Fan: Sybelle, has met Brad twice
Date of meeting: August 29-Sept.1, 2003
Place: Atlanta, Georgia
Event:Dragon*Con 20
The Journey/Arrival
So I worked my ass off the entire summer to afford this trip, and
it paid off immediately. We were on a nonstop flight from Seattle
to Atlanta, thanks to Sara (Nikolais) for scoring us that deal *pets
her* It took us a little over 4 hours to get to Atlanta…and
to me that’s crazy cuz it takes me a little less than four hours
to drive from home to college, and that’s just a couple hundred
miles away. So, the airport sucked ass…I hate airports…they
weird me out cuz of all the commotion and people *screams* and make
me wanna hide in a corner. So it was nice to finally settle in our
hotel room *sighs* so comfy and cozy it was. Just after we got in
our room we found ourselves in the middle of stellar thundershower
*Luvs electrical storms* and we were on the 32nd floor of the Marriott
with a kickass view. I took some photos of the Marriott and of our
view out the windows. I had previously been booked at the Hyatt, and
I’m glad we didn’t stay there…too much activity
for me…too crowded…plus I didn’t like the décor.
Yes I know that’s a lame reason but I don’t care. Poo
on the Hyatt, I say!!! Nah, it wasn’t so bad there…just
not my cup of tea, is all.
When we went to pick up our badges the line was hella fucking long,
and we waited for almost 2 hours, I think. There was this stupid ass
woman walking around yelling something I can’t even remember
now, but she was pissin everybody off royally. I looked in the line
for Katherine as we were leaving, and I called out to her but she
didn’t hear me *sniffles* so I figured I’d wait until
Brad’s first panel and meet her and everyone else there. After
that Sara and I crashed in our room, I believe, got some pizza via
room service…we were too lazy to leave the room, and too tired
and jetlagged. Even chillin in our room was fun though cuz she and
I’d be creepy pervs and write smut and dirty fanfic, hehehe.
Convention Stuff
I’m such a geek, cuz all I can say is that wish I had brought
a costume! Near the end of the convention I was like “FUCK!
Why didn’t I dress up?” I have a beautiful black velvet
dress and cloak I could have worn, but nooooo I left it at home. I
also had a fairy costume I could have brought with sparkly wings that
have feathers around the edges and everything, but NOOOOO I left it
at home! It was sooo awesome to walk through the Marriott and Hyatt
and pass a group of stormtroopers or Boba Fett, or see musketeers
and pirates shopping in the dealer’s hall. I didn’t take
too many pics of people in costume, but I’ll be able to bum
some off of Sara cuz I know she did, hehehe. We didn’t attend
too many panels cuz we either couldn’t find where they were,
or we were just having too much fun in general to care. I bought a
t-shirt and a ton of neat stickers, one of which says “Friends
let you hide at their place. Real friends let you hide bodies.”
I looked everywhere for Jack Sparrow (otherwise known as Wade Finch)
but he continued to elude me.
And seeing as how I spent so much time in the walk of fame, I was
able to meet Lou Ferrigno, Marc Singer, Ray Park, and Noah Hathaway
(who was a total sweetheart, sooo wee, and had nice tattoos), to name
a few. Sara just about stalked Patrick Kilpatrick though he didn’t
seem to mind in the least *wasn’t weirded out by her creepiness*
and actually waved at her a few times during the Star Trek panel with
Brad. That elated her.
I also met a ton of awesome people at the convention: Katy, Indigo,
Tyler (wish I could have hung out with you 3 more!!!), Katherine,
Carrie, Caitlyn, Molly, Angel, Konstanze, Atsuko, Ellen, and Katharine.
I hope I didn’t leave anyone out or misspell names, if I did
my sincere apologies ;-)
Meeting Brad
Priceless. I never thought that I would be able to meet Brad once,
let alone two times, and being that this convention ran as long as
it did, it gave me ample chances to make up for missed opportunities
at Ring*Con. For this, I am extremely happy! *Dances* I also had lots
of fun chattin with the J-Dawg off and on. He’s freakin awesome!
