Fannish Ramblings

 

Living in the same town as Celebration has its advantages: I saved a ton of money on airfare and hotel costs, and didn't have to worry about taking care of the dogs.  However, it also has it's drawbacks, mainly being that I live half an hour away from the Orange County Convention Center.  Also, because of work deadlines, I had to work in the morning.  At least I could rush over the OCCC as soon as I was finished, and not waste an entire day at the convention with traveling.

I got out of work around 12:30, drove home and arrived at convention center around 2 pm.  Philip and I walked in the main entrance, and split up.  With horrible memories of C3 lines, I immediately went to the Celebration Store and was amazed that there was no line.  It was actually arranged like a store, where you could help yourself, and not like a booth with runners.  Unfortunately, they were out of the shirt I wanted, so instead I got the Princess Leia "I am Not a Committee" t-shirt. 

After getting the store taken care of, I walked around exhibit hall, took photos of all the cool life-size props, and got the Padme Nouveau t-shirt at the Her Universe booth.   While there I got a phone call from jadesfire55 , aka Nancy.  (Yes, Nanci meet Nancy. :D)  She was in line for Anthony Daniels, so I walked over to the line to hang out with her for a bit.  It was cool meeting another internet friend, and one who loves SW as much as I do! :)

 

We split up while she was getting her autograph, so I visited Ralph McQuarrie art exhibit.  The art was beautiful, and I saw a girl with a really funny Ewok costume.  
 

Then it was back to the Exhibit hall for some more wandering around, and then I decided to attend the Models of The Empire Strikes Back panel with Jon Berg and Lorne Peterson.  I hadn't planned on attending any panels on Thursday, but since I got to the OCCC earlier than expected and didn't have to wait in lines for the store or Her Universe booth, I had extra time.  It was interesting hearing Jon and Lorne talk about their work on ESB and how much work went into the models, especially the Super Star Destroyer Executor, which required running tiny fiber-optic lights to simulate lights in the ship.  

The panel let out at 5:30, so I took a peek in the Hoth Ice Bar, then went over to trivia at 6pm.  It was disorganized and not very entertaining, so I left and sat in the Clone Wars screening room for a few minutes.  After some more time in the Exhibit Hall, I met up with Philip to watch The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones in the Digital Stage.  Unfortunately, the picture kept going out during TPM, and the replacement DVD wasn't high-def so it wasn't as pretty.  Still, we stayed until the end of the film, and then I decided to skip AOTC because it was later than I expected and I was exhausted.  Let me just say though, that it was so awesome watching TPM (and all the other films I got to see) with other Star Wars fans.  This should be required attendance of everyone at Celebrations.  People cheered when characters were introduced, even Anakin, which surprised me.  The only thing that annoyed me was the constant jeering of Jar Jar.  Get over it, already!  Grrr.  People cheered when Anakin and Obi-Wan were introduced, which made me smile, and everyone went crazy during the lightsaber duel.  There was very loud cheering when the door open to reveal Darth Maul, when he ignited his lightsaber, when Obi-Wan attacked Maul after Qui-Gon's death, and when he sliced Darth Maul in half.  The best part, though, was everyone screaming "NOOOOOOO!" in unison with Obi-Wan.  Even though Qui-Gon's death always makes me sad, I had to laugh at that.  

Next: Friday, or MARK HAMILL DAY!