*sniffle* *cough*
Sep. 4th, 2008 09:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
missroseroseBeing sick while you're on vacation kind of sucks, especially when it means delaying your travel plans. But it does mean that you have time to report on the previous several days' worth of activity. So let's see how much I can remember, despite feeling like my brains have been scooped out and replaced with cotton. (Full disclosure: I've been keeping a cheat sheet as we go, so this isn't completely offhand; however, I'm kind of doped up on Sudafed right now so it might be a bit more disjointed than usual. Read at your own risk.)
PAX was pretty awesome, as expected. We missed the keynote this year, but we did get to see Freezepop and Jonathan Coulton in concert. Freezepop had some very danceable techno music, and Coulton was of course awesome - in addition to his great music, he pulled what was probably the most epic rickroll in the history of rickrolling.
Amusing aside: I think between the dancing at the concert and the walking everywhere we went I got more exercise in those five days than I did all last winter.
Also at PAX: I finally got to complete my education in bad 80s action movies and see Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, thanks to Bethesda sponsoring Post-Apocalyptic Movie Night; Bethesda was also handing out puppet versions of their signature Vault Boy, and a flash mob of them sprang up during the wait for the final round of the Omegathon, all headbanging and dancing to the 1980s power ballads that were playing. That was really something to see.
We met up with the most nifty (if surprisingly tall) guys from LoadingReadyRun at the concert, almost by accident - Brian was wearing a LRR shirt and had his camera set up, and Graham apparently caught sight of him and went "Who among our fans would have a very professional-looking camera set up...Ah! Sable!" and came to greet us. We all met up later at the spontaneously-named LRR-Con '08, as documented in their video diary of PAX (and yes, that's me giving Graham bunny ears towards the end :P). Also, Brian's the significant dip in height of the t-shirt ad in front of this week's video. I keep telling Brian we're not that short, but being around all these incredibly large Canadians hasn't helped my case much.
Wil Wheaton's panel was also lots of fun; he's really quite a good speaker, and he regaled us with amusing stories of his Star Wars action figure-centric childhood. But the best part was when he read to us from his snarky review of "Datalore"; specifically, his impression of Wesley Crusher going "Wheeeeeeee! I'm in STARFLEET!" had me in stitches.
As for the non-PAX-related activities worth noting, there were quite a few. First off was going to Pike Place Market and tasting real, honest-to-god fresh fruit that hadn't been sitting in the back of a truck/cargo area of a plane for the past several days; that was pretty heavenly. Brian and I actually got a hot plate and an inexpensive set of pans so he could cook stuff that we bought from there; it ended up being cheaper than going out, and probably healthier, too.
We also discovered a truly fantastic restaurant called Cutter's Bayhouse. The storefront made it look like a little sushi bar (the neon sign saying "Sushi" was the indicator), but following it back we discovered there was a lovely sit-down area with a great ocean view. The food was excellent, and the service nothing short of perfect - when my seared Ahi was overdone, the server not only noticed it without prompting but brought me back an entire new plate of food. I left him a huge tip and fully intend to go there again, as well as recommend it to anyone who might be in the area - it's just next to the Market, beside the green park-ish area.
Another place at the Market made the most scrumptious crepes; mine was stuffed with goat cheese, green onions, tomatoes and spinach, while Brian got a salmon and cream cheese one, also with fresh vegetables.
This year, we stayed at the Seattle Sheraton, which was quite luxurious. Our room was up on the 27th floor, so there was little noise from the street, and the view was excellent as well. The hotel itself was so much nicer than the Red Lion, too - it truly boggles my mind that they're both considered four-star accommodations. So hooray for planning ahead this time.
We also got to hang out a bit with John, an old high-school friend of mine; he'd spent some time doing security work for some very rich and powerful folk, and had some great stories as a result. Plus he got to have some of Brian's excellent cooking, which he seemed to enjoy (always a bit hard to tell with him).
That's most of the highlights from PAX; I've got plenty more stories to tell, but for now I think I'd better try and get some sleep. So, coming up: Stalking the LRR Crew with Gourmet Food, and Rose Rents A Car And Learns To Drive in the Real World! Stay tuned!
PAX was pretty awesome, as expected. We missed the keynote this year, but we did get to see Freezepop and Jonathan Coulton in concert. Freezepop had some very danceable techno music, and Coulton was of course awesome - in addition to his great music, he pulled what was probably the most epic rickroll in the history of rickrolling.
Amusing aside: I think between the dancing at the concert and the walking everywhere we went I got more exercise in those five days than I did all last winter.
Also at PAX: I finally got to complete my education in bad 80s action movies and see Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, thanks to Bethesda sponsoring Post-Apocalyptic Movie Night; Bethesda was also handing out puppet versions of their signature Vault Boy, and a flash mob of them sprang up during the wait for the final round of the Omegathon, all headbanging and dancing to the 1980s power ballads that were playing. That was really something to see.
We met up with the most nifty (if surprisingly tall) guys from LoadingReadyRun at the concert, almost by accident - Brian was wearing a LRR shirt and had his camera set up, and Graham apparently caught sight of him and went "Who among our fans would have a very professional-looking camera set up...Ah! Sable!" and came to greet us. We all met up later at the spontaneously-named LRR-Con '08, as documented in their video diary of PAX (and yes, that's me giving Graham bunny ears towards the end :P). Also, Brian's the significant dip in height of the t-shirt ad in front of this week's video. I keep telling Brian we're not that short, but being around all these incredibly large Canadians hasn't helped my case much.
Wil Wheaton's panel was also lots of fun; he's really quite a good speaker, and he regaled us with amusing stories of his Star Wars action figure-centric childhood. But the best part was when he read to us from his snarky review of "Datalore"; specifically, his impression of Wesley Crusher going "Wheeeeeeee! I'm in STARFLEET!" had me in stitches.
As for the non-PAX-related activities worth noting, there were quite a few. First off was going to Pike Place Market and tasting real, honest-to-god fresh fruit that hadn't been sitting in the back of a truck/cargo area of a plane for the past several days; that was pretty heavenly. Brian and I actually got a hot plate and an inexpensive set of pans so he could cook stuff that we bought from there; it ended up being cheaper than going out, and probably healthier, too.
We also discovered a truly fantastic restaurant called Cutter's Bayhouse. The storefront made it look like a little sushi bar (the neon sign saying "Sushi" was the indicator), but following it back we discovered there was a lovely sit-down area with a great ocean view. The food was excellent, and the service nothing short of perfect - when my seared Ahi was overdone, the server not only noticed it without prompting but brought me back an entire new plate of food. I left him a huge tip and fully intend to go there again, as well as recommend it to anyone who might be in the area - it's just next to the Market, beside the green park-ish area.
Another place at the Market made the most scrumptious crepes; mine was stuffed with goat cheese, green onions, tomatoes and spinach, while Brian got a salmon and cream cheese one, also with fresh vegetables.
This year, we stayed at the Seattle Sheraton, which was quite luxurious. Our room was up on the 27th floor, so there was little noise from the street, and the view was excellent as well. The hotel itself was so much nicer than the Red Lion, too - it truly boggles my mind that they're both considered four-star accommodations. So hooray for planning ahead this time.
We also got to hang out a bit with John, an old high-school friend of mine; he'd spent some time doing security work for some very rich and powerful folk, and had some great stories as a result. Plus he got to have some of Brian's excellent cooking, which he seemed to enjoy (always a bit hard to tell with him).
That's most of the highlights from PAX; I've got plenty more stories to tell, but for now I think I'd better try and get some sleep. So, coming up: Stalking the LRR Crew with Gourmet Food, and Rose Rents A Car And Learns To Drive in the Real World! Stay tuned!
