Convergence 2
This is copied from a Trufen mailing list post. Names have been changed to LJ handles or first names.
fringefaan wrote "Well, let's hear your conreport then! Have you met
guff_grrrl?"
At the convention Perry noted that in a couple of months it'll be twenty years since we all travelled over to the UK for Conspiracy '87. My report of that trip still isn't finished. So, fringefaan, are you able to wait 20 or 30 years till I tell you about Convergence 2?
No?
Oh well. Here goes:
It was held here in Melbourne, which is both good and bad. Good because it makes it easy for me at actually attend a convention; bad because I can commute to the con and this means I miss out on that 100% con experience.
I didn't attend on Friday because of a family dinner and could only travel to the con after completing my usual Saturday morning duties. By then the convention was in full swing. The first person I saw upon arriving was Committee Chair rosiemitchell, who was looking quite relaxed. This was a good sign.
After getting an idea of the convention facilities I checked the program and saw that the Fannish Auction was going to end. I was pleased about this because a) I didn't want to spend much money and b) I knew that a lot of the people I wanted to catch up with would be at the auction. Went in, took up a seat in the last row, and when the auction was over I did a quick round of multiple conversations of the "Hi. How are you? I've been good" variety.
And fringefaan, even though I'm sure she was in room I didn't meet the guff_grrrl. At least not then. Our meeting had to wait a few hours, after the GUFF Panel. This was fine event in which guff_grrrl told us about her trip so far and the role of jam in modern fan-fundery, and dalmeny told us about her and dmw's 2005 trip through slides and commentary. As soon as the program item was over I introduced myself to guff_grrrl and almost immediately excused myself as I had to leave the convention, travel to the other end of the city, meet up with my sons and watch our team in that evenings football match. Well, to tell the truth 'had' is not the appropriate word, as I have a tendency to allow attending football matches to take precedence over attending science fiction conventions (a point she- fishlifter reminded me of, since I once caused two program items to be swapped around when I noted that a program I was down as moderating was scheduled against a football match I wanted to attend.)
The next day guff_grrrl, he- fishlifter, she- fishlifter and I went out to lunch, for a Sunday yum cha. guff_grrrl said it is her first yum cha she'd had in many, many, many years, because, she told me, she lives in some culinary backwater called England. In her talk the previous day guff_grrrl had mentioned something called The Trouser Press Incident, which caused knowing fans in the room to guffawe. These days I'm largely a fafiate and therefore I'm not one of the knowing fans, so I asked the Brits to tell me about the Incident. Three British fans means three different variations. Okay, okay I tell a lie, but guff_grrrl, he- fishlifter and she- fishlifter do a well co-ordinated group telling of the Incident. I'm grateful for GUFF for setting in motion a sequence of events that had guff_grrrl mention the Incident in such a way that had me wanting to know more; of such things are British and Australian fandoms brought closer together.
Even if guff_grrrl wasn't there GUFF would have featured heavily in my Convergence 2 experience. There was a great meal part co-ordinated by Justin (1984 GUFF-Laureate), many chats with Roman (1990), Eric & Jean (2001) and dmw & dalmeny (2005). dmw mentioned that if KRin was at the con every living Aussie GUFF winner would have been there. I'm grateful for Roman and Eric pointing out features of iPods that my sons have never bothered to tell me. I currently have vague thoughts of getting one of the things and figured that I want an 8gig one. Eric and Roman asked me a few questions on how I'd be using an iPod and proceeded to showed me how a 2gig one would do me fine. A ten minute conversation that will save me more than $100.
I also need to thank Julian for telling me that I shouldn't be sitting there talking to Perry but be in that room, attending that program item. It was a screening of Outland, a Ditmar nominated short film, followed by a Q&A with two of the film's top level crew. I missed the first couple of minutes, but I'm glad for Julian's advice. It's about a gay who's having problems coming Out as a sf fan to his potential new boyfriend. Well scripted and tightly edited, watching it was time well spent.
The Fan Guest of Honour was Cath and listening to her speech was also time well spent. In her best end-of-semester teacher sore-throat Cath gave a terrific speech, full of memories of the old days and good anecdotes. I particularly appreciate the convention committee asking Cath to be a GoH because I've previously never known the story of how she discovered fandom.
At the business meeting dmw won the bid to hold the 2009 Natcon. This will be the first Adelaide Natcon since the one that shouldn't have been held in Adelaide (1985). dmw winning the bid immediately caused problems for he- fishlifter and she- fishlifter since travelling Down Under in 2009 suddenly became an attractive idea, and they've already been figuring on a 2010 trip (should Australian get the 2010 Worldcon). Later on she- fishlifter told me that if Rob's Corflu bid gets up that'll make things easier, since it'll mean one less North American trip in the next few years. Australia not winning the 2010 Worldcon would also solve things for them, but I figure that since they were at the Business Meeting if they didn't vote against the Adelaide bid they have no-one else to blame but themselves.
And if they do attend Adelaide I might have to go, too. You see he- fishlifter and she- fishlifter have been at every Australian convention I've attended in the past decade and vice-versa, and I have to do my best to keep these important fannish traditions. On the other hand I have another, longer fannish tradition to maintain, since I've never actually attended an Aussie Natcon outside Melbourne. What to do?
What else happened at the convention? Well, Ditmars were presented, but I don't know to whom. The awards ceremony was the evening that I went to the football, and I now realise that I never actually asked about the winners. I think the Australian Science Fiction Bullsheet won (I guess) Best Fanzine. As I said Outland had been nominated for a Ditmar, and if it didn't win it better have been beaten something Really Good.
The weekend's football results afforded me the opportunity to point out to smofbabe that my team is now above her's. Since my team had finished last in the past two seasons and hers had played in the finals this was a new experience in our on-going, shared football experience.
And perhaps the biggest thing to happen over the weekend is that I've been Live-Journaled. I was talking to Ju (who was at the con because of NAFF) and mortonhall (who co-founded NAFF) and they're telling me that there's a Live Journal for Australian Fan Funds, so I should friend it ... and I interrupted with "Friend?"
And Ju and mortonhall looked at me, wanting to know what I was asking. And I said that I've hardly ever looked at a Live Journal and they looked at me like I look really, really good for someone who died in 19something, and they said and I said and they said and when I said something like "you mean I have to have my own LJ to contribute to the Australian Fan Funds LJ?" they knew they were getting somewhere.
So the next morning I set up my own Live Journal and pottering around the website prompted a list of questions, which I was able to fire at Ju and mortonhall (and later on, dmw). I have the LJ only so I can contribute to aust_sf_fan_fun but I'm told that such intentions are Famous Last Words. Perhaps I should prove they are FLWs by posting this conreport to my LJ. But first I have to work out how to replace everyone's names with their LJ names....