If you read to the end, it will mention Marina, I promise

I had to work at Comic-Con this week.
I've lived in San Diego my entire life and I've managed to avoid it all this time. But my little rouse was up and I was assigned to go and interview people walking around the convention center.

I don't like huge crowds, but I'm no stranger to them. I've covered Coachella and Street Scene and Fashion Week on the West and East Coasts. So me and crowds? We do all right.

So, yeah, I knew it would be crowded and that there'd be people in costumes. But I didn't realize the magnitude of the Con. Plus I didn't recognize anything besides: Superman, Ghostbusters, Mario & Luigi and Pokemon. And those were the minority.

The people I met were actually really nice but I just did not understand most of what was coming out of their mouths. One guy told me how this one video game changed his life because it had subliminal references to Jung and Nietzsche. And he started crying about how it really helped with his anger issues. Um. OK?

Plus, the longer I stayed in the crowded exhibit hall, the more it smelled like sweaty boys and farts.

Today I didn't get coffee before getting there. Plus I got yelled at by all sorts of people, including the ones I was trying to interview. Then I stood outside with masses upon masses of people waiting for the convention center to open. And when it finally did, I went to the only Starbucks that served iced-coffee (30 minute process) and when I gulped it down I instantly got a migraine that didn't go away even after three Alleves, french fries, a giant, sugarey Coke and a nap in the women's lounge at work.

I hope to never, ever go back there again.

The only reason it was worth it was because I found Marina a Totoro doll complete with a little sack of acorns. And when I gave it to her she was so, genuinely excited to be able to hold Totoro. She kept looking into his eyes and saying "I'm gonna watch you!"
And as we passed big trees on the freeway, she turned little Totoro to look out the window and said "Look, it's your tree."



So thank you, Comic-Con for that. And that only.