I attended all four of Brad’s panels, and enjoyed my time spent
at each regardless of the repetitious questions. I sat in the front
row with a huge group of fan girls *hooray* at the x-files panel,
where I met fellow Piter Fanciers! I am no longer alone! But at his
other panels I was farther back and many of the pics I took didn’t
come out well…but still it was great to sit and listen to him
talk and watch him interact with fans and such. After the X-files
panel I hurried down to the walk of fame and got in line to see Brad,
holding in my arms a small collection of drawings I’d done of
some of his characters, and a few various screencaps. I was so nervous
to show him my artwork that I was shaking, but he was so relaxed that
my apprehension quickly faded. Brad signed a portrait of Colin McCammon
I’d drawn for Katherine….Brad was even nice enough to
sign his full name (Bradford C. Dourif) on it for her, and address
it “to Katherine” which I thought was sooo sweet of him...he
also signed a drawing I’d done of Piter I am particularly attached
to. I think I handled myself pretty well up until this point, fairly
composed yet obviously thrilled, but as I handed him the black and
white print I think I might have overextended myself a tad. If memory
serves, I babbled something to him along the lines of “this
is my favorite portrait of you ever taken” and, “you look
absolutely gorgeous in this picture”…sometimes my mouth
gets ahead of my brain *cringes*. He seemed flattered nonetheless
*shrugs*.
I couldn’t resist and I asked to have my photo taken with Mr.
Dourif…and I’ll never forget this as long as I live…Brad
said, “Let’s do this before we get married.” I don’t
know if he said this because I was monopolizing his time and had been
there too long, or if he was just making a funny statement, but I
don’t care, because and it was the cutest thing that’s
EVER happened to me! I hung around in the background for a bit, takin’
a few shots of Brad with other fans and such. He didn’t seem
to care. In fact, I asked him if it was all right to take pictures
and he said, “sure, sure, I don’t mind. ”
Later that evening I was feeling a bit artistic and decided to sketch
a portrait of Billy Bibbit to give to Brad the following day while
he signed autographs. I also made up my mind to speak my piece and
tell Brad how much his role in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s
Nest” has meant to me over the years. So in some respects presenting
him with a drawing of Billy was fitting *shrugs* I suppose, though
I wasn’t overly pleased with how the drawing came out. There
was a moment when the crowd cleared and there really weren’t
any people around him, so I took this opportunity, nervous though
I was. Now, a lot of people don’t know this about me, but I
think it’s important to note that when I get anxious or upset
about something, I stutter. *blushes* It’s kinda awkward.
I handed him the picture, he seemed to like it and I really hope he
did, but when I began talking my voice started to go, and I felt so
damn ridiculous. Brad looked at me and said, “That’s a
good stutter,” not realizing, but instantly caught himself and
leaned forward, asking, “Oh, do you stutter?” I laughed,
and said “Only w-when I’m n-n-n-nervous…”
I felt so silly, and honestly, I was completely embarrassed by it.
But Sara said that while I was looking down he had this expression
on his face that said, “Well aren’t you just a sweetheart,”
but I didn’t notice at all, I was trying too hard to speak.
To compound problems there was this woman lurking right behind me
making me even more fucking nervous because she was listening to me
stutter…which only makes it worse, but I tried my best to ignore
her. I told Brad how much Billy has helped me, not just because of
the stutter, but because I really see myself in that character as
a whole, and that Brad’s portrayal of Billy is comforting, somehow.
This subject for me can be hard to discuss, and being that I was talking
directly to Brad about it made it agonizing, and at this point I had
tears in my eyes, and he seemed to take that as his cue to talk a
bit. He explained the personal experiences involved in learning to
be Billy and how taught himself to stutter, and after I’d calmed
down a tad he and I just talked for a little while about the movie
itself and the character. Its amazing to chat with Brad one on one,
because he looks you right in the eyes and its easy to forget that
the world is still happening around you; the exterior just fades away
momentarily, because you can’t allow yourself to miss a single
word he says or a mere inflection in his voice. Call me fanatical,
but I just think I’m attentive *laughs* And he’s just
so pretty.
Anyhow, before I left (due to a small line forming behind me) Brad
did something that surprised me a little; he smiled and reached out
as if to take my hand, not like one would for a handshake, and he
squeezed my hand just a little, held onto it for a second before letting
go, and then said “Thank you.” I think at that moment
my heart melted. I didn’t think it was possible to admire him
any more than I already did. It was without a doubt one of the most
memorable experiences I’ve ever had, and was the high point
of the convention for me. It was priceless and almost surreal. So
I gave him another drawing I’d done, this one of Piter, and
he gave me a lovely compliment on my art.
