reviving my inner 11-year-old

When I was in junior high, I was hopelessly obsessed with The Lord of the Rings. I drew pictures of dragons and people weilding swords. In seventh grade I had my mom sew me a gray woolen cloak so I could dress up as a hobbit for Halloween. Drunk with power, I hunched barefoot around the neighborhood that evening, brandishing my gold-plated One Ring before my neighbors faces. I threatened to turn them into my goblin-slaves if they refused to submit to my will and fill my hobbit satchel with Snickers. Needless to say, I didn't get invited to any Halloween parties that year.

I wish I had a photo to share with the Internet.

Yesterday I lived out one of the wildest dreams of my awkward preteen years. We took a trip to Weta Cave, the tourist-friendly part of Weta Digital. They're the folks who did all the special effects and costume work for LOTR trilogy, The Lovely Bones, and Xena. They've also had a hand in District 9 and Avatar. Right now they're working on The Hobbit.

But you can't see inside the studios, since the new hobbit capes are top-secret material. Instead, Weta lets people into their gift shop and lets them watch a promotional video about how awesome they are. (Which is, to be honest, pretty damn awesome).

As always, the trip started out with some coffee n' cake at a cafe hidden inside a home and garden store.

Then this guy greeted us at the door.

I geeked out for a couple seconds and nearly started hyperventilating at the sword display. I held myself back from buying a $99 woolen hobbit scarf.

Thankfully the video show killed my buzz. I managed pull myself together and share a moment with some of the Weta locals.

Ahhh. Life is cool.