Greetings & Salutations, folks!
I hope you're having a great weekend!
I have been sleeping in late, watching hockey, & snacking on cheese way too much all this weekend.. I think the time change is still messing me up. I have loads of laundry to do & things to clean, but I am ignoring that for the time being. Instead, I am here to share with you the fantastic event I went to last weekend...
(Clicking on the above link will list guests who attended the convention)
I thought I'd discuss each day a bit, & post photos.
Friday, March 9, 2012
We woke up (the dude & myself) around 8:00 AM, showered & dressed, finished packing, & loaded up the car. My MIL asked us if we wanted to grab some breakfast, & who are we to turn down that offer?! So, we picked her up & headed down to one of our favorite breakfast/lunch restaurants to get our eat on. After we stuffed our bellies full of yummy food, it was time to say goodbye to Connecticut & head to New Jersey for Monster Mania 21! Of course, not before we dropped my MIL off at home. Sadly, she sat this convention out.
The drive to Cherry Hill, NJ was exactly 3 hours (to the second!) & we drove straight-through. Can you believe that? I am the QUEEN of wanting to stop at rest stop's, but not this time! We were too anxious to get there! On the drive there, we listened to the lastest episode of
Who Charted?, Doug Benson's
Potty Mouth, Mark Lanegan's
Blues Funeral, & Michael Ian's Black's
Very Famous. It was a very nice drive & I was happy that I didn't have any anxiety attacks. Go me!
Mark Lanegan album.
Tolls.
We arrived at the Crowne Plaza in Cherry Hill, parked, grabbed all of our crap in one shot, & went to check-in. After a quick check-in, we headed to the elevators (our room was on the 6th floor) to make our way up to our room. As we stood there with 10+ people, waiting on an elevator that never seemed to never come, I spotted a man in a neon pink hoodie, sneakers, shorts, & weird green socks. I thought to myself, "What a strange outfit. I guess that is what's so cool about stuff like this; you can dress however you want!" & giggled out loud. It wasn't until the man turned slightly, that I recognized his face.
IT WAS NICHOLAS BRENDON FROM BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER!
The elevator door opened & we all got in. Okay, so here I am riding the elevator with Xander Harris & trying not to hyperventilate. I made some "bug eyes" to my dude, who then realized who the man was, too. All I kept thinking was, GET ME OFF THIS ELEVATOR BEFORE I MAKE A FOOL OUT OF MYSELF! but my thoughts were halted when Nicholas spoke to us! He asked us if we liked the Red Sox (we were carrying Red Sox tote bag) & we made small talk.
I never once let on that I knew who he was.
We got to our floor, & I practically ran out of the elevator. All the way down the hallway, walking to our room, I kept repeating OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! & was on the verge of tears. My dude started laughing at me (in a good way) & we got to our room. I dropped all of my stuff on the floor & looked around the room (practically in tears). The room was a really comfy, & we started unpacking immediately. After getting settled in, we headed downstairs to get wrist banded, & grab any info we needed regarding the convention.
I also sent out this tweet while in the room.
After doing all of that, we were curious to see what the vendor rooms looked like. We made our way through tons of rooms & booths who were selling the most amazing stuff: action figures, comics, books, DVD's, jewelry, artwork, masks, memorabilia, posters, VHS tapes, decals, patches, buttons, t-shirts, etc...you name it, it was probably there? So much amazing stuff!
Some VHS tapes for sale.
The dude & I bought a few things & decided to head back up to the room to get a game plan on. We needed to figure out what celebs we were going to meet that night, & what to bring to get autographed. I also wanted to change into the rad shirt I had just bought at one of the vendor booths.
Yes, I found this rad Bikini Kill tee at a horror convention & I look fucking foxy wearing it!
Me, again.
We packed up our cameras, grabbed our stuff to be autographed, & made our way to the elevators of doom. I tell you, those elevators took FOREVER to get to floors. So annoying! But it was okay because when the elevator finally got to our floor, who should be inside of it but the amazingly dashing...
ANTHONY MICHAEL HALL!
I went numb, as I spotted him right away. He was very well dressed in a grey suit, sporting some scruff, & looking as handsome as all get out! He held the door for me & I tried not to start laughing like an idiot. I think he spotted my dude's Flyers (the hockey team) shirt, & started to talk about hockey with his companion. At least, that is what I think. I was so frazzled by all of what was happening. Again, I wanted out of the elevator. I got my wish when the doors opened a second later, & we all got out.
I let him walk far away from me before I started freaking out & then posted this tweet on my Twitter.
Tween dream come true!
I collected myself, & we were off to the autograph rooms where I met the following people that night.
Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris in
Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
William Sadler (
Roswell,
Disturbing Behavior,
Rush...), Michael Rooker (
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer,
Mallrats,
The Walking Dead), IronE Singleton (
The Blind Side, T-Dog in
The Walking Dead), Chandler Riggs (Carl Grimes in
The Walking Dead), Anthony Michael Hall (
Sixteen Candles,
The Breakfast Club,
Weird Science...),
Lisa Marie (
Ed Wood,
Mars Attacks,
Sleepy Hollow),
Alex Winter (
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure &
Bogus Journey,
The Lost Boys),
Heather Donahue (
The Blair Witch Project,
Taken),
Josh Leonard (
The Blair Witch Project,
Humpday...), & Kristen Bauer (Pam on
True Blood).
There's way to much to tell you about meeting each one of these fantastic people, but here are some memorable moments.
PRECIOUS MOMENTS:
-Nicholas Brendon: I cried while he hugged me, I picked a hair off his sweater, he remembered me from the elevator, I told him how much Buffy means/meant to me.
-William Sadler: I told him about much I love(d) Roswell & we talked about Tales from the Crypt.
-Michael Rooker: I said nothing to him because I am chicken shit.
-IronE: We hugged, giggled, talked about his hair (he let it grow in for another role), I bitched about his lack of lines on The Walking Dead (we laughed so much at my frankness), & hugged some more.
-Chandler Riggs: I told him what a great & powerful force he's becoming on TWD, bitched about some stuff he did on the show, & talked about The Hunger Games (he was reading the book).
-Anthony Michael Hall: he remembered me from the elevator, we talked about Robert Rusler from Weird Science, he made a cute face when I told him my name so he could autograph my Sixteen Candles poster, he mistook my tee for a Yeah Yeah Yeah's one, & got a little back rub/pat while we posed for a photo.
-Lisa Marie: stared at her beauty, talked about Ed Wood, & got really close to her while posing for a photo.
-Heather Donahue & Josh Leonard: let my dude talk to Heather while I told Josh how much I loved Humpday, & we chatted about awkward scenes. Heather listened in & we all cracked up!
-Kristen Bauer: stared at her beauty & could only manage to say, "I love True Blood!" before posing for a picture & running away.
Later on that night, we attended a V.I.P. party (the dude & I bought V.I.P. tickets) for the talent, & guests who bought tickets. It was a cake cutting/reunion thingy for the casts of The Blair Witch Project & The Walking Dead. Unfortunately, they cancelled TWD ceremony, but TBWP one was fun.
Even though I snapped these sneaky photos on Saturday, I will share them in this Friday post.
Sneaky candid shots:
Lisa Marie.
Tuesday Knight (standing in the black coat) from A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master.
IronE Singleton.
Tom Towles.
Kristen Bauer.
William Sadler & fans.
Anthony Michael Hall & fan.
& here are some of my autographed items:
After spending about an hour at the party (it was fun, but awkward), we went to our room, changed into our jammies, watched some TV, & went to sleep.
& that was Day One of Monster Mania 21!
Stay tuned to Part Two, Day Two very soon.
Thanks for reading!
&hearts,
Samantha
P.S. Please do not use any of my photos without proper credit.
