Nerdy Weekend at AZ Fan Fusion
This year, AZ Fan Fusion was packed full of amazing celebrities that we knew we had to see! Since this was our third year in a row attending, we were able to make it the best year yet!
First off, we decided to get a hotel downtown so we didn’t have to drive to/from the convention center every day. At an hour and a half each way, this was HUGE! We will forever stay nearby for future events because you just lose so much energy on a drive like that.
We also knew how to best use our access to Wild Bill’s unlimited soda. While I will forever rave about their soda, drinking real sugar soda as your sole liquid for 3 days does not feel great by the end 😜. So we paced ourselves and brought along Mio/Propel to have as an alternative.
Last new item is that we decided to donate blood!
Now this has some backstory. We all know I like data, and for the longest time I haven’t been able to fill in my Blood Type. I just never learned what it was, and it’s not like Doctors offer up that information easily when you do any kind of blood work.
Nathan mentioned at some point that he found out when he had donated blood, and since I have never done that, I thought I could get over my aversion to needles and do a good thing while getting this information.
Don’t ask me how I can have multiple large tattoos, but I still questioned if I could stomach giving blood… it’s just different!
The biggest factor was actually a few recent blood tests I have had to do for the Doctor and feeling more comfortable giving multiple vials. Plus, I had my first IV this last year and learned that a needle doesn’t actually stay in your arm (no judging!).
So, I was set. We had free morning on Saturday and went straight to the donation room they had set up. In hindsight, we probably shouldn’t have talked through what the process would look like in a little more detail 🤣.
I did explain to the tech that this was my first time, so they were great and explained a lot of the process. When they asked what donation I wanted to give, I wasn’t really familiar with the terms, and he explained that there was a quick 15-minute donation, but that they had to do “stuff” (he actually said more; I just don’t remember what it was now) after the fact. If I went with the 30-45 minute option, they did all of that there at the donation center, and it was better, especially if I had the time. Unfortunately, Nathan was already back with his tech, and I lost track of him, so I couldn’t coordinate our selection. I knew we had the time, so I said sign me up! Go big or go home lol.
Well….
I now know that I chose to donate plasma instead of blood. 🤦♀️😂.
What makes it even funnier is that I learned I have O+ blood type, and they recommend you donate Whole Blood rather than Plasma because it is a higher use. Not as great as O-, but still good.
Now, the really fun part is everyone we got to see at Celebrity Panels and the fun stuff we were able to pick up from vendors.
First Celebrities!
- Gilmore Girls – Scott Patterson and Sean Gunn: They were both great, loved Gilmore Girls, and talked about some of their other projects.
- Dogpool (from Deadpool) – Bonus panel that we attended to make sure we got seats for Misha, but it was entertaining to learn how a dog actor is handled and works in the industry.
Supernatural!
- Emily Swallow – She had some good Supernatural stories, but she also has a big Mandalorian following that was talked about a lot.
- Misha Collins – Absolutely amazing! He truly loves the fans and diving into the show and all the crazy fan questions.
- Jim Beaver – I was surprised at how much older he looks, but he still loves the show and the fans.
- Rob Benedict, Ruth Connell, Kim Rhodes, Briana Buckmaster – Such a good group panel! Didn’t know that Rob and Ruth are together in real life, and they were pretty cute. Ruth is the complete opposite of the Queen of Hell, way more quiet and reserved. Briana and Kim were so much fun; Briana is definitely the active one, but Kim is totally the cool aunt of the group. Rob takes a lot of heat for his character, but is a good sport about it, and you can tell he still loves the show
- Heather Locklear – Was interesting. Not our favorite, but fascinating how much she owns the fact that she was a sex symbol.
- George Takei – Didn’t expect him to be in a wheelchair, but he still has a ton of passion for equality in race and LGBTQIA+ representation.
- John-Rhys Davies – It was like we were attending a Harvard acting class! It was more lecture than anything, and he would randomly start quoting lines of plays and things he has done. Wild but interesting!
In between Celebrity Panels, we had a great time walking the booths.
We were both impressed by the Duneon Crawler Carl outfits, and shocked there weren’t more! Nathan, of course, had to get a “God Damnit Donut” t-shirt, and we picked up a few stickers and buttons as well. Plus, I found cute “Amaze Amaze Amaze” and “Reading is my Hobby” t-shirts.
Nathan also found some really cool light sabers and decided he needed one. Is it still sitting on the floor of his office? Yes. But hey, where else are you going to find one that changes colors and makes noises!
This was another great Fan event, and we can’t wait until the next one!
