesome. I feel like a geeky fangirl all the time, but Richard Speight Jr. and Gabriel Tigerman did not treat us like that, they hung out with us and talked to us like we're interesting people. Gabe even came back to the table after being lured away by others. Twice!

We're just over two weeks away from this years convention. Can you believe I didn't have it on my calendar? I'm finally getting excited. Still annoyed that Jared and Jensen are going to every friggin' other convention in the world but can't come see us. But they've posted the schedule and it's enhanced over last year. Bigger and better dessert party, official star presence at the karaoke party, including Richard. I don't know if I'll try to talk to him this year. I can't think of anything to talk about except how he told us to watch Open Water 2 because we see Eric Dane's butt and we actually see a whole lot more of Richard's! Or at least his character's.

Megan is a lot better at the small talk than I am.

Anyway.

Part of last night's dream was the dryer, which is going out and I really want a new one before it dies, because being without one for even a little while will suck, but we're not going to buy a new one until we have to. The problem is, I'm sure, the belt, which is replaceable but not by us, and it seems ridiculous to pay a repair person a few hundred dollars to fix a dryer that's 12+ years old. A new dryer would save us electricity $ in the long run, too.

I had an annual exam today that I had to reschedule. I thought they'd give me a hard time, but for the first time EVER they didn't. So the rest of my day looks like this:

1. Shower
2. Client edits
3. WIP
4. Toy Story 3 with kids and Nana
5. Dinner in the food court
6. City Islanders soccer

Since my phone call to the doctor's office went the opposite as expected, I'm being full-on positive today. I will get the edits done, write more than I did yesterday (10 page) on my WIP, get a request for a full manuscript, and have NO STORMS anywhere near the soccer game.

What's your day look like?

Why the Gold Package--and Never Sleeping--is Totally the Only Way to Go

First, if you've looked at convention details at all, you know the Gold Package contains pretty much everything but the photo ops. (the autographs alone are worth a couple hundred individually) This one also included two exclusive events.

The first one was the dessert reception on Saturday night. This was the only event that was not ideally managed, but I blame the hotel for moving the venue to a much, much smaller room. It was jam-packed, and there weren't enough seats for everyone. At the least, some people couldn't sit with their friends. By the time they let us in, the ice cream at the sundae bar was more than half melted, and it was impossible to make and carry a sundae without dripping it all over yourself. Well, impossible if you also wanted chocolate-covered strawberries (and who doesn't, really) and a beverage? I dripped chocolate all over the table. That would have been okay if anyone had noticed. If one of the guests commented on the mess, I was going to say I drooled when they came in the room. But, alas, they failed, or were too polite, to notice.

The breakfast was better handled. The let us into the room in groups. The first set of people chose seats and then went to the buffet, and as they got through, they let the next group of people in to do the same. It was also in the larger room, so it all flowed better. The food was really good, too, and it was nice not to have to pay for a meal in the overpriced restaurant.

At both events, they circulate the guests all around, two minutes at each table. For weeks--months!--I'd wondered how on earth I'd come up with anything to say. Turns out...it wasn't a problem. Not just because everyone else had plenty to say, but because my brain actually worked when faced with engaging people.

So Gold ticket holders get to attend those two events. Originally, it was going to be different people at the dessert reception (but I'm glad it changed because Gabe was awesome) and then Jared at the breakfast, and I don't think he would have sat at the tables with us, he would have just been on stage.

Gold ticket holders also get the primo seats in the main auditorium, of course. We were in row C. Lori was in row D, but sometimes she came up and sat with us because there was an empty seat. The last perk of Gold is getting in line for authographs sooner. That's the most tedious part, the only time there's any real waiting.

Okay, now how does not sleeping fit in?

These next two sets of stories are what elevated this trip from excellent to (one of) the best weekend(s) of my life.

Friday night they had a karaoke party at 11:00. It wasn't very crowded, I'm guessing mostly because it was late. And maybe because we had a higher proportion of first-timers who didn't know what they'd get out of it besides, you know, karaoke.

