Hitchhike, bus, or yellow cab it...
Moving right along. Damn, Damn, Damn, Charlie, Charlie! I totally just wrote up 3/4 of a con report, and it went *poof* like magic, and now I have to write it again. Well, poop. Anyway, I'll try to be half as coherent as I was. It wasn't all that coherent, but writing it again is just asking for me to think I already explained things that will make no sense. But as most of it made no sense even when you were there, I suppose I'll just suck it up and go for it.
I was going to drive to Pasco, bringing along
mikigarrisonand
bhagwanxas my passengers. And it turns out I'm a giant moron, and it was my fault that Miki couldn't get there Thursday night instead to get some things done, so I was trying to make it all better, or as better as I could. Thursday I ran around like mad trying to get things ready to leave on Friday. I got up early and got to Jiffy Lube to get the oil changed, and I know they'll vacuum your car for you, which I thought would be good. I tried to organize a few things and empty out things so that it'd be all pretty. And there were other things to attend to, and pet things, and work, and you know, life. So I did it all, and then Miki decided for her own reasons that she wanted to take her car. It made perfect sense, and I didn't begrudge her that at all. Plus now the oil is changed and my car is clean. So that's good.
We left pretty early to get on the road and get there as close to noon as we could manage. And we did make it there close to noon, so it's all good. And Miki was able to get there and get things set up for her sneak attack on
jaylake, which will be explained later. Somewhat. Better reports will doubtless be on other blogs. It was all for opening ceremonies. I was late getting to opening ceremonies, because I was at dinner with some folks over at some local moose themed casino (it used to be a lodge, or something) where they served ridiculously large drinks. In commemorative glasses. That you could bathe in. I did not partake (natch) but I had to drive for those who did. Oh well, I needed to feel even more nervous than I already did, so I'm glad that could be taken care of for me. Because there's nothing for a case of nerves like driving someone else's very large, very expensive SUV after you've just met them. My car? Is a Golf. Not large.
Anyway, we made it back too late for me to participate in the silliness. There were Jay Lake clones, and
kenscholeshad to shoot them. Seems right. There were belly dancers. I'm not sure why there were belly dancers, but they weren't bad. THey weren't spectacular, but they were working hard to entertain, so props for that. That stuff is harder than it looks. They did have a few too many numbers, though. There were some people I was with (
bhagwanx being one) who felt that opening ceremonies should be short and sweet and sketch-less, and got a little heckle-y as the ceremonies wore on. Of course, they were drunk, which is what ridiculously large casino drinks will get you. But then they gave him a big, shiny award for being a big shot for Radcon, and he had to stop the heckle long enough to be touched, and stuff. The award was for service and spirit and, um, something else. THe joke was that it should have been "spirits" instead. Which may have been more apt, but not nearly as mushy, so they decided to go with spirit. It is a very shiny plaque. It has his name on it, and everything. Well, most of it. He's important, and stuff.
I was kind of busy for most of the con - or I felt busy. Or I felt nervous. I didn't attend any paneling - which happens more often than not anymore at cons for me. I dread the time when for career reasons I may need to *be* on panels - you have to talk in front of people, and people expect you to be coherent and intelligent and interesting...so hard for me. Which was technically my reason for being nervous this weekend even without being on any panels. I was meeting a lot of new people, and I felt it was really important for me to make a good impression. Which makes me nervous. When I'm nervous, I get silly. Well, sillier. I know, not pretty. I managed to have a good time anyway, but I spent a large portion of the time wondering if I was being far too stupid to live. Sometimes I can't tell. I suppose I'll find out if I hear back reports of people saying "Oh, yeah, that weird person. Don't let her eat so much sugar. Also, does she usually need to wear a helmet? Because maybe she should." It's a possibility that they'd think that. I didn't actually fall or impale myself on anything this time, but I am rather obviously a giant spaz. I'm sure people could tell.
But when I wasn't meeting new people, I was hanging out with friends I don't get to see very often. So I had a lot of fun. And I got to be my giant spazzy self with people who already know that about me, so I could relax and just let them laugh fondly and pat me on my head and think, well, they already know. No changing it now. And so I danced a lot, and said weird things, and had people stare at me like I'm crazy. Well, because I am.
jensfire and I, and anyone else who wanted to join in, have a chant from the weekend: What do we want? STUFF! When do we want it? WHENEVER! Because we are apathetic anarchists, and real protests are far too much work. Also, our plans are vague, and include things. And stuff.
The dances were crummy, so we had to make our own. The dances that they had in the dance space were full of teenage boys staring at women's chests and deciding they were so very cool with their shiny lighty things. "I"m a Ninja! Ninja! Watch me ninja with my lighty things!!!!" You're so not. Not a ninja. And not cool. Please stop hitting me with your lighty thing. Also, my breasts are not here for your entertainment. Move along. Plus it stank in there like end-of-school-year boys locker room. Holy cow. Bathe, people. Seriously. Use soap. Wash your hair. Shave things if you have to. Deodorant is also necessary. Use it. Wow. And the music kind of sucked. Remixes that go on forever can't be your only fare for dancing, because the get so damn boring. I like a little variety in my dancing. And I'm someone who'll dance to just about anything because I love the dancing so much. So if *I* was unwilling to dance in there, then it really, truly did suck. Please to fix.
