San Diego observations

Blogging from the handheld here but wanted to write this while. I thought about it. The worst part about Comicon is that everyone here is afraid to leave the building for any reason. The idea that you might miss something is both omnipresent and terrifying. Because, why would you come all this way and not squeeze every last dollar out of your convention badge? Why waste time at a pool or having a really good lunch 10 minutes walk away when you can pay 10 bucks for crappy con pizza and Still Be In The Building. Why take time to enjoy yourself at all? When you can wait in a line for 4 hours to catch a panel…

I think this is the same reason that antholigies do so poorly in North America–people can’t conceive of paying for something if they don’t love every single story in it.

Anyway, this came up because I just missed the SPACED panel that I wanted to see because I got caught up talking with a friend, and I started to feel awful… Until I realized that my conversation was worthwhile and enjoyable and I would have missed THAT if I’d made it to the panel on time. It was a nice little reminder that things are what we make them.

Anyway! I’m enjoying the hell out of the show, hope you are too.

– Christopher

6 Replies to “San Diego observations”

  1. I enjoyed the 3 skids of comics, etc…we got this week. In the rain…I’ll switch places with Birkemoe next year. How does that sound? I’ll need more than my wage , though.
    Have fun!

  2. SDCC is so crowded that it takes 10 minutes to walk from section A to section H. Crossing the street takes another 10. I still refuse to eat convention food though.

    So far my Con has been spent with friends I don’t get to see any other time of the year. I agree with you, the panels aren’t nearly as rewarding as a good conversation.

  3. This was my first time really working the show, so I was trapped in the building more out of necessity than neurosis. In fact, the one time I did say “fuck it, I’m going back to the CBR boat to eat and shower and work rather than sitting all hungry and sweaty on the floor of the convention center wherever I can find a socket to plug into my laptop,” I ended up trapped in the boat’s kitchen area while Stan Lee did a half-hour photo op with Hero Initiative auction winners.

    However, on Saturday I finally was able to leave for a leisurely lunch (the first time I sat down in a chair to eat all weekend long), then go back to my room and work, then go out to meet with friends. I momentarily felt bad since I knew I wouldn’t be able to make it back to the floor again, but the relaxation and camaraderie were well worth it.

    At least one of the vendors sold a pretty good veggie sandwich, fwiw.

    Thanks for hanging out with me at the airport by the way, Chris! I had a great time. It was really cool to finally spend some offline time with you that wasn’t standing in the middle of MoCCA talking for a minute and a half. 🙂

  4. I was definitely one of those “must stay at the con at all times!” people, which I’m chalking up to a newbie mistake. I’ll know better for next time. For me the best thing about the whole shebang was bumping into people and talking to them (Nick Aberdzi! Scott McCloud!). I only went to one panel (Steve Purcell’s) and enjoyed the heck out of it, but then kind of wilted from line-fatige. But I was very much “oh, I spent so much money getting here, I must squeeze every drop of enjoyment from this convention!”

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