WOW! What an amazing weekend!

I have so much stuff; it will take me the rest of the week to tell you about it all. I have Q&A recaps, announcements, vendor information, a movie review from the con, reviews of stuff I got AT the con, and more!

But since I also have a day job (dammitdammitdammitseriouslydammit), I will have to weed through the mass slower than I'd like.

In the meantime, I can regale you with a quick, personal recap. So, here's how my weekend went down and what you can look forward to in the coming days:

Friday

• Miss the Ben Chapman tribute. V. upset, as the man was a wonderful, genuine person who was very proud of the work he did.

• Arrive about 7:00 p.m. No small feat since I had no idea whether or not I was going to be leaving Friday until about 1 hour before our actual departure.

• Settle in, buy ticket, and take pictures for my broham as he gets his autographs. Unlike other conventions, I actually didn't buy ANY AUTOGRAPHS!!! Very unlike me.

• Meet some great people!
  

• Stroll the vendors checking out the wares. Score a bitchin' Army of Darkness lunchbox, with thermos, for the exclusive Dirty Santa "Boardie" party held on Saturday.

One of the greatest things about Monster Mania is the community. On the MM bulletin boards, you meet tons of people who you then meet up with at the con, either informally or at events like hotel parties and the Dirty Santa gift exchange.

Note:The Dirty Santa is NOT an XXX event. It's a secret santa-type event, but with thievery. Also called a White Elephant gift exchange, Yankee Swap, etc.

• Watch the world premiere of Chronicles of an Exorcism.*

Saturday

• Up early. Uber-excited. Hair totally cooperates. Still have money left. Annoying my roommates with my alarm? Icing. :)

• Eat, finish getting autographs, gab with some peeps, mill about. (Giving too much detail here, but what the hey.)

• Brutal Massacre panel with Brian O'Halloran, Director Stevan Mena, Producer Tom Bambard, Gunnar Hansen (Leatherface, Texas Chainsaw Massacre), reps from Anchor Bay, and M.J. DiBenedetti.*

• Women of Horror panel. Wouldn't you know I freaking missed half of this and then my recorder went on the fritz! Yes, if you were getting really pissed at someone who kept beeping, that was me trying to fix the damned thing. Sorry!*

• Fight my way through massive crowds to the Out of the Cabin panel with Bruce-who-needs-no-introduction-in-my-book-Campbell.*

• Got a Jay? panel, which turns out to be a Where's Jay? panel with 80s music videos which turns into a Brian O' Saves the Day panel about him and his other new movie Cluster.*

• Texas Chainsaw Massacre Reunion panel.*
  

• Impromptu Dave Hagan panel due to the lateness of Mr. Feldman. Dave is the organizer of Monster Mania. A.K.A. Da MAN!*

• Lost Boy Found Q&A with Corey Feldman.*

• Change clothes for Dirty Santa.

• Meet brother for a drink in bar.

• Buy Brian O'Halloran a drink. Brother claims drink is from him (dirty rat), but still get to talk to the amazingly easy to talk to Brian O. TOTALLY crushing. Which I hope he didn't notice. Or maybe I do. Heehee.**

• Meet some fabulous people!
  

• Miss Dirty Santa I'm having so much fun. Now own lunchbox. Co-workers simply WON'T understand.
  

• Catch up with some elusive people in elevator. Get invited to their room for party. Head to my room to freshen up. Promptly forget their hotel room # after stepping off elevator.

Sunday

• Leisurely brunch of mozzarella sticks. My stomach pays dearly for these weekends of fast & mainly fried foods. Dearly.

• Get some great advice from Scott at FearWerks.

• Spend the day trying to find - at various times, sometimes desperately, but never at the RIGHT time - Dave for questions, Stacey for an interview, my cousin Niki to thank her for offering me a ride (truth be told, I rudely invited myself along when I lost my ride. Either way, I am eternally grateful for her acquiescence), and, as always, my brother. He's mighty elusive at times.

• Get yelled at cause I completely blow by someone in my quest for the above. Make amends.

• Win DVD from FearsMag.com. Splee!
  

• Sadly leave.

Well, that's a weekend in the life of this Monster Mania convention goer. What was your experience like? Who did you see? What did you do? Where did you party? Are you still hung over?

* More later
** More about why having a normal conversation with a celebrity is such an amazing feat for me.