Got to Meet My Heroes, and Now My Wallet Weeps
I just got back home from FanX in Salt Lake City and damn was it a blast. I wanted to go this year because the three legendary voices for Master Chief, Cortana, and the Arbiter were all going to be there. I had planned this for ages, and with the help of some bonus money from work, I made a plan to get them to autograph my Halo 3 Xbox 360.
I had debated on having them sign my translucent green Halo Edition OGXBOX or my Halo 3 360. While the Halo Edition OGX is technically the most valuable of the 2 (Going for the price of a Switch 2 in good condition), I decided on the 360 because Halo 3 is the game that meant the most to me.
I don't really consider myself a socially anxious person, generally speaking, but man was I nervous to meet these guys. Steve Downes (Chief), Jen Taylor (Cortana), and Keith David (The Arbiter) all voiced such critical characters in my upbringing and Halo has been my fixation ever since my uncle plopped my 5 year-old ass in front of a big CRT and handed me Halo 2 in 2004.
I had a 3 day pass for the event. So Thursday I left work early to go to the expo center. I got relatively early but it was packed. I spent like an hour just waiting for the event to open.
After an hour of waiting, I got to meet the voice of one of my favorite characters. Steve introduced himself to me, complimented my Halo club hockey jersey, and signed my Xbox. We talked a little bit, told him it was an honor to meet him and how important Halo was to me growing up and how I'm sharing that with my daughter. He was super nice and I was glad I met him.
Getting home, I must've had some equivalent to a financial post-nut clarity, because I just realized I spent $100 for ink on a console. I started to question if this was really worth spending money on. There was so many other things I could've spent the money on. After mulling it over on the drive home, I came to terms with the fact that I was essentially giving a direct 'thank you' to essentially my childhood heroes. Getting to personally thank them in person; Their autograph was just a nice bonus. My wife reaffirmed me that she the money we had set aside was for this exact reason and she new how excited I was and to stop feeling guilty.
The next day was pretty great. Got to talking with a fellow Halo fan while waiting in line to get into the event and continued to hang out in line for Keith David. Now, I think I'm a bigger Keith David fan than I am a Steve or Jen fan purely because of how many things he's in. He didn't say much, but he seemed nice to everyone. His line was huge, so it makes sense he wasn't up for small conversation like Steve.
I wanted to get Jen Taylor's signature, but she postponed this year because she was sick which bummed me out a bit, but gives me an excuse to go again. I used the money I didn't spend on her Herbie Hancock (100 points if you get THAT ass pull of a reference) on a sick Halo pistol and needler. So I spent roughly $300, not including tickets. My savings account probably feels like I removed its appendix, but I think all in all it was worth it.
I think another reason why I feel the money I spent was worth it was the people I met along the way. The cool dude I got to talk to for a few hours while waiting. This sweet girl who was several years younger than me expressing the childlike joy of meeting one of her favorite voice actors. All the people who expressed how cool it was I was getting my 360 signed. There was even one guy who seemed to have the exact same idea as me and was getting HIS 360 signed. I got to see a cool local amateur wrestling show too which was just pure fun. What's more fun than seeing a mad scientist named Dr. Theodore Tox retain his title against some Jeff the Killer lookin' mfer, kicking his ass while making science-themed Hulk Hogan references?
If I had to look at it from a business/collectors perspective, I probably now hold one of the most valuable 360s. Do I care? No. Because I'm either going to be buried with this fucking thing, or it's going to be a family heirloom. If any of my family even THINKS about selling it, their ass is getting haunted.
So yeah, my wallet, my back, and my legs hurt. Worth it. Have a great day, and be kind to yourself. Pirate out.
P.S. In case you thought I was bullshitting, here's the proof
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