Emerald City Comic Con - 2010

Another year, another comic convention here in the great metropolis of Seattle.

This show was the biggest ever, in terms of not only the guest list but also the sheer number of people who attended it.

There is just w-a-y to much to cover in this post, so I will simply touch on a few of the high-points of my weekend.

Friday morning started early... like 3:50 a.m. early!.... as I woke up 'cause I couldn't sleep anymore. I had to be up to catch a ride to Seattle so I could check into the hotel, then it was off to the airport to greet guests as they arrived.

I was at the airport with the Maimed Man from around 9:00 a.m. until 6:45 p.m.

We worked in tandem: he kept an eye on the flights and which baggage claim to meet them at, while I coordinated with the drivers outside and gave the guests their show packets. It was a great system and went very smoothly with both of us there.

We met a lot of the guests, including (but certainly not limited to) Erin Gray, Lou Ferrigno, and Leonard "Spock" Nimoy!

I also got to meet Terry Moore & his wife Robyn as they arrived. They remembered me and gave me hugs to say "hello".

It was a long day and very tiring, but after leaving to come back to the hotel we then went out to dinner with a bunch of the other ECCC volunteers.

Saturday morning, I got up early again and started taking my stuff over to the convention center so I didn't have to lug it there at the last minute.

It was about 6:30 a.m. when I walked up to registration and there was already a line of people waiting to get in. (The show didn't open until 10:00 and they still had 3-1/2 hours to go)

Then I got some breakfast at the Dragonfish with C. Burnham before going back to the convention center for the day.

People were still setting up their booths right until the time the doors were opened for the attendees.

I made my way around the show floor getting reacquainted with old friends and meeting a few new ones.

Then 10:00 rolled around and the people started pouring in.... literally!

Here's a pic of the crowd right before the doors opened:

And here's what it looked like on the inside just a few seconds after they opened:

There were three main places that people were making a beeline towards.

One was to get in line to meet Stan Lee.

Another to meet Leonard Nimoy.

And the third was at the opposite end of the building to meet Geoff Johns.

Those three areas quickly became a mass of bodies and chaos.

It took some wrangling, but eventually we got volunteers to manage those areas as best as possible.

As for the show floor, it was PACKED!

So much so that I had a difficult time getting around from place to place.

Still, I managed to weave through the crowd and make my way to the guests and bring them stuff they were asking for.

I ended up at the end of the day with blisters on two of my left toes and I was sore all over just maneuvering through the crowd and being on my feet all day.

Originally there was to be a "meet-and-greet" with Stan Lee right before the show opened for a few of us volunteers, but Stan got the the show floor too late for it to happen and then his line was overwhelming. I asked a couple of the promoters if there was even a chance of getting to see him, but it looked doubtful. So I gave up on my dream of getting to have my picture taken with him.*

I was busy the entire 8 hours of the show (not to mention being there a few hours early), but finally it was 6:00 and everybody was shooshed out for the evening.

A bunch of volunteers met up for dinner, but I went out with a friend and we met up with some of the comic writers from the show.

Along the way, I ran into Filip Sablik (the publisher at Top Cow) and Steve Rolston among others.

I was having a good time, but the evening began to catch up to me and I began to fade. So I bid them all a good night and headed back to my hotel room to try and sleep.

Sunday morning came and I got up later than I expected.

In fact, I had just enough time to take a quick shower before getting to the convention center and had to skip breakfast.

On my way, I was carrying an ice cooler on one shoulder and talking to my mom (who came for the show) with my other hand. The guy in front of me was nice enough to open the door and hold it for me so I could get in. It turned out to be none other than Joe Quesada! The Editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics!

I showed my mom and her husband around for a bit, and then I had to get busy as the doors were about to open again for the second day of the show.

Day two is always (THANKFULLY!!!) a bit slower, and I managed to meet a few new people and find out more about the books or art they were selling. I also was able to get a couple of sketches I'd been hoping to get this year and I picked up some new books to read.

The day went a lot easier with fewer attendees on the show floor, but my blisters from the day before began giving me trouble. I wrapped up each toe with a band-aid and continued to power on for the day.

As it drew closer to the end of the day, the crowds started to die down and people started to get their stuff ready to pack up.

Over the intercom speakers, they announced that this year's show was the biggest ever with over 14,000 people having attended it! (Although, I heard a little later that the number might have even been larger... so once I get the final total I'll let you all know)

The post-show dinner party took place across the street about an hour and a half later.

