William Shatner said I had a beautiful family

Fan expo is a place where nerds of all ilks come to celebrate their collective strangeness and geek-out about comic books, LOTR, Anime, video games, Star Wars, and of course Star Trek.  As we were passing one of the graphic novel booths, I overheard an incomprehensible debate about the nature of reality.  Ah, nerds.  I am home.

Adam and I wore our Star Trek uniforms, which meant we were in the cool crowd.  People stopped and asked to take our picture.  We didn't have the most elaborate costume there though, not by a long shot.

We also don't have enough disposible income.  I would love to have gotten my picture taken with Adam West and Burt Ward, but it cost $100 (Holy overcharge, Batman!).  Also they came near lunch time, and we were hungry. I did manage to snap a rather unflattering photo of Julie Newmar.

Last time I came to the Expo, basically anyone who bought an autograph could get a picture with their favourite actors.  That's how I got a picture (taken with my own camera) of myself with Micheal Dorn, and Anthony Montgomery.    This time a professional photographer took the shots, so the only way to get a pic was to shell out a bunch of cash.  It made me feel like a peasant, surrounded by noblemen with lots of extra moolah to devote to there nerdom.

The Star Wars Kids Hour turned out to consist of colouring sheets and a bunch of guys dressed as Storm Troopers.  At first, William was too terrified of the troopers to even go in the room, but by the end he was showing them his drawing.

After seeing the guns and swords the Star Wars guys were carrying, William wanted a weapon of his own.  We wandered around, looking at various vendors until we found a phaser and bought it for him.  Normally I don't buy gun toys, but a phaser is primarily a defensive weapon so it's okay.

In the end, I decided that I wouldn't be happy without my pic with at least one celebrity, so we shelled out $80 (ouch) and stood in line for Captain Kirk himself.  Even with the hefty price tag, the line looped around the convention centre's long hallway.  In the end we got less than a minute with William Shatner.  He was sitting on a stool all posed and ready.  I wasn't sure if I should shake his hand or what.  Instead, I boldly put my arm around his shoulder.  The whole family got to be in the shot, which will surely we one to hang in the front hall (and show all of William and Jadzia's dates they bring home as teenagers).  I thanked Shatner, and he commented on what a beautiful family I have (or maybe he said nice family, I can't remember).  I was beaming.

Unfortunately, I don't have the photo to post right now as they are going to mail it to me, so this pic of me and a storm trooper will have to do: