Sigh. How have I neglected this blog for so long?
Okay, time to catch up a bit on what's going on around here.
First off, I'm preggers again! Which is pretty much why I haven't blogged here much. Between running around after almost-two Dano and the whole pregnancy thing, I've fallen behind on lots of stuff, this blog included. Oops. I'm 18 weeks along right now, and going to have an ultrasound next week, so should be finding out what this little Jellybean is then.
This year's Combat! fanfic-writers' Recon, dubbed Rebelcon, was awesome. It was in NC, so you know I loved that, and we had lots of fun together as usual.
Haven't been to a movie theater since my previous post, so nothing new to write about there. Just nothing out right now that I want to see. Hate that late-summer/early-fall slump.
And my creativity is sorely lacking while I'm pregnant (it was last time around too), so I haven't been writing much either. Until now -- these last few days, I'm suddenly back into it again, and working on revising the three Combat! stories I wrote for NaNoWriMo last year. Pretty jazzed about that, so hoping this will continue for a while.
My craft store is still around, and I'm doing three craft shows this fall with my merch from it. Actually, the first one was on Saturday and was pretty disappointing, so not going there, thanks anyway.
I'll try to blog more often in the future, honest!
...revealing my thoughts about movies, writing, and life to the audience...
Showing posts with label Recon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recon. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Dano and I are home from our big adventure. We spent the 7th through the 11th with Cowboy's parents, Banana, her Papoose, and Noumenon. Dano got to know his grandparents a little, and he and his cousin got along very nicely. He and I also went to visit ED and spent the night at her sweet little house. Man, do I miss living near her! We had so much fun going to a coffee shop, eating lunch at a drive-in, browsing her library, and watching a couple of movies. Good times.
On Wednesday, the 11th, DKoren picked us up in a rental car, and we drove off to our friend DocB's home for this year's Combat! fanfic Recon, dubbed Reconlan for reasons you will soon learn. We drove about 3 hours that night before stopping.
On Thursday, we drove about seven hours, arriving at DocB's around 4:30pm. The only squaddie to arrive before us was BQ, who had helped DocB decorate the front hall with USO banners and WWII posters. They also lined DocB's driveway with tiny USO flags so we'd have an easier time figuring out which house was hers. Other squaddies arrived throughout the afternoon and evening, including one all the way from Australia! We watched a C! ep in the evening, and when I sacked out at 12:45, the partying was still going strong.
On Friday, the rest of the squaddies arrived, including the Canada contingent. We spent most of the day just hanging out and watching a post-C! Vic Morrow movie called Target Harry that was surprisingly good. Dano adjusted to his new surroundings and started getting to know his new friends.
On Saturday morning, we cleaned up our HQ and got ready for our Guests of Honor, Conlan
and Betty Carter. Yes, we got to meet the man who played Doc! He and his wife arrived around noon, and after spending an hour or so answering our myriad questions, he had lunch with us. Then he autographed our fanzines and anything else we proferred (such as my official Reconlan t-shirt, which was designed by Dimples)(yes, I was wearing it at the time). We kind of expected he would leave then, but he sat down in the living room again and visited with us until 6pm!!! He and his wife were both gracious and lovely, and I am honored to have met them both.
That evening, we played Combat! Trivial Pursuit and bid on all kinds of C! memorabilia Jen was auctioning off. I won a bunch of awesome photos, including one from my most favoritest ep ever, "Walking Wounded," and a spent shell casing from Franklin Canyon!
On Sunday, we watched a post-C! Rick Jason movie called Eagles Attack at Dawn (which took place entirely at night) and visited a militaria collectibles shop, where all I bought was a Bobbsey Twins book, go figure. We also went to Walmart and pooled our resources to buy gifts for some British troops that DocB befriended while in Iraq.
Quite a few squaddies headed out Sunday evening, but a few (including DKoren, Dano, and I) stuck around until Monday. Then we three drove to the airport and went our separate ways.
I think this was the best Recon yet! Atlanta was great, because I got to meet a lot of my fellow squaddies for the first time. LA was loads of fun, what with meeting Pierre Jalbert and tramping around Franklin canyon. But this one trumped them all, and not just because we spent six hours with Conlan Carter. For four days, I basically lived in a Combat! commune, surrounded by friends and having fun nearly every second of the day. It rocked! And we even managed not to trash DocB's house... much ;-)
On Wednesday, the 11th, DKoren picked us up in a rental car, and we drove off to our friend DocB's home for this year's Combat! fanfic Recon, dubbed Reconlan for reasons you will soon learn. We drove about 3 hours that night before stopping.
