The key to Comic Con

My Halloween weekend was packed full of interesting events that reminded me there is in fact a world beyond CreComm and homework.

It began with A Taste of Italy, a wine tasting event at the Fairmont Hotel. My co-conspirator Ashton managed to score us both a job handing out 300 name tags to the upper echelons of Winnipeg society for four hours in the afternoon. It was an amazing networking experience, and hopefully I'll be remembered by at least one person I met when I apply for jobs after graduation.

After the event, Ashton, Tiffany (who we acquired in the hotel lobby), and I rushed back to my apartment. We quickly changed into our costumes for what would be the most epic wedding/Halloween social in the history of wedding/Halloween socials. My good friends Ty and Kristen are getting married, and they wisely decided to have a theme social. It was absolutely fantastic, and probably the best I've ever attended.

But, the part of the weekend that taught me the most about life was my Saturday excursion to Central Canada Comic Con. I promised Tiffany that I would go with her to promote her blog - The Spockette's Star Trek Review - which I was a guest star on last month. I even went as far as to dress up in a red Star Trek shirt, high-waisted black skirt and tights. It was important to look like a "Trekkie," otherwise no one would take me seriously.

And seriously, the outfit is everything.

Tiff dressed in a similar costume, and she added Vulcan ears for a more dramatic effect. Initially, we approached people to hand out the postcards and magnets Tiff had prepared. After a while - when people realized we hadn't left yet - we started to be approached by a wide range of people.

Everyone wanted to talk Star Trek, and we shot twenty minutes of video in under an hour. I got into a fight with one lovely gentleman about which Star Trek Captain is the superior Captain, which was a debate I never, ever thought I would have with a stranger.

It's Picard, by the way. Patrick Stewart can do anything.

I learned a lot this past weekend. First, there are a lot of things out there besides homework, homework, homework. I've barely been treading water the past few weeks, and it's nice to know that a life will be waiting for me when I finish CreComm.

Second, Comic Con is no small matter. People spent hours preparing their costumes for the event, and to arrive in improper attire is just not good enough. I don't think that I would have been able to talk as effectively to as many people if I was wearing normal street clothes, which taught me a valuable PR lesson. When promoting an event, a person, or a blog, the public relations professional must fully get behind whatever it is he or she is promoting. If you don't believe what you're "selling," no one else will.

Comic Con was an interesting experience. I will attend again next year, and I won't forget that the costume is the key to having a great time.