Age of the Geek

Changing it up 
                Comic-Con week is my favorite week of the year. One where I can unwind and let the rest of the world pass me by as all other information gets drowned out in the vast wave of pop culture news.
                But, alas, Comic-Con is over and it's time to catch up with the real world. So what has been happening this week?
                The RNC convention turned into a dumpster fire of unforced errors and political revolts, the DNC convention doesn't look to be doing much better, a Miami cop shot an unarmed mental health worker laying in the street and his excuse was that he missed while trying to kill an unarmed autistic man playing with a toy truck, Turkey is rapidly turning into one of a variety of political time bombs, the Olympic village in Rio is unlivable and another Florida night club has been shot up.
                You know what, never mind. We'll get to that stuff next week. Let's talk about my vacation instead. This way I'll know who does or doesn't read my column when I come back and get asked about my trip.
                This year instead of the usual hustle and bustle of the San Diego convention, I made a conscious decision to take it easy. No camping overnight for panels. No hectic schedule to abide by. No trying to sustain myself for four days on Pop-Tarts and Pepsi.
                I've been doing this convention for 14 years now. I've seen the movie stars, gotten the exclusive collectables, and watched the early footage. It's all great fun, but more than anything else my annual pilgrimage to San Diego has become about spending time with the friends I've made over the last decade and a half. Sometimes that involves spending hours sitting in line for a room you're not even going to go into. Sometimes it just means putting off that last trip around the exhibit hall so you can go out to dinner.
                 Which is not to say the convention wasn't both exciting and exhausting. My plan to take things easy started off on Wednesday by spending several hours waiting in line for a chance at getting into the world premiere of "Star Trek: Beyond," followed by another couple hours of going through the line again after failing to draw a winning ticket the first time, followed by another hour of waiting in line to actually get into the movie.
                Totally worth it by the way. I'm not sure how much I would have cared for the movie in a regular theater setting, but a red carpet premiere with the film's soundtrack replaced by a live orchestra does a lot to favorably sway opinion.
                Thursday was much more laid back. With absolutely nothing pressing on my schedule, I merely wandered the exhibit hall, caught a few panels and hung out with my friends. Where usually I'm active in the convention center from the second it opens until they virtually have to kick me out, Thursday we bailed out early and spent an hour chatting in a hotel lounge.
                Friday's big event wasn't even at the convention itself. It was SEGA's 25th Anniversary party for Sonic the Hedgehog. Notable highlights included a live concert of music from the video games, the reveal of two upcoming games, an open bar and my first time using an Uber (unrelated to the open bar).
                Side note, I can see why Uber has caught on as much as it has in largely populated areas. While there's little use for it here in the rural Midwest, it's a ridiculously easy way to get from Point A to Point B when you're downtown.
                Saturday generally considered to be the biggest and most exciting day of the convention, actually turned out to be my least eventful. I slept in, got to the convention hall after noon, hit a couple panels, and then went out to eat with my friends. And then I went out to eat again with a different set of friends. Really, I spent a lot of time this week just eating out. Usually I like to think that the activity of the convention will counteract any extra calories I pack away, but this year I think I'm gonna come back with more of me than I left.
                Finally, there was Sunday. And in spite of my plans to avoid the exhaustive efforts it takes to get into the fabled Hall H, the impromptu "Pokémon Go" panel drew me in. It was a historic event for the convention. Initially, the "Pokémon Go" panel had been scheduled for one of the convention center's smallest rooms. That schedule was obviously made before the game launched and became a worldwide phenomenon. To compensate, Comic-Con made the unprecedented move of moving the panel to Hall H, their largest room. This is not only the first time a panel has been added to Hall H, but it may be the first time the room has been utilized to feature a video game.
                And, of course, we finished the day by going out to eat.
                I wouldn't say this year's trip has been completely relaxing, but after so many years of packing my vacation schedule to the brim with events and activities, taking it easy is a nice change of pace.
 
                Travis Fischer is a news writer for Mid-America Publishing and, yes, is still working on his vacation.