On Thursday, we drove about seven hours, arriving at DocB's around 4:30pm. The only squaddie to arrive before us was BQ, who had helped DocB decorate the front hall with USO banners and WWII posters. They also lined DocB's driveway with tiny USO flags so we'd have an easier time figuring out which house was hers. Other squaddies arrived throughout the afternoon and evening, including one all the way from Australia! We watched a C! ep in the evening, and when I sacked out at 12:45, the partying was still going strong.
On Friday, the rest of the squaddies arrived, including the Canada contingent. We spent most of the day just hanging out and watching a post-C! Vic Morrow movie called Target Harry that was surprisingly good. Dano adjusted to his new surroundings and started getting to know his new friends.
On Saturday morning, we cleaned up our HQ and got ready for our Guests of Honor, Conlan
That evening, we played Combat! Trivial Pursuit and bid on all kinds of C! memorabilia Jen was auctioning off. I won a bunch of awesome photos, including one from my most favoritest ep ever, "Walking Wounded," and a spent shell casing from Franklin Canyon!
On Sunday, we watched a post-C! Rick Jason movie called Eagles Attack at Dawn (which took place entirely at night) and visited a militaria collectibles shop, where all I bought was a Bobbsey Twins book, go figure. We also went to Walmart and pooled our resources to buy gifts for some British troops that DocB befriended while in Iraq.
Quite a few squaddies headed out Sunday evening, but a few (including DKoren, Dano, and I) stuck around until Monday. Then we three drove to the airport and went our separate ways.
I think this was the best Recon yet! Atlanta was great, because I got to meet a lot of my fellow squaddies for the first time. LA was loads of fun, what with meeting Pierre Jalbert and tramping around Franklin canyon. But this one trumped them all, and not just because we spent six hours with Conlan Carter. For four days, I basically lived in a Combat! commune, surrounded by friends and having fun nearly every second of the day. It rocked! And we even managed not to trash DocB's house... much ;-)
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Well, I'm back home again. Which is great, as I was really missing Cowboy for the last few days of our week apart, although tonight he's at work and I'm missing him again and suffering from the post-vacation blues. Anyway, here's a day-by-day rundown of the California half of my vacation:
I landed at LAX on Friday, where DKoren picked me up, and we headed off to the Pink Palace, aka a Days Inn in Santa Monica. There we met up with our fellow Reconites, four of them newbies and the other six veterans like us (aka they were at last year's Recon.) They threw a Combat!-themed baby shower for me that night -- you wouldn't believe how much camo baby stuff they managed to find! And we played this fun new board game that DKoren created. It's based on "the baby episode," aka "One More for the Road," and basically follows the path of the ep, with places where you have to answer trivia questions about the ep and others where something from the ep happens and you can get penalized or rewarded (eg "Doc revives baby, go ahead one space" or "Stroback gets killed by a mine, go back to start.") It was highly fun, and I actually won by the skin of my teeth :-D
On Saturday, we went to Franklin Canyon, where parts of many eps were filmed, and guess who met up with us there for a little while? Pierre Jalbert, aka Caje! He lives not too far away and is friends with a couple of us Reconites, and they asked if he'd come meet the rest of us, and he did! Totally unexpected and awesome. He's waaaay cool, still all trim and wiry even tho he's in his 80s. Told us several fun stories about behind-the-scenes stuff from Combat! and let us take our pictures with him, etc. When I get a chance, aka when I get them developed and scanned in to my computer, I'll try to post some pics from the whole week.
Anyway, after Pierre left, we went on a tour of Franklin locations led by none other than Dodger and Green Recruit! We used to call Dodger "Mr. E-head" which stood for "Mr. Encyclopedia-Head" -- he has an amazing knowledge of WWII history. Then for lunch, we had real MREs! And they weren't bad! And I'm not just saying that because I'm pregnant and hungry a lot, hee.
On Sunday, we drove to a couple of cemeteries and visited the ashes of Rick Jason (aka Lt. Hanley) and the grave of Vic Morrow (aka Sgt. Saunders). We tried to go to the beach, but it was just too crowded, so we went back to the Pink Palace and played C! Trivial Pursuit instead.
