Salute to Supernatural - Burbank (BurCon 2012)

INFO

DATE: March 2-4, 2012

HOTEL: Marriott Burbank Airport (2500 Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA 91505)



GUESTS:
Jensen Ackles   (Sunday)
Jared Padalecki   (Sunday)
Misha Collins   (Saturday)
Mark Sheppard   (Saturday)
Matt Cohen   (Saturday)
Richard Speight Jr.   (Saturday & Sunday)
Sebastian Roché   (Saturday)
Rick Worthy   (Saturday) 
Chad Lindberg   (Friday)
Rob Benedict  (Friday & Saturday)
Julian Richings  (Sunday)
Guy Norman Bee  (Saturday)
Kim Rhodes  (Friday)
Jim Beaver  (Saturday & Sunday)
Madison McLaughlin  (Sunday)
Gabriel Tigerman  (Friday) 




TICKETS:
Gold $559
Silver $399
Preferred admission Friday $50
Preferred admission Saturday $70
Preferred admission Sunday $80
General admission weekend $109
General admission Friday $30
General admission Saturday $30
General admission Sunday $50

PHOTO OPS: 
Jensen Ackles $129  
Jared Padalecki $129  
Misha Collins $70  
Mark Sheppard $50 
Matt Cohen $45
Richard Speight Jr. $45
Sebastian Roché $50
Rick Worthy $40
Chad Lindberg $40
Rob Benedict $45
Julian Richings $50
Kim Rhodes $40
Jim Beaver $60
Madison McLaughlin  $40
Jensen & Jared $219  
Misha & Mark $119
Karaoke kings (Richard & Matt) $69
Richard & Matt $69
Misha & Jim $129


AUTOGRAPHS: 
Jensen Ackles $89  
Jared Padalecki $89  
Misha Collins $40  
Mark Sheppard $40
Matt Cohen $25
Richard Speight Jr. $25
Sebastian Roché $35
Rick Worthy $20
Chad Lindberg $20
Rob Benedict $30
Julian Richings $30
Kim Rhodes $25
Jim Beaver $35
Madison McLaughlin  $20


CONCERT:
Louden Swain $20



AUCTIONS (starting bids):
VIP pass  $500

Jared Q&A  $300
Jensen Q&A  $300

Jim Biever Meet&Greet  $200
Benedict/Richings M&G  $150
Worthy/Sheppard/Roche M&G $300
Misha Collins M&G  $300
Richard Speight M&G  $175
Speight/Cohen M&G  $175
Benedict/Rhodes M&G  $100


Shipping/handling fee is now $7.75

If it's red, it's sold out.

For more info go to Creation Entertainment's website: BurbankCon 2012 

Jus in bello - Rome (JIB 2012)

INFO

DATE: April 27-29, 2012

HOTEL: Hilton Rome Airport (Via Arturo Ferrarin 2, 00054 Fiumicino, Rome, Italy)



GUESTS:
Jensen Ackles
Jared Padalecki
Misha Collins
Richard Speight Jr.
Brock Kelly
Mark Pellegrino
Sebastian Roché
Jim Beaver
Rob Benedict
Jason Manns
Steve Carlson


PASSES:
Angel  415 €
Demon  315 €
Sinner  185 €
Hunter  110 €
Prophet - auctions start at 1500-1850 €


PHOTO OPS:
Jensen Ackles  80 €
Jared Padalecki  80 €
Misha Collins  65 €
Richard Speight Jr.  35 €
Brock Kelly  35 €
Mark Pellegrino  35 €
Sebastian Roché  35 €
Jim Beaver  50 €
Rob Benedict  35 €
Jason Manns  20 €
Steve Carlson   20 €
Jensen & Jared   170 € 
Jensen & Misha  150 € 
Jared & Misha   150 € 
Jensen & Jared & Misha  240 € 
Misha & Sebastian  100 €
Misha, Jim, Richard, Sebastian, Mark, Brock & Rob  250 €




