Salt Lake Comic Con Fan Xperience day 2: Fluttershy, Michael Dorn, and Karl Urban

I decided to only work half the day on Friday, so as to miss as little of Comic Con as possible, and also not feel guilty for missing work. Fortunately, my outfit for the day wasn't too out there, and I finished my hair and make-up after I left, so nobody at work asked any questions (I didn't feel like having a billion conversations about my costume and Comic Con).

Note: My desk is right next to the break room, and I overheard a conversation between two coworkers making fun of all of the "crappy" costumes they'd seen the day before. These two guys are known for wearing cargo shorts every day of the year, and going to the bathroom in their stocking feet, so I thought they had little room to criticize someone else's clothing choices :P

My inspiration for the day was Fluttershy from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic:

I call it an "inspiration" and not a "costume", because I wasn't going for accuracy. I was too lazy for that. I could point out all the problems with the outfit, like the absence of wings and a missing butterfly, but in the end fans of the show knew was I was doing, and people who didn't know what I actually was at least knew I was doing something. Most importantly, I had fun and got to have pink hair; we all know it doesn't take much to make me happy most days!

Oh, that pink hair. *Sigh* I had forgotten how bright the pink hairspray actually was. When I sprayed it on, I saw right away that it didn't match the costume; the costume was pale yellow and pink, and the hair color was crazy bright. Worse, I ran out of spray, so I had major "bald" spots. I could have cried. The first thing I was going to do when I got to the Con was get a picture with Michael Dorn... and I was going to look like a complete freak... and not in the good way. I was embarrassed walking to the Salt Palace, and haunted by my co-workers' previous conversation, and willing myself not to cry and ruin my carefully-crafted turquoise eye make-up. I wished I thought to bring the comb with me in the hopes it would slough off some of the color. Since the color was just a spray, I thought maybe it would wipe off, so I made a beeline for a bathroom and grabbed some paper towels. Happily, the result was toned down color, and the bald spots were less obvious. Phew. Crisis averted.

And I finally got my photo with Michael Dorn!

He asked me how I was, and I replied, "I'm happy! This is all I want today!"

This is when I learned that unlike meeting a celebrity in the signing area, where you can take your time, the goal in the photo booth was to get as many people through as quickly as possible. There was time to shake hands, smile, and say "Thanks", and that's about it (he did give me a quizzical look, kind of like he was wondering what the heck I was supposed to be -- haha!). I visited Mr. Dorn at his table the next day to thank him for his work as Worf -- as a kid who always felt like a weirdo, it meant a lot to me. He smiled kindly and said, "Thank you" a couple of times, and that was it. Easy-peasy and very satisfying. Check!

I was finished in time to hurry to the Karl Urban (Dr. McCoy in the Star Trek reboot) Spotlight Panel. It was then that I first took advantage of a perk to being a VIP: early entry to the panel, via a very short line that got to go first (even though a lot of the "general" folks had likely been waiting awhile). I may not have had the best seat, but I DID get a seat! Karl Urban was adorable. I had forgotten that he was from New Zealand, so the accent was a surprise ;) He made no secret about the fact that he is a big science fiction and fantasy nerd, and felt incredibly lucky to be a successful actor. He was humble and gracious and funny. I'm going to put the whole thing here.
(Note: Skip to at least 50 seconds in, as the video "intro" has unnecessary swearing.)


My favorite quotes:
" I cannot multitask; I am a man... every man knows that's a lie!"

Fan: "Thanks for kissing my wife on the cheek. She won't shut up about it."
Karl: "I'm sorry. I don't care, but I'm sorry." ;)

When asked who his favorite Doctor is from Doctor Who: "I love Matt Smith. Not like that! I think he's phenomenal."

Question from a kid: "Are you trying to get in the next Star Wars movie? 'Cause if so you'd be on every geek show known to man."

I met up with Carrie after the panel. She was dressed as Rainbow Bright and looked perfect! So many people asked for a picture that I finally told her to just hand me her purse instead of putting it on the ground. I spent a lot of time holding her purse after that :D

Kyle found us while we were in line to take a picture on the Star Trek: The Next Generation bridge set. Sadly, the set was not treated very well after it was dismantled at the end of the Star Trek: Experience in Vegas. The people at the booth were accepting donations to restore the set, which can also be made at hollywoodscifi.org.

And then we walked around for awhile, again!

