Dragon*Con Revisited

Everyone does cons in their own way. For me, I like to go in with a plan. I created an excel sheet that planned out my days including primary events and secondary events, in case primary events were canceled or changed. As I said, not everyone does this. Some of them just show up to Dragon*Con and do whatever they want. Some of them just roam around the dealer's rooms. Any method, it's always fun.

In addition to my over-excelled weekend, I also had four goals:

1) Shake LeVar Burton's hand and get his autograph.
2) Get Michael Shanks' autograph for my younger sister.
3) Get Brandon Sanderson to sign both my ARC and hardback versions of The Way of the Kings.
4) Buy a T-shirt.

That last one seems a little less extravagant compared to the first three, but every year I add at least one nerdy t-shirt to my collection.

This year I met all my goals. It was fantastic, even if there were a few panels that were canceled that I really wanted to go to. Ah well. That's what the secondary panel list was for.

I also bought an official Wheel of Time Great Serpent Ring. That's right I'm a nerd, but I'm convinced it's the best frivolous purchase I've made in a long time. It's made of sterling silver so it's shiny, always a plus. It's a ring, so I can wear it every day, not just once every two weeks like a T-shirt. And the biggest appeal of all, it's an Aes Sedai Great Serpent Ring. So every time I look at it, I think of Wheel of Time, and I get a little happy on the inside.

Seriously, it's amazing how happy looking at this ring can make me when I'm banging my head, trying to figure out how to code the N-body orbital mechanics in Matlab. But in the middle of my look, I'll look down at the ring and think "Ah, Wheel of Time, good times." And my brain comes back from the edge of stress and I can get back to my homework.

So enjoy the little things in life, like Great Serpent rings, that make you happy.

And now I need to go buy some frames for the signed LeVar Burton and signed Michael Shanks pictures.