Danny & Pork Chop Take Pickles To NYCC
6:20am
The fucking bus has left late. What is it with Americans and not being on time? I click my tongue bats against the back of my teeth impatiently while Pork Chop sits next to me. We met Pickles at the bust station almost an hour ago. The bus was supposed to board at 5:55 and leave at 5:15 the latest. This is one of the rare times that we're bringing a mate along on an adventure. We spent time with winkles in Montreal and Ottawa not too long ago (I will get to finishing those bogs eventually) this feels different though. Pickles has a kind of excitement to her that Winkles lacks.
The dark of the early morning brings a sleepy calm over me. I've not been sleeping that well lately. Not long after we've departed the bus station, cracks of light appear on the horizon; they're a vibrant reddish-orange colour, reminding me of the lightening trail the Flash gives off when he runs. I know it won't last long. It's supposed to be an overcast and rainy day. The perfect kind of day.
Pulling into Hartford reminds me of him. It was a little over a year ago we were here together. The emptiness sneaks up over me and I have to admit to myself just how much I really miss him. His laughter echos through me. Memories of us etched into the pavement run back through me as I stare out at the city passing me by. The heat of the midsummer against my skin, sharing a diet coke with him, the way he'd tussle my curls. I want to block out all of this. I can't allow myself to be confused once again by thoughts of him when he's not around; it's lethal.
Rain splashes on the coach windows as we head further south. The rain is the comfort that I need. I wish that my depression wasn't gnawing away at me today. I should be sunny and optimistic. I'm heading away on an adventure, but more than anything I want to be hiding away, buried under my divet. The more I will these feelings away, the longer they seem to want to stay. I can't let Pickles know that I feel this bad; it would ruin the day. I need to swallow everything and let it digest just as I always do.
Road construction and the rain slow us down and we arrive an hour and a half late into New York City. I'm fuming that we missed a chunk of the convention, but there's nothing I can do about it now. We need to get there; it's like a 15-minute walk from Port Authority, so that's not all that bad. We get our bearings together and head out into the damp city. I start to feel better as the cold crawls through me. I'm able to breathe. I got my pep back. I start zooming down the street, forgetting that she can't keep up with me. She calls out for me to slow and I remember that I'm not alone. I usually do trips alone so I'm used to speeding along. I slow down for her like I would for Puffin since he likes to walk slow 90% of the time. I'm aching to get out and stretch my legs after being cramped on the bus for 6 hours.
We make it to the convention centre and there are so many people. I don't know if my anxiety can handle this, but I'm ready to jump in. After all, the past few weeks have tested my anxiety, what's one more day? We head through security and I make it through unscathed. I'm kinda disappointed I didn't get a TSA grade pat-down. I was kinda looking forward to that. Jumping into a stream of people, we make our way into the venue. There are so many half-clothed women here that I'm surprised they let some of them in. At least they had the decency to shave their lady gardens before slipping into some of these less than covering garments. I don't know where to look. I've never been to an event like this before. Tattoo conventions sure, nut nothing like this. I'm interested in the Funko stuff for the most part but scream internally seeing the amount of Ghostbusters stuff they also have. If I'd have known they'd have so many Staypuft things, I'd have gone to a comic-con earlier. I can feel some of the depression from earlier lifting away as I get into the spirit of the venue. I don't know if it will last, but I'm hopeful.
We're not even in the venue 10 minutes before Pickles and I lose each other. I'm not too worried. We can text one another and stay in contact. I want to check out the FYE booth since I hate the 45 minute plus bus ride to go to the one closest to me. I jump in line and check out all of the stuff that they have. I thought the line would move faster than it did. She wandered about the venue while I waited in line, talking to a mum and son who were into Funko pops together. Finally, we reached the opening to the booth...it only took an hour and a half of waiting in line. Honestly, it didn't feel all that long to me. I guess I was just drawn into all the excitement, snapping photos as the line slowly moved. They had one of the Pennywise pops that I wanted so I snagged him, checking out the other items that they had around-then I saw it. Stay Puft cereal. And it was cheaper than in the store. I quickly scanned the list of ingredients to see if it was something that I could eat. It was. I snapped up the last box and dove into the checkout line. I was a little miffed this super dork had cut through the line and no one noticed. I wanted to punch the stuffing out of him, but I remembered that if I did that I'd be thrown out of the convention and it would not only ruin my day but Pickle's as well. Containing my seething rage, I nudged him and went to the till.
Pickles texts me that the panel that we've won entrance to starts soon so we should meet up and find out where it is in the building. I find her in the lower level and we wander around looking around for signs for panels. We notice the sign and start looking around for the Purge Panel. We don't see it. We're both getting a little pissed off. We notice the autograph sessions going on. She asks if there's a standby line for autographs, like if there are people who won the autograph session in the lottery but didn't show up on time for it. The staff looks confused and tells her they don't know. She's salty as hell they don't know and I'm not far behind her. Why would they not know? They're running the event, aren't they? But as I've always said, bullshit baffles brains every time.
Tired of looking around lost, like a complete tosser, I ask a staff member where the Purge panel is and mention the name of the room we were given in the email. She tells us that it's not even in the building. It's actually at a venue down the street. Why the fuck wouldn't the email say that? I don't know if we can get back into comic-con if we leave the venue to go to this panel. I don't want to leave and get stuck not being able to go back in. I mean, I love NYC and there's always so much to do and see, but I'm here for comic-con. We ask a staff member if we can get back in if we go out to the panel that's down the street. We get the green light so we race out into the windy rainy day. I couldn't be happier with the weather, but Pickles isn't feeling it. We get into the panel and sit in the dark. It's a preview of the first episode of the new season, then some of the cast members are going to come and talk about the season. I'd not seen the first season, but Pickles had. I won the panel so I was happy to go along with her.
I enjoy the preview of the show; it looks like it's something interesting and I might actually go home and watch the first season. I didn't find the films all that captivating. The previews bored me. The entire idea of crime being legal for a night and everyone acting in one certain way just kinda seems worn out and old to me. Personally, I kind of feel like the films were created to insight fear and further a corrupt political agenda. We don't stay for the entire panel. We start to get restless sitting listening to some of the cast talk, so we sneak out and head out into the city. The cool does me good. I'm really enjoying that and the wet weather. It's doing a good job of keeping the depression at bay.
We decide to head back to comic-con to check out more of what's there. It somehow seems more crowded than before. I didn't think that was possible. I know I want to get at least one other Funko while I'm here, I'm just not sure what and then I see it. Pillsbury Doughboy. Puffy. I've been wanting him for ages. He's a little cheaper than I've seen online and I don't have to wait for shipping. I push a kid out of the way and tell the guy behind the counter that I want the Pilsbury. I can't wait to take him home. Now all I need is the edition where he's holding the shamrock and I've got both. I want to get the Sugarbear pop, but I realise that I should save some money in case of an emergency. I make a note to get him online when I get home; he's about the same price as online.
Looking around I spot a life-size Staypuft statue and almost lose my mind. If I could have stolen it, I would have. As you guys know, I love everything Staypuft and everything fluffy. I'm like a kid in a candy store. Looking at all the Funkos, Staypufts and cool collectables. I spot Dark Horse Comics and race over to see what they have for The Umbrella Academy while Pickles wanders looking at other pops she's considering getting. They have all of the issues. I've read almost all of them and I love Klaus in the show. I make a note of what merch I want to get when I get home because I don't want to have to carry so much stuff back on the bus; it's actually very reasonably priced. I'm surprised. My joints are starting to hurt, but I can't let that get in the way. The tightness in my knees is something I should be used to by now. (Thanks, body!) I hook back up with Pickles and we wander around. She spots mystery boxes. I don't get the appeal. I'm a guy who likes to know what the fuck he's getting right upfront. (Yes, despite me doing that gumball machine mystery tattoo last year) She's gotta choose between a mystery Funko box or an Arrow box. She's torn.