I went back to the walk of fame here and there to take a few pics
of Brad, and he actually signed more of my artwork free of charge
at one point. *Dances* I prey I wasn’t too annoying, but I guess
he didn’t seem to mind me because if I was around and he saw
me he’d wink and smile *giggles* It was all too great. Katherine
got a special invitation to go see David Carradine’s band perform
Sunday night in the Hyatt…and she asked me if I’d like
to go as well *dry humps Katherine*, so a small group of us got to
sit up front with the B-dawg and needless to say I had a great time.
It ran so late and I didn’t get to sleep until around 3:30 am…I
felt like a walking corpse the following day. A small horde of us
mobbed Brad one last time for pictures. Oh the poor B-dawg…besieged
by an onslaught of fan girl hysteria! Something tells me though, that
he probably enjoyed the attention more than he let on. And, if we
hadn’t gone to bug him again Katherine and I wouldn’t
have been in one of the funniest pictures of Brad I’ve ever
seen…the look on his face cracks me up. To me it just says,
“Brad Dourif: Pimpster Extraordinaire.” This
pic.
The End
That afternoon things really started to die down in the Marriott and
Hyatt. People packed up and checked out, and it was a bit disheartening.
Had to say a lot of goodbyes. For a little while Sara and I hung out
with Katy, Indigo and Tyler, and were later joined by Ellen and Katharine.
After we all parted ways and all the farewells had been said, Sara
and I chilled out in our room reminiscing about all the cool shit
that happened at the convention and awaiting our early departure the
following morning. Cheers to all my new friends *hugs* you guys are
wonderful!
Date of meeting: February 22, 2003
Place: Gig Harbor, Washington
Event:Ring*Con 2003
With utmost woe *sobs* I must admit that I missed the Q & A
session at Ring*Con. Quite a tragedy, if you ask me. I feel I must
blame my not-so punctual pal Pete, but all’s forgiven...he
pulled major strings to help get me there just to meet Brad, so
all in all, I think I’m in his debt for the rest of my life.
Myself and my 3 friends arrived at the convention and hurriedly
found the room in which Brad was signing autographs, and from the
moment I laid eyes on him I was spellbound-and, let’s face
it, I still haven’t stopped smiling *blushes*. There weren’t
many people in line and that both pleased and terrified me for the
simple fact I’ve been enamored of Brad for so long, and there
he was, right in front of me and I hadn’t a clue as to what
I was going to say! He was an absolute vision, ne’er have
I seen such a man…it took all of my effort not to watch him
and see him interact with different people. My friends looked on
and laughed as I nearly fainted…I was in total crazy fan mode!
With much astonishment I conquered my bout with speechlessness,
and I managed to ask him to sign a picture of Billy Bibbit I printed
especially for the occasion. He grinned and laughed quietly to himself
when I handed him the picture, I think perhaps out of surprise.
So I said “thank you” as politely and coherently as
I could manage, and he looked up at me and he smiled; and I swear,
his eyes were by far most strikingly intense and remarkably luminous
eyes I’ve ever seen, and in my opinion (and I don’t
think I’m alone here), are the loveliest shade of blue the
world has to offer. But aside from his cerulean gaze, he had such
an amazing presence about him, and he was such a gentleman. At this
point I was lost in a moment of bliss and almost walked away…but
I noticed a photo of Piter de Vries sitting in front of Brad on
the table, and being that Piter is my favorite character in the
Dune series (eyebrows and all), I knew that I’d be cursing
myself later if I didn’t have it autographed.
And before I left, I somehow found the courage to ask if I could
have my picture taken with him, and he agreed which made me so very
very happy…and ooh his voice was so tranquil…and ooh
he was so warm…and oooh he smelled so good *giggles like the
silly girl I am* And so I thanked him again, and away I went, having
had the best day of my entire life.
Honestly, I’m not sure I would have even gone to Ring*Con
if Brad hadn’t been there…but I’m glad I did for
a couple of reasons. For one, I met Brad Dourif, for crying out
loud! And two, if I hadn’t gone I wouldn’t have met
the other greatest guy on the planet whose name has been shortened
to “J” because I know he’d hate having his name
here (he teases me about my fanaticism for Brad). Yet he and I have
come to the conclusion that we became acquainted because of Brad.
Yay! I think that’s a cute story, myself. I only wish I had
more time that weekend, and I wish I had taken more pictures and
that I was able to remain calm and lucid, etc…but I’ve
been granted a chance to redeem myself at Dragon*Con 2003, and that
too will certainly be wonderful.
hey Sybelle, we are still gonna take that group pic at Dragon*Con..right?~Katherine
X{D
