Never Late, Always Remember

When I started this blog, I was on the verge of turning 30 and I wanted to reflect and focus on me. After all, that's the single most important relationship I will ever have in my life. I spent the previous years entrenched in things that I thought I needed to do and at the time, enjoyed but what started as desire became obligation. More than a year later, some things have come full circle but none, more than my return to FanExpo.

I started working FanExpo in 2000 when it was still in its infancy. To me, this was a time when the idea of a girl admitting that she enjoys the Star Trek franchise (most notably TNG), wasn't popular. It was one fateful afternoon when things changed. I left for various reasons and as I've gotten older, I've started to realize what's important to me and what I like. Maybe it was this mental growth but I'm not all too sure what made me decide to return and "work the con"; but, old friends (and new) quickly accepted me back into the fold.

Things have changed a lot: the show now spans the entire MTCC complex and there was a record attendance of over 100,000 patrons. What a weekend! I was assigned to the Premium Lounge where we oversaw the Premium ticket holders' swag bag give-away and helped maintain the state of the space. I don't usually talk to strangers and find that when put into social situations, I keep mostly to myself. However, I felt very comfortable among the crowds and was able to spend most of the weekend chattering away. I know... me, chatting with strangers like we're old friends! In fact, I would safely say I made some new friends this weekend.

Now to get to the fun stuff! What did I do while at the expo? I worked mostly. But I had the opportunity to walk the show floor when it was virtually empty and to see all the neat stuff that the different vendors brought with them after the show closed one of the evenings. It reminded me of an episode of "Today's Special" when they run around the mall at night. One of the highlights is when I met Tony Moore of the Walking Dead comic series. He is both the creator and artist (first 20 issues) of the story. In both instances, I "geeked out" and felt like a kid in a candy store again!

Although there is over 750,000 sqft of space designated for corporate vendors, independent artists, celebrities, workshops, seminars and many other events, any patron who goes will tell you that they go, for more than the cool toys and the opportunity to meet their heroes. This weekend is a chance to make friends and to be yourself among others who are doing the exact same thing. Since I started, the attendance has grown 9x what it used to be. That's incredible! It's encouraging to see the wide range of demographics and entire families dressed up together, to enjoy the weekend. Sure, you can think it's a cash grab but the expo is literally a chance for all the geeks and nerds to congregate in one place and socialize and do business. For us big kids, it's a chance to continue reliving and enjoying the stories, characters and themes of our yester-years.

Long Weekend Show

*yawn*

Who else is as unfocused as I was this morning? Heck, forget morning; try all day long. This is so typical of a long weekend, eh? I was so “relaxed” that I forgot that I meant to post about my trip out to Teen Ranch with ADW and his young cousins. One of the cousins is a young girl who is very much into horses and I’ve hoped I would get the opportunity to take her to visit a horse show and that’s what we did this Sunday morning.

We got out to Caledon to see the Teen Ranch show and it was such a neat sight! We arrived onto this huge complex with a hockey arena and horse rings. There were horses of all colours and sizes all over the place. Definitely different than when I checked out the in-house show and the Caledon Equestrian Park.

Since I'm still in mega lazy mode, I"ll post a photo instead ;)

Rock & Catherine

Spring Show-time

I started riding at Greyden in October: that makes it 8 months now. I just attended the spring in-house show over the weekend where I got the opportunity to see what a show is like and what competitors do. There is the basic walk-trot, walk-trot-canter, cavaletti, equitation on the flat, hunter equitation... and some others that I probably missed. I arrived pretty early... though, I honestly couldn't do the 7am start. I decide not to compete because I just can't bear the idea of having 8-10 year olds ride circles around me. I don't think my ego could take it. That said, I brought my camera and new lens to shoot photos.

The drive on Sunday mornings are wonderful things. If you want to get some "alone time", take a drive out to the Caledon area. It's wonderful. Things are green, open and lush. It's such an amazing change from the cityscape. It's also stress free because few people are on the road. It's absolutely wonderful. In addition to that, the weather was sunny and warm but windy.

The farm is packed and the usual parking lot is jam packed with automobiles of various sizes; as well as a few trailers. I quickly make my way down to the outdoor ring and see crowd of parents and riders around the spectator area. Sometimes, I wonder how different life might have been, if my parents were more enthusiastic about the sport. I see the parents in the stands watching their kids and cheering them on and am reminded of the times I accompanied my mom to watch my brother and his t-ball games or hockey. Not a lot changes... parents are still rooting for this kids and reminding them to "do this" or "do that". It brings back some fond memories.

I try to get some good photos of the little riders because that was my main purpose: to try my hand at motion activities. I'm typically a landscape photographer and enjoy the stillness and grandness of nature. However, I'm here to try something new and extend myself to something I don't particularly enjoy or am very good at. The kids do really well and some of them would ride laps around me if I got out there. That's ok, another time when I don't feel so sheepish for even considering to compete.

Without posting too many photos of kids who are not even remotely related to me... here are a few of the better photos where faces aren't too distinguishable (for privacy!).

Getting into the ring. That's Aspen's white butt! and our handsome Atlas looking back at me

Aspen!

This is a pony named Lucky

Buddy going at canter with his rider