3 weeks after Comic-Con 2013

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

It's been 3 weeks since Comic-Con 2013 and Aaron and I have finally wrote our letter to the Holiday Inn after that horrible stay we had the first 2 days of our vacation.

The letters are getting dropped off at the post office in a few hours.  We are hoping for a speedy resolution to the issues we encountered.  I'm feeling better now after 3 weeks but it was a tough and scary road to recovery.

Last Day

Sunday, July 21, 2013


Feeling a little better from my allergic asthma outbreak, Aaron and I get ready for our last day at Comic-Con 2013.  The girls found a deli right next to Ruth Chris Steak House.  We decided that we would get breakfast, pick up a couple of sandwiches for the day.  We did pretty well I would say.  Got to the CC (convention center) about 9am-ish and took that 1/2a mile

hike back from Hall H to Hall A where disabled services were.  Got our wheelchair and slowly made our way back to Hall H where we were going to try to attend panels.  While in line, the volunteer had ask to see handicap stickers and an attendant badge.  We had neither.  We had to roll on back to Hall A and secure that to be able to sit/stand in line for Hall H.  It wasn't that bad but while in line the first time, we were so much closer to the front that we could have made it into the panel for Breaking Bad.  Obviously at the end of of the line again, we waiting about 2 hours before we got inside.  We were able to get 2 seats for the last 20 minutes of Doctor Who.  Aaron was pretty excited but he has seen Matt Smith so much that the excitement wore of pretty quickly.  7000 people, Hall H, for the Doctor Who panel.  Mind you that these people, some camped out over night under the awning next to Hall H.  Doctor Who panel didn't start till about 1215pm.  Supernatural and Breaking Bad were first.

Right after the Doctor Who panel, Community followed.  We moved about up quite a bit to the front.  Aaron loves Community, me, so-so.  It was a pretty good panel.  It was done by 245pm.  We had about 2 more hours on the exhibit floor so we stopped by different booths, met up with a friend who had business set up there.  Crowds were starting to thin out, it's Sunday, Kid's day so there are so many children in costume.  It's Halloween in July.  Our wheelchair was a loaner for the day, they didn't require us to pay for the day rental which was pretty sweet.  Saved $25.  Aaron and I left empty handed, not much shopping this year.  We got what we wanted through pre-orders.

We met up with the girls and coordinated a plan of who was doing what.  Malia finished her CON but picking up more freebies, Caitlin went and got her Volunteer CON Shirt, she volunteered 4 days straight and got a free shirt out of it.  She didn't pay for her badge either.  It's a pretty sweet gig.  Amy and I did that in 2005.  I was signed up as confirmed volunteer but when I got sick, I decided to skip it. I had paid for my badge already anyways.

Finally on the bus back to the hotel, we bid farewell to our Comic-Con 2013 experience and hope to be back next year.  130,000 people this year.  It hasn't gotten old yet.  Excited for more stuff next year.  We will have a +1 with us as well.  Hoping that she will love the excitement as much as we do.

The gang and I decided on PF Chang's for dinner , one of Malia's many favorites.  Enjoyed it very much.  The dessert at the end was amazing.  Couldn't ask for a more perfect ending.

Officially 365 days till the next CON.  See you all there next year!



Carl, my Minion!

 Teen Titan's

Hobbit made out of Lego

Day 4

I've made it through the night with about 5 hours of sleep total. Not bad. The bronchial tubes are starting to open up thanks to Mucinex.

Aaron and I have made it to the CON, so far so good. We got me a wheelchair for the day. Walking long distances are still a bit difficult.  Our first panel is Bates Motel and got free key chains. Our first freebie of the day.

We've made it to the Once Upon A Time panel and we trekked it to the Indigo Ballroom at the Hilton to see the cast of How I Met Your Mother.  It was great to see the whole cast but bittersweet at the same time being the fact that this will be there 9th and final season.