She decides to think on it while we wander around a bit more. Finally, when she decided on what one she wants, we can't find the booth. The convention centre is huge and everything looks similar. She starts fuming she can't find it and my stress level goes up. I don't need a hungry and upset woman with me. Sensing danger, we split up and both look for the booth. Four eyes are better than two. It takes about 15 minutes, but I finally find the booth in another section of the convention centre. I text her where I am and I hang around there oogling some of the other merchandise and showing Puffs & Winkles some of the merch. I can't take this shit anymore. I'm actually hungry. I pull out a biscuit and start munching right in front of the booth. Usually, I've got hang-ups about eating in public, but right now with my insides burning, it's a low-level anxiety. I think me passing out would be more embarrassing than someone calling me fat for having a biscuit. After all, there were dozens of fatties there. Of course, I noticed, it's my thing. Rosie hits me up and I text her rapidly as I wait for Pickles to make her way to me.
It's been a half-hour and I'm starting to wonder if she's been kidnapped. (Adultnapped??) I'm getting worried about that and the time. It's almost 7pm. We gotta get back to the bus station because I have to be at work for 6 am tomorrow. Panic starts to flood me. You'd never know that though; outwardly I'm as calm as a pond surface on a spring day. Inside, it's like D-Day. Finally, I spot her moving toward me. She gets her box and we move to get the hell out. The place is basically an oversized maze. They'd make a killing doing some sort of Halloween thing in here, one of those spooky maze haunted place thingies.
We leave comic-con just as they're closing the place down for the night. I can't believe that we actually spent the entire day here. It didn't feel that long. Did an actual day really go by? The sky is pitch black, rain drizzling from it and foggy clouds hovering around some of the buildings. It's a perfect evening. Only one problem. We're starving. We have an hour to grab food and make it to the bus station before the bus leaves without us. Doable? Maybe. I'm nervous about time, especially this time. If I didn't have to work in the morning, I'd not be so stressed.
We head in the direction of the bus station in search of cheap eats. I don't have time to run and get a vegan burger, so I guess anything that is meat-free will do for me. I don't know if there are any vegan places around Port Authority. I should have checked earlier but I didn't that far ahead. We find a pizza place right next to Port Authority and dive into the line. There are at least a dozen people with comic-con merch there. I guess lots of them are taking coaches home. I should have known. We order food to go and head into the bus terminal. It's not actually that crowded. I'm hit with a wave of memories. Years of going in and out of this terminal hit me at once. I can't focus on that. I'm worried about not finding the gate.
We make it to the bus station about a half-hour before it's set to take off. She heads into the toilets while I get the tickets out. I'm not looking at them. Why would I? I know the date and time. She pops out and we head to the gate. The little ticket man looks at the tickets, hands them back to me and says "These are for yesterday." My face falls. "Are you fucking kidding me?" I fail to keep my composure. I'm tired and I won't get back home until a few measly hours before I have to head to work to do a 9-hour shift. He senses the rage in me, so he quickly says, "If there is room on the bus I can let you get on. You're going to have to wait until the bus is ready to leave though." Fuming I step to the side and hiss that he'd better let us on the bus because I'm not getting fired over this.
Probably fearing I was going to tear him apart right then and there, the little ticket man tells us to present our tickets and get on the bus before it's even the time he gave us. That's what I thought. I bound onto the bus, pizza box in hand, Pickles right behind me. The bus is packed. We were lucky to find two seats together so we didn't have to sit next to some strange. We settle in for the long journey home, cramped with our comic-con bags and a giant pizza box. I fall asleep almost immediately after shoving something in my mouth. I love days like this. Where I can get out and explore.
I don't know if I'm going to go next year. I said that I might not want to go and deal with all the crowds again, but you know what? Never say never. I had a great time. If I decided to do it next year I might go for more than one day. Who knows? Stay tuned for other adventures with Pork Chop & me. I'm wanting to head to Cambridge. I put it off this summer because I stupidly decided to help a friend out. Maybe a weekend there would be cool. Do all the museums that I wanted to do. I might even take Pickles with me and do a weekend adventure. Dunno how she'd feel about that but I think it would be ace.
New Delectables with Dan are in the works! I'm thinking I'll do another vegan meal plan blog in the near future as well! Other updates for Happiness & Homicide are coming soon as well as a few other updates. Maybe a new Tattoo Talk Thursday! Who knows? Stay tuned. Yeet.
We're not even in the venue 10 minutes before Pickles and I lose each other. I'm not too worried. We can text one another and stay in contact. I want to check out the FYE booth since I hate the 45 minute plus bus ride to go to the one closest to me. I jump in line and check out all of the stuff that they have. I thought the line would move faster than it did. She wandered about the venue while I waited in line, talking to a mum and son who were into Funko pops together. Finally, we reached the opening to the booth...it only took an hour and a half of waiting in line. Honestly, it didn't feel all that long to me. I guess I was just drawn into all the excitement, snapping photos as the line slowly moved. They had one of the Pennywise pops that I wanted so I snagged him, checking out the other items that they had around-then I saw it. Stay Puft cereal. And it was cheaper than in the store. I quickly scanned the list of ingredients to see if it was something that I could eat. It was. I snapped up the last box and dove into the checkout line. I was a little miffed this super dork had cut through the line and no one noticed. I wanted to punch the stuffing out of him, but I remembered that if I did that I'd be thrown out of the convention and it would not only ruin my day but Pickle's as well. Containing my seething rage, I nudged him and went to the till.
Tired of looking around lost, like a complete tosser, I ask a staff member where the Purge panel is and mention the name of the room we were given in the email. She tells us that it's not even in the building. It's actually at a venue down the street. Why the fuck wouldn't the email say that? I don't know if we can get back into comic-con if we leave the venue to go to this panel. I don't want to leave and get stuck not being able to go back in. I mean, I love NYC and there's always so much to do and see, but I'm here for comic-con. We ask a staff member if we can get back in if we go out to the panel that's down the street. We get the green light so we race out into the windy rainy day. I couldn't be happier with the weather, but Pickles isn't feeling it. We get into the panel and sit in the dark. It's a preview of the first episode of the new season, then some of the cast members are going to come and talk about the season. I'd not seen the first season, but Pickles had. I won the panel so I was happy to go along with her.
I enjoy the preview of the show; it looks like it's something interesting and I might actually go home and watch the first season. I didn't find the films all that captivating. The previews bored me. The entire idea of crime being legal for a night and everyone acting in one certain way just kinda seems worn out and old to me. Personally, I kind of feel like the films were created to insight fear and further a corrupt political agenda. We don't stay for the entire panel. We start to get restless sitting listening to some of the cast talk, so we sneak out and head out into the city. The cool does me good. I'm really enjoying that and the wet weather. It's doing a good job of keeping the depression at bay.
We decide to head back to comic-con to check out more of what's there. It somehow seems more crowded than before. I didn't think that was possible. I know I want to get at least one other Funko while I'm here, I'm just not sure what and then I see it. Pillsbury Doughboy. Puffy. I've been wanting him for ages. He's a little cheaper than I've seen online and I don't have to wait for shipping. I push a kid out of the way and tell the guy behind the counter that I want the Pilsbury. I can't wait to take him home. Now all I need is the edition where he's holding the shamrock and I've got both. I want to get the Sugarbear pop, but I realise that I should save some money in case of an emergency. I make a note to get him online when I get home; he's about the same price as online.
Looking around I spot a life-size Staypuft statue and almost lose my mind. If I could have stolen it, I would have. As you guys know, I love everything Staypuft and everything fluffy. I'm like a kid in a candy store. Looking at all the Funkos, Staypufts and cool collectables. I spot Dark Horse Comics and race over to see what they have for The Umbrella Academy while Pickles wanders looking at other pops she's considering getting. They have all of the issues. I've read almost all of them and I love Klaus in the show. I make a note of what merch I want to get when I get home because I don't want to have to carry so much stuff back on the bus; it's actually very reasonably priced. I'm surprised. My joints are starting to hurt, but I can't let that get in the way. The tightness in my knees is something I should be used to by now. (Thanks, body!) I hook back up with Pickles and we wander around. She spots mystery boxes. I don't get the appeal. I'm a guy who likes to know what the fuck he's getting right upfront. (Yes, despite me doing that gumball machine mystery tattoo last year) She's gotta choose between a mystery Funko box or an Arrow box. She's torn.