Someone had asked Chad if he was going to attend, and he said absolutely, so I asked Jason, who said probably not because he had family coming in. I was bummed, but about half an hour into the torture singing, we spotted both of them. A while later, Richard came in and sent our table aflutter. Kayleigh and Mallory went over to talk to him, and when she came back Kayleigh said he was the nicest guy in the world. So Lori pushed me and Megan into going to talk to them.

Now, this was hard for me. Small talk with anyone is painful. I do not have the gift. My sister-in-law's sister and her husband do, so much that I'd have thought the fairies gave it to them or something. My brain just doesn't seem to like it. I always envision myself being lame and causing awkward silence and halting conversation as the other person wishes desperately that I'd go away.

Thank God for Megan and Lori. They made it so easy! So we did it, we sidled up to Chad until he finished his current conversation and kind of turned our way. We talked for a while, then sidled on so someone else could move in, while we corralled Jason and talked to him (he knew who Megan was! It was very gratifying). Eventually we let him go, too, and made our way to Richard. And stalled.

Because he was so COOL. The discussion flowed freely and I forgot we were silly fangirls talking to an actor. We were creative professionals sharing insights and opinions. Chad joined us after about 10 or 15 minutes and we talked for a long time more. Eventually I noticed other people crowding in really close. Not (I hope) in a "get out of here we want to talk" kind of way (most of the people had already talked to them), but in a "listening intently" kind of way. Megan pointed out more than once that there was an advantage to being last, and it paid off. We talked until one of the Creation people made us stop and let Richard go to bed because he had to be up early in the morning (I don't know why, stuff didn't start until noon, but maybe there was something else I missed/chose not to pay hundreds of dollars for). It was nearly 1:30 so we went to our room, which was a mistake because apparently, even though I thought the karaoke machine had been shut down, Chad decided he would sing. It was on YouTube by the next morning.

Saturday, before the dessert reception, I saw Richard crossing the lobby as we were about to go into the bar where we'd spotted Misha Collins in the back. Terri Clark, one of my fellow Supernatural Sisters, had suggested I interview Betsy Morris (screenwriter of Ten Inch Hero) and mentioned she wanted to interview Jim Beaver. Inspired by that, I stopped Richard and asked if he would be willing to do an interview with me for the blog. He agreed, and then we (the four of us, as I was never without my conversation greasers) lingered outside the bar talking about his father's novels and other things. While we were talking Misha left the bar, but we were pretty okay with missing him. :)

Finally, after the dessert reception, we did make it into the bar, where Richard and Gabe came in a short while later. Richard paused only to ask if Gabe wanted a drink, but Gabe lingered, even when Richard never came back, and wound up sitting with us the rest of the night. Even after he'd get up and talk to some other people, he'd come back. Jason Manns joined us for a little while, too. Other fans hung out *waves at Mike and Darlene and the Gaiman fan whose name I forget!* until we all dejectedly gave in to the late hour and the looming daylight savings time.

A little perspective...

I'm obviously giddy about all the time we got to spend with these celebrities. I want to stress that I don't think it makes me special. They spent time with a lot of people, and they won't remember me if we meet up again, say at next year's con in Parsippany or on the set for the movie of my book, which will cast all my favorite actors. :) I'm thrilled that they seemed to enjoy talking to us not because it feeds my ego (though, okay, there's a little of that), but because it showed them as regular people. The things we talked about were either normal (lasagna and honeymoons and cars) or made to seem normal (the film world) because they shared it as if it was.

Also, the fact that they came down to spend casual time with the fans (Todd and Malik were in the bar Saturday night, too, but we missed them) when they didn't have to created a whole new dimension to fandom. They connected their side of the entertainment line to our side, making it a relationship instead of something that has potential to be cold and a little sad.

This is good business, of course, becaues making us feel special helps cement the real relationship, that between our money and their wallets. If they make us like them as people, we'll go rent their movies and watch their shows and give them free promotion, to a greater extent than we might without that additional spark.

However, that can be done without crossing the dividing line. We (people) can tell when someone is doing a job and when they're genuinely enjoying themselves, and being part of that is more than worth the price of admission.

