Moderators: Mayhem, Steve Hubbell, digulla, Moderators
The con told me before hand that I had a presentation to do, however they did not tell me that it was with Billy Tucci. They did not tell Billy either. He had never seen me do one before, so sat in the audience while I did my (very shortened) routine. We made an improvised easel out of an upended table that I used to draw on. Billy came up and joined me for the last 15 minutes.Treadwell wrote:
Sadly, I didn't know about the presentation until reading about it just now.
-Jay
The program would not have helped much. It had me listed as being in the 400 aisle, which was incorrect. I walked up and down that aisle for 10 minutes without finding it. I finally found my table one aisle over, in 500. This was before the con opened. It must have been much harder finding it in a crowded dealers' room.Treadwell wrote:
I, too, had a bit of trouble finding you Friday morning, until I did what I should've done in the first place: check the program!
-Jay
john h. wrote:Aaargh.
Your livejournal site is blocked by my work.
Can anyone paste it into this thread ?
Thanks,
John H.
Stan (usagiguy) Sakai wrote: LiveJournal entry posted 09:47 pm February 22nd, 2007
MegaCon 2007
February 16-18
Thursday
I caught the 4:45 am metro to Union Station, then took the Flyaway bus to LAX. I arrived at the airport by 6, and was greeted by a mob. This was the Thursday before the three-day Presidents’ Day weekend, and airports all around the country were still recovering from the blizzards in the northeast that cancelled many flights. However, I have an American Airlines Gold Card and was able to check in through business class, and bypassed most of the security line. I waited in the Admiral’s Club lounge for my 8:20 flight to Orlando.
It was the best kind of flight--totally uneventful. I plotted out the story for Usagi 105, but, after some reflection, will have to use it for a later issue. Tommy Lasorda and Lou Ferrigno were also on the flight. Tommy for Dodgers’ spring training, and Lou for MegaCon. The onboard movie was Flushed Away, the animated film about rats in the sewer. I was just getting into it when it abruptly ended. The plane arrived early. Oh well, the DVD comes out next week. I wasn't planning on getting it, but now I'll have to. Baggage claim took about an hour. I shared a cab with Lou to the Double Tree Hotel, just across from Universal Studios. On the ride over, he told me plans for the Hulk 2 movie and upcoming TV roles.
After checking in I explored the neighborhood. There was a Japanese restaurant just down the road, and an Italian restaurant a little farther down. They were both fairly empty, and either looked promising for dinner--not tonight though. I was still on California time, and it was just past lunch for me. I spent the night doing some drawing. I was taking three trips in February, and a deadline was less than two weeks away.
Friday
I caught the 9 am shuttle bus for the 15 minute ride to the convention center. The convention opened at 10, and I was surprised to see that John Higashi was the first in queue for the dealers’ den. He and his friends had arrived at 6. Perhaps that was smart, because there was already a long line waiting to get in. It took a while to find my table. The program book had me listed as booth 419, but, as it turned out, I was in the 500 aisle. The aisles were not only numbered, but also named after various guests. I was on “Sakai Street”.
Archie and Little Archie artist Bob Bolling was across the way. Little Archie was a favorite of mine growing up, so I went over to talk to him. I wanted to buy some artwork, but Bob insisted I take an entire 6 page Betty & Veroinca story. I asked for a Little Archie commission sketch, but, again, he insisted on doing it gratis. Even appeals to his wife would not coerce him to take my money. I’m still flabbergasted at his generosity.
I was a lot busier than expected. By the day’s end, I sold out of the trades I had brought, and quite a bit of art. Many members of the UY website came by. One could not make it, so sent his cousin to buy some art. The show ended at 7, and I took the shuttle back to the Double Tree. I had brought work to do, so passed on a couple of dinner invitations.
I usually write a little note of appreciation to the housekeeper along with a tip before I leave in the mornings. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Thelma had written a very nice reply.
I walked down the street, looking forward to a nice Japanese dinner. The line for tables went out the door, with an hour’s wait. Well, Italian for dinner sounded good, too. That line went out the door as well. I settled on a small Chinese restaurant. It was unlike any Chinese food I had ever eaten, but not in a good way. I had never seen won ton soup that color before, and the sauce overpowered the seafood dish. Oh well, I’ll have a much better dinner tomorrow night.
Satuday
I had two events to do today. Heroes Initiative, the charity organization, sold a “Have lunch with Stan Sakai” event. The winner paid $75 to spend an hour with me and eat a sandwich. I did a very nice sketch for him, and he went away from lunch very happy saying, “This is much more than I expected.” I had a presentation to do with Shi creator Billy Tucci. Billy had never seen my presentations, so elected to sit in the audience while I gave my talk. We upended an 8’ table to use as an easel, so I could draw on some newsprint I had brought. Billy joined me the last 15 minutes for a Q&A. Amy was there. She is a very talented artist who posts on the Usagi site. She gave me a beautiful hand painted animation cel of Usagi.
The con was a lot busier than I had expected. There was still a long line waiting to buy tickets stretching down the halls at noon, and the dealers’ room was difficult to get through because of the crowds.
I went to dinner with John Higashi and his possee--James, David, Matt, and Randy. We drove over to Disney World’s City Walk, and to Gloria Estefan’s restaurant, Bongo. I have not had much Cuban food before. It reminds me a bit of Filipino. We ordered assorted appetizers for the table. I had the fried marinated fish for main course, and a coconut flan for dessert.
Returning to my room, I found another note from Thelma. We’ve been having a very nice correspondence going.
Sunday
I left one last note for Thelma, then checked out of the Double Tree.
Compared to Saturday, Sunday was a very slow day at the con. It did give me time to cruise the hall and say hello/good-bye to many friends. Alex Saviuk, penciller of the Spider-Man Sunday strips (which I letter) was there, as were George Perez, Brandon Peterson, Phil Noto, Brian Pulido, Andy Runton, Mike Okamoto, Rich Koslowski, and Art Baltazar.
This was the start of Nascar racing at Daytona Beach, so I did not know how that would affect the airport. Some flights were still recovering from the northeastern blizzards, and a few guests had been delayed arriving. I took a cab to the airport and arrived a good two hours before my Delta flight. I flew back with Lou Ferrigno and David Hedison.
We arrived at LAX early, but, because there were no open gates, the plane stood on the tarmac for a good 40 minutes. Baggage claim took an hour and a half. Ah, the joys of traveling.
How bout "UsagiProxy" lolMayhem wrote:Can something like http://www.ninjaproxy.com get around it?
It's wonerful to hwar everyone had a great time!- Wow a lot seemd to have went on =^.^=