And on Monday, we all left. DKoren and I headed up into the hills above Hollywood to see if we could find Rudolf Valentino's home, Falcon Lair. We found it all right, at the top of a steep, narrow, twisty road. I shudder to think of Rudy with his terrible eyesight driving up and down that thing in his big cars. Anyway, I took some dvd footage of the gateposts, which are still the originals with the name on them, although the great wrought-iron gates of Rudy's time have been replaced by black board ones you can't see through. So then Deb took my photo by the gateposts, but I must have gotten to close to them, because this crabby bald man came running out from around the corner and yelled, "This is private property! You're setting off alarms!" We'd seen what we wanted to see anyway, so we left, although I'm pretty sure that a sign posted on the fence beside the gates that says "No Trespassing" means that you can't go beyond that fence, not that you can't stand in the road outside the gates. Especially since the road was not marked "Private Drive" (and there were lots of other houses on the same road). Whatever.
Anyway, we drove out to Paramount Ranch next, where they've filmed lots and lots of westerns, and also where they filmed the town for Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. The church is gone, though the bridge near it is still there, and the tree where Grace had her outdoor cafe is there too. But we didn't get to look at all the buildings and walk down the streets like we wanted to because some small production was actually filming there! But we got to eat our lunch on a picnic bench under a tree a ways away from the action and watch them a little, so that was exciting. From there, we headed up to DKoren's new house, which she just bought and isn't yet unpacked in. We ate supper at her sister's house, which is right next door.
On Tuesday, we went digital-camera hunting, moved some of DKoren's stuff into the house from her yard, and hung out with her family next door.
On Wednesday, we drove up into the Sierra to visit DKoren's parents. We made a bunch of cool stops along the way. First, we tried to find this vineyard that was used as a set in a C! ep, but alas, it's been refaced and renovated and turned into a business complex. From there, we drove out into the Mojave Desert, which DKoren kept calling "boring" and "ugly," but which I thought was really pretty in a rugged way, and a nice relief from the ultra-populated cities we'd been in up to then. You're supposed to have really awesome views of the mountains as you drive up into them, but because of the huge fire over in Santa Barbara, we could barely see the mountains because they were obscured by a thick haze of smoke. But that's okay. I got to see some cool lava flows and cinder cones along the way.
Our next stop was Red Rock Canyon, where they filmed lots of old westerns, both movies and TV shows. We walked around a little, but it was too hot to go exploring much. I think I got some nifty pics tho.
From there, we headed to a western film museum in the town of Lone Pine. Lots and lots and lots of things are filmed around Lone Pine, from western (The Lone Ranger and tons more) to film noir (Bad Day at Black Rock) to action (Gladiator). The museum is full of things like hats worn by John Wayne and Steve McQueen and Dean Martin, costumes, movie posters, etc.
Next we stopped at the Alabama Hills, where they film a lot of westerns and sci-fi stuff. They're totally amazing hills -- some of them are all rough and jagged and westerny, and some are really alien, all rounded and burbly. Hard to describe -- I'll post some pics soon. One of the most famous things they filmed there was the 1930 Cary Grant movie Gunga Din.
After stopping at DKoren's parents' house, her mom drove us out to the Laws Museum, which was originally a town built for the Steve McQueen western Nevada Smith and is now a museum full of all kinds of cool antiques and a big train.
From the museum, we headed up to Hot Creek, where the main set for the John Wayne movie North to Alaska was once built. DKoren's mom is really into geology and geothermal activity, and Hot Creek has been changing and growing progressively hotter and more active, so she likes to go there and see how things are changing. The path we walked on there was only about a mile above active volcanic lava, and the pavement cracks and splits over time because the earth moves. We also stopped by this pretty (and deliciously cold!) lake called Convict's Lake on our way back to her home.
On Thursday, DKoren and I drove back down to San Bernardino. We stopped at this tiny little restaurant in the town of Aberdeen -- whenever John Wayne was shooting a movie around there, he would insist on eating at that restaurant because he really loved their food, especially their beans. Alas, the owners of the restaurant were on vacation this same week too, so it was closed :-( Which means I will have to go back again, right? We also stopped at Manzanar, which was a Japanese Relocation Camp during WWII. Not much is left of it except some foundation slabs and stones, but they have a nice air-conditioned museum, and it looks like they're restoring one of the housing unit things too.
We got back to San Bernardino on Thursday afternoon, only to have the power go out about half an hour after we arrived. YUCK. No air-conditioning, no fans -- I was not a happy person. We ended up going out for supper, and when we came back, the power had returned, so I was able to finish doing some laundry and packing, and we watched a couple movies, one a Bobby Darin western and the other a Dana Andrews/Hoagy Carmichael drama.
Friday, I flew out of the Santa Ana John Wayne airport, had a layover in Phoenix, ended up in Chicago, and took a bus to WI, where Cowboy picked me up. I've spent the last couple days unpacking and trying to switch back to 3rd shift. I have to go back to work tomorrow night and I really don't want to, but that's life, I guess.
I landed at LAX on Friday, where DKoren picked me up, and we headed off to the Pink Palace, aka a Days Inn in Santa Monica. There we met up with our fellow Reconites, four of them newbies and the other six veterans like us (aka they were at last year's Recon.) They threw a Combat!-themed baby shower for me that night -- you wouldn't believe how much camo baby stuff they managed to find! And we played this fun new board game that DKoren created. It's based on "the baby episode," aka "One More for the Road," and basically follows the path of the ep, with places where you have to answer trivia questions about the ep and others where something from the ep happens and you can get penalized or rewarded (eg "Doc revives baby, go ahead one space" or "Stroback gets killed by a mine, go back to start.") It was highly fun, and I actually won by the skin of my teeth :-D
On Saturday, we went to Franklin Canyon, where parts of many eps were filmed, and guess who met up with us there for a little while? Pierre Jalbert, aka Caje! He lives not too far away and is friends with a couple of us Reconites, and they asked if he'd come meet the rest of us, and he did! Totally unexpected and awesome. He's waaaay cool, still all trim and wiry even tho he's in his 80s. Told us several fun stories about behind-the-scenes stuff from Combat! and let us take our pictures with him, etc. When I get a chance, aka when I get them developed and scanned in to my computer, I'll try to post some pics from the whole week.
Anyway, after Pierre left, we went on a tour of Franklin locations led by none other than Dodger and Green Recruit! We used to call Dodger "Mr. E-head" which stood for "Mr. Encyclopedia-Head" -- he has an amazing knowledge of WWII history. Then for lunch, we had real MREs! And they weren't bad! And I'm not just saying that because I'm pregnant and hungry a lot, hee.
On Sunday, we drove to a couple of cemeteries and visited the ashes of Rick Jason (aka Lt. Hanley) and the grave of Vic Morrow (aka Sgt. Saunders). We tried to go to the beach, but it was just too crowded, so we went back to the Pink Palace and played C! Trivial Pursuit instead.
And on Monday, we all left. DKoren and I headed up into the hills above Hollywood to see if we could find Rudolf Valentino's home, Falcon Lair. We found it all right, at the top of a steep, narrow, twisty road. I shudder to think of Rudy with his terrible eyesight driving up and down that thing in his big cars. Anyway, I took some dvd footage of the gateposts, which are still the originals with the name on them, although the great wrought-iron gates of Rudy's time have been replaced by black board ones you can't see through. So then Deb took my photo by the gateposts, but I must have gotten to close to them, because this crabby bald man came running out from around the corner and yelled, "This is private property! You're setting off alarms!" We'd seen what we wanted to see anyway, so we left, although I'm pretty sure that a sign posted on the fence beside the gates that says "No Trespassing" means that you can't go beyond that fence, not that you can't stand in the road outside the gates. Especially since the road was not marked "Private Drive" (and there were lots of other houses on the same road). Whatever.
Anyway, we drove out to Paramount Ranch next, where they've filmed lots and lots of westerns, and also where they filmed the town for Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. The church is gone, though the bridge near it is still there, and the tree where Grace had her outdoor cafe is there too. But we didn't get to look at all the buildings and walk down the streets like we wanted to because some small production was actually filming there! But we got to eat our lunch on a picnic bench under a tree a ways away from the action and watch them a little, so that was exciting. From there, we headed up to DKoren's new house, which she just bought and isn't yet unpacked in. We ate supper at her sister's house, which is right next door.
On Tuesday, we went digital-camera hunting, moved some of DKoren's stuff into the house from her yard, and hung out with her family next door.
On Wednesday, we drove up into the Sierra to visit DKoren's parents. We made a bunch of cool stops along the way. First, we tried to find this vineyard that was used as a set in a C! ep, but alas, it's been refaced and renovated and turned into a business complex. From there, we drove out into the Mojave Desert, which DKoren kept calling "boring" and "ugly," but which I thought was really pretty in a rugged way, and a nice relief from the ultra-populated cities we'd been in up to then. You're supposed to have really awesome views of the mountains as you drive up into them, but because of the huge fire over in Santa Barbara, we could barely see the mountains because they were obscured by a thick haze of smoke. But that's okay. I got to see some cool lava flows and cinder cones along the way.
Our next stop was Red Rock Canyon, where they filmed lots of old westerns, both movies and TV shows. We walked around a little, but it was too hot to go exploring much. I think I got some nifty pics tho.
