I probably have plenty I could write about today. I’m at my parents house, staying for a couple days because my grandparents are visiting (they’re from Saskatchewan so I don’t get to see them often) so I could write about family, parents, what’s it like being old. Or I could write about this weekend at Ottawa ComicCon. What I did, who I saw, how I feel about our two panels.
But guess what. I’m fucking exhausted. And I will be for the rest of my week off because ComicCon is exhausting. Being nervous about public speaking is exhausting. Socializing is exhausting. Being around family is exhausting. We’re all just sitting silently in the living room each reading or playing on an iPad or doing a sudoku but it’s not as relaxing as silently reading by myself at home. At any moment my grandma could ask me the eternal, never forgotten question I dread every visit or phone call: “So, do you have a boyfriend?” Part of me wants to be able to say “No, but I have GIRLfriend!” just to stir shit up but a) that is not true and b) explaining bisexuality to my grandparents sounds the MOST exhausting.
I also didn’t bother trying to explain what I was doing at ComicCon this weekend. I guess my mom tried to explain already because Grandma said “Did your weekend go well? I don’t understand what you’re doing but I know you’re doing it.” That’s good enough for a grandma I think.
Nothing like someone totally out of touch with your world to put your accomplishments in perspective. Juliana and I worked really hard on both our presentations, were plenty nervous about speaking to a roomful of people, were happy with the audience discussions and that people came up after to take our business card and handouts. It was a success in our eyes because people seemed to enjoy it and we might have got some podcast subscribers out of it. Grandma doesn’t understand the subjects we were talking about or why people would gather to listen to someone talk about them or what a podcast is or why any recognition in this area of interest is important to us. When do you think was the last time my grandparents even saw a movie? I’m coming down off the high of doing these public things to a receptive audience and instead of basking in our success for a while, I was immediately met with people who do not care (or understand) what I just accomplished.
I mean, it is only Ottawa ComicCon. It doesn’t mean much to many people. But it’s all relative. Last year, doing the panel is what got the attention of the radio show that we now do film reviews for (when one of the regulars is away) so I was excited to see what opportunities would come from this year. I think it might just be some podcast followers. And that’s great, too. If a podcast gets uploaded and no one listens to it, does it really even exist?
Well, look at that, I managed to write about family and ComicCon after all.
My parents’ we-live-in-the-middle-of-nowhere internet is so slow that searching for a gif was near impossible. It was easier to airdrop and upload this photo I took of the notorious duck that’s been spotted around their yard lately. Country life is so exciting.
Sharing is Caring: My friend just made me aware of this series of weird videos and I love them: Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared. Enjoy having the songs stuck in your head like I do now.
See you next Tuesday, nerds!