Forever Day, Never Night

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

TwiCon has come and past. This is no exaggeration but i have to say that the trip to Dallas and the whole Twilight experience with my best friend was the GREATEST week of my life! so here it goes a run down.. even with some pictures...video to come later!

Monday Night
we started packing the car around 6 or 7, then had some dinner, decorated Justina's car and then just waited. we couldn't just sit and wait anymore. our excitement was to much to bare. we said our goodbyes to our family and to Tim and we left around 1030pm despite my dad wanting us to leave in the wee hours of the morning. We stopped got ice for our cooler of snacks and then made our first coffee stop. Justina nearly killed us not even 5 mins into our drive but im not going to go into details...its all on video..and so after that event our 16 hour car ride began. The ride was long, boring, and unlike some roadtrips.. nothing exciting happend.. nothing.

Tuesday
we arrived at our hotel room around 130 2 pm... never use mapquest.. epic fail.. they had us going the opposite dire

ction when we were trying to find the hotel. anyways, both of us were exhausted. hardly any sleep during the car ride... we unpacked and got settled into our room. the weather was hot and humid. so we ordered a pizza and locked ourselves in the room. after gorging ourselves on dominos pizza and diet coke, we passed out. and i mean literally passed out. i dont remember falling asleep, but when i woke up it was around 7 or 8. justina was still sleeping so i showered and decided to watch a movie. justina woke up about a half hr later. not wanting to venture out into downtown Dallas that night we watched movies and called it a night around midnight. overall a lazy day and a day to recooperate

Wednesday
wednesday was definitely more exciting than tuesday. we decided to go to the popular mall the Galleria of Dallas. we checked out what stores that were there before we left and decided to just spend the day browsing and shopping. Now from our assessment, this was a very high end mall. We of course got lost (directions would have been a smart idea!) and took a mini self guided tour of Dallas. a half hour later we arrived at the mall. We entered in the Saks Fifth Ave entrance. i instantly felt poor. lol.. we browsed the mall .. stores like Tiffany & Co. Coach, Betsy Johnson, BCBG, Louis Vitton, Juicy Couture etc. I didnt buy anything opting to save my money for the convention. 6pm was rolling around and we were meeting a group of girls that we had been talking to on line for a few months who were also attending the convention. We went to Grand Lux. Very similar to Cheesecake factory and just as pricey, but the food was excellent. We had a great time, meeting all the girls and starting to form friendships. Around 830 we said our goodbyes and headed back to the hotel.

Thursday
First day of the convention. We met up with one of the girls, Frankie, that we met the night before at the dinner. We were trying to kill sometime before registration, so she invited us to lunch with her and her mom. We went to the newly opened Hard Rock Cafe. Food was delicious and the company was great. We even had the most amazing service from both our server and another cute! server. we headed back to the hotel where the convention was a lil early to get our registration done which didnt start til 3pm. Justina and I had to separate because of our last names so we both stood in line alone. I chatted with other girls and moms, passing the time. 45 mins later i was finally registered and giggling like a school girl in the vendor hall of the convention. To my surprise, there wasnt much in the hall.. i expected a whole ball room with vendors... there was probably about 20-25... we browsed that which actually took up a good amount of time surprisingly. The Welcome Ceremony started at 5 so we took our seat

s in the giant ballroom. Appetizers were served :hot wings, mozz sticks, cheese, crackers, fruits, and a few other little finger foods. Alot of the internet fandom celebrities were there like the Hillywood Show, KalebNation and Evil Iguana. All were great. The ceremony basically consisted of food and going over rules and other jazz that no one really cared about. The ceremony ended and justina and i were faced with what to do next. There was a VIP party but we didnt have tix. we were thinkin about hitting the bars or clubs around town but ran into Frankie again. She and a couple other people were in the hotel resturant/bar havin drinks and singing karokee. We joined and had a BLAST! we started gettin tired around 11 and had to head back to our hotel (which btw was like a 10 min drive away, so we only had one drink) I couldnt sleep that night because i was so excited for Friday.