She decides to think on it while we wander around a bit more. Finally, when she decided on what one she wants, we can't find the booth. The convention centre is huge and everything looks similar. She starts fuming she can't find it and my stress level goes up. I don't need a hungry and upset woman with me. Sensing danger, we split up and both look for the booth. Four eyes are better than two. It takes about 15 minutes, but I finally find the booth in another section of the convention centre. I text her where I am and I hang around there oogling some of the other merchandise and showing Puffs & Winkles some of the merch. I can't take this shit anymore. I'm actually hungry. I pull out a biscuit and start munching right in front of the booth. Usually, I've got hang-ups about eating in public, but right now with my insides burning, it's a low-level anxiety. I think me passing out would be more embarrassing than someone calling me fat for having a biscuit. After all, there were dozens of fatties there. Of course, I noticed, it's my thing. Rosie hits me up and I text her rapidly as I wait for Pickles to make her way to me.
It's been a half-hour and I'm starting to wonder if she's been kidnapped. (Adultnapped??) I'm getting worried about that and the time. It's almost 7pm. We gotta get back to the bus station because I have to be at work for 6 am tomorrow. Panic starts to flood me. You'd never know that though; outwardly I'm as calm as a pond surface on a spring day. Inside, it's like D-Day. Finally, I spot her moving toward me. She gets her box and we move to get the hell out. The place is basically an oversized maze. They'd make a killing doing some sort of Halloween thing in here, one of those spooky maze haunted place thingies.
We leave comic-con just as they're closing the place down for the night. I can't believe that we actually spent the entire day here. It didn't feel that long. Did an actual day really go by? The sky is pitch black, rain drizzling from it and foggy clouds hovering around some of the buildings. It's a perfect evening. Only one problem. We're starving. We have an hour to grab food and make it to the bus station before the bus leaves without us. Doable? Maybe. I'm nervous about time, especially this time. If I didn't have to work in the morning, I'd not be so stressed.
We head in the direction of the bus station in search of cheap eats. I don't have time to run and get a vegan burger, so I guess anything that is meat-free will do for me. I don't know if there are any vegan places around Port Authority. I should have checked earlier but I didn't that far ahead. We find a pizza place right next to Port Authority and dive into the line. There are at least a dozen people with comic-con merch there. I guess lots of them are taking coaches home. I should have known. We order food to go and head into the bus terminal. It's not actually that crowded. I'm hit with a wave of memories. Years of going in and out of this terminal hit me at once. I can't focus on that. I'm worried about not finding the gate.
We make it to the bus station about a half-hour before it's set to take off. She heads into the toilets while I get the tickets out. I'm not looking at them. Why would I? I know the date and time. She pops out and we head to the gate. The little ticket man looks at the tickets, hands them back to me and says "These are for yesterday." My face falls. "Are you fucking kidding me?" I fail to keep my composure. I'm tired and I won't get back home until a few measly hours before I have to head to work to do a 9-hour shift. He senses the rage in me, so he quickly says, "If there is room on the bus I can let you get on. You're going to have to wait until the bus is ready to leave though." Fuming I step to the side and hiss that he'd better let us on the bus because I'm not getting fired over this.
Probably fearing I was going to tear him apart right then and there, the little ticket man tells us to present our tickets and get on the bus before it's even the time he gave us. That's what I thought. I bound onto the bus, pizza box in hand, Pickles right behind me. The bus is packed. We were lucky to find two seats together so we didn't have to sit next to some strange. We settle in for the long journey home, cramped with our comic-con bags and a giant pizza box. I fall asleep almost immediately after shoving something in my mouth. I love days like this. Where I can get out and explore.
I don't know if I'm going to go next year. I said that I might not want to go and deal with all the crowds again, but you know what? Never say never. I had a great time. If I decided to do it next year I might go for more than one day. Who knows? Stay tuned for other adventures with Pork Chop & me. I'm wanting to head to Cambridge. I put it off this summer because I stupidly decided to help a friend out. Maybe a weekend there would be cool. Do all the museums that I wanted to do. I might even take Pickles with me and do a weekend adventure. Dunno how she'd feel about that but I think it would be ace.
New Delectables with Dan are in the works! I'm thinking I'll do another vegan meal plan blog in the near future as well! Other updates for Happiness & Homicide are coming soon as well as a few other updates. Maybe a new Tattoo Talk Thursday! Who knows? Stay tuned. Yeet.
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