Whoo! GenCon, baby.
Wow, this is a crazy end of the summer sort of thing. So, GenCon. And school. And everything.
For starters, the boys passed the Wolves Initiative with flying colors. Their final test was a trip to Cedar Point and being largely independent the whole day. They chose to hang out with us for a goodly chunk of the day, but mealtimes were on their own with money provided. They learned some important lessons in thinking through their purchases in advance, but it was all good. These skills were tested the following week at GenCon, which was way harder than either of them had appreciated, and they both told me they were glad for the Wolves initiative. They did really well, though, with all the curveballs our scheduling threw at them, as well as the crowds and whatnot. They managed their money well enough that we supplemented it again at the end and they bought some cool stuff. Will found his inner geek is a cosplayer, so that made it all that much more fun for him to see everyone going around in costume. He wore the tunic he bought on the last day around the con and home, and even the next day a bit. He wants to construct a "blacksmith's apprentice" costume. :)
And now, GenCon. I was an Industry Insider Guest of Honor this year, and I was thrilled to be on a series of guest panels. There wasn't a lot in the way of other guest obligations -- effectively six hours of programming along with whatever other obligations I had, like helping out at the IGDN booth (the Independent Game Designers Network).
I had six panels that I did in whole or part, split mostly between women in gaming and editing work. The one that was slightly different was Hunger Games, an equal opportunity dystopia for your gaming table. This one used the Hunger Games as a model for a dystopian setting you could use, and kind of evolved into talking about how to run a dystopian game that wouldn't run off players. I really enjoyed doing it, even as I realized there aren't a lot of women running GM sorts of panels. I think I might need to fix that. On the one hand, I feel conflicted about the women in gaming panels... it irks me that it's necessary, and that I could still get questions (however half-tongue-in-cheek) of "why do we want women at the table?" I continue to feel like we should be past that at this point, and I'm continually surprised and frustrated to discover that we're not. Editing too felt a bit like preaching to the choir, attended more by editors than publisher-writers, which is who I wanted to reach. Apparently there's an indie prejudice against editors. Who knew? Explains a lot, though.
I really did enjoy GenCon, despite being exhausted and needing better shoes for concrete floors (seriously, what do people wear to get through that?), but I could have used a little less "oh, you're a girl? Let me show you how to play!" from a number of people. Some of that's unavoidable, though, and I came out of it better this year than I have in years past -- and much better than some of the other female guests. I guess somethings really don't change.
Regarding school, Went on Monday to meet with the prof I'm co-teaching a first-year SAGES class with. I thought it might be really science-y, and while I can teach for that, I'm not terribly familiar with the disciplinary conventions for hard sciences. Turns out it's a class made of awesome. It's called "Naturally Spicy," and it's about how spices work in food and providing a real-world example and background for chemistry through cooking and history. I'm THRILLED. So excited. I have to get my lessons planned out and ready, though, preferably by tonight. I have made progress, but I'm still working on it. I'll have it done later, though. *squee*
Orientation for school is this week. It's good to get back and meet up with everyone, so that's good, but the schedule is all over the place. I'm going to be glad to have a set schedule starting next week. My boys are going home and that kinda kills me. I'm trying not to think about it, though, and just enjoy the time I have left with them -- it's got to get me through another six months.
For starters, the boys passed the Wolves Initiative with flying colors. Their final test was a trip to Cedar Point and being largely independent the whole day. They chose to hang out with us for a goodly chunk of the day, but mealtimes were on their own with money provided. They learned some important lessons in thinking through their purchases in advance, but it was all good. These skills were tested the following week at GenCon, which was way harder than either of them had appreciated, and they both told me they were glad for the Wolves initiative. They did really well, though, with all the curveballs our scheduling threw at them, as well as the crowds and whatnot. They managed their money well enough that we supplemented it again at the end and they bought some cool stuff. Will found his inner geek is a cosplayer, so that made it all that much more fun for him to see everyone going around in costume. He wore the tunic he bought on the last day around the con and home, and even the next day a bit. He wants to construct a "blacksmith's apprentice" costume. :)
And now, GenCon. I was an Industry Insider Guest of Honor this year, and I was thrilled to be on a series of guest panels. There wasn't a lot in the way of other guest obligations -- effectively six hours of programming along with whatever other obligations I had, like helping out at the IGDN booth (the Independent Game Designers Network).
I had six panels that I did in whole or part, split mostly between women in gaming and editing work. The one that was slightly different was Hunger Games, an equal opportunity dystopia for your gaming table. This one used the Hunger Games as a model for a dystopian setting you could use, and kind of evolved into talking about how to run a dystopian game that wouldn't run off players. I really enjoyed doing it, even as I realized there aren't a lot of women running GM sorts of panels. I think I might need to fix that. On the one hand, I feel conflicted about the women in gaming panels... it irks me that it's necessary, and that I could still get questions (however half-tongue-in-cheek) of "why do we want women at the table?" I continue to feel like we should be past that at this point, and I'm continually surprised and frustrated to discover that we're not. Editing too felt a bit like preaching to the choir, attended more by editors than publisher-writers, which is who I wanted to reach. Apparently there's an indie prejudice against editors. Who knew? Explains a lot, though.
I really did enjoy GenCon, despite being exhausted and needing better shoes for concrete floors (seriously, what do people wear to get through that?), but I could have used a little less "oh, you're a girl? Let me show you how to play!" from a number of people. Some of that's unavoidable, though, and I came out of it better this year than I have in years past -- and much better than some of the other female guests. I guess somethings really don't change.
Regarding school, Went on Monday to meet with the prof I'm co-teaching a first-year SAGES class with. I thought it might be really science-y, and while I can teach for that, I'm not terribly familiar with the disciplinary conventions for hard sciences. Turns out it's a class made of awesome. It's called "Naturally Spicy," and it's about how spices work in food and providing a real-world example and background for chemistry through cooking and history. I'm THRILLED. So excited. I have to get my lessons planned out and ready, though, preferably by tonight. I have made progress, but I'm still working on it. I'll have it done later, though. *squee*
Orientation for school is this week. It's good to get back and meet up with everyone, so that's good, but the schedule is all over the place. I'm going to be glad to have a set schedule starting next week. My boys are going home and that kinda kills me. I'm trying not to think about it, though, and just enjoy the time I have left with them -- it's got to get me through another six months.