Did I mention that we’ve had SIXTEEN of these things?

That’s right, Clobberin’ Con XVI went down, and as usual, it was expensive, claustrophobic, stinky, and a whole lot of fun.

A little less of a crowd for this year in San Diego, with Joel not able to make it, Martin choosing heart surgery over geeking (loser), and Tim not being able to make it down. But we made up for it with a couple of not-quite-so-regulars making a comeback. While K.C. used to be a staple, moving across the country curbed his ease of travel for the event, so he hasn’t been able to make it as much...but he did this year! Plus old ‘Times member (and former roommate and currently co-worker of mine) Aaron “A.T.” Thompson also decided to make the scene. Add those guys in with me flying in with A.T. from Sac, Aaron flying down from Seattle, and Jeff making it, as usual, from Iowa, and Ben and Kaye driving down from Orange County for one of the days, you’ve got a pretty decent ‘Times group goin’ on.

Mike and A.T. chillin' at Russ's before going down to get badges on Wednesday

No Nice Guy table for me and Tim this year, so I was going to have more time available for more Con activities…unlike last year, where I was only able to leave our table to make two panels. And there was a LOT of stuff to see! Big list of panels and celebs this year. So, Wednesday came around, and A.T. and I hopped our airport shuttle (leaving the exciting world of auto claims behind) and flew down to sunny (but not NEAR as hot as blistering Sac) San Diego, and were picked up by our old pal Russ. A.T. would be staying at Russ’s place, along with Aaron (who had flown in the day before to spend some time with his family there), and I’d be crashing at our friend Tony’s place, as he and his wife Wendy graciously invited me to crash at their new home, since, unlike Russ’s place, it has a downstairs shower. We headed to Russ’s on that first day to unwind a bit, hook up with Aaron, and have a couple of cold ones while waiting for Tony to finish up the last of his business for the week, so we could all head down to the Convention Center and pick up badges. Well, THEY could pick up badges. A.T. and I would be buying on site. I’d be getting a pro badge and hooking him up as my guest. We got a call from Jeff while there, letting us know he was checked into the Hyatt and waiting for K.C.’s late night flight to come in. We decided that there wasn’t going to be enough evening to be able to hook up with him and K.C., since we all wanted to get an early start (and I didn’t want to show up at Tony and Wendy’s at 2am my first night there).

So when Tony arrived, we headed down and found some parking a ways off, walked over, and the smart pre-reg guys went to pick up their badges. A.T. and I got in the VERY long line that I wasn’t expecting for Pro Reg. There are way too many pros out there! Didn’t used to be like this. Guess the internet opened up a whole new field of pros that used to be shut out when this thing first started, back before you could create and sell your own stuff online, instead having to beg at the feet of Marvel or D.C. to get into the biz. A change for the better, I think. Anyway, so it turns out the wheelchair thing worked out well, and someone there decided to save some trouble and move us up to the front of the line, and we even managed to get our already-cheap pro badges for free. Seriously, I tried to pay. The woman just decided we should get in for free. Okay. No complaints here. So we hooked up with the other guys and immediately left and headed back up toward Russ’s (not a short drive), where we had a little pizza and, as planned, called it an early night.

Lovely downtown San Diego as seen from the Convention Center

The next morning, Tony and I were all ready early and waiting on the other three to come over and meet up with us, and he, Russ, Aaron, A.T. and I loaded into two cars and went down to find parking for day one. Big surprise…already crazy and crowded downtown! But we made out okay, and walked our way over and looked around a wee little bit…and then hooked up with K.C.! Woo hoo! Everyone kind of split off to do their things, and K.C. and I checked out Artist’s Alley for a while, always on the lookout for a good, cheap artist. I immediately started looking for Jeff Moy, as I came primed to get a Jeff Moy Nightsable, and I found him, only to find that his list for the day was already filled up. He does his sketch list very fairly. He has a set number for the day, and if you miss it, you have to come back the next morning and get on the next one. That way some guy showing up, say, only for Saturday doesn’t do so only to discover that Jeff filled up every slot for the week on Thursday. So he advised me to drop in the next morning, and I certainly said I would. In the meantime, I found a talented-looking guy who was kind enough to print his prices and his desire to do commissions right on a sign on his table, which I really prefer because I hate having to ask “Uh, are you doing sketches?”. His name was Tommy Castillo, and I decided to take a chance on him and splurge on a color Seahawk. He even said he’d be done by the end of the day. Cool.

