What a weekend that was! The Creation Entertainment -- Salute to Supernatural was truly over two weeks ago in Chicago. But I don't want to close this chapter and move on, not yet. Instead, I am revisiting the highlight and re-living the excitement. You have already seen my photos on Flickr. And I am sure you have watched clips on YouTube, read tweets and summaries from other fans. Me, myself and I have been watching the J2 main panel every night! And every night I remind myself, I was squeezed between the two men who are the best things since Shack Stack!
For those who have been to a Supernatural convention, you know how I am feeling right now -- a little sad and may be depressed, but happy, very happy. Strange things do happen to your body and your soul, my friends. If you haven't been to a Supernatural convention, the following may help you to understand the magnitude of it. If you have been to a Supernatural convention, this may remind you of your own experience.
Fan conventions are a strange territory, separating from the reality. Fan conventions reside in some intergalactic distance. It's not Tatooine and you cannot travel via a Stargate. But you may want to change your ringtone from R2D2 to a classic rock tune like Carry On Wayward Son. A Supernatural convention puts you under a spell -- it makes you forget who you are, what you do and where you are from; it makes you forget your definition of sanity and insanity; and it changes the way you think, speak and do things. But for some reasons, you feel pure because you are more than a number on the Neilson TV rating system. You are a dedicated fan. You know what you are watching and why you are watching it. You know crap TV and you don't accept crap TV. You are passionate enough to travel from afar to see your favourite celebrities live on stage. You get to sing with them, hug them and talk to them. As you travel to the convention, you keep asking yourself "Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" And then BOOM! It hits you! Before you know it, your transport is here to pick you up. And you ask yourself "Why can't I have super power to stop time?" It's a very surreal experience.
You
may find yourself surprisingly organised months before the convention,
even you can't believe it -- from the moment you purchase your tickets for seating, photo ops and autograph, to the moment
you book your accommodation and travel. You receive all your PDF
confirmations, you look at them, you pinch yourself -- you are not
dreaming. You may have a check list for a check list. You don't want to
miss anything and you have to make sure you read every word on the
program. You highlight stuff and make notes. You may or may not bother
to get a good camera to take awesome photos. You're a fan, it's your
obligation! Know your settings! Practice! Practice! Practice! You may
even allocate all ten of your SD cards to sessions. Number each card if
you can. One or two weeks before you travel, you pick your outfits and you go to your hair dresser. You pack
and repack your bags for three days and nights. Don't forget your toothbrush!
The
cast of Supernatural is 99 kinds of awesome! They are talented, funny,
polite, professional, friendly, kind, sweet, unpredictable,
accommodating, smart, articulate, well spoken, hot, sexy and exceptional
good looking. They are here for a good time. We are here for a good
time. Fans ask great questions and you'll be surprised how well the cast
answer them. Each panel is so entertaining you have not yawned once! Is
that even possible? Is that healthy?
You try to concentrate during each panel. You try to not to cry and do embarrassing things when you stand in front of Jensen, Jared and friends at photo ops and autograph sessions. Your heart stops as the MC says their names. You gasp as they appear from behind the curtain. You scream and may even cry when you see them on stage live in person. You appreciate how beautiful the world can be now that Jensen and Jared are here. And then you remind yourself, "I get to hug them."
Even the Westin O'Hare turns into Planet Supernatural.
Fans occupy the hotel lobby, restaurant, bathroom and Starbucks, Supernatural fans are on every floor. Those mathematicians at the conference next door are out-numbered and out-dressed by us. You flash your convention Pass,
you get 20% off your total bill at the restaurant. Staff may even
remember you and give you the same comfy booth three times you eat there.
There is nothing better than seeing a Supernatural marathon on TV during a Supernatural
convention. (Thank you TNT!) One minute you see them on TV and then you
see them live in person. Jensen shared this story -- he was at the gym
in the morning and he turned on the TV, and BOOM -- his face! The woman
in the gym was confused!
Wait a
second...can we go back to the bit where Jensen was in the gym?! It was
highly possibly that he was in shorts or at least in a single layer.
Sweat! He is so distracting! Quit looking so so hot.. oh wait...actually...don't! I dare you out-hot yourself Jensen Ackles!
 |
| "Out-hot myself huh? I'll see what I can do." |
The
whole time you ask yourself, "Am I dreaming? Am I really here?" You take
a moment and listen to the ambient sound in the ballroom. You take a
moment to observe people's behaviour and expression. You take a moment
to smell the roses, or Jensen. You remind yourself to remember every
second you spend at the convention.
Convention
days are usually long. There are multiple long queues, so make sure you
drink enough water. You sit with strangers while you wait patiently for
your row to be called for photo ops and autographs. You sing Dead or
Alive together. You don't know what gets into you, but you channel your
inner Sammy as you sing the chorus "...want it! Dean or alive.." Wait..
that's a typo..."Dead or alive.. Dead or alive.. Dead or alive.." Bon
Jovi rocks on this occasion.
Every
second is a photo perfect opportunity, so make sure your camera is
charged up and take three extra batteries! You never know who's gonna
show up at the lobby, like Richard walks in with Maccas and Rob drops
by to say "hi" to the crowd. Oh, did I mention I think Rob's room was on my floor? Misha may hang out with the crowd for a bit
after his panel.
And don't forget, when someone ask you if you've been hugged by Matt, say no, because
you will get one.
The
excitement is too overwhelming, some may cry, some may laugh like crazy,
some may just squeeze the day light out of the person next to you
because Jensen and Jared are a piece of art, like Michelangelo's DAVID.
They look exceptional hot on TV, they look exceptional hot live in
person. For this reason, I am actually surprised how well behaved fans
are at conventions. What's wrong with us?
Even when you go alone, you are never alone. The person standing in front of you or behind you is always happy to give you fashion or any advice. You trade stories about convention experiences. You discuss Supernatural episodes. You talk about driving in the snow. You realise you are not far from Milwaukee, and all of a sudden you want to go there for no reason. People tell you they too have planned the weekend so that they know when to put on the trenchcoat and transform into Castiel. You may even find out the 'beard' on her face was just mascara. And you reply by saying "That's a genius idea!" You meet your Twitter buddies. You hug and you find out James Patrice Stewart visits The Art Institute of Chicago that morning. You have breakfast and cocktail with strangers, but are they? We are family -- the Supernatural family.
Photo
ops can scare the crap out of you. But you need to be awesome. We need
you to be awesome! The queue is supernaturally long but you don't want
it to move too fast because one step closer to hugging Jensen is one
step walking away from him. People walk out of photo ops crying and
shaking because they are just too happy. Jensen's touch and hug can heal
your soul. You feel more alive than ever. It costs you $129 for one hug, but the two seconds of heaven is
worth it because of
this -- if Michelangelo is still alive, he would want to build a JENSEN and you want to touch him. He is hotter in person than you can process.
After the convention, you find yourself in my position -- the post-convention depression. It takes awhile to recover. The best thing about post-convention is that you get to sort the amazing photos you've taken from the panels, karaoke and breakfast. You get to blog about it and share your experience with others. You take your time to sort out the merchandise, autographs and photo op prints. You may not have the space in your room to put your treasures, but you put your interior designer hat on and redecorate your room. You may even clean your room before you do that, making your parents proud.
At a Supernatural convention,
I feel pure. I forget who I am, I forget my problems, I forget where I
come from. I am a Supernatural fan. That is my identity. That's all you
need to know. I may have an addiction problem, but I don't care. I can
only be healed by returning to another Supernatural convention. So,
(super)naturally I will go again. I pray to Chuck Shirley that Creation
Entertainment will announce VegasCon 2014. This is
my therapy. I need multiple hugs from Jensen. I want to chase UFOs I don't care if they are fake.
This has been A Very Supernatural Convention Experience -- Part One. In coming days, I will post another entry about my photo ops and autograph experience. Can I be dismissed and watch A Little Slice of Kevin the 3rd time today?
The Creation Entertainment -- Salute to Supernatural took place at the Westin O'Hare in Chicago on 26th to 28th of November, 2012 at the Westin O'Hare in Chicago. Guests include Jensen Ackles, Jared Padelecki, Jim Beaver, Misha Collins, Richard Speight Jr, Matt Cohen, Rachel Miner, James Patrick Stewart, Kim Rhodes, Gabriel Tigerman, DJ Qualls, Rob Benedict and Emily Perkins.
Related Posts:
-- My ChiCon Photo Album on Flickr
-- ChiCon 2012 Photo Set -- Misha and Jim
-- ChiCon 2012 Photo Set -- Jensen and Jared