From there, we headed to a western film museum in the town of Lone Pine. Lots and lots and lots of things are filmed around Lone Pine, from western (The Lone Ranger and tons more) to film noir (Bad Day at Black Rock) to action (Gladiator). The museum is full of things like hats worn by John Wayne and Steve McQueen and Dean Martin, costumes, movie posters, etc.
Next we stopped at the Alabama Hills, where they film a lot of westerns and sci-fi stuff. They're totally amazing hills -- some of them are all rough and jagged and westerny, and some are really alien, all rounded and burbly. Hard to describe -- I'll post some pics soon. One of the most famous things they filmed there was the 1930 Cary Grant movie Gunga Din.
After stopping at DKoren's parents' house, her mom drove us out to the Laws Museum, which was originally a town built for the Steve McQueen western Nevada Smith and is now a museum full of all kinds of cool antiques and a big train.
From the museum, we headed up to Hot Creek, where the main set for the John Wayne movie North to Alaska was once built. DKoren's mom is really into geology and geothermal activity, and Hot Creek has been changing and growing progressively hotter and more active, so she likes to go there and see how things are changing. The path we walked on there was only about a mile above active volcanic lava, and the pavement cracks and splits over time because the earth moves. We also stopped by this pretty (and deliciously cold!) lake called Convict's Lake on our way back to her home.
On Thursday, DKoren and I drove back down to San Bernardino. We stopped at this tiny little restaurant in the town of Aberdeen -- whenever John Wayne was shooting a movie around there, he would insist on eating at that restaurant because he really loved their food, especially their beans. Alas, the owners of the restaurant were on vacation this same week too, so it was closed :-( Which means I will have to go back again, right? We also stopped at Manzanar, which was a Japanese Relocation Camp during WWII. Not much is left of it except some foundation slabs and stones, but they have a nice air-conditioned museum, and it looks like they're restoring one of the housing unit things too.
We got back to San Bernardino on Thursday afternoon, only to have the power go out about half an hour after we arrived. YUCK. No air-conditioning, no fans -- I was not a happy person. We ended up going out for supper, and when we came back, the power had returned, so I was able to finish doing some laundry and packing, and we watched a couple movies, one a Bobby Darin western and the other a Dana Andrews/Hoagy Carmichael drama.
Friday, I flew out of the Santa Ana John Wayne airport, had a layover in Phoenix, ended up in Chicago, and took a bus to WI, where Cowboy picked me up. I've spent the last couple days unpacking and trying to switch back to 3rd shift. I have to go back to work tomorrow night and I really don't want to, but that's life, I guess.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Due to popular demand, here is my AAR on the Atlanta Fanfic Recon '06! It seems I have lurkers after all ;-) How cool! (Oh yeah, AAR means After Action Review...)
Friday, September 22
I arrived in Atlanta feeling very losted and scared. What if no one else showed up? What if we didn't get along after all? What if DKoren's plane crashed and I was bereft of a bestest friend and left to my own devices all weekend? I picked up my little green suitcase at Baggage Claim South (I think), then started looking for the Delta carousels, because I knew that's what DKoren was flying. And there weren't any. No carousels for Delta (oooh -- cool title!). I began to panic.
Then I raised my tear-filled eyes and saw that waaaaay over yonder was Baggage Claim North, all Delta all the time. I hustled over there, heart pounding and nose running (I hate the aftereffects of colds!), and there, beside a shiny silver fence, stood DKoren! And some people that I had never seen before in my life... but who were all wearing something C!-ish. DKoren turned around and saw me and grinned and... I gotta tell you, she may only weigh 37 pounds, but she about knocked me over with her hug.
Eventually other people joined up with us, and we comandeered a bus to take us out to the parking garage. Then began the great Clown Maneuver. These people were seriously convinced you were going to get 9 people, 18 suitcases, and a guitar into that van. DKoren and I had far too much fun watching the van sink lower and lower and lower as they crammed into that thing -- I'm glad we stayed behind for the second wave, because those tires were seriously bulging. The seven of them headed off for the hotel, and DKoren and I caught the bus back to the airport. We had a nice lunch and met up with a the stragglers. Then it was off to the hotel for us, where I got to meet the rest of the bunch, including our intrepid Third Musketeer, Jambi :-D She was sharing a room with DKoren and I all weekend. After supper, the twelve of us congregated in the ever-popular Medic's Foxhole and I got introduced to megas! They DO exist! (Megas are these ginormous M&Ms that I could never seem to find).
Saturday, September 23
I didn't think I was going to sleep very well that night, what with trying to switch over from night shift and being all excited about finally being at Recon, but I actually managed 6 hours of snoozing, I think. Good thing, because Saturday was chock full of wonderful fun that required every ounce of my energy.