A.T., Jeff, K.C. and Aaron hanging out in the Center lobby

So with that done, K.C. and I hooked up with Aaron, and we left Jeff a message to meet us for lunch. We roamed the Gaslamp near the Convention Center and finally decided on Dick’s Last Resort, a regular feeding ground of ours. Jeff met us there, and we all got to chow down and catch up a little and enjoy the weather. Soon we had to break off again, because I had to meet up with A.T. for the Scott McCloud panel, and K.C. and Aaron had another one to hit. A.T. and I, as expected, were enraptured by the amazing talk by the comic form guru himself, who always inspires me (he’s actually the reason there’s a Nice Guy web page). After it ended, we tried to hook up with Russ and Tony at the Bruce Campbell thing, but after we got in the massive line and almost near the door, they had to cut the line off. That’s okay…frankly, we were in a creative groove anyway and wanted to talk comic creation. So we headed up top and found a nice sunny spot outside the Center, and he did some sketching while we talked comic ideas. Soon Tony, Russ and Aaron came out and joined us for a while.

A.T, Tony, Russ, Aaron and Mike upstairs

Then I had to finalize the night' activities. See, we had two games to run during this Con (hey, it’s a Clobberin’ Con!). K.C. had one to run, and Jeff had one to run. Problem is we were going to have Ben and Kaye for one night only, so we know they’d only be in one. And we also wanted to get the game nights planned so we could coordinate evenings with our non-gaming friends, Russ and Tony, too. We were trying to set up Thursday night as K.C.’s game night, but other things got in the way…namely, a friend of mine from San Diego. Well, that and other things, but that made it final. This friend of mine, named J.D., that I used to work with, had planned on buying a badge and showing up late on Thursday to hang out with and see me. He felt kind of bad not being able to make it down to see me last time (new baby and all) and wanted to this time. I was thinking he probably was going to have to back out this time as well, just knowing how tough it is getting out of the house with a family (knowing from other peoples’ stories, that is. Confirmed bachelor here, baby!). But I called him from the Con, and he’d gone online that day and bought a badge, and was coming. Well, he wouldn’t be able to make it until after work, which would put him downtown about 5:15 or 5:30 if we were lucky, and then we’d stay until closing, and by the time all was said and done I wouldn’t be able to get to the game until 8:00 or later, and I didn’t want to make it a totally late night for everyone because of me. Anyway, we ended up setting up K.C.’s game for Friday night, and everyone took off to do their end-of-the-day stuff, and my possible rides took off back to their side of town to take care of their dogs and kids, as J.D. had agreed to drop me back at Russ’s later after we were all done.

Aaron and K.C. and their stinking badges

So I went to the Registration area upstairs and waited to hear from J.D. Finally did, from his cell, and he said that “we” are both looking for parking. We? He let it slip. He was bringing a surprise guest with him. J.D. and I both worked at the same insurance company before I moved away. We also worked with a girl named Rebecca, someone I’d gotten close to during my last year in San Diego. While we’d kept in touch since I moved, her contact had been pretty sporadic, and I’d pretty much just written things off with her. Didn’t even tell her I was coming into town. Well, J.D. did. Apparently he let her know I was there and that he was going to see me, and she blew off a family gathering (which apparently caused quite a family problem) and wanted to come down to see me too. So J.D. showed, picked up his badge, and soon Rebecca walked in and bought one of her own. Very, very good to see them both.

Mike and J.D...Men of Steel!

So it was 5:30 and the floor closes at 7:00pm, so I figured we’d better hit the floor and at least let them see the sights for the money they paid. Gave them the whirlwind tour. Rebecca, unlike J.D., had never been to one of these before, so I broke a lot of stuff down. Know what the great thing is about being IN the comic business? You can actually show a girl around a comic convention without feeling like a total loser. Score! I took them by to meet Dan Cooney, a friend and fellow Sacramento comic creator (and an old co-worker of Aaron’s from Kinko’s, which is how I first met him)—creator of the comic “Valentine”—who I’ve done a few live appearances with (and a few rounds in “Streets of London” in downtown Sac…and he even had Tim and I in as special guests in the art class he teaches to talk about The Nice Guy). So they got to meet a real live comic creator. We had a nice talk with him and his girlfriend. Oddly enough, Rebecca and I were the ones talking to Dan, while it was J.D. who was talking to Dan’s very cute girlfriend about whether or not Venom should be in the next Spider-Man movie.