AUTOGRAPHS:
Jensen Ackles  55 €
Jared Padalecki  55 €
Misha Collins  40 €
Richard Speight Jr.  20 €
Brock Kelly  20 €
Mark Pellegrino  20 €
Sebastian Roché  20 €
Jim Beaver  30 €
Rob Benedict  20 €
Steve Carlson  15 €  (if you buy CD, 1 autograph included)
Jason Manns  15 € (if you buy CD, 1 autograph included)


MEET&GREETS:
Jensen Ackles  450 €
Jared Padalecki  450 €
Misha Collins  275 €
Richard Speight Jr.  110 €
Brock Kelly  110 €
Mark Pellegrino  110 €
Sebastian Roché  110 €
Jim Beaver  150 €
Rob Benedict  110 €
Jason Manns  50 €
Steve Carlson  50 €



Roman holiday 495 €

If it's red, it's sold out.

For more info go to Jus in bello website: JIB 2012

Bika.net

I'm sorry, but are you actually trying to make me leave all the information about me* out in the open, for everyone with Internet connection to see, just so that I could apply for one job that I won't even get? I would laugh right now, only it really isn't funny. At all.

So, you wanted to make some kind of network? Well, good for you. But I don't want to be a part of that network. I don't want people to be able to click on my profile and find out everything about me. I don't want to risk creating a profile just to find out that I can't make it extremly private after it's already too late and I disclosed everything. I do, however, want to apply for a single job and then, hopefully, never go back to Bika.net. What the hell happened to the old-fashioned and time-honored tradition of e-mailing one's CV and cover letter? If it ain't broken...


*Even if it's just my name. I don't want my name out there. I went to great lengths to keep it off the Internet.

A wider net

So, not only am I considering all sorts of jobs I wouldn't have considered a year ago, but apparently, I'm seriously considering a job I'd be doing in my city, but the company is actually located in my city's exurb. Which is a huge problem since I don't drive. OTOH, that is really not a job that requires any kind of interview, so I might be able to pull it off. Not that they would even consider me for the job, but, y'know. Hope springs infernal. Or something like that.


I've been trying to write a cover letter for that website updater job, but I'm still stuck on the second sentence. And the deadline is tomorrow!!! Looks like my muse of bullshit is on vacation. 
I'm seeing her cover letter in her future if she doesn't come back ASAP.  

What's worse?

To be deemed not good enough after a job interview or to be considered not good enough to even come for an interview? Just wondering.

Lower room rate? Sounds good, full stop.

I finally booked a room at Marriott Burbank Airport. And I got that lower room rate for the whole stay even though I'll be checking in on Feb 29. My eyes almost popped out when I checked the availability and didn't get that Unsuccessful Sell page. Yeah, I'm grinning like mad right now. I saved $165. Still grinning like mad. This was a good day. Ironically, I'm listening to Powter's Bad day. lol Love that song. :D


The original post about room rates is here: Lower room rate? Sounds good. In theory. 

Eye of the tiger

Plane ticket to Burbank (and back) is bought and paid for will be completely paid for in September 2012.

I was on my way to buy the ticket and the first song on the car radio was Eye of the tiger. :D Appropriate much? lol And when I was going to LAcon this year, I was 3 minutes from the airport when they started playing Eye of the tiger on the radio. That was a nice send-off. :)

I'll have to spend 5:45 hours between flights at the San Francisco airport. :( But it still beats waiting for 7 hours in Frankfurt and paying $250 more for the ticket.
Any chance SFO has free internet?

Hilton Rome Airport

I have absolutely no idea if my reservation still exists. I sent an e-mail with new dates on July 24. Didn't get any reply, but I did check my reservation on Hilton's website a few days later and they did change the dates.
When I still didn't get a confirmation e-mail two weeks later, I went to Hilton's website to check my reservation again. Easier said than done. They had problems with the page so I couldn't check anything.
So I kinda forgot about the whole thing until today. I went to check my reservation again. And this time I was informed that: No reservation was found. Please check your Confirmation number and Last name or last 4 digits of the credit card on this reservation and try again. I tried it a few more times and now I just keep geting this message: The reservation selected cannot be managed online. Please call 800.774.1500 for assistance or visit Customer care.

What the hell?!


UPDATE
Sept 19 - Still no e-mail from S. Incecchi, but this time I managed to find my reservation on Hilton's website. It has the new dates and says Reservation #... confirmed. I saved the printable version of my reservation confirmation. And I also e-mailed that confirmation to myself. Not sure it'll do me any good, but what the hell, right? In for a penny... Kad je bal nek je maskenbal.

Sept 21 - I received the confirmation. However. I found this in the said confirmation:

Rate Rules and Cancellation Policy:

A deposit equals to the charge for your full stay will be debited to you within the next days.

Once that has been obtained by the hotel, the reservation is guaranteed, non-refundable

and not changeable and will be held for your arrival.

I thought we were supposed to immediately pay for just one night (and pay for the rest at the hotel in April) and that the reservation could be cancelled until April 5th, 2012.  

Sept 22 - It's OK. I don't have to pay everything in advance. That whole 'deposit equals to the charge of your full stay will be debited to you within the next days' is something that's in every confirmation and (in this case) should be ignored.

Supernatural conventions - Google me this

As far as I know, this is the only blog that's all about Supernatural conventions, but if you try googling (or yahooing) 'blog + Supernatural conventions' you won't find it. At least not on the first 10 pages. And who would wanna go further than that?
You'll find websites and a few blogs with a post or two about conventions and that's it. I'm kinda starting to think my SEO skills suck. Slow on the uptake much?

Apparently, my laid-back approach to blogging only (OK, mostly) brings people who for some reason google Clif Kosterman. That baffles me. Why would anyone google Clif? But fine, to each his (or in this case more probably her) own.

So, I'm going proactive.

I "strategically placed" a few 'supernatural conventions' throughout my blog. And I finally went through the chaos that were my labels. They really were no help at all. So I changed a few and added a few. And by a few I mean a lot.

I might even start leaving comments on other people's blogs. o_O

I do, however, refuse to put words 'supernatural convention' in every post title. I like my titles and how at first glance they might seem like they have nothing to do with the post. That's not true. It's just that, sometimes you have to take a better look.

Uhm... This title being the exception.


UPDATE
Sept 17 - Yahoo moved me to page 3. Google's still ignoring me. No wonder I never google stuff, I always yahoo them.

Sept 20 - Page 1, baby! But probably only because Google is mentioned in the title.

Pearls of wisdom VII

VIDEOTAPING

At the request of the guests, absolutely no videotaping allowed. That, of course, includes videotaping the theater when there are absolutely no guests anywhere near it.

Personally, I would never do any videotaping.

But, in the end, it's really up to you and your conscience. 
Or your sneakiness.
Anyways... Don't do it, children!!! And after you've not done it, share the links. ;)

LAcon 2010

                                                              

LAcon 2011

SFcon 2011

This is the link:
fb.me/SCjyXvUb ->  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD_Dk4MMBrs

VanCon 2011

Nuff said.

Hell, yes! I'll tamper with your website!

Two more interesting ads. One is for a website content writer (I love it when a potential employer translates the job title so I don't have to :D) and the other is... uhm... for a website updater? Y'know, the person who updates the website.

That content writer job would be perfect, if not for one tiny little detail. What they consider content. Basically, they are looking for someone who'll write web articles about discounts, catalogs, special offers... And they want a 500-750 word test article about this month's great deals in Konzum. 750 words?! I could maybe, idk, list everything that's on discount? Maybe? Yeah, I got nothing.

Now, the updater job, OTOH, I'm definitely sending my CV+cover letter for that one. It's a part-time, flexible hours, no experience needed, work from home job. Proakustik is looking for someone who would update their website, enter new content, maybe fiddle (as in try to fix, not commit fraud) with an occasional photo or two. Now, THAT I definitely CAN do. 

Creation Entertainment's ban on hugs lifted

Misha was added to BurCon guest list (finally another guest), so I scrolled down to see the price of the photo ops ($70, btw. Way to go, Meesh. *thumbs up*) and was pleasantly shocked to see that Creation Entertainment decided to stop threatening us with director's chairs.

And all is good in the world of conventions again. :D Or something like that...


