MammaDawg: A Serenade for the Door Girl

Intrigued by the first social convention I ever attended last February in San Francisco, I looked into possibly working the next one.

I’ve been working in the hotel industry for 13+ years now. Our annual General Manager Conferences are already a lot of fun... I wondered what it'd be like to work a Twilight convention.

I contacted Creation Entertainment and gave them some of my background info – told them I work in the hospitality industry, that I plan conferences for work… I felt like I was applying for a new job!

The 17th Annual Grand Slam was the perfect opportunity. Two days of sci-fi leading up to one day of Twilight. This would give me time to learn the ropes, figure out how everything worked - and make sure I didn't get stupid and fan crazy when I got up close and personal with the celebrities. Better to practice on actors I didn't know before seeing the Cullen Clan again, right? ;)

Time to turn off "fan mode."

(Click "continue" for Day 1 of the Grand Slam/Twi-Tour Convention)

Day 1 of the 2009 Grand Slam/Twi-Tour Convention

I drove 3 hours by myself to the LAX Marriott and unpacked my bags. My first assignment? Checking wristbands at the vendors room. When you stepped to the ballroom level, the first person you saw was this short Filipina, greeting people, answering questions and stopping people at the door if they didn't have the right credentials.

Great. I'm a door girl.

But hell. Better than working the tables inside, helping people sell stuff or set up their items. At the door, I actually met so many different people. Fans attending the con, the other volunteers...

And TONS of sci-fi celebrities. My only problem? There's only so much sci-fi that I watch - and Star Trek, Stargate and Battlestar Gallactica aren't part of them. So I didn't exactly recognize a lot of the actors, and I think I stopped 3 at the door, not realizing who they were.

Oops.

I had people coming up and introducing themselves to me. Everyone was so friendly! Luckily one of the other volunteers would come by and whisper names of the actors as they walked past. But do I remember all those names?

Uh, juh-nope. Though there are a couple that I remember distinctly. Like Peter Mayhew - AKA Chewbacca. Dude. He is freakin' tall. I talked to him for a little bit while I was on a break. I was sitting down outside, talking on the phone, when he sat down at the other end. I could feel his eyes on me and when I hung up the phone, he was looking directly at me. Whoa.

Larry Bagby, a country singer, was really sweet, too. His name came up the next day and that's when I found out he's actually appeared on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Walk the Line and most recently, Young and the Restless. lol - and he wasn't even fazed that I didn't recognize him.

I'll admit, though... that he asked me so many questions - it started to freak me out a little. "What's your last name? Where are you from? What part? What type of music do you listen to?"

I had already gained a couple of fans myself - guys who'd hang around and wait for me to be free to come up and talk to me again. I wasn't looking for that number to grow.

So I was actually relieved to find out who he was - I wouldn't have to worry about some actor/singer trying to stalk me. Those other two? Done clicked on their heels when they overheard me telling someone I was gonna run up to the room to get my mom so we could have dinner together. Saved.

Later on, I was chit-chatting with one of the bodyguards (BG) when this guy comes up to ask the BG something. In an insant, he turns to me to shake hands and says, "Hi, I'm Colin, by the way. What's your name?"

I introduced myself to him. He had this warm gentleness about him, real casual and easy to talk to. Which made what the BG said just then, somewhat ironic.

BG must've known that I hadn't recognized Colin, because he said, "Around here, we call him Mister Cunningham."

Oh shit. He's one of our Headliners for today. Doh!

But Colin Cunnigham didn't care. He asked BG something else and they took off, but Colin came back alone. Apparently with some type of musical instrument, home made with a PVC pipe and began to start playing for me right then and there.

It cracked me up. I heard him playing the rest of the afternoon – a charmer, he sure is. ;)

Are you a BattleStar Galactica fan? If not, maybe you've seen him on Elektra - he plays her agent, McCabe.