Where do I start in a world where I like to begin at the beginning, where the beginning is relative to my train of thought, the view of others, my out of body view of myself and the order of events as I recall and the actual happenings. Oh and of course, my own ability to prioritise each of the events in the title.

Oz Comic Con? I went for Benedict. That silly, adorkable person who is just so polite, and silly and so polite and nice.

Paying extra for the Benedict Cumberbatch Experience ticket was well worth the photo and autograph. The lines were super crazy; we had heard that he’d done 900 autographs on the Saturday alone! This was also the first time I’ve attended a convention to participate, rather than just walk around and take pictures of cosplayers and famous people from afar. Not only did I attend panels, but also splurged on photos and got a few autographs in the process.

First thing I noticed, was his clothing – his usual casual self. Then I noticed his hair. His hair is so wonderful! And a lovely brownish colour. He complimented me on my dress, but he did that with everyone. But he is so huggable! Hugs weren’t allowed but since he had his arm on my shoulder,  I put my arm around him. So huggable! Huggable and adorable! I think I confused him a lot by talking about yellow cars for all of ten seconds during the autograph lineup though. And I forgot to check his socks!!!

Well worth it just to have the photo and autograph – it was definitely a once in a lifetime experience! Plus seeing him in real life pulling a deaded fly out of his wine during his panel was hilarious.

However, while I was disappointed in missing out on paying $200 to have an exclusive meet and greet – I mean DINNER – with Benedict, it turns out the future had a much better plan for my friends and I. As the most enigmatic and fortuitous events unfolded to present my friends with an awful unkempt apartment, so they rebooked at the Hilton. So after a day half-filled with waiting, we returned to the hotel only to find Mike McFarland, Corin Nemec and Sean Schemmel in the foyer! We politely greeted them and promised not to tell anyone about their whereabouts, before heading up to our room.

Now I had attempted to book a table at Press Food & Wine for Saturday only for their tables to be booked out – which meant we had to take our chances on the lower, walk-in only floor. My friend was hyper-alert, as her reason for visiting was for Todd Haberkorn, and luckily I’d watched some Soul Eater to gain some context as to what he had worked in. So there we were, entering the restaurant when my friend pointed out that they were sitting right there!!! Sean, Mike and Todd having dinner, IN FRONT OF WHERE WE WERE STANDING. They were full at that time, so we were taken to their bar to wait for a call. And when we did eventually get one, we walked back in to see three sets of cutlery next to the group of celebrities.

Then lo and behold, we were seated next to them! They remembered us from the foyer and said hi to us and we had a short conversation about how amazing Adelaide food is. I also mentioned to Sean that Press Food & Wine is so good, that I take all my friends there. What turned into a day at Comic Con turned into a dinner with voice actors at the communal table. It was the best ever! We kept to ourselves for the most part, and as they left (since they started and finished before us), they expressed their appreciation for us (as fans), and from my friend’s response of her admiration of Todd, he gave her a high five!

Who needs to spend money to have dinner with famous people when all the pieces just fall together perfectly :) And by perfect I meant that we headed back to the hotel after dinner and eyed them from afar at the bar, as the finishing touch to the night.

The other highlights included finally meeting Amanda Tapping and Corin Nemec. I had missed an opportunity with Amanda back when I was young, so I definitely didn’t want to miss out again. They were awesome people too!

So high was the awesomeness factor that we went back again the next day to get a photo taken with all four of them. We’d bought so many tokens that we ended up getting three photos with Sean, Todd, Mike and Rob Paulsen – a normal photo and two silly photos, which we then got signed, again with some silliness included.

I did feel sorry for Benedict because of how much he had to go through – all those fans, all those photos, and all those photographs. He’d stayed back on the Saturday till 7PM and was half an hour late to his own meet and greet (the con finished at 6PM both days). I love his dedication.

However, the whole weekend reinforced my own desire for narcissism. Why pursue normal people who are just more well known than everyone else? Hence, I want to aspire to be myself – a self that is a combination of all my experiences and what I see to be my future. Or something. I want to be the most famous person to me!

Why is the heartless dog also featured? Nevermind me, that was but a dream of a dog whose heart was ripped out from its chest. Had to write it down so as not to forget. I think the closest description would be a long haired golden retriever. Teehee!