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This is essentially how I told this to my friend Jason, who I usually see at Dragon*Con, but, alas, he had to miss it this year.

Aaron Douglas gave me a hug in the middle of a 300-person fan panel. He got down off the stage. Also, I got to chat with Aaron, and then with the Weasley twins and Neville Longbottom as I got all their autographs. Jamie Bamber was also very funny in the BSG panel. I got a rad picture of Mark Sheppard as he walked by me on the stairs, and Richard Hatch called me “Darlin’,” when he squeezed past me in the Walk of Fame. John DeLancie walked past me on the way out of the Miss Klingon competition. Brent Spiner looks REALLY OLD, Gates McFadden looks like she’s 30, and she weighs about 2 pounds. Jonathon Frakes, however, seems to have picked up Gates’ slack. James Marsters is just as funny in a panel as I thought he would be, and Juliet Landau is just as beautiful and classy as I thought she would be. And I got to spend a ton of time with my friend Nate who I very rarely get to see. I got a corset! And I came home with a decent chunk of money still in my bank account!

For those of you who may not know, Aaron Douglas plays the flight deck chief in Battlestar Galactica. He is by far my favorite character in the series. Oliver and James Phelps play the Weasley twins and Matthew Lewis (who is the awesomest kid in the world, very nice, very cool) plays Neville Longbottom. Jamie Bamber plays Apollo on Battlestar Galactica. Mark Sheppard is in Battlestar Galactica as well, but I knew him as Badger on Firefly. Richard Hatch was the original Apollo on the first Battlestar Galactica series, and now he plays Tom Zarek on the new show. John DeLancie was Q in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Brent Spiner was Data, Gates McFadden was Beverly Crusher, and Jonathon Frakes was Will Riker. James Marsters was Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Juliet Landau was Drusilla.

I’ll say this about Dragon*Con. It’s the one place I can be in the world and I won’t get judged. Everyone there understands the pull of our favorite television series or books or movie. Everyone knows what it’s like to pay the $85 (unless they pre-regged) to be somewhere with people who understand you. Everyone wants to be there, so everyone gets it. Whether they’re jonesing for swag from the dealer room, or they really dig wearing corsets and big chunky boots and black dreads, or they love Stargate SG-1 and want to know about all the collectibles you can get, or they want to see the celebrities from their favorite show, or they want to argue about which incarnation of Dr. Who is best…they all WANT to be there. They all have an intrinsic reason to be in Atlanta with their fellow sci-fi and fantasy fans, and they are compelled to be there. Around 40,000 of us this year. And we’re smaller than ComiCon in San Diego.

More than Tallahassee, or Thessaloniki, or California, the convention is home. Not because of location, but because of environment. It’s a specific distinction. I get the impression that San Diego will be the place I feel the most at home. It’s California + convention + kickass ren faires within driving distance. Just thoughts I’ve had.