Friday
the first full day of the convention. we got to the convention site around 815 hoping to change our photo and autograph opps. Both of us had Ashley Greene, who played Alice, so we were automatically switched to Alex Meraz, who will be one of the wolf pack in New Moon. Being told that there were still other actors that had photos and autographs available we arrived early hoping to switch to Peter Facinelli (Carlisle), Kellan Lutz (Emmett), Jackson Rathb

one (Jasper), or Billy Burke (Charlie). After waiting in line for a half hour, we found out that they started doing the swap the night before.. completely not what they told us the day before. I figured i stay in line and MAYBE still have a chance. Well nope. They lied to us. I was irritated but was trying to be optimistic. after all that, there was a autograph signing for the band 100 Monkeys, Jackson Rathbone is in the band, and we would be seeing them perform later that night. we got in line early all excited when they made the announcement that Jackson would be joining the rest of the band in the signing. Initally he wasnt going to but decided to. The people that were run

ning TwiCon were going to charge $20 for his autograph. I didnt care.. i was going to meet Jackson. Justina held my spot in line as i ran for the nearest ATM. a $4 service fee later and i was running back to my spot in line all giddy and goofy. running 10 mins late, one of the organizers came out and said that Jackson was no longer going to be joining. I was crushed. This was going to be my only chance to meet Jackson. I sucked it up and still met the rest of the band. Each and everyone of them were incredibly nice! i even got a comment from one of the guys about my contacts (i had the gold vampire eyes in to go with my Alice outfit... yes i dressed up as a character.. sue me!) I snapped a few pictures after i got out of line. There was then an announcement that the band was putting a show on at the Palladium and would be doing a meet and greet on saturday. $20 got you a ticket to the show, a free cd, and the meet and greet. Um not passing that up. Bought our tickets right after that. We had some time to kill before the next breakout session so we grabbed a bite to eat and some coffee. We were going to attend a breakout session at 130 .. a makeover room.. god knows i need this. But to our surprise an hour before the session was to start there was a line wrapped around the hallway with about 30 girls ahead of us. Talking with other people, we found out not only were they only going to take only 20 people, you also had to bring your own makeup supplies, etc. Justina and i opted against going so we went to a fanfiction panel. It was a decent presentation. I was shocked to see that the ladies on the panel were all middle aged women, married with children, writing these sometimes mature stories. They all had great stories about their experiences with Twilight etc. After that ended we were going to get in line early for another autograph session this time with three VERY Talented and VERY beautiful british boys: Bobby Long, Marcus Foster, and Sam Bradley. Now some must be wondering why would 3 random guys be doing a signing. well the thr

ee of them had some part in the writing of two songs on the Twilight Soundtrack (let me sign, and never think). they're all friends of rob pattinson. We got in line about an hour early and there were already people in line. We met up with another girl from the wednesday night dinner, Cess, and Amanda, who i had also talked to online. We met each of the boys and got their autographs. Bobby Long, me and justina. we look like we could be a cute couple --->
Sam Bradley also made a comment on my eyes.. he like stared at them.. kinda weir

d. lol ... So after meeting the guys and gettin all our goodies we ran to the ball room to listen to Mitch Hansen play.. amazing! really nice guy too! we were even apart of a music video he was shooting for! Very Cool! how many people can say they've been apart of a music video?!
<-- Mitch Hansen... Justina got in line and got autogra

phs for us while i jumped in line outside to get in line for the 100 monkeys concert. needed to make sure we got a good view...it was 530 when i got in line.. concert didnt start til 9.. crazy i know.. We ordered a pizza and had it delieverd to the hotel and ate in line. Met a new friend Stacy! a complete sweetheart and hopefully a room-mate for next years TwiCon! anywho.. around 9 we started filing into the ballroom in front of the stage.. Mitch Hansen came out and sang a few songs and then a new band i wasn't familiar with National Rifle came out. Wow! the engergy for their set was intense! The sound system was weird so i had a hard time hearing lyrics but the beats and guitars were awesome. 100 monkeys all came out about 15 mins after National Rifle. Those boys each and everyone of them are so incredibly talented! all of them play all the instruments.. there's no set "lead singer" or "lead guitarist" they all play.. they all sing. i was throughly impressed! the show only lasted about an hour which was disappointing since it was suppose to last til midnight but ended at 11. The night ended there. Stood around in lines almost all day but the events that did happen were amazing!

Saturday
The day that we all came for. We got there around 1030 in the morning.. i had my photo with Alex at 11. i met up with stacy in line and justina went to grab breakfast and coffee. Of course everything started late. i was only in line for a short time before it actually started moving. we were ushered into a ballroom and forced to wait longer.. i was near a door and was able to see backdrop and all the lighting set up for the photos.. curious to see who was in th

e nearest door.. i craned my neck.. it was Billy Burke! .. lol .. he didnt like he shaved in quite a few days but still looked great. I only saw a few peeks and not enough to get a picture.. oh well.. My row was called to get in line outside Alex's door. now.. i was extremely salty that ashley pulled out and i was stuck with Alex.. but you know what.. i take that all back. I walked in to the photo area and he was standing there with a big smile on his face. I would think that doing stuff like this would get redunant but it didnt seem to bother him. He asked me how i was and i replied shakily good and asked him likewise. The volunteers were pushy so we had to hurry up. I walked up to him when he pulled me close to him. He smelled soo good! lol. I thanked him for taking time to do this and was ushered away. I was a little star struck.. but i handled myself well..I caught up with Justina and we got in line for the Q&A session. This was the part that we all waited for... the cast was going to answer all the questi

ons we submitted! This was all the most unorganized part of the whole convention. we were issued numbers on our badges and were told to get in order.. well it sounded like a good idea but when you have 3000 people in a tiny room it gets chaotic. well while we're waiting in line i get a text from Frankie.. 100 monkeys has a VIP show later that night.. $100 a piece, two drinks and dinner.. plus a show.. now from my understanding it was friends and family and there was only 50 tickets available to the public.. idk. what is true but justina and i instantly jumped on it. We also found out a few other things out.. rumors had it that Rob Pattinson was in town (never saw him, never saw pictures so im guessin it was just a rumor.) also found out that the whole deal with Jackson joining the band on friday for the meet and greet was ruined by the Convention

people.. He didnt want to charge for his autograph so he opted not to show.. So we finally get in the room for the Q&A.. a half hour to an hour LATE. The cast comes out and its like "entering the gates of hell" as Rob Pattinson has quoted twilight fans screaming. it was seriously INSANE! we didnt have that great of seats but there was a big screen tha

t projected for everyone. the cast was really nice especially Peter Facinelli. The cast was making paper airplanes and autographing them and throwing them out into the crowd. Peter got as daring to run to the back of the audiance and hand one to someone.. CRAZY! the Q&A only lasted a half hour.. which was shocking to all of us! even the cast! i believe Peter made a comment about how the convention was being run by communist.. and Billy said "thats it?!" i have alot of the session on video..well the first 25 mins.. then they started yellin about no video taping.. they (the volunteers) were all nazis about flash photography...thanks for ruining our chances of some great photos for memories! anywho.. this is were the organization got even worse.. we were told that we would be called our by our rows for our autographs.. well that didnt happend.. most of us listened buit in the end were screwed because people started lining up outside the ballroom. i finally gave in and got in line for my Kellan Autograph.. the line was ridiculous.. at least an hour to two hour wait... but i started making friends and chatting with people. Well as im chatting.. i see a familiar hat.. i glance up and who the he

ll is like walking right next to me?! Billy Burke!! no said anything.. no screaming no nothing.. so i was like "Hi Billy!" all perky and cheerful.. he looked up smiled and said hi but was ushered away. WAAY TOO COOL! so im still standing in line.. Justina finds me after getting her autographs and we're chatting.. and then guess who walks by...again only mere feet from me? Jackson!!! More people noticed this but there wasnt screaming or anything.."Hi jackson!" i said.. he turned around waved and then again was ushered off...i finally got both my autographs from Alex and Kellan... I was able to chat a bit more with Alex

about how he really enjoys meetin all the fans but is really overwhelmed with all the attention. I really dont remember what i said to Kellan.. but i know i said Thank you and all that jazz....but that all i remember.. so that was all done.. completely starstruck .. i met up with Amanda, Justina and a few of Amanda's friends.. time to go to the Palladium for the 100 monkeys meet and greet! the line was ridiculously long! but we finally met the whole band! i got up to the line and Jared one of guys was like "how are you feeling on a scale of 1 to 10" i answered with an 11 and then jackson jumped in. "an 11 huh? wow! thats im pressive!" I nodded stupidly probably with a huge grin on my face. I commented on how the night before was our first monkeys concert and that we had a blast and we'd be at the two shows tonight. he responded with "thanks so much! have fun at the ball we will definitely see you later." he winked and i was ushered to the other band mates.. ::dies:: lol... we got back to the hotel and quickley got dresse

d for the masquerade ball.. it was cool

.. we ate .. and found friends to catch up with.. it was like a high school dance so we didnt stay long.. like an hour.. then we made our way back to the palladium for the concert. so since we were doing the VIP thing later that night we did it the right way.. Stretch Escalde LIMO! lol.. we arrived at the show and enjoyed ever minute of it! we hurried over to the Sambuca Lounge where the VIP event was taking place.. very chic and

classy! had some food.. not sure what we were

eating but it was good.. then the band came out.. i decided to let them eat before i went over to talk to them.. about a half hour later.. i made my way over to jackson since he was the only one i could find at that moment. i waited patiently and then finally it was my turn.. i held myself together very well and didnt freak ou

t. i asked him when they were going to come to chicago and we got into a small discussion of the bands touring plans for the next year. i thanked him for taking time out do the entire twicon weekend and such and then polietly asked for a photo and he agreed. i got one of the two of us then another w

ith justina, me and him. such a sweet guy! so i was made my way over to talk to the other band members but they were ushered away so they could start prepping for the set they were going to do. the show was just a good a

s the previous two. i actually think it was better. the venue was MUCH smaller, the fans nicer, and the band much more personable. everything started wrapping up around 2 am when the resturant was closing down. we stayed outside for a bit so the other girls could meet the band.. i almost fell alseep on the concert steps i was so tired. we finally made it back to our hotel at 330 in the morning.. exhausted,...we still had to pack..

Sunday
the last day. exhausted and on only 3-4 hrs of sleep we made our way back to the convention area. we grabbed some breakfast and got in line for our last even. Coffee Chat with Jackson! We met up with Tanya one of the girls that was with us at the VIP.. another sweet girl and so in love with Jackson..lol.. We sat together and the chat started..of course late again.. we

also didnt get coffee or anything else advertised but i was kinda like whatever.. Jackson did a small Q&A for us that lasted about an hour (i got this on tape also) and then 25 people won a chance to meet him and get his autograph.. i didnt win but that was ok.. i had the night before :o) things wrapped up and that was the end of the convention. We said our goodbyes to our new friends. Some of us cried. We exchanged emails and phone numbers. and that was it.

Overall the 100 monkeys and Jackson saved our weekend. Next year we're planning on going.. its in Vegas! so even if the convention blows we have a fall back.. more pictures on my facebook! i guess its kinda hard to describe everything in words on how great the weekend was but i promise a video blog soon! so now that TwiCon is over...now what?!

posted by Kristen at 1:10 PM -

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