“Foolish giants covered in hair! We may be small, but you cannot resist our mighty powers of CYOOT-FU!”

Last Friday, Audrey and I hopped on a Jet Blue flight up to Boston to spend the weekend with Audrey’s aunt and uncle, ten year old cousin, and another one of Audrey’s aunts. Pictured above is one of the mini-frogs we found sneaking around their basement. So cute. So deadly. Deadly cute if you will.

Not pictured is Audrey’s ten year old cousin’s score in our death matches of Halo 3. Although I did manage to eek out one win, he completely destroyed me the other two games of death match. This is either proof that ten year olds are just better equipped to play video games or that you should probably never listen to another video game review I ever write ever.

Also not documented were the Roman candles somehow mysteriously lit off in the back yard. No officer, we have no idea how those Roman candles were lit. Maybe it was those alien Lite Brites from a while back.

Much love to Jet Blue. I really hate flying but they somehow made it bearable. The seats were nice and comfy and actually roomy. Both the flight up and back I was put next to giant behemoths whose large bodacity would have spilled into my tiny space on other planes, but on Jet Blue, I was free from their gravitational pulls. I loved the personal little TV that came with every seat even though our flight was a mere hour and a half. And we got Direct TV channels. Word is that Jet Blue will be closing its doors sometime soon which will suck balls. But until then, we’ll be booking with them some more. Until, of course, they piss us off. Then we’ll start taking paddle boats.

As for Boston, what little we saw was full of mighty awesomeness. For example:

• Toscanini’s - There’s a quote from the New York Times hanging on the front window proclaiming that Toscanini’s has the country’s best ice cream. Indeed, I have tasted none finer. This place made me happy and sad at the same time. Happy that such a fun place existed. Not only was the ice cream crunchy pants worthy but it seemed like an awesome place to hang out. Free wifi. Neat electronic quote board that you can send text messages to (if you saw “greetings programs!” and “I got blisters on me fingers!” there Sunday afternoon, that was me). Sad that there’s nothing like that here in Rockville. Poop.
• Newbury Comics - The first thing I thought when I walked into this place was “Fuck, where are all the comics?” The second thing I thought was “Fuck! I–I don’t have enough pants!” Okay, try to read this without making your pants extra crunchy. Start with a comic shop; throw in an import, urban, sci fi toy store; mix in a healthy dose of CD, DVDs, and video games; and you’ll get something that looks a lot like Newbury Comics. *FAINT* HOLY FUCK STICK! First, why has no one told me of this awesome place? And second, WHERE THE FUCK IS MINE? I want one near me right now! Unfortunately, time would not allow a full and detailed exploration of all that this mecca had to offer, but rest assured, when we return to Boston, I shall be spending many, many hours and much, much money wandering Newbury Comic’s bountiful aisles.
• Million Year Picnic - Down the street from Newbury, nestled in some basement, right there in Harvard Square is another comic book shop, Million Year Picnic. Where as Newbury assaults you with all sorts of stuff that is freaking awesome, Million Year Picnic concentrates on comics. This is the place you go for hard to find back issues, indy graphic novels, current titles, and people who know comics. Loved the place so much I had to walk out with some swags. I picked up Scott Pilgrim 3 and 4 because they were about the only things that would fit in my carry-on. But I’d love to spend more time in there digging through the back issue bins for hidden awesomeness.

We had a great time in Boston and we’re looking forward to returning sometime hopefully in the near future.

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Wouldn’t you know it. After having relatively little cons teh dramas the entire weekend, Sunday suddenly exploded with security calls and crisis. Here are the top three:

One final note of caution. If you travel the convention circuit, you’ll soon become fast friends with your fellow artists and con-goers. You will also run into the same people over and over. Should you choose to date on the con circuit, be aware that you do so at great risk. Should anything amiss happen in your relationship, everyone will know. And if you’re the one who fucked it up, everyone will hate you. And you’ll know. Businesses usually have policies against dating co-workers. You should probably treat the con-circuit in a similar fashion just to be safe. I’m not saying that con lurv isn’t a good thing. It’s just a very risky thing.

