Arisia 2013 con report
I was about to say "belated con report", but it's really only been two days since I got home, even though it feels like about 6.
Things that were awesome about this Arisia for me:
(1) Making a commitment to getting enough sleep (i.e., going to bed as early as I wanted, since I was going to have to be up before 9am every day). It meant I only poked my head into a total of three parties over the entire weekend, but guess what? It felt great. (Part of this was also getting the distinct feeling during the pmrp show on Friday night that I might be coming down with something right then and there... but by promptly running home to bed, somehow I managed to shake it off. A miracle.) This alone made the weekend feel like a vacation, even though I was essentially working 9-hour days.
(2) Making a commitment to eating enough protein and not too much sugar. Even though I didn't actually end up trying to do the low-carb thing per se, going into it with that mindset (and preparing by packing a bag full of non-sugary snacks, including almost a dozen hardboiled eggs) helped a LOT. So instead of running on fumes and sugar, I was properly fed and properly slept, right through the end of the weekend.
(2a) Eating dinner with friends in the City Bar three nights out of three. Yeah, it's a tad overpriced for what you get, but I had made up my mind to spring for real food this trip (being as I was saving significantly on sharing a hotel room). The atmosphere was cozy, there was always a table and/or a couch within a few minutes of our wanting one, the food and drinks were just what I wanted, and I never had to put a coat on to go there. Win all around.
(3) My roommates. I was sharing with three women: taylweaver, who had never made it to Arisia before; rivkaesque, whom I had never met before but who put out a call for a roomshare on arisia; and Sara, the maybe-new-long-distance-girlfriend of another friend, who had never been to Arisia either but is a regular at Balticon, FaerieCon, etc., so I figured we would get along fine. And indeed, it all turned out to be delightful. And not only did we have fantastic conversations, we were also all getting up at around the same time every day, which meant more lively discussion between the hours of 8 and 9am than I think I have ever had in all previous years combined.
(3a) Sara had offered in advance to come cover my table every so often during the con in order to give me breaks, and she was really super about showing up to do it, which meant I never once had to cover up the table and put out the "Back in 5 Minutes" sign for an emergency potty break. Yay!
(4) Managing (with some good-natured scrambling on the part of all the roommates and additional assorted friends) to score a vacated double-double in the Westin in the middle of Saturday afternoon, so that we actually got to spend Saturday and Sunday night in the main hotel.
(5) Having zero obligations to be anywhere or manage anything in particular (*cough* zigguratlabs *cough*) other than my dealer table. Taking a break from communal party planning was definitely the right choice for all concerned.
(6) MuffinButtons! I have to say, I really do love working my table. It can get physically taxing, since I'm actually running the button press pretty continuously for most of the time (for which standing or sitting or kneeling are all ergonomically problematic in various ways), but by the end of Monday I was actually sad that it was time to close. People keep saying "Don't you miss the whole con sitting here??" -- but the truth is, I get all the best part, which is people coming up throughout the day to find me and say hi (it's great to be stationed in one predictable place, and great to be able to say "Sure, leave your coat/computer/suitcase/charging phone with me, no trouble and plenty of space"), and my evenings completely free. And I love the experience of watching people shop the buttons, browsing idly until they suddenly find the one that's for them and squeal and laugh and start picking others up to buy. And hey, the fact that it covers my con expenses is a nice plus.
(6a) Some clever pre-con investment in new infrastructure (a folding hand truck and a sturdy handle-strap) meant I could actually manage hauling the 35-lb. crate of button inventory to and from NYC on public transit. (Other than that, I pack light.)
(7) Managing to get to the Techno Contra! And the Chantey Sing!
(7a) Getting around 30 people together for Shabbat services. It generally makes me happy that people, even people I don't yet know, are interested in coming and davening in our spirited little community-within-a-community. And the improvised three-section mechitzah (put in by request of sethg_prime) seemed to meet everyone's needs without causing any heartache.
