And so it
was the Pacific Surfliner that Shannon and I traveled on down to the San Diego
Comic Con International and then back home again.
It is a
great way to travel. Sitting back and relaxing, take a nap, read a book or
write one. Sure beat being trapped in traffic on the 5 Freeway.
It was also a whole lot less expensive then
trying to get a hotel room.
The only
bad part of it was that we had to get back to the station about an hour before
the train was scheduled to depart. We had reserved tickets, but for SDCC there
were so many people getting on board that it filled up fast and we wanted to
make certain we sat together (twice on the way down, we had to sit separately
for about half the trip). On top of everyone trying to get down to the Comic
Con, that was also the opening weekend for the Del Mar racetrack. Along with
the over two hundred people that got on at the start, there would be nearly
another two hundred there.
So we
couldn't attend any of the movie screenings or events that were held at night,
because if we missed the last train we'd be probably be sleeping the train
station or in Hall H. (Shudder the thought.)
Having to
wait in a line to catch the train sometimes proved to me entertaining then
waiting to get into a panel at the convention.
On Friday
evening we got in line and as we waited three limo drivers showed up. One was a
woman, and she must have found her client because wasn't there for long. The
other two drivers were waiting for the arrival of the train from Los Angeles,
which we would be catching to go home.
One of the
drivers held up a sign that read the name of a television production company.
Of course I took notice of this since it is a company I would really like to
work for. The other driver talked with him for a bit so it was clear they would
be picking up clients that were part of the same party. So Shannon and I began to
have fun anticipating who might be arriving from Hollywood for the convention.
A few
minutes before the train arrived, a woman walked up to the two limo-drivers and
introduced herself. She was obviously there to make certain the VIPs arrived
safely.
She was
really devoted to the job assigned to her, because making certain the limo
drivers were there, and checking with the ticket booth for when the train would
be arrived, wasn't enough for her.
Her job, as
studio representative, must have depended on making certain these actors
arrived safely, because when the train did arrive. She marched forward through
the arriving passengers until she found someone. Then the studio rep brought the VIP over to
the limo drivers, and turned right around swam up stream through the crowd,
located another actor and brought him back.
She did this a third time. It was like lifeguard jumping into the water
and bringing drowning people to shore from a sinking boat. (The metaphor
doesn't quite work with a train.)
Her bosses must
have been upset that their stars were willing to travel with the great
unwashed.
I wonder
how she survived getting each of her VIPS through the Convention up to whatever
room they were going to have a panel in.
That was
Friday evening.
On Saturday,
the show was not who was passing by, or getting off the train, but rather who
was waiting in the line with us.
I'm not a
name dropper so won't go into that because I respect the privacy of my fellow
professionals, but it was really great to be among these people.
Along with
fellow animation writers who had been at the gathering earlier in the evening.
There were also guests of the Con. One I actually got to speak with briefly
about board games and being a nerd (oops I said too much.)
The lesson
in all that is, the best entertainment and networking doesn't always happen on
the Con floor, and take the train you'll meet a whole lot more people then when
you're stuck in traffic on the 5.
And so I
end my set of blogs about Sand Diego Comic Con 2013. Hope you enjoyed.