Overall, I had a great time. Cons are a lot of fun when you don’t have to pretend you give a shit about making money. Honestly, I enjoy drawing for people and hanging out and I had the chance to do that while being helpful. Well, trying to be helpful. I don’t know if I’ll go again next year, but I think this was a good way to end the con season for me. Who knows, maybe I’ll see you all next year.

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There will be a much more extensive post with more linkage, but I wanted to point out the two AZM readers who stopped by The Alley HQ to say “hey.” Yesterday, BAMikeD came by with his cast for me to sign. Looks like you got a lot of fun sigs on that arm. I hope they cut the unsigned part so you can hang on to it. And Cowhat Ninja stopped by with some Kamen Rider gashapon for me as well as a Zabee phone charm! CHANGE WASP! I <3 my readers! She’s got a webcomic as well that updates much more often than mine does. Go check it out!

Waiting for the pizza. Will post more when I get a chance.

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The top three that I heard today:

Someone should be recording this shit!

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We have open doors! WHOOHOO!! So now we have a stairway for entering and one for exiting. Potential life threatening crisis averted.

Also, when asking staff to look up a table, it helps if you know the person’s real life name. They fuck? What the hell happened to using really real names?

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Just kidding. Apparently, someone came down and decreed that the other door (and thus the other stairway) can not and will not be used. Back to funneling all the artists and attendees up and down one stairway. No good can come of this.

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Reporting from the floor of The Alley at Otakon 2007! Strangely, I’m having a lot more fun this weekend than I was last weekend. So far, things have been running fairly smoothly. However, we are not without the occasional snag. The Alley is in a new hall whose men’s room has been out of service for at least five years. There is a handicap bathroom right next to it with a toilet and a lock so for once, us men can experience the bathroom line jig normally performed by women at countless events.

There is also one lone stairwell that leads in and out of The Alley. The escalators are not running and the Baltimore Convention Center staff refuse to turn them on. This is a potential hazard that’s not quite as funny as the bathroom thing, but people are being nice to each other and walking single file up and down the single stairway.

OH! Good news, we will in fact be able to use another stairway that was previously locked off. Awesome! Hooray! Potential death trap averted.

From what I understand, staffing The Alley is relatively painless. Aside from checking people in, shuffling table assignments, dealing with artist teh dramas, things are pretty straight forward. Of course, I can say that because I’m not in charge of the thing. I’m sure if you asked, Rich, he’d tell a different story.

All in all, it’s a good way to end the con season for this year. I’m being somewhat helpful and I don’t have to pretend that I’m doing this crap to make money. HAHA! Anyway, gotta get back to answering questions. We’ve got the master list of where everyone is so we’re fielding location questions. Wheeee! More when I have a chance.

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Off to Otakon! I’ll be in the artist alley as staff for the first, and probably last, time so I’ll see ya there. Not sure what the internets situation will be up there and I still have my ConnectiCon report to post, but I’ll bring along my laptop just in case. Hope it sucks less than ConnectiCon did for me! Whoohooo!

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Okay, last shitty pun headline for SF, I swear! At least for this trip!

We decided our last day in SF should be spent doing some really touristy things. So we picked up our MUNI one-day passport and hopped on a cable car. We grabbed a space inside the car instead of out the more life-threatening outside rails because we were more interested in getting from Market all the way over to Fisherman’s Wharf than anything else.

We got the Wharf and tried to find the Ferry Building. We wanted to go to Sausalito for lunch and my aunt gave us the schedule for the Ferry Building. We asked some tour guide to point us in the right direction and he tried to upsell us some sort of resort stay and wine tasting. Huh? Point your finger in the direction we need to go and shut you pie hole! Hell, he gave us the wrong information anyway.

The Blue and Gold Fleet that leaves out of Pier 41 is not the Ferry Building. We discovered that on the trip home. But it got us to where we wanted to go. The boat trip was rather nice. The weather was still gorgeous so we headed on deck to let the wind blow through our hair! WHEEEE!

We landed and wandered into this cute little shop that sold all kinds of fun toys and gadgets. Think Spencer’s but brighter and more fun. I picked up an Ugly Doll on a key chain to keep me company on my long drives to work and Audrey bought a grow-in-water turtle that’s supposed to take three days to grow. It’s not alive, one of them sponge things.