(8) Having zero expectations regarding connecting with specific crush objects people. I knew I was going to get to hang out with most of my regular nearest and dearest at various times, and that was all I needed. -- That said, of course, there were several people that I had the pleasure of seeing and connecting with, at least briefly... including one who had never been on my radar before and turned out to be surprisingly shiny. So that was a treat.
(9) Finally, finally making it into the hot tub at 11pm on Sunday night, complete with almost all the awesome people I could have wanted there.
Things that were less awesome:
(1) Since everyone asked, and I didn't have a good answer until the end of the con: Sales were down noticeably from last year, despite (a) raising my prices by 15-20% (not that anyone remarked on it, which is good), (b) taking credit cards this year (thanks to my iPad and new card swiper dongle), and (c) fulfilling a last-minute bulk custom order for con staff in the middle of Sunday afternoon (I normally can't do custom work at-con, but it's easy when they can run off and produce the inserts they want, so all I have to do is buttonize them). I chalk up the decline principally to having a much worse table location (shoved off in the far back dead-end corner, whereas last year I had what turns out to be a fairly prime spot on the main drag). Not complaining, since someone has to get the crappy tables; just making the observation.
(2) I forgot my ibuprofen! I so rarely take any, but I try to always pack it for cons, and I really could have used it a few times (see #1 and #6 above).
(3) ... If I'm digging, I could add that I was disappointed twice by the Teseracte Players: once when the Dr. Horrible preshow dragged on so long that we gave up and left before the actual screening, and once with the halftime show at the Masquerade, which I will tactfully say I think just really did not play to their strengths, such as they are. Guys, I want so much to like you, but I had a hard time this year! Hoping for better next year.
But, seriously, that's kind of all I can think of. It was pretty fab all around.
So I've pretty much made up my mind to sign up for vending at Lunacon in mid-March. :-)
And now I have done three loads of laundry and it's time to go to bed.
N.B.: Cross-posted from Dreamwidth; click to view or comment on original post.
Things that were awesome about this Arisia for me:
(1) Making a commitment to getting enough sleep (i.e., going to bed as early as I wanted, since I was going to have to be up before 9am every day). It meant I only poked my head into a total of three parties over the entire weekend, but guess what? It felt great. (Part of this was also getting the distinct feeling during the pmrp show on Friday night that I might be coming down with something right then and there... but by promptly running home to bed, somehow I managed to shake it off. A miracle.) This alone made the weekend feel like a vacation, even though I was essentially working 9-hour days.
(2) Making a commitment to eating enough protein and not too much sugar. Even though I didn't actually end up trying to do the low-carb thing per se, going into it with that mindset (and preparing by packing a bag full of non-sugary snacks, including almost a dozen hardboiled eggs) helped a LOT. So instead of running on fumes and sugar, I was properly fed and properly slept, right through the end of the weekend.
(2a) Eating dinner with friends in the City Bar three nights out of three. Yeah, it's a tad overpriced for what you get, but I had made up my mind to spring for real food this trip (being as I was saving significantly on sharing a hotel room). The atmosphere was cozy, there was always a table and/or a couch within a few minutes of our wanting one, the food and drinks were just what I wanted, and I never had to put a coat on to go there. Win all around.
(3) My roommates. I was sharing with three women: taylweaver, who had never made it to Arisia before; rivkaesque, whom I had never met before but who put out a call for a roomshare on arisia; and Sara, the maybe-new-long-distance-girlfriend of another friend, who had never been to Arisia either but is a regular at Balticon, FaerieCon, etc., so I figured we would get along fine. And indeed, it all turned out to be delightful. And not only did we have fantastic conversations, we were also all getting up at around the same time every day, which meant more lively discussion between the hours of 8 and 9am than I think I have ever had in all previous years combined.
