Since joining the Frag Dolls, I honestly can’t remember the last time I attended a convention as a regular ol’ “civilian”. Sure, it’s awesome getting Frag Doll hookups and being able to get into conventions early, not wait in lines, all expenses paid, etc, etc. But as you know, working at a convention is a completely different experience than going as a regular attendee - getting to take your time and look around, not having to rush to booths during your 20 minute breaks, going to panels, cosplaying… oh, and being able to pass out on the floor whenever you want.

I decided after last year’s San Diego Comic Con that I definitely DID NOT want to work at this year’s SDCC. This was going to be my one and only vacation of Summer 2008 and I was already planning on spending half of it at the con and half of it at the beach. Thursday was only the first day of the con and I can only describe it as insane.

My first order of business was to grab some SDCC exclusive toys. I already had my eye on some Mighty Muggs as well as this special Dwight Schrute bobble head. I headed over to the NBC booth and anxiously waited in line. 10AM and already sold out??? WHAT?? They told me to come back later in the day as they might have more. I sadly walked away and headed to the Hasbro booth. The line was not only zig zagging, but was already wrapped around the entire booth. And they had already closed the line for the time being! I was devastated. Apparently, you had to get a special ticket just to be able to wait in line at the booth. Pretty ridiculous in my opinion, but what other choice did I have? By noon, I was still empty handed except for some random posters, free comics, stickers and the like. So, I headed upstairs to grab one of these Hasbro tickets. Of course when I got there, there was another line. Yup, that’s right - a line in order to get tickets so that I could then wait in another line to buy some toys.

In the end, I guess it was worth it. I spent about 2+ hours in line to get my Mighty Muggs, G.I. Joe figures, and super hero My Little Pony. Another 30 min and I got my Dwight bobble head. Plus, I picked up a few trades, some cool swag and even saw a much older Corey Feldman and a blonde Anna Paquin! I even took a nice nap outside for an hour and watched a mock medieval sword fight. Overall, a day well spent. Stay tuned for day two and my first time attempting to cosplay!

Still have to figure out how I will be fitting all this in my suitcase...