We closed the joint up, and Rebecca wanted to go out to dinner. So we first walked around Seaport Village for a while, thinking we might go to a restaurant I like there (you know the one, Martin. Typhoooooonnn!!!), but there was an hour wait there. And Rebecca, as it turns out, wanted to go to the Elephant and Castle pub, downstairs at the Holiday Inn on the Bay, which happens to be one of my favorite places downtown (see last year’s Con photos at the Nice Guy page, and you’ll see Tim and I having drinks there). They have a BADASS Guinness meatloaf there. So we got the cars and headed there, and had a great dinner and a couple of rounds. To make up for their badge buying with so little to show for it, I did the treating. And then as we started to leave, a fireworks show started over the bay. A perfect end to an amazing evening (one that involved Rebecca and I singing Steve Perry, but that’s another story). I said my goodbyes to her, and loaded into J.D.’s car and headed for Russ’s. Where I got dropped off, and later realized that I’d left my bag in his car…the one with my heart pills in it (and as importantly, my Nice Guy flyers! Okay, maybe not as importantly…). Had to call his cell, knowing he was too far away to turn back, but I asked him to take it to work, and we’d drop by on the way to the Con and grab it the next morning. Then I headed home with Tony, and we all rested up for the big Friday!

Rebecca and Mike at Seaport Village

We drove by and grabbed my bag from J.D. at the back of my old office the next morning, and J.D. got to meet Tony and Aaron. Unfortunately, Rebecca was on a call, and we were on a schedule and didn’t have time to tarry, as Russ and A.T. were waiting for us. So they didn’t get to meet her. We met up with the other boys, and then I had to run over to Artist’s Alley to get on the Moy list. He was pretty much full, but kindly added an extra slot for me, so my request was in. I also spotted another artist doing color work that looked pretty sweet, a guy named John Watkins-Chow, and decided to throw some cash his way and get a color Nightsable (as I’d only be getting pencils from Jeff Moy). And I picked up my Seahawk. Pretty cool! Liked the interpretation.

And then it was PANEL TIME, baby! Friday is when the real panels begin, so we got started early. First, some of us had to go over and catch Seth Green at the Top Cow panel, as he’s the co-creator of the new book “Freshmen”…which, of course, we had to go buy after the panel, and it’s very, very cool (buy it!). Aaron and A.T. and I took a quick break after that panel and headed down to see Dan Cooney again, so Aaron could say hi, and we got some photos of him and I for the Nice Guy page. And I also had to drop by, of course, and say hello to Brian at A-1 Comics (not only the man who sells me my comics every week back in Sac, but a major Nice Guy backer that did the recent live TV interview with Tim and I). Then it was on to Battlestar Galactica. Woo! I freaking LOVE that show, dude! A big chunk of the cast showed up, along with the producers, and it was a great and entertaining panel. Then Aaron and headed over to the “Bones” panel, where they were showing the pilot for the new Fox show starring “Angel”’s David Boreanez. We sat through the pilot (didn’t thrill me too much, personally) and then got to sit through questions with David and his co-star, Emily Deschanel.

Seth Green pimping the new comic "Freshmen" at the Top Cow Panel

After all the panel fun, we did some more floor stuff, and then it was time for A.T., Aaron and I to hook up with K.C. and Jeff to go get some gaming done! They were staying at the Hyatt, which also has the official Con gaming room on the fourth floor, where we’ve done our Champions thing the past few years. We got all set up in there (A.T. and Aaron ran off to go buy us some Jack in the Box for dinner), and soon it was time for K.C. to run the first of two Clobberin’ On Infinite Earths games of the trip (it was fitting to have two, since we didn’t have one last year). I played Dr. Jackal. Aaron played Dyna Girl. Jeff played Vanguard, and A.T. played Silent Knight from the Crusade world (a gaming world that got connected to Forte’s back in the 1998 game Aaron and I ran, where Silent Knight made her first COIE appearance). It was your classic COIE “ripped from your own world” game where the four heroes ended up on a world without Forte, one overthrown by a terrible villain…who turned out to be the Four Ace’s Golden Man! You can read all about it in K.C.’s zine. Big fun, lots of great, tough combat (very tough robots) and a plot to figure out, and more of those great “I can’t believe they did that” GM moments where we screwed with K.C.’s story to his delight. A.T. had a particularly good time playing the bitchy S.K. again, as he doesn’t get to game that often.

Jeff, Aaron, A.T. and K.C. during K.C.'s COIE game

The only semi-problem with the game night was when a guy came up to our table to mention something. This, you see, has always been the general gaming room. However, this year, apparently it’s the RPGA room, where they had a tournament going. He mentioned he didn’t see a problem, as they probably weren’t going to fill up, but that we might have to move outside if they did. This did not please K.C. at all, and he had no intention of leaving, so, thankfully, it didn’t become an issue. Otherwise, a great gaming night with the old gang, and another fantastic K.C. run! A.T., Aaron and I loaded up into Russ’s borrowed Jeep and headed up the hill, a bit later than we’d planned. And the next day being Saturday, the BIG Con day, that meant not a lot of sleep for any of us. Well worth it.

Saturday, the MONSTER day, came. This is the busiest day of the Con, the one where you really get a feel for just how many people come to this thing. I picked up my color Nightsable, which was very nice, and my Moy Nightsable, which was just STUNNING. He was quite proud of it, and with good reason. After that…panels!! The BIG panels are on Saturday, and that took up our whole day. First some of us went to the ABC panel, which started off with the preview of the new Shaun Cassidy-created show “Invasion”. The few minutes of the pilot they showed us looked amazing, and I can’t wait to try this one out. Shaun, with one of the show’s young stars and the pilot’s director, answered questions. Then they left and the big one started…The “Lost” panel. Unfortunately, only two members of the cast showed up (Maggie Grace (Shannon) and John Holloway (Sawyer), but that turned out to be okay, because the writers ended up being the highlight. Hilarious guys. Didn’t get too many spoilers, thankfully, and we got to watch some of the special feature footage from the upcoming DVD set. Then came the panel for the new version of “The Night Stalker”. I had to take off for something else, but Aaron stayed, and said the pilot looked pretty good.

Maggie Grace talking to fans at the "Lost" panel

Then Aaron and I regrouped for the Stargate: SG-1 panel, which was a major blast. The two new cast members (Ben Browder and Beau Bridges) showed up, along with regulars Chris Judge and Amanda Tapping, and the show’s exec producers. Very lively, very funny panel. I love all those actors. Great people. Had to skip out before the Stargate: Atlantis panel, though, I’m afraid. Mainly because we had to get set up in the massive “Hall H” downstairs early, because that’s where the Serenity panel was going to be!

Ben Browder, Beau Bridges, Chris Judge and Amanda Tapping at the Stargate: SG-1 panel

So A.T. and I got seats and sat through the hour-long Kevin Smith panel, which was hugely entertaining (no surprise). Then the Universal panel began, which they started with the preview for the movie “Slither”, which will probably be a crap movie but has a great trailer…and it was a chance for us to get to see Nathan Fillion, one of the stars of it, before Serenity started.

Kevin Smith offending just about everyone

But soon came Serenity, and the Browncoats were out in force. The other guys made it in, too, but had to sit away from us. Joss Whedon came out to thunderous applause, and introduced the movie’s cast (sans Alan Tudyk, the only one who couldn’t make it). This panel, the sequel to last year’s amazing first Serenity panel, was the last get-together of the stars and their fans before the movie comes out in September. It was very funny, very enlightening, and we got to see a couple of scenes from the movie (which A.T. and I watched, but Tony and Russ covered their ears and looked away to avoid spoilers). We all left very jazzed for the movie to come out…which Aaron and I are flying to San Diego to see with Russ and Tony on opening day. Shiny!

Joss Whedon hosting the Serenity panel. Keep flying, baby!

Afterward I headed over to the Serenity table to see what the Browncoats were selling, and woman’s voice said, “Hey, you’re the Nice Guy!”. Sweet! I have fans! Her name was Suzi, someone who had found The Nice Guy through the flyers Tony and Russ so diligently handed out after last year’s Serenity panel. She had written me, and we’d e-mailed back on forth a few times. She and her daughter were both there, both big Firefly fans (her daughter, Jessica, was even dressed in her Zoe costume). And Suzi was well-connected in the Browncoats, and even got to be an extra in the movie! She asked if I’d gotten to see any of the preview showings of the film, and I said no, and she said there was one there in San Diego that night, and she could get me a ticket. Alas, I’m an honorable lad. I promised I’d see if first with my old Firefly gang, and I had to wait. Plus, Ben and Kaye were coming into town for some gaming, and I wasn’t about to miss that! I got a photo with Suzi and Jessica to use on the Nice Guy site, which I later e-mailed to her.

Nice Guy fans Jessica and Suzi with Nice Guy writer Mike

Then the Con ended, and it was gamin’ time! No A.T. this time around. He took off with Russ and Tony (non-gamin’ bastards). Aaron and I stayed downtown, again with Russ’s Jeep, and headed a few blocks down to the Hyatt, where we threw caution to the wind and took a table inside the room again. Jeff got everything set up as Ben and Kaye, who had been running around the Con, finally hooked up with us! We ordered some pizza, and Jeff got his COIE game started, which began at the christening of Vanguard’s five kids, and where we found out that Vanguard had sworn never to wear the mask again now that he had a family. I was there as Dr. Jackal, Aaron as Dyna Girl, Kaye as Tinker, Ben as Moonspider and K.C. as Hornet. Actually, this was kind of fun. K.C. had no idea why Hornet would be there, and how she and Dr. Jackal would know who each other are (secret I.D. wise). We quickly talked about it, and I realized it was a great chance for some retcon backstory. In current Forte 2000 continuity, Jack Parker’s latest book, “Foreign and Domestic”, an expose about the U.S. government’s involvement in shadow organizations and terrorist groups, made him a target for assassination. And as it turns out, CHESS is one of the biggest U.S. shadow organizations, and probably a big part of his book, and CHESS is all OVER Hornet’s disads. We decided that Hornet was probably one of his biggest insiders for his research, and decided there was a backstory we’d have to work out where the two ended up finding out who each other really are (probably while CHESS was trying to kill them). Confusion turned to great story opportunity!

Ben, Mike and Kaye posing with their Forte 2000 alter-egos

Jeff always runs an amazing game, and this one was no exception. A guy appeared in the middle of Vanguard’s house to collect heroes to help save his world. Turns out there was a lot more going on than the heroes knew (but the wonderfully paranoid Hornet suspected it from the start), and there were some tasty plot twists between the combats. Lots of very fun roleplaying (always good to get Aaron and Kaye doing their Dyna/Tinker thing) that we’ve all sorely missed, and a very satisfying end to a brilliantly crafted game. Big thumbs-up to Jeff, who scored another hit. And there’s nothing more pleasing than getting the old Forte gang back together, even for just a few hours, and throwing some dice. Great, great night. But we had to cut it at midnight, because Aaron and I had to head back. Aaron needed to get his sleep, because he had a big morning waiting for him on Sunday!

Forte alumni Kaye, Ben, K.C., Jeff, Mike and Aaron after Jeff's COIE game run

Sunday morning saw me waking up and quickly turning on my laptop and tuning it to the live broadcast of San Diego radio station 91X. Why? Because Aaron was on it, baby! See, there’s this show on 91X called “Resurrection Sunday” (all 80s music), and they have this thing called “Hey, Mom, I’m on 91X!”, where fans can e-mail in their 20-song playlist of what they’d play on the show if they got to host. And a winner then gets selected and gets to go on the air with Steve West and co-host an hour of their music. And Aaron e-mailed in a while back, knowing he’d be in town that weekend, and he got picked! He didn’t find that out until he got a cell call from DJ Steve West when he got to San Diego.

So there was Aaron, on the air and reliving his glory days of when he was doing college radio. I e-mailed a few people about it, including Martin, and Martin not only listened in over the internet, but got an idea that I didn’t think of and e-mailed the station to say hi to Aaron. And suddenly, while I’m listening, Steve West mentions checking his e-mail and saying Aaron’s got some fan mail, and reads Martin’s on the air! So Aaron got a chance to give a shout out to Martin. I quickly sent in an e-mail, stealing Martin’s idea, requesting that Aaron “play Freebird, dude!”. Mine did not make it on the air (neither did Freebird), but Aaron got it while he was there. Aaron was great! Totally smooth, and even managed to school Steve on some music facts (BITE that hand that feeds, you, dude!). Tony was in the other room doing a digital capture of the hour, and got the whole thing recorded and burned to a CD. Aaron got to hang out, talk music, say hi to his girlfriend, Jenny, and even give a shout out at the end to all his buds. Awesome. I could have gone into the studio with Aaron, actually, but after the loss of sleep the night before, I knew I was going to make myself sick if I got up at the crack of dawn with him.