First off, we went to an American Legion hall outside Atlanta and got a chance to interact with actual WWII weapons... and you know me and my love of weaponry! I got to handle a German Mauser rifle, an M1 Garand and M1 Carbine, several Lugers and .45, and a Thompson submachine gun!!!! My Combat! hero, Sgt. Saunders, carries a Thompson, so that was a very special event for me. We got to try on WWII helmets and jackets too, and get our pictures taken. The Carbine was lighter than I'd expected, the Mauser and Garand were heavier than I thought they might be, but that Thompson? Honestly, it felt just the way I'd always imagined. The weight, the balance... it was like I'd been handling one for the last ten years. Made my little heart glow.
After lunch, Belle arrived, even though we'd about given up on her -- poor thing, driving in all that rain! So we played Combat! Trivial Pursuit, which DKoren and I made up!!! Everyone had a blast, and I got about a million compliments for the playing board, which I made all C!-ish.
CCK is everyone's hero for providing tasty pizza for our supper Saturday night! And I think we even managed not to leave tooooo many greasy fingerprints on each others' fanzines as we signed them! Oh yeah, we created a fanzine that came out at the same time as Recon. It has 347 pages and 16 fanfic stories, including one co-written by DKoren and I. If you're interested, here's a link to a little more info.
Sunday, September 24
A whole bunch of us got interviewed about our love of Combat! for a possible Veteran's Day Marathon of eps on the American Goodlife tv network (I think it might have a new name now, tho... can't remember for sure). That was pretty scary, but we knew the questions in advance and were all there to provide (silent-ish) moral support during the taping :-D
Sunday was a sad day, though, because several people left. I hate goodbyes. But we managed to have lots of fun on Sunday night during our extreeeeeeeemely long supper.
Monday, September 25
Then it was Monday all of a sudden, and I was sitting in the (empty) bathtub writing in my journal about how sad I was that it was all ending so soon. We definitely need to extend the next Recon -- arrive on Thursday and leave on Monday? Yes, we're planning on doing this next year, possibly in Vegas, baby!
Although I managed to get myself slightly losted at the airport, my squaddies found me after a brief handy-talky conversation, and we began the sad business of parting. I was so loath to leave, I almost missed my plane! Good thing DKoren had my back :-)
I'm a very shy person. I don't like meeting strangers very well -- but these Combat! fanfic friends I'd made online were all just as wonderful in real life as they were on the internet, and I cemented a lot of friendships that weekend. In fact, I just had a little reunion with one of them this past weekend, a mini-recon near home here that was tons of fun! And I truly can't wait for Recon '07, wherever it may be!
Friday, September 22
I arrived in Atlanta feeling very losted and scared. What if no one else showed up? What if we didn't get along after all? What if DKoren's plane crashed and I was bereft of a bestest friend and left to my own devices all weekend? I picked up my little green suitcase at Baggage Claim South (I think), then started looking for the Delta carousels, because I knew that's what DKoren was flying. And there weren't any. No carousels for Delta (oooh -- cool title!). I began to panic.
Then I raised my tear-filled eyes and saw that waaaaay over yonder was Baggage Claim North, all Delta all the time. I hustled over there, heart pounding and nose running (I hate the aftereffects of colds!), and there, beside a shiny silver fence, stood DKoren! And some people that I had never seen before in my life... but who were all wearing something C!-ish. DKoren turned around and saw me and grinned and... I gotta tell you, she may only weigh 37 pounds, but she about knocked me over with her hug.
Eventually other people joined up with us, and we comandeered a bus to take us out to the parking garage. Then began the great Clown Maneuver. These people were seriously convinced you were going to get 9 people, 18 suitcases, and a guitar into that van. DKoren and I had far too much fun watching the van sink lower and lower and lower as they crammed into that thing -- I'm glad we stayed behind for the second wave, because those tires were seriously bulging. The seven of them headed off for the hotel, and DKoren and I caught the bus back to the airport. We had a nice lunch and met up with a the stragglers. Then it was off to the hotel for us, where I got to meet the rest of the bunch, including our intrepid Third Musketeer, Jambi :-D She was sharing a room with DKoren and I all weekend. After supper, the twelve of us congregated in the ever-popular Medic's Foxhole and I got introduced to megas! They DO exist! (Megas are these ginormous M&Ms that I could never seem to find).
Saturday, September 23
I didn't think I was going to sleep very well that night, what with trying to switch over from night shift and being all excited about finally being at Recon, but I actually managed 6 hours of snoozing, I think. Good thing, because Saturday was chock full of wonderful fun that required every ounce of my energy.
