I’ve been home for as many days as I was away, yet my trip to Houston for Galacticon III was like an eternity contained in a nanosecond. Seeing the cast of BSG again felt like sprinting into my dad’s outstretched arms after he came home from a business trip. Everything was different, yet nothing had changed. Friends have been asking me, “How was your trip?” Amazing, awesome, so much fun. But words really don’t really do it justice. It’s sort of like trying to explain to your parents why Nine Inch Nails getting back together is a big deal. Or, perhaps more universal, what it feels like to run into a familiar face in a foreign country—exciting, comforting and strangely surreal. I’m still smiling as moments flash like a 90’s music video in my mind. In a word, it was epic. Rather than gushing any further, here are the highlights in point form and no particular order:
- Sharing a stage with such an incredibly talented collection of people during the opening ceremonies
- Eddie introducing himself to strangers who recognize him as Carlos Santana
- Mary requesting Texas BBQ for dinner; everyone doing what Mary wants (d’uh!)
- Dancing into my panel with Luciana and Rekha to Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop” blasting through an amplifier carried by the Super Mario Bros.
- Dreaming up my super hero alter ego with Bob Layton
- Photo-bombing a huge group of BSG fans
- Sharing a car ride with director Ilana Rein and insta-hitting it off, then hitting up Whole Foods for healthy snacks
- Having a staring contest with the parrot from Pirates of the Caribbean
- Selling all my “Oh My Gods! They Killed Cally!!!” t-shirts except 2 and seeing people so excited to wear them
- Making “crabs” jokes for way longer than it was funny after Eddie ordered an inordinate amount of crabs for our table
- Learning about my castmates through the awesome questions asked at panels—from barbie collecting to alchemy and so much more
- Discussing womens’ roles in the military with a man who has actually fought on the front lines with women
- Hanging out with Noah Hathaway only to come home and realize he was Atreyu from the Never Ending Story (no big deal!!!)
- Dirk Benedict announcing I’m the daughter he never had
- Trying to order dinner at a Texas BBQ diner: “What’s holding up the line?” “Nicki’s trying to order.”
- Zipping around in a golf cart through the humid sidewalks of Houston
- Eddie telling the story of what it was like to film Portlandia
- Presenting the award to the kids costume contest winner: a miniature Athena carrying a baby Hera… then texting the picture to Grace (who loved it btw)
- Wading through a law school graduation ceremony going on at the conventions center... or was it a Harry Potter convention?
- Finally getting to hang out with Bear and confirming he’s my brother from another mother
- Having the most awesome assistant I’ve ever had ever—Shakira I would hire you in a heartbeat! But I wouldn’t want to take you away from your Faulkner ;)
- Hazing the Caprica cast… KIDDING!!!
- Attempting to take Kate to a vegan restaurant and ending up in a shady part of town, her refusing to get out of the car
- Making Vine videos on the hotel shuttle with Luciana
- Remembering how funny Trucco is and that he should have his own comedy show
- Getting an email from Rekha about her 6:30 am ride to the airport on Monday morning on a party bus... with a stripper pole... with pictures!
- Feeling all the love from the fans. Honestly, truly, you have no idea what it means for us to share this with you. Thank you!
If you have any highlights to share, I’d love to hear them!