Hotness & I showed up a few minutes apart but mingled for a bit and then ended up sitting at different tables.

Since she works with the media guests, she tends to hang out with a lot of the volunteers from that group.

I am usually working with the comic book professionals, so I always end-up sitting with them at dinner and catching up.

After a couple of hours, they kicked us out of the resteraunt and sent us downstairs to hang out in the bar. Aaron Douglas (who was a guest at this and last year's shows) showed up and goofed off for a bit with all of us.

Then we headed out to another resteraunt for a few drinks and nibbles before settling down for the night.

We stayed at the hotel an extra night, so it was nice not having to rush home after staying out late the night before.

I got up Monday morning and had breakfast, then after Hotness woke up I took her to get something to eat.

There were a few guests in the hotel lobby when we got back and I got to speak with them and introduce them to Hotness.

Among them: Tim Bradstreet and Mark Texeira, both of whom Hotness has always enjoyed art they have done.

We finally headed back up to the room and packed up our stuff and made the drive back home.

It was a long, but very fun and eventful, weekend.

Much more so than last year's. (I was fighting off a cold last year, and by the end of the show I had no voice left and could barely walk anymore)

I'm resting up and looking forward to my trip to Calgary in a little over a month.

Lots of cool stuff happening then and I can't wait to tell you all about it.

* Oh yeah.

I had given up on ever meeting Stan Lee, when at about 3:30 in the afternoon on Saturday I got a text message that said: "Hustle your butt down to the photo booth right away!"

I got there and found out that I was going to get the chance to have my picture taken with Stan after all!

Unfortunately I didn't get to talk to him for very long, but I did get to shake his hand and tell him what an honor it was to meet a legend like himself. Then 3 seconds later, our picture was taken and I was out of there and back on the floor helping guests.

The photo printer broke down during the show and I was not able to get my picture before the convention ended. Luckily I know the photographer and will be getting it in the mail soon, though.

So.... About That Wedding

I figured out a way to get online at the house. Not sure how or why exactly, but why look a gift horse in the mouth. I'll make use of it while I can.

Back to our previous topic: The wedding.

Hotness and I had planned on having a "Vegas Wedding". We didn't want to deal with finding a place out here and getting all that kind of planning together. Besides, something non-traditional seemed like "us".
However, the best laid plans never work out the way you want them to, so we ended up having to compromise.
Without a steady job to pay for tickets to Vegas (and not wanting to dip into what money I do have), Hotness thought we should have the wedding here at home.

She asked a friend of hers if they would mind letting us use their house for the ceremony and reception. They live quite a ways out in Preston, WA in a H-U-G-E house with tall windows that look out into the woods. (See picture below)
The living room was just the right size for a small group of friends and family to sit comfortably and share our day.

The minister she wanted to have was a friend's dad, and she called to see if there was any way he could make it up here to marry us. He currently lives in California, but has known Hotness since grade school and said "I'll be there. I wouldn't miss it

Hotness's brother had recently returned home from a several-months-long European trip (after having flown back-and-forth from Hawaii to Montana during their mom's illness), so he really wasn't in a financial position to come back out on ANOTHER flight right away.
Then, a few days before the wedding, he & I talked for a bit and then he said, "It's my sister's wedding. How many times am I going to get to see that? I'll be out there for it!"
We decided to keep it a secret from Hotness until the day of the wedding.
He took care of the flight and I just needed to figure out a ride from the airport and a place to stay for the night once he got in.
My friend Imperfect had recently come home from a family vacation in Florida, and had the house to himself while his wife and kids were still away. He said he wouldn't mind picking up her brother and letting him stay at the house since it was pretty much empty at the time.
So now we had that taken care of.

On the day of the wedding, Hotness got up and left to get her hair and makeup done while I got my suit and stuff together.
I headed over to Imperfect's place to check on Hotness's brother and go over a few last minute things with Imperfect.
Hotness called while I was there to say that she was already done and headed to the house where the wedding would take place.
This was much earlier than I planned on, so her brother and I left right away to get there before she did.
She beat us there by only a couple of minutes, and was out near the road tying balloons to the mailbox so people could find us.
As we got closer, her brother ducked down in the car so she wouldn't see him and then jumped out (after I slowed down, of course) to surprise her.
There were lots of squeals, smiles and hugs as told her "SURPRISE!"

After that, I went inside to get some of the food ready for the reception.
There wasn't much to do, but it was still too early to get dressed in my suit so it filled my time as people started showing up.

