I had not even been expecting to see him. The schedule kinda confused me, so I was just as dumb as a brick, but I was going to find a way.

....Anyway, we sat down and waited in the big room where he was supposed to be. Just the thought that I was in the same room as Darth Maul made me want to fall over. When it was time, this guy comes out and introduces him. We cheer. He comes out. We cheer louder. I nearly pass out.

So, pretty much immediatly, he started answering questions. Some were kinda wierd, but hey, what's a Q & A without them?? Anyway, mom started nudging me, saying "Go up and ask him something!" I'd say, "No, I can't." But she kept nudging. So I got a little smidget of guts, walked up to the line at the mic, and asked him something.

When my turn came, I got really nervous. Obviously, Ray could tell that right off. So, he did to me what he did to the younger boy who went before me. He said "Hey, there." That really boosted my confidence and I was able to make my inquiry. Basically, I asked "How long did it take to put on Toad's makeup?" His reply: "Thirty minutes." That got a laugh from the crowd, possibly because they thought it would have taken longer. The makeup for Sabertooth took around three hours, and Mystique took around eight, so the shortness of application on Toad was really suprising. He said that you could tell where he and Rebecca Romajin-Stamos had been on the set because they would leave traces of their makeup where they had been. He then explained how the makeup caused him to need a weekly facial, mostly because it gave him blackheads.

Thouroughly satisfied, I sat down to enjoy the rest of the Q and A. At one point, Tyler Mane (Sabertooth) came out there for a few minutes. It was amazing to see how tall he was. And he had to wear platform shoes in the movie??? What was up with that??? He could probably cream the Jolly Green Giant!! Well, so could Ray... ^_^*

When the Q & A was over, an annoucement was made that both shocked and thrilled me. Mr. Park would be signing autographs for an hour. I was shocked because this was not listed on the convention schedule. It had said that he would be signing on Sunday. I was only staying for Friday. That was the part that thrilled me. I was going to get what I had driven all the way to Rosemont to get. A chance to meet Ray Park.

Well, as expected, my mother, my nine year old niece, and I shot off to Room 4, where the signing was to be. The line was already huge, but hey, we didn't mind waiting. And the line moved pretty fast, considering it's size. It only took us 15 minutes to get up there. But before, I complimented a girl behind me on her oh-so-kewl Sailor Moon shirt. ^_^

Finally, it was our turn. Mom went on ahead of us (for reasons unknown). I shook Mr. Park's hand and asked if I could get a picture taken with him. He said "Sure," and the result it the photo at the bottom of the page. My niece was also in the photo, but upon developement, she was cut out. Poor baby. :( Anyhow, I turned to go. Completely forgetting about an autograph. But thankfully, my niece was actually wearing her head on her shoulders. She put her poster on the table for him to sign. Then, my brain kicked in. Hey! What about me?? Stupid!!! So I got my poster from my niece (she was holding both of them) and put it on the table for him to sign, stupidly saying "This one's mine." Duh, he could probably see that. +_+ Well, he asked to whom he should make it out to. "Grace," I replied. He wrote "To Grace" and signed his name. Now this was the part that blew me away. I absolutely loved this. He said "Here 'ya go, Grace." Now how kewl was that? He addressed me!!! I loved it!!! *ahem* Sorry. I couldn't help myself.

The only sad part in this encounter was my stupidly thinking "I can't wait to show my brother!" When I realized what I had thought, it started to hurt, because he wasn't there anymore. But I know he would have been happy for me. So I dedicate that autograph to my brother.