New York Comic Con Recap!

Phew! It is a damn good thing today is  Columbus Day because I definitely need a day to recuperate. New York Comic Con was intense! Intense in all the good ways, of course!

My first time at NYCC was in 2011, and I only got a taste of what it was since I was there for a few hours on the final day. This time around I won a 3-day pass from the wonderful Pete’s Basement Comic Book Talk Show and came equipped with a better knowledge of events and the floor layout.

Day 1

I took my cousin Sandra as my first guest (I won 2 passes) and she has never been to a Comic Con. I think she totally loved it just by the sheer volume of pictures she took. We arrived to the Javits Center before 10am in hopes of making our way to the Marvel booth. All went well until we got inside, I wasn’t sure where we were in relativity to the booth (we walked in closest to the Weta Workshop booth) and by the time we elbowed our way to Marvel the line for the raffles was looped around a couple times. We still got on line praying for a miracle. Marvel set up their panels and autographing session with Clark Gregg a bit differently then the rest of the Con, you basically get on line and pick a ballot. Some ballots give you the wristband and some don’t so it is a complete gamble. We were maybe 10 people away from getting a chance to pick a raffle before we were told they were out. I’m guessing you have to seek your first-born child to get into a Marvel panel/screening because I lucked out the rest of the weekend too.

Denied but not defeated, my cousin and I perused the showroom, gaping at the ginormous Bumblebee at the Chevrolet booth (real person in there too). I bought an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. t-shirt from the Super Hero Stuff booth and I made it my mission to also track down a Funko Pop Vinvl of The Winter Soldier. That figure has been just as elusive as the character is and I finally found him an hour before we left. I also bought an original Winter Soldier paining by Tony Santiago and a Hello Kitty style Winter Soldier from I believe Tom Kelly. It’s pretty evident that I really love this character and I am so glad there was plenty of great artwork that has interpreted him.

Comic Con also has a lot of fun photo booths scattered all over the place. My cousin and I took lots of them and had lots of goofy faces to give the camera. Artists Alley was also another highlight. We spent a lot of time just watching these artists at work and admiring their craft. I know who to keep an eye out for as I learn more about comics and what I like in reading and viewing comics. It was really something special to meet Allen Bellman who drew for Marvel in the 1940s and 1950s.

Clark Gregg (Phil Coulson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) was doing his signing at the Marvel booth. We were able to watch him and got some photos of him. Gregg has one of those demeanors that make him look so warm and caring. Two of the people getting autographs signed had a phenomenal cosplay of Captain America and The Black Widow and Gregg jumped up to take a special picture with them. He is a total fanboy and proud.

Our day ended around 4:30/5ish. My cousin had to leave to go to work and I left with her because I needed her 3-day pass for Saturday since I was bringing a friend.

Day 2

Saturday was easily the busiest day. My friend Cat and I arrived about an hour in and it was already bustling. Unfortunately, it had been a very rainy morning and while I kept my Winter Soldier metal arm dry, putting it on my own wet arm was a bad, bad, terrible idea. I suspected the top part was beginning to crack the night before when I was trying it on one last time but I felt it crack more on this morning. There is still no visible crack but it is going to need a Franken-fix on it. The water also smudged some of the paint. I couldn’t get the arm up to my shoulder due to my arm being wet so it didn’t look right in its placement. Also, I need to make the cuts better so I can have some mobility with it. ONE MORE THING: A lot of people kept bumping into my arm. Dear people, please try to respect anyone wearing a homemade costume, it is likely that we spent a LOT of time and MONEY on it and even if it’s not that good it is still near and dear to our hearts.

Despite my cosplay snafu I enjoyed the rest of my day. I didn’t buy much except for lunch, beer, and an Agent Jemma Simmons identification card. My bank account needed a rest from how much I spent on Friday. We tried to get into a couple  panel’s such as the Mary Sue one on women in comics but we were shut out. We even showed up an hour before it would start. I guess I just don’t know how to get into them!

We met up with some other friends who had taken advantage of the fact you can buy alcohol. It was fun to talk with them and hear about their Con stories. I ended up taking the same train ride home with them which was definitely nicer than traveling by myself.

Day 3

I arrived on time and by myself this time. My friend Erin was caught up in an assignment and didn’t make it until the late afternoon, but I am so glad she got to enjoy herself for a few hours. I did bring my nice D-SLR camera so I roamed the floor taking shots of people cosplaying. I’m always in awe over these costumes. The time, love, and craftsmanship that goes into them is astounding. It’s interesting to see what people chose to cosplay, to see what’s important to them.

Erin and I had a lot of fun trying on silly hats and goggles. We had a really awesome conversation with one of the guys from the Weta Workshop (post will come later). I bought some cool prints made from a 95 year old press machine and also a Doctor Who tumbler so I can enjoy my pumpkin spice beverages any time I want.

There was a guy outside of the Javits Center dressed up as The Doctor and he brought his own Tardis. He was a great sport and a fantastic Ten impersonator. He definitely put a lot of smiles of peoples faces that day, including mine.

∇∇∇

New York Comic Con was a blast and I wish it was every month. I barely slept with how excited I was every night. There a few things left in my adulthood that cause that kind of reaction. It had a way of making me feel so relaxed. I was surrounded by things I love and people who love them just as passionately as I do. And like the heroes we admire, I had no fear.

Well, there’s now less than 365 days until next year, time to get planning!

Here are couple pictures I took throughout the weekend:

Chapter X

As you can see I have been quiet on here the past couple of weeks. There just doesn’t seem much to discuss.

But something did come up.

I started a new job in NYC yesterday. I really like it, and it was so unexpected. My office is right by Bryant Park so it is nice to eat lunch there. Today they had Broadway shows in the park, and I chowed down on my Nutella sandwich while listening to some very talented performers belt out tunes from Les Miserables, Chicago, Atomic, and Pippin. Les Miserables is one of my favorite shows and it was such a nice midday treat.

I am struggling with the commute. It is expensive for me. This weekend I will set aside some time to plan out a better budget than I have now.

Either way it is nice to be a part of the rhythm of New York City.

Writing the rights of rites?

Haha, okay the title is a joke.  But it’s only a joke for me and my sillyness.

Anyway, yesterday was my meeting in the city.  My website idea is good but I need to start getting serious about it if it’ll ever work.  I’m going to ask some of my most trusted and creative friends/family to sort of work with me.  Some friends I can springboard ideas off of at a rapid-fire.

I also really want to get my other blog idea started, a literary journalism online magazine.  There are so many of them out there but I think if it features fresh quality work, it can happen, plus, I’ll send the link to colleagues/peers of mine.  And my LinkedIn.

So, anyway back to yesterday in the city.

I don’t know if I’ve shared this before, but, I am so directionally challenged.

I need to use a map to get anywhere in the city (and I never drive without my GPS).

I have no idea as to why I do not possess the talent of knowing where the hell to go, but I sure wish I had it.

Yesterday wasn’t so bad though, I walked in the wrong direction a few times and looked at a map the wrong way which led me in the opposite direction of Penn, but that’s okay, I eventually got there and didn’t miss my train.

Speaking of the LIRR, the air condition wasn’t working in the car and it was so hot.  The LIRR worker kept trying to get it to start and he totally didn’t clip my ticket. So yay, I get a free ride!  This is especially good because I accidentally purchased the wrong station and also under off-peak hours.  But I was traveling on peak. Thank you Mr. LIRR guy. Even though it was hotter than how the Internet feels about Kate Upton, a free ride is always nice too.  Especially since the LIRR is super expensive.

Okay, no one likes long posts, but I wanted to prattle on.

OH YEAH AND YOU LIKE THE NEW THEME?  IT’S FUN. I am fun ^.^

ESA Article

First off, let me start with I did not write this article.

BUT…I was here!

If you scroll a few blog posts down, you’ll find my recant about the East Side Access Tunnel project.  One of the journalists on the trip covered it and wrote up  a great all-encompassing story.

Give it a read HERE so you understand the technicality of the project as well as its developments and importance.

 

You won’t be sorry!

East Side Access!

Here I am inside the East Side Access Tunnel, Manhattan side of the project.

 

The East Side Access Tunnel trip was incredibly fascinating and I learned so much.  To reiterate, the East Side Access is a project connecting the LIRR to Grand Central Station.  The LIRR only goes to Penn Station, which leaves many commuters with a long journey to work.  Creating this project by adding three new tracks that will use the 63rd street tunnel, which was built in the late 60s and 70s and nicknamed the ‘tunnel to nowhere,’ even though it will be serving this project.  The F train uses the two upper tracks of the tunnel, while the lower two tracks have been unused.  They will be used by the East Side Access trains once this project is completed.

We first toured the Queens side, which is less complete.  The Queens side is more complicated then the Manhattan side because they water table is only 10 feet below ground, which Manhattan is solid rock.  They are working on finishing excavating the tunnels and then connecting them in the break section.  We didn’t get a chance to see an actual tunnel boring machine (TBM) since our tour was running late.  The TBM’s are apparently ginormous and its job is to excavate a circular cross-section.  The excavation is then lined with gigantic concrete slabs, which serve as the basis of the tunnel.  There’s about 2,400 workers and the project has been in progress for 10 years.  Completion is not expected until 2019, mostly due to financial and budgeting problems.  There has only been 1 death in

The top three tunnels are ‘revenue,’ which means passenger trains will be using those, and the fourth one, hard to see, but it’s on the bottom moves trains to their needed locations.’

 

When we went to the Manhattan side, my best comparison is to an alien planet.  It’s super dark and dusty, and completely muddy.  The temporary lights only illuminate sections being worked on, and in every direction you can see the eerie glow of them, and some huge machine tearing through dirt, or drilling, or something else that needs to be done.

Here’s a tunnel being worked on, I believed this one leads down to a would-be subway platform.

Here’s a tunnel being worked on, I believed this one leads down to a would-be subway platform.

 

 

Doesn’t this look so eerie? Wish I brought my better camera to capture its’ craziness.

 

I wish I brought my better D-SLR camera to snag better quality shots but I was afraid of it getting damaged or dirty, I did not know what to expect.  When we were in the Manhattan tunnels, we were not allowed to use flash for two reasons: 1. The air was so dusty. 2. A camera flash might confuse the workers of a blast, which can be very dangerous to them.

One of my favorite parts was returning to the surface after the Manhattan trip. I had forgotten after we had taken the subway from Queens to Grand Central that we entered the site from a specialized personnel door in the terminal.  To think that this other planet of construction was just a few hundred feet from the elegant Grand Central station was just… unbelievable.  It definitely contributed to the feeling of being on another planet.

The workers are also all over the world and are highly specialized and many of the machines used are also from all parts of the world, mainly Germany.  It was also good for me to see four female workers, all engineers, and despite the dirty workplace, they looked great.

The East Side Access Tunnel project was definitely a once in a lifetime experience for me.  It is currently the biggest kind of it’s project in North America, and to witness the creation of something that will serve thousands of tri-state area residents and travelers is an awesome feeling.

This is an artists’ rendering of what the terminal and platform addition sto Grand Central will look like.