This was my first all Star Trek convention. The flight out was great, although, getting out of the airport was a little tricky. There's multiple floors, and the elevators have pictures of Chicago sports teams beside the buttons, which are related to the floors...and each floor has a different song playing on it... It's all geared to help you figure out where you are but... Yeah. No.
I have to say, this was a great convention. If you're a first timer, this is a good one. It's large enough to draw big names, but it's still on the small side for a Trek convention. And a lot of the same people come year after year, as far as attendees, so you get to know them. There's also a couple Facebook groups for attendees, which is nice. The hotel staff was really helpful and friendly, and there's a Starbucks right in the hotel.
I was originally going to be there from Friday and leave on Sunday, but Hubby talked me into leaving Monday. I'm really glad I did, because the schedule got behind on Sunday, and I'd have missed out on a bunch of stuff. Based on that, I'd suggest staying through the day after, if you can.
And let me pause right here to just say this: Chicago. Pizza. Just...OMG. We, in New York, know *nothing* about pizza. We are the Jon Snow of the pizza world.
Although, getting the pizza was sort of interesting. I went down to the lobby and asked the woman at the desk if she could recommend some really good Chicago pizza, and she gave me a menu. Up to my room I went. I picked out my pizza and called the place. This happened:
Pizza Place: Pizza Place. Can I help you?
Me: Yeah, I'd like to order (insert pizza order here).
Pizza Place: Pick up or delivery?
Me: Delivery.
Pizza Place: Address?
Me: (insert hotel name here)
Pizza Place: What's the address?
Me: I have no idea. I'm not from around here.
Pizza Place: Is it (insert address here)?
Me: Yes? Maybe? I don't know. It's the (hotel name). (There's only one of them, if you're wondering.)
Pizza Place: I don't want to send the driver to the wrong place.
Me: I'm from New York. I haven't got a clue what the address of the hotel is.
Now, let me stop right here. Typically, when I travel, I know the hotel name, address, all the phone numbers, the hours of room service, and what's in a four block radius *months* before I go there. But this time I thought I'd try something different. Try not to be so OCD about the whole thing. And see what happened?
Anyhow, I eventually got my pizza, or, as I like to call it My Chicago Culinary Orgasm.
But back to the convention...
The vendors area was larger than I'd expected, which was great! The best vendor was a lady who was selling off her father's collection, as he had passed away. She had a life-sized 7 of 9 for sale, which someone bought before the end of the convention. They ended up taking the statue base over and having Jeri Ryan sign it! I bought a lot of stuff from that vendor, and she actually gave me a few really cool pieces the day after the convention ended. She tracked me down through a couple other guests and figured out what floor I was on.
I won Honorable Mention in the Gold Weekend Costume Contest with my Q Costume. Yeah, yeah, I know Q is TNG not TOS, but... ::sigh:: Here's the deal. I've been heavy most of my life. And most of my life, I've had low self esteem because of it. Actually, no. I haven't had low self esteem because I've been heavy. I've had low self esteem because people treat you differently when you're fat.
I mean, it's not like I don't know why I'm fat. I'm fat because I like to eat. I like to eat because food is yummy. I don't eat when I'm sad or angry or whatever. I eat because I like the taste of food. I'm perfectly capable of not eating - I have really impressive willpower. Back in 2001 I changed up my whole diet, dropped a ton of weight. But the thing is, I didn't feel any better being skinny than I did being fat. And in high school? I was anorexic. I weighed 85 pounds when I graduated. The point of all of this is that, up until recently, the Q costume was the only one I had the guts to wear, because my body didn't "fit" the "acceptable look" for the other outfits, like Uhura's dress. Now? Pfft. Honey, if you can't judge me on who I am as a person, instead of what I look like, you can hit the bricks. Self hatred?
Anyhow. I spent a lot of time wandering around the vendors area in my Q outfit, posing for pictures, talking to other Trekkers, and generally having a *blast*. I didn't, however, learn anything from Ottawa, and I wore sandals. Yeah. Don't wear sandals to this kind of event. I spent most of Sunday walking around barefoot because my shoes had actually rubbed the tops of my feet bloody.
The first night there, I met Anthony Montgomery. He played Ensign Travis Mayweather on Enterprise. He didn't realize he wasn't supposed to be at his table in the vendor room, so he was just hanging out, talking to people, signing autographs and whatnot. The next day, I was walking through the vendor area, and he came walking out of one of the doors. I immediately moved to give him a radius, cause, you know #celebrity and he reached out and put his arm around me and said "Uh-uh. Don't go runnin' off! I wanna walk with you." He's *such* a dollbaby. (Dollbaby is my word for people who are just too darn sweet for their own good.) He took time with all the fans, chatted with us, and was so friendly. At the Gold Weekend Party, he came around to each table and sat and talked with everyone. What a nice guy!
I purchased a photo op with William Shatner. OMG. Yeah. That...that was just... Wow. I mean, we didn't really interact, although he did say "That's a nice shirt." I had made a shirt that said Shatner > Fillion (it's a long story, involving Twitter). But I stood right next to him. Right. Next. To. Him. Right there...next to my idol. #worthit
I had a photo op with Nichelle Nichols, too. She's just the sweetest. I had changed into a fancy red shirt with all these sequins because, I dunno if you've seen much of her but...woman knows how to dress. There was no way I was going to look anything less than fabulous. I entered the photo op room, I was probably 10th in line, and this happened:
Nichelle Nichols: I hope you know you're not getting out of here with that shirt because I just love it.
Me: (grinning like a moron)
Nichelle Nichols: (as I finally approached) That shirt is just dynamite! (to the camera man) Isn't it beautiful?
Camera Man: It is!
Me: I wore this specifically for you because I wanted to look pretty for you.
Nichelle Nichols: (reaches up and cups my cheek in her hand) Oh, baby, you're already pretty.
Me: (some kind of unintelligible babble as she grabs me and pulls me in for a hug and I try not to bawl my eyes out).
OMG. Seriously?! Holy. Crap. Just... Wow.
So, I rambled back up to my room, whilst furiously dialing my husband's number to tell him what an OMG fabulous time I'd just had. Later that night, I realized I'd forgotten to go down and pick up my photo. So there I am, at like, 10 PM, running through the hotel, in my boxer shorts and a tank top, my hair dripping wet from my shower, barefoot.
I also had a photo op with Gowron and Martok, the Klingons. Well, Robert O'Reilly and J. G. J Hertzler, who played them, respectively, but... IN FULL KLINGON COSTUME. I wore my Q outfit for the photo, and when I was walking away, one of them - I'm not sure which one - was thumping on my hat like it was a drum.
All in all, I had a fabulous time, and I hope to be able to go back this year. It's been announced that Chicago will be one of the 50th anniversary sites in 2016, so if I can't make it this year, I'll be there next year for sure!!!
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