My husband, such a trooper.  I can say that he had his exercise for the week having to push me in that chair.  Gosh I love him.  Mind you, he didn't get much sleep when I didn't get any sleep from being sick that one night either.  I am so happy that we aren't at the Holiday Inn Bayside anymore.  Thank goodness my doctor's office was available to me when I needed them, telling what I could take for this horrible allergy asthma.  A few more days, I'll be free and clear, I hope.

We took a break right after the HIMYM panel and we did a little shopping. Picked up a few raffle tickets for some drawings. Lined up to pick up pre-orders for our CON shirts and Mattel.  We stopped for a quick bite to eat, I had to have the nachos and Aaron had a pizza.  I snacked along the way trying to keep my sugars in check.  Believe me, my sugars have been rocked off it's keester these few days.  I don't even remember testing on Thursday.  I was good today though.  Took all my meds, did my insulin, ate something every 3 hours, light snacks here and there.

We decided to go watch The Vampire Diaries panel followed by Arrow.  Love them all.  Aaron checked his Twitter to see if we won anything from the raffle drawings and we did.  We actually lucked out.  My number was drawn first for ThinkGeek.  They gave us an hour to get to the booth.  We didn't see the tweet till after that and they had drawn another number.  When Aaron saw that my number was first, he said that we should go downstairs and see if they would make an exception.  We didn't see the tweet in time and I was wheelchair bound so it took a while to get there.  By the time we got there, the second winner hadn't shown up.  The lady gave that person about 15 minutes to show up, if they didn't show, the prize was mine.  I GOT THE PRIZE!  Aaron is over the moon.  He is such a Doctor Who fan.  I guess pushing me in the wheelchair wasn't so bad after all.

We headed back to the hotel so Aaron can freshen up and get to the Nerdist Live Podcast panel.  Me and the girls took a walk down to The Fish Market Restaurant and had some dinner.  So good!

Tomorrow will be our last day and it will be 365 days till next year. Before the year is over, we would have already purchased our badges and by February 2014, we would have secured our hotels.

Amelia has been a little quiet today, I've gotten a few kicks and nudges.  Next year, we are hoping she'll enjoy what her little eyes and ears can see and hear.  I'm hoping that Comic-Con will make her happy as much as it's made me and Aaron happy in the past 11 years of attending.  It will be her Disneyland.

Until tomorrow folks.  I'll talk to you then.  Thanks for reading.

 The prize I won from ThinkGeek!  Sorry folks, it's not for sale.

My Wonder Woman figure from Kotobukiya.

Aaron and I at the Bates Motel panel.

Amelia's loot.  Her first Superman t-shirt that has her birth year 2013.  She'll be born 75 years after Superman was created.  Her Wonder Woman Chara Cover for her iPhone 4.  Y'all know that she'll take over the darn thing and her Captain America and Wonder Woman onesies.  I think she is pretty geeked out don't you think.

Day 3

Friday, July 19, 2013

Today was pretty uneventful due to my allergy issues.  We checked out of the stupid Holiday Inn Bayside and are now staying at the Wyndham, where the girls are staying.  Room is nice and renovated, no bad odor.  Not too shabby.  Front desk lady let us check in early cause I told her that I was sick.

Aaron got ready and did his thing at the CON.  I stayed in the room and tried as much as possible to catch up on sleep, take med, and just try to breath.  I probably got about a good hour of sleep.

Aaron and I had dinner downstairs, walking has been how can I say this lightly, a BITCH.  I can't walk from my chair to the bathroom without hyperventilating.  Thank God for my inhaler.  Everything that I'm taking is doctor approved.

I know Malia is pretty stoked with all the autographs that she has gotten.  These girls leave the hotel about 430am and hang out till they let them in the building at 630am.  Been there, done that, I'm not going to do that.  I know that she got autographs from Beauty and The Beast cast, Nikita, The Following, and the cast of Devirgent.  Must be a new show.  She works pretty hard for this stuff.  She will need a vacation from her vacation. Getting autographs at the CON is like a job.  It's not easy and it can be stressful.   Caitlin on the other hand is volunteering her time at Comic-Con 2013 doing line monitor duty.  Would've been a cushy job for me if I wasn't carrying a little girl name Amelia.  Honestly, I'm happy to just be here.

