Yes, another trip down to Houston. I don’t know if this is a
new convention or I only noticed it this year, but there were a few names I was
intrigued by.
For the most part, the drive was easy. This was north of
where I normally go in Hoston so, I didn’t get bogged down with the traffic. It
was in a hotel. Parking was free but it was in the back and it filled up fast. As
I as leaving, people were double parking and parking on side roads.
The convention was small. It didn’t take a lot of space. It seemed
to fit the size of the crowd. I walked
into the expo floor first. It seemed the only option. I made a quick circuit
and found the table for Shannyn Sossaman. That was the main purpose of the
drive. I love the movie, A Knight Tail and I think she played the foil/love
interest wonderfully. That movie has some wonderful lines that I find myself
quoting to The Wife.
I got to the table before Shannyn. Which was good as she offered
a large selection of photos. I had printed something, but found one I liked
better from her table. I chit-chatted with her handlers and between us, we
found a good color choice for the pen. I was all set. What could go wrong…
She arrived with a smile and I said hello. That was probably
the last thing I said that where my foot wasn’t trying to find my mouth.
As she sat, I could tell she was looking over the table and
trying to set herself up mentally.
What I SHOULD have said: Do you need a few minutes? I can
come back.
What I said: Still need time to wake up?
Really,
I said that? I was implying she needed
to set herself up but I was saying she might be hung over. With a smile she
said, she had a lovely morning.
Handed over the photo and asked if she could add a quote. I had
it printed fairly large to make it easy to read. She read it and I tried to explain
the context…like she wasn’t in the movie and hadn’t uttered the line a few
lines.
She signed and I barely
said thank you when I said, I hope they take you our someplace nice to eat. Texas
has great BBQ and Tex-Mex.
Very politely, she said, she doesn’t read meat very often.
I SHOULD have said: Houston is a large city with lots of
options.
What I said: Course you don’t.
Yes, I said
that! Can you believe it? In my head, I was thinking, she was trying to eat properly
and making good food choices and would avoid BBQ. But it did NOT come out that
way. Oh, my word. I KNEW I was swerving all over the icy road. I can’t believe how crass I sounded.
Give her credit, she never flinched. I mumbled how much The
Wife and I love the movie and I backed out with a slight blush. I truly hope I was
the worst she saw all weekend.
The convention also had 2 Twilight actors. I’m not a fan of
the movies, although we did see them all. I read the first book thinking it would
be on par with Harry Potter but I was mistaken. But I still wanted to get these
two.
The convention had put the Twilight actors in a separate
room. I think there were a total of 4 actors set up there but only 2 were present
when I was here: Peter Facinelli and Jackson Rathbone. Those were the two I wanted.
A Large crowd was expected, but when I was arrived, there was only 1 other fan.
I was in and out in 2 minutes. It would have been quicker but Jackson and I actually
talked for a minute. He mentioned he lived in Midland, TX. I know nothing about Midland but it was nice he
shared.
After that, I was done. Found my car and headed home.
AH