First off, we went to an American Legion hall outside Atlanta and got a chance to interact with actual WWII weapons... and you know me and my love of weaponry! I got to handle a German Mauser rifle, an M1 Garand and M1 Carbine, several Lugers and .45, and a Thompson submachine gun!!!! My Combat! hero, Sgt. Saunders, carries a Thompson, so that was a very special event for me. We got to try on WWII helmets and jackets too, and get our pictures taken. The Carbine was lighter than I'd expected, the Mauser and Garand were heavier than I thought they might be, but that Thompson? Honestly, it felt just the way I'd always imagined. The weight, the balance... it was like I'd been handling one for the last ten years. Made my little heart glow.
After lunch, Belle arrived, even though we'd about given up on her -- poor thing, driving in all that rain! So we played Combat! Trivial Pursuit, which DKoren and I made up!!! Everyone had a blast, and I got about a million compliments for the playing board, which I made all C!-ish.
CCK is everyone's hero for providing tasty pizza for our supper Saturday night! And I think we even managed not to leave tooooo many greasy fingerprints on each others' fanzines as we signed them! Oh yeah, we created a fanzine that came out at the same time as Recon. It has 347 pages and 16 fanfic stories, including one co-written by DKoren and I. If you're interested, here's a link to a little more info.
Sunday, September 24
A whole bunch of us got interviewed about our love of Combat! for a possible Veteran's Day Marathon of eps on the American Goodlife tv network (I think it might have a new name now, tho... can't remember for sure). That was pretty scary, but we knew the questions in advance and were all there to provide (silent-ish) moral support during the taping :-D
Sunday was a sad day, though, because several people left. I hate goodbyes. But we managed to have lots of fun on Sunday night during our extreeeeeeeemely long supper.
Monday, September 25
Then it was Monday all of a sudden, and I was sitting in the (empty) bathtub writing in my journal about how sad I was that it was all ending so soon. We definitely need to extend the next Recon -- arrive on Thursday and leave on Monday? Yes, we're planning on doing this next year, possibly in Vegas, baby!
Although I managed to get myself slightly losted at the airport, my squaddies found me after a brief handy-talky conversation, and we began the sad business of parting. I was so loath to leave, I almost missed my plane! Good thing DKoren had my back :-)
I'm a very shy person. I don't like meeting strangers very well -- but these Combat! fanfic friends I'd made online were all just as wonderful in real life as they were on the internet, and I cemented a lot of friendships that weekend. In fact, I just had a little reunion with one of them this past weekend, a mini-recon near home here that was tons of fun! And I truly can't wait for Recon '07, wherever it may be!
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Wow. Wow. Wow. I'm floating around in a haze of awe. And of awwwwwwww.
Jack Hogan is reading the Combat! fanzine we put out for Recon. Jack Hogan, as in the guy who played Kirby on Combat!.
See, when we were at Recon, we autographed a copy for each of the four stars that are still alive: Jack Hogan, Pierre Jalbert, Tom Lowell, and Conlan Carter. And DII sent those 'zines to them. And Jack Hogan emailed her and said that he's actually reading the fanzine and finding it very interesting and enjoyable!
He might even be reading the story DKoren and I wrote together for it!
Oh man oh man oh man oh man. That's a thought that's both exhilarating and scary. What if he doesn't like the way we portray the character he created? What if he does?
Anyway, it's very cool and awesome that he's even reading the fanzine. It makes me all tingly happy :-D
Jack Hogan is reading the Combat! fanzine we put out for Recon. Jack Hogan, as in the guy who played Kirby on Combat!.
See, when we were at Recon, we autographed a copy for each of the four stars that are still alive: Jack Hogan, Pierre Jalbert, Tom Lowell, and Conlan Carter. And DII sent those 'zines to them. And Jack Hogan emailed her and said that he's actually reading the fanzine and finding it very interesting and enjoyable!
He might even be reading the story DKoren and I wrote together for it!
Oh man oh man oh man oh man. That's a thought that's both exhilarating and scary. What if he doesn't like the way we portray the character he created? What if he does?
Anyway, it's very cool and awesome that he's even reading the fanzine. It makes me all tingly happy :-D
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Vacation was amazing. I thought Recon would be fantastic, but it exceeded my every hope. We all got along swimmingly (even when in the hotel pool!), and the whole weekend was like a really long sleepover that revolved around Combat!. I have so many wonderful memories of Recon, but most of my readers here have heard them already, so I won't bore you with further elaboration.
