This year I had the opportunity to attend the San Diego Comic Convention on both Friday, July 20th, and Saturday, July 21. The con far surpassed my expectations; I didn't know that there were so many booths that were advertising and selling products! Furthermore, there were friends and professionals in attendance that I wasn't expecting to see.

On Friday around 10:30 AM I met a fellow Amberholic, notalabel, at the Inkworks Booth. It was my first time meeting him, so when I saw a really tall guy walk towards me we each asked the other about posting at the Amber board. After the introductions we talked about random things for about half an hour. When Drop19 and Mandy failed to show up, we took a picture together and then parted ways to look around at the booths.

After wandering around with my dad for a while, I ran into notalabel again and we walked to the Abstract Studios Inc. Booth. There, I waited in line to meet Terry Moore. At the time, I only knew him as the artist for the Willow/Tara comic, "WannaBlessedBe." Terry ended up drawing a sketch of Willow for me, and looked very happy when I told him that it looked awesome. Later on that day I picked up a copy of Terry's comic book, "Strangers In Paradise." He signed it for me and I told him that I would come back the next day to tell him what I thought about it.

The next morning, I arrived by myself. That day was the day of the "Women In Comics" discussion panel with Amber Benson (Tara)! I was also supposed to meet more Amberholics at the Inkworks booth again. A little after 10:30, I saw notalabel, Drop19, and Mandy standing at the booth. I walked up behind them and said "Hey!" They all turned and smiled at me. After more greetings and showing them the basket of canned beets that I brought for Amber as a gift from an Amberholic named Coax, Mandy and I decided to sign up to sing karaoke with Andy Hallett (The Host on Angel). We flipped through the book of songs and chose to sing "It's Gonna Be Me" by *NSYNC. Since Inkworks was also having some giveaways, I decided to put my name in. After filling out a form, I noticed that Joss Whedon (the creator of Buffy) and Andy had come to the booth! I caught Mandy, notalabel, and Drop19's attention and pointed out who had arrived. I waited until Joss and Andy were standing in front of me before I called out Joss' name. I asked him if I could take a picture of them (him and Andy), so they posed.

It still wasn't 11 AM yet so we went back to standing in front of the booth. As I waited, I heard a familiar voice behind me. When I turned around, I was surprised to see AngelRachel and Little Willow. I cheerfully greeted them, as I wasn't expecting to see them at the convention. Apparently their appearance was a last minute decision.

Andy began the hour with "Superstition." That man can certainly sing! When he finished, one of the Inkworks staff members called out the first participant - Little Willow! She proved to be quite the performer as she sang and danced to "I Will Survive." Andy even commented on how she was stealing his act because she was doing so well! I took a few pictures of my fellow Amberholic in action and grew more impressed by the minute.

When Little Willow finished, I expected another person to sing before Mandy and me. However, the Inkworks person called out our names as the next performers! We went to the middle of the booth and introduced ourselves to Andy. Then we were presented with one microphone to share as someone set up the music. When we told Andy what we were going to sing, he actually cursed because he didn't know the song. We only had time to panic for a moment because then the music started. Sometime in the middle of the song, Andy instructed us on how to hold the microphone, but I was too distracted to continue to hold it correctly. As Mandy and I sang, I smiled a lot at the audience who had gathered around the booth. We attempted to dance a little, but that didn't last long. Singing and dancing at the same time is more difficult than I imagined! I was actually happy and surprised that I wasn't really nervous though. When we finished, Mandy and I graciously accepted the applause and cheers. Andy also thanked us and gave us each a hug. Our few minutes in the spotlight ended as we walked back into the audience. Andy ended the hour with a rendition of "Lady Marmalade" with backup dancers (including Little Willow and EviLS I T). Andy again proved how amazing a singer he is as the crowd cheered and sang along.

We still had some time before we wanted to get to the conference room where the "Women In Comics" Panel was going to be held. Since it was announced that Andy would be signing autographs in another booth, we decided to go meet him there. On the way, we passed by the Dark Horse Comics Booth and saw Marti Noxon (Buffy writer and executive producer) and Jane Espenson (Buffy writer). I didn't catch Marti, but I did call out Jane's name when I saw her alone. I introduced myself and told her that I met her back in February. She added, "At the posting board party, right?" I confirmed her comment and we posed for a picture. Then I remembered that GreenLion (another Amberholic) was wondering about Jane's writing background. I told Jane that one of my friends in Germany wanted to know what sit-coms she wrote for before. Jane quickly listed off five shows, including Dinosaurs, Monty, and Ellen, and then said that most people only know Dinosaurs and Ellen. I nodded and then as she was called away, told her that it was nice to see her again.

Mandy, notalabel, Drop19, and I stood in a short line when we got to the new booth. When it was my turn, Andy recognized me from karaoke. I told him that it was my first time singing karaoke, and he said that I did a good job, and that my heart was in it. We then took a picture together and I had him sign the tag board I brought with me. In my hand, I had a gift for Andy for when he finished signing. I handed him a plastic cow keychain and told him to squeeze it. He rolled his eyes when he saw that when it was squeezed, a gooey gel pushed out of the cow's rear end. He made the comment, "Now I can poo on people" before thanking me. He then asked me to get closer to him so he could give me a kiss! I leaned over the tall table and Andy kissed me next to my mouth. It was so sweet! I then thanked him and walked away, waiting for Mandy and Drop19 to finish talking to Andy.

The four of us proceeded to walk to the room for the "Women In Comics" Panel. As we waited for Amber to show up (she was stuck in traffic), I enjoyed listening to the women speak about their experiences. Some of the points they made included:
- There is a myth that comics are for boys, and that misconception tends to keep girls away.
- Companies don't care about gender when they have a deadline and the artist is good.
- Women have to be as good or better than men in the comics industry.
- Persistence is key.

When the panel ended, Amber hadn't appeared. We all walked down to the Dark Horse Comics Booth and found out that Amber and Jane would be having an autograph session a couple of hours later!

Mandy and I waited patiently at a booth across from the Dark Horse one. notalabel was standing near the end of Joss' line when we saw many people rushing in front of us. notalabel shouted out my name so we could join him in line; we ended up in front of some girls from the kitten board. As the line moved, Drop19 came towards us and said that Amber was singing karaoke! We all got really excited and tried to figure out who would go and see her. I went over with my camera and saw that Amber was singing with Andy, Little Willow, and another person. It was really crowded around the Inkworks booth so I only took a few pictures before going back to the Dark Horse Booth. I wanted to finish the roll of film in my camera so I snapped a few photos of Joss signing things before returning to take more pictures of Amber. This time someone was singing as Amber and Andy danced. It was so cute!

When I got back, we only had a few minutes before people would start to meet Amber and Jane. We were actually very close to the front of the line, so I made the decision to take advantage of as much time as I could with Amber. notalabel went ahead of me, and when Amber saw him, she shouted, "It's my shy guy!" I then took a few pictures of them, trying to get notalabel (who was just so tall!) in the photos. When Amber saw me, she shouted, "Hey, is that one of the Lo girls I see?!?" I smiled and said, "Yeah, you remembered!" I couldn't believe that Amber remembered who I was just by glancing up at me!

As notalabel talked to Amber, I stood in front of Jane. She saw me and happily said, "Hi Heather!" Thinking back, she may have seen my nametag, or she could have just remembered my name from earlier that day. Anyway, I replied with, "Hi Jane! I have something for you." I presented her with a pig keychain that was similar to the one I gave to Andy.

After that, I walked a few steps and was in front of Amber, with her full attention on me. She asked me, "What can I do for you today Miss Lo?" I smiled and handed her a copy of "WannaBlessedBe" as I said that first I wanted her to sign it, and then I had "loads of stuff" to give her. Amber signed the cover and then I gave her two keychains, one pig and one cow. She was grateful for the gift, but I wasn't done with the toys yet. I said I wanted a picture of her reaction, so notalabel had the camera ready as I squeezed one. Amber had the exact reaction I was expecting - she covered her mouth to stifle her laugh. Then I put the plastic bag with the basket of canned beets on the table. Before I unveiled the contents of the bag, I said that a guy in Florida wanted me to give them to her. She immediately cried out, "Those aren't beets, are they?!?" I enthusiastically said "Yeah!" as I pushed the sides of the bag down. Amber pulled a can out as she explained to Jane the story behind the beets (I honestly can't remember the words that she said). I then listed off what some other Amberholics wanted me to tell Amber. As Amber nodded, I told her that a girl named Lisa who she met in England during her UK Tour says hi, and that a girl named Bec who wore a tabbard and gave her a jar of marmite says hi too. When I picked up the envelope of additional stuff I wanted to give Amber, she noticed that a copy of the picture of my sister and me (that we had given her the year before) was on the table. She asked if it was for her, and I told her that she already had one. Then I asked her if she wanted another one, to which she cheerfully answered, "Yeah, I want another!"

After I gave her the picture, I took out the contents of the envelope I had brought for her. First in the pile was a letter I had typed a few days before. I told her that the letter had stuff that I wanted to tell her in case I didn't get to meet her. As I moved that letter aside to reveal another, I said to Amber, "I sent you a copy of the picture from the posting board party, but you didn't get it yet, right?" She said no, and I responded by pointing to the paper and envelope in front of her and telling her that it was the letter and picture I sent. I pulled the picture out halfway to reveal our faces and she happily commented, "Oh, we look so cute!" I agreed as I smiled. Then I moved those two items to the side to show her copies of a couple of the threads from the Essence of Amber Forum that I printed out - one was the thread where AngelRachel and some of the other Amberholics praised me, while the other was the first "page" of posts from the Amberican Gladiators thread. I then asked her, "The board that we post at, have you ever been there?" She said that she did in the beginning, so I told her that they were sample threads from it. I was going to explain them in more detail, but a Dark Horse employee politely told me that I'd have to wrap it up because I was holding up the line. I complied, and quickly asked Amber if I could take a picture with her. I leaned over the table and we posed for the camera. Before I left, I thanked Amber.

The four of us decided to hang around the booth. I happened to look to the right of the procession of people waiting to meet Jane and Amber when I spotted a man who looked very familiar. When I realized that it was Steve DeKnight (Buffy writer), I shouted "Hey!" and pointed to him. His face brightened as I quickly walked over towards him. I had to stand on my tiptoes as we hugged, and I told him that I didn't know he was going to be there. We talked about how he finally got the stuff I sent him back in April, as well as how slow the WB is with mail.

Moments later, Steve introduced me as a Bronzer to Drew Greenberg (the new Buffy writer). I shook Drew's hand and said that it was nice to meet him. I also told him that I post under the name "singsinthecar," to which he replied that if he ever posts there, he'll look for me. I added, "Yeah, whenever it comes back up" (officially). I continued to talk to Steve for a while since no one else was vying for his attention. I told him about the pooping animal keychains that I gave to Jane and Amber and asked him if he wanted one. He said sure, since he loves free stuff. Because of the free-stuff topic, I then told Steve about the Amber board. I said that I have met people who I wouldn't have met otherwise, and that some have even asked me if I wanted them to send me things. Steve also asked me if I was coming to L.A. in February (for the posting board party). I told him that I hoped to go, and I asked him if there was going to be a DeKnight's Riders gathering. He said that he didn't know, but he will come if there's free food.

As I stood talking to Steve, another tall man came up next to us. Steve introduced him to me as Steve and told me that they were working on a comic-book project together. Steve also said that he refers to him as "Big Steve," which prompted me to make a height comparison between the three of us. In "Big Steve's" hands was a black binder, which Steve told him to show me. Steve said I was the first one to see sketches from the upcoming comic book, which I thought was cool. Being in such a daze from talking to Steve, I asked him what the sketches were for again. He said that it's for a comic book that he and (big) Steve are working on; he's writing while (big) Steve is doing the artwork.

When (big) Steve left, I wanted to continue to talk to Steve. Just as I do with my friends when I am at a loss for words, I asked him what else he wanted to talk about. Steve said, "Well I posted all the stuff at the Bronze," and then he informed me that the Buffy animated series is definite now. He also told me about the plans that Joss had for him and the other writers later, as well as when his first episode of the new season will be. Then there was silence as Steve talked to someone else. I stood there quietly and decided that I should let Steve talk to other people. When he turned back to me, I said that it was nice seeing him again. We hugged once more (and I had to stand on my tiptoes again!) and then I walked away. I happily went back to Mandy, notalabel, and Drop19 and told them that I was talking to Steve DeKnight.

Mandy and I decided to walk around a little. When I looked to the side of the Dark Horse Booth, I saw Amber's mom walking around it. I caught up to her and tapped her on the shoulder as I politely said, "Ms. Benson?" She turned around and I introduced myself. I said that I was there last year, and as I tried to get a picture out of my sister and me from my wallet, she replied that she remembered me because they stopped the line for us. I guess the Benson’s have really good memories! I showed her a picture anyway, and she nodded. I then said that her daughter is really nice and she smiled. She told me that Amber was supposed to be there for a discussion earlier, but they were stuck in traffic for five hours. I was going to say that that sucked, but I chose alternate words and said that that was horrible instead. Before we separated, I asked to take a picture with her. She was surprised as she said, "You want to take a picture with me???" I enthusiastically replied, "Yeah!" and we posed for the camera.

We wandered back to the front of the booth and I then spotted AngelRachel looking at Jane. She wanted to get her attention so she could take a picture of her. I wanted to do the same, so when AngelRachel got Jane's attention and asked to take a picture of her, Jane stood up and posed. I thought I had got one of Jane covering her nose, so I told her. She laughed as she said that she hopes she doesn't see that on the Internet!

Later on that afternoon, we took a group picture with the other Amberholics in attendance. We had to get at least one to show the other Amberholics! After that, we eventually said our good-byes.

When Mandy and I walked towards the front of the Dark Horse Booth, we saw Amber walking away with an entourage of Dark Horse employees as her security. According to Drop19, Amber had let her hair down, but then put a hat on. I wish I could have seen that!

I still wanted to talk to Terry Moore one last time, so Mandy and I made our way to his booth. There was a really long line, so I walked to the corner closest to Terry. When there was a break, I leaned over and told him how much I enjoyed the comic. He smiled at me and said, "Thanks for coming back to tell me that." I happily answered, "Sure!" before I left.

Mandy and I walked, but then I remembered that Flip18 (another Amberholic) wanted me to take a picture of Michael Shanks for her. We made our way to the autograph area and found a sign with his name on it. Not wanting to get in any trouble, I asked one of the comic-con people if we could take a picture of him. He gave me the go ahead, and we walked closer to the table. I wasn't sure which guy at the table was Michael, so I glanced over at someone's newly signed 8x10 photo of him. When we figured out who he was, Mandy and I took a picture of him and left.

We walked out of the convention center said our good-byes. I walked down the street towards Seaport Village where I was to meet my family. Even though I was extremely hungry, I was in a really good mood. I couldn't stop talking about the comic-con for the rest of the evening - it was filled with fun and pleasant surprises! I honestly didn't expect to (re)meet some of the Amberholics and writers that were there. It was nice to meet some Amberholics whom I had only talked to online as well. It was also awesome to have the experiences that I did with Joss, Jane, Steve, Andy, and Amber. They all contributed to a memorable weekend, and I hope to see them again in the future.