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I'm Funnier in Enochian: My First Supernatural Convention

Are we having fun, yet?
Supernatural Convention San Francisco 2016

I got very lucky in December of 2016. That is not usual for me; my tagline would usually be: “If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.” So obviously, I was thrilled when I was given the opportunity to attend a Supernatural convention in San Francisco. In real life, I can be quite shy and have some social anxieties so the internet is a great place for me to emote, while still having the chance to edit myself and come up with the witty retorts that I can’t say when a real person is staring at me.

Anyhow, in the last year or so, I have actually made friends on-line who share my passion for a TV show about two tragic and oh so hunky brothers. One of my on-line friends had an extra ticket to the convention and offered it to me. She was so generous and made it possible for me to have an experience that I could never have been able to afford on my own, and I’m eternally grateful.

The first day was a Friday, and usually Richard Speight, Jr. (Trickster/Gabriel) and Rob Benedict (Chuck) are there to start everything off. Rich was otherwise occupied, so we just got Rob. It was still great, though. Rob and his band, Louden Swain, make sure that the house is rocking. We had great seats, not too far back and a little to the right of center. We had panels that day with Kim Rhodes (Jody), Briana Buckmaster (Donna), Jason Manns (band member), Julian Richings (Death), and Osric Chau (Kevin Tran). The panels were all fun, though Kim and Briana do get a little raunchy, so I took a walk in the middle of their panel. The best part of the day was being with my two fellow fangirls. We talked Supernatural non-stop. The other best part was meeting our fellow convention goers. They were all very friendly. We met people in line that we talked to for the whole weekend, and we shared laughter and photos with the people seated all around us. It was truly inspiring to see how welcoming everyone was. There were a few attendees that asked lame questions and tried to take up too much time at the microphone, but it was still really great. The convention did not seem very crowded to me, but that was probably because there was a Con in Burbank that was just a few weeks before ours. The fans were mostly female, but there were a few males. One guy asked a question in a panel and made sure to mention that he was single.

I didn’t stay and watch the karaoke event for very long. To me it was just a bunch of people singing badly to songs that I’d never heard of and jumping around a lot. If I do go again, I’ll give it another try. Maybe that was just an off night, or I’m too old for karaoke. Oh, well.

The next day, Rich showed up and he and Rob were hilarious together. Rich was very loud, though. By the end of the day I had cotton balls in my ears because he seemed to be yelling into his microphone the whole time. He was quieter the next day, so maybe he had his mic turned up too high, or something.  We then had panels from Kim, Briana, Osric, and Ruth Connell (Rowena) together, then Mark Sheppard (Crowley), and then Rich, Rob and Matt Cohen (Young John Winchester), and then one with Misha Collins (Castiel). Ruth was so sweet and even though I don’t really care for her character, I just felt so much affection for her. She was really appreciative of us, also. Mark was very funny and snarky and Misha was very funny as well, though he did get political. Castiel is a character that I enjoy, but I’m not one of his superfans, of which there are many.
Good friends.

Saturday night was the concert that Rob and friends put on, and it was very good and very loud. Ruth, Kim, Osric, and Briana were there and sang a few songs. Briana is a great singer, by the way, and the cotton balls were back in my ears, regardless. I also kept wishing that I had brought a blanket. I guess I’m turning into an old lady.

Sunday was the big day because Jared Padalecki (Sam) and Jensen Ackles (Dean) arrived. In the Gold Panel, they were great, but Jensen was a little tired because his twins were born just a couple of days before that. It was great that he still attended the convention. He didn’t want to let his fans down. Jensen teased Jared about his son Shep, who is quite the troublemaker apparently, and Jared told us how he just knew that Jensen had forgotten his passport and had to help him find it. Those guys are best friends and just like brothers and live a couple of blocks from each other in Austin, Texas. It’s so sweet. Every time a star comes on that stage, it does feel surreal, almost like it has to be a mirage or a dream. They are normal humans, just like me, but gosh…they are pretty.
The boys.

As a special treat, our lovely benefactress gave us the opportunity to attend a Jared Meet and Greet. How did it feel to sit five feet away in a small room from a magnificent looking guy like that? It did feel a little unreal, and I had to keep reminding myself that he was really there. Jared’s the nicest guy in the world; just so you know. One of my friends asked him a question and he gave her a very good answer and said her name. She didn’t let us forget that he said her name all weekend, you go girl.

The hour long panel with Jared and Jensen was really wonderful. Someone asked them what they were afraid of, and Jared said that he was afraid of bears. Following that announcement came a very long and very funny riff as Jared showed Jensen an app that he had on his phone to scare away bears. It was hysterical. I felt a little sorry for the ten or so people who didn’t get to ask a question when we ran out of time, but that was a great panel.
Jared being adorable during bear app story.

I bought a photo op with Jared and it was a lot of fun; I’m so glad that I did that. I have never spent that much money on a single picture in my life, but it was worth it. That line moves fast! Literally, it is hug, snap, and walk away. Since I am not much of a hugger, I politely asked Jared to stand behind me for the hug. He leaned down over me, wrapped his long arms around my shoulders, I grinned like a loon, the camera flashed, I told him thanks, and walked away. I love my picture; I look very happy and of course, Jared looks gorgeous.

The view from my seat.

The autograph lines were long, but not that bad because we were seated up close, and they go by row. It is a weird thing to stand in front of a celebrity and watch them sign. I didn’t know what to say, and in some cases said stupid things; but what do you say? I barely know what to say to my neighbor that I’ve known forever, let alone Jared Freaking Padalecki. I was pretty tired by the time I got in front of him, but I did manage to get a laugh out of him by saying how tired I was after I just stood there blinking at him. He’s got a great laugh. I’m a Sam girl, can you tell? I got a snarky Dean response, “Thanks for that” out of Jensen after I unwisely said something about screaming babies. Hey, I had three screaming babies; one of them autistic, one a projectile vomiter, and the other one turning out so zen and mellow that I think he might have gotten sent to the wrong family. I did get a chance to tell Osric that I liked Dirk Gently, and he was happy about that. He’s a nice boy. I said hi to Misha and then couldn't think of another single thing to say, he signed and looked away and I moved on. I don’t know what else he could have done; my worst nightmare would be a long line of people waiting for me to say something witty to them.

My first convention experience was a great one and I’d love to go again. The feeling that I got from being in a place where everyone likes the same things that I like was very wonderful. I’d like to thank all my fellow fans that I met that weekend and the two lovely ladies who made the whole experience so fantastic.

Mallena loves Supernatural.

Images Credit:  FangasmSPN

3 comments:

  1. Cons can be wonderful things. At my first con, I was quite a young nerd and it was just overwhelming being in the company of so many people who thought just like me. :) But they are indeed exhausting. Worth it, but exhausting.

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  2. Mallena I'm so glad you got to go. It sounds like a wonderful time.

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  3. Thank you, Cheryl. Especially for someone like me who hardly ever goes anywhere, it was a terrific experience.

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