So we found other ways to indulge in dancing. Friday night there was a regular salsa night in the hotel bar. The locals were less than pleased at our joining in, but we had fun. Jen and I in particular did a lot of chair dancing. Because we'd both had too much sugar. There was random kissing again, but I did not partake. At that time. Saturday night there was one room party that had a DJ willing to play what we wanted, at least until her internet connection ran out. There were about seven or eight of us dancing, and then it dwindled until it was only
mistymarshalland I, and then mostly me, and then the internet connection ended and the music went back to rave-esque and we left. But I got a good solid half hour of dancing in there, with my super hero boots and pink and black argyle tights. Mostly people kept staring at me like I was crazy. It's kind of a trend. Join in. You won't be alone.
I went to the casino for dinner on Saturday night, too. Mostly with people I had just met. I met a lot of really cool people this weekend. Very smart and capable people who have a lot going on and were pretty interesting. I listened a lot. Misty came with us to that dinner, and since her birthday is coming up, got treated to dinner and then cake. Cake is a happy thing. THe only other time I got out of the hotel for anything was when Miki, Misty,
mapescapacityand I went walking to find food that was not hotel food. We walked about a mile to a Quiznos. We were stared at *a lot* by the townspeople, from their cars. I get the impression that not a lot of walking goes on there. Which means those sidewalks were practically brand new, really. Hardly used at all. But it was such a lovely day, and it felt so nice to be out in relatively warm sunshine. And walking. I do love to walk.
Um, other things. Kissing happened again. Since my guy kissed both Ken and Jen, Ken decided that it was only fair that they got to kiss me, too. So they did. There was dipping. We are a very weird bunch. It was late. Many people were drunk. I'd had a lot of sugar. These may be excuses, but they're my excuses, and I like them. I crashed hard at the end of Saturday night. Sunday morning was the usual round of rushing goodbyes. I missed a few people, and I miss a lot of people. It's a strange culture I've folded myself into these last few (8?) years, but I rather like it. Even if I don't get to see a lot of people I really care about more than a few times a year. And even when I do see them, it seems rushed and we don't have enough time to really catch up. Well, I suppose that's the same for my family, so it's not as weird as all that. Except for maybe the venue. And the wigs. And the clothes. And sometimes the ears. But that's something I try to stay away from.
The ride back was fun, with the three of us plus
scarlettina listening to my iPod happy happy joy joy mix, looking at the scenery, chatting and occasionally nodding off. We stopped for lunch at a pub in Richland that a friend of Scott's owns. Good food. Atomic something. Misty and Justin joined us there. I don't know when we left. We got home around 8 or so. I had some yogurt, tried to figure out why Mingus was majorly drooling all over the house and down his front (toothache? Cut on his mouth? What is wrong with you? but it's gone this morning, so I guess I don't have to take him to the vet) and comforted the cat who was mad, and went to bed. Bed good. Sleep better. Now I need to get back to work. After lunch.
Oh, yeah, I need to go to Radio Shack and buy another cell phone charger cord, because I left mine at the hotel. Dangit. Even with checking around three times, I always manage to lose something. Oh, well. It's a small price to pay for fun.
I was going to drive to Pasco, bringing along
mikigarrisonand
bhagwanxas my passengers. And it turns out I'm a giant moron, and it was my fault that Miki couldn't get there Thursday night instead to get some things done, so I was trying to make it all better, or as better as I could. Thursday I ran around like mad trying to get things ready to leave on Friday. I got up early and got to Jiffy Lube to get the oil changed, and I know they'll vacuum your car for you, which I thought would be good. I tried to organize a few things and empty out things so that it'd be all pretty. And there were other things to attend to, and pet things, and work, and you know, life. So I did it all, and then Miki decided for her own reasons that she wanted to take her car. It made perfect sense, and I didn't begrudge her that at all. Plus now the oil is changed and my car is clean. So that's good.
We left pretty early to get on the road and get there as close to noon as we could manage. And we did make it there close to noon, so it's all good. And Miki was able to get there and get things set up for her sneak attack on
jaylake, which will be explained later. Somewhat. Better reports will doubtless be on other blogs. It was all for opening ceremonies. I was late getting to opening ceremonies, because I was at dinner with some folks over at some local moose themed casino (it used to be a lodge, or something) where they served ridiculously large drinks. In commemorative glasses. That you could bathe in. I did not partake (natch) but I had to drive for those who did. Oh well, I needed to feel even more nervous than I already did, so I'm glad that could be taken care of for me. Because there's nothing for a case of nerves like driving someone else's very large, very expensive SUV after you've just met them. My car? Is a Golf. Not large.
Anyway, we made it back too late for me to participate in the silliness. There were Jay Lake clones, and
kenscholeshad to shoot them. Seems right. There were belly dancers. I'm not sure why there were belly dancers, but they weren't bad. THey weren't spectacular, but they were working hard to entertain, so props for that. That stuff is harder than it looks. They did have a few too many numbers, though. There were some people I was with (
bhagwanx being one) who felt that opening ceremonies should be short and sweet and sketch-less, and got a little heckle-y as the ceremonies wore on. Of course, they were drunk, which is what ridiculously large casino drinks will get you. But then they gave him a big, shiny award for being a big shot for Radcon, and he had to stop the heckle long enough to be touched, and stuff. The award was for service and spirit and, um, something else. THe joke was that it should have been "spirits" instead. Which may have been more apt, but not nearly as mushy, so they decided to go with spirit. It is a very shiny plaque. It has his name on it, and everything. Well, most of it. He's important, and stuff.
I was kind of busy for most of the con - or I felt busy. Or I felt nervous. I didn't attend any paneling - which happens more often than not anymore at cons for me. I dread the time when for career reasons I may need to *be* on panels - you have to talk in front of people, and people expect you to be coherent and intelligent and interesting...so hard for me. Which was technically my reason for being nervous this weekend even without being on any panels. I was meeting a lot of new people, and I felt it was really important for me to make