EYECON - IT TOTALLY ROCKS!

I know I'm running a bit late with this write-up about my wonderful weekend at Eyecon during the first weekend of November, but hey, gimme a break.  I'm a gimp. And a lazy one at that.

To begin with, why is it called Eyecon?  Beats the heck outta me, but whatever it's called, I do know one thing.  It's F U N!  I had the most wonderful time.  And I wasn't the only one.  All my fellow Billsbabes had just as much fun as I did.  It's been a really long time since I felt so relaxed and ready for some fun, just for me.

Early on Friday morning, I hopped into my trusty, but very dusty red Jeep and drove down and met up with my good friend and fellow Billsbabes Nina. We cruised on down the highway ala Thelma and Louise (minus  shooting a guy at a juke joint.  We couldn't agree on which one of us would actually get poked by a drunk and which one would do the shootin', so we just decided to forget it)  until we reached Orlando, Fl.  Orlando is often the desired destination for all things fun in the sun and this weekend was no exception.  We arrived and checked into the beautiful Florida Hotel and Conference Center, and before long we were banging on the door of our ringleader, aka The Bag Lady.  I'm sure she's been known by other names, but hey, this is going to be a "G" rated post, so I won't repeat those. We had to wait in the hallway until she found her shirt and put it on and I don't know what was up with that, but I believe in going for the gusto and I'm not here to judge. 

As much fun as it was meeting the fantastic actors from True Blood, I have to say that it was more exciting to finally get to meet, face to face, some of my fellow Billsbabes that I've been talking with either online or by phone.  I was positively giddy with excitement!  I was giddy with other stuff too, but we won't go into that.

Later that evening Nina and I, along with Michael, Renee, Margaret, Anjanette and Ruth, made our way downstairs to the Meet and Greet Cocktail Party.  Those cocktails were a little hard to come by, but after downing one Marguerita that my bud Renee volunteered to stand in line for (pidgeons had started roosting on her head, thinking she was a statue), it wasn't long before the main event started.  In through the doors arrived our highly anticipated guests, minus Joe Manganiello.  Sam Trammell, Allan Hyde, Kristen Bauer van Straten and her incredibly handsome husband Abri arrived to squeals and applause.  Photos weren't permitted, so you ain't gonna be seeing any from that.  There were a lot of people there jostling and shoving in order to see their favorite stars, so we didn't stay a real long time.  We decided to make our own fun, so we soon  hit the road in search of thrills and chills at Planet Hollywood at Disney After Dark.  Oh, and I was about to forget that we had a surprise visitor show up unexpectedly.   He was a long legged, big footed fellow and he was totally diggin' his homies at Planet Hollywood.  We could hardly keep the honeys off him.

Saturday morning, after a splendid breakfast and one of the best omelets I've ever eaten, we got all dolled up and ready for the Q & A with Joe Manganiello.  As you can imagine, the screams and "oh yeahs" were so loud and plentiful that I'm sure we scared off every dog in a 50 mile radius.   In case you hadn't noticed., Joe is quite the nice looking feller.   He began by telling us a bit about himself and his background, such as how he got into acting, what he's thinking about doing now other than playing Alcide and what it was like to work on True Blood.  He graciously answered tons of  questions from the audience.  We were told ahead of time that we couldn't ask him to remove his shirt, so that sorta rendered me as mute as a mob witness and I just couldn't think of a thing to ask him after that horrible disappointment.   It seemed like he'd only been talking a few minutes, then it was over.  There were a lot of sad, sad faces in that audience.  But we had to soldier on.

And soldier on we did with the adorably cute Allan Hyde.  He's such an amazing actor.  There wasn't a single trace of Godric, other than the soft spoken voice and manner, about him.  He's funny, outgoing and full of Denmark charm and has absolutely the sweetest smile!  I'm thinking he probably left there thinking there are some strange womenfolk there in the land of Mickey and Donald.  And from what I hear, the birds gave him a cute little giftie while visiting Disneyworld later that weekend.  He answered tons of questions about himself and just charmed the eyeliner off all of us.


