Surviving the Timpocalypse
Mar. 10th, 2018 11:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
japanesedream_72Yes, it's been a million & one YEARS since I've been on this blog, but I really wanted to detail some of the events of Saturday (3/10), when I attended Monster Mania. As most of the folks that have ever read stuff on my blogs (be it here or my previous LiveJournal) know, I've been going to MM-Con, on & off, since 2009. Well, the Saturday show of this year's March convention offered an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience: the opportunity to meet TIM CURRY!! Much as I loathe to say it, given his health situation of recent years, & the track record of celebrities, especially in the last couple years, I decided to grab that opportunity & hold on with both hands, despite the cost (because what's a little cash outlay if you get the chance to meet Tim Freaking Curry!!), & the fact that he was only doing professional photo ops (something that's come more into play, at least in my observations, since the Boondock Saints appeared in MD in 2010).
As many or most people who associate with me on at least a fairly regular basis know, I hate my face. I am one of the least photogenic people in the entire world, & any photos you see me post of myself that I might actually not despise more than likely took at least 49 failed attempts before landing one that didn't make me want to break down or throw up. (And I'm only slightly joking.)
Anyway, decided to get my cosplay on for the convention, after ordering both my photo op & my general admission ticket. As I was pretty certain there'd be two dozen Rocky Horror cosplayers, & I thought reprising my Addams Family Morticia/Thing from Halloween would be too cumbersome (I'd only thought to do it 'cuz Tim had played Gomez once), nor was I about to try & make the dress from Legend, I went with something simple but memorable: Clue. Specifically, Mrs. White (Madeleine Kahn). Got a little black retro-style, off-the-shoulder dress, some ribbon to make a belt (I just sewed on some snaps), a rectangular, rhinestoned slide to act as the belt buckle, & a black bobbed wig. Fairly easy.
I should've known the day was not going to be as easy when I woke up to a DOUBLE charley-horse. I planned to get up super-early, get ready, make the hour-plus drive down there, & be in the place before the lines got crazy. My alarm hadn't even gone off yet, & my left calf tightened up in excruciating pain. Once it settled a bit, I tried going back to sleep. When my alarm did go off, I moved to get out of bed, & the right calf did exactly the same thing. Once that passed as much as it could, I made a start on getting ready. Not only am I not a morning person in the slightest, but it takes me forever to get ready (as you can tell from looking at me, I'm incredibly bad at it, which is why I give myself a LOT of time to do it, in case I need to try a few times before settling on a "this is the best it's gonna get today" look). I'd hoped to treat myself & maybe grab something at Dunkin Donuts on the way down. Unfortunately, my entire body had decided not to cooperate - especially my face - & it took longer than I'd wanted to get myself together. I also had to sew a hole in one of the feet of my tights before leaving, which took a little extra time. So I skipped breakfast, figuring I'd just grab something at the little cafe in the hotel where they hold the convention, once I got there. Fortunately, I didn't have to stop for gas, & there wasn't a terrible amount of traffic, so I was only 20-30 minutes behind schedule. Unfortunately, once I got to the hotel, I was quickly alerted to the fact that probably everyone else had the same idea - get there early.
The convention is supposed to open at 10 am, but even at 9:30, there was a line of cars stretching up the road, both in front of & behind me, waiting to get in. I've never seen that happen! Usually, even on the worst days for parking (I normally attend on Sundays - it's a 3-day affair - as most one-day visitors tend to go on Saturdays to catch the Q&A's & other events, & Sundays are a little calmer & quieter, but Tim was only going to be there Friday & Saturday), you're able to pull into the hotel & then drive around the parking lot looking for an open space. Not on this day! Took more than half an hour just to find parking. Of course, it wasn't in the hotel lot, or even the lot of the building next door (which charges for parking; the hotel doesn't), but way, way, way down the snaking road behind the hotel, with the park on the opposite side of the street. I've parked down there before, but never this far! I ended up so far past the hotel, I could've stayed at the Holiday Inn up the road (because I was almost directly across the street from the back of it). It must've been a good 10-15 minutes walk to get from the car to the hotel. And in such cold wind! Good thing I brought a jacket. Too bad the wig took such a beating. Never did seem quite as stylish as when I first modeled it, after all that wind. Maybe it's just me.
Anyway, I walked along the still (somewhat) snowy sidewalks (& sometimes in the road when there was too much snow on the sidewalks) with some gentlemen who were parked down my way, chatting about the convention & folks they'd met at previous ones, or were going to meet that day. Once we got to the door, after a recommendation from someone behind me in the ticket line (said line stretching out said door), I went in (since I already had my ticket - actually, they're wristbands rather than traditional tickets), & got the lay of the land. I knew I had a lot of folks to try & see, & I still wasn't 100% sure how the whole photo op thing worked, having never done a professional one before (only the at-the-table photos sometimes offered by celebs...as long as they're included with the autograph; I'm not jazzed when they charge extra for pics), though I knew it said in the confirmation e-mail that you were supposed to be there at least 15 minutes early, & have the e-mail either on your phone or printed out, so they could verify your slot using the QRC code in the message. So I wanted to give myself a bit of extra time, just to be safe. Little did I know!
I have, in the 9 years I've been doing this, never seen so many people at this hotel! Kinda felt sorry for the people staying there who weren't part of the convention. Also felt sorry for the people I later heard had to be turned away when they capped the admission sales. People drive in from other states for this thing, especially when there are big-name guests, & not all of them get their tickets in advance. Even I usually just get one when I get there. So glad I pre-ordered! (I figured it would make sense, since I was already paid up for Tim's photo op.) I've since heard they over-sold the event, & the fire marshals didn't want the hotel to be over capacity, so they were told they couldn't let anyone else in.
