Taking the Kids to Con

After a promising horror film on Netflix touting a red hooded girl snuggling a shotgun on the cover turned out to be in German (and I can't draw or write while also trying to read subtitles), I switched over to Mad Men.  I've admired the fashions in the ads from afar, it was time to dive in and actually watch the show. Five minutes into the show, I am pretty sure I would have gone to jail or been locked in an insane asylum.

"Try not to be overwhelmed by the technology. It looks complicated but the men who designed it made it simple enough for a woman to use." -Joan

What. The. Hell?

::Deep breath::

I don't live in that era. I don't live in that era. I don't live in that era.

Okay. Yep. Aside from the women's fashions, there is nothing that appeals to me as a woman from that era. Okay, the men's fashions were pretty swanky as well.  But despite the gorgeous styles for women and yummy men in suits, the misogyny would have prompted acts of verbal retaliation and potential physical assault. My determined stance of independence has been evidenced since childhood and continues into my adult years.

Some may call me combative, stubborn, or difficult (which can certainly be true). Others call me creative and funny and completely nerdy (absolutely true). These traits have served me well as a mother.  I don't allow the children to rule our house in the belief that time outs will win the day. However, we aren't total bummers as parents. We have introduced them to the wonders of things like Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, and a plethora of other things within the nerd and geek culture. We are entering a new age level with our kids and video games have become a fixture for them to play on their own rather than simply watching us play our games. Their aunt and uncle bought them a Sega integrated game system. Simple old school games to get them ready for the more advanced game systems later on down the road. So, for now, they are toiling away at Sonic the Hedgehog. And when they get too far out of line for too long, they lose that privilege.

We are also hitting the age where the kids really want to go to conventions with us. This is a thrilling and anxiety ridden concept. I have seen the parents with a passel of small ones in attendance at conventions and marveled at both their bravery and their fortitude. I, quite plainly, would have lost my mind if I had chosen to drag both kids with me anywhere more complicated than the grocery store in their younger days. Now, they are aware and interested in many of the same things that we (the adults) are. They want to join us at conventions. And we want to take them. We want to put them in costumes and have people think they are fantastic tiny versions of beloved fictional characters. We are strongly leaning toward a tiny Captain Hammer and a tiny Doctor Horrible (they love that movie). Now, we just have to get those costumes together.

We will probably be taking them to Dallas Fan Days or Dallas Comic Con next year. There is also the Sci Fi Expo next February (sorry no link available yet). These are smaller, fantastic cons within driving distance. Eventually, I am sure we will be taking them to Dragon*Con in Atlanta, GA. But for now we want to start in the shallow end of the pool.  

Even the shallow end is scary for the first time. Our first trip was a learning experience for the adults. We learned that snacks are important. Walk talkies are handy when you know your group is going to get split up. Comfortable shoes are absolutely necessary. A good nights sleep doesn't hurt. Now, we have to take all these things that we have learned to survive and put them into effect for smaller, less patient humans...one of whom is autistic and easily distracted. If it weren't too frowned upon, I would seriously consider leashes on the boys. My greatest fear is not a melt down or a tantrum or anything like that. My biggest fear in taking the kids to con is looking around and seeing that they are gone; distracted by some shiny thing and wandered off to see it without saying a word. This is a valid concern if you have ever taken them to a store. "Ooooh Squirrel!" ::sigh:: All the time. So, yeah. I want to take them. I want them to enjoy the same level of oohs and aahs and OMG that's awesomes as we do when we attend. Now, I just have to figure out how to cope with/ manage the anxiety of taking them and keeping an eye on them.

Yes, I know I started this with Netflix disappointment followed by 1960's era man rage, but if you stayed with me to the end maybe you can offer some advice on how to take small humans to con. Or at least how to deal with the anxiety!

-Nerdy Goth

Con Life

So that title is a bit misleading but it's amusing.  Rather than referring to life as a convicted criminal, the title instead refers to attending conventions (mostly of the nerd variety).  We attended the Dallas Scifi expo this weekend at the Irving Convention Center.  The big draw this year were four stars from Back To The Future, Morena Baccarin (Firefly's Inara), assorted Battlestar Gallactica stars, and three of the actresses from The Walking Dead (Laurie Holden, Danai Gurira, and Emma Bell).

There were tons of cosplayers in the house and we were among them.  I was dressed as Doctor Who's Eleventh doctor (played by Matt Smith). The FH was dressed as the Tenth doctor (played by David Tennant). Megan was completely covered in doctor number four's massive scarf crocheted by her sister.  Jerry was the odd man out dressed as Mario.  We figured out much later that it would have been amusing as hell to have Jerry dress as Dr. Mario. Then we still would have had four doctors.  Hindsight is 20/20.  There were a LOT of Doctors in attendance.  I saw many a fez while we were there.  There was even the most awesome Junior Eleventh doctor who had legit Jelly Babies for our number four. There were some impressive Battlestar costumes and the requisite scantily clad chick cosplayers.  I think my favorite of the weekend was the female Loki.

The first day, we took full advantage of our VIP passes and got to meet Christopher Lloyd.  We didn't have the kind of cash to get everyone's signature that we would have otherwise, but we made good use of the "line jumps" that being VIP holders gave us. We decide to use our line jumps for other people.  I found a mom with six kids in tow and let her use one of my jumps.  Turns out, their babysitter had bailed on them at the last minute and she was on her own for the first day of con with all six tiny humans.  I used my second one for a gentleman in a wheel chair.  I used the next one for a could of kids to meet Danai. And my final one I used on Sunday when Laurie Holden's line was ridiculously long.  She wasn't able to be there on Saturday as she was busy shooting the season finale.  I didn't get signatures but I got to meet some of my idols and I got to help out other people.  That is pretty much the definition of win-win to me.

The panels were fantastic. Morena was hilarious and once again we found ourselves calling Nathan Fillion and leaving him a boisterous voicemail hello from the Dallas Scifi Expo.  My favorite part of the BTTF panel was the little girl that came to mic and thanked "Dr. Lloyd" for being her inspiration on her science fair project.  She won first place.  Lea Thompson looks FANTASTIC and doesn't seem to have aged a day.  She is bright and witty and charming.  Christopher Lloyd is getting on in years and I am thrilled to have had the chance to meet the man who made me believe the impossible was plausible if I put my mind to it.  Now to just keep remembering that.

Coming back to the real world after con is always a shock to the system. You spend days in this world where your eccentricities are seen as the norm. You get to dress as  your favorite characters.  You have the chance to see and speak to your idols.  And you get to do all of this in an environment of unquestioned acceptance.  Of course it's kind of a pain to go back to your mundane job and your mundane coworkers who look at you like you have grown a second head when you start talking about your nerd stuff.  But this is the reality of nerd life.  Once the panels are over and vendor booths are packed back up and the actors have gone, you have to go back to work and leave your compatriots in nerd life behind.

For me, it's also going back to job hunt. I had another interview today.  If I can get my computer to work with rather than against me on some software issues, then I may just have a shot at it.  If not, well....there's always the next one.