QUEER COMICS EXPO! I'm am SO glad this con is back! With the delays in getting GaymerX up and running again, there hasn't been a good convention FOR LGBTQIA artists in the Bay Area for awhile. The gays have certainly done a good job of taking over OTHER cons, Sac-Anime stands out in my mind. But that's still a far cry from an actual queer themed convention LIKE QCE.
Sadly, This con was yet ANOTHER con that was not big on Cosplay, so I didn't bring home a single photograph, except for THIS poster which was on the wall across from my table. National Day of the Cowboy! July 23rd! Don't forget!
But that doesn't mean i can't have a nice review!
So, despite how much fun i had at this con, it was absolutely littered with weird scheduling bullshit. Before I even KNEW this con was happening, two very good friends of mine took the liberty of reserving me a ticket for goddamn HAMILTON! Now, I still hadn't seen Hamilton yet, and despite the fact the ticket was gonna be kinda expensive, it was still HEAVILY discounted from how much people usually pay to see this show, and I wasn't about to let this cultural phenomenon slip through my fingers.
So I AGREED to see Hamilton, excited as hell!
THEN... Queer Comics Expo got announced :P And wouldn't you know it, Hamilton was the same Sunday as the last day of the show. Now, I'm not a fool, I'm not gonna tell my friends I can't make it to the one of the most acclaimed shows in the last 5 or so years, I knew there was a way to do this. so, I talked to my friend Courteney, who lives in SF and has been my table buddy many times before, and I told her that I needed her to run my table solo for about 4 hours on Sunday. She seemed to be okay with that, if not a little bit nervous, but the point is, I had my day figured out.
THEN came the Friday before the con... you know what's coming! ;-)
Courteney messaged me outta the blue, and I could already sense the apprehensions in her words.
Apparently, a HUGE work opportunity came up, and she woulda been a fool it let it pass by. It would require her to STUDY over the weekend, studying that she could not do if she was at the con with me. So! With my best friends' best interest at heart, I released her of her earthly bond, in order to soar above her station :P
Sadly, This con was yet ANOTHER con that was not big on Cosplay, so I didn't bring home a single photograph, except for THIS poster which was on the wall across from my table. National Day of the Cowboy! July 23rd! Don't forget!
But that doesn't mean i can't have a nice review!
So, despite how much fun i had at this con, it was absolutely littered with weird scheduling bullshit. Before I even KNEW this con was happening, two very good friends of mine took the liberty of reserving me a ticket for goddamn HAMILTON! Now, I still hadn't seen Hamilton yet, and despite the fact the ticket was gonna be kinda expensive, it was still HEAVILY discounted from how much people usually pay to see this show, and I wasn't about to let this cultural phenomenon slip through my fingers.
So I AGREED to see Hamilton, excited as hell!
THEN... Queer Comics Expo got announced :P And wouldn't you know it, Hamilton was the same Sunday as the last day of the show. Now, I'm not a fool, I'm not gonna tell my friends I can't make it to the one of the most acclaimed shows in the last 5 or so years, I knew there was a way to do this. so, I talked to my friend Courteney, who lives in SF and has been my table buddy many times before, and I told her that I needed her to run my table solo for about 4 hours on Sunday. She seemed to be okay with that, if not a little bit nervous, but the point is, I had my day figured out.
THEN came the Friday before the con... you know what's coming! ;-)
Courteney messaged me outta the blue, and I could already sense the apprehensions in her words.
Apparently, a HUGE work opportunity came up, and she woulda been a fool it let it pass by. It would require her to STUDY over the weekend, studying that she could not do if she was at the con with me. So! With my best friends' best interest at heart, I released her of her earthly bond, in order to soar above her station :P
I know she felt bad, but I assured her it was cool, knowing I would figure something out.
Thankfully, I did, when Joen Jien, one of my OTHER bff's agreed to cover me, but on Sunday only, Saturday wasn't gonna work. That's cool, I can do a day by myself.
So I arrived early in the morning on Saturday, actually a little too early. Turns out the drive to SF isn't SO bad when it's early on a weekend. Sadly, despite the fact that there was plenty of parking, it was all metered or otherwise pay parking. I thought why not take advantage of the free space and picked a space RIGHT in front of the Cartoon Art Museum (where the convention was being held), and went off to get breakfast before the event actually began. I maxed out the meter, and set out looking for grub.
The con began, I met up with a bunch of old friends, and everything was going great. When I first parked and put my money in the meter, I put a timer on my phone to remind me to go out there again to put MORE money in it, so I wouldn't get a ticket. I gave myself a grace period of 5 minutes, so I knew I would have plenty of time to get up from my table, get outside and put the next payment in.
I got out to my car with a minute 22 left on the meter, and a ticket already on my dashboard >:(
I seriously, seriously hate San Francisco, I've gone deep into detail on this subject MANY times in the past, so i won't get too far into it here, but this is just one of many reasons why. I'm sure some meter dork was driving around in their little dork mobile and rolled up on my car with the last couple minutes ticking away and decided "eh, there's no way they'll get back in time, wherever they are!" and wrote the ticket out anyway.
