So, as a few of you may know, Free Comic Book Day is an amazing event that happens at comic book stores all over every year on the first Saturday in May. This year, the stars aligned so magically in that Free Comic Book Day fell on May the Fourth, a day of Star Wars Celebration. Basically, this was the nerdiest of all days. Everything seemed perfect...
The morning of May the Fourth (be with you) 2013 dawned bright and glorious. With money for all the comic book sales I was sure to find in my Batman wallet and enough gas in my car to actually visit my favorite comic book stores, I left my apartment around 9:45 to pick up my Comic Book Mentor, Alex. She was the one who taught me about the joy of comic books. It was a very special day, indeed, the anniversary of my introduction to comic books. I had on my Star Wars shirt and my DC Converse (one with Batman, the other with Superman) and basically I was rocking the nerdy look without actually wearing a costume. It was a great day to be a nerd. Alex and I were joined by new, nerdy, magic playing friends and one Brony. (If you don't understand those references, that's probably OK.) Anyway, everything was great. We started with Heroes and Villains, a marvelous comic book store where some of our greatest nerd friends work. After picking up our free comic books and scouring the shelves for necessary additions to our collections (I found an encyclopedia of Doctor Who) and taking pictures with all the people dressed up (even the My Little Pony group) Alex and I were off to R-Galaxy.
It was here that I found the most marvelous of items. A Sonic Screwdriver, the Doctor's trusted tool. And it was on a keychain. The perfect size. It lit up when you pushed the button on the side. A gem, I tell you, a gem. I bought it, because how could I not at 10% off? Plus, I found some awesome old school Spider-Man comics. It was marvelous. Truly amazing. This is what Free Comic Book Day is all about. Things seemed to be working out perfectly.
After returning home to inspect my spoils, I put on Star Wars Episode IV, because I had one last task to complete on my nerdy checklist for the day. I needed to celebrate May the Fourth in true Star Wars style. I'd barely made it past the beautiful, scrolling sentences when - suddenly!- all the power in my apartment shut off. For no apparent reason. I tried, unsuccessfully, to use the force to turn it back on. I'd never felt so betrayed by a day before in my life. It had seemed like this would be the greatest of all the nerdy days known to man. But when my spidey-sense failed to warn me of the dangers and the force failed to fix my electricity I was so distraught I just went upstairs and took an hour long nap. Seriously, I saw no other option. When I woke up and the power was still MIA, I decided offensive action needed to be taken, so I headed over to the Leasing Office of my apartment complex to find out what was happening. As it turned out, what was happening was children. Just children playing and breaking electrical things that powered our side of the apartment complex. Yay for children. (Please recognize the sarcasm of that last sentence.) I was promised that the electricity would be back on that day. However, when I returned from an Avatar: The Last Airbender marathon at around 12:30 am, there was still no electricity.
Luckily for me, I'd just bought that sonic screwdriver. And that thing is bright! I managed to find my way through the darkness and not trip up the stairs (an accomplishment in the light, trust me) and fell asleep after being unsuccessful at charging my phone with what little juice remained of my computer. That night I had a dream, a dream in which the power magically came on in the middle of the night, but when I woke up I saw that it was just a dream. I had to take a shower in the dark, which was terrifying. Terrifying. And I'd forgotten that blow dryers run on electricity. Plus, I live in Tucson, and since I had no power, I had no A/C. It was a dark day, indeed. I felt an irrational wish to use the dark side of the Force to choke someone threateningly and make them fix my electricity. I guess that's why I wasn't born with Jedi powers. Too much anger in me. Anyway, with my Sonic Screwdriver at my side and the need to get to an air conditioned building fast, I left for church.
Right before I went to work I called the "Emergency Number" for my apartment complex and they, once again, promised to take care of this electricity problem. I didn't believe them until my roommate confirmed it. Now, I only spent one night and a few hours without power. I'd hoped it would be like camping. But at least when you're camping you have a lantern and stuff. And food. One thing I did learn, if you want something fixed at this apartment, call the "Emergency Number" first, because those people actually get stuff done. Those fools in the office know nothing of electrical problems. Or customer service, for that matter. And even though the greatest of all the Nerd Holidays didn't go quite as planned, it was still pretty epic. I mean, I got a Sonic Screwdriver out of it, and thing will pay for itself. I've already used it to find the key hole on my car door in the dark and entertain a dog. So Han Solo had to wait, but I was introduced to Avatar: The Last Airbender (which is a cartoon that is entertaining no matter your age) so everything balances out. I'm convinced that the Universe just couldn't handle so much Nerdiness on one day and so it reacted violently to those of us trying to celebrate. Next year should better, with the only freakouts being on the side of the fandoms and not the electricity.
As always, eat more Chicken and stay awesome.
P.S. Sorry for the Nerd Overload. This is just who I am.
