R2LA 2019

I must apologize for the belated R2LA post. I had this article written last week, only needing to add the edited pictures from the event, and the wordpress site crashed. Nothing saved out of my post. Thankfully I realized what was happening in time and took pictures of my laptop screen with my phone. I only had to copy the article. No excuse for taking a month to get this article up for everyone, but I digress. It is finished! Enjoy!

R2LA has been an annual event for over 10 years. I say over 10 because I don't remember the exact number of years. Sorry guys. Just know that it's been happening every year for a long time and the event is always AWESOME. Star Wars nerd status AWESOME.

This year, we attended both parts of the event. The night before, several builders meet for supper and drinks, and then the following day, everyone and then some meet with the host at his home with their droids. David and I made a special friend at the pizza parlor. Such a sweet kid. His dad was concerned at first because the boy doesn't know his own strength. You know how the parental radar is on the swivel when your kid is hangin' out with an unfamiliar person. The fact that he has Down Syndrome, the radar works overtime. I was able to put Dad's mind at ease so he could enjoy R2 talk with Paul for quite some time.
My mother was once a companion aid for a boy with Down Syndrome. He was so much fun. He was part of the family for quite some time. All of us are well experienced with special needs kids. Mom still works with at risk and special needs kids in school. We are entirely accustomed to taking the reigns when we get around special needs kids.
He had recently watched The Lion King. My name for the evening was Sarabi. Paul ended up being Mufasa. David was Simba. He changed my name to Nala at one point. We had a blast.

For privacy purposes, I won't release the name of our R2LA host. Although it may be alright to do so...Our gracious host opens his home every year to numerous members of the Astromech community. This year, there were over 150 attendees in this man's house. I have no clue how many droids. R2D2 is not the only type of droid that makes this event. We saw several BB8 droids, a protocol droid, 2 WallEs (YES), and one EVE. One of the WallE droids is functional. Which, our host often took to birthday parties. I wouldn't mind WallE showing up for my birthday. Him and R2 would entertain us all! Every droid I saw was a phenomenal piece of work. Many of these builders brought more than one droid.
Back to our gracious host. He is friends with George Lucas. He's not an acquaintance. The pictures throughout his home of the droids, and the numerous pictures of him and George Lucas, and Harrison Ford. Y'all, OBH List. Harrison Ford is on MY OBH List. If you don't know what that means, think about it real hard. Not too hard though. I'd hate for your gears to get stripped.
Also, the Astromech group is where many of the droids come from for the Star Wars movies. Anything from the shiny Republic R2 to the sand storm blasted Tattooine R2 could come from this group. How cool is that!

We thoroughly enjoyed our day talking the language of the droid builders. We met some 501st members, and some people who are members of several other Star Wars cosplay groups. We had an amazing time goggling over pictures of their hand made costumes. I was thoroughly impressed. I need a couple Amidala dresses. It's on my bucket list. I'm gonna figure out how to make the ombre dress Padme wore on Naboo, and her light blue, silk nightgown from her stay in The Republic. Freaking gorgeous! My sewing nerd is showing...Reeling her back in a little. :)

Paul learned after looking for our name badges that Grant Imahara was on the guest list. In case you were not aware, Grant was one of the Mythbusters. He also was part of the Netflix Original White Rabbit Project which brought together Tory, Carrie, and Grant again to do Mythbuster similar science projects. Grant also played C3P0 at one time. Makes sense. You need a small guy to fit into a protocol droid suit.
I thought Paul was gonna keel over long before Grant arrived. Yes, he did attend the event! What a hilarious memory! I was inside enjoying some AC and putting David to sleep. Paul walked into the house nearly hyperventilating, and his eyes wide. He didn't get any syllables out before I asked if he'd seen Grant. I was right. Go figure! Hahahahaha I walked over to the blast doors and peered out. He was talking tech with a few builders just out side the doors, and showing off something he brought. I snapped a couple pictures and Paul called ME the stalker. Mmhm...At least I was breathing normally.

I did manage to get Paul an opportunity to introduce himself to Grant. I can't call it a total success though. Paul actually forgot to say his name. It's irrelevant that he was wearing a name badge. Etiquette, ya know. He did manage to get one sentence out without sounding entirely airheaded. See, Paul has an operational taser for his R2. Generally, this particular part is only for show, for obvious reasons. Paul and his dad took the show only part a step further, took the guts from a taser, and wired it to R2's taser arm. Paul was shocked a couple times in the making of this particular item. "Here, Paul hold this!" BZZT! Agh!
Anyway, Paul is standing right next to Grant with several other builders. He's just holding the taser in his hand. Drowning a little...He eventually worked out the sentence, "Ever seen one of these work before?" Grant's response was, "No..." He was quite weary of the taser. But once Paul began pressing the button and talking about how he made it work, Grant eased up a bit. As for everyone else, there were several who took pictures and videos of Paul's taser. He was the only person at the event with one that worked.
Btw, Paul did work up the courage to ask Grant for an official selfie. Anyone else believe Paul's eyes are gorgeous? Rightly so. Just remember, those eyes are for me. ;)