And just in case you missed it, this is what I'm talking about:

"Recently some fans have been asking for hugs and special poses (some are even bringing "props") and this is making it virtually impossible for us to accommodate all the great fans that have purchased photo ops of the main stars in the limited time we have to do them. With several big shows coming up, we must, once again, remind attendees of the ground rules that the photo ops were purchased under and ask that you please refrain from asking for hugs and special poses. While many other fan events have resorted to putting their guests in director's chairs during photo ops we don't want to do this, though we may have to. PLEASE HELP US OUT AND BE FAIR TO EVERYONE BEHIND YOU ON LINE. Thanks!"

Yep, we dodged the bullet chair.

Updates

- I sent CV and cover letter for that weekend job in the play center. Hope I'll hear from them. *fingers crossed*

- New video files and dialog lists are in my Dropbox. "Vacation" is over. :(

- I've been meaning to move my con photos from Photobucket to Picasa web albums for months and I'm finally doing something about it.

Watchgirl

So, there's this ad. RG Sport Center is looking for animators and... Uhm... Čuvalice. I'm not really sure how to say that in English. In this case, čuvalica is a person who, essentially, looks after children in the play center (during b-day parties). It sounds like a pretty decent part-time job. And it's definitely something I could do. I've never done something like that before, but my lack of experience is not a problem (cause it's not a job requirement and also cause I AM capable of learning new things). And I know that working with/looking after children is a big responsibility, but I'm a responsible person, so it would work out just fine. :D And the best part? It's a weekend job. The only problem? The play center's on the other side of the city and I don't drive, so it would probably take me at least an hour to get there (and at least an hour to get back home). But it's much easier to commute (yes, I'm using that verb) on weekends than after 8 hours of my usual day job.

I'm sending my CV and cover letter tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

Crisis averted

*phew*

We're getting new video files tomorrow or on Friday, so I'm on "vacation" until Monday.

It's funny. I hate translating stuff for Zone Reality (it's too exhausting), but on the other hand, it's better to have a job than not to have a job, so I can't even bitch about the whole thing. *unfair* *pouts*

Apparently, ostriches DON'T bury their heads in the sand. The hell?!

I'm down to my last video file.

What does that mean, you ask?

Well, let me rephrase it. There are no more video files and once I finish the episode I'm translating right now, that's it. I'll be episodeless.

Still not making much sense?

Y'all know how I've been looking for a part-time job and bitching about the fact that there are none? Well, unless we get a new telenovela as soon as possible, pretty soon I might start bitching about the fact that there are no jobs. As in full-time. Too many subtitlers, not enough episodes. Talk about nightmare scenario.
Call me crazy, but I'm kinda not looking forward to that.


Uhm... I should probably go and finish that cover letter I've been trying to write for the last five days. Just a thought.

Pearls of wisdom VI

TAKING PHOTOS

All I can say is, I hope y'all are professional photographers cause it'll take an expert to counteract those freakin' spotlights Creation Entertainment insists on.


<- I rest my case.



A/N: Flash helps. But you'll miss a lot of kodak moments while you wait for the flash to get ready again.

Pearls of wisdom V

VIP PASS


To go VIP or not to go VIP? 

Personally, I wouldn't.

Yes, you get to meet the guests. But you can buy yourself a Meet&Greet ticket and enjoy their company for an hour. Sounds better, right? Unless you really, really, REALLY want to meet everyone. In that case VIP pass is probably cheaper.

Yes, (if you have a Gold ticket) you'll get one of the the best tables at the breakfast. But there are other ways to get an awesome table.

Yes, you'll be the first in line for everything (photo ops, autographs...). But why rush through? Take your time. Otherwise, it'll all boil down to one thing - you being in and out in no time. No sweet anticipation, no chance to talk to other fans. Or watch Js for 5 extra minutes while you're in the photo op room waiting for your turn. ;D You might just end up feeling left out. Or like you're missing something. And where's the fun in that?

I'm sure being a VIP has its upsides, but don't be afraid to let yourself experience the convention. Waiting in lines can be a good thing. (Except when you're waiting to buy JPEGs. That's just pure torture.)