people of the con: the hall

unless you've attended comic-con, e3, ces or some similarly outrageously sized convention, you've never seen anything like this.  i don't know where else you happily attempt to wade through a huge sea of bodies, trying not to get run over while you gawk at some of the coolest pop-culture visuals you will ever see.  i don't know where else picking a random aisle to walk down in exhibit hall means you end up filming orlando bloom, lee pace, evangeline lilly, cate blanchett, and benedict cumberbatch. oh how i love san diego comic-con.

people of the con: the walking

of course, i'm referring to THE CON, otherwise known as san diego comic-con, where every year 130,000 badge holders, and probably another 130,000 non-badge holders converge on downtown san diego for 4 1/2 days of pure nerdery.  i thought it would be interesting to try to convey what that feels like through video (which doesn't do it any sort of justice at all).

this particular video was shot beginning from our parking garage exit to the convention center, through the convention center to our friday location, room 6bcf, and then later in the gaslamp, finally returning to the parking garage by way of the hall h line (where all of the biggest panels and overnight campers take place).

weekend fun

i love being home and getting to spend time with my peoples!

this weekend i finally got to see jamie paddle - a hobby/sport to which she has dedicated a great deal of time to over the last year-ish.  i've been hearing about her adventures in canoeing for almost as long as we've been roommates, so with this weekend's race being local, and me being in town, it was the perfect opportunity to cheer her on!

from belmont beach to playa del rey, it was a double-beach day.  i joined my friend and former co-worker, tania, for what is becoming a a bit of a recurring appointment. usually, it's beach time, as i'm attempting to get some color before spending a week at the lake with family (and not wanting to suffer from the long hours spent on the water there), but today i was just along for the ride.  emily had been unable to attend tania's housewarming party so wanted to visit her new place, and invited me to join.  we were quite the office trio before tania left us, so it was nice to get the band back together!

and what is a far more rare occurrence, was the invitation i received from  melissa.  she had asked if i was in town (we both travel A LOT), i told her i was, and she invited me to the orange county fair with her and some cousins.  when her cousins were unable to attend, i suggested we go a bit lower key and get together for brunch.  which lasted for about five hours (a pattern this week!).  we made some plans to meet up on the road this fall, and started talking about a possible italy trip together in 2015.  so, basically, a highly productive brunch! :D

green party

friday night i attended the surprise party for my friend larysa, who, after years and hoops and more years and more hoops, was finally able to get her green card.  party-goers were asked to wear green or red white and blue, and similarly to bring an item of the same colors.  my contribution - a strawberry blueberry fruit tart that seemed to be quite a hit.  sadly, none left to gnosh on later!

jamie and our friend luce were the distraction, inviting her for wedding dress shopping for luce.  nicole and i were supposedly meeting them back at larysa's to join up for dinner.  the ruse was a success and larysa didn't see it coming!

larysa hails from the ukraine and was one of the first people i met when i moved to huntington beach.  in fact, we met at my very first family home evening in the mid-singles ward, just a couple of weeks after i had moved to california.  lucky for me, our friendship has continued to grow in the last 6 1/2 years, and lucky for america, she's now a permanent resident!

food and friends, my two favorite words

we had a very special visitor today.  an old huntington beach friend (who now splits time between utah and north dakota) is in town for a wedding and reached out to jami to see if he could come spend time time in long beach.  a visit from brandon is sure to be a satisfying one, as he gives, literally, the best hugs on the planet.

no, seriously, he's known for his hugs. they are strong and warm and long-lasting.  this is a man who is not afraid that you will get the wrong impression if he hugs you hard and long.  and it's been three years since a brandon-hug, so it was all the more appreciated!

with our special visitor and his special hugs, it seemed some pretty special food was required for our brunch!

we started with grilled fruit skewers,

followed by jami's bacon cheddar quiche,

and finished off with my blueberry cream cheese stuffed french toast.

needless to say, the few hours we spent together today was pretty epic!