Decided to first get the lay of the land, see whose line was in what shape, & take things from there until at least 11:30, since my photo op was in the 12-6 group. I had 3-4 people to get for myself, & 3 for my brothers (though it ended up being 2, since I learned one guest had to cancel). Started off with the folks who had the shortest lines. Ally Sheedy was first. I'd brought my Breakfast Club DVD in the hopes of having it signed, but ended up with an autographed photo since she was charging MORE for "other items" than the offered pictures. (To give a bit of context, there are always photos available at the celebs' tables from the different things they're known for; you can either choose what's offered there, or bring your own memorabilia to have signed. The photos are included in the price of the autograph.) Wasn't jazzed about that; usually, it's either less for your own stuff (Amelia Kinkade did that), or they'll just autograph pretty much whatever for the same price. She was also charging extra for photos with or of her (though you could do a "with her" combo autograph/photo & save a little cash, but I opted to save even more & just get the autograph). She seemed perky & pleasant, & I asked her how she was enjoying the convention, & shook her hand. Quick & nice; okay, on to the next one: Kathleen Turner.
In honour of Serial Mom, I'd been given the brilliant idea by one of my best friends to have Ms. Turner sign a pair of white shoes (the whole 'no white shoes after Labour Day' bit). Neither I, nor anyone I've since talked to about it (or shown the shoes to), had ever thought to do that! Even Kathleen seemed rather surprised when I pulled out the shoes. I did learn something, though - it's apparently an old theatrical tradition that it's bad luck to put shoes on a table. Good to know! I actually had her sign both shoes (the price wasn't too bad, so I didn't mind paying double), & am planning to give the other one to the originator of that unique idea!
Pee Wee Herman & Elvira were in the same room, & she must've gone on a break or something, because they were telling people not yet in her line to come back in about half an hour. So, as I'd been asked to try & procure a Pee Wee autograph, I got in his line. They did have the bicycle from his first movie there, but people were standing in front of it from my vantage point, & then it got moved to a place where I couldn't see it, so I couldn't take a picture of it. They kept telling people "no photography" (I'm guessing this was only related to Pee Wee, as he was only doing photo ops, no table pics; I don't see why the bike would've been such a terrible thing to take pics of.) Despite some nice conversation with a lady from one of the Carolinas, who said if she were still in line after I did the photo op, I could jump back into my spot in front of her, I had to leave both Pee Wee & Elvira in order to make the appointed time for Tim.
I figured, as people I'd spoken to who'd done photo ops before had told me, it'd be a few minutes' wait, then the photo, then it'd be over & we could all go back to the convention.
Oh, ye gods, how wrong I was!!
Now, it is entirely possible that at least some of what happened next was my own fault. I may have not read or understood the e-mail sent to me confirming my purchase of the photo op. However, based on the fact that several (I might even go so far as to say MOST) of the people who shared my predicament thought EXACTLY the same thing, I might venture a guess that it was either not included in the information, or not made clear. It was my understanding (&, it seemed, everyone else's) that if you had the QRC code from the e-mail either visible on your phone or physically printed out, this would be shown to a staff member, either for the convention, for the company doing the photo ops, or both, & this would suffice to get you a spot in line to take the picture.
This was not the case.
Apparently, there is a specially printed ticket featuring the QRC code which has to be printed out on-site before you can assume your place in line. I learned this after asking someone at the admission ticket desk (tickets can be bought when you first go in, if you haven't pre-ordered), who said the photo ops were taking place in the signing room near the elevators. Great. I make my way over there, & there is an info desk by the door. I go up to that desk & inquire about the photo op. They tell me about the need for this specially-printed ticket, & send me upstairs via the elevator to the M, or Mezzanine, level of the hotel. I follow instructions & soon find myself on M level, which is pretty much chaos.
Bless the convention staff, they were in an impossible situation. I'm someone who gets overwhelmed pretty easily, so I can't begin to imagine what they might have been going through. But I'm guessing someone somewhere dropped the ball as far as communication goes. Nobody, including many of the staff members (who, I believe, are all volunteers), knew exactly what was going on. Some people upstairs were being told to go downstairs, but downstairs would send them back upstairs. Everybody who didn't have one of those physical tickets, no matter which artist's photo op you were getting, were in the same line - & there appeared to be multiple lines converging at once, as people were entering the hallway from various places - & confusion ran rampant.
I met some super-nice people in that line, though. Invented our own hashtag-slash-pseudo-political-movement-lol (#WeAreTim), & called the whole chaotic fiasco the Timpocalypse (hence, the subject line of this entry). We're all in touch on social media now.
The nightmare continued - though, thankfully, with a running undercurrent of good-natured discussion with my new-found friends - for TWO HOURS. After a while, they took everyone who was getting photo ops with the cast of the new IT out of line, or at least to the front of it, as they had specific times for their photo sessions. We continued to hang out, for what seemed like ages. Still hadn't had any food (my thoughts of getting anything at the hotel cafe had been dashed the moment I stepped through the doors & saw the sea of bodies). My back was holding up, & my feet were enduring, but it was very tiring, to be sure. So we were all very happy when they were finally able to take a section of the line which included our group into a small conference room filled with chairs.
Got into some more nice conversations with folks in the room (at least one of which we would see again later, & who I've since also found on social media), & I guess we were there for about half an hour, maybe a bit less. At long last, one of the staffers called for anyone seeing Tim who had a QRC code (felt really bad for people who were trying to purchase the photo op on-site, as they were in line with us, only to get that far before finding out it was sold out), & then took us down the back staircase, only to end up EXACTLY WHERE I STARTED, at the info desk next to the elevators. There, the company doing the photo ops had a little station set up to print the tickets out. They asked us how many people in each photo op (you could have 2 adults per shot, & if you had kids who were young enough that they didn't require a separate photo op purchase, they could join you, as well), wrote it on each corresponding ticket, & sent us to the line to actually get into the room with Tim.