Aaron Storck on the radio Sunday morning at San Diego's 91X

Tony had a plan for the day to run over to a local bookstore where Bruce Campbell was signing his new book “Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way”, and after take his daughter, Emily, over to the Con for the Kid’s Day festivities (Sunday is always Kid’s Day. Hey, kids, check out the naked Lady Death posters hanging up over there!). He dropped me off at the Con, where I went solo for the morning, as I was on a shopping quest to find both Invisible Woman variant figures from the Fantastic Four movies for my niece. NOT as easy task! They’re sold out everywhere in the country, and I don’t really want to think about why. It took me a couple of hours and many tables, but I finally got them both ($60 bucks by the end of things).

After that shopping fun, I hooked up with K.C. and A.T., fresh from a drawing panel they went to, up on the middle floor. We hung out for a while and then got a call from Aaron and Russ. They’d gone to the Padre game across the street, and the Padres were losing beyond comeback, so they were back and hanging out upstairs, where we joined them. A.T. took off to do some shopping for his kids, and K.C. hung out with us for a while, but then decided to do one last quick run at the floor himself. Russ brought cigars, and he, Aaron and I lit up, sitting at this table outside the glass doors that lead to the autograph area. We made an interesting discovery, something we’d never found out in all our years at the Con. If there are celebrities going to a panel in one of the big rooms upstairs, security escorts them along a set path…right by this particular spot.

K.C. and A.T. hanging out on Sunday

We found this out when a group was coming toward us as we chilled out, and Russ started checking out who they were. As they passed, Russ said, casually enough, “Hey, it’s Spiner”. I turned, and there was Brent Spiner passing by with the rest of the cast of the new show Threshold. He smiled as he passed us and said “How’s it going?” I got to nod and say “Pretty good”. And on they went. Soon after, the cast of the 4400 started walking by. Aaron watches the show, and said (again, casually), “Hey, 4400” and started to clap. Turning around, Russ and I joined in, and the cast enjoyed this a lot and cheered back at us. It was pretty funny. Just that you’re used to seeing the celebs in the big room while being a fan. Here we were just kicking back, saying hi to them like it was no big thing. Pretty cool. We’ll have to try that spot again.

After a bit K.C. and A.T. returned, and Tony showed up with Emily after their big tour downstairs. Emily showed off all the stuff she got as we all relaxed and reflected on the Con. There’s something peaceful and traditional about the end of the Con, that moment when you slow down, finally, and realize what a great time you’ve had…again. Soon we realized we were all done, and though K.C.’s plane was leaving that evening, we wanted to squeeze in some barbecue at Russ’s and get a last chance to hang with him. So we all loaded into our vehicles and took off. Unfortunately for K.C., he had to drive with Russ and I. Being a friend of Russ’s for years and living near him for a long time, I’m well used to the insane and vengeful way he drives. K.C. got inaugurated. And somehow survived.

Tony, Aaron, A.T. and K.C. enjoying the last-day barbecue at Russ's place

We got some burgers going, with Russ, assisted by K.C. and Aaron, handling the food. More relaxing and fun, but soon it was time to say goodbye to K.C., and Aaron drove him downtown to the airport for his flight back to Chicago. The rest of us hung out for a while after Aaron returned, but then it was time for Tony and I to head back to his place, and for me, sadly, to pack.

Aaron, Mike and Russ relaxing on Monday before A.T. and Mike had to get to the airport and, sadly, head home

The next day, Monday, was our last in town, but A.T. and I weren’t flying out until the evening. So Tony took the day off, and we hung out at Russ’s, where Tony graciously bought us all In and Out burgers for lunch (score!). We decided to watch an episode of Firefly, and wisely chose “The Message”…wisely because it turns out that A.T. had somehow skipped the episode when watching the DVDs that Aaron and I had bought him, so he was seeing it for the first time. We then had to watch “Team America”, as Aaron hadn’t seen it, and it was hilarious as ever. During this, A.T. got in some last City of Heroes time on Russ’s computer (he took the chance during the trip to log in some good online crimefighting, as he currently doesn’t have an internet connection at home and rarely gets to play). But then our time, too, came, and we said goodbye to Tony and Aaron (but for me, it’s only goodbye until September!) and Russ drove us down to the airport. We were actually quite sad, waiting for our plane. We work a very stressful job, and getting a few days off to be in such a beautiful city and have such a great time with such good friends was amazing. But now, we had to board a flight, land in Sacramento where it had been 105 degrees every day while we were gone, and go back to our normal lives.

Only until next year, baby. Only until next year.

Check Out the CCXVI Photo Gallery!

And for a different take on the Con, check out my con report over at The Nice Guy site.