Tag Archives: Wil Wheaton

Gainfully Employed

Posted by Steve on October 7, 2013 No comments

After 3 ½ months of searching during one of the worst times for a govt. contractor to be searching for a job, I finally landed a position! Sarah also started a new job as well. It’s been a super stressful few months and I am really glad for the emotional support of my friends and family during that time. But hey, that’s done and I have joined the productive society again! I am now working in a local (to Northern VA) hosting company doing Tier 3 Windows support. Should be interesting getting back down in the support weeds. Who knows, it may lead to a whole new variety of twitter jokes.

Sadly, this does bring an end to my series of “Cover Letter” jokes. please feel free to go back and see the hilarity that ensues when you try and add the wrong things to cover letters.

In the month since I went to shoot the LADEE launch, quite a few things have happened. One of the reasons I haven’t written much since then is primarily due to the crappy depression that accompanies something like unemployment. (That and the lack of sleep, irritability, feeling of worthlessness….you get the picture) So lets see if I can shotgun these out.

We started doing a Webcomic over at RetroNickRadio!! It’s really cool and you should go read it.

I went to shoot some Roller Derby!

Two Words….Midget Wrestling. (yeah, that happened)

Sarah and I celebrated our return to work with a trip to Universal Studios.

We got to attend a great concert by Wil Wheaton Vs. Paul and Storm

And finally, two of our super awesome friends were finally allowed to be married in Maryland so we went to wish them well.

The next month should prove interesting as I adjust to a new work schedule (read that as “Actually working again, and not in my Pajamas”)

Collecting Autographs

Posted by Steve on July 23, 2012 1 comment

Jewel Got Photobombed!

One of my favorite hobbies takes place while at conventions, but doesn’t involve costumes, friends, or drinking. (because, what else is there at conventions?) I love seeing the guest list for conventions because it means I may have the chance to meet someone who is responsible for creating some of my favorite shows/books/movies. To much extent, this is one of the main reasons for attending for me, and one of the first things I do at a convention! There is just something about going up to a guest, shaking their hand (or giving the Iron Guard), and thanking them for what they do. On that rare occasion, you even have enough time to sit and talk with them about their craft, or hobbies, or even just what they think about the conventions.

To remember the visit I will usually grab one of the 8×10’s they have and have them sign it. Not to monetize it, but to have that memory. It’s always personalized (if they can, some of them have their reasons), and I consider it as my contribution to them for the time they spent with me. Sometimes the memory and time is great, and sometimes it’s not, but it is always a memory I will have.

Me dressed at Matty Roth from DMZ with Felicia.

I recently decided to grab shots of all of my current autographs. Most of them are down in the “Man-Cave” but some are still yet to be framed and mounted. Some interesting ones are the set of four autographs from Felicia Day, and the four from Jewel Staite. We learned that four is the magic number, when it comes to that line between fandom and stalking. I love both Jewel and Felicia for what they do and who they are, but I don’t want to be that guy who is always in their line every convention. That’s just creepy. So we go for four autographs and call it at that. It’s enough that, by the end of it, they tend to recognize you enough to smile and wave, but not overly enough to be weird-ed out by your presence.

Below are just a few of my favorites, you can find the rest in a gallery here on my site.

Meeting Wil was indeed…Awesome

EJO was inspiring to meet in person

Jewel played the 501st’s game of “Droid Hunt” and had a blast.

Two of my favorite actors from Warehouse 13!!

The Un-Official DragonCon Post.

Posted by Steve on September 9, 2011 1 comment

Why is this an Un-official post? Because I am still processing the whole con. Literally. I am working through all the photos I took processing them to improve the shots, doing laundry from the con, cleaning up the house and also taking care of the new Kitties we adopted the day after!

So why post? Well, there are a few things I want to touch on because they were So Awesome! (well, one not so awesome)

I MET WIL WHEATON!
No really, this was the highlight of the Con for me! Anyone who knows me knows that I kind of have a man-crush (Platonic) for Mr. Wheaton. I made the attempt to meet him at PAX east but apparently, his meemaw died/He was washing his hair/he was dead at the time, and he couldn’t attend. So when I heard he was going to be at DragonCon I was super excited! I was dressed in one of the two costumes I brought, Matty Roth from the comic DMZ. I figured that maybe only 2 people would get the costume but I was not prepared for what happened next. As I stepped up in line and greeted Wil with the Iron Guard Salute, this happened:

Wil: Are you fucking Cosplaying as DMZ?? THAT’S Awesome!
Me: YES!!
Wil: Hey Felicia! Check out this DMZ Cosplay! Hold on, I have to get a picture of this and send it to Brian Wood.
Me: That’s AWESOME!

I then handed him two 6-sided dice that I made telling him that I “Got exited and made something” which spawned another round of “That’s Awesome!” I also got the chance to tell him that during his Father Son bonding over brewing beer, I was doing the same while building a Tardis. (That’s Awesome, round 4) He signed a picture of himself collating paper and we went on our way. I was giggling for the rest of the day.

Now, the worst experience of the con, sadly, was my one with William Shatner. On my way through the Walk of Fame area, I stopped at the booth for WS and they had mentioned that he would be back in 30 min. There was no line so I figured “I can wait 30 min!” I Happily bought my photo ticket ($75!!!!), picked out my photo (Only Kirk photos, no S My dad says or Denny Crane), and got in line. 30 min turned into 45, then an hour, then longer and longer. The folks at the booth were trying to assure us that he was on his way down. It was nearing 5pm and we knew he had a panel at 5:30pm. (I got in line at 3:30pm). When he finally showed up, the line herders asked if I would let a woman in a wheelchair in front of me, which I had no problem with. (navigating the con in a wheel chair is tough, trust me on this.) She got her autograph and was working on backing out of the area, the handler reached out for my photo and handed it to WS as I got out of the way. When I got back up to the counter, the Photo was signed and I was being shuttled away without barely a glance from WS. I did manage to eek out a “It was very…er..honor” and got a half hearted fist bump before they moved on to the next guy.

Never in all of my conventions and Autograph collecting have I ever been treated like a sheep. It has always been my experience that I am paying the $20+ not for the autograph or the photo, but for the experience of getting 1-2 minutes of time with an actor/author/artist that I genuinely admire enough that I want to Pay for that moment. I don’t do this to collect signatures. I do this because I LIKE these people and want to express how much I appreciate and support their work. If I wanted just a photo with a signature on it, I could have bought one in the dealers room! (and probably paid less.) I have heard that WS is kind of a dick when it comes to conventions, but I really want to believe that maybe he was just being rushed by con handlers, or was having a bad day and doesn’t normally treat fans this way. I can hope right?

The rest of the con was outstanding. Pictures will be coming along soon as well as maybe a real after action report. I <3 everyone I hung out with there!!