After breaking for some much needed sustance (I'm lying through my teeth here, cause I could go without 3 squares for about 3 months and still be totin' a load) we got ready for the Pictures and Autographs.  And what fun it was!  It was so great to be able to meet and talk with Sam, Pam, Allan and Joe.  Sam is just the bees knees!  Those blue eyes of his could sure make a good Christian woman think about sin.

There wasn't much time after this activity until the Banquet was scheduled to begin.  We barely had time for more than a quick swipe and a piddle before we had to make our way down to the banquet area and get lined up.  I, along with Nina, had the great luck to be seated with the beautiful Kristen and her smokin' hawt husband Abri.  Ladies, you want to see a beautiful couple, then look no further.  She's just as beautiful as she appears on screen.  But that's where the resemblance to Pam stops.  She's just the sweetest, friendliest thing!  And that husband of hers has an accent that could make wooden ice cubes melt and totally cause an eargasm.   You can see the love those two have for each other.  It was downright humbling.  And for an old cynic like me, I'm surprised it didn't make me nauseous.   We had a wonderful time talking with them and getting to know a few things about them and their life during dinner.  I was just about too excited to eat.  Notice I said "just about".  Nothing ever gets me that excited.  And that's a shame, cause quite frankly the food was a little suspect.  Kinda rough going for the taste buds.  Hell, I think I saw the dinner plates trying to escape through the back door so they wouldn't be charged as an accessory after the fact.  But hey, we didn't come there to eat.  We came to have fun and fun we did!

The Fangbangers Ball.  That name just about says it all.  Costumes were not required and yours truly didn't dress up in any costume other than my usual traveling clothes, but there were some really original and fantastic costumes there.  I saw more Lady Gaga's than a MTV marathon.  I saw Eric, Queen Sophie, lots of Sookie's, a Laffie or two and enough vampires to drain the entire convention center before dawn.  Everyone sure looked like they were having a great time.  I'm not too steady on my feet and the Good Lord didn't see fit to bless me with rhythm or coordination, so I just sat and watched the young folks slinging a hoof and enjoying the music and atmosphere.  I don't think I've stayed up that late since the last time I had to find somebody to post bail.  (Just kidding!)

Sunday morning arrived much too soon and although we were sad about it being our last day of fun and stalking, there was also the excitement of knowing we would soon be treated to the Q & A from Kristen aka Pam Our Favorite Vampire.  She was so entertaining and fun to listen to!  She told the greatest stories of being on the set with Alex S. (I'm not smart enough to spell his last name), Denis O'Hare and other cast members.  She had us all in stitches!  I tell ya, the girl missed her calling, she'd make a great stand up comedian.  After she had finished entertaining us, there was still more awesomeness to follow.  Her handsome and talented husband Abri treated us to a wonderful concert.  He is such a talented young man.  And he ain't hard to look at either.  His CD, Sunlight and Shadows has become one of my favorite pieces of ear candy.  It's just downright amazing.

Can I get a "hell yeah!" for Mr. Sam Trammell?  He totally lives up to all the hype.  His Q & A was such a treat for us all.  I've already reported on my thoughts about meeting him, so I won't prolong this long-winded post any further.  I know you all are relieved.

And I need to give a holla out to the event owner, Kenny.  He is such a sweetie!  A sweeter, nicer young man you couldn't meet.  He really made us all feel welcomed and made sure we were taken care of.  Thanks Kenny.  Actually, the entire staff was super to one and all.  I know they must have been dog-butt dragging tired by Sunday night, but you wouldn't know it.  Thanks to you all!

Sadly, before long it was time to get our things together, say our good-byes and get ready to make the drive home.  With long, sad faces we hugged each other as we repeated over and over how much fun we'd had, how great it was to finally meet each other and how we just couldn't wait until the next opportunity to do this again.  It was a great weekend and if you ever get the opportunity to attend Eyecon,  then do yourself a favor and GO!