leakycon - part one of day one (told you i could write as much as i wanted)
sadly, our darling auto had to work on thursday. this meant that she was unable to go with chelleybutton and me to the first day of the convention. however, chelley and i determined to make the best of it and made our way downtown in time for lunch. after lunch we headed for the hilton to get registered.
now, as i was driving to chicago on tuesday i had smiled to myself, envisioning all sorts of harry potter nerds descending upon the city en masse. that is exactly what had happened. everywhere there were people in robes, hogwarts uniforms, and other costumes. little groups were gathered on the stairs inside in quiet discussions, presumably about harry potter. others were sitting there alone with their noses in books. everyone was given a red messenger bag that said 'leaky con' on it upon arrival, so those were everywhere as well. chelley and i got registered, then took our bags for a stroll.
anywhere we went within five blocks of the hotel we saw those bags and/or people in costumes or harry potter themed shirts. it felt like we had an automatic bond with these people. we got coffee (okay, i got a steamer and she got nothing) and sat outside the coffee shop (keeping our bags on the table so they would be fully visible to any other leakyconners who might be walking past) people watching and looking at the goodies in our bags.
but then.
chelleybutton and i both looked up, and walking past, was a nerd. dress shirt, khakis, and glasses - had he just walked past we probably wouldn't have noticed him. but he saw our bags, slowed down, and gave a quiet, 'you guys are awesome,' grin. clearly he knew where we were headed, and clearly he was wishing he could join us. but he looked like he was on a mission, probably on his way to a meeting, so he didn't stop. which, all things considered, was probably good, seeing as there were two of us and only one of him. seeing as we were both swooning, a catty girl-fight may have ensued.
after that we had supper at that same place, then headed back to the hotel for an evening of craziness.
anywhere we went within five blocks of the hotel we saw those bags and/or people in costumes or harry potter themed shirts. it felt like we had an automatic bond with these people. we got coffee (okay, i got a steamer and she got nothing) and sat outside the coffee shop (keeping our bags on the table so they would be fully visible to any other leakyconners who might be walking past) people watching and looking at the goodies in our bags.
until one fateful moment.
not many people had been noticing our bags. fine, whatever, we'd make friends at the convention. but then.
chelleybutton and i both looked up, and walking past, was a nerd. dress shirt, khakis, and glasses - had he just walked past we probably wouldn't have noticed him. but he saw our bags, slowed down, and gave a quiet, 'you guys are awesome,' grin. clearly he knew where we were headed, and clearly he was wishing he could join us. but he looked like he was on a mission, probably on his way to a meeting, so he didn't stop. which, all things considered, was probably good, seeing as there were two of us and only one of him. seeing as we were both swooning, a catty girl-fight may have ensued.
after that we had supper at that same place, then headed back to the hotel for an evening of craziness.
posted by melilotnfosco | 8:16 PM
9 Comments:
you guys ARE awesome
I'm swooning!!! Such a bummer that he didn't stop and introduce himself!
As for the red bags... It reminds me of the Left Behind books--I don't know if you've ever read them, but I used to love them years ago. Anyway, way back before I met my husband, I was called to jury duty. I was living in Ames at the time so I had to drive to Des Moines. I just happened to be reading one of the books at the time (the third or fourth one I think) (not while driving of course :-D). In the book, during the Tribulation, Christians will be able to know other Christians by a mark on their foreheads. On the car trip, I remember being jealous of the characters in the book because I was feeling so alone as a Christian. I cried out to God, sharing how I sometimes felt like I was the only Christian and how lonely it was. As I was waiting for jury duty, no less than five people randomly walked up to me, said they saw the book I was reading and told me how they were Christians and how the book had strengthened their faith. Ever since then, it seems like I have an uncanny ability to find random Christians wherever I go. Love how God answers prayers! :-D
that's very cool. i told auto at the end of this that i wish i could just go from one convention to another - leakycon, the oxenmoot, some Christian conference - just so i can always be automatically bonded to people, so i can always have people around with whom i have things in common, people with whom i can just strike up a conversation without having to go through all the small talk annoyances - i could go straight for the meat. that's my new dream.
Yeah, dinner was not so good. Like you said, we should've went back to that Italian restaurant again. :)
Also, I called him first. :) What a cutie!
Yes, great story, HM! And I agree, mel. But then, how would we expand our groups? And that is the dilemma I'm having right at this moment regarding recent changes re: the convention next week. I'm not sure what decision I should make... sigh.
Thanks for the compliment, HS! :) You're awesome too! :)
i don't remember you calling him first
Yes, I definitely pointed out him grinning first. :)
you may have pointed it out first, but that doesn't constitute a claim, and i may have seen it first ;)
I was just about to write that it's too bad we can't have everyone wearing badges showing that they are Christians, fans of HP, etc. so that we can bond quickly but then I thought good grief that sounds way too similar to the Jewish star forced upon Jews... And then I thought, if HP fans wore Hogwarts crests to show their fandom, that would just clique-ize us and ostracize us from non-fans, in a similar way as the four houses... and in the larger scheme, separate wizards/witches from muggles... so I concluded it is better the way God intended, for us to all mingle... as Hermione said about the Triwizard Tournament, it's all about promoting international relations :-)
So many great lessons in HP. :) Love it. :)
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