NOLA - 28 March 2011

I had contemplated writing this entry on the flight, but my utter dislike of heights made me freeze in the seat. I refused to unbuckle my seat belt for anything at all courtesy of the turbulence, and before I knew what happened, we were arriving in NOLA.

After finally locating Jess in the crazy airport, we climbed into the car and headed to the hotel. After dropping off our bags at the hotel and quickly refreshing ourselves, we headed off to the welcome party. There was squee after squee as we all talked, hugged and laughed. It was a reunion unlike any other, people from all over he world, in one conference room preparing themselves for a fun filled and informative weekend.

I gave Agent S the gift I had brought for her birthday, gave Katrina the snack cakes I brought her and gave Josh the comic book I had come across at Wizard World ComiCon, and all of which were met with sincere thank you's. It felt like catching up with family at another event. After tons of hellos, hugs and chatting, we moved on to the lectures.

A group from a nearby shop, Voodoo Authentica, spoke about voodoo and the voodoo culture in New Orleans. There were authentic chants, spiritual smelling oils which were offered to all and there were drums to keep the beat for the chant. Sadly, due to how exhausted I was and how cold the room was, I kept drifting off through the lecture. I can say that what I did see was very interesting.

Next up Ryan did an interesting lecture about hoaxes. he touched on the 2012 phenomenon, UFO sightings and strange paranormal events in the media. It was an interesting and different lecture than I am used to from him. Even when he touched on most topics I had heard him speak about before, it seemed like there was a new ease and humor about it. It seemed very much like Ryan has a new lease on life.

Finally we headed back to the hotel and everyone rushed about eagerly to get dressed for the masquerade. We all rushed around, doing make up, laughing and consulting along the way, It was a bit chaotic, but in a fun way. It was very much like setting up for an important party that you know will be a blast. Now, I may be biased, but when we were done and headed out the door, we all looked fantastic.

The masquerade was awesome! We were late arriving and when we entered, there was a performance happening courtesy of Voodoo Authentica. There were lots of "ooh's and aah's" as people mingled and tried to figure out who was under the masks. The costumes, outfits and masks added a mysteriously fun aspect to everything. I had removed my glasses for the full mask effect and was suffering from slight blindness, but I still managed to be convinced to dance with Whitney. People danced and the music played on and on, at least as long as Whitney could push it.

Then, the music ended. People moved on to their rooms or the lobby. The auctioned Ghost Hunts began and people gathered to work out late night plans. Groups decided to make their way into the French Quarter for an evening of mingling with the Bourbon St crowd. The rest of my group, after changing and dropping me at the hotel, are headed out to meet up with other Field Trippers in the Quarter in search of crazy times and wacky memories. I am a little too tired to hit the night life, but there is always tomorrow.

FTXI:NOLA

Well, soon enough we will be headed to bed and waking at the crack of dawn to head to NOLA. To all of you who are already there, we will see you soon. To those of you who aren't going to make it, I plan to try to upload a post every night, but if not, there will be lengthy posts upon my return.

Here we go!

I can't wait for this...

So most of you who know me, know that not only do I have a close personal relationship with my computer, but a close second is the relationship I have with my Playstation gaming consoles. I love playing my PS2 and PS. Gaming is hugely fun to me. I have spent...well, way too many hours playing Rock Band 1, 2 and 3 as well as games like Final Fantasy, Spyro the Dragon and this one: Dragon Age.

Dragon Age Origins was fantastic, and with it's success, the powers that be decided to tap into what is becoming a huge market, web series. They enlisted the help of one of my favourite female web series creators/writers/gamer girl, Felicia Day. I first saw the trailer a week or two ago when Felicia appeared on Jimmy Fallon. Not only is she amazingly talented, but she was super sweet when I met her at Fan Expo back in August 2010.

So, check out the HD Teaser trailer for Dragon Age: Redemption:

Checking in

I haven't forgotten my intent to post more frequently, but currently I am really busy at work and I have been feeling a little under the weather. I've also been very busy getting ready for my upcoming convention and trip to NOLA. I will post some pics of the Con here, as well as a few NOLA pictures. I plan on taking so many of those that I have to post them on facebook.

Alright, I'm off and I'll post again soon and hopefully I will be more entertaining.

Exciting upcoming events

Well, I know it has been quite a while since I posted. I've been taking a break from using the computer at night since I've been spending so much time on them at work. I've been spending my late nights reading or working on a baby gift for a co-worker. Not very exciting, I know, but this was a much needed break. I hope to start working on the computer a few nights a week again.