Halfway there!
In this line, we would wait, slowly trudging forward, inch by inch, for ANOTHER TWO HOURS. But at least we were back downstairs, where the convention was actually going on! And where there was food! We developed a 'buddy system' to hold each other's places in line so members of our little group could use the bathroom, smoke, or get food. Finally, food! I usually either get something in the cafe or go to the restaurant. Turned out, the restaurant had come to us, in a manner of speaking: the usual convention buffet had been brought out onto the floor, in the sunken lounge area. Unfortunately, all that was left (until they made more, later on) were soft pretzels & french fries. Wasn't really in the mood for pretzels, so I got a cup of fries & a bottle of water. Didn't care, though, it just felt amazing to finally be eating something!
At some point during this leg of the journey, I heard from one of my friends that we were very nearly at Belko Experiment levels of insanity - minus the voice over the loudspeaker telling us all to kill each other, that is. (Though, were that to actually happen, we vowed not to harm each other, & to protect our dear Mr. Curry.) Fortunately, it didn't come to that - but the building WAS on a kind of lock-down: anyone leaving, whether it was to go to the car, to go out & smoke, or even to go out one door to avoid the crowds & come back in the other side of the building, was not allowed back in. Once you were out, you were out.
Fire marshals - 2, Monster Mania - 0.
At long (long, long, long) last, we were ushered into the room where the photo ops were happening. There was a curtained-off area where Tim was stationed, beneath the light stands & umbrellas, as well as a little area of tables & screens & photo printers where everyone got their pictures after they were taken, & I thought there were other guests set up there to do signings, but I don't recall even seeing that part of the room. We were all fixed on the one corner of it all where we would soon find ourselves standing face-to-face with a legendary actor.
When we got up to the front of the line, we got to put our bags & such on a table, & the nice staffer person told us that when it was our turn, to cross in front of Tim & stand on his right side. (For anyone who isn't aware, he had a pretty bad stroke a few years back, is in a wheelchair, & I believe isn't able to fully use his left side.) Even with all those hours to process it, it still hadn't completely 'hit' me that this was happening for real. I'm not sure why that is. I know all these folks are just people. I get it. Then again, I'm completely intimidated by people, famous or not. If life & the world is a ladder that we're all climbing, I'm not on it. Not even the bottom rung. I'm the dirt the ladder is standing on. In fact, I may not even be near the surface of the dirt. (Not really joking here.) But for one brief, shining moment, someone of that caliber (I don't even care if it was a lie or an act or whatever, but I'd like to believe it came from a genuine place of kindness, if not sincerity) made an effort to make me feel (unbeknownst to them) like I wasn't the most worthless piece of crap on the planet.
Sooner than I expected, it was my turn. I knew it was gonna go fast. I don't really do fast. I need time to prepare, both mentally & physically. In terms of the latter, my makeup wasn't horrific (I'd checked), & I'd been assured the wig looked fine (I played with it endlessly). First impressions & all that. Not that I felt it'd matter too much, this guy sees hundreds upon hundreds of people all the time, especially on a day like this one! So in I go, nervous as all get-out, & do as they said, crossing in front of Tim & standing to his right. He asked my name, & I told him. Then he puts out his hand, I thought to shake mine, but he begins to lift it up & kisses it. When I think back to that moment, I can still feel it. He said, "Thank you for coming to see me." I told him I wouldn't have missed it. Then, just before they were going to snap the photo, he says (& I nearly didn't hear him for a second), "You've got a lot of style, Marlene." I don't know if he realised I was in costume, but I didn't venture to say anything other than to thank him. Then the photographer told me to move closer to Tim. I looked at him, about to put my hand on his shoulder, & said, "May I?" Then a SNAP & it was all over. I know I said something to Tim as I was about to leave, like 'thank you' or 'take care' or something. I can't tell you exactly what it was, though.
All that build-up, & suddenly, it was all over. I met up with my friends again & we all eagerly waited for our photos to print. Some of the people in the room were crying. I was just nervous. I stood over the little table with the photo printer begging the universe to please, please, please not let me look like a moron in my photo.
The universe doesn't like me very much.
I'm not exaggerating when I say I think I am pretty much the ugliest person on the face of the Earth. Fairly certain I went over this near the beginning of this post. (Just checked, & yes, I did.) I don't know what the hell was going on with my face in that picture. I know my wig got snagged on the dress or my necklace or something; it's not sitting right. It doesn't look at all like Mrs. White from Clue. It just looks like a horrifically ugly old woman with a bad haircut standing next to one of the sweetest people ever. I hate myself in that picture, & will more than likely never look upon it again. If I didn't pay $100 for it, I'd cut my face out of the shot, burn the piece I cut out, & bury the ashes. But the experience, far more than the picture, was what I went for, & all the terrible waiting, driving, walking, standing, etc., was worth it for that single moment. I will always & forever loathe my appearance in that photo (especially after having seen many people's photos, both those of my friends & those of others via the internet, where EVERYBODY looks absolutely fine in their picture...& then there's me), but I'm not sorry I did it.
Afterward, our merry little band, slowly recovering from our trembling & tears, scampered off to procure some sheet protectors for our Tim photos. At one point, we got separated, then found each other again, but soon parted ways with hugs & good wishes. Thankfully, the world is an ever-shrinking place, thanks to the internet, so it wouldn't be long before we'd hear from each other again.
