I woke up today at the butt-crack of dawn in the Quest to Find Parking.  No one else was up at the butt-crack of dawn, except maybe the parking attendants, so I found an optimal spot closest to the very edge of the parking lot.  Parked next to me was a white van, and a seagull looking very much like I caught it in the act.  I started reacting the way I usually do when I see a seagull (Saying in an annoyingly nasal voice, “Mine?  Mine?  Mine?”), then realized I had absolutely nothing better to do.  I had to register, but registration didn’t open until 8:30. 

I checked the time on my phone.  10 minutes past the butt-crack. 

I twiddled my thumbs for a minute, then turned on my Nintendo DS.  I save it, you see, for situations such as these.  But my tummy started to grumble, and I suddenly remembered: where was that magical pancake house, the place where I’d never been, but there was always a line as I walked by?  A quick Googling later (and ten blocks of walking) led me to Richard Walker’s Pancake House, the best, most expensive (non-buffet) breakfast I ever had.  But it was the best.  I recommend the ginormous German pancake, SO tasty without being greasy, fluffy, and with the butter and lemon and powdered sugar on the side so I can condiment-ize to my specifications.  The coffee wasn’t all that, (Urbanspoon said it was awesome, but maybe I have higher standards), but the harried waiter kept refilling my cup, and that was, to a certain degree, more important than my amazing german pancake. 

Five cups of coffee and an hour later, I still had time.  So I looked for the Starbucks (the Pancake House didn’t seem to encourage loitering), and got almost horribly lost.  But I killed enough time to get back to the convention center to register. 

As soon as I registered I made a beeline for my first panel (of sorts)—the Comic-Con law school 101, this one a lesson in copyright.  Very informative—I’m surprised this wasn’t more full.  A lawyer was teaching the class, his mannerisms screaming “lawyer” even if his handout didn’t say so.  I started drifting the instant the floor was opened to questions, repetitive questions, and I wished I had another cup of coffee…but I had a lot of notes, you see, from the informative half.

I was freed from the session (Another scheduled for Friday and Saturday, which I will also attend), and headed straight to the Munky King booth.  I debated all night Wednesday and the entire drive over whether or not I should buy the Screaming for the Sunrise print by Yoskay Yamamoto.  Every year I walk by this booth with one, two, ten of my favorite artists selling stuff here and every year I don’t buy anything.  Well NO MORE.  I caved.

I had some time before my next panel (Today was all about furthering my writing skills), so I visited the IGN takeover of the Hard Rock Hotel.  Grabbed a free shirt and got a yummy free Haagen-Dazs for my trouble.

45 minutes later, I went to my first of two panels hosted by the genre fiction bookstore, Mysterious Galaxy.  The first was a Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy writer panel, the second was a “Other genre” panel.  My impressions:
 

1. I learned nothing new.
2. I’m glad the writers had fun.  It was amusing to watch.
3. China Mieville is an ATTRACTIVE man.  The British accent increases the Charisma stat +20, don’t you know.

And that’s it for today.  Tomorrow I attempt the train.  Wish me luck.

Today’s stats:
Slave Leias Found: 0
Mad Hatters Found: 2
Jesus Armageddon Freaks Found: 2
Free T-Shirts scored: 5
Jelly Rolls oozing under that woman’s tightly laced corset as I left the con for the day: 3