I am very excited about 2 things coming up before the end of the month. First, on March 18th to 20th, Wizard World Comic Con returns to the Direct Energy Center. Last year's comic con was amazing. This year Nicholas Brendon from Buffy will be there, along with Julie Benz (Darla), Clare Kramer (Glory) and The Master. Also, Aaron Douglas will be there too! I had the best time last year. The people were great, the activities fun and meeting Jewel Staite was fantastic!

The weekend after that I'm headed to FTXI: NOLA! I always wanted to visit New Orleans, but with my fear of heights, I never thought I would get there. Since I am trying to be a grown up and all, I will do my absolute best to squash my fears of dying in a fiery plane crash and board the tin can to NOLA to see my friends. I am less excited about the plane trip than I am about a root canal, but once I am there, I'll forget all about it until it is time to board again.

I will blog from NOLA either live or posting when I get back. I will also try to do some video interviews, provided I can come up with some interesting questions.

A personal post

Even as I begin to write this, I am hesitant to continue. It's not for lack of trust in my readers, but this is just such a sensitive topic for me, so bare with me if I am a little vague with the details.

It will be 7 years this May. I had finished work the day before and stopped by my mother's house, across the road from my apartment, to see whether or not my ex and his friends had finished painting her living room. My ex, who was my boyfriend at the time, and his friends had finished up and headed out to the annual 420 rally that takes place in Toronto. She gave me some steaks, she had intended to bbq for the boys when they finished, and I headed home. I had no idea that that would be the last time I saw my mother alive.

The following morning, I ran over to her house to borrow some eggs, and when I entered the house, she was still in bed. My mother was plagued with many problems related to a back injury she suffered in her early 30's. It was rare for my mother to sleep that late in the morning, but I figured that after the strenuous work the day before, she may have been in pain and decided to try to sleep it off. I was almost to the door when I decided I would wake her and see if she needed anything before I left. If her back was indeed acting up, moving around may have been difficult for her.

A lot of things happened quickly after that. When I thought that she had passed away, I called my boyfriend over, somewhat delirious and told him what I suspected. Next I called 911. I don't really know why I did it in that order, other than the fact that I was scared I was right. Turns out, I was. When I knew it was real, I left the house, phone in hand, running for my apartment. I ran into my ex's friend along the way. I tossed the phone at him and kept going.

The rest of the day was filled with people dropping by and people yelling at me that I was lying, they couldn't accept the truth. The truth was my mother, at age 48, had passed in her sleep. I thought the why was important at the time, but it really wasn't. What was important was that she was gone, and I was on my own. I had always been independent, my mother had commented on it many times over the years, but I wasn't ready for that kind of independence.

I found myself lost. I joined some livejournal support groups for people who had lost their mothers, but I still felt out of place. Most of the people in the group had lost their mother's to cancer or another disease, whereas my mother had just slipped away. I shut myself in, ignored the door and phone, and just tried to breathe. Breathing felt like chore in itself at that point. I spent many days and nights crying into the fur of my trusty pitt bull Tequila.It was just the two of us, in little world.

I finally managed to get myself together. I rebuilt my life, and adjusted to the impact the event had on me. The only remnant being the fact that I was unable to handle massive changes in my life. When something happened, I would freak out a little first, then reasonably put it all together. I've managed to overcome this now, 7 years later. I can keep my cool when major things happen. I've even managed to cry again. I finally feel like I've come full circle, to a place where I can truly accept the things I have endured.

I do realize that when people hear my story, they feel bad for what I went through and really mean it when they say "I'm so sorry". Please reader, don't say your sorry for what I went though, just do me one favour. If your mother is still alive, whether you see eye to eye or not, give her a hug or pick up the phone and touch base. Trust me, you never know when she'll be gone and one day you may kick yourself for it.

For the record, I'm not much of an egg person anymore lol.

All good things must come to an end...in order for better things to emerge

Yesterday it was announced that Paranormal State will not be returning for a sixth season. Like many others I'm sad to see it go. I spent many an evening, curled up on the couch under my throw blanket watching as the gang investigated. I read Ryan's blog, and I really do agree with the choice they made, even though I'll miss my Sunday night dose of the Paranormal. Then again, there is always re-runs.

I was very happy to hear that PRS will be continuing and that Field Trips and Open Houses will continue, we may even see a UNIV-CON. Without these opportunities to meet up, I would really miss 'the gang', many of which I consider friends. This is an exciting time for PRS. While one door closes, all the rest of them open right up. Sergey will be able to work a little more on his photography, Ryan on his writing, Eilfie on her artwork, Josh on his experiments and Katrina with her volunteer work.Whether their new endeavors are solo or still interlocking, I wholeheartedly wish them all the best.

Maybe we will also see the return of much missed PITV and PRS book club...