The Vans Warped Tour 2016

Well. It's been just over a week since The Vans Warped Tour ended for the year and I'm feeling the post Warped Tour sads. [And I’m not the only one; http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/bands_react_to_the_end_of_Warped_Tour_2016] So, it's time for my yearly recap. Warped is one of my favorite things that happened every year and I'm so happy be living that part of my life again. 

This year was a little crazy. Pomona and San Diego weren't on different ends of the tour this year, they were both settled at the end of August two dates apart. I went to both (and squeezed in a Panic! at the Disco show in between. Yes, I am crazy. And tired.). I had a great time this year. Like, even better than last year. Like, I already miss it and wanna go back, but since I can’t I’m counting down the days until next year. It was fantastic. Kevin Lyman and the Warped crew decided this year needed to be simplified and have a return to form; all about the music. Fewer stages, no comedy tents, just good music. With that in mind, I’m going to try and just talk about music, and leave out all of the crazy personal hijinks I got into (I got into a lot of them. Shoutout to my homies Ruby, Brenda, Regina, and Darrel though. Love you guys!). 

I'm quite often a bit too ambitious when it comes to what I hope to get done at festivals, especially Warped. And the lineup this year was crazy good! Crazy good! 

Out of all of the bands playing, here’s who I hoped to see;; Atreyu, Broadside, Capsize?, Chelsea Grin*, Chunk! No, Captain Chunk, Crown the Empire*, Emarosa, Every Time I Die, Falling In Reverse, Four Year Strong, Ghost Town, I See Stars, Ice Nine Kills, In Hearts Wake*, Issues, Knuckle Puck, Less Than Jake*, Marina City?, Masked Intruder*, Mayday Parade, Mother Feather, Motionless In White, New Found Glory, Oceans At Alaska*, Old Wounds, Palaye Royale, Real Friends, Roam?, Set It Off, Sleeping With Sirens, State Champs, The Maine*, Tonight Alive*, Too Close To Touch, Vanna, Veil of Maya?, Wage War?, Waterparks, We The Kings?,Whitechapel?, With Confidence, Yellowcard, Young Guns* [my personal note taking key - *if there's time ? maaaaaaybe]

There was no way that was going to happen in one day. No way. But, I made a valiant effort. Here’s my final tally (I know there are things missing, because I spent a bunch of time just chilling at the Monster stage in Pomona).

San Diego; New Found Glory, Four Year Strong, Ice Nine Kills, Real Friends, Old Wounds, Masked Intruder, Yellowcard, State Champs, Palaye Royale, Vanna, The World Alive, I See Stars, Set It Off, ISSUES, Falling In Reverse, WATERPARKS, Motionless In White, Sleeping With Sirens 

My Pomona experience was a little wonky, because the entrance set up at this venue was incredibly disorganized. :/ The stages were also super close to each other and it was a little weird, but whatever.

Pomona; Sum 41, State Champs, Every Time I Die, Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!, Masked Intruder, Motionless In White, Omarosa, New Found Glory, Ice Nine Kills, Set It Off, Sleeping With Sirens, Volumes, Wake Flaka Flame, From Ashes to New, Issues

Overall; both days were great. However, San Diego had a better set up and it wasn’t as hot, so it was a bit more of an enjoyable experience. The bands were all on point this year. It was a week before the end of the tour, but no one was phoning it in. Every one put on a great set, hearts were it, the crowds were mostly really great. I met some super cute nice girls. It was nothing but positive vibes. I love being around other weird kids (or adults, because nothing like going to Warped at 28 to make you realize you’re not a fucking a teenager anymore). Throw in a Panic! concert in between both dates with some of my best girlfriends, and it was a weekend I will never fucking forget. (My phone died at Pomona half way through the day, and I'm having issues uploading videos. Lame, right? I'm going to try and cut something together later this week).  

Warped is over, and the summer is coming to a close, but that doesn't mean the scene is going into hibernation. There are some great tours/festivals coming around this fall. I have seen the majority of the bands listed below live, and if any of them were listed above, do not hesitate to go see them. They all put on one hell of a show.

Sleeping With Sirens, State Champs, Tonight Alive AND Waterparks (http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/sleeping_with_sirens_announce_tour_with_state_champs_tonight_alive_waterpar) 

The Wonder Years, Real Friends, Knuckle Puck, Moose Blood, AND Seaway (http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/the_wonder_years_real_friends_knuckle_puck_others_announce_tour)

Ice Nine Kills, Secrets, Sylar, Cover Your Tracks and Out Came The Wolves (http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/ap_presents_ice_nine_kills_tour_with_secrets_sylar_cover_your_tracks_out_ca)

Blink-182, A Day to Remember, All Time Low, and All American Rejects (http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/blink_182_announce_tour_with_a_day_to_remember_all_time_low_the_all_am)

Chain Fest (http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/coheed_and_cambria_circa_survive_underoath_headline_first_ever_chain_fest)

Beach Goth (http://beachgothfest.com)

Beartooth, Every Time I Die, Fit For A King, AND Old Wounds (http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/every_time_i_die_fit_for_a_king_old_wounds_touring_with_beartooth) 

Memphis May Fire, The Devil Wears Prada, Silverstein, Like Moths to Flames (http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/the_devil_wears_prada_announce_tour_with_memphis_may_fire_silverstein_like) 

Simple Plan, Hit the Lights, and Story Untold (http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/simple_plan_announce_tour_with_all_time_low_pvris) 

Pierce the Veil, Neck Deep, and I Prevail (http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/pierce_the_veil_neck_deep_more_announce_tour) 

Good Charlotte, The Story So Far, Set Your Goals, Four Year Strong, Hit The Lights, and Big Jesus (http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/good_charlotte_announce_tour_with_the_story_so_far_four_year_strong_others)

I Am Ghost (http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/i_am_ghost_announce_reunion_show)

Axilla, Chelsea Grin, Immure, and Sylar (http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/chelsea_grin_emmure_sylar_touring_with_attila) 

Asking Alexandria, I See Stars, Born of Osiris (http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/asking_alexandria_i_see_stars_born_of_osiris_others_announced_for_sumerian)

I miss seeing posts about Warped all over my social media every day. I wish I was back in the sun seeing my favorite bands and crying to my favorite songs. But, there's always next year!

I'm including my personal get pumped for Warped playlist.

Be back soon with more! We've got the August playlist coming, some more of my "words of wisdom", and quite possibly a vlog...maybe. Remember to follow me on social media, it's a more real time experience of what's up in my life (unless you are related to me - then stay FAR FAR away from my twitter). 

changing and growing always. xo. jordan.  

SDCC2016

Well, San Diego Comic Con ended just over a week ago and here I am now, back to real life, and ready with my annual SDCC wrap up. 2016 felt like I great follow up to 2015; fandom was back and comics reigned large and in charge. Last year I thought the con had refocused on general nerd themes; comic characters, fantasy and sci-fi in whatever form of media they take on, and that held true this year. The only caveat being; a lot of the larger properties are winding down/ending their run and most of the newer properties haven't found their voice/spot as one of the big ones. So, it was a quieter year - - 2012 was kinda like that.

If you're new here; let me do a quick bit of explaining. I have the best group of nerdy girl friends in the world and San Diego Comic Con is our yearly girls getaway trip. Sirose, Nicole, Kirsten, and I were joined by Katherine (remember her guest appearances from last year?), and our good friend and new convention attendee, Bethany. This year was #leslieknopecon2016 because we did nothing but celebrate strong female frienships and how much we adore each other. My life would be so different without these beautiful angel dolphins and I can't thank them enough for being my girls.

ANYWAY.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT PREVIEW NIGHT

Because our group was so large and spread out over Los Angeles county (and because of a cosplay emergency), we decided taking two cars was the best way to travel. Bethany and I departed together (because we live five minutes from each other). We enjoyed multiple Starbucks stops, Snapchatting ourselves singing Mindless Self Indulgence, and crappy ass traffic. We left LA at about 1:00 and didn't get to San Diego until about 4:15, and second to arrive. We met up with our girls in the parking lot of our hotel. We stayed at the San Diego Mission Marriot (where I actually stayed last year for Warped Tour). After unpacking, blowing up air mattresses, and several hugs, giving of gifts, and telling each other how pretty we all were, we got dressed and headed down to Preview Night. Bethany and Katherine had Preview Night badges, so they braved the Convention Hall floor, while the rest of us scoped out outdoor activities and ate out fill of sushi. Shoutout to Taka Sushi for reasonable prices and good portion sizes. We headed back to the hotel relatively early, prepared for Thursday and, got a decent night's sleep.

THURSDAY

We woke up early as possible, got dolled up, and headed out to wait in line for the Game of Thrones experience. This line. This damned line. We were in line between 9:45 and 10:15 and the line was already around the frigging block. People lined up at 6:00am. We split up; Katherine and Bethany to patrol the con floor, the rest of us in line. KD has the awesome idea to order Starbucks through the app and pick it up, so I did that and boy was it a good idea, because the line was Starbucks was also around the block. Oh, SDCC, never change. We tried to be as fair to each other as possible, and not leave each other stranded in line. Which, we kinda failed at at one point, because myself, Nicole, Bethany, and KD went to the Star Trek experience to see their new Mac collection and ended getting our faces BEAT by some Mac technicians. This Star Trek line is EVERYTHING. Make sure you get on it next month. By 3:00ish, we finally entered the GoT ecperience! Our main goal was pictures on the Iron Throne, which happened and we all looked FANTASTIC. THANK YOU, SIROSE FOR BEING OUR FIERCE, FABULOUS PHOTOGRAPHER. The rest of the experiencve wasn't as good as last year? Idk, I think I'm just bitter because there was no free shirt. We left GoT and were ready to partake in one of our favorite traditions, lunch at Dick's Last Resort. Only, Dick's Last Resort was closed for the weekend and had been turned into an Impractical Jokers experience. Needless to say, we were NOT HAPPY. We ended up at Old Spaghetti Factory, which is great, but they don't have veggie burgers. KD, Nicole, and I decided to hit the con floor, while the other girls went back to the hotel.

Let's talk about the Exhibitor Hall for a second.

It was really good this year, right?? The American Gods experience at Starz! The Stoop at Nickelodeon! The enamel pin trading at Marvel! The Comic Con exclusives at Tsum Tsum! I was way into it. Did anyone else notice that this year was way more focused on "experiences" and not swag?

We did a few laps around the Exhibitors Hall. I ran into two very good friends and former co-workers Dominic and Kamron, and we chatted about life and the excitement and craziness that is SDCC. We headed back to our hotel room, met up with the other girl, poured a few drink, enjoyed some snacks, ordered Carne Asada Fries that actually had fries this year, sang along to a great playlist of our late 90s and early 00s favorites, until our neighbors knocked on the door and we all got scared and basically went to bed.

FRIDAY

Friday was another day full of excitement and craziness. Nicole and Bethany did an adorable Daria cosplay, and left early with KD to score some con exclusives. I went out to enjoy some of the outdoor activities, while Sirose caught some panels, and Katherine did an awesome Silk cosplay.

The outdoor events. Hmmmm... We never actually made it over to PetCo Park for Nerd HQ, partially because there wasn't much last year. The events in the parking lot by PetCo were really lackluster this year and there wasn't a Totino's truck. :( However, the Southpark celebration was totally rad! I spent a nice part of the morning in the Hulu/Southpark lounge, because it was air conditioned and who doesn't love a few episodes of Southpark? This Comic Con was the hottest Comic Con I've ever experienced and I did not appreciate it. Not even a little bit.

We met up for lunch, and goddamnit, Dick's was still closed!! We ended up at a Mexican cantina in the Gaslamp, which was actually really good, and they had drink specials. While waiting for lunch, I ran into a really good friend and sorority sister, Keiki, who invited us to a party (and it turns out Katherine was already planning on going to said party). A few of us went back to the room to freshen up, I thought I took a secret nap, but it turns out my friends totally knew I was asleep and then we headed out for the Mission: Comic Con party.

I'd never been to a post Comic-Con party and thought I'd been missing something. Well...a party is a party. It was great! But, it was kinda like going out in LA on a weekend, only with more costumes. Because Keiki's company was hosting the event she was able to score us a VIP table (until the Power Rangers showed up, because the table actually belonged to them). We had a few drinks, we met a few creepy guys, we played some Pokemon Go, and then we headed home. We also had another girl walk to the shuttle with us, as we held hands, because no one gets left behind and it's not safe to go alone.

(Sidenote: We hung out with Nicole's boyfriend Jeff a bunch, and we're all super proud of him because he was nominated for an Eisner and plus, because he's one half of the cutest couple ever).

We headed to bed early, because Saturday was going to be a BIG day.

SATURDAY

So. There's a lot I don't remember about Saturday, because it went by in a BLUR. It was our cosplay day!!!

We'd been planning, and then not planning, and totally planning this cosplay for a little under a year, we thought it up last year and thought it would be great for us...we were the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask!

Upsides; we had so much fun and were all the cutest ever, and got AMAZING photos care of Strawberry Avalanche photography.

Downside; people can be really really rude to cosplayers.

We literally could not walk two feet without being mobbed and having out photo taken. A lot of times people didn't ask. And the few times we denied requests or just to rush past, because were thirsty/hungry/hot, people were not very respectful of our needs as humans.

BE NICE TO COSPLAYERS.

ANYWAY. Basically, all we did that day was take pictures, but we were the cutest, so it was worth it. (I also ran into two of my new co-workers and homies, Brandi and Kelsie, who also had some awesome cosplay going). We split up, so we could leave peacefully, and get food. It was Thai food night. We feasted on Thai food, hung out at our hotel pool, had some drinks (my Snapchat story was out of control that night), ordered pizza, and finally passed out.

