Surviving Internet Deprivation
For a chronic multitasker, being deprived of Internet access is like a sleepy cat being deprived of a sunbeam. Granted, it's not life-threatening, but it's frustrating.
When we arrived at the Otakon meeting in a Baltimore hotel on Saturday, I learned the meeting room lacked Internet access. Only registered guests could opt to purchase it on their own, despite a tantalizing button marked "credit card payment" on the hotel's home page. I asked the front desk why such a button existed if it couldn't be used, and they explained it was used at other hotels in the chain.
So without the Internet, I was unable to follow up on Otakon-related e-mails or send quick reminders about Press Relations business during the board session (which I attended only because my husband, The Gryphon, is the comptroller and our ride, The Dormouse, is a member at large).
Instead, I busied myself transcribing my hastily-scribbled notes, written after a brainstorming session with The Gryphon, into a clearly-delineated guide to Press Ops procedures for 2010.
During a closed board session, I went out with two other staffers, Tsuki and her mom, to grab some lunch at a Subway. This turned into a comic misadventure when Tsuki's mom used her GPS, and it delivered us to a residential cul de sac instead of a sandwich place. She admitted she hadn't updated her maps in two years, and clicked on another nearby Subway, which fortunately, the GPS was able to find. I bought lunches for myself as well as The Gryphon and The Dormouse, who would not get a break before the general meeting.
When the meeting resumed, I completed my Press Ops procedure guide and also created a Press Relations FAQ, which will be posted to the press-only section of the Otakon BBS and distributed as part of the press packet.
While there was a modicum of drama at the meeting, by the end, most issues appeared to have been resolved. More importantly, I got to meet with my second-in-command, The Rock Chick, who will be helping me both with pre-con and at-con tasks this year. We went over the procedures and FAQ I'd developed, and she helped me refine some of my thinking.
Unfortunately, due to the lack of teh Internets, we were unable to test out Google Wave as we'd planned, to see if it could be used this year for inter-staff communication at Press Ops.
Because our president, Vyxle, did a good job of running the meeting, we ended a little early. That meant that, even after my meeting with the Rock Chick, we left far earlier than we usually do. The Gryphon, The Dormouse and I ate at a nearby Ruby Tuesdays and had no trouble getting served, since it was a much smaller group than typically goes out after an Otakmeeting.
We even got home at a reasonable time. Our pet sitter seemed a bit surprised. We'll have to carpool with The Dormouse again!
Moral:
I can survive without the Internet.
Who's Who in Alyce's blog
When we arrived at the Otakon meeting in a Baltimore hotel on Saturday, I learned the meeting room lacked Internet access. Only registered guests could opt to purchase it on their own, despite a tantalizing button marked "credit card payment" on the hotel's home page. I asked the front desk why such a button existed if it couldn't be used, and they explained it was used at other hotels in the chain.
So without the Internet, I was unable to follow up on Otakon-related e-mails or send quick reminders about Press Relations business during the board session (which I attended only because my husband, The Gryphon, is the comptroller and our ride, The Dormouse, is a member at large).
Instead, I busied myself transcribing my hastily-scribbled notes, written after a brainstorming session with The Gryphon, into a clearly-delineated guide to Press Ops procedures for 2010.
During a closed board session, I went out with two other staffers, Tsuki and her mom, to grab some lunch at a Subway. This turned into a comic misadventure when Tsuki's mom used her GPS, and it delivered us to a residential cul de sac instead of a sandwich place. She admitted she hadn't updated her maps in two years, and clicked on another nearby Subway, which fortunately, the GPS was able to find. I bought lunches for myself as well as The Gryphon and The Dormouse, who would not get a break before the general meeting.
When the meeting resumed, I completed my Press Ops procedure guide and also created a Press Relations FAQ, which will be posted to the press-only section of the Otakon BBS and distributed as part of the press packet.
While there was a modicum of drama at the meeting, by the end, most issues appeared to have been resolved. More importantly, I got to meet with my second-in-command, The Rock Chick, who will be helping me both with pre-con and at-con tasks this year. We went over the procedures and FAQ I'd developed, and she helped me refine some of my thinking.
Unfortunately, due to the lack of teh Internets, we were unable to test out Google Wave as we'd planned, to see if it could be used this year for inter-staff communication at Press Ops.
Because our president, Vyxle, did a good job of running the meeting, we ended a little early. That meant that, even after my meeting with the Rock Chick, we left far earlier than we usually do. The Gryphon, The Dormouse and I ate at a nearby Ruby Tuesdays and had no trouble getting served, since it was a much smaller group than typically goes out after an Otakmeeting.
We even got home at a reasonable time. Our pet sitter seemed a bit surprised. We'll have to carpool with The Dormouse again!
Moral:
I can survive without the Internet.
Who's Who in Alyce's blog