Celebration VI...Memories To Last A Lifetime

Well hello everyone...long time no blog!!  Things have been crazy at the old homestead.  My husband and I took the opportunity to attend Star Wars Celebration VI in Orlando, FL at the end of August...and we had a blast!!  I had every intention of writing a long blog entry detailing our trip, but, alas, Darth Real Life took hold.  It was just a few days after returning from Orlando before I had to return to work...and that work included my full time job at the hospital, and my new part time job as a nursing clinical instructor.  Add to that duties at home, my son being a very energetic 2-1/2 year old, and my husband returning to school, and there is little time for anything else. 

Our time in Orlando was pretty much spent relaxing the few days before the convention started, attending the four day convention, and then relaxing for the few days after the end of the convention before returning home.  We arrived a few days early so that we could catch up on some sleep, relax, and do a little shopping for the kids...because, frankly, we needed the break :)  We had also decided to stay a couple of extra days so that we could recover from the convention "madness" before making the approximately 18-20hour trip back home.  The first part of our trip, including the convention days, was filled with some nice, but humid, weather; while the last few days were filled with the remnants of Tropical Storm Isaac...which meant RAIN!!

I really do not know what to say about the convention itself, except that it was AWESOME!!  Although I had a great time at the last Celebration I attended (which was CIV), I had a much better time this time around.  Maybe it was because I had been to a Celebration before...or maybe it was the company this time around ;)  Whatever it was, I can say that I was better prepared this time around, and did not miss out on too much of anything I wanted to see/do.  My husband and I were able to attend some panels and we were also able to see a few celebrities during their shows:  Ian McDiarmid, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Warwick Davis.  We also attended the "Super Secret Star Wars Panel" with Seth Green and company where none other than "The Maker" himself appeared on stage!!  I could not believe it...and my husband said that I "squealed like a litte fan girl."  I also had the opportunity to participate in the Rebel Legion's Royalty/Senatorial costuming panel, the Great Lakes Base and Rebel Legion group photos, and the Celebration Costume Contest (in which, of course, I did not even place).  Of course I dressed in costume every day...wearing Classic Leia on Thursday, Padme's Blue Linen gown on Friday, Breha Organa's gown on Saturay, and Padme's Tatooine Poncho on Sunday.  I was able to see and do so much more than I did last time...and I would not trade this experience for anything!

One thing I did learn, though...you really do know who some of your "true friends" are in situations/circumstances like these.  In 2007, I attended CIV with a group of ladies I had met through the old Star Wars blogs...a group of ladies with whom I had connected (including a few that lived locally to me) both on and off site.  However, as time passed after the convention, I was feeling a bit of a distance between myself and several of the group's members...I did not feel like I fit in any longer.  The breaking point for my participation in the group came when I met my husband...and how I stood my ground to the others in how I felt and how things were going to go.  After this, I severed ties with the group, until I joined Facebook and reconnected with a few of those with whom I was closest.  Things still are not the same as they were back in 2007/08, but I can handle that.  Through my "run-ins" with some of the ladies who were in attendance at the convention, I could immediatey tell who had gotten over the events of four years ago and who still were holding a grudge (who had "grown up" versus who had not).  When the people you were once friends with look down/away or turn to walk the other way when they see you...you know that they were only there "for the season" and not for life.  I could care less if I have any interaction with those who did not acknowledge my presence when they clearly noticed me there, right in front of them.  I made my choices and they made theirs...and I am a better person for it.

As we look to the future of Star Wars Celebrations...I can only hope that they will be as good (or better) than this one was.  May The Force Be With You...Always!!



P.S.  I was planning to attach photos, but have not had the time to organize them in any certain way for me to be able to do so.  I hope you all understand :) 
Also, I will have a blog about the new buy-out by Disney of LucasFilm out shortly.  Months with no new blog, and two out in a short time...the world must really be ending!! ;)