I’m headed to Supercon in Raleigh this weekend.  To be honest, I have mixed feelings.  While I have been a science fiction and fantasy lover (geek, nerd, dork—take your pick) for my entire life, and have recently branched into anime, the idea of being surrounded by so many die-hard fans is a bit daunting.  I’ve attended quite a few conventions over the years, but they’ve mostly been smaller in scale and had more of a writer focus.  This will be my first time diving into such a fan and cosplay intensive environment.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy people-watching and am looking forward to checking out the costumes and meeting interesting people.  I just don’t totally understand the whole fan thing.

Celebrity Much?  I remember visiting Universal Studios Hollywood when I was a teenager.  We ate lunch in the cafeteria, and a celebrity walked in.  Everyone went gaga, and I just didn’t get it.  It’s a person eating lunch.  So what if they’re an actor.

Got Candy?  I’ve never been into costumes either.  As a kid, Halloween was the only time I dressed up, and that was for the free candy.  I can’t remember ever wearing a costume as an adult unless you count a sailor outfit when I was in the Navy (It did kind of feel like I was wearing a costume).

Basically, I’m boring, but I realize I need to figure out this fan thing.  Hopefully, I’ll have a few of my own at some point and I’ll need to fulfill their fanly (yeah, I know it’s not a word, but it just sounded cool) needs.

So I’m off to Supercon this weekend.  I’ll also be attending DragonCon in Atlanta in about a month, and the World Fantasy Convention in Baltimore in November.  I figure immersion is the best therapy.

If you’re going to any of these, I’ll be easy to spot.  Just look for the geeky old dude in the weird t-shirt.  Okay, maybe I’ll fit in better than I thought.