Thursday's Con Report

I've been freely using first names in my posts this week. "Chad wrote this" and "Gabe said that" and "When we saw Richard..." It feels so pretentious and obnoxious, and I don't want to be That Guy Chick. But in today's society, using last names feels silly and formal, and gee, if they're using your name, you can use theirs, right?

Anyway. Continuing my thoughts on the Q&As...

Sunday we started off with Jim Beaver. He was at the breakfast and left that late, so he started his photo opp late, so he started his Q&A a little late. That kind of threw everything off a little, but they caught up.

Jim talked a lot about his little girl, who sounds like the sweetest thing, though I'm sure she's like any other kid and has her moments. He did say she tries to rule the world... Jim catered to us in every way. He called us idjits and made fun of the boys, told stories about the set and was just playful and fun, even when he was serious. (The most serious moments were when he talked about his upcoming book, Life's That Way, about the year his daughter was diagnosed with autism and his wife with fatal cancer. If he writes like he talks [and blogs, which is, of course, writing], it will be a tremendous book.) He told us he just filmed episode 4.21, and he's in 4.20 and 4.22. You know what that means, right? Bobby doesn't die next month! I no longer care what the death teaser really means. :)

Next up was Todd Stashwick, who has had an amazingly broad career, and it showed in his stage presence and his stories. He talked about The Riches, which I now have to add to Netflix (along with Jim Beaver's Deadwood), and I have a strong desire to go back and watch all the episodes he's guest-starred in that I failed to recognize him. Like Captain Steve on How I Met Your Mother. He looked very different in person, not just from his Supernatural character (duh) but from his Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles role. He talked a little about how opposite the two roles were, with the shapeshifter being so emotional and the Terminator being totally devoid of emotion. He mentioned talking to Summer a lot about how to do it, and it was a really funny image to me--this very young, small girl instructing this really big, experienced actor in the physicality of a role.

After Todd we got Malik. (He doesn't go by Charles.) He was an interesting dichotomy. One minute he's sounding like a lovely voiced televangelist or self-help guru, advising us to live our lives with no limitations--the next he's making toilet jokes. A little later he breaks into his closing monologue on spirituality to scold Misha for being noisy backstage and then tells us the angel is stripping. Malik, I was delighted to see, will be on the new Nathan Fillion crime drama Castle.

Finally, the (substitute) headliner, Misha Collins. I have to say this again: He is just so beautiful. I've been watching Bones so I can't help but point out that it's the symmetry of his face. But it's also his eyes, and the fact that he makes eye contact with every person he talks to. When he was at our table at the breakfast, he mentioned he was from Massachusetts, and interrogated quizzed me on where in Mass. I was from, like, exactly. He's a New England Patriots fan--I could not love the guy more.

One more post coming, where I save the best for last, and explain why The Gold Package is the Only Way to Go. Also, not sleeping. The other only way to go.

The stuff I've saved is the best for me, but I'm going to warn that it might not be terribly interesting to read. If you like to live vicariously regarding experiences you want to have, you might like it. If you get really jealous and think that people like me don't deserve this stuff, or, worse, that I should be kicked in the face...

It will have been worth it. Sorry. :)

Salute to Supernatural--Ramblings on Wednesday

There were three essential elements to the convention: The Q&As, the photo opps, and the autographings.

The photo opps were pretty impressive. Once the line starts moving, it goes fast, which is great until you get in front of the camera. Then you barely have time to register "OMGI'mTouchingJasonMannsHisBackIsSweatyOMG" before it's done. Creation's FAQs say they take about 15 seconds, but it's really closer to 10. Megan and I got almost all ours together, so add the time it took to remind Chris we were doing two, and we got maybe 23 seconds with each celebrity.

But the quality is really good. At first glance, I would actually think "Wow, that's perfect." Then I'd realize my upper lip disappears when I smile, and I have a bit more double chin than I should, and even that Misha's conserving his smile in my copy.

And then I realize it's a picture with Misha Freakin' Collins and it goes back to perfect.

