I SURVIVED THE CON.

Honestly, that phrase doesn't even really need caps. The Comic-Con wasn't nearly as bad as people have made it out to be over the years. I definitely learned a few things for next year (thats right, I'd go AGAIN).
Here's just a few of Jess's "Things I Learned":

1.) Don't try to leave the office on Friday at one pm and think you'll get down to San Diego in time to do ANYTHING. It took Mike (my intrepid explorer) and I five hours to drive down to SD, which would normally take about 2 and a half hours.

2.) Avoid the Super 8 off Hotel Circle Drive (it's a big ehhhh...especially for the Con price which is...a big con).

3.) Registration is EASY! No line, no muss, no fuss. Awesome!

4.) Parking's no problem-- get there early and you're good to go! We arrived downtown at 8:30am. Just in time to park, get coffee, slowly meander the upper floors, look at the art show, and then we were perfectly timed for the exhibit hall opening.

5.) The Exhibit Hall is INSANE. Thankfully, we were able to get our bearings in the exhibit hall on Friday just before closing while it was fairly quiet. It's big...it's reallly big. And there's no way you can see all of it in a day. I had my list of people I wanted to see and STILL got lost in the nuttiness and missed some booths. By the time my back muscles atrophied around 4pm, there was no turning back to scout out the ones I missed. Alas...till next year.

5.)The Con is: Bigger, nerdier, crazier and pootier than I ever imagined. The B.O. "meaty" smell factor that my friends warned me about wasn't altogether that bad. There were occasional moments where I'd crinkle my nose and wonder if somebody was carrying a day-old taco under their armpit. Overall, though, it was the letting of "fluffies" ,if you will, that really chapped my hide. Why is it that people think it's okay to pass gas when they're in a crowd? Do they think no one can tell who it was? Trust me, I CAN and it's ALWAYS the dude in the Stormtrooper costume. You know who you are...

6.) Going as a Professional ROCKS. Sign up. Do it. It's totally worth it, if you can. We got in early in the Hall, the was a lounge for industry peeps only to relax and get some refreshments, we were treated with slightly more respect than the rest of the herd, and it was FREE. I also got Mike in for FREE. And the freeness is good for ALL days of the Con. It's great!

7.) Elvira was there. Need I say more?

8.) DON'T eat the food. It's awful. Truly, truly awful. Just make yourself walk out the door and run into a Subway or something. Trust me, you'll do better.

9.) Lastly, the costumes. For where else can you take a picture of an angry Borg standing next to his wife in a Hawaiian t-shirt?

I rest my case.