(3a) Sara had offered in advance to come cover my table every so often during the con in order to give me breaks, and she was really super about showing up to do it, which meant I never once had to cover up the table and put out the "Back in 5 Minutes" sign for an emergency potty break. Yay!
(4) Managing (with some good-natured scrambling on the part of all the roommates and additional assorted friends) to score a vacated double-double in the Westin in the middle of Saturday afternoon, so that we actually got to spend Saturday and Sunday night in the main hotel.
(5) Having zero obligations to be anywhere or manage anything in particular (*cough* zigguratlabs *cough*) other than my dealer table. Taking a break from communal party planning was definitely the right choice for all concerned.
(6) MuffinButtons! I have to say, I really do love working my table. It can get physically taxing, since I'm actually running the button press pretty continuously for most of the time (for which standing or sitting or kneeling are all ergonomically problematic in various ways), but by the end of Monday I was actually sad that it was time to close. People keep saying "Don't you miss the whole con sitting here??" -- but the truth is, I get all the best part, which is people coming up throughout the day to find me and say hi (it's great to be stationed in one predictable place, and great to be able to say "Sure, leave your coat/computer/suitcase/charging phone with me, no trouble and plenty of space"), and my evenings completely free. And I love the experience of watching people shop the buttons, browsing idly until they suddenly find the one that's for them and squeal and laugh and start picking others up to buy. And hey, the fact that it covers my con expenses is a nice plus.
(6a) Some clever pre-con investment in new infrastructure (a folding hand truck and a sturdy handle-strap) meant I could actually manage hauling the 35-lb. crate of button inventory to and from NYC on public transit. (Other than that, I pack light.)
(7) Managing to get to the Techno Contra! And the Chantey Sing!
(7a) Getting around 30 people together for Shabbat services. It generally makes me happy that people, even people I don't yet know, are interested in coming and davening in our spirited little community-within-a-community. And the improvised three-section mechitzah (put in by request of sethg_prime) seemed to meet everyone's needs without causing any heartache.
(8) Having zero expectations regarding connecting with specific crush objects people. I knew I was going to get to hang out with most of my regular nearest and dearest at various times, and that was all I needed. -- That said, of course, there were several people that I had the pleasure of seeing and connecting with, at least briefly... including one who had never been on my radar before and turned out to be surprisingly shiny. So that was a treat.
(9) Finally, finally making it into the hot tub at 11pm on Sunday night, complete with almost all the awesome people I could have wanted there.
Things that were less awesome:
(1) Since everyone asked, and I didn't have a good answer until the end of the con: Sales were down noticeably from last year, despite (a) raising my prices by 15-20% (not that anyone remarked on it, which is good), (b) taking credit cards this year (thanks to my iPad and new card swiper dongle), and (c) fulfilling a last-minute bulk custom order for con staff in the middle of Sunday afternoon (I normally can't do custom work at-con, but it's easy when they can run off and produce the inserts they want, so all I have to do is buttonize them). I chalk up the decline principally to having a much worse table location (shoved off in the far back dead-end corner, whereas last year I had what turns out to be a fairly prime spot on the main drag). Not complaining, since someone has to get the crappy tables; just making the observation.
(2) I forgot my ibuprofen! I so rarely take any, but I try to always pack it for cons, and I really could have used it a few times (see #1 and #6 above).
(3) ... If I'm digging, I could add that I was disappointed twice by the Teseracte Players: once when the Dr. Horrible preshow dragged on so long that we gave up and left before the actual screening, and once with the halftime show at the Masquerade, which I will tactfully say I think just really did not play to their strengths, such as they are. Guys, I want so much to like you, but I had a hard time this year! Hoping for better next year.
But, seriously, that's kind of all I can think of. It was pretty fab all around.
So I've pretty much made up my mind to sign up for vending at Lunacon in mid-March. :-)
And now I have done three loads of laundry and it's time to go to bed.
N.B.: Cross-posted from Dreamwidth; click to view or comment on original post.