as exciting and exhilarating as any adventure may be, i have to say that it doesn't get much better than falling into the familiar groove of your own pillow, in your very own sheets, on your very own, warm and comfortable bed. needless to say, it's nice to be home and to having my clothes in one place, my computer, my books and my work around me, and my friends only a phone call away. ideally, i'd like to feel as centered and be as productive without all the comforts of civilized life, but it's an ongoing process - one which i was tested on beautifully upon my arrival in Australia.
first of all, the journey itself was prolonged. due to crappy weather conditions, every flight was delayed for at least a few hours before embarking, adding to the already substantial flights ahead. i was, however, lucky enough to connect with some comic book artists also en route to convention land (one to the same show and the others to one in melbourne), so we passed the time reminiscing about sci fi, art, fandom and condemning all the closed vendors in the lax airport. as you can imagine, it was a relief once we finally arrived at the Sydney airport, but our relief was met with what seemed like comedy sketch timing, only to discover that both Brandon's (the comic book artist) and my bags had not successfully accompanied us on our journey. so we laughed nervously, shrugged, filled out the necessary forms, and continued on our way. for me it wasn't such a big deal because i was just missing clothes and things, but he had a bunch of art work that he was there to sell so it was a bit of a bummer. i did learn, though, that what i consider to be 'the essentials' (camera(s), computer, books, journal, phone(s), ipod, wallet, passport... maybe toothbrush) are not necessarily what one needs when they arrive in a humid country after traveling for over 30 hours. next time i may consider bringing, i don't know, say a change of clothes??? luckily i had a friend who lives in Sydney who was kind enough to lend me some of her threads and Australia is by no means the worst place to have to go shopping. but shopping for socks and underwear is not at the top of my list of things i want to see and do when visiting a new city...
what i did enjoy was getting to know the other guests. i thought it was really cool that they brought over a range of talents - comic book artists, voice over actors, video game directors, etc. - and that we all shared a common fan base. the day after we arrived (still no luggage) we all went to the zoo together and had a blast - getting our pictures taken with koala bears, dodging torrential downpours, and projecting the inner dialogs of the wallabies and wombats. though i think the animal that had us most in awe was the orangutan. holy sh*t! those guys are massive! and yet there's something so graceful and mystical about them. after staring for a few moments, we all broke out into a bob marley medley. he had dreads that would probably send vidal sasson into a panic attack... oh, actors. i posted a bunch of photos from the zoo in the supanova album.
then the next day, it was off to yet another zoo, only this one had booths instead of cages and the hedgehogs were blue and five times the size. supanova is definitely the biggest convention i've been to, and yet it managed to maintain the personality and the intimacy of some of the smaller ones i've attended. everyone i met was super friendly and during the q & a, i was asked extremely thoughtful and interesting questions. it was really refreshing. so tribute to everyone who came and said hello, it was such a pleasure to be there. and the organizers deserve some credit in making everything run so smoothly, amidst what could seem from the outside as something rather chaotic. i mean, where else do you see chewbaccas wrestling fat mommas while robots casually roam the periphery, and people scrutinize drawings with the seriousness of a rare diamond? honestly i wish i would have been able to see more. if only i weren't handcuffed to my table signing autographs the whole time... er... i mean... well it's standard practice, really. you know how unruly actors can get. i think the guy signing next to me, nicky b. from buffy, actually had to be tasered a few times to keep him in line. those bedroom eyes don't come from good genes alone people.
of course, no supanova story would be complete without acknowledging the unprecedented singstar fiasco that ensued just before the show's closing. it was actually my idea (sorry nicky!) haha. i happen to love karaoke and the 80's with equal fervor, so when i saw what was going on at the singstar booth, it was a natural next move. though i most definitely lost the game (i wasn't even watching the monitor) i had so much fun pretending to be an 80's pop icon. i think i was born a little too late, or maybe i'm just making up for lost time, but there's something about synthesizers and asymmetrical hair dos that is really exciting to me. so instead of joining a support group, i figure singstar is the next best outlet. and though i dare encourage such embarrassing activity, you can watch our performance on youtube. i recommend watching it if you're feeling sad, or beating yourself up about not being able to do something, because really it's not about whether you're good or bad at something, it's how you feel about doing it. and i think that video is a good demonstration of this. :-)
well, i think i've talked enough for now... i'm going to another convention next weekend in springfield, massachusetts. look forward to meeting more of you there!!!
oh, and by the way, if anyone happens upon a suitcase with multi colored polka dots and roller wheels, could you send it my way? i'm beginning to really miss my sonicare... ;-)