Aaron and I are going to do the wheelchair thing tomorrow in hops that we can get there early enough. I would like to get some sleep tonight and be able to enjoy some of the festivities tomorrow.

Day 2

Thursday, July 18, 2013

The first day of the CON, this was the day the girls help me move to the other room too by the way.  I was taking my time because I wasn't feeling that great to begin with.  I was really upset with the Holiday Inn Bayside and how they handled the situation.  I've spent $80 just on remedies alone.  I plan on writing a letter and sending them copies of the receipts for reimbursement.  I swear, I did everything in my power to stay healthy for this trip only to get sick here of all places.  Something similar happened to me 2 years ago when we stayed at the Residence Inn Downtown but it's not as severe as this one.  I felt symptoms about the 2nd or 3rd day and remember that I left the exhibit floor early to get a bite to eat and rest in the room.  Same thing, allergies.  At least then, I was able to enjoy most of the trip. 

Aaron and I got ready, got on the bus and headed to the convention center and got a few things.  You know my love for Minions.  If you follow me on Facebook and InstaGram, you've seen that picture of me and Carl.  He's just a display case.  If he truly were a real minion, I would've taken him home.  LOL!  I was only at the CON for 2 hours, spent most of my budget for the day shopping and Aaron had panels he was attending at Nerd HQ and WootStock.  So he dropped me at the bus, gave me a kiss and off I went.  To rest.

I took a nap for about an hour or two, breathing is fun when you can breath but when you got Allergic Asthma like I do right now, you wish you had an oxygen machine.  The girls and I moved me and Aaron's stuff to the newer room that was located in the tower, which should have been our room in the first place.  

The girls and I had dinner at House of Thai.  So delish!  I have leftovers for days.  Took the girls back to their hotel and I went to Walgreen's to secure myself a few items that would help me in my quest for breathing.

Aaron got back about 1am.  Poor guy didn't even get to do anything he planned to do because he was watching me.  I can't sleep laying down so I'm having to sit up.  I really don't know if I slept at all.  I don't think I did actually.  It was pretty tough.  I can't walk long distances cause I get out of breath so easy.

Day 1

Wednesday July 17, 2013



We get into San Diego, CA about 130pm.  We spent the night at Corissa and Brian's in OC and headed out about 1130a.  A little traffic here and there, we dropped the girls, Malia and Caitlin to there hotel while Aaron and I trekked it to the Town and Country Suites to get our badges.  We didn't have preview night so we got our pretty early.  Headed to our hotel, The Holiday Inn Bayside.  We checked in and unloaded our stuff.

As we open the door, there was this foul musty odor.  MOLD, mildew, you know, the old hotel smell.  An hour or 2 later, I could feel my throat getting all scratchy, sinuses getting all plugged.  I called the front desk and told them the issue.  They were booked to capacity but they would try to move our rooms the next day.  I called my doctor and she told me I could have Benadryl, Zyrtec.  The sliding glass door didn't have a screen so we couldn't really leave the door open to get fresh air.  We decide to change rooms and they offer us a room upstairs, no elevator.  Room wasn't bad but hello, I'm 7 months pregnant, I've got allergies.  No way was I taking the room.

We head to the front desk, they want to offer us an upgrade that we have to pay for.  I told the lady, your hotel room made me sick, the room shouldn't have been rented out if the stench was that bad, now you want us to pay for an upgrade that is clearly not our fault.  I told her, we will just stay in the room we are in now and the Manager will here about this in a letter.  She apologized and said that they were waiting for a room to get fixed and if it was clear, we can move to that room.

Thank God that Malia and Caitlin came to the hotel.  When the room was available, they sent a bell hop and luggage truck, but I wasn't ready yet.  So the girls were able to help me.  Thanks girls so much for your help.  I sure do appreciate it.