And after Recon, I got to spend a whole week with with my parents and Grandma O. We went on a few short excursions, but spent most of our time relaxing and lolling about in the sun. It rocked!
Now we're trying to readjust to living at night and, for me at least, it is not going well at all. I seem to be sleeping in little 4-hour chunks here and there. I have to work tonight, though, so maybe that will help straighten me out. Grrr.
And after Recon, I got to spend a whole week with with my parents and Grandma O. We went on a few short excursions, but spent most of our time relaxing and lolling about in the sun. It rocked!
Now we're trying to readjust to living at night and, for me at least, it is not going well at all. I seem to be sleeping in little 4-hour chunks here and there. I have to work tonight, though, so maybe that will help straighten me out. Grrr.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
I'm free! Freeeeeeeeeee! As of right now, I am officially on my giganimous vacation! Yes, yes, yes, oh happy day!
Forty-eight hours from now, I will be near the airport. Fifty hours from now, I'll be seated on a plane bound for Atlanta. Fifty-four hours from now, I'll be in the Atlanta airport, meeting all sorts of my Combat! fanfic friends for the first time and reuniting with DKoren! A thousand huzzahs!
And in one hundred twenty-six hours, Daddy will pick me up at the airport in NC!
Ahhhh. I'm breathing free air. No work for two weeks. How glorious! Day after day of unadulterated bliss! My toes wiggle ecstatically at the mere thought!
Forty-eight hours from now, I will be near the airport. Fifty hours from now, I'll be seated on a plane bound for Atlanta. Fifty-four hours from now, I'll be in the Atlanta airport, meeting all sorts of my Combat! fanfic friends for the first time and reuniting with DKoren! A thousand huzzahs!
And in one hundred twenty-six hours, Daddy will pick me up at the airport in NC!
Ahhhh. I'm breathing free air. No work for two weeks. How glorious! Day after day of unadulterated bliss! My toes wiggle ecstatically at the mere thought!
Saturday, June 10, 2006
It's truly official now. I'm going to the Combat! Fanfic Recon in Atlanta in September! I just got my plane tickets this morning!
What am I thinking? I'm spending a weekend in Atlanta with a bunch of crazy writers/readers all obsessed with a 1960's tv show about WWII? Only one of whom I've ever met before in person? I must be crazy, huh?
More like giddy with glee. We fanfic writers have their own email list, seperate from the 'official' C! discussion list They've been planning this Recon (our word for convention, basically) for months and months and months. And I didn't think I'd be able to go, which made me very glum indeed, whenever I thought of it.
But due to Cowboy's love of spoiling me, a little deviousness on my part in regard to the usage of vacation time and switching days off at work, and my ever-burgeoning friendship with DKoren, I'm going going going going going!!!!!!!!!!
It's not gonna be like the 'real' recons, aka "Comboat '96" and "Recon 2000". None of the stars of the show will be there (although there is a mysterious Surprise Guest whispered about behind closed tent flaps). But there will be about 20 fanfic writers (I think all women--we have a Token Male on our fanfic email list, but I don't think he'll be attending) all running around a hotel doing crazy stuff and writing and reading and watching C! eps, etc.
Plus, after Recon, I'm flying from Atlanta to HOME! And Cowboy's flying down to meet me there, and we'll spend a week with my parents (and Grandma will probably be there by then) and friends. Yippeeeeeeeee!
What am I thinking? I'm spending a weekend in Atlanta with a bunch of crazy writers/readers all obsessed with a 1960's tv show about WWII? Only one of whom I've ever met before in person? I must be crazy, huh?
More like giddy with glee. We fanfic writers have their own email list, seperate from the 'official' C! discussion list They've been planning this Recon (our word for convention, basically) for months and months and months. And I didn't think I'd be able to go, which made me very glum indeed, whenever I thought of it.
But due to Cowboy's love of spoiling me, a little deviousness on my part in regard to the usage of vacation time and switching days off at work, and my ever-burgeoning friendship with DKoren, I'm going going going going going!!!!!!!!!!
It's not gonna be like the 'real' recons, aka "Comboat '96" and "Recon 2000". None of the stars of the show will be there (although there is a mysterious Surprise Guest whispered about behind closed tent flaps). But there will be about 20 fanfic writers (I think all women--we have a Token Male on our fanfic email list, but I don't think he'll be attending) all running around a hotel doing crazy stuff and writing and reading and watching C! eps, etc.
Plus, after Recon, I'm flying from Atlanta to HOME! And Cowboy's flying down to meet me there, and we'll spend a week with my parents (and Grandma will probably be there by then) and friends. Yippeeeeeeeee!
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