Thankfully, I had the foresight to snap a photo of the meter with time still on it, ALSO I have my purchase of the time on the meter on my debit card statement. Based on what the people around me were saying, these two pieces of evidence should be more than enough to get the ticket dismissed. So... fingers crossed for me, guys <3 br="">
I had asked around to a couple of my SF based friends to see if anyone could let me stay at their place, but no one could accommodate me on such short notice, so I drove home on Saturday, intending to drive back up Sunday morning. I didn't have to be there nearly as early this time, cuz I already had my table set up. Not wishing to tempt fate, I parked in a nearby garage. It was a little bit of a pain because it was halfway up a hill, but you know, whatever.
Joen Jien arrived a little bit after 11am, which was great because it gave us a lotta time to go over how to run the table. I set up Square on their phone and reminded them how tax worked and how much everything cost. By 12:30, I had hopped in a Lyft and was on my way to the Orpheum Theater. It took a little bit longer than i thought to get there, but thankfully I still had plenty of time to meet up with Ian and Amy, chit chat a little bit and talk about how the con was going. I was worried about leaving Joen Jien in charge by themselves for the first time ever. I wasn't gonna be able to answer any questions on my phone during the show, they'd throw me out :P I was very relieved when i turned on my phone again during the intermission, and saw I had no questions from Joen, and a lotta credit card transactions logged in my Square :) Joen Jien was making me money! Woo! I watched the second part of the play unencumbered by anxiety.
How was it, you ask? Well, it's hard to put into words. I think that if you're the kinda person who WANTS to see Hamilton but you can't afford the ticket, chances are you've at least heard the soundtrack, so you know what you're in for. you don't me to describe it for you. If you haven't, then
Thankfully, I did, when Joen Jien, one of my OTHER bff's agreed to cover me, but on Sunday only, Saturday wasn't gonna work. That's cool, I can do a day by myself.
So I arrived early in the morning on Saturday, actually a little too early. Turns out the drive to SF isn't SO bad when it's early on a weekend. Sadly, despite the fact that there was plenty of parking, it was all metered or otherwise pay parking. I thought why not take advantage of the free space and picked a space RIGHT in front of the Cartoon Art Museum (where the convention was being held), and went off to get breakfast before the event actually began. I maxed out the meter, and set out looking for grub.
The con began, I met up with a bunch of old friends, and everything was going great. When I first parked and put my money in the meter, I put a timer on my phone to remind me to go out there again to put MORE money in it, so I wouldn't get a ticket. I gave myself a grace period of 5 minutes, so I knew I would have plenty of time to get up from my table, get outside and put the next payment in.
I got out to my car with a minute 22 left on the meter, and a ticket already on my dashboard >:(
I seriously, seriously hate San Francisco, I've gone deep into detail on this subject MANY times in the past, so i won't get too far into it here, but this is just one of many reasons why. I'm sure some meter dork was driving around in their little dork mobile and rolled up on my car with the last couple minutes ticking away and decided "eh, there's no way they'll get back in time, wherever they are!" and wrote the ticket out anyway.
Thankfully, I had the foresight to snap a photo of the meter with time still on it, ALSO I have my purchase of the time on the meter on my debit card statement. Based on what the people around me were saying, these two pieces of evidence should be more than enough to get the ticket dismissed. So... fingers crossed for me, guys <3 br="">
I had asked around to a couple of my SF based friends to see if anyone could let me stay at their place, but no one could accommodate me on such short notice, so I drove home on Saturday, intending to drive back up Sunday morning. I didn't have to be there nearly as early this time, cuz I already had my table set up. Not wishing to tempt fate, I parked in a nearby garage. It was a little bit of a pain because it was halfway up a hill, but you know, whatever.
Joen Jien arrived a little bit after 11am, which was great because it gave us a lotta time to go over how to run the table. I set up Square on their phone and reminded them how tax worked and how much everything cost. By 12:30, I had hopped in a Lyft and was on my way to the Orpheum Theater. It took a little bit longer than i thought to get there, but thankfully I still had plenty of time to meet up with Ian and Amy, chit chat a little bit and talk about how the con was going. I was worried about leaving Joen Jien in charge by themselves for the first time ever. I wasn't gonna be able to answer any questions on my phone during the show, they'd throw me out :P I was very relieved when i turned on my phone again during the intermission, and saw I had no questions from Joen, and a lotta credit card transactions logged in my Square :) Joen Jien was making me money! Woo! I watched the second part of the play unencumbered by anxiety.
