The ODI

Of course there were the folks I had already been friends with on mySpace for a few years...the ODI, Princess Gwen, Wendy, Ron the Spoiler Hunter, and the Rebel. This was the core crew I hung with pretty much the whole time when I wasn't running around on the exhibit floor.



There's Paul Burrows from Room 23, a really cool guy, great blogger, and amazing Illustrator. (read more about our meeting in this post...) He later invited me to also become an author there, and so I am now also a poster on the Room 23 blog and featured The Four Toed Foot! Very flattering, I must say. Everyone there has been extremely kind and receptive, and it's a true pleasure to be joining them.



Sisters Nikkie and Farrah did Team ODI a huge favor by securing our place in line for the Heroes and LOST panels starting at 1am, straight off the train!



Then, as if they had not done enough, Farrah, who had won a wristband for an autograph signing later in the day, offered it to me after realizing she would have to leave before it started. That little wristband is what got me in to get autographs from and meet SID AND MARTY KROFFT, two heroes from my childhood...and the rest of the cast from the new "Land of the Lost" film, sans Will Ferrell, of course. It doesn't matter though, because this was a total bonus, and getting to meet the Krofft brothers touched me. I WAS Dyna Girl!





Also joining us for the LOST panel were Aaiysha, Sir Lance-A-Lot, Bo (who asked the first question at the panel since we were next to the mic!), and even more folks wearing Team shirts and others around us that I didn't even get a chance to be introduced to!





Oh, and the orange hair totally did its job in helping people to find me! Amazingly enough, mySpace friend Anitra found me in a sea of maniacs in the MIDDLE of the EXHIBIT FLOOR of all places!! I heard this sudden voice say, "Anna???", turned around and there she was! That was so cool...there must have been a few thousand people around us at least!!!



At one point in the lobby, we found the guys from FEARnet. We called to them and they came over and shot a little piece on our swag collections. It was fun but I don't think they used any of the footage (they interviewed Gwen and I) because we really didn't have the "horror look" going on, nor was there a single piece of related swag in all the pounds of STUFF I was lugging about. Probably for the best since I was a babbling idiot anyway. ;)



On my last day in San Diego, as I was sitting down for a bite before heading to the airport, Team ODI friends Rachel and Aaron also found me and introduced themselves, as we had not had a chance to meet prior, but I had noticed the shirt. They were really sweet and I hope to see them next year as well!



As I sat down again to order, these two ladies sitting a few tables away called to me, "excuse me...we overheard you're from Comic Con and wondered if you wanted to come sit and have dinner with us?" I was so overwhelmed and flattered, and figured what the heck, and joined them! They didn't want to see me dine alone on my last night there, and like I mentioned, at Comic Con you can always find something in common with the other folks who go.

Noelle and Theresa were all the way from Texas and we sat and shared our days and events at the convention, and even more. They were so sweet and fun to talk to and get to know. Somehow in the fun of it all I neglected to get their photo, but again plan to keep in touch!

Even on the 5 minute shuttle-bus ride from the hotel to the airport I made a new friend, Shawn, big Dr. Who and Dr. Horrible fan and computer whiz. We were both taking flights out about a half-an-hour apart, and though we got separated after going through security, he later found me once more. As fate would have it, our gates were also right next to each other! So after talking for awhile Shawn offered to pass along his copy of Dr. Horrible for me to enjoy on the plane ride home. He was literally finishing the transfer of the files to my mini-drive in a rush as my plane was being boarded. It was so classic computer-nerd scenario, we laughed at the irony ourselves!

Here's the best part - I am still making new friends!

Stuart from mySpace became a celebrity when he got up to ask a question at the LOST panel as the spittin' image if Jorge Garcia's Hurley! I for one could not stop laughing. After his question, Carlton awarded him with his own jar of Dharma Ranch dressing! Too hysterical! I asked him about it and he said it still has the Island sand stuck to the tape, and that he will probably encase the entire thing in glass. (I would do the same thing!)





Recently, I found myself using the Twitter service, where I found Jo, otherwise known as JOpinionated. I had noticed her on the ODI's video of waiting in line, but we were never introduced and I am not a very good schmoozer. So after checking out her blog and discovering she is a huge X-phile and Abrams-phile, I knew that I had to know her. We have very similar tastes and like to delve into the deeper theories of LOST. I even found out after reviewing my photos from the LOST panel that she was sitting only a few rows behind me. Too funny!

I plan on entering the logo contest she is running now, and hope that we can collaborate at some future point, especially with the new show FRINGE coming out!




Overall EVERYTHING about the experience at Comic Con was amazing. And meeting such great people makes me feel like I am able to extend the fun.

Thank you everyone for your love, laughter, and support!
Anna