Starting Friday, the Con Nooga multifandom convention will celebrate its eighth year as a gathering point for Wookie lovers and would-be wizards throughout the region.
But for the first time in three years, my “Doctor Who” costume will be hanging in my closet.
Instead of my usual hobnobbing with hobgoblins and fist-bumping warriors from the post-apocalyptic wasteland at the Chattanooga Choo Choo, I’ll be with my girlfriend and dressed in an outfit of a different sort — a tailcoat — at a charity ball in Mobile, Ala.
I’ve been advised by numerous experts that my attempts to dance are potentially life-threatening, and my idea of fancy attire is wearing a secondhand blazer over my Iron Man shirt. Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to the trip with my girlfriend, whom I love dearly, especially since I’ll see where she grew up and meet her family for the first time. (In person, that is; I’ve already written about “meeting” one of her sisters via a Facetime video chat.)
Even as I’m excited at that prospect, however, I’m a creature of habit, and when the end of February rolls around, I’m accustomed to certain activities in preparation for the pending weekend of geeky debauchery.