As for me, I set off to see if there were anyone else I could get before the hour grew so late that I'd have to make a break for it, find my car, & head for home. I don't like driving in the dark if I don't have to, because I don't see well in the dark, & some of the roads I would be travelling aren't very well lit. But I thought I'd do what I could. Pee Wee & Elvira were still packed, & the convention staffer at the door said they were only letting people in once others left. Made my way back to the other signing room, where I planted myself firmly in the Richard Dreyfuss line, now considerably shorter than it had been upon my arrival (when I first got to the convention, his line had been out the door!). I got into some fun conversations with some of the folks in that line, & spoke briefly to the convention staffer overseeing this line about how crazy & crowded everything was. He hadn't seen anything like it before, either.
I did actually get to see & speak to Mr. Dreyfuss, & get his autograph for my brother. He seemed very jovial, & appeared to be enjoying his interactions with the fans. I told him who the autograph was for, & just as he was going to sign the pic, he asked me, "Would you wear that lipstick on any other day?" I said, "Yes, I wear it every day, even to work." I don't think he believed me, lol. Next to his name, he put an X, & said aloud, "Smooch."
I thanked him & dashed off to see if I could snag Pee Wee or Elvira. I did see both of them. She was signing at her table, & I plunked myself back in the Pee Wee line taking up the other half of the room, to give it try # 2 for my other brother (I have 3 of them, for those who don't know). Got into some chatting with a mom who was there with her 2 boys, the younger of whom was a budding artist. Several of the people they'd met, he'd drawn pictures of, & had shown them. That was really nice, I thought.
Sadly, the hour was growing later, the sky inching ever closer to darkness. At one point, Pee Wee came over to address the crowd. He'd had to go put on makeup to do photo ops, but I could've sworn he said he would come back in a few minutes, when he was ready, to let anyone doing the photo op know where to go. He did describe the photo op process, that sort of "hello, CLICK, hello, CLICK" assembly-line thing they have going on, & said there were X number of those he'd have to do, but once it was done, he promised to get everyone in line for an autograph accommodated, no matter how late it got, which I thought was awesome of him. I know everybody was running late for everything. I later heard some scheduled Q&A panels or film screenings ended up being cancelled due to the delays.
Pee Wee left, & I did stick around for a while, debating whether to hit up Elvira's line, or stay in Pee Wee's. I figured if I vacated his line, I might not get in it again, & it seemed that some people did just that - left his line to go into hers. So I figured, at that point, even if I got him, it was kind of pointless to try for her, since it really would be super-late by then.
I'm not sure how long I waited, but he'd said he'd be 10-12 minutes to put on his makeup, & I'm guessing it was at least 20 or more, because it was 6 pm & he wasn't back yet. With a 10-15 minute walk to the car & an hour-plus drive back, I figured I'd better hit the road. That was definitely a disappointment, but I'm hopeful they'll bring those guests back one day. If so, I'll be sure to try for them again - hopefully, they can be there on a Sunday!
Quickly stopped off at the hotel cafe to pick up something for the road. Ended up with a brownie & a good-sized salad with grilled chicken & shredded cheese. Eventually (after walking for what felt like forever, & eating my brownie along the way), got to my car, & drove into the darkening evening until I reached my house at 7:30. Talked to my mom, as well as the originator of the Kathleen Turner shoe idea, inhaled my salad, doffed my tights (both feet were now completely shredded, so I had to toss them), & started posting photos.
Quick note: 3 people in total recognised my cosplay, one of whom asked for a selfie with me! I obliged, of course! Another person complimented my makeup.
Wish I could've gotten pics of more cosplayers - there were some really good ones! An uber-tall Frank N. Furter (a la the Sweet Transvestite scene) from Rocky Horror, another Frank (wearing the scrubs; she complimented my cosplay while we were in line to get our photo ops), Itpool (Deadpool wearing the hair & blouse of the new Pennywise from IT), Jason Poolhees (Deadpool wearing a red Friday the 13th Jason mask), the Torrances from The Shining (they were having some food at a table just in front of the hotel restaurant; that's where Tony Todd (from Candyman & the 1990 Night of the Living Dead) walked right in front of us on his way into the restaurant! (He is a very tall individual.) Saw a couple of Columbias & convention-goers from Rocky Horror, as well as a Magenta, a pretty Nightmare Before Christmas Sally, lots of clowns (considering actors from IT & Killer Klowns From Outer Space were guests, it made sense), several Jasons (Friday the 13th), Michael Myers (Halloween), one or two Freddy Krugers (Nightmare On Elm Street), a Catwoman with a lace parasol, Beetlejuice, lots of IT Georgies & Pennywises (several of the latter being girls, a couple in really cute dresses, & even a little kid one), a couple of Elviras, a little girl dressed as Annabelle, a little boy Pee Wee, a pretty vampire lady (I later learned she was the Lily Munster I snapped last year), a Catholic school uniformed Nancy from The Craft, Vampirella, a young Hannibal Lecter from Silence of the Lambs (complete with mask & straight-jacket), & a couple of Carl Grimes from Walking Dead. Saw a Negan, too. There were some zombies, as well, including this pretty one with white-blonde hair in a white dress, with pearl-like adornments on the side of her face where skeletal teeth & rotting flesh might usually be. Those are all the ones I remember. I did get shots of the best of the Georgies from IT (this one was missing an arm), the Game of Thrones trio - Daenerys, Jon Snow, & Night's King - as well as Isaac from Children of the Corn, the Hawaiian shirt-clad Michael Myers with the sign that said, "Spring Break", & Lord Darkness & Lilly's dancing dress from Legend.
Anyway, that's the scoop on my experience at Monster Mania 39. Gonna wrap this up unceremoniously, & just say that I passed out kind of early that night, & did nothing but rest on Sunday. Part adventure, part disaster, but certainly a day to remember!
