If 13-Year-Old Me could see me now...

...Man, I wish I could go back in time and tell an anxious, picked-on, teenage me that, one day, you WILL get to combine your two loves and people will come and pay to see it...

Middle school was not easy. Not that it is for anyone, but kids can be extra mean when you pick an extra-curricular activity like acting, and it isn't made much easier when you like things that are considered "nerdy". Like Star Wars. And Star Trek. And Fantasy.

Nope. The first half of Middle School was NOT fun.

Then, your mom goes into the office to file the paper work because you will be out of class for the first part of one certain day, and the office lady looks at the calendar.

"Oh, but she'll miss the field trip they have scheduled that day!"

And your mom gets to respond: "No, she IS the field trip."

Because the field trip is a viewing if "To Kill A Mockingbird" at the local community theatre, and yours truly is playing Scout.

And I don't think I am blowing my horn TOO much when I say I knocked it out of the park.

Yeah, middle school got ALOT easier after that day.

But, let's take small side trip: Westgate Mall...Waldenbooks...a 10 year old Star Wars fan uses some of her PRECIOUS allowance to buy "Heir To The Empire."

My love affair with the Star Wars EU exploded and I never really looked back. I stuck through the good times and the bad times, (Callista that blonde, whiny, wimpy, B...(looks at young co-stars possibly reading this) um...yeah, never mind).

I'll be honest: I had lost track of the EU (this was before the internet was as prevalent as it is) and so didn't even know the "Hand of Thrawn" books were out until I saw a friend reading them during a rehearsal. I made a comment about how much a certain farm boy and a certain red head just needed to get over themselves and get together. He snorted in derision and the subject was dropped until Tech week when he called me over and whispered "I hate you for being right," and showed me the end of a certain paragraph at the end of a certain chapter (page 481-82...not that I have it bookmarked or anything...shut up).

Stupid thin walls between greenroom and theatre; I wanted to scream in joy and I couldn't.

To make a long story short (TOO LATE)...Fast forward 16 years.

A local company is remounting a production, and are holding auditions:  "MacBeth" set in the "Star Wars" universe.

Um, YES PLEASE!

If nothing else, I figure I can pick up the Lightsaber the director owes me from backing the Kickstarter from the original run. So I sign up for a slot, show up, do my Rosalind, speak the speech, swing a lightsaber in a fight, and head on my way home.

Then the e-mail comes in, and 13-year-old me screams in joy...

More to come as we go into rehearsals, but I cannot begin to say how excited I am to be a part of this production and working with this company. These are good folks, and this is a great cast, and I am looking forward to helping transport the Bard to a galaxy far, far away...

Gen Con Day 2!

So, long story long: I normally save the Copper Dragon for Saturday, but Wizards of the Coast forced me to change my plans (more on that later), so CD got all gussied up for Friday, including new experiment on scales (fishnet stockings, lip gloss, and iridescent eye shadow). Unfortunately, in the rush to get out of  the hotel, I forgot my bag, which means, I forgot my camera. 

Head. Desk. 

Anyway, MOST of the day was spent walking the rest of the hall, but we did stop to play the winner of this year's Spiel des Jahres, or Game of the Year. 

Camel Up is pretty adorable, though I can actually say I played all three nominees this year...

Camels. Racing.

There was the rest of the hall: a few more art prints, some pretty, shiny, pokey things, checking my phone to make sure the GPS wasn't on sucking power, but most of the focus was on the events that night...

Wizards of the Coast has been gearing up for the release of the new edition, Fifth, and the release of the first big adventure, Tyranny of Dragons. There were plans for a huge release party on Georgia Street, normally a hub of food trucks and the home to a very nice beer garden. Having wandered through earlier and seeing that our friend Liz Smith was working with the set-up company for the release party, I was truly excited. 

And I was dressed as a polymorphed copper dragon. For the party. Yes, I am a nerd. 

Steve had a company dinner with some of the higher-ups, so I wandered over to the tent to try and get a good position. It got crowded fast, and after hovering off to the side and watching them try to work a traffic flow, someone wrote out an exit only sign that I just grabbed and help and then used to help direct people. This put me into direct contact with Shelly Mazzanoble, author of the wonderful Confessions of a Part-time Sorceress and the even better Everything I Need To Know I Learned From Dungeons &Dragons. Not to brag, but she and I kind of bonded. Very quickly.

NERD GIRLS UNITE!

So, other than the (and PLEASE forgive me for this) TOTALLY TYPICAL, ARCHETYPAL nerd "reviewer" who demanded to know if this was "seriously...really" the release party for Tyranny...no really, that was all he said...even after I said I was just helping the set-up company and had no official connection to WotC and hey dude my eyes are up here and are you really just going to keep rubbing the bridge of your nose and sighing without even saying what you have an issue with and hey how about you cut back on the chili-cheese fires and try a salad oh and maybe change your shirt...

Sorry, where was I...OH, right the release party that was turing into a huge success. They had a great improviser playing a legendary dragon relic "collector" who also happened to be an accomplished DJ,  fun puzzles to help get people in the mood of the adventure, and some amazing props of from "Davian's" private collection. 

Basically, Tiamat, the evil dragon goddess is trying to take over the world, and it is your job to stop her...One of the pieces she needed to make the "Mask of Tiamat" was the Blue Dragon mask that was guarded by the "very trust-worthy" guards hired by Davian. Yeah, not so much...

Yeah, you know, I just realized I left the stove on...

So, Steve and the others got back from diner and I got to hang out with all of the cool people. Chris Perkins. Rodney Thompson. Greg Bilsland. Keith Baker (who still remembers me and still loves that I am one of only two Eberon cos-players he has ever met...and that my husband I tried to run him over a few years ago). Oh, and the lecherous gentleman himself, Ed Greenwood. This guy is awesome. Like, "I ate my lunch off a lady" awesome. And he hit on me. In front of my husband. And I went with it and matched him innuendo for innuendo. And it was fantastic.

Now, the COOLEST part of the night was when they started giving out the prizes, because now I can talk about what Steve was called down to Indy early to sign. 

SCRIBBLE FASTER, MONKEYS! 

(yeah, I took this picture Wednesday but could not release it until after the party)

Yeah, he was signing almost 300 copies of the 5E Monster Manual. That he helped write. Like, half of it. And people were winning a prize pack that included copies of this book that aren't even available until September. Of course, the fact that we had a copy back in our hotel room already was just icing.

Now, the loud music and lack of drinking water had caused both of us to have rather magnificent headaches, so once the prizes were handed out we said good night and headed back to the hotel.

Gen Con! (Days 1...and 2, 3, and 4)

They call Gen Con the Best Four Days in Gaming...this is true. But, as a friend pointed out to me, it is also the best Four Days in Sleep Deprivation.

You go with the best of intentions: you won't stay out late, you will get sleep, you won't watch the sun rise...and it all goes out the window that first day.

Sleeping is iffy.

Blogging is right out.

So, here I sit, ready to do a massive wrap up of an amazing time...

Let us begin...

THURSDAY
Day One. The Kick Off. The Beginning. The Insanity. We managed to find decent parking not that far from the Con back behind Lucas Oil Field (pro-insiders tip: as long as there isn't a game it is less than 10 minutes from the hall and usually $10 all day).

I was trying to got to the class I had scheduled that morning at 11 AM, Introduction to Medieval Italian Longsword. Now, the SMART person would have taken advantage of the fact that the will call line was open 24-hours starting Wednesday and gone sometime before dinner the previous night, but I was not that smart, and the will call line was huge!

The costumes just get cuter every year...

I had my e-mail confirmation, and, as the class was being taught by folks from the Chicago Swordplay Guild out of Forteza Fitness, I figured I would be OK. The problem became that no one knew where the damn class was. Now, while wasting $2 is not the worst thing that could happen if I didn't go, I REALLY wanted to see how much I remembered from the Italian Longsword Class I took a few years ago with R & D Choreography. So, thank goodness for knowledgeable Gen Con info booths with smart phones. Yes, the class was all the way over at Union Station, but "all the way over" in Indy is less than 5 minutes at a brisk walk.

So, yes, I was a little late and, yes, there was an issue because I didn't have my actual ticket, but someone had a generic and I had cash, and it was a TON of fun re-learning how to kill people...

So pretty...

So pretty...

After that rousing good time, it was back to the hall, but then almost instantly out to lunch at that modern medieval tavern, Hooters. There is nothing classier than eating chicken wings in aelvin warrior outfit. 

So, Gen Con has been hitting bigger every year, and the exhibitors' hall keeps growing to accomadate that. What used to take one day now takes about one and half. Steve and I started our journey through the hall, window shopping and enjoying the amazing sights to be seen. 

This also means stopping by the always amazing Sasquatch Games and picking up copy of Primeval Thule, which you of course get signed by the authors, most of whom you are already friends with...

In preparation for Saturday, I stopped by the Timeless Trends booth, as the old corset for the Irene outfit was just getting painful to look at. As these are the people who provided me with the wonderful contraption that got me through "Sherlock", I just should have gone to then in the first place. Of course, not being able to work out for two months because you broke your wrist during one of the coldest winters in Chicago history isn't going to help much, either. 

Nothing bought yet, I promised to stop back, and went to grab my phone to find out where Steve had gotten off to, only discover that the phone would...not...turn...on. Thank goodness the lovely folks at Sasquatch Games are SO cool, and then you keep you claws in your hubby for the rest of the day. 

Realizing that doing the whole floor in one day was probably out, we made bee-line for the Artist Alley, as there was someone wanted to meet.

A few years ago, Steve worked on a very well received adventure, "Madness at Gardmore Abbey", which was preceded by another he worked on call "Siege at Gardmore Abbey." Here's the cover:

Well, meeting the artist and introducing yourself and having the guy get excited to meet you back pretty much makes your Con...

Ladies and Gentlemen, Ralph Horsley!

Yeah, he's pretty awesome.

So, we weren't done the the artwork yet. For years, Steve and I have been looking at the amazing artwork of Ms. Echo Chernik. This woman does nouvea-Mucha that makes me DROOL. We have been specifically looking at her Goddesses of Cuisine set. This year, we just bit the bullet and did it. 12 prints. 1 bonus.  Done.

Heading back to the car so we could change, we then wandered over and met up with Rob Schwalb, my husband's cohort on The Monster Manuel for 5E. We also got to hang out with Monte Cook and our friend, Shad. 

We did dinner at The Ram, where we met up with Chicago Game designer Eric Simon, author of Steamscapes, for which Steve did a shorty story for flavor. Then, back to the hotel, and sleep. 

Gen Con: T-Minus 1 Day...well kinda...

So, after a very long day, we all kinda got checked into the hotel and collapsed. So, this is being written on the 14, not the 13th...but whatever...

It was a day of happy reunions and much fun, as old friends joined us from the wilds of Tuscon...

Yes, those storm  clouds look ominous. Fortunately, this time around, it was just some rain and not an air elemental trying to kill us while we huddled in a Starbucks.

Getting to Indy before a certain time had become imperative as Steve had gotten an e-mail asking to attend an event: a book signing.

That's right. My hubby was being asked to be part of a book signing. Due to NDAs, I cannot tell you what he was signing, as it was not a public come up and smile sappily at the author and tell him how awesome he is as you meekly hand over your well worn copy of the book and ask him to sign it please and oh goodness how much you enjoy his stories...

This is me, being proud...yes, I know, I question my sanity sometimes...

Um, sorry, where was I?

RIGHT! On the road to Indy....

Blowing into town with time to spare, we got Steve's badge and headed to Hall D where the signing was to take place. We ran into Rob Schwalb, and, well, things just went downhill from there...

NSFW.

No, seriously, remove all children under the age of 13 from the room.

Alright, you have been warned.

Nice pus...I mean, kitty...

Steve has NEVER forgiven himself for introducing me to these books...

So, as I said, the signing turned out to be a bunch of the WotC guys stuck in a little curtained off area signing books until their hands bled. While they were doing that, I wandered around the Wizard play are to see what interesting things I could see...

Sweet Lich Queen.

Aww, thanks guys!

COPPER DRAGON! COPPER DRAGON!

 Afterwards, we waiting out the frantic scrabbling and signing by playing a few games of Aquarius.

This is the dawning of the age of...

Drinks at the Cadillac Palace (I WAS TWO FEET FROM WIL WHEATON! GAHHHHH!!! 12 year old me was fan girl freaking out!!!) were followed by a late night dinner at Steak and Shake, and then a weary trek to our hotel where sleep was the only option...

ONWARD INTO THE CON!!!

Gen Con 2014: T-minus 2 days...

So, here we are. For the first time in many a year, I am able to do all four days of one of the largest gaming gatherings in the country. And I am pumped. Not only do I not have to fight to get the days off, I HAVE the days off.

Of course, there are some who are not happy about my leaving...

The weekend has already started, in a way, as LAST NIGHT was spent with the travelers from the west, those who traveled on what is known as "The Game Train", when Wizards of the Coast's best and brightest...

Yeah, OK, look, there was ALOT of tapas eaten...and a lot of nerd talk...and they jab been on a train for two days...and it was late...

Anyway, there is still a little packing to do, but I wanted to give a shout out to all of my friends who Cosplay...because this is looking a little daunting to get packed and I'm not even doing that much...so respect, ladies and gents...

Yikes.

Alright peeps I will see a bunch of you in Indy...

LET'S DO THIS THING!

ITALY 2013-DAY 8!

After getting home safely through traffic and fog, everyone was kind of OK with just hanging out at the Villa for the morning. We had all decided that it would be Aquapendente for dinner. This is actually the town closest to the villa, and we even thought we had found a good restaurant to visit.

After finding parking in the center of the town we wandered around another Italian town that seems to have almost stopped in time. We did a bit more shopping and wandering.  There was a leather shop that opened just as we got there after the guy had come back from a café break. There was the café that had Amaretto Coffee drinks. There was a lovey church and cobblestone paved streets, and a fountain that looked like it hadn’t changed since Roman times.

We wandered over to restaurant to see if they were open yet (it was close to 6:00 PM) and were told that it didn’t open until 8:00 PM. We tried to find out if something else was open, but on Italy time most restaurants don’t open for dinner until 7:00 PM. We found a small bakery shop and planned to take a break until the restaurant opened. While waiting, we fell into a conversation with a woman sitting next to us, We asked if she knew any other good restaurants in the city.

She said she owned the best in Aquapendente.

Tristan and I walked with her to check the place out and instantly fell in love.

We ended up having one of the best meal of the trip in a building that used to be a stable and was REALLY old. There was an actual spring from the wall.

The chef was British who had followed his girlfriend to Florence and then stayed in Italy when she decided to go to Toronto. He helped us with the menu and wine selection, and we had a truly amazing final night. Melanie bought some of the wine we had with dinner and we gorged on pasta, meat, and deserts.

Steve and Fiona MAY have gotten into a fight over the desserts...

It was a great final dinner and we had a great time.

However, just to make sure we hadn’t forgotten the lessons of the first part of the trip, we came out to where we had parked to discover that we must have read the parking meters incorrectly, and both cars had parking tickets.

Well, it had to be something.

We had to get up early to make sure that we get our flight, so it is off to bed…for about 4 hours of sleep…and some more very tight connections...

(cue ominous music now)

ITALY 2013-DAY 7!

March 28th-Pompeii

After a night on surprisingly comfortable beds, we awoke to a rainy sky that followed us most of the way south. However, as we neared Pompeii, the skies slowly cleared and the sun came out.

Finding Pompeii the site is pretty easy, and surprisingly, there is STREET PARKING! You don't realize how close you are to the old city until you walk up to one of the gates and it is RIGHT there.

We entered first neat the amphitheater, which is one of the better preserved (or most reconstructed buildings) in the city. It is pretty solid, so I am guessing the latter. The place is no Coliseum, but it certainly was an impressive sight.

Next to the stadium was a working vineyard that they managed to build to almost exactly the way it was in 79 AD, down to the placement of the vines. In the heyday of the town, the vineyard would sell wine to spectators on their way to the games at the amphitheater so they could get roaring drunk and watch massacres...

...so, you know, just like Wrigley Field on a Cub's Game Day.

They are making wine again, though we weren't able to walk through the site.

We moved up and around the outskirts, where the city walls would have been, and then turned into the town proper. It was here that things get freaky and you start to realize how much of a town this was, and how much is still (relatively) well preserved. While some of the roads and sites were closed (as this is a still an active archaeological dig site and some buildings require stabilizing every so often, as well as consistent re-construction and cleaning) there were still plenty to wander around in. 

The first major place that we hit was the Casa di Cecilio Giocondo. It was my first up close look at how wonderfully preserved some of these houses were.

The next major stop was the Terme Stabinae, or the Baths. These are seriously impressive, and kind of gives you the impression of how rich this town was.

The baths also included our first look at perhaps that most startling evidence of how fast the city was destroyed:

It is very unsettling to see the plaster casts of the bodies, so perfectly caught that you can see their expressions. There was a wave of sadness that just sweeps over you as you can't but feel the terror that you see on their faces.

Wandering through the forum brought us too a shed where they store most of the items they have found as they continue the excavation. Amphorae, wagons, tables, statues, and all of it in amazing condition.

And of course...

These are two of the saddest figures I saw while we are there. The figures speak for themselves.

After a quick bite, we moved on to some lighter fair at the Casa del Fauno, perhaps one the most famous houses in Pompeii, notable for its courtyard namesake...

Winding our way back to the Forum, we stopped in the Macellum, where there was both incredible beauty and incredible horror...

We stopped into the Basilica, where Fiona demanded worship...

Next it was over to the Temple of Apollo, from which we could see the clouds had cleared away from Vesuvius, leaving it looking deceptively calm in the background...

Next up, it seemed only appropriate that we go visit the home of the world's oldest profession, that just happened to have some of the best preserved imagery in the whole of the city.

Yup.

Next, for my actor friends, I have these questions: How would you like this as your entry?

And this as your lobby?

And this as your stage?

It was a huge thrill to be standing SO close to the birth of theatre. They have actually made major steps in restoring the larger of the two theatres since Steve was here in 2007, and have brought it inching closer to what it might have looked like 2000 years ago. The acoustics are pretty damn near perfect, and I got chills as I got to do something that I have been wanting to do since this trip was finalized: do Shakespeare on a Roman stage.

It. Was. Awesome.

The citizens had the luxury of also having a smaller, "black box' theatre:

By this point it was getting closer to closing time, so we tried to see into as many houses as possible, walking into the "fast food" places with their grills empty and mills waiting for more grain, and the wall still showing the what must have been painstakingly made artwork that the citizens of this town must have enjoyed...

Unfortunately, the Villa that Steve REALLY wanted us to see was closed for restoration, but our feet were killing us and so we made our way out of the silent city and started to head toward Naples for diner.

Let me just say this: all of the horrors of the early part of this journey, from the delayed flights to the missed connections to the lost luggage to the closed roads...PALED in comparison the HORROR that was trying to get around the City of Naples. I give you all this warning now: I don't care how good you have heard the food is, or how pretty the castle...

DO NOT GO TO NAPLES! IT ISN'T WORTH YOUR LIFE!

After 20 minutes of just trying to get downtown, we texted the other car with what was basically a "Fly, you fools" message, and then spent the next thirty minutes dealing with Psychotic Suicidal Sociopaths as we tried to get out of the city. 

I swear I saw my life flash in front of my eyes at least twice.

I have never been so grateful to be on windy mountain roads in my life. Even those SMOTHERED in fog as ours were trying to get home that night. 

We made it back safely and went through two bottles of wine and then fell in to bed, looking forward to a chill final day.