SUNDAY

We rose early on Sunday so we could pack up the hotel room. It was definitely a struggle, but we definitely made it happen. After that we had to go through our next tradition; Irish breakfast at Dublin Square! We all enjoyed a hearty Irish meal, adult breakfast beverages, and selfies. We split up to our last minute shopping, con floor activities, and planned to meet up at the Adult Swim on the Green. We retracted that plan, however. Once KD, Bethany, and I got there, we found out the green was kinda lame this year. So, we packed it in and headed to our last stop and our final end of SDCC tradition, buritos from Lucha Libre. Our two cars met at the taco shop, picked up our food, and headed to what the GPS said was a park, but was actually a residential area. So, we ate our buritos on the sidewalk, said our fond and sad goodbyes, and headed home. Bethany and I made it back in about 3 hours, which isn't bad for post Comic Con traffic.

Now, to the media. I've broken it down into three easy catergories, Yay! (Stuff I'm super stoked on and can't wait for more of), No! (Things that I'm not exicted about), and Huh? (Stuff that I don't know how to feel about.

Yay!

Suicide Squad, Justice League, Wonder Woman;; the footage from these movies looks good so far and I'm cautiously optimistic that DCCU has learned from Batman vs. Superman 

Legion;; This show looks really good and I'm excited for X-Men media that isn't related to the Fox films, although nothing will top the Fox cartoon. 

American Gods;; I love Neil Caiman and I'm so here for this. 

Game of Thrones;; SHIT IS ABOUT TO GO DOWN IN WESTEROA

Once Upon a Time;; I don't know how I feel about this show right now. Especially all they've done to Regina and how they have a habit of killing off/ignoring my favorite characters, but this past season had some high notes (particularly Ruby/Dorothy), so we'll see. I'm happy they're ditching the season 6a/6b format this year. 

Steven Universe - OH MAN. This panel was amazing, even if nothing was revealed. I can't gush enough about this show and the way it handles nuanced subjects, built a world, the artwork and voice acting, the detailed storytelling. I just wish Cartoon Network would give it a more regular release schedule. 

Luke Cage - While I was ambivalent about Daredevil, I LOVED Jessica Jones. The trailer for this was great, so I'll be watching. 

Captain Marvel - I've loved Brie Larson since United States of Tara. Couldn't be more hyped for this. 

Flash - pretty excited to see how they handle the Flashpoint story. 

Star Trek: Discovery - new Star Trek. What's not to love?! 

King Arthur by Guy Ritchie - I don't think the masses will like this, but I'm all about it. 

Flatliners Sequel - KEIFER. SUTHERLAND. that is all. 

New Comics I'll Be Looking At - Backstagers, Kim and Kim, Spell on Wheels, Pink Ranger, Betty and Veronica

No!

Dr. Strange - Tilda Swintin eeallly turns me off in this movie. 

Tower of Terror goes Guardians of the Galaxy - I'm annual pass holder and a lifelong lover of Disney and The Twilight Zone. I basically cried when they announced this ride was coming to California. I'm really upset about this. 

Huh?

Kong: Skull Island - What is this? I don't get it. 

Gotham - This show. I can't even. 

American Horror Story - We know nothing about this next season and idk if that's good or bad. Plus, I really don't like Ryan Murphy. 

And that's it for this year, folks! I'll be back to the blog in a week or two, and I'm not sure what my next con is. I have to sit out ScareLA this year :( and I haven't made a ton of plans for the fall into next year, yet.  

Xo

#SDCC2015

I love comics. I love conventions. Ergo, I love San Diego Comic Con. I've gone every year for the past five years.  I've had great con experiences, I've had horrible con experiences. This isn't a guide to how to do Comic Con; just me sounding off on a plan that has worked for me for the past two years, highlighting the great time I had this year, and talking about some new media that I'm excited about. 

This has been one of the best SDCC’s I’ve been to. 2013/2014 felt a bit lame and had all of the geeks complaining about the crowdedness, commercializing and non-nerdiness of the con. Hollywood had taken over. Their complaints weren’t entirely ungrounded and I’ve complained myself quite a few times about how The Twilight Saga ruined the Con. In fact, my group really didn’t plan on going until the week before badge sales. Well, this year felt like a real return to form, and now we’re all really excited for next year. The Con has refocused on general nerd themes; comic characters, fantasy and sci-fi in whatever form of media they take on. It was a great year. Let’s get to it. 

I said this wasn’t going to really be a guide, but there’s one cardinal rule that I will stress right now; 

1) Go with a great group of people. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART. Like any other trip or vacation or general life experience, your relationships influence it. I have gone to Comic Con with my brother (good times), I’ve gone with friends that I’m no longer friends with (not that the con really had anything to do with that…), but for the past two years I’ve gone with my #nerdgirlgang. I met my friend Sirose at a show in high school; we were both emo girls with colored hair and permanent scowls. We remained friends via the internet, but were always too shy to really reach other to one another and hang, even though we worked down the block from each other for a year. Last year she sounded the horn and asked if anyone was interested in a group cosplay; it was a brilliant scheme to amass more geeky girlfriends. Myself, her, her childhood friend Kirsten, and a mutual friend Nicole became The Powerpuff Girls and Professor Utonium and have never looked back. 