An hour before the wedding was to start, the minister took us aside to go over the vows and what was to take place.
Then 15 minutes before the wedding I went to get changed.
At 2:00 p.m. everybody was sat down in their seat, the music started and the wedding began.

It couldn't have turned into a more perfect day.
The sun was shining and it was coming into the house through the big windows we stood in front of.
Hotness's brother walked her down the aisle.
My mom and her husband came out and she made our wedding cake for us.

After a brief ceremony, we exchanged vows and the minister then pronounced us "Husband & Wife".
We walked down the aisle together as "You're My Best Friend" by QUEEN played on.

Everybody soon joined us in the next room where we thanked them all for coming and to please enjoy themselves to food.

We took a few pictures and then it was time to cut the cake.
I'm not a fan of "smooshing" the cake at weddings. The bride spends all day getting ready and trying to look nice for the biggest of "big days" and then you go and stuff cake in her face? I think not.
Instead, we took small forkfuls and ate them without a lot of fuss.

After that, we mingled a bit to make sure everybody had been introduced to everyone else.
Then it was time for us to sign the wedding certificate.

We mingled and talked for a while longer, then as it started getting late and everyone was heading home, Hotness, myself and a few others went to get dinner together.

So that's the gyst of it.
Here are a few pictures of the day:
I decorated the entry way with pictures of us at various stages of our lives. To the left were pictures of Hotness as a baby, child, teenager and an adult. To the right were pictures of me as well.
In the middle were pictures of us through the years that we've been together.


The big windows as the sun shined in during the vows, and our first kiss to "seal the deal" as a wedded couple.


The cake my mom made, as well as some of the food that was served.
My mom and I both made all the food for the reception.

Preparing to cut the cake. Notice Hotness's look of eagerness. (Should I be worried?)

Then our first bites together.

Signing the marriage certificate

A view of the back of Hotness's wedding dress.

Myself, Hotness, G-rod and Liz.

My new brother-in-law, Hotness, and myself

The newly wedded couple!

Post-wedding, Hotness is trying to earn back some cash to help pay for the wedding.

Since we weren't able to have all the people we wanted at our wedding, our plan is to have a B-I-G reception at a later date (hopefully this spring or summer) and invite everyone to it.

We really wanted to share our day with all our friends and family and by having another reception later we can include them all.

While our internet is working I'll try to post some more recent things, but we'll see how things go.

Thanks for your patience.

Wedding Planning

Well, back to the blog again.

After proposing and getting engaged almost a year ago, I tried to come up with ideas for the wedding (what to wear, where to have it, when to have it, etc...).
I wasn't met with resistance by Hotness, but rather benign indifference. Nothing seemed like a bad idea, but it all seemed like it could be taken care of later.
So after a few weeks of trying to come up with ideas, I gave up and put it on the back burner until she wanted to sit down together and plan for it.

Nothing, other than talking about going to Las Vegas, was ever really discussed.... until about 2 weeks ago.
That was when Hotness dropped her wedding plans on me. And only 1 month before she wanted to make them happen.

She thought I was upset at first, but really all it turned out to be was that I was totally unaware of what she wanted to do until that moment.
So in one fell swoop I got the lowdown on what she wanted to do and the steps she'd already taken to make them a reality.
I was a bit speechless.
I didn't know that she was planning ANYTHING, and now I'm having to rush around and get stuff together to make it happen in less than a month.

It's not all that bad though.
I got my outfit already picked out, and last Saturday we found a dress for her that not only looks great, but totally suits her.
So those two things are taken care of.
This afternoon, we'll be heading out to pick up the marriage license.

Other than that, we're planning a very small, intimate wedding.
So right now, we're in the process of trying to get invitations made up so we can get them sent out as soon as possible.

In fact, we're not even planning on a real reception for afterwards because we'll have so few people there.
The reception we want to have will be much more elaborate so that we can share it with all our friends. But right now, we're not even sure when that will be. Originally Hotness wanted to have it on the anniversary of when I proposed, but it turns out that that's on the weekend of the Emerald City Comic Con. I'm cool with that, but for some reason she says "no". Then in April, I'll be gone for Calgary Expo again.
So for right now, that event is up in the air until we can find a time (and a place) to have it.

In the meantime, I'm just kind of in a fog.
My birthday is coming up and we're sort of 'half-way' to the wedding, so everything just seems kind of surreal right now. I know things are going to happen, but they aren't happening "right now".

I'm kind of rambling, aren't I?
Yeah, okay. Onto other subjects...

I went and saw "Avatar" the other day.
It was in 3-D and I was afraid that I might get motion sickness (as I'm prone to do at movies lately), so I dosed up on Dramamine.
What an incredible movie. And the 3-D only made it better.
I think if I'm going to get a Blu-ray player in the near future, THIS will be the movie that tips the scales in favor of doing it.

What else? Hmmm...
Oh yeah!
I TOTALLY geeked out yesterday when I found out that Stan "The Man" Lee would be coming to ECCC this year!
I only have to real goals in life, and in the grand scheme of things they are within reason.
1) To meet and get a picture taken with Weird Al Yankovic
2) To meet and get a picture taken with Stan Lee.
Looks like I can cross one of those off my list real soon! (and if anybody can help make that first one a reality, please let me know!)

I'd like to say I have a whole bunch of other stuff to talk (or rather, "blog") about, but I don't.
No news on the job search other than I haven't heard back from anybody.
Nobody has called me to even set up an interview. I'm still sending out job apps and my resume, and all I'll hearing back is the sound of crickets chirping.
I'm not depressed, but it does get a bit discouraging after a while.

I'll probably have more to talk about after this weekend.
My birthday is coming up and on Sunday Hotness and I are going to the opera (our second one for the season).
I should have SOMETHING to talk about again by then.

And Here Are Those Pictures I Promised

Well, I may not be speedy, but I do deliver.... eventually.

I meant to get some pictures up about a week ago but I let it slide and look where we are now.

Anyway, here a few pictures from things I've been doing lately. Enjoy.

In between job searches I been filling my time up with babysitting for my niece and nephew.

A few nights back I had the chance to watch them for the evening while their parents went out looking for a new vehicle (read: bigger kid-transport).

My niece put these fangs on and tried to scare me:

It worked 'really well' as I was certainly terrified and couldn't sleep at all after being frightened by that cute face. (*wink wink*)

On a different day, I watched her brother in the morning.

He hadn't yet had breakfast, so I thought I'd make cinnamon toast for him and see if he liked it.

Trying it out

Seems to be a success!

Other than babysitting, I've also been doing some organizing at a friend's place.

He's been behind in getting his comic books filed and asked if I could come lend a hand while I'm available.

In trade for some of the work, he gave me his older 5.1 surround sound DVD player, since he'd recently upgraded to a newer system. (More on this later)

Also, I get to hang out with his kitties all day while I'm there.

See what rough working conditions I have to deal with?

Wednesday last week, I was running some errands and ended up in Lynnwood.

I stopped by the Comic Stop and later treated myself to some sushi at Sushi Misoya next door to the shop.

This place is tiny, but what they lack in size, they more than make up for in excellent food.

On this trip I had the 'paradise roll' and the 'tarantula roll'.

Absolutely wonderful and the people who run the place are fantastic!

If you like sushi and find yourself in Lynnwood one day, I highly recommend going there to eat.

Their prices are reasonable and their food if well worth it. (They also have non-sushi items on the menu as well, if that's not your "thing")

On Sunday, Hotness and I went to our first opera of the season.

Well, technically it wasn't the "first of the season" but it as OUR first one this season.

We went and saw "La Traviata". (Click the link to find out the synopsis)

It was wonderful. A very tragic opera with a suitably sad ending.

I'm not ashamed to say that I was bit sniffly at the end, but Hotness was definitely teary-eyed.

It was a good thing we'd brought tissues with us!

Here's a shot of the traffic afterwards as everybody was leaving the parking garage.

I took it from the Skybridge.

After that we went to Pomodoro for a bit to eat.

The two of us haven't been there together since I'd proposed to Hotness... 7 months ago!

Oh, it was so good and we'd missed coming there. The food was splendid (as usual) and we got to see our favorite waitress (who missed seeing us as well!).

We had our usual: calamari, halibut ceviche, as well as the Penne alla Vodka which we shared.

(Mmmm... calamari!)

I am so looking forward to our next opera, "Il Trovatore". It has treachery, deceit, political intrigue, attempted murder, kidnapping... and gypsies!

It also happens to be right around my birthday, so it's a double treat. (Guess we'll have to celebrate at Pomodoro again!)

That's most of what's been happening lately.

I probably forgot a few things, but I can't give away EVERYTHING.

I'll try to get back to this again soon, so stay tuned.

Pork Chop Salad

First, I want to just ask a question.
Why... WHY?!?... when it's too hot to be in the kitchen cooking over the stove, do I voluntarily go outside to cook over an open bed of hot coals? It's madness, I tell you.


Anyway, I found a new food blog and was inspired by this the other day and wanted to try it out for myself and Hotness.
It's a 'pork chop salad' and looking at the pictures he had on his sight, I couldn't imagine it not tasting good.


Here, compare his salad with my finished result:

Looks good, huh?


I made a few changes (what cook doesn't?), but nothing so drastic as to change the overall product.
Go read his recipe. No really, I'll wait. Go ahead.

Now, what I did differently was this:
Instead of iceberg lettuce, I used mixed greens (including spinach).
I swapped the cucumber for a zucchini squash.
I added 'shoestring' carrots
and for fun, I added Nasturtium petals.
Then I used only the balsamic vinegar and Parmesan cheese (no olive oil) for dressing.


I would have to say that I would prefer this over a grilled chicken salad any day. It was that good.

-----------------
In the meantime, while I was slaving over hot coals making the porkchops, Hotness took our cat out for a walk in the yard.

It's a very rare treat for her to be out (she's STRICTLY an indoor cat) so trying to get a good picture of her was difficult, as she was too busy inspecting everything.



I was told not to embarrass the cat by posting these.
I think she doesn't get enough exposure on here, so I was just trying to give her some. *wink wink*

-------------
And in totally un-related news:
Hotness and I do not watch 'regular' TV.
Oh sure, we have a television. But we don't get cable or satellite or anything like that.
Whenever we watch anything, it's because it's on DVD.


So when we watch a TV program, it's because we either borrowed it or I picked it up on a whim 'cause I'd heard good things about it.
The other option is when our neighbor "Tivo's" a program and we watch it later at his place.


Due to that last option, both Hotness and I are now totally hooked on "The Big Bang Theory".
He recorded one of the shows, because he thought we'd get a kick out of it.
Oh, how right he was! We loved it!
So he recorded another, and so on.


I just recently ended up buying the first season on DVD and I'm looking at getting season two soon.


Yeah, we're probably behind-the-times on finding out about it, but we're glad we finally did.
I can honestly say I haven't laughed out loud while watching a TV show as much as I have with this one. It's a total hoot!

Interwebs

Last night Hotness got our satellite internet working again.
I un-installed the old modem and re-connected the new one, but that's as far as I was able to get it.
There were tests and serial numbers and all manner of information that was required to get the new modem working. None of which I had available to me.

So last night, after not having it for the past month, Hotness called the satellite internet people and they walked her through getting everything all up and running again.
YAY!!!

Now I can get back to downloading porn & music looking up recipes.

Rawr, Baby!

Today is Hotness's 40th birthday today!

I don't have anything embarrassing to post about her, so instead I'll just put up some pictures of her and say...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY my little sugar pickle!!!

You're my favorite cougar! Rawr!

After A Long Wait, It's Finally Over

On Sunday morning (shortly after midnight) Hotness's mom passed away.

She'd gotten a call on Friday afternoon from a family friend saying that her mom might not make it through the next few days, so we'd been waiting for this call to happen.

It's kind of surreal at the moment. She's gone and will no longer be a part of either of our lives, but in a sense she had left a while ago when the cancer started taking over so it really isn't a shock.

On the other hand, she lived a lot longer than anyone expected so for her to finally be gone is a relief (that she's no longer suffering) and very sad (that she is actually gone).

I joked about her on here, but it was because I cared about her.

I'd call her occasionally to check in on her and make her laugh. When she got too sick to answer the phone, I really didn't get to talk to her much any more.

The cards I sent her (on Hotness's last visit) helped brighten her day and she kept them next to her in the nursing home so she could read them over and over again.

I didn't get to tell her "goodbye", but I'll never forget the first time we'd said "Hello" to each other.

I'd gone back with Hotness for her 10-year High School reunion, and stopped by her mom's to let he know we arrived.

The first thing she said to me was, "Oh! You'll like my friend Don. He's chubby too."

I just smiled as Hotness freaked out that her mom said that to me.

I said later that "if that's the worst I have to deal with from her, I think things will be okay".

And they were.

In the years after that, I looked forward to seeing her and joking around with her. We'd exchange email. And I'd make her laugh until she turned red and tears rolled out of her eyes.

I'll miss her.

Not as much as Hotness, obviously. But we were close. So close that she was referring to me as her son-in-law BEFORE Hotness and I were ever engaged.

Rest in peace Jankamur.

Hallmark Has A Card For Everything

I'm a bachelor again this weekend.
Hotness took off this morning to spend time with her mother one more time.

I used to call her mom every week or so (more often when the cancer started taking over) to just talk and make her laugh and to catch up on things that she wasn't sure she should tell her daughter. I'd filter the information and relay it to Hotness. (Her mom could be a bit dramatic, so it was always best to 'temper' what she had to say)
I haven't been able to do that in a while. In fact, the last time I got to talk to her was the weekend that Hotness and I got engaged (over a couple of months ago now). After that, her health got worse and she moved out of her house and into a nursing home for 24-hour care.

I'd been meaning to send her a card to cheer her up and let her know I was still thinking about her, but things would side-track me and I'd never take time to do it.
So last night, before Hotness was going to leave for her trip, I went to the local Hallmark shop to get a couple of cards for her to deliver for me when she got there.

I looked and looked until I found what I thought expressed the feelings I wanted to convey.
One was a humorous card about surrounding yourself with friends. The other was a sympathy card, which is kind of weird to buy BEFORE someone is dead let alone give it to the person who is the subject of the sympathy... but whatever.

I went up to the counter to pay and the cashier asked if I'd found everything I was looking for.
Instead of just saying "Yes I did. Thank you", I said "Well actually not quite, but these will do".
"Oh. Well can I help you find something more appropriate?" she asked.
"I don't know. It's kind of complicated. I was trying to find a card for my future mother-in-law who has terminal cancer. I don't think you have a card for anything like that" I replied.
She said, "As a matter fact, we do have a few cards that deal with sensitive subjects, including a few that relate to cancer. They're over here", and she directed me to an end cap with a few topical cards of diverse subjects.

I didn't find quite what I was hoping to, so I stuck with the original two I had picked out.
But I'll be dipped in cheese fondue. They really DO have a card for every situation.
I think I'm going to have to make it a personal goal to come up with topics that Hallmark hasn't got a card for now.


In the meantime, I've got stuff to do while Hotness is away.
I have some planting to do at the old homestead, so that'll get me outside in the sunshine during the day.
On Saturday late morning I'm going to watch my niece perform in her first ballet dance recital. And that evening I have plans to go to the ballet in Seattle (our last one for this season) with a couple of friends since Hotness won't be here to make it this time.
I'm also expecting a couple of DVD's to arrive in the mail: Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus and Fanboys. If I'm lucky, they'll be waiting in my mailbox for me when I get home this afternoon.

Some tacos, mojitos and two huge sea-beasties beating the crap outta each other. It's gonna be a good evening.....

Swan Lake & Spearmint

Yesterday Hotness and I took my aunt out for her (early) birthday present to see "Swan Lake" at the ballet.
It's something she's always wanted to see live and never had the chance until now.
She lives further north from us so pretty much our entire day was involved with getting ready, picking her up, driving to Seattle, and taking her back home.
We typically go in the evenings, but since this was a special treat for my aunt, we exchanged our tickets for a matinee performance.

We had a good time and she really enjoyed getting to go to the ballet.

For those unfamiliar with the story of Swan Lake, here's a brief synopsis:
Boy turns 21 and on his birthday a bunch of friends gather to celebrate. His mom (the Queen) gives him a cross bow, 'cause he like to hunt, and reminds him that he also is old enough to get married and will have to pick a bride soon. She will be holding a ball that next evening and he can pick one then.
The boy reluctantly agrees and then he sees a flock of swans in the sky, so he and his buddies take off to go hunting for them.

It's evening and as the swans land on the ground they turn into beautiful maidens.
The boy sees this and can't believe his eyes. He sends the other hunters home and dances with the most beautiful maiden, whom he finds out is the Queen of the maidens.
They have been cursed to live as swans by day, and only allowed to be human when night falls.
The boy is falling in love with the maiden and she tells him that the only way to break the curse is to pledge his faithfulness to her. About that time the wizard who cursed the maidens shows up and takes the Queen maiden away.

The next evening everybody is at the palace and the eligible brides-to-be are presented to the boy, but he's not interested.
Suddenly the wizard appears and with him is the Swan Queen.
Both she and the wizard are rather cold and rude the the boy and his mother, but the boy dances with her and can't believe that she has shown up to the ball.
Things don't seem right, as a vision of the Swan Queen appears to the boy, but he just passes it off and keeps dancing with her.

Finally they boy can't believe his good fortune and pledges his undying love and faithfulness to the young girl only to discover that she was a fake made to look like the Swan Queen and he has now doomed his true love to live with the curse forever.

The ball ends and the boy rushes out into the woods to find his love.
They dance and he begs for forgiveness but it's no good.
Although she forgives him, she is still cursed.
Finally the wizard appears and takes her away and the boy is left alone in his grief.

It's a classic in the ballet repertoire and full of beauty and tragedy.


We drove back north to take my aunt home and then headed home ourselves.
It was early evening, so we went to our neighbor's place and watched the last episode of "Dollhouse". I kind of like this show and hear it's been picked up for a second season, so it'll be cool to see how it develops further when it comes back.

After we were finished, we went back home and what should see in our yard....?

A horse!

It belonged to our neighbor behind us and had 'escaped' it's pasture and found that the grass in our yard was just yummy for grazing. Obviously Hotness was happy to have a horse to have to 'care for', after calling the neighbors and letting them know we'd horse-sit for the night, I coaxed it into our fenced pasture and she filled up the water container for it.

I went to bed shortly after that, but she stayed up for a bit peeking out the window at it.

This morning we got up and the horse was still there, just eating grass.

Hotness got her brushes out and mixed up some bran mash and went outside to have some "horsey-time".

(Why can't I ever come home and find Dita in my yard?!? I'd stay up all night peeking out the window and in the morning I'd go out and brush her hair. I don't think it's fair, I tell you.)

After brushing and feeding the horse, we went into town to have breakfast.

Then we walked to the local hardware store where I picked up some plants to bring back home and pot up.

I got some cilantro because I'm constantly buying it to use at the house. I figured it would probably cost less to just plant my own and harvest it as needed.

I also picked up some chocolate mint and spearmint.

The chocolate mint just smells good and will be good to make tea with.

The spearmint....? Well, that's for making mojitos later when it FINALLY warms up around here.

And that catches us up with what's been happening.

As soon as I get done bloggin' here, I'm going to start packing up my suitcases for my Calgary trip next week.

I take off Tuesday evening, so that leaves me with one day of work and I don't want to try and pack after I come home tomorrow night. All day Tuesday will be spent running the last few errands I need to take care of before I leave, so I hope to get the packing done today and then relax.

I hope you all took advantage of the nice weather this weekend. Hopefully it'll stay around for a few more days.

Until next time.....

Convention Time - Seattle Version

Well, this is it.
It's time once again for the Emerald City Comic Convention.

I'll be volunteering at the show, as will Hotness, so I'll be "off-the-grid" for the next few days.

Look for my report of the show, complete with pictures and hopefully a bunch of new art next week after I recover.

If you're coming out to the show, make sure to say "hi"when you're there.

Be back soon!......

Busy, Exciting Weekend

Wow!

I couldn't have asked for a better weekend full of fun.

I kicked it off Friday night by hanging out at my buddy Imperfect's place and playing with my niece and nephew. (Mostly my niece, though)

"Uncle Ferretnick dance with me. Uncle Ferretnick let's make a (pretend) cake. Uncle Ferretnick spin me around. Uncle Ferretnick read me a bedtime story."

We shared a pizza that I brought and although I didn't get to share the magic that is Wonder Woman with her, we had a lot of fun!

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On Saturday, Hotness & I ran some errands which included picking up prezzies for George & Elwood for their combined birthday party Rockbandapalooza.

That was just all kinds of good time wrapped up in a big fluffy bow.... with cake!

Here are some random pics from the night:

I can't sing, so finding me willingly doing it is like finding a unicorn pissing rainbows on Feb. 29th*.

But sing I did, and not just one song but TWO!

I managed to belt out "War Pigs" and "N.I.B." both by Black Sabbath.

I think Ozzie would've said "Wh-wh-wh-what the bleedin' hell, mate? My head f***kin' hurts now!"

The birthday party was a blast, and both of the guys got a bunch of awesome gifts.

Hotness and I cut out sometime around 11:30 and headed home.

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Then on Sunday we slept in late and woke up to snow. Again. In Spring. Yeesh!

We kind of stumbled around the house until close to noon, when we left to head into Lynnwood for the second volunteer meeting for this year's ECCC.

We got our job assignments, this year's volunteer T-shirt, stuffed a butt-load of 'give-away' bags and just hung the around the shop having a good time with each other.

Afterwards, some of the group took off for a fuel-injected overdrive movie-fest, while others of us went over to Red Robin for burgers and alcohol. (Mmmm... Bailey's shake)

There were 5 different groups of people celebrating their birthdays, and we seemed to be in the middle of all the cheering and yelling.

When we were all finished, everyone parted ways and Hotness & I drove south to Seattle to meet up with her brother (who is on his way back to Hawaii) and his lady friend.

They were waiting for us at Gasworks Park, which I've never been to before... even though I'm a native from here.

It was getting dark when we showed up, but I still managed to get a few pictures:

We hung out for a bit until it started getting too chilly, then we left them to go home.

On our way, we stopped in at Pomodoro to see one of the waitresses we know and show her Hotness's new engagement ring.

After that, it was finally time to go home.

And when we go there we hit the sack hard and slept harder.

*Whew!*

And now I'm coming down with a cold... yippee, just in time for the convention this weekend.

I'm dosing up on echinacea and vitamin C. I am determined to power through the rest of this week and be okay for the show. Time will tell.....

* This has become my new favorite saying for things that are extremely improbable.

Laughs. Tears. And A Ring Was Involved.

Tonight was a rather important night.

The day itself proceeded without too much fanfare, but as evening approached.... well, that's when things started happening.

We had tickets for the ballet tonight.

The evening's performance was four short pieces titled "PNB Broadway Festival".

Each one was a bit more modern than your typical "classical" ballet and based on more contemporary works from the stage and screen.

Normally I'd give you a review of each piece, but I have to say that they were ALL fantastic and very enjoyable. (Well, at least the three pieces we stayed for that is. We cut out after the second intermission and left early)

If you're interested in attending the ballet, but don't want to go to some 'stuffy, old performance' this was very entertaining and well worth the price of admission.

I highly recommend seeing this the next time they present it.

As I mentioned, we left early after the second intermission.

Hotness was getting hungry, so we left before the show got out to head over to Pomodoro and have something to eat.

Mmmm... Calamares a la Plancha and Ravioli de Hummus y Truffa. Muy Bueno!

While we ate, we sat and talked about the performance and just things in general.

Our original plan was to go for appetizers and dessert, but after the appetizers Hotness was quite full so she passed on the dessert while I had their Grand Marnier Chocolate Mousse Cake.

She had a few bites (even though she said she was full), and waited for me to finish.

I had been planning on this evening for quite some time, and so far everything was going according to plan.

First the ballet, then a late dinner, followed by... well hang on. I'm getting to that part.

After I finished the cake, we were ready to pay the bill and go home.

Hotness excused herself to the restroom before we got in the car for our drive back.

While she was in there, I placed a card on the table in front of where she had been sitting.

When she came back and gathered her stuff together, she didn't notice the card as it kind of blended with the tablecloth. (Uh-oh. Not going so well)

As she picked up her things, that's when she saw the card was there. (Whew! Back on schedule!)

"What's this?" she asked.

"What's what?" I said, all innocent like.

"It's a card," she replied.

"Well, I guess you'd better open then," I answered.

So she did.

It was a mushy kind of card. Filled with lots of words that you want to say, but never can get out right. Thank goodness for people who know what you want to say and can do it much better than yourself.

It was about love and finding the person you want to spend your life with.

She got a little teary-eyed and said "Aw, thank you."

"But wait," I said, "That's just the first part. This is the second part", and I pulled a small box out of my coat pocket.

It was a box about... oh, 2 inches square by an inch-and-a-half tall.

Just big enough to hold a ring.

I opened it up in front of her at the table.

She looked at it, then looked at me, looked back at it and her eyes started to get all teary.

"Are you serious?" she asked.

"Yes," I said, "Will you marry me?"

By then we were both getting sort of weepy-eyed.

She grabbed the napkin and blotted her eyes and said "Yes!"

"I-I-I..... I don't know what finger I'm supposed to put it on!" she said.

I told her it belongs on her left hand next to her heart on her third finger.

It went on and fit just perfectly.

She is very anxious to show it off, so when you see her, be sure to ask about it.

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We've been together for 11 years.

It's not that I wanted to drag it out forever and see how long I could string her along.

I just had some issues that I needed to work through before I could bring myself to make that decision for the second time. (My first one was a disaster and left me very bitter for a long time)

But we've been through a lot and we've put up with each other despite all of it.

Recently things had just come to the point where I either needed to make the final step or just never move on.

Only a very small handful of friends knew about this ahead of time. And if you are a friend that I didn't tell in advance, please don't take it personally. I had to keep from having it being revealed to Hotness before I asked.

I had the fortune of getting her dad's blessing year's ago before he died and her mom and I discussed this not long ago, so I had her's as well.

Most recently I received her brother's blessing, so her family approves.

(My mom has been bugging me about it for a while, so I didn't bother to check with her!)

I will keep you updated on when the wedding will be and all that stuff, so stay tuned for further developments......