How was it, you ask? Well, it's hard to put into words. I think that if you're the kinda person who WANTS to see Hamilton but you can't afford the ticket, chances are you've at least heard the soundtrack, so you know what you're in for. you don't me to describe it for you. If you haven't, then
I highly suggest it. I am pretty sure it's streaming on Spotify, which is an app you can totally get for free. There is a paid version, but all it does is remove ads. If you don't mind the occasional ad, then you can hear Hamilton for free. The stage show is JUST like that. Hamilton isn't one of those shows that has ANY talking in it. The entire story is told through the music, and ALL the music is on the soundtrack. The show is obviously an experiencing it on another level cuz not only do you have the visuals of everyone being on stage, the costumes, the dancers, the lights, etc. but you're also hearing this big, big music coming at you in person, live from actors on stage, as opposed to through your computer speakers. I naturally have some kinda issue taking in what I would consider to be a "Patriotic" piece of media. I hesitate to call it "Propaganda" because it does focus on a figure in history who's somewhat of an unsung player in the American revolution, but it is still a play ABOUT the American revolution, and it really does its best to show the revolution as having been fought by scrappy, brilliant men who fought tooth and nail against tyranny instead of a group of wealthy slave owners who wanted to be the people enacting the tyranny. There is a little anti-slavery tidbit in there in one of the songs, but it never becomes a major plot point.
I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a spectacular show. So much of the music is still playing through my head right now. My top two pieces both involve the Schuyler Sisters. The first one is the song that introduces them, entitled "The Schuyler Sisters" and the second one is the one that takes place at Alexander's and Eliza's wedding, sung by her sister Angelica, entitled "Satisfied". I loved those two songs the best and also thought they had some of the best staging and blocking in the show. a shame since they're both in act one. The rest of the show IS magnificent, don't get me wrong, but those two songs got to me the most.
Enough about the show, though! It ended and we were out the door, anxious to get me back to the convention in time to close up. I trusted Joen Jien to run my table, but I didn't wanna leave them high and dry when it was closing time. It took awhile because Amy and Ian had parked kinda far away, and traffic had gotten a little bit heavier since the show started. BUT! I got there with 45 minutes to spare, enough time to give Joen Jien some freedom to walk around the con and see everything.
After we were all packed up and everything was back in my car, we did a final get together with all the artists who didn't have to leave immediately at this little pub in Ghirardelli Square. I ordered some macaroni n' cheese which was WAY better than it had any right to be! I got a chance to sit and talk to all the people who had experienced this con with me. It was a great ending to the day.
After that, I drove Joen Jien home (cuz they had been dropped off), hung out at thier place for a little while, got to meet their mom, and then set off on home, to pack up and get ready for work the next day (today), phew!
What a weekend! I pretty much did it all. I sold out of Issue 1 (again). Feel pretty good about that. I'm very low on a lotta other issues too :P I'm over three quarters through my initial run of the TransCat graphic novel. Things went well at this con!
I don't have another con appearance until June, so i'm gonna take a well earned rest. I do have Fanime in May but i won't be presenting there, I'm just going as a fan. So! Seeya in June! Hopefully I'll have TransCat issue #10 out by then! We'll see~! weeee'lllll seeeeee~!~!~!
And DON'T FORGET! Cowboy Day! July 23rd! Be there or YEE HAW!
I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a spectacular show. So much of the music is still playing through my head right now. My top two pieces both involve the Schuyler Sisters. The first one is the song that introduces them, entitled "The Schuyler Sisters" and the second one is the one that takes place at Alexander's and Eliza's wedding, sung by her sister Angelica, entitled "Satisfied". I loved those two songs the best and also thought they had some of the best staging and blocking in the show. a shame since they're both in act one. The rest of the show IS magnificent, don't get me wrong, but those two songs got to me the most.
Enough about the show, though! It ended and we were out the door, anxious to get me back to the convention in time to close up. I trusted Joen Jien to run my table, but I didn't wanna leave them high and dry when it was closing time. It took awhile because Amy and Ian had parked kinda far away, and traffic had gotten a little bit heavier since the show started. BUT! I got there with 45 minutes to spare, enough time to give Joen Jien some freedom to walk around the con and see everything.
After we were all packed up and everything was back in my car, we did a final get together with all the artists who didn't have to leave immediately at this little pub in Ghirardelli Square. I ordered some macaroni n' cheese which was WAY better than it had any right to be! I got a chance to sit and talk to all the people who had experienced this con with me. It was a great ending to the day.
After that, I drove Joen Jien home (cuz they had been dropped off), hung out at thier place for a little while, got to meet their mom, and then set off on home, to pack up and get ready for work the next day (today), phew!
What a weekend! I pretty much did it all. I sold out of Issue 1 (again). Feel pretty good about that. I'm very low on a lotta other issues too :P I'm over three quarters through my initial run of the TransCat graphic novel. Things went well at this con!
I don't have another con appearance until June, so i'm gonna take a well earned rest. I do have Fanime in May but i won't be presenting there, I'm just going as a fan. So! Seeya in June! Hopefully I'll have TransCat issue #10 out by then! We'll see~! weeee'lllll seeeeee~!~!~!
And DON'T FORGET! Cowboy Day! July 23rd! Be there or YEE HAW!
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