Lunch was sandwiches at this little place that overlooked the water. It doesn’t get much better than prosciutto and cheese on toasted panini. Yummmm. We wandered around a bit more window shopping and taking in the sites. I fell asleep in a Starbucks while Audrey drank coffee and read the paper. Then we headed outside to sit under a tree and watch a group of Japanese tourists take pictures of each other while pigeons assaulted them pecking for crumbs.

We took the ferry back to SF and headed for The Stinking Rose, a garlic restaurant that I’ve wanted to try for years! This time, we hopped on a cable car and grabbed two of the standy spots on the outside. So cool! So dangerous! If another cable car is passing the opposite direction, you pass within inches of the other tourists. EEK!

The Stinking Rose is quite good if you’re into garlic. If you’re not, you should probably try something else. Each table is outfitted with a small jar of a mixture of olive oil, cilantro, chives, and minced raw garlic. Wow! This shit is superb! There’s garlic everywhere. Our food was pretty good, although I fear I ordered the wrong thing. Audrey’s meatloaf was amazing, but my ribs were a bit on the dry side and didn’t taste of garlic. I doused them in the green garlic heaven sauce. We tried the garlic ice-cream which was much more subtle then we expected.

The night on the town ended with a cable car ride back to Market Street and quick hop into the Urban Outfitters where I picked up one of Tokidoki’s Moofia toys and a Seven Deadly Cin C-boy. I got Leche milk carton and the puking C-boy. Then it was back to the hotel for some vegging, thank-you cards, and sleep.

Overall, we had a great, relaxing time. It’s a good thing there’s a four day weekend coming up. Both of us took Friday off so we can run some errands and such. I’ll probably be blogging much later tomorrow so if AZM isn’t updated yet, we’re still trying to get Audrey’s name changed.

Night!

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Going to be traveling home tomorrow so I’ll finish up the trip recap when we get back. Also, I’ll post some more geeky stuff when I get back. I want to relax a bit and just chill with Audrey before we spend most of tomorrow on stuffy airplanes. Bleh.

Yesterday featured much less walking on my part. I woke up and spent some time updating AZM. Then I sat here watching info-mercials while I wrote many many thank-you cards.

I got a reprieve for lunch and met up with Audrey down at the Moscone Center. Walking back to the hotel yesterday we came across a Thai restaurant that had a fun lunch special. We headed there for lunch. Audrey had some tasty green curry that was just spicy enough and I had some garlic with peppers and tofu. Yums!

After lunch it was bubble tea time at one of the many Asian cafes that litter the city. Audrey hadn’t been in the Metreon yet so we walked around the building while we sipped our bubble tea. It was a gorgeous day so we spent some time outside just chilling in the grassy courtyard behind the Metreon. Then we parted ways. She headed back to her sessions and I headed back to the hotel for more thank-you cards.

Audrey’s sessions ended early in the afternoon so she met me at the hotel and we napped for a bit. I tell ya, afternoon naps are highly under-rated. We decided to try to meet up with Audrey’s boss and his daughter for dinner and they agreed so we headed to the food court at the San Francisco Centre for some Bistro Burger!

OMGZ! The food court at the SFC is kicked up to notches that no food court has ever been kicked before! It’s like some sort of snooty gourmet uber food court. The fanciest food court back home is probably the one at Tyson’s Corner. This food court kicks that one square in the balls.

As you can imagine, the prices reflected this snooty version of a food court. I was more than skeptical about my nine dollar burger, fries, and drink. But they were garlic fries so that’s gotta count for something. Surprisingly, they cooked my burger nice and medium-rare just like I asked. And the bacon was nice and crispy. I dare say, damn, that IS a tasty burger!

We grabbed some dessert and then parted ways. Audrey’s boss and her daughter headed to their hotel and Audrey and I wandered up to the theater to see if we could catch a flick. For only the second time in my life, we failed utterly to be inspired to see anything. The first time happened the night before when we walked passed two theaters and found nothing. Blech.

After wandering the mall for a while and marveling at the dome ceiling that lights up at night, we headed home for, you guessed it, more thank-you cards. It was a nice relaxing day, a welcome change from the hubbub and drudgery of working a day job and commuting all the way around the beltway.

I’ll do today’s recap tomorrow!

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