It's a miracle! This old man did not break his hip while walking 20 miles over two days at C2E2 (I mean me... not Stan Lee). Even if I had, it would have been worth it because I got to see a ton of cool stuff like this...

After two days of icing my knees, stretching my leg and back muscles, drinking lots of fluids and whining about these self inflicted ailments (yeah I'm the type of guy who says "my lower back is killing me") I have finally recovered from my weekend at The Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo.

In addition to what I learned from day one, I also learned a couple more things.

First, I absolutely suck at photography. One of my favorite things about steemit has been my newfound appreciation for the art of photography. It truly is an art... and I truly can't do it. And that is ok. I am not fishing for people to say, "No hanshotfirst, your photos are great!" They are not... and I don't care. I am completely comfortable in my skin and can freely admit that I am bad at things like: sports, drawing, doing shots, spacial awareness, acrobatics, sitting still in meetings, reading fluency, foreign languages, photography, and shoving a living snake... Never mind. You get the point. I don't get my sense of pride or self worth from these things so its cool.

So wait. Which way do I point this? Do I really need to stay steady?

If you want to see some excellent photography, this platform is blessed with many artists. Simply click on the "photography" tag on the right side of your home screen and prepare to have you mind blown! The ones below are simply evidence of the fun I had and the memories I made. They are not "art" and I am cool with that.

Second, I have far more patience for adults than I ever thought possible. I have always joked that I work with teenagers because I hate adults. I expect teenagers to be jackasses sometimes. They are teenagers. Their brains aren't even fully formed. But when someone over 25 acts like a jackass... I am far less patient (although I am getting much better at it thanks to a strategy of trying to put myself in their shoes).

This year the convention was packed! It was by far the most crowded it has ever been (Stan Lee's farewell tour probably has a lot to do with that). Trying to navigate the crowd is nearly identical to a terrible traffic jam. Apparently self driving cars may make those a thing the past (check out Hive account@trafalgar hilarious and informative expose on those for more info). Well if that does indeed work, the next move is self driving hover boards.

Have you ever been in traffic because of a gaper's block? Well these conventions are one giant gaper's block. People trudge along at a snail's pace and rubber neck in all directions because of all of the cool things to see. It's really nobody's fault. Its just the way that it is. Cool stuff attracts people. People like to look at cool stuff. Our bodies are designed to have our heads pointed in the direction we are moving. If a person is at these conventions for any other reason than to slowly wander and look around... their freaking heads would explode!

Luckily, there aren't many people there who don't "get it". As a result, everyone is so patient and kind. I have never heard the words "sorry" or "excuse me" so many times (many of them coming out of my own mouth). They should probably put a sign up before you enter that reads: "You are about to enter the most crowded room you have ever been in. People are going to bump into you. You will bump into to other people. There is no need to apologize. We all get it. Have fun!" (Actually now that I think about tit, there are a lot of places that could use that sign... including social media sites).

Seriously dude. It's ok. It's not your fault. But please get your hand out of my pocket.

To me, C2E2 was like going to a museum created especially for geeks. I saw a ton of really cool toys, comic books, art and T-shirts. But what really pushed this experience over the top were the "living exhibits"... the cosplayers. I am not a big cosplay guy. I have dressed up a few times in order to match what my kids were wearing but it was always something really easy and it was more for them than for me. But for the people who enjoy it, these conventions are their Super Bowl. I saw some really cool and fun costumes this weekend.