GalaxyCon, upcoming 50th birthday, and other stuff

I went to GalaxyCon! Woo hoo!

My nephew and I drove up to see my niece and sister-in-law. So, to give you info, I have two older brothers. My older brother lives in town, and is the father  of my nephew. My oldest brother passed away five years ago. He and his wife had settled in NC, which is where she grew up. My niece is their daughter. 

Last year, my nephew and I went up, and took them to a small comics/collectibles show. She seemed to enjoy it. She's 10 now. At the beginning of the year, I bought the tickets for all of us to go to GalaxyCon. A few weeks after that, I won passes for GalaxyCon and a meet & greet with comedian Jonah Ray. I had two extra tickets, and Gary from my APA (amateur press association) wanted them.

 

My nephew and I drove up on Friday, 26 July. We had a good visit with Donna and my niece Friday afternoon and evening. Saturday morning, we headed out for the convention. Parking was easy to find, and I loved that we were a block away. (At MegaCon in Orlando, even though I might be parked next to the building, I still have to walk about a mile to enter!) We met Gary and his husband Will out front. Introductions were made and we all visited a bit before heading in to pick up our tickets. This was my first time meeting Gary and Will. They are both awesome, and I'm happy that we got to meet up! Getting tickets was easy. We did have to wait a bit before heading in though.

 

 

Now, while we tried at first to stick with Gary and Will, people do look around at different paces, and have different goals. We got separated, but ran into each other off and on during the show. While the four of us were in the Artist Alley area, I decided to peel off and do my meet up with Jonah Ray. I had chosen to get a table photo instead of the pro shoot, and I think I got a better photo! I enjoyed meeting Jonah. I'm a BIG MST3K fan, and I really like him on the show. I first became aware of him from @Midnight. We conversed for a few minutes, I got a signed photo, and then I headed back to the family.

We took a break at lunch time, and got a snack. The ladies were kind of tired of looking around, so my nephew and I soldiered on. My niece and sister-in-law enjoyed seeing all the cosplayers while they waited, and my niece is already planning a costume for next year. I know she asked a few questions of some of the cosplayers we met up with. My nephew and I didn't take long, and Donna and I texted a couple of times to 1) make sure we could text and 2) to just check in. I had some good finds, including a lot of bronze age books for $2 each! 

 

 

Once we were ready to go, we met up with Gary & Will again. We visited for another 10-15 minutes, and then we were heading out. We left the convention center and hit the Chinese buffet. This is a tradition with my nephew and I, and I'm glad to pass it on with my niece. 

In all, we had a good time and a great visit! My nephew and I headed home Sunday morning.

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My 50th birthday is coming up this month. I turn 50 on the 26th! To celebrate, I will head down to DisneyWorld for a solo trip. I'll be there for a couple of days. While I didn't plan it while booking the trip, I will end up being there for the opening of Star Wars Galaxy's Edge. I will also be celebrating my 50th with my family and best friend. 

I'm also doing the stay-cation thing this month, in celebration of my birthday. I tend to do this every August. I don't stop working altogether, but do try to keep work to a minimum. I do have some projects to get done for buyers, and I will continue to list some on eBay and eBid. If nothing else, I have to use my monthly allotments of listings on eBay! 

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On a sour note, I've been having trouble with Shutterfly. This is the secondary photo lab that I use. After 10+ years of doing business with them, I got locked out of my account. The reason? I was in chat with customer service over a pair of coupon codes that weren't working right for me. The second agent I chatted with, Shanisha (I think that was her name - I do have it in email!) decided that she didn't like my content and locked me out of my account. When I emailed to get a new password, she was also the agent who reviewed it and said no. I have emailed again, and requested that anyone but her review the account. 

Now, I do have some NSFW material in my account. I've never seen anything saying that they won't print it. And, after 10+ years, you would think that someone would have said something. Even so, I've worked for several photo labs in the past. The first thing they drill into you is that the customer's content is None Of Your Business! So, this whole thing feels like discrimination to me. I can't prove that, but often if a man has photos of naked men, suddenly it's against the rules! I'll bet I wouldn't even be writing this if it were photos of naked women.

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Well, that's all I have for you at the moment. I will try to keep this updated better. If nothing else, I'll post after my Disney trip! Take Care!