We were able to spend a little time with Paul's brother and his family before they headed off to their next venue. It's always nice to see them. Our niece is growing so quickly. Amazing to think her 1st birthday is weeks away. And there's a second girl in utero. So exciting!
Steven is an absolute Star Wars nerd. Seems like most of his mom's side of the family is. And then many of us on this end are as well. He always enjoyed hearing about Paul's R2. Steven's expression was entirely enthusiastic as he walked around all the droids. And then it got hotter and more humid. We were all ready to enjoy the AC soon after their arrival and brief walkabout the droid show.

After lunch, we mingled quite a bit. David slept a little. If I'd have stayed on my spot on the couch, he prolly would have slept more. But I got hungry so...ya know, the struggle is real. Glad there was food provided, cuz a nursing Mom needs food. Lots and lots of food. And brownies. I don't know who made the brownies, but everyone else is lucky I didn't walk off with the plate. I'm a sucker for brownies.
There was another special guest at this year's event. Thomas was our farthest traveling builder, attending from Sweden! He was not able to bring his droid. Imagine the expense to transport R2 from Sweden on a plane...Ouch. It was a pleasure to meet him a the pizza parlor the night before, and then speak the language of the droid builders during the big event the following day.

Something we weren't able stay for 6 years ago when we last attended R2LA, were the races. It is absolutely amusing to watch. Some of those little droids have some crazy power! It was like being a teenager again, playing basketball in the street. Ya know, after you get the hoop set up and teams picked, and you're dribblin' some mad skills headin' for the goal, and then someone yells, "CAR!" You step to the side of the street, the car passes, and you resume your activity. That's what this felt like. Except the street was busier and there were people driving these homemade droids with RC bodies underneath them. And I think someone was playing Born to be Wild...

The 2019 R2LA event was great. Hard to believe that 6 years ago was the last time we attended. Paul's R2 didn't have legs. He had a frame, body coverings, and a dome. That's about as far as it went.
And while I'm on this, Isaac was 3 weeks old when we last attended R2LA. Yeah, 6 years ago. We were freshly new parents. I had a particular episode in front of one of the live stream cameras, where I had finished nursing Isaac and was trying to latch my nursing bra back. I ended up holding the flap with my teeth until Isaac was adjusted well enough for me to use both hands to snap it back in place. That was fun...
Pictured below on the left is Paul testing the strength of our BOB stroller with his newly purchased aluminum R2 frame. On the right, only a few months later at our Star Wars baby shower. This was about 6 weeks before Isaac was born.
Below that, is Paul posing with Isaac with the group of droids that made the R2LA 2013 event.
And the last two, was a special guest from Disney. His name escapes me. Bummer. I remember he was one of the artists for one of the classic cartoon Disney movies. May have been 101 Dalmations. Haha There was another movie that was mentioned. I simply can't remember. Nonetheless, it was an honor to meet him.

A lot has change since then. We now have 4 sons instead of 1. R2 now has legs, ankles, and feet, and an operational taser. Paul has gotten a lot of wiring and coding done since then. R2 plays music. He boops and beeps. He even shrieks when the Vader music begins playing. We're basically down to a few more knick knacks, and it's time to paint. Don't tell him I said this, but I'm thankful for that 3D printer I bought him for Christmas. I wish I could have purchased it for him sooner. R2 would have been a lot cheaper to build...Do not ask me how much our R2 has cost us. Don't even try to speculate. I will tell you that you can purchase a full size R2D2 at Disney Land for $25,000...We ain't hit that mark yet. Thank God. But R2 has not been cheap by any means, nonetheless. This type of investment is not for the faint of heart. Or for someone who isn't a little tech savvy. Paul has taught himself most of what makes his R2 function. Keep that in mind.

Looking back on the event, and coming off the high of seeing everyone's work and the shear adoration everyone shares for Star Wars and these droids, is humbling to say the least. These builders are truly passionate about what they do. There are some builders who have invested so much into their droids. Not to mention many of the builders make parts for themselves and other members of the Astromech group. Because of the licensing rules, no member can make parts and sell them for profit. Everything must be sold at cost. As long as those rules are followed, the members have access to all droid blueprints. This began with Lucasfilm, and I assume, continues with Disney. Paul has purchased the majority of his parts from the builders within the Astromech group. Only recently did he begin making some of the finer details with his 3D printer. He recently informed me he has a deal worked out with another builder. The guy has a 3D print file for rocket boosters, which Paul needs for R2. He's ready for payday and a day off so he can start this 40 something plus hour print.
This group is a blessing to be a part of. It's amazing what a small world it is. The number of people who share a common interest and a love of sharing their knowledge with others is humbling.

"Patience, you must have. Pass on what you have learned."--Yoda