It’s a week later, and if my Twitter feed is any indication, I am very much not alone in my feelings of ennui at no longer being at Gally. There’s even a hashtag (#PostGallyBlues). I’ve seen a few good reviews of the weekend as a whole, though most of them seem to be, like my posts, recaps of personal experiences rather than analyses like I saw last year.

Since I’ve promised various people I would, then, I’ll keep my own “recap” to photos of my own forays into cosplay and my Saturday panel. We begin with Friday, and my femme!Three. Not as many people as I’d hoped recognized my costume for what it was, but those who did seemed appreciative. In return, I really appreciated seeing other cosplayers in costumes of related eras. When I saw someone dressed as the Brigadier, I had to ask for my photo with him. Then a Sarah Jane Smith (in her reporter guise) got in on the act.

Later, I saw someone dressed as SJS as she had been when sneaking into Irongron’s castle as a servant in her debut story The Time Warrior. Needless to say, we had a bit of fun fangirling at each other.

It was all about the cosplay on Saturday.

There was a group of us that had been planning for months to do a group cosplay (that is, we’d all dress up in related costumes) we’d dubbed “the TARDISpod.” Originally, we were all supposed to be a TARDIS representing a different decade. Since we love seeing other people’s TARDIS costumes, we also spent much of Friday telling others to come to our designated photo op on Saturday morning next to the second TARDIS (that is, the one not on stage). As a result, there were probably a couple dozen TARDISes (including a male TARDIS bathrobe). It was brilliant.

Despite the fact that there were several panels I wanted to see throughout the day, the only ones I managed were “Tooth and Claw,” about carving your own niche in fandom, whether it be podcasting, filmmaking, blogging, costuming, or whatever; and my own “Invasion of the Dinosaurs” panel. I was pleased at how well-received our panel about the differences between pre- and post-Hiatus Who seemed to be. I hope to see some reviews of it elsewhere online (if I do, I’ll post links). The basic take-away from the whole thing, as one of my fellow panelists put it: There is no wrong way to watch (or love) Doctor Who.

Later we managed to get eight of our TARDISes (or, as the man himself declared the correct plural: TARDII) together for a photo with Sylvester McCoy. He was a wonderful gentleman, and was quite gracious about us fangirling all over him (though we did try to keep it down to a dull roar).

Today I’m off to Los Angeles for my second Gallifrey One convention.

I remember last year seeing all the activity on the relevant Twitter hashtag (which is now #Gally1), with people invariably expressing their keen anticipation. I didn’t quite get it. I mean, I was excited, too, but as a n00b, I really didn’t quite know what to expect, and a great deal of my anticipation was mixed with plain ol’ nerves. I only knew one person. Was I going to be sad and alone most of the weekend? What would the panels be like? Would I actually have any fun?

Well, this time I’m right there with everyone else who’s returning, and doing my part to ease the minds of first-time attendees. It’s an incredibly friendly venue, and now I have scads of new never-met-in-person-before friends with whom to share the experience. And tonight: LobbyCon!

Bring. It. On.