(L-R; Nicole, Sirose, Yours Truly, Kirsten)

We have shared interests (comics, anime, music, creeping on beautiful people, eating, talking about bowel movements…the usual girly things), we understand each other’s quirks (I sleep in a satin bonnet, Sirose likes white noise before bed), and we mostly have a great time in each other’s company. So, now that you’ve amassed your crew, there’s the con itself.

PREVIEW NIGHT

I have skipped Preview Night every year, but one (2012), because the year when I did it, it didn’t feel like anything special. They previewed a few pilots for new television shows, and the exhibitor hall was open. But, it was still crazy crowded, half the exhibitors weren’t hooked up to the wifi and couldn’t use Square, so shopping was bunk, and it just didn’t have that loving feeling for me. Plus, all of us have jobs/work and getting 3-4 days off from work in a row usually isn’t that easy. So, Preview Night…I’m sure some people like it, but I don’t find it necessary to partake.

THURSDAY

Our Thursday started with the drive from Los Angeles to San Diego. I have both driven and taken the train and I find they have equal benefits if you’re with the right people. Fifteen minutes into the drive we were laughing and already talking Harry Potter, so we knew this trip was going to be made of magic. I tweeted when we passed the boobs (if you’ve driven from LA to SD you know what I’m talking about), we drank boba, and there was a requisite Jason Derulo sing-a-long once we hit San Diego County (Seriously, Want to Want Me is one of the best pop songs of the past three years). We left LA at 11:30ish, and with one bathroom break, made it to San Diego at 1:30ish. So, traffic really wasn’t that bad. We checked into our hotel, The San Diego Courtside Marriot in Mission Inn (it’s seriously a lovely hotel, with a great staff, and fabulous amenities - I highly recommend it and would stay there again) and had a few drinks before heading out. Yes, drinks. We treat Comic Con as our girls get away weekend, so they sake, whiskey, rum, and champagne were free flowing all weekend. The shit talking started as soon as we got in the car, and if tried to remember all of the ridiculousness that was said, this write up wouldn’t be done for three weeks; but here’s a highlight;

Kirsten: Like, you see someone pretty and they put on makeup and get prettier?

Me: Sometimes I think that about myself that in the morning.

Me: We are not spending money on booze, we can spend it on comics!

We left the hotel and headed to the convention center to pick up our badges and get our feel for the lay of the land. We did not get Thursday badges. This was partially because the waiting room is a bitch (no, I don’t have any tips on how to navigate that), and partially because we weren’t even that hot on going this year. So we grabbed badges for the days that we had them, and engaged in one of our favorite pastimes; people watching. We saw some great cosplay (wait for that at the bottom), and we saw some very beautiful men. We like the beautiful men a lot. I took a hilarious picture with the street team from Another Period, and I got my dreams of becoming a shark crushed when the Sharknado 3 street team would not tell me where I could score an awesome shark dress. After a hilarious dinner at our one of favorite eateries; Dick’s Last Resort, we headed back down to convention center for more people watching. We saw what we thought was going to be a flashmob of guys dressed like the titular character from the Hitman game franchise, but just turned out to be an elaborate photo op. There was a lot of that this weekend. Hey guys, in the future, fewer weird photo ops, more flash mobs. It was basically a simple day and when we got back to our hotel there were a group of ladies playing bagpipes, and it didn’t make sense then, but it did later. We asked if they took requests and asked for the Game of the Thrones theme, but they didn’t hear us. 

FRIDAY

We didn’t get Friday badges either. This was a concentrated part of the plan, to at least skip one day and go badge free. Why, you ask? Well, here’s the thing. Panels. I say, unless it is your absolutely favorite show/fandom ever, you have never been to a panel, and you really think shit is going to go down, and/or it is smaller and not happening in Ballroom 20/Hall H skip the panel. The majority of the material will end up on the internet within a few hours and you’ll be able to catch up later. If you choose to go to the panel (Ballroom 20/Hall H specifically), you will be foregoing sleep, comfort, and the rest of the convention, because going to panels is not an easy 30 minutes and then you walk away ordeal. It’s a wake up at the crack of dawn, get in line, wait in line, maybe you get into the room, maybe you don’t, probably sit through something you don’t care about, fight your way to the front seat, and then it happens, and then it’s over, the exhibitor hall is almost closed, and you’re hungry/exhausted kinda deal. I only regretted this move with the Star Wars: The Force Awakens Panel, because….duh, free concert and lightsabers? Ugh. The second part of that decision was made because of the outside activities. Every year several outside activities are set up behind the convention center, at PetCo Park, across from PetCo Park, and in the Gaslamp. There’s so much, it’s hard to get to it all. Friday is usually the best day to do it, so that’s what we did Friday.

