Wow! These last four weeks have flown by. This trip to Austin has opened my eyes, I found something I didn’t even know I was looking for (even though I knew I’d find something, this trip was meant for something).
First of all I love this city, it’s an amazing city and even though I am not planning on moving soon, if opportunity comes this city will be at the top of my list. I love the nature, I love the openness, I love the acceptance of people, I love live music, I love that there’s so much to do, I love the weather, I love how it feels spacious, I love the people that I’ve met.
What I’ve learned is, and maybe you’ve read it in my previous post, that as long as I stay who I am, love what I do and accept myself for who I am, I can live everywhere I want. I don’t need the states (anymore) to find myself, I found myself and I like being me. I like the person who I am and who I aim to be. I found love, love in myself, love in new found friendships, love for an incredible city. I learned it was totally okay to do absolutely nothing when I didn’t feel like doing anything and I learned to accept others to take care of me. People kept buying me food and the friends who’s house I took care of took incredibly care of me when they were around.
I also learned that even though I really didn’t mind dog sitting, I don’t speak dog 🙂 Kids I can understand if they keep yelling/ crying cause they have facial expressions, the dogs didn’t so after feeding them, petting them and giving them treats I didn’t know what they wanted. Which is totally okay, but it could be a bit frustrating not knowing what to do.
Something else I figured out about myself is that I can pinpoint people who I connect with right away. I get this feeling and I know this person is going to be my friend. There’s this energy, or attraction to certain people who I instantly connect with. Also those people trust me instantly and it is amazing. I can tell them anything and they can tell me anything too.
Overall this was an incredible trip. I knew I was going to find something, but I didn’t know exactly what it was, except for the cowboy boots 😛
Thanks to everyone who supports me and I can call my family, blood related or otherwise. I know I got to this point all by myself, but it’s incredible how much support I have in my life.
This quote is so appropriate for me right now. I think I just let go of something I didn’t know I was clinging on to so much.
I’ve always had this feeling that I was meant to live in the US. I’ve been to the states a whole lot and it feels good being here. For some reason I always thought it was more spacey, it feels more roomy and yes I feel at home here. I never knew where that feeling came from, and it doesn’t really matter anyways, cause it is what it is. I had this strong urge to move here and I made a decision to do this about two years ago. I haven’t made any plans but last year this feeling about Austin came across and now I’m here. I haven’t moved, I am here on vacation and I’m halfway on my trip. I’ve done some things, explored a bit, made some friends (yay 😀 ), created a Austin Pro list, but I’ve also felt lost and very confused. It was hard and scary to get out of the house even just to go for a walk or to the lake to check it out.
I know that’s okay and I should just do what I want, even if that’s just relaxing on the couch watching movies or hanging around in the hammock. Being on vacation doesn’t mean I have to plan my whole day, but I’ve wrote about that in my previous post.
Today I told my friend about that, she’s in a retreat right now and doesn’t really have time or isn’t supposed to reach out, but she just send me a message. A message she’s thinking about me and when I told her I felt lost she said “You’ll find your way” and I know that’s true. I am also very very grateful that she send me that message, I think it was part of a little chain reaction. Almost right after I had a thought and maybe even an epiphany.
I think the lesson that I am learning is that it doesn’t matter where I live as long as I do whatever I want and love to do. Maybe this “I want to live in the US” goes back to before I was born into this world, maybe I got yanked out from a previous life and I’ve been trying to come to terms with it ever since. It might even predate me or maybe it was because I’ve never felt at home in Holland. It doesn’t really matter why, all it matters is that it was and now it’s not anymore. I have amazing people all over the world, I have family and friends in Holland and a good job which allows me to travel a lot. I appreciate that so much.
It feels totally okay not to know where I’m going now, I can be wherever and feel like me, I don’t feel I am a better person when I’m in de US, I don’t need to be accepted by everyone, cause the only person that matters is me and me accepting myself. And I’m accepting me, I am accepting and appreciating who I am, how I am, how I treat people, what I have, what I give, what I share and what I am becoming. And that is the truth and for me that’s all that matters.
It doesn’t mean I can’t live here in the states or that I have to leave Holland, it also doesn’t mean I will never make this move, it means I am going to focus on finding out what’s making my spark light up and finding my way, while I keep traveling whenever I can 🙂
So I’m sitting here in Austin as my second week of the summer vacation is about to start and I’m having this incredible realization. I’ve been here for a week, house and dog sitting my friends house and dogs (obviously 🙂 ). They took me to a couple of places before they left for Europe and after that I felt like I fell in a hole.
Last year I picked Austin as a city I would like to live in, even though I haven’t been there yet, all these signs about Austin kept coming up and finally I decided I wanted to move here. I didn’t have or wanted to make rush plans and just let it sink in. A few months ago my colleague told me her mom was going on a Europe trip with them and they would probably wanted someone to take care of their house and their dogs. I’d happily said yes. And now I’m here and I love the weather, yesterday we had some Houston weather (which meant more humidity than normal here in Austin) but overall I like it. Yes it gets hot, it gets really hot, but it’s not the hotness of not being able to breath anymore.
I figured that when I move here I’d be indoors most of these hot days anyways, cause I’d probably have to work here too 🙂 I think the hottest hours are from 11.00 – 17.00, which usually means it’s between business ours and in the weekends there’s a ton of places to cool of, like lakes and pools and oh yeah airconditioned houses 😛
Back to that whole hole falling episode. My friends took me out to a couple of places and the moment I was alone I didn’t know what to do. I was kind of afraid of getting out of the house. Why? I don’t know! Maybe because I had to “defrost” and just getting used to the fact that I’m actually here. I loved the places my friends took me too and I went out to the store for some groceries and to the movies (which is always a huge safe haven for me). I got online and RSVP’ed to MeetUp events and I did a Yoga class. After that class I felt a lot better. The atmosphere there was great, it was a good sweat!
The day after however I felt the same. It felt like I had to do more. I told a lot of people I was going to the place I want to live and I felt pressure (which I put onto myself, let’s be honest about that) to fill my days up with exploring Austin. Cause I felt like I had to have stories when I’d come back to Holland. I also asked myself these funny questions like: “but where are you gonna eat” or “where are you going to park” and that made the “fear” and doubt greater. It is a bit overwhelming figuring out what to do without having someone else with me. I usually don’t plan on holidays, I want to relax and if the friend who’s with me has plans or wants to do stuff I just tag along. I don’t need much.
I called one of my friends the other day and she asked me what’s wrong with not doing anything? I honestly couldn’t tell her… I don’t care if people have an active vacation or a vacation they just hang at the beach and relax. So why do have to do stuff? Don’t know. I’ve been around, driving bits and I loved it. I took the DuckTour yesterday and I ate on 6th Street in de Bikini bar, which was amazing. I experienced the traffic here and I know I can handle that too. I love how green it is here, there’s so many trees, there’s lakes and the river so I don’t have anything to complain about. She also told me, very wise that friend of mine, part of moving to a new city is experiencing it and figuring out what’s there. That’s part of the fun of moving and living in a new city. I don’t have to know everything about it, I just have to know if it feels right.
I want to relax when I’m on a vacation and I don’t want the pressure of having to do anything. And that’s something I realized today. I am here in the amazing garden, sitting in the shade, listening to birds and crickets and I’m relaxed. Yes I am to experience Austin, but part of that is also being able to be here with just me and be okay with just being me and with me.
I got a couple of things plans for the next coming days and I’d like to go to the beach next week. I don’t have too much planned for this week, but that’s okay cause I still got 3 weeks left and I can do whatever I want. I don’t need to come back with huge stories, I want to come back relaxed and really for whatever comes next in my life. If it’s moving to Austin, I don’t know, but I do know I can live here. It feels good and that’s basically all I wanted to know, so it’s safe to say: Mission Accomplished 😀
I know it’s been a while since VegasCon, but hadn’t found the time to write about it yet.
Vegas 2016 for me started on Friday before the convention. I’ve met up with my friend at the airport and we stayed at an Extended Stay hotel across from the Rio. I thought the bus would take us to The Strip easily and fast, but that didn’t turn out to be the case. I discovered Uber and I loved it: Just order on your phone and the ride is there to pick you up at your location and drop you off wherever you want to go. No payment needed.
Shows
Saturday and Sunday basically where some recuperating days and Sunday night we went to a show: Tournaments of Knights and it was hilarious. It was a dinner show set in King Arthur times so that meant no utensils, just eating with your hands. Which I loved every second off. While eating that chicken I thought: I’ve always wanted to know how it felt to eat like that and now I knew.
Later that night we got some tickets for KA and did some gambling. Tuesdays we went to the Luxor ahead of the show and played some slots, what turned out to be fun and we won some cash.
After dinner we’ve got some drinks before the KA show and the show blew our minds. WOW! Those are some incredible artists. A couple of rotating stages, amazing special effects and on top of that the outstanding performances.
VegasCon2016
Wednesday before registration we met up with some more friends/ family for dinner, where one of them proposed to the other, which was perfect and amazing and I’m so glad I was able to witness this special moment.
At registration we met up with an amazing person who was standing behind us in line and became instant friends. I am fortunate enough to call her my family too.
Thursday the convention started and Richards opening was again epic. He didn’t have his sidekicks Rob Benedict or Matthew Cohen by his side but that wasn’t noticeable at all. Right than and there he started the “High Church of the Holy Dicks” and everybody loved it.
Panels on Thursday and Friday where so good I laughed almost those full days. Gil had the “weirdest panel ever”, almost fell off the stage, Osric came out in a suit and Karaoke was a blast, like last year. Jason had an amazing panel with songs and questions, Brianna and Kim had a panel where I was cracking up the whole time. Hilarity galore 😀 Saturday special was amazing and definitely special. Everyone who showed up was at their best and made it great.
Sunday: J2day
Sunday is always J2’s day, which meant Jared and Jensen are in the house for their panels (2 if you have Gold, 1if you don’t), auto’s and pics. I got a pic with Jensen and shared my Jared op with my friend. Meeting Jensen again was a little nerve wrecking beforehand cause of last year. Last year I was totally fine right before the picture and I froze. I could barely get a “Just a hug, please” out and even though I love the photo from last year, I wanted a “real” hug this year. I knew if I kept “bear hug” in mind I’d be fine. I was one of the first 50 people to get the photo taken and it was right after the gold panel. At the end of the panel I started to get really nervous and my thoughts where running wild: “We are almost the same height, how can we have a bear hug and a cool photo?” “Oh I hope I can get a word out” where the thoughts that ran my mind. I was standing in line between two girls who’s never been to a con and told them it would be great, the boys are amazing and you can ask them almost everything. My mind kept racing and than Jensen came in, talked to Chris (photographer) for a bit, took his time with people who couldn’t stand in line (cause they where either in a wheelchair, on crutches or elderly) and that was so nice. Chris also makes sure that he takes the best picture ever for that experience, so if he can make it better by holding your crutches in one hand and his heavy camera in the other, he’d do that.
So while standing in line, observing all that and having my mind racing I told myself to quit it. Last year went great, Jensen is a lovely guy and he’s just a person. A person who inspires me a lot, but still just a human being. So I took a minute to take some breaths, felt myself in that room in that moment and calmed myself down. When it was my turn I looked up said hi, got a hi back and I think I asked for a plain old hug or a bear hug (the exact words I don’t remember) I opened my arms and took a step, which made him laugh and he went in for the hug too. I laughed, looked at Chris, got the picture, looked back, thanked him and than tanked Chris and I walked off with a huge grin on my face.
These are the pics of VegasCon2015
Later that day we had our Jared op and for some reason I’m never nervous meeting him. Last year was great and this year was great too. I shared my op with my friend and it was a lovely picture like last years. After Jared’s op I figured I’d take a look if the Jensen photo’s where already done and to my surprise it ended up the best photo ever!
So here’s the ops of this Vegas Con:
Overall I laughed so hard I still felt my abs a week later, I could spend time with amazing people, had two perfect photo ops and was able to thank the boys again.
Next year they will hold a convention in Hawaii which will be the first time ever in SPN con history. Even though I am so fortunate to have gone to two Vegas Cons already and I have so many great memories, I’d like to be able to go to Hawaii too. Just because it’s a first time thing and I’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii anyways so why not start or finish it with a convention 😀
This clip reminds me of what happened after Nashville. I started towards Charlotte, North Carolina, cause that’s what my pendulum told me 😉 When I arrived however I had no idea what to do. I found a parking spot, went into the city and felt totally lost. Normally I like to wander about and see what comes up, but this time it felt different. I was looking for a Chamber of Commerce and couldn’t find it in the first place, which must’ve been a sign. I asked a security guard at the old building where I could find it and walked over to the new place. Normally the Chamber of Commerce have people that work there to help you out, see where you can go and advice you. This new Chamber however was a small place in the Convention Centre, with no people around to ask questions. I looked at maps and flyers and nothing really stood out. I didn’t know what to do so I got out and crossed the street to get some lunch.
I texted my friends and I felt completely crazy. I didn’t know what to do, what I wanted, where to go and basically it was a tornado in my head spitting out randomness and craziness without having any clue what to do. I got a couple of replies and most of the suggestions of my friends where “Go do something for you, do what you love, rest and clear your head”. As I’ve been either driving towards my friends or spending time with them I basically had no time for myself and I was a little overwhelmed with everything I’ve done so far. I looked up a movie theatre watched a movie and after that I asked google for extended stay hotels. I booked one in Matthews, which was amazing cause that pendulum I used pointed at a street right across the street I stayed at, which I found out the day after I booked the room 😉 That week I basically locked myself up in my room, watched TV, slept a lot and I realised I have been running on fumes. I was exhausted and I hadn’t noticed that until I stopped and took a breath. At the end of the week I knew I had to leave, cause I didn’t want to stay there.
I figured I just got onto a highway and drove to the coast. So there I went on the road again, just driving and chilling. When I got to the coast I arrived at a haven. If I am going to a coast, I want to go to the beach and not a haven. I didn’t really check out where beaches where cause I wanted to just go and see where I’d end up, without a plan or expectations (which obviously I had, otherwise I couldn’t be disappointed I ended up there). I looked for a hotel and booked a room for a night. When I got into the room I, again, felt lost. I talked to my friends that I didn’t know what I was doing and that I wanted to take this trip without any planning. Just go with the flow. I found out I am not a person who can do that. I need some sort of direction and if plans change that’s fine with me, I am very adjustable, but I need some sort of direction to go on.
Oh Canada
So I figured I’d go towards Wisconsin where I have another friend. It would take me about 3 or 4 days and all I needed to figure out was which way to go. Do I go all the way up Michigan and than drop down to Green Bay or do I go towards Chicago and than drive up that way? I figured I just drive up to the point where I needed to make a decision to go North or West. I knew someone in Cincinnati, drove up there, we hung out for a couple of hours and my decision was made. I’d go up so I could go to Canada, which was about 1,5 hours out of my way, but hey I was so close so why the hell not right 🙂
I drove all the way up to Canada, crossed the border, got a stamp in my passport, ate a burger and drove back. “You drove back? Just got food and didn’t stay?” I hear you say and question. That’s right, I just popped into Canada for a hot minute, ate at a road side bar and jumped back in the car towards the US.
On my way to Michigan and in Michigan was the first time it felt like I was on a vacation. That state didn’t feel like home, all the other states did. There wasn’t anything wrong with the state it was just a feeling I got. I drove all the way up to Canada and back in one day and than it was time to look for a motel. As upper Michigan is a ski area not a lot of places where open, so I had to search a little before I found a place to crash. I found one that was pretty nice and I was amazed that not a lot of other places where open. It was still very cold and the lakes where still frozen so it was beautiful in that area. There was not a lot of snow anymore so there’s no skiing but for the rest I was amazed that there weren’t a lot of people in that area.
Birthday bowling
19 April was my birthday and I was very glad I got to spend it with my friend in Wisconsin. I knew I was going to get a new tattoo on this trip but didn’t know when. My friend and I where talking about tattoos and she said there was a good tattoo place near here. We went on a Saturday and it felt good so I decided to get my tattoo right there. My dad texted me around 5:05pm to wish me a happy birthday so on Dutch time I had my tattoo done on my birthday, which is awesome!
On my actual US time birthday we went for breakfast/ lunch, did some bowling and what’s a birthday without a proper pie? Not a birthday, so we did the whole pie thing too 😀
The last town
It would take me about 3 days to get from my friend in Wisconsin to my friends in Bozeman, Montana. On my way I actually participated in some road kill. Seriously??? Yes, there was some little tiny animal crawling right across the interstate and popped up and I couldn’t stop or swerve around. I tried to avoid it, but I drove straight over it and I felt sad…. I didn’t know what the rules where so I kept driving and the way I hit I believe it got killed instantly. That’s what I choose to believe anyway. A little later I saw a rattlesnake on the interstate and now I know how I’m gonna act when I see a snake in real life 🙂
In Bozeman I stayed with my college friend, hung out with some other friends and on that night we stayed in our old condo. It’s weird to say it was my condo, because I only lived there for 6 weeks, the rest of the academic year I stayed on campus. My friends parents still own the condo and here brother lives there now. He was okay with us staying there for a night and it was amazing and freaky at the same time. They still had all the bedding and a table I brought over in the room and my friend suggested that I stayed in my old room. It was good and weird at the same time.
I wanted to go to campus, and I could, but it felt off. One day I was on my way and it started raining so I turned around. The moment I turned around the rain stopped so I took it as a sing. I don’t miss not going to campus this this and I am glad I didn’t go.
While in Bozeman I also met some of my other friends and with each and everyone it felt like no time had passed. It’s been almost 9 years since I left Bozeman and since I’ve seen them and it is incredible that after all this time it feels like no time has passed and that we have such a strong bond.
I am glad I have so many amazing people that I can call my family all over this amazing continent 🙂
In a next blog I’ll write stuff that I’ve learned along the way, where to go from here and about expectations.
Here’s some stuff that happened after that epic 4 days in Vegas.
Vegas done and moving on? Don’t think so 😀
After meeting some amazing people in Vegas and having to figure out where to go next I thought “No, I’m not done yet, this weekend is not over for me, so I’m going to follow one of them.” And that’s what I did. I followed a couple of them to Huachuca City in Arizona. We spend some amazing days together and we both had the post convention blues. We watched some Supernatural, of course, and just hung out and relaxed.
After that I figured I might as well go and visit one of the others nearby Kansas City in Missouri. I crossed about 5 states and 2 or 3 timezones in 3 days and the drive up there was, just like the others very beautiful. I have lost all connection with time and days so I am counting on my phone to tell me. I am not interested in knowing what time it is, cause there’s no need for it most of the time (no pun intended 🙂 ) The car’s clock is on Montana time, so I always know what time it is there, even though I’m about 2000 or 3000 miles away 😉
Lawrence, Kansas
2,5 years ago a fandom broke into my house and said “Dad is on a hunting trip and hasn’t been home in a few days”. The first episode of Supernatural started in Lawrence, Kansas. Now 10 years later, I’ve actually visited downtown Lawrence. I know they shot the first episode in Los Angeles, nowhere near Kansas, but still it’s where the story started and therefor this town is special. Downtown Lawrence is actually pretty amazing! I might come back to check out some more 🙂
One of, many, great episodes of Supernatural is called Swan Song. It’s the season 5 finally and the last scene takes places in Stull Cemetery (a.k.a. “That’s that old boneyard right outside of Lawrence”: Dean’s words not mine 🙂 ). My friend pointed out I should check that one out, just cause I was close. So I got back in the car and drove towards a cemetery. Crazy? Definitely one of funniest things I’ve done so far. But I was glad I did. Graveyard was closed but I took a few pictures from outside the gate. The amazing thing is that the location scout of Supernatural did an incredible job building that set in Vancouver, cause I’m not actually sure if they actually shot in Stull Cemetery for those scenes. It looks like they had though so I’m really impressed.
After not having any music playing for the previous 2 days I turned on the radio while being back in the car and this happened and made me laugh so hard!
I know that scene by heart and I think the song started at exactly that same moment and my mind went back to that scene. #Signs, you’ve got to love them 🙂
Anywho this was all on my way to see my friend near Kansas City. I stayed with her for about a week and in the weekend I finally was able to say “I need to leave, I have to go my own way”. Not that I didn’t want to be there, not at all, we had amazing times together, laughed so hard and were able to speak “our” own Supernatural language 😀 It felt like time to move on to wherever.
Wherever? I know, that was the big question, where am I going now? I knew I wanted to go towards Texas, but I didn’t know if now was the time. So I got a map, the only map that spoke to me at Barnes & Nobles, which was the only one of it’s kind. Next? Figuring out where to go and point it out. I had some ideas but also not so my dearest friend gave me a “Wish” stone and a leather cord to create a pendulum and we used that to show me the way. It pointed South East and I figured “Well I guess I’m going to Nashville”. Which I did…….
Nashville, YAY? Or maybe Nay ……..
When I woke up I just had a bad vibe. I don’t know where it came from and I don’t really care. I figured I just had a bad day, maybe it was because I didn’t really have a plan and people I was going after. Who knows? I went and got into the car and drove to Nashville. The drive up there was amazing and I started playing Bon Jovi, cause it always calms me down and cheers me up.
The moment I drove into Nashville I knew I had to get out. I didn’t know why but it felt so wrong to be there. I didn’t know where to go so I just drove around looking for a park. Parks or river sides always calm me down and I wanted to get out of the car so I looked around and found a park and got out. I took a little stroll to look and than went to sit in the park for a bit. Talked to my friends, THANK YOU, you know who you are, and while doing that I realised I couldn’t and shouldn’t stay there. So I got up, took my map and pendulum and asked where to go next. It showed me to go to Charlotte, NC so that’s where I’m headed now.
The moment I got in the car and turned on the radio amazing things started happening. First of all Fleetwood Mac came on with their “Go your own way” song and I got a huge smile on my face. I felt calmer and the bad vibe went away. When I wanted to get some food a sign for Ruby Tuesday showed up. Any Supernatural Fan can attest that that is pretty funny (Ruby = character and Tuesday is a day that plays a major role in one of the episodes) Later I found a motel in Lebanon TN, named Knight’s Inn (like Dean was a Knight of Hell, so I knew I had to stay there too 🙂 )
I like this, I like getting signs from the universe and following my own gut and intuition. The last couple of years I’ve been relying on my intuition and gut feeling more and more and this is what it tells me. It hasn’t left me down so far so I’m just going with it.
And all the people I’ve been talking to after Nashville where so nice. In Nashville I haven’t talked to anyone so it’s not the people that made it weird. I got help and lovely chats in Ruby Tuesday and the lady here at Knight’s Inn was so nice, we talked for about 10 minutes and she made me feel even better than I already felt.
To sum it all up
As off Tuesday March 31 the numbers are as follows:
19 days
13 states
5 time zone changes
3200+ miles
Temperature varying from 40 – 80 Fahrenheit (4C – 26C)
Fun? Uncountable 😀
One of these days I’m going to buy a marker and mark it all on a physical map, take a pic and post it here, so y’all can see where I’ve been these last couple of weeks. #Memories
Saturday and Sunday I had photo ops planned for a couple of the actors. Jared and Jensen ar such a huge inspiration of mine that I had to give them a hug, so to get a photo of that was just a plus 😉 Before the convention I was extremely excited to be able to hug all the amazing people and at the same time I felt a calm rush over me cause I knew the pics would turn out great.
Saturday I had my ops with Mat&Rich, Matt&Gil and Matt solo. I know right! I walked up to Matt&Rich, stood in the middle and it was over. Said hi and bey and that was it. Than with Matt&Gill the same. I noticed that Matt tiptoed to look taller than me and he did that in all my ops. The solo I walked up and just asked for a hug and he gave me a huge hug and, again, tiptoed, which was awesome.
So I thought “Saturday went fine, so Sunday with J2 will be easy” well guess again 😀 I stood in line for Jensen’s and I was actually nervous, out of all of them Jensen is my biggest inspiration, with Jared as a close second, very close second. I stood in line and there was an older woman in front of me and she was really nervous. I wasn’t really that nervous much but I picked up on all the nerves from everyone else. I told the woman she’d be fine, they are amazing and that she could wait for me and we could hug it out.
She had her pic, but I didn’t see what she did though. Than it was my turn and I walked up, said hi, Jensen said hi back and actually looked at me! And I just blurted out “Just a hug, please” which Jensen responded with “Well okay than” and I grinned like an idiot, I think, and than I said thank you and he said you’re welcome and I looked away.. And than I lost my breath, I couldn’t breath and I think I had sort of a panic attack, but a good one 😀
I yelled, screamed, hugged it out and it was all good. Than my J2 sandwich was perfect. I had no nerves anymore and I walked up, asked if they could hold my grandpa’s license plate, they did, pic was taken and than I said thank you. Than Jared started talking and I thought he asked me about the license plate, so I started to respond and the moment I said it was my grandpa’s I realised he talked to one of volunteers, they had asked him something. I than immediately thanked them again and got out of the way for the next person in line.
Jared’s was easy. I walked up with “just a hug” and he gave me a huge hug.
Later that day I had autograph sessions with the boys too. I let other actors sign in a book about the fandom, but for Jared and Jensen I had something different in mind. Because they are a hug inspiration I decided I wanted them to know that they are. So I wrote down why the inspired me and let them sign those pages. I told them both that this was for my inspiration board and Jensen replied to “That’s amazing” or awesome I don’t exactly remember what it was, but it was good and he liked it. And than Jared, oh poor Jared was sick and he had to step out for a bit, but he came back and finished all these autographs (another reason to love them even more, they want to do this, even when they are nog feeling well). He read what I wrote and thanked me, he thought it was very sweet. I told him to get better soon and again he said thanks and that was it.
I can’t believe how nice these guys are. I know it, it’s been said over and over and over again, but if you haven’t experienced it you don’t know how kind, appreciative and truly wonderful all these guys are. They look at you when you say something, they actually hear what you’re saying and they are sincere. They want to be there. I pick up on feelings from other people so I can feel if they weren’t really interested or wanting to be there. All I felt was pure love for each an everyone of us, for the fans for each other, for the guest stars, for the volunteers. As all the guest stars have been saying, these guys want to give back, they want to know us, they are a part of us, we are a part of them. We are all in this together and that’s mind boggling. I don’t tink any other “fandom” has this. But that’s why we’re not called a fandom but a family right??
Okay I’m going to stop talking now, cause I can go on and on an on about this. All I wanted to say is: I’m so damn proud of us and our boys and the cast and crew and all the people in this family. I picked the most epic convention as my first, and maybe my only one, and I’m truly grateful I got to experience this.
So that was it, you know it all know, it took some work to pul all these posts together, but I finally was able to do so. Hope you liked them!
Almost everyday of the convention Richard Speight Jr, the host and also known as “The Trickster” and “Gabriel” from the show, and Louden Swain (the houseband for every convention, lead singer Rob Benedict, a.k.a. “Chuck” from Supernatural) performed the rules and regulations song. They figured rules and regulations where boring so they decided to create a song for these occasions:
Panels
The conventions are full of panels. Panels where the actors are on stage and interact with the fans. They can ask question that the actors will answer. In Sebastians case no questions will ever be answered, but he’s giving such a hilarious panel that it’s all worth it.
The panel that surprised me the most was Travis’ on Thursday. He is such an amazing person! He talked about a lot of things, his 3 chiuawa’s, his time training in the military, his PTSD and how he got over it, about how great the guys (J2) are and about his charity.
Osric touched the subject gratefulness. He said that being grateful and not just say thank you can change your whole life. And that’s what he is, he is grateful for this opportunity to interact with so many people and if all they need is a tweet, hug, kind word, for someone to make them feel better, he’s happy to give it.
What amazes me the most about all these guest on stage is how they talk about Jared and Jensen and about the fandom/ family. Travis told us that Jared and Jensen don’t’ have any ego and that they truly like to be apart of the fans life, that they truly care about the guest actors and that they treat them all the same.
I’ve read it more times than I can count, but to hear it again (live this time) makes me awe more. And makes me feel so much more proud to be part of this incredible family.
Gold patrons Cocktail Party
Later that night at the cocktail party we’ve met Tyler, Osric, Lauren and Travis. They sat at our table for about a minute, just to chat.
Earlier I was getting a drink and started talking to someone behind me in line. I went to sit with him and his friend and his son and we had an amazing talk. I was the only girl sitting at that table at the time and when Osric and Lauren moved to our table there where two other woman, who left after that.
When Travis came up to our table he was really incredible, he is such an incredible and nice guy. He joked about me being the only lady at the only table with only guys and he seemed so genuine. He thanked all of us for coming to these conventions and for supporting him in his acting. I thanked him for his lovely panel and I’m still blown away by his gentleness and his kindness.
Friday night karaoke
Friday night is always karaoke night at the conventions. This is unique and Matt Cohan and Richard Speight Jr created this amazing night for all the fans to be at. It’s full of hilarity and amazing performances from cast/ crew and fans. Check it out:
Saturday night special
Just like Friday night’s karaoke the Saturday night special is special. It used to be only a Louden Swain concert, but than guest stars started appearing on stage and it turned out to be an amazing concert night. This was the best concert I’ve ever been to and it was epic on so many occasions. Louden Swain is the house band and I don’t think any other convention has a band on stage for the whole time, also during panels. Heres some amazing footage of this special and epic night:
Jason Manns & Rob Benedict (Chuck). Jason is a friend of Jensen and Jared and know he’s a friend of us all. Jason is usually not at the convention, but Creation asked him to come in for a Sunday night concert, because the band had to leave early on Sunday. Jason and Rob sang an amazing Hallelujah.
Gil McKinney (Henry Winchester). Gil started singing last year and he knocked it out of the park. No one knew he had a singing back ground and after this he decided to follow this road. He’s moving to New York soon and his dream is to be on Broadway someday. And I’m for sure he will be. He is amazing, with an amazing voice.
Osric Chau (Kevin Tran). Osric started out singing not even a year ago and he was so nervous about that than, it’s hard to imagine that he was shy, watching this.
Sebastian Roche (Baltasar):
Thursday and Friday where amazing and this Special was already so special it couldn’t get any better, right? Wrong, we had a blast and than this happend:
That’s correct, that’s our lovely Jensen Ackles rocking the house. Take a look at Jensen’s “road to being a rock star”, which started 5 years ago when Jason Manns sort of set him up to sing on stage. His first time ever performance:
He’s been coming up on stage a little more in the last few years but a couple of months ago he did this, and he was still a bit shy:
Jeffrey Dean Morgan (John Winchester) had never ever attended a Supernatural convention, so to have him come on stage was amazing! It’s not that he never wanted to come, it’s that he is such a busy actor that there was never time. But because of this is the 10th year anniversary Creation Events tried their best to get JDM to Vegas and they made it all happen. The look on Jensen’s face when JDM got a standing ovation on Saturday night was priceless. He was so damn proud to have him on stage and that the crowd reacted the way they did.
Sunday: the big day
For the people who have Gold tickets see the J2 (Jared and Jensen) twice, once in the morning (breakfast/ lunch depending on their schedule) and than later in the afternoon there’s a panel for everyone with a ticket. J2sday is, depending on their schedule, on Saturday or Sunday. This time it was on Sunday and it was a blast! Jeffrey Dean Morgan had a panel on Sunday too and Samantha Smith (Marry Winchester) stayed an extra couple of days just so the family reunion could occur on Sunday. This was the first time ever they where all there on the same day.
The gold panel of J2:
Than we had JDM:
And right after that was the J2 panel:
This is just the first part, the rest isn’t online yet.
So this is basically what a convention looks like. Than there’s the ability to get autographs and photo’s with all the cast. There’s been a lot more panels, which some of them you can find online and some are not filmed, but I think you get what it was all about.
The feelings you get the moment you step into this convention bubble is just overwhelming. Everybody here loves the same thing, when you freak out about something or someone people don’t look at you weird, they actually understand what you’re going through. And that is special. We all love and adore this show, these guys and each other. The convention is not Supernatural the TV, it’s the world surrounding the show. It’s hard to describe exactly how it feels, cause it’s so amazing and big and unheard of but the feelings you get of the video’s is just a small amount of the feelings you actually get when you’re in that other universe, that other world.
To read about my photo ops and autographs click on the link below.
Note: NONE of the video’s are mine, I found them all on YouTube. There’s a ton more to find there and if you’re interested I’d advise you to just look for Supernatural Conventions. They will guide you from there to more and more and ….. yes more 😀
Where do I start with explaining how amazing last weekend was? I have no idea how to explain it to people who don’t watch Supernatural and to people who don’t understand conventions. So I’m just going to write and support my story with videos (who aren’t mine) and pictures. I will write about this weekend in three posts, cause there’s just no way I can write it down in just one without you all getting crazy 🙂
Leading up to Vegas
As some of you might know I’m a huge Supernatural fan. Supernatural is a TV show that airs on the CW. I am not sure if it still airs on Dutch TV, but I watch it online, so I don’t really care 🙂 Here’s a little history that led up to this weekend.
About 2,5 years ago I was surfing YouTube for some concert video’s I’d just went to. YouTube recommends video’s for you and the one on top of it all was a Convention Video of Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, leads of Supernatural. I knew about Supernatural but haven’t watched it, cause I thought it was too scary for me to watch. I had a feeling that if I clicked that recommendation I would be sold, and I told myself “Don’t do it!”, so what did I do, yes I clicked the damn link, and I was sold. These guys where amazing, hilarious, smart, kind, grateful and most of all themselves. At that time Season 8 just started and the same thought occurred to me “Don’t watch it, cause ….” and I pulled up 8×01 and indeed I was sold. And I didn’t even mind. I got season 1 – 8 and I watched it, over and over again I watched it. As the seasons went on I kept watching and re-watching. Same as the convention video’s, every time there’s been new conventions I watch them. See what hilarity they brough, how connected they still are to the fans and to each other. The bond on and offscreen between Jared and Jensen is amazing. They are brothers, and they, still, are humbled about what they have, who their fans are, they appreciate everything. I think that’s what pulled me in, their amazing bond and who they are. Something like this happens at conventions:
The moment I watched that first convention video I knew I had to go to one. I researched online and I figured that if I’d ever go to one now was the time and I wanted to go to Vegas. Vegas is the biggest (4 days) convention and I knew I was going for a gold ticket, the best seats in the house with extra’s, like autographs and special nights. Supernatural is now in it’s 10th season and 11 is on its way. I, personally think, that it will last until season 12. I hope for more cause this show is getting better and better. The characters evolve a and the acting is superb. I think S6 and S7 are a little less, but it got a better with S8, S9 was even better than 8 and this season, season 10 is extraordinaire.
So I started to plan for this trip and arranged it with my work. I was excited to go and although 2,5 years might seem long, it flew by.
Social Media and Supernatural
A lot of the actors are on social media. In the last year both Jared and Jensen joined Facebook and they are both on Twitter. Jensen joined Twitter during a convention last year and that was amazing.
There are so many fans online as well. Most followers I have on Twitter are fans. I got them during a scavenger hunt I went on (GISHWHES), organised by Misha Collins (Castiel from Supernatural). He has an organisation called Random Acts and this year GISHWHES is going to be held for the 5th time. Any who, that was besides the point. I got into that and gained followers and we actually had conversations. I found a couple of groups on Facebook and it’s such, again, an incredible feeling to be in this family. Every fan in these groups care about each other, we care about the show and we can speak our mind. If you throw in hate, you’re out, cause that’s not who we are. We discus for sure, and we have our own opinions, but we do not hate. And that is amazing.
One of groups I got invited to is the Kitty Krew. I don’t know where the name came from, but I know we are close. It’s a small and closed group (about 75 people) and we discus everything. Supernatural, the actors, the story, our story, our worries, our troubles, our victories, whatever we want we put out. A couple of the girls also went to the convention in Vegas and I ended up spending most of the downtime with them. The moment we met on Wednesday for dinner we hit it off. It was so easy and homey and felt so normal. It felt like we where supposed to be there and like we’ve always known each other.
So here’s me and the Kitties that went.
Kitties during some down time.
Kitties before Karaoke
Kitties and the Green Machine. One Kitty is never in the pic, cause she doesn’t like to be in it, but the Green Machine is her car and she took so many incredible pictures!
After all the amazing days (which you’ll read about in the next 2 blogs) it was hard saying goodbye. Most of us spread out across the country, one to Canada, one to Austria. I didn’t want to get out of this bubble so I drove after one of them and that’s where I am now. I’m spending a couple of days with her and I’m finally out of the convention bubble. That’s not to say I don’t want to be back in, cause it was amazing, but I’m not sad about it any more 🙂
If you want to read the rest of the story, just click on the following links. Enjoy! ❤
I peed in a hole in the ground! Yeah you read it correct, I peed in a hole 😀 I know this is what you call “over sharing” but I don’t care, it was hilarious! You know that sometimes while your on the road you really need to go? Yeah and you think “Oh man I can kill for a rest area!”? I had that feeling and out of the blue a nice blue sign with some white letters stated something like “Rest area, next stop” popped up. Lucky me I thought, so I pulled into that area and what did I see? A 2mx2m square “Restroom” with indeed a toilet. It wasn’t flushable though, so I had to pee in a hole. Never thought I’d had to pee standing up again, after all these times in France. Well at least there you could still flush it all down, which I guess is not necessary if it’s just a hole in the ground 😛
Anyways this was the rest of the day 🙂
I drove about 376 miles which, according to google maps, would’ve been 5,24 hours. It took me from 10.10 – 17.40 to get in a hotel. It was a lovely drive though. I had fun, the sun was up and it was beautiful!
It was nice to be able to pull into a motel that time though. And guess what? It was a typical Sam & Dean Winchester motel, which was also in front of a Philips joint 😉 If y’all don’t know what that means: START watching Supernatural and you’ll get it 😛
Tuesday 10 March: T-shirt and flip flops
356 miles on Tuesday, GoogleMaps: 5 hours, Me: left 10.20 – pulled into a hotel: 17.30isch. While it was still chill in the morning, in the afternoon T-shirt and flip flops where enough to be outside, nice and sunny and sunburn occurred as well.
Salt lake city and area are lovely to drive through. Takes you a long time to get out of that area though. Got off for a rest stop and pulled back on the Interstate, going the direction I came from :O Luckily the next exit was only a few miles way and I could around easily. There’s never been a trip where I haven’t taken a wrong turn, so this is just as always I guess 😉
These pics are somewhere in Utah, about an hour from the Arizona border.
My baby deserves some time to rest too. Enjoying the sun together 🙂
Count the bugs, two days of bug catching this was:
Wednesday 11 March: Time for donuts
175 miles to Vegas. Don’t know how long I was on the road but the drive was amazing!!!!! There was a little time I spend on the road through Arizona, didn’t know I’d pass that on my way to Vegas, but I did so yeah that was state number 4 🙂
I had a donut for breakfast and for all the Dutchies reading this, they taste like “oliebollen zonder krenten” 😛 Oh and Jerry Springer is still on TV, apparently people still watch that show…..
This is not my pic and although it’s an incredible one, it’s not as impressive as what I’ve seen today…
The best part of todays drive was the amazing time I spend driving THROUGH the Grand Canyon, yes driving through it, not flying over it or just looking down into it from the top, no none of that, just driving through it for at least 30 minutes. There’s no possibilities to stop to take pictures or to rest and be swallowed by the hugeness of this Canyon, but driving through it amazed me. I’m still in awe about the beautiful and enormousness of it all. It was beautiful. If anyone wants to know how to get there and do that: Take the Interstate 15 North (I15 North) from Vegas towards Salt Lake and after an hour or so you will be driving through it. I know people usually go and to a tour on a helicopter or you just look from atop, but this drive is spectacular! I’d advice anyone to skip the other stuff and take 4 hours out of your Vegas day to take the drive!
So that’s it for now. The next couple of days will probably blow me away too. It’s convention time, the reason I’m here in Vegas, and I can’t wait. It’s been 2,5 years in the making and finally I’m able to go!
Okay I forgot to write down which states I drove through: Montana, Idaho, Utah, Arizona and I’m currently in Nevada.
Will try to write my experiences when the convention is over, convention stops on Sunday so till than:
Some of my Random Thoughts and Ideas 