As many or most people who associate with me on at least a fairly regular basis know, I hate my face. I am one of the least photogenic people in the entire world, & any photos you see me post of myself that I might actually not despise more than likely took at least 49 failed attempts before landing one that didn't make me want to break down or throw up. (And I'm only slightly joking.)
Anyway, decided to get my cosplay on for the convention, after ordering both my photo op & my general admission ticket. As I was pretty certain there'd be two dozen Rocky Horror cosplayers, & I thought reprising my Addams Family Morticia/Thing from Halloween would be too cumbersome (I'd only thought to do it 'cuz Tim had played Gomez once), nor was I about to try & make the dress from Legend, I went with something simple but memorable: Clue. Specifically, Mrs. White (Madeleine Kahn). Got a little black retro-style, off-the-shoulder dress, some ribbon to make a belt (I just sewed on some snaps), a rectangular, rhinestoned slide to act as the belt buckle, & a black bobbed wig. Fairly easy.
I should've known the day was not going to be as easy when I woke up to a DOUBLE charley-horse. I planned to get up super-early, get ready, make the hour-plus drive down there, & be in the place before the lines got crazy. My alarm hadn't even gone off yet, & my left calf tightened up in excruciating pain. Once it settled a bit, I tried going back to sleep. When my alarm did go off, I moved to get out of bed, & the right calf did exactly the same thing. Once that passed as much as it could, I made a start on getting ready. Not only am I not a morning person in the slightest, but it takes me forever to get ready (as you can tell from looking at me, I'm incredibly bad at it, which is why I give myself a LOT of time to do it, in case I need to try a few times before settling on a "this is the best it's gonna get today" look). I'd hoped to treat myself & maybe grab something at Dunkin Donuts on the way down. Unfortunately, my entire body had decided not to cooperate - especially my face - & it took longer than I'd wanted to get myself together. I also had to sew a hole in one of the feet of my tights before leaving, which took a little extra time. So I skipped breakfast, figuring I'd just grab something at the little cafe in the hotel where they hold the convention, once I got there. Fortunately, I didn't have to stop for gas, & there wasn't a terrible amount of traffic, so I was only 20-30 minutes behind schedule. Unfortunately, once I got to the hotel, I was quickly alerted to the fact that probably everyone else had the same idea - get there early.
The convention is supposed to open at 10 am, but even at 9:30, there was a line of cars stretching up the road, both in front of & behind me, waiting to get in. I've never seen that happen! Usually, even on the worst days for parking (I normally attend on Sundays - it's a 3-day affair - as most one-day visitors tend to go on Saturdays to catch the Q&A's & other events, & Sundays are a little calmer & quieter, but Tim was only going to be there Friday & Saturday), you're able to pull into the hotel & then drive around the parking lot looking for an open space. Not on this day! Took more than half an hour just to find parking. Of course, it wasn't in the hotel lot, or even the lot of the building next door (which charges for parking; the hotel doesn't), but way, way, way down the snaking road behind the hotel, with the park on the opposite side of the street. I've parked down there before, but never this far! I ended up so far past the hotel, I could've stayed at the Holiday Inn up the road (because I was almost directly across the street from the back of it). It must've been a good 10-15 minutes walk to get from the car to the hotel. And in such cold wind! Good thing I brought a jacket. Too bad the wig took such a beating. Never did seem quite as stylish as when I first modeled it, after all that wind. Maybe it's just me.
Anyway, I walked along the still (somewhat) snowy sidewalks (& sometimes in the road when there was too much snow on the sidewalks) with some gentlemen who were parked down my way, chatting about the convention & folks they'd met at previous ones, or were going to meet that day. Once we got to the door, after a recommendation from someone behind me in the ticket line (said line stretching out said door), I went in (since I already had my ticket - actually, they're wristbands rather than traditional tickets), & got the lay of the land. I knew I had a lot of folks to try & see, & I still wasn't 100% sure how the whole photo op thing worked, having never done a professional one before (only the at-the-table photos sometimes offered by celebs...as long as they're included with the autograph; I'm not jazzed when they charge extra for pics), though I knew it said in the confirmation e-mail that you were supposed to be there at least 15 minutes early, & have the e-mail either on your phone or printed out, so they could verify your slot using the QRC code in the message. So I wanted to give myself a bit of extra time, just to be safe. Little did I know!
I have, in the 9 years I've been doing this, never seen so many people at this hotel! Kinda felt sorry for the people staying there who weren't part of the convention. Also felt sorry for the people I later heard had to be turned away when they capped the admission sales. People drive in from other states for this thing, especially when there are big-name guests, & not all of them get their tickets in advance. Even I usually just get one when I get there. So glad I pre-ordered! (I figured it would make sense, since I was already paid up for Tim's photo op.) I've since heard they over-sold the event, & the fire marshals didn't want the hotel to be over capacity, so they were told they couldn't let anyone else in.
Decided to first get the lay of the land, see whose line was in what shape, & take things from there until at least 11:30, since my photo op was in the 12-6 group. I had 3-4 people to get for myself, & 3 for my brothers (though it ended up being 2, since I learned one guest had to cancel). Started off with the folks who had the shortest lines. Ally Sheedy was first. I'd brought my Breakfast Club DVD in the hopes of having it signed, but ended up with an autographed photo since she was charging MORE for "other items" than the offered pictures. (To give a bit of context, there are always photos available at the celebs' tables from the different things they're known for; you can either choose what's offered there, or bring your own memorabilia to have signed. The photos are included in the price of the autograph.) Wasn't jazzed about that; usually, it's either less for your own stuff (Amelia Kinkade did that), or they'll just autograph pretty much whatever for the same price. She was also charging extra for photos with or of her (though you could do a "with her" combo autograph/photo & save a little cash, but I opted to save even more & just get the autograph). She seemed perky & pleasant, & I asked her how she was enjoying the convention, & shook her hand. Quick & nice; okay, on to the next one: Kathleen Turner.
In honour of Serial Mom, I'd been given the brilliant idea by one of my best friends to have Ms. Turner sign a pair of white shoes (the whole 'no white shoes after Labour Day' bit). Neither I, nor anyone I've since talked to about it (or shown the shoes to), had ever thought to do that! Even Kathleen seemed rather surprised when I pulled out the shoes. I did learn something, though - it's apparently an old theatrical tradition that it's bad luck to put shoes on a table. Good to know! I actually had her sign both shoes (the price wasn't too bad, so I didn't mind paying double), & am planning to give the other one to the originator of that unique idea!
Pee Wee Herman & Elvira were in the same room, & she must've gone on a break or something, because they were telling people not yet in her line to come back in about half an hour. So, as I'd been asked to try & procure a Pee Wee autograph, I got in his line. They did have the bicycle from his first movie there, but people were standing in front of it from my vantage point, & then it got moved to a place where I couldn't see it, so I couldn't take a picture of it. They kept telling people "no photography" (I'm guessing this was only related to Pee Wee, as he was only doing photo ops, no table pics; I don't see why the bike would've been such a terrible thing to take pics of.) Despite some nice conversation with a lady from one of the Carolinas, who said if she were still in line after I did the photo op, I could jump back into my spot in front of her, I had to leave both Pee Wee & Elvira in order to make the appointed time for Tim.
I figured, as people I'd spoken to who'd done photo ops before had told me, it'd be a few minutes' wait, then the photo, then it'd be over & we could all go back to the convention.
Oh, ye gods, how wrong I was!!
Now, it is entirely possible that at least some of what happened next was my own fault. I may have not read or understood the e-mail sent to me confirming my purchase of the photo op. However, based on the fact that several (I might even go so far as to say MOST) of the people who shared my predicament thought EXACTLY the same thing, I might venture a guess that it was either not included in the information, or not made clear. It was my understanding (&, it seemed, everyone else's) that if you had the QRC code from the e-mail either visible on your phone or physically printed out, this would be shown to a staff member, either for the convention, for the company doing the photo ops, or both, & this would suffice to get you a spot in line to take the picture.
This was not the case.
Apparently, there is a specially printed ticket featuring the QRC code which has to be printed out on-site before you can assume your place in line. I learned this after asking someone at the admission ticket desk (tickets can be bought when you first go in, if you haven't pre-ordered), who said the photo ops were taking place in the signing room near the elevators. Great. I make my way over there, & there is an info desk by the door. I go up to that desk & inquire about the photo op. They tell me about the need for this specially-printed ticket, & send me upstairs via the elevator to the M, or Mezzanine, level of the hotel. I follow instructions & soon find myself on M level, which is pretty much chaos.
Bless the convention staff, they were in an impossible situation. I'm someone who gets overwhelmed pretty easily, so I can't begin to imagine what they might have been going through. But I'm guessing someone somewhere dropped the ball as far as communication goes. Nobody, including many of the staff members (who, I believe, are all volunteers), knew exactly what was going on. Some people upstairs were being told to go downstairs, but downstairs would send them back upstairs. Everybody who didn't have one of those physical tickets, no matter which artist's photo op you were getting, were in the same line - & there appeared to be multiple lines converging at once, as people were entering the hallway from various places - & confusion ran rampant.
I met some super-nice people in that line, though. Invented our own hashtag-slash-pseudo-political-movement-lol (#WeAreTim), & called the whole chaotic fiasco the Timpocalypse (hence, the subject line of this entry). We're all in touch on social media now.
The nightmare continued - though, thankfully, with a running undercurrent of good-natured discussion with my new-found friends - for TWO HOURS. After a while, they took everyone who was getting photo ops with the cast of the new IT out of line, or at least to the front of it, as they had specific times for their photo sessions. We continued to hang out, for what seemed like ages. Still hadn't had any food (my thoughts of getting anything at the hotel cafe had been dashed the moment I stepped through the doors & saw the sea of bodies). My back was holding up, & my feet were enduring, but it was very tiring, to be sure. So we were all very happy when they were finally able to take a section of the line which included our group into a small conference room filled with chairs.
Got into some more nice conversations with folks in the room (at least one of which we would see again later, & who I've since also found on social media), & I guess we were there for about half an hour, maybe a bit less. At long last, one of the staffers called for anyone seeing Tim who had a QRC code (felt really bad for people who were trying to purchase the photo op on-site, as they were in line with us, only to get that far before finding out it was sold out), & then took us down the back staircase, only to end up EXACTLY WHERE I STARTED, at the info desk next to the elevators. There, the company doing the photo ops had a little station set up to print the tickets out. They asked us how many people in each photo op (you could have 2 adults per shot, & if you had kids who were young enough that they didn't require a separate photo op purchase, they could join you, as well), wrote it on each corresponding ticket, & sent us to the line to actually get into the room with Tim.
Halfway there!
In this line, we would wait, slowly trudging forward, inch by inch, for ANOTHER TWO HOURS. But at least we were back downstairs, where the convention was actually going on! And where there was food! We developed a 'buddy system' to hold each other's places in line so members of our little group could use the bathroom, smoke, or get food. Finally, food! I usually either get something in the cafe or go to the restaurant. Turned out, the restaurant had come to us, in a manner of speaking: the usual convention buffet had been brought out onto the floor, in the sunken lounge area. Unfortunately, all that was left (until they made more, later on) were soft pretzels & french fries. Wasn't really in the mood for pretzels, so I got a cup of fries & a bottle of water. Didn't care, though, it just felt amazing to finally be eating something!
At some point during this leg of the journey, I heard from one of my friends that we were very nearly at Belko Experiment levels of insanity - minus the voice over the loudspeaker telling us all to kill each other, that is. (Though, were that to actually happen, we vowed not to harm each other, & to protect our dear Mr. Curry.) Fortunately, it didn't come to that - but the building WAS on a kind of lock-down: anyone leaving, whether it was to go to the car, to go out & smoke, or even to go out one door to avoid the crowds & come back in the other side of the building, was not allowed back in. Once you were out, you were out.
Fire marshals - 2, Monster Mania - 0.
At long (long, long, long) last, we were ushered into the room where the photo ops were happening. There was a curtained-off area where Tim was stationed, beneath the light stands & umbrellas, as well as a little area of tables & screens & photo printers where everyone got their pictures after they were taken, & I thought there were other guests set up there to do signings, but I don't recall even seeing that part of the room. We were all fixed on the one corner of it all where we would soon find ourselves standing face-to-face with a legendary actor.
When we got up to the front of the line, we got to put our bags & such on a table, & the nice staffer person told us that when it was our turn, to cross in front of Tim & stand on his right side. (For anyone who isn't aware, he had a pretty bad stroke a few years back, is in a wheelchair, & I believe isn't able to fully use his left side.) Even with all those hours to process it, it still hadn't completely 'hit' me that this was happening for real. I'm not sure why that is. I know all these folks are just people. I get it. Then again, I'm completely intimidated by people, famous or not. If life & the world is a ladder that we're all climbing, I'm not on it. Not even the bottom rung. I'm the dirt the ladder is standing on. In fact, I may not even be near the surface of the dirt. (Not really joking here.) But for one brief, shining moment, someone of that caliber (I don't even care if it was a lie or an act or whatever, but I'd like to believe it came from a genuine place of kindness, if not sincerity) made an effort to make me feel (unbeknownst to them) like I wasn't the most worthless piece of crap on the planet.
Sooner than I expected, it was my turn. I knew it was gonna go fast. I don't really do fast. I need time to prepare, both mentally & physically. In terms of the latter, my makeup wasn't horrific (I'd checked), & I'd been assured the wig looked fine (I played with it endlessly). First impressions & all that. Not that I felt it'd matter too much, this guy sees hundreds upon hundreds of people all the time, especially on a day like this one! So in I go, nervous as all get-out, & do as they said, crossing in front of Tim & standing to his right. He asked my name, & I told him. Then he puts out his hand, I thought to shake mine, but he begins to lift it up & kisses it. When I think back to that moment, I can still feel it. He said, "Thank you for coming to see me." I told him I wouldn't have missed it. Then, just before they were going to snap the photo, he says (& I nearly didn't hear him for a second), "You've got a lot of style, Marlene." I don't know if he realised I was in costume, but I didn't venture to say anything other than to thank him. Then the photographer told me to move closer to Tim. I looked at him, about to put my hand on his shoulder, & said, "May I?" Then a SNAP & it was all over. I know I said something to Tim as I was about to leave, like 'thank you' or 'take care' or something. I can't tell you exactly what it was, though.
All that build-up, & suddenly, it was all over. I met up with my friends again & we all eagerly waited for our photos to print. Some of the people in the room were crying. I was just nervous. I stood over the little table with the photo printer begging the universe to please, please, please not let me look like a moron in my photo.
The universe doesn't like me very much.
I'm not exaggerating when I say I think I am pretty much the ugliest person on the face of the Earth. Fairly certain I went over this near the beginning of this post. (Just checked, & yes, I did.) I don't know what the hell was going on with my face in that picture. I know my wig got snagged on the dress or my necklace or something; it's not sitting right. It doesn't look at all like Mrs. White from Clue. It just looks like a horrifically ugly old woman with a bad haircut standing next to one of the sweetest people ever. I hate myself in that picture, & will more than likely never look upon it again. If I didn't pay $100 for it, I'd cut my face out of the shot, burn the piece I cut out, & bury the ashes. But the experience, far more than the picture, was what I went for, & all the terrible waiting, driving, walking, standing, etc., was worth it for that single moment. I will always & forever loathe my appearance in that photo (especially after having seen many people's photos, both those of my friends & those of others via the internet, where EVERYBODY looks absolutely fine in their picture...& then there's me), but I'm not sorry I did it.
Afterward, our merry little band, slowly recovering from our trembling & tears, scampered off to procure some sheet protectors for our Tim photos. At one point, we got separated, then found each other again, but soon parted ways with hugs & good wishes. Thankfully, the world is an ever-shrinking place, thanks to the internet, so it wouldn't be long before we'd hear from each other again.
As for me, I set off to see if there were anyone else I could get before the hour grew so late that I'd have to make a break for it, find my car, & head for home. I don't like driving in the dark if I don't have to, because I don't see well in the dark, & some of the roads I would be travelling aren't very well lit. But I thought I'd do what I could. Pee Wee & Elvira were still packed, & the convention staffer at the door said they were only letting people in once others left. Made my way back to the other signing room, where I planted myself firmly in the Richard Dreyfuss line, now considerably shorter than it had been upon my arrival (when I first got to the convention, his line had been out the door!). I got into some fun conversations with some of the folks in that line, & spoke briefly to the convention staffer overseeing this line about how crazy & crowded everything was. He hadn't seen anything like it before, either.
I did actually get to see & speak to Mr. Dreyfuss, & get his autograph for my brother. He seemed very jovial, & appeared to be enjoying his interactions with the fans. I told him who the autograph was for, & just as he was going to sign the pic, he asked me, "Would you wear that lipstick on any other day?" I said, "Yes, I wear it every day, even to work." I don't think he believed me, lol. Next to his name, he put an X, & said aloud, "Smooch."
I thanked him & dashed off to see if I could snag Pee Wee or Elvira. I did see both of them. She was signing at her table, & I plunked myself back in the Pee Wee line taking up the other half of the room, to give it try # 2 for my other brother (I have 3 of them, for those who don't know). Got into some chatting with a mom who was there with her 2 boys, the younger of whom was a budding artist. Several of the people they'd met, he'd drawn pictures of, & had shown them. That was really nice, I thought.
Sadly, the hour was growing later, the sky inching ever closer to darkness. At one point, Pee Wee came over to address the crowd. He'd had to go put on makeup to do photo ops, but I could've sworn he said he would come back in a few minutes, when he was ready, to let anyone doing the photo op know where to go. He did describe the photo op process, that sort of "hello, CLICK, hello, CLICK" assembly-line thing they have going on, & said there were X number of those he'd have to do, but once it was done, he promised to get everyone in line for an autograph accommodated, no matter how late it got, which I thought was awesome of him. I know everybody was running late for everything. I later heard some scheduled Q&A panels or film screenings ended up being cancelled due to the delays.
Pee Wee left, & I did stick around for a while, debating whether to hit up Elvira's line, or stay in Pee Wee's. I figured if I vacated his line, I might not get in it again, & it seemed that some people did just that - left his line to go into hers. So I figured, at that point, even if I got him, it was kind of pointless to try for her, since it really would be super-late by then.
I'm not sure how long I waited, but he'd said he'd be 10-12 minutes to put on his makeup, & I'm guessing it was at least 20 or more, because it was 6 pm & he wasn't back yet. With a 10-15 minute walk to the car & an hour-plus drive back, I figured I'd better hit the road. That was definitely a disappointment, but I'm hopeful they'll bring those guests back one day. If so, I'll be sure to try for them again - hopefully, they can be there on a Sunday!
Quickly stopped off at the hotel cafe to pick up something for the road. Ended up with a brownie & a good-sized salad with grilled chicken & shredded cheese. Eventually (after walking for what felt like forever, & eating my brownie along the way), got to my car, & drove into the darkening evening until I reached my house at 7:30. Talked to my mom, as well as the originator of the Kathleen Turner shoe idea, inhaled my salad, doffed my tights (both feet were now completely shredded, so I had to toss them), & started posting photos.
Quick note: 3 people in total recognised my cosplay, one of whom asked for a selfie with me! I obliged, of course! Another person complimented my makeup.
Wish I could've gotten pics of more cosplayers - there were some really good ones! An uber-tall Frank N. Furter (a la the Sweet Transvestite scene) from Rocky Horror, another Frank (wearing the scrubs; she complimented my cosplay while we were in line to get our photo ops), Itpool (Deadpool wearing the hair & blouse of the new Pennywise from IT), Jason Poolhees (Deadpool wearing a red Friday the 13th Jason mask), the Torrances from The Shining (they were having some food at a table just in front of the hotel restaurant; that's where Tony Todd (from Candyman & the 1990 Night of the Living Dead) walked right in front of us on his way into the restaurant! (He is a very tall individual.) Saw a couple of Columbias & convention-goers from Rocky Horror, as well as a Magenta, a pretty Nightmare Before Christmas Sally, lots of clowns (considering actors from IT & Killer Klowns From Outer Space were guests, it made sense), several Jasons (Friday the 13th), Michael Myers (Halloween), one or two Freddy Krugers (Nightmare On Elm Street), a Catwoman with a lace parasol, Beetlejuice, lots of IT Georgies & Pennywises (several of the latter being girls, a couple in really cute dresses, & even a little kid one), a couple of Elviras, a little girl dressed as Annabelle, a little boy Pee Wee, a pretty vampire lady (I later learned she was the Lily Munster I snapped last year), a Catholic school uniformed Nancy from The Craft, Vampirella, a young Hannibal Lecter from Silence of the Lambs (complete with mask & straight-jacket), & a couple of Carl Grimes from Walking Dead. Saw a Negan, too. There were some zombies, as well, including this pretty one with white-blonde hair in a white dress, with pearl-like adornments on the side of her face where skeletal teeth & rotting flesh might usually be. Those are all the ones I remember. I did get shots of the best of the Georgies from IT (this one was missing an arm), the Game of Thrones trio - Daenerys, Jon Snow, & Night's King - as well as Isaac from Children of the Corn, the Hawaiian shirt-clad Michael Myers with the sign that said, "Spring Break", & Lord Darkness & Lilly's dancing dress from Legend.
Anyway, that's the scoop on my experience at Monster Mania 39. Gonna wrap this up unceremoniously, & just say that I passed out kind of early that night, & did nothing but rest on Sunday. Part adventure, part disaster, but certainly a day to remember!
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Date: 2018-03-15 06:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-17 06:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-04-11 09:05 pm (UTC)Richard Dreyfuss will most probably remember his interaction with you and your lipstick for years to come, I'm sure. :) Did you post a photo of him on Facebook? I can't recall.
I didn't know that shoes on a table are bad luck either! But I hope Kathleen Turner wasn't snippy about it; it's not as if she was performing on stage 5 minutes later, LOL!
I'm sorry that you didn't get to meet Pee Wee Herman. Will he perhaps be at another convention? And did you bug Tony Todd for an autograph/photo?
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Date: 2018-04-12 03:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-04-13 06:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-04-11 09:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-04-12 02:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-04-13 02:15 am (UTC)