The autographings are the opposite. Not at all rushed, which is nice once you get up there, but realllllly slow until then. We were in row C (Lori in D) and probably had to wait half an hour before they called us to get in line, then another 15 or 20 minutes in the line itself--less time for Chad, who was alone, and because we only had about half the attendance on Friday, and more on Sunday with having four autographers at once.

Because I have the most awesomest best friend in the world, I got special autographs. She gave me a small notebook with pictures of Sam and Dean in it, and I used that for signatures. Every single person exclaimed at how cool it was and flipped through it. I'd printed and glued photos of the other actors so they had their own pages, too.

Which meant that Chad saw a picture of Jared shirtless, and joked about it, and then he wrote "Natalie, Sorry I don't have any shirtless shots like Jared." I teased that after his documentary, My Big Break, comes out, we'll have plenty. He laughed. I basked. (And when I got home, I changed his picture because he's a doll and needs a doll picture, not an Ash picture.)

Jason Manns signed stuff for free. I hadn't put him in my book or brought anything to be signed, because I was going to have him sign stuff for my friends who couldn't come. But when the time came, I panicked and went to buy a picture of him. It's an old headshot, and it's very nice but doesn't look at all like him anymore. And then Chris was handing out the photos from the photo opp, so I had TWO for him to sign. I ended up going through the line twice.

Saturday we got signatures from Richard, Gabe, and Traci. Richard said the pages were like sheet music, drew a few notes, and wrote "Play that!" Gabe's photo was Andy, and he identified the scene and wrote a speech bubble saying "Can I have it?" Traci drew a "(heart) & Rock n' Roll!" with a musical note.

On Sunday I got caught up in talking to the guests, so they focused less on the writing. But they had room so did more than just sign their names:

Malik: To Natalie All my Love Love is Great Charles Malik Whitfield 09 Baby

Todd: 2 Natalie What a Pleasure!

Misha: From One Angel to Another (which he also wrote on Lori's photo)
I also got my photo with Misha signed, and since that was with Megan, he wrote "Thanks for the Threesome!" Made me giggle. :)

Jim: Love and Luck

The Q&As are all a blur to me. I remember a few stories, which will be recounted all over the web. The highlights:

Chad Lindberg's documentary sounds intense. I really hope they get distribution for it. Check it out at My Big Break. It shows the seedier side of Hollywood, and I don't mean the hookers. Wait. He didn't say there weren't hookers...


Richard Speight, Jr., was a great speaker, very confident and smart and funny. He writes screenplays and said that's actually his first love, writing. He talked a little about Jericho and how in the episode where Eric's wife died, he was filming Supernatural so he flew in, put on his deputy uniform, drove up in a squad car, looked grave, and that was it. He flew back to Vancouver. The funniest thing to me is that I remember that shot, and how well he did it! LOL His promo moment was for Open Water 2, out now on DVD. I would never ever have watched it before I met him, but now I absolutely have to. Oh, for added appeal, he said we get to see Eric Dane's butt. (I think he referred to him as a Scottish shower aficionado--McSteamy.)


Gabriel Tigerman kind of surprised me. I mean, he had two episodes, two years ago, and there's very little chance his character can come back. On Supernatural, of course, no one ever has to be completely gone, but getting your chest ripped out by a "little demon girl," as he put it, is pretty terminal. But he was very sweet, very funny, and 100% charming. He told the best story of the day, about his own fanboy moment. I can't do it justice, so I'll let you go find it elsewhere. He wrote an independent film, Skills Like This getting limited release as we speak. Look for it!


And finally, we had Traci Dinwiddie. She was as sweet as everyone else, a little shy, but so eager and willing to connect with us, despite being horribly sick. She was very much a girl, lugging a big purse up on stage with her, something I found amusing because I'm so not like that. She told an adorable story and was so embarrassed but plowed through and it wasn't as bad as she made it seem. I can't wait to see her back on the show. (I just checked, and it's tomorrow! Wheee!)

I'm going to stop there for today, because my volunteer period at the middle school book fair is almost up and I won't have time to do more than upload this later. So... stay tuned. The really good stuff is still to come.