Sunday, April 13, 2008

EyeCon - Day 3 Part II

SUNDAY April 6th 2008
(continued ...)

Left by my wee lonesome at the end of the con, I was definitely not ready to go back to the silence of an empty room. Amidst the general exodus of the hotel, I knew people would be staying an extra day or two, so I set about trying to find someone - anyone! *whimper* I missed my chance to catch up with Carol/ficwriter1966 for supper, alas, but I ran into LovesJeter and Samjacklover in the lobby, and followed them out to the mall food court. Rachel had told me there'd be some sort of after-party up in the game room, but I honestly didn't expect anything bigger than the not-quite-pajama-party.

So, I got some Asian take-out and sat a bit with Jeter and Sammy in the hotel lobby, but quickly found myself too restless to remain sitting. Leaving the smarter folks to take their ease, I resumed wandering in search of familiar faces.

And found myself in the game room. Sure enough, the door was open and one of those little portable bars stood inside, but nothing much seemed to be actually happening. But I saw a handful of folks I knew and decided to just sit and take a load off, and chit-chatted with some fellow SPN fans.

Frankly, I'm not even sure how it developed, but at some point, an After Party miraculously happened. The mini-bar went away, but booze seemed to keep appearing, though I remained sober with only one glass of wine. This highly informal get-together somehow organically evolved to include Chad Lindberg, Jim Beaver, and Steve Carlson just hanging out with us fans, and Samantha Farris moseying in and out waving a glass in one hand.

And you know? It became some kind of magic. Where else is a girl soldier going to play drums with Steve Carlson at a game of "Rock Star", (and omg, that girl could *play!!*) and even Jim Beaver steps up to sing a little Rolling Stones? Where else is Chad Lindberg going to duel fans at Guitar Hero, while Gabe Tigerman charms the socks off everyone around him? Where else could folks snap informal (and occasionally silly) candids of all the guest stars, as casually as shooting for the family vacation album, and chat with them as if it was a backyard barbeque?

And where else am I going to sit with "Bobby Singer" and friends, and shoot the bull about everything and nothing at all? Nowhere else that I've ever seen, and I'm glad I stayed up too late to enjoy it.

Other folks, the younger set, have posted the real juicy reports as to what all Chad and Gabe were up to at this party. Me being older - (and seriously, how much flirting could I do with a couple twenty-something guys, before I creeped them completely out?) - I just hung back, took it all in, and enjoyed the amazingness of it all. This I think is where I fell a little bit in love with Jim, who seemed still amazed at how much fans love Bobby Singer, and love Jim for giving us such a terrific character. When we tried to explain, he just turned the compliments right around, saying that we were the awesome people and he was having fun simply hanging out with us.

Seriously, the camaraderie of the actors and us fans clinched this whole weekend for me. Kenny, honey, I can honestly tell you that Creation has never hosted a convention like *that*. This sort of thing simply does not happen. But here at EyeCon ... it did.

And yes, I've gone on for pages and pages about the celebrities and the events, but I can't say enough about how wonderful it was to connect with so many other SPN fans. I honestly don't know anyone in the entire state of Nevada who is a Supernatural fan, which made it *such* a treat to be surrounded by and immersed in hundreds of fellow fans. People I'd met online via LiveJournal and The CW Lounge forums turned out to be so much fun, and I met other folks who were entirely new, and just as cool to talk to.

It's been noted before how the cast and crew of Supernatural work as an extended family, and Jared generously extended that umbrella to include all of us fans. Well, having met a sizable chunk of the SPN cast here, I can see where that family feeling comes from. These are just plain good people, who appreciate their fans and see us as people, and who don't mind hangin' out with us an indulging our silliness: nay, sometimes they help our silliness along!

This weekend? Creation could not touch it. Creation is not in the magic business. Kenny and Voni are. If EyeCon becomes a regular event, I don't know how long it can hang onto this family thing. But I'm so very glad I was here when the door first opened, and magic overrode the mundane with manic, merry glee. EyeCon II in September? If it's at all in my power, this cowboy hobbit is going back. :-)

The hour marked past 1 am when I bid a fond adieu to this Supernatural fest, pausing in the hall to request Jim Beaver's permission to hug him (he gives very nice hugs), get hugged by Kenny and Voni, (now how many con organizers hug their guests, huh?) and say a few farewells. Then I walked with 'Bobby Singer' to the elevator, a moment surreal and ordinary at once. Lol, and evidently half the crowd decided to call it a night at once, as Jim found himself holding the door with eyebrows crawling steadily higher, as a good dozen or so people crammed inside. Then we punched pretty much every button on the panel and the elevator began its ascent, delivering us all to the sanctuary of our cozy beds.

The morning would come way too early for me - I discovered my hotel room had a doorbell, lol, when Hanako rang me to make sure I was awake to catch our airport taxi. But even as I sank into my window seat on the plane for the first leg towards home and exhaustion settled into, my mind remained behind in sunny Florida. I had a wonderful time with everyone there and tried to see it all, and I hope my perennial gadding about did not leave anyone feeling slighted or overlooked. All I needed were a few more hours in the day, lol!

To my fellow fans, to my Awesomely Awesome Roomies, to Kenny and Voni and last but not least, the cast of Supernatural - God bless you all, wherever life takes you. May our paths bring us together once again. Happy trails!

~ Erin / Gloria

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