Friday highlights included; The Heroes Reborn experience which was a basically a long trailer and a rad photo op, The Fear the Walking Dead set walk through with virtual graffiti (where I virtually spray painted a dick on the wall, because I’m a 14 year old boy at heart), free Ice Cream from the street team for Scream Queens where you also got to shoot a .gif with your friends (or a creepy old man in our case who  wouldn’t leave us alone in line and we had to push out of our .gif), and an inflatable dog house promoting The Peanuts, where we got to play with real actual beagles. I have to say this year, the free swag was much better. There was actually useful things like ice cream, bottled water, popsicles, umbrellas, hats, sunglasses, flashlights, keychains, and t-shirts. You didn’t have to scavenger hunt, tweet or hashtag things or give away your firstborns’ personal information like the past two years. There was even a truck giving out free Totino’s Pizza Rolls (and I might have gotten back in line there 3-4 times)! Every year across from the convention center Assassin’s Creed has constructed an obstacle course that I have wanted to do every year. I’m a peripheral Assassin’s Creed fan, having played the games with my brother and ex-boyfriend, but mostly I just like to pretend I’m a badass and jump over shit. However, the past four years I’ve lacked the confidence, physical awareness, and friend support to actually do said obstacle course. Well, this year we walked past, the line was only 30 minutes, and my girls had my back. I made that course my bitch, except for the part where I might’ve jumped too early and the one part where I kinda fell. But, whatever! You try doing an obstacle course in skinny jeans and creepers! We saw Josh Holloway ride pass us in an open air bus thing, promoting his new show Colony, which I have no clue what it’s about, but I loved him as Sawyer on Lost so I swooned, regardless. As we were heading to PetCo Park to take part in the Nerdist offerings, Blake Anderson from Workaholics walked past us, and I legitimately stopped breathing and then yelled my love for him, despite his status as a married man, at his retreating back. I’m such a classy lady, I know. Then, there was a group of beautiful buff men walking around in kilts promoting Outlander, and they were being followed by people playing bagpipes! It all came together. The Nerdist had some fun photo ops, and some awesome merchandise for Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls (I love Amy Poehler; she is all I want to be - - her and a shark). 

After running around all day, we ordered some to-go Thai, and headed to our friend Katherine’s hotel room. Katherine is one of the raddest women I’ve ever met; she’s an artist, a baker, an expert cosplayer, and generally the sweetest person ever. She was Him, the year we were The Powerpuff Girls and it’s been love ever since. We ate dinner together, drank a case of Smirnoff Ice’s, kinda played Cards Against Humanity, watched random youtube videos (including our favorite video ever - Drunk Girls by Chris D’Elia - that we force everyone to watch when we drink), and witnessed Katherine’s amazing bff, Jonny, give a twerking lesson.

I don’t advise against hanging out in The Gaslamp at night. It’s actually a ton of fun. The Gaslamp has a hot club/bar scene and it’s especially funny during Comic Con, because San Diego bros meet SDCC nerds. But, we just weren’t feeling it this year. I think the older you get, the more drinking at home and knowing where your bed is becomes appealing.

SATURDAY

Okay, Saturday. We had badges! But, um…we only used them for two hours. You see, we decided to give up our day to wait in line for the Game of Thrones experience. We are HUGE Game of Thrones fans. We generally have Game of Thrones parties at least three times during the season, we text about it in between episodes, we quote it to each other daily. We are Games of Thrones people and none of us had ever done the experience because the line is always way too long. Since we hadn’t ever done it, and because the experience will only happen for two more years, because we only have two more years of show, we had to. We got in line at 9:30, it didn’t open until 11:00, and the line was already around the block. The line was CRAZY. I took a slight detour from the line, to get a Peanuts trucker hat, and omg, the lines for the outside/free to the public stuff on Saturdays and Sundays is THE WORST. But, I got to run into my main, Annelisa, so it was totally worth it. There was a great give away for X-Men: Apocalypse, and they had these awesome canvas totes, that they would not give to me. While we waited in line I talked to my favorite youtuber/producer/writer/actor Issa Rae, and it was everything to me. I encountered the busiest SubWay I have ever seen and never experienced so much anxiety over a sandwich. A pizza truck pulled up next to the GoT line and started selling personal pies out of the back. The lady behind us had the funniest laugh I’ve ever heard, and I could not record it, despite valiant efforts. We finally got in at 2:00. That’s right, 2:00 pm. I hate to say it, but it was pretty disappointing. It was mostly photo ops (which are a great giveaway, because they’re a personalized moment), but I expected more? The photos didn’t even turn out that great, tbh. They had a few costumes from the most recent season, and the most important part, taking a picture with The Iron Throne. However, right when we braved through and got to The Iron Throne, they stopped the line so a newscaster could film a story. We were so irritated at that point, Sirose and I, literally stood there and said “SHAME” over and over during her segment (if you’re caught up you totally get the reference and know we’re hilarious assholes). 