This kid spent the day walking around inside this Dalek body.
I was so surprised when I asked for a photo, and he came
out dressed as the 11th Doctor!

 The Lego exhibit was massive and impressive

This was one of my favorite sections, with references to Back to the Future (the Delorean on the right, clock tower and Doc Brown at the top), Doctor Who (the blue telephone box on the right with the 11th Doctor and Amy Pond), and Batman (on the bottom right, with Poison Ivy almost cut off in the center)

This Batman claimed to have built the Batman-themed tableau behind him,
complete with Wayne Industries building, Arkham Asylum, and Wayne Manor.
Holy skills and patience, Batman!

I didn't find out until later that my friend Brock (who played Rolfe in my cast of The Sound of Music) did a Batman-themed aerial routine that day. I wish I'd seen it live!

Post by Jenny Bauman.

Kyle and Carrie eventually abandoned me for more panels. That's when I ran into these folks!

Rob as Marty McFly from Back to the Future, and Luke in an Iron Man t-shirt
(one of my friends commented that Luke could probably bench-press Tony Stark -- true).
They were walking around with a huge video camera and getting interviews.
I never did find out why :P

Jillian had been working as an Elsa impersonator all day, and decided to tone it down for the Con since she knew Elsa would be a popular costume this year.

While I was trying to explain my costume to Jillian, this girl walked by in a more accurate Fluttershy costume!
She was so bubbly, and so excited about my outfit. Hooray for fans of things I like!

My last event of the day was the Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker from Star Trek: The Next Generation) Spotlight Panel. I made way for the VIP line about 15 minutes early, and discovered that since the previous panel wasn't full, they were just letting the VIPs in to watch, after which I could move up into another spot when other fans left. So, I also got to watch part of the Edward James Olmos panel. This would have been more exciting if I knew more about Battlestar Galactica, especially at the end when he shouted out a call-answer cheer that the entire audience shouted back. So cool!

I ended up in about the ninth row center for Jonathan Frakes -- my best seat for any of the panels. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this one as much as the others. Mr. Frakes was good friends with the moderator, and they had a lot of in-jokes I didn't know or care about, and he otherwise didn't seem terribly jazzed to be there. He's definitely proud of his directing work, but since he isn't a big science fiction fan, he was kind of embarrassed about his work as Commander Riker. It was pretty cute the way he talked about his family, and he had some great advice for people trying to break into "the biz." Here's the panel (audio only), if you'd like to listen. He does swear a bit.

That's it for day 2! Stay tuned for the third and final day!

Catch up on Salt Lake Comic Con Fan Xperience 2014 day 1
Check out my adventure at Salt Lake Comic Con Fan Xperience 2014 day 2
Reread Salt Lake Comic Con September 2013

Salt Lake Comic Con Fan Xperience day 1: Star Trek: TNG and the Voodoo Pearl Mermaids

You may recall that for Christmas my parents gave me something I very desperately wanted: A VIP ticket to the upcoming Salt Lake Comic Con Fan Xperience. I cried when I opened the box and saw the ticket inside, and my brothers slow-clapped, It was all very, very good.

And then I had to wait four months to redeem the gift.

The wait was totally worth it!! Three days of fun with friends, great fan-made costumes, and geeking out over stars I'm crazy about (most of whom I've been fans of since junior high).

I had debated whether to dress up in character for one or all or none of the days. If I'd learned one thing from my first Salt Lake Comic Con, it was that the best costumes were the ones where people went BIG and were detailed. Well, my personality isn't one that accommodates planning ahead so that didn't really happen, but I ended up reasonably pleased with the results anyway.

The costume inspiration for day 1, Thursday, April 17: Deanna Troi's uniform from the Star Trek: The Next Generation pilot:

I was looking for pieces for my day 3 costume when I stumbled upon a blue dress that nodded to this one. There was no black on the dress (except the buttons), but I DO have boots and a communicator pin. Boom!

This is now one of my favorite dresses and I plan to wear it
a lot this summer. You have been warned.

I realized sometime during that first evening that I had owned that pin for 20 years and never worn it in public. I'm so glad I finally got the chance!

My goal that first day was simple: get a photo with Michael Dorn, the actor who played Worf on Star Trek: The Next Generation. His character was my favorite on the show, and this was all I wanted. Unfortunately, I didn't plan ahead, and they didn't allow you to purchase photo ops online the day of the Con. I also worked the whole day, so when I finally got to the Con at about 4pm, checked in, found the photo op station (which was almost as far from the front doors as you can get, and I'm not exaggerating), and reached the front of the line, there wasn't time left in Mr. Dorn's session that day to fit me in. I was disappointed because, as I mentioned, I was IN my Star Trek gear that day, and it would have made more sense than the costume I had planned for the next day. However, the important thing was that I get a photo with him, so I bought an op for the next day, and then went to find my friends.

My friend Carrie was Applejack from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic on the day I went to Comic Con last year. She's in the costume industry, so when she dresses up she goes all out! On Thursday, she was Galadriel from The Lord of the Rings. A couple of random guys actually got on their knees and bowed down to her at one point. She was hanging out with some Kiss Me Kate guys -- Adam and Kenn -- and soon after, Kati joined us in her ST: TNG uniform, and Kyle showed up looking completely normal.

Kenn, Kati, Adam, Carrie, me, and Kyle

We spent some time just walking around and seeing what there was to see.

I knew Jon was Captain Planet without any prompting.
It was my favorite Saturday morning cartoon when I was in Junior High!

Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!

The Voodoo Pearl Mermaids were so nice, and seriously gorgeous.
No wonder this was my most "Liked" photo on FB from that day.

Couldn't resist a classic Star Trek v. Star Wars photo.
Thank goodness this Stormtrooper has a sense of humor!

My friend Howie in her Loki dress, and Stacy in a dress with panels from Marvel comic books

Kati and Kyle had bought tickets to the special event that evening: a panel reuniting all of the cast members from Star Trek: The Next Generation (except for Patrick Stewart and LeVar Burton who weren't there) hosted by William Shatner. Since it cost extra, I'd decided not to go. Kati and Kyle were floored. Kati couldn't even talk, she just guestured wildly at my costume, and Kyle -- who I've had extensive conversations with about the show(s) -- said something to the effect of "Seriously? YOU are going to miss this?!" When time came for them to get in line, everyone else was ready to go home, so I stayed to hang out with Kyle and Kati... I was waffling on the idea of going. I almost cracked up when they both stared at me with the exact same wide, sweet, hopeful expressions on their faces. I finally caved, and bought the very last general admission ticket. Then I tried getting in the VIP line, but it turned out I was not allowed to save seats or let my non-VIP friends wait in line with me, so I ditched that line in favor of hanging out with my friends. I don't regret it!

I'm glad they pressured me into going to the panel. It was so fun and weird to see all of the actors as their normal selves. You could tell they were all good friends and cared about and supported each other.

from left: Michael Dorn (Worf), Brent Spiner (Data), announcer (might be Dan Farr, the man who produced the Con), Jonathan Frakes (Riker, behind the announcer), William Shatner, Marina Sirtis (Troi), Gates McFadden (Crusher, who hasn't aged a day), and Denise Crosby (Yar, you can only see her arm here)

Michael Dorn takes his rightful place behind the horseshoe on the bridge set...

...before Denise Crosby edged him out

First off, Marina Sirtis was a surprise. Apparently she's nothing like her character -- she's totally out-going and wacky. In the middle of Michael Dorn answering the first question, she got up and started walking around. I didn't have a great view of the stage, so I wasn't sure what she was doing. I assumed she was drunk. Turns out, she was trying to move the consoles at the front of the stage because she didn't want to block anyone's view of the cast "These people have paid a lot of money for their tickets and I want them to see us!" She acknowledged that anyone who has ever seen her at one of those things knows the first thing she does is move the furniture :)

Some of my favorite moments/quotes included (yes, I wrote these down):
"There will be no hunger, there will be no greed, and all of the children will learn to read." Jonathan Frakes, quoting Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry

"I did think it was interesting that it was 'Bones' and then 'Crusher'." - Gates McFadden

When asked who the actors would choose to play their role in a reboot:
Worf: Idris Elba
Dr. Crusher: Jessica Chastain
Yar: Charlize Theron
Troi: Mila Kunis
Data: Tilda Swinton
Riker: Wil Wheaton

An audience member asked if William Shatner would be willing to guest star on The Big Bang Theory: "I called them once, and they said, 'William who?'"
Brent Spiner: "Well, you know, when I was on the Big Bang Theory..." Audience laughs. "If you'd like, I can give them a call, Bill."

Brent Spiner doing impressions of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan alternately:
"Patrick?"
"Yes, Ian?"
"What are you doing?"
"Talking like you!"

"I didn't stop wearing heels; I just stopped running in them." - Marina Sirtis, after a story about how she sprained her ankle running across the street in high heels.

"I'd say 'Report', all hell would break loose, and I'd say 'Red alert!'" - Jonathan Frakes, pointing out that he never got any of the technobabble dialogue.

Michael Dorn, joking about the time one of the producers insisted he use false teeth: "We would believe that he was Klingon, but his bottom teeth give him away."

Brent Spiner, in reference to the episode "Genesis" where most of the characters but Data regresse into primitive species: "I was the only one who didn't change. I should have been an old laptop."

Marina Sirtis, every time Jonathan Frakes said the "F" word: "This is Utah!"
After the last time he swore she added, "...And it's Easter!"

Here is a video from the last 10 minutes of the panel:


After their curtain call, Brent Spiner made a surprise announcement: Patrick Stewart was going to come to Comic Con on Saturday!!

There was no possible way anyone could top that, and it was closing time anyway, so that marked the end of the first day.

The crowd exploded into applause!

Stay tuned for posts about my experiences on day 2 and day 3 of Salt Lake Comic Con FanX!

Dressing up for work

Once upon a time, I worked with a guy named Brock. Brock and I worked together for the better part of a year, and he wore jeans and a t-shirt to work everyday.

Then, one day, he wore a button-down shirt and a tie. We'd never seen him look so fancy; we teased him about having a job interview during lunch. Brock was a really jokey guy, so we were kind of taken aback when he became defensive.

The next day, he turned in his two-week notice, because he HAD gone on a job interview, and that WAS why he was dressed up at work.

The lesson I learned from this experience is to dress up for work once in awhile -- even though I don't really have to -- so that if I ever need to do an interview during work hours no one will suspect me ;)

I've been thinking about this lately 'cause I realized it had been awhile since I put any effort into my work clothes. Jeans and sweaters suit me just fine for sitting and staring at a computer all day. I'm not really looking for another job, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to step up my fashion sense just a little, even if the only people to see me are my co-workers. So I have.

I forgot how much better I feel when I put effort into my every day dress!

And no one has asked any questions ;)

Winning!

You is Kind. You is Smart. You is Important.

I'm fairly certain we can all agree that the winter months are kind of miserable. After the holidays, we're faced with grey, yucky weather, no "big" holidays to look forward to, and the reality of paying off all those Christmas-time bills, not to mention the effects certain astrological events have on people in general. In addition to this, I'm dealing with some frustration at work and events that are giving me deja-vu to situations where the lesson I learn was that I am not important.

February is not an easy month for me emotionally. It never has been. But I've noticed a really disturbing trend, lately. My go-to answer to the question "How are you?" used to be "I'm happy." I'd say it when I was in a good mood, and would often say it when I was in a grumpy mood but wanted to pull myself out of it. For the last several months, I've been answering with "I'm OK." I guess that isn't so bad, but what I'm really saying is "I'm drowning in frustration and loss and feeling crappy and whiny, but I don't really want to talk about it right now and I hate saying 'I'm fine" so I'm using this as a placeholder." I can't even remember the last time I said "I'm happy" and meant it.

Now, I should probably take a moment to say that it's perfectly natural to go through grumpy periods. To expect myself (or anyone, really) to ALWAYS be in a good mood is setting myself up to fail. As Westley says in The Princess Bride, "Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something." It's OK to not feel blissfully happy all the time. It's normal, even when it goes on for weeks or months. There's always a certain amount of happy, and a certain amount of sad. I, personally, don't like to feel sad, but just because I've been feeling sad that doesn't necessarily mean something is wrong with me, as long as I don't let it overwhelm me. You take the good with the bad, right Facts of Life?

It bugs me when I'm described as "happy all the time." I feel pressure to be that way, like I'm not allowed to have a bad day, or if I do have one I am expected to keep it under wraps. Talk about unfair. I don't think emotions should be used as personality descriptors, because, if I'm a "happy person", then what the heck am I if I'm not happy? Oh, yeah, still normal.

I think I've been putting too much pressure on myself lately, and suddenly I'm noticing some troubling things about the way I talk about myself:

I'm a slacker.
I'm terrible.
I'm awful.
I'm the worst.

It's usually meant in a self-deprecating, jokey way, but the truth is, I'm starting to believe it. When you say a thing over and over again you tend to believe it, and I have started to believe it. I've started feeling sorry for myself. I feel bullied. I feel hopeless. I feel like a victim. That's definitely NOT okay!

My family has a history of depression, and several of my family members take medication. I've been to a therapist who determined that I am not depressed, but I sometimes wonder if that will change as I get older. That's why I feel the need to identify my problems, think my way through them, and talk them over with people I trust; people who know me, won't judge, and will help me figure out how to get back to my own personal version of normal.

As I focus on cutting those damaging statements out of my conversation, I've been repeating the following platitudes:

Yes, they are corny. No, I don't care. I need to change my personal view, and give myself permission to be less than perfect. If little things like joking that "I'm terrible" can make believe that I really am terrible, then little things like "I'm happy" can make me believe I'm happy... and then I'll get there again.

I've been feeling helpless in a lot of ways, and positive affirmation is a way to take back a tiny bit of control and do something for me. My life is great for the most part. I miss being my cheerful self. I need to redirect my sadness into acceptance and gratitude. I may change and grow in many ways, but I want to keep hold of "optimistic Megan" as much as possible -- let's grow THAT version of me, instead of "self-bullying Megan", shall we?

March: out like a lion

Wow, March went by fast! Guess I'm not all that surprised. When you perform every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday night, you tend to lose half of the month! Predictably, I didn't think to photograph all of the other fun stuff... I just wanted to be and participate.

We released a smallish project at work, so our product owner took the team to the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate

It was on "Pie Day" -- 3/14 -- but I wasn't about to turn down free cheesecake!
The turtle flavor was delicious.

Baby shower for my sister-in-law Jordyn

Kudos to Lindsey on the diaper cake, and Sara on the epic decorations!

Me and my Breezy!

Zonks helping to deliver presents to Aunt Jordyn

Smyth-side cousins and aunts!!

My sisters-in-law: Jordyn and Lindsey
(Golly, I'm a shrimp!)

Jordyn's sister, mom, and sister-in-law

The Sound of Music was successful -- hooray!

The theatre added two more performances to the end of the run.

Kellie and Mattie June both came to my final dress rehearsal/preview on the 1st.
Mattie June gave birth to a daughter four days later :)

Pondering how to solve a problem like Maria
(I'm the second from the left)

Maria and the kids -- I miss them!

First impressions

My favorite scene: laughing knowingly while the other nuns looked confused over the sheer nightie!

Beautiful family prepares to climb the mountain into Switzerland

Nuns during our matinee

Since my cast performed in both the matinee and evening show on the 29th, the theatre was kind enough to feed us dinner in between -- yay!

The kids and novice nuns spent some time playing "Red Rover."
Predictably, the kids got creamed, and everyone laughed a ton!

Technically, we didn't close until April 1st, but I'm going to include closing night pics here anyway! I was a little worried about closing on a Tuesday; luckily, quite a few of the Monday cast came to support us, and they jazzed up the rest of the audience.

Best Maria since Julie Andrews. I'm sorry if you missed her; I adore this woman!

Jalaire: one of the best stage managers I've ever had!

Closing night treats -- made for the quite the haul. I gave myself permission not to feel guilty for not bringing gifts. Everyone was probably grateful not to have even more sweets to take home ;)

Julie had joked that after being dumped by the Captain so many times she might as well become a nun, so we swapped costumes after our last performance. I think the looks on the right suit us rather well, don't you?
(Sadly, the blue dress wouldn't zip up all the way on me... guess I'll have to stay a nun.)

I commented to the group that "Megan from three months ago is totally in awe that she's there with all of these awesome people." Nice, fun, and talented? How did I get to lucky to become friends with them?!

Now it's April, and the play has ended. I'm relieved, and I'll also really miss it. It's been a long time since I was in a cast that large, and I still marvel at how well we got along. They accepted me exactly as I am and always made me feel loved. I am so grateful!

What's next? I plan to audition for three plays this month, and see a couple more, and attend the Salt Lake Comic Con Fan Xperience, and finish the last Percy Jackson novel, and await the arrival of two babies to two families I dearly love, and maybe have LASIK done again. Oh, and Easter and General Conference, of course. Busy as always, and fun! But first, to sleep off this bug I picked up. Well, at least I didn't get sick until after the play closed and I can lie about all weekend. Lucky me!

What do you have planned for April?