After that, it was into the con. We saw two great cosplays I couldn’t get pictures of; Lego Heisenberg, and what we dubbed BoJack Stormtrooper - a guy in a Stormtropper uniform with a horse head mask on. Our friend George, had met up with us for the day, and he hilariously asked for selfies with nearly every cosplayer he saw. The exhibitor hall was set up very much like previous years. I really enjoyed what Weta had set up, as I always do. Hasbro and Mattel did amazingly again. Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon were fun. DC, Marvel, Image and Boom were as expected. We only had < three hours to see the exhibitor hall before it closed, and we were on a mission to find a crucial item for our cosplay the next day. We did multiple laps at high speeds, couldn’t find it, almost gave up, and then 30 minutes before the hall closed, we saw a teen boy with it on, I accosted him, and we found it! Celebrations all around, and then back to the hotel.

Nicole was absent that day to attend to a family matter, so we decided to surprise her with a pizza party when she came back. We mixed several drinks. Katherine and Jonny came over to party with us. My two cents about the pizza fiasco can be summed up in the following tweet; .

this is only my second yelp review, and i have no regrets

We ended the night singing “Baby” by Justin Bieber, talking about Japanese Dating Sims, almost stopping an elevator because we were all twerking in it, crashing a “for singles” party in the ballroom of our hotel that had already ended, and being kicked out of the empty ballroom. 

SUNDAY

The final day of the con, and our cosplay day.  

(Bob’s Burgers realness!)

We usually cosplay on Saturday, but because Nicole was absent we changed days. We have started a tradition of having breakfast at Dublin Square and having cheap mimosas to get us jolly for a day of running around in character. This year, the brunch special apparently didn’t apply, even though the sign was posted for brunch and drink specials outside…so be careful? I still recommend them because the food is EXCELLENT, our server was understanding and applied the special for us anyway, and holy crap they make a boss Bloody Mary.  Our cosplay was wildly successful, and we were even instagrammed by the animation studio behind Bob’s Burgers, Bentoboxent. We had tons of pictures taken. We ran around doing our last minute shopping, like everyone else. If you forego preview night, Sunday is usually the best day to go shopping at the Con (unless you want a popular exclusive item, then I recommend trying that on Friday morning). After we had our fill in the exhibitor hall, we went to the Adult Swim carnival. Adult Swim always has something fun and wild going on outside. This was the second year they had the Meatwad dome, and it made me very happy, as I love Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and it’s ending. 

By 4:40, we were all tired and worn out. We went back to the hotel, grabbed the car, and began the journey home. It wouldn’t be a road trip without getting lost, and we definitely did that on the way to Luche Libre Taco Shop. Stopping at Luche Libre before heading back to LA has also become tradition. I can’t recommend it enough. We always order one for the road, and usually extras to take home to friends and family. We ordered 13 burritos, total. Our order got confused, and the lovely manager let us sit in the special Champions Booth while they fixed! Totally a dream come true; I’ve wanted to sit in that Champions Booth since I heard of Luche Libre three years ago. The drive home was relatively easy and even with heavier leaving Comic Con traffic, it was only three hours. I fell asleep on part of the ride, and apparently all I missed was a conversation about fan fiction, which sounds typical for my girls. My leg of the trip ended in the most perfect way; a Taylor Swift sing-a-long; because Shake It Off was made for group singing loudly. 

And that was my #SDCC2015! 

Things that I’m looking forward to, coming out of #SDCC2015; 

The Visit - M. Night  Shyamalan’s newest offering. I wouldn’t really call myself an M. Night Shyamalan fan (I loved The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and The Village), but I am always intrigued by his work, so I’ll see this for sure. [The Visit - Official Trailer (HD) - YouTube]

Suicide Squad - Okay, I wasn’t a fan of Suicide Sqaud the comic; mostly because of Harley Quinn and how I feel they bastardized her character. So I definitely wasn’t on board with the movie, and I’m still not, and I still know I’m going to see it anyway. I love Viola Davis and think she’s a perfect Amanda Waller. I’m not here for Harley (even though Margot Robbie is great casting and I’d probably love her as any other incarnation of Harley). Will Smith doesn’t look like he’s giving his best work. I love Jai Courtney. And shockingly, I actually am all about Jared Leto’s Joker, shitty tattoos and all. [Suicide Squad - Comic-Con First Look [HD]]

The Flash Season Two - I really enjoyed the first season and can’t wait for more.  [The Flash Video - Power Outage | Watch Online ... - The CW]

Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice - I didn’t really love the first Superman movie, and I feel like DC is really trying to catch up to Marvel in terms of film franchises, so I’m really skeptical about this movie. I love Ben Affleck, and seeing him on screen just lights me up. I think he’s going to make a brilliant Batman, but how many characters does this movie have? How many plotlines are there? Batman and Superman are going to go from warring to being in the Justice League in one two hour movie? Oh, you threw in Wonder Woman because everyone was pissed that you always shit on her and forget about her (she looks fab in the trailer though). Jesse Eisenberg looks great as Luthor, but idk man. I just don’t know. I’m going to see it anyway though. [Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Comic-Con Trailer [HD]]

More issues of Lumberjanes, Archie, Bitch Planet, Batgirl, and Gotham Academy. [Lumberjanes #01 (Cover A) - BOOM! Studios - Come …] [Archie Comics] [Series | Bitch Planet | Image Comics][BATGIRL #44 | DC Comics] [GOTHAM ACADEMY #7 | DC Comics]

Hand of God - a new Amazon show starring Ron Perlman handing out vigilante justice. [Hand of God (TV Series 2014– ) - IMDb]

Fantastic Four - I loved Chronicle and think Josh Trank is brilliant. I cannot wait to see what he does, especially since the trailer was so good. Also, I’ll watch almost anything with Michael B. Jordan. [Fantastic Four Official Trailer #1 (2015) - Miles Teller …]

Gotham Season Two - This show definitely had it’s issues, and I feel like I shouldn’t enjoy it as much as I do, but I’m ready. [Gotham | Latest Buzz - Fox]

Blindspot- The plot of this show reminds me of something else that I can’t put my finger on, but I like Greg Berlanti’s other shows, so I’m going to give it a shot. [Blindspot - NBC.com]

Deadpool - I’m all for Ryan Reynolds (ever since Two Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Place), and I love that they’re staying so true to the source material and releasing a movie with a hard R rating. [The Leaked Deadpool Trailer Is Out and You Need To …]

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - I bought the book the week it came out. Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite books. Zombies are zombies. I am here for this. [Lily James & Matt Smith Debut 'Pride & Prejudice & Zombies' Trailer at Comic-Con 2015]

Ash vs. Evil Dead - I’m a peripheral Evil Dead fan, and this seems like it could be fun. [Ash vs Evil Dead (TV Series 2015– ) - IMDb]

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Pt. 2 - I love the books, I love the movie, I love JLaw. And plus, Gwendolyn Christie! [The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 Teaser Trailer – 'Join …]

The Hateful Eight  - I am a HUGE Tarantino fan. Huge. I can’t wait. He says it’s his favorite since Kill Bill and I LOVE Kill Bill. [Quentin Tarantino Delivers Mind-Blowing Look At 'Hateful Eight' – Comic Con]

Crimson Peak - So, this looks like The Haunting, but with del Toro’s amazing visuals and casting and budget, so I want it. Tom Hiddleston. That is all. [Crimson Peak - Official Theatrical Trailer [HD] - YouTube]

Once Upon A Time Season Five - Except for the Frozen stuff, and the fate of my bb Neal, I will stan for this show FOREVER.[[VIDEO] 'Once Upon a Time' Season 5: Dark Swan Emma Spoilers from Jennifer Morrison]

Heroes Reborn - JJ Abrams is the mind behind my favorite television show of all time, Alias, so I will basically devote time to anything he does, even if it gets weird in the middle, because he’s left it. I really liked the first Heroes, and nostalgia is in right now, so we’ll see.[Heroes Reborn On NBC - NBC.com‎]

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - I don’t even have to explain this, do I? [Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Movie Trailers - iTunes]

X-Men: Apocalypse - I love X-Men and really enjoyed Days of Future Past. [Here are all the new characters introduced in the leaked 'X-Men’ trailer]

American Horror Story: Hotel and Scream Queen - I just can’t quit you, Ryan Murphy.[American Horror Story: Hotel - Official Teaser Trailer (2015) Lady Gaga | Horror TV Series HD] [SCREAM QUEENS | Official Trailer - YouTube]

Also, I don’t know how old this is, but I just found out about it this weekend so enjoy [Thundercats Movie trailer (fan made) - YouTube] I love Thundercats (in fact I have all of the material for a Cheetara cosplay that I haven’t finished), I even liked the new cartoon that came out a few years back. I know a movie will probably be shit, but I still want it. 

And finally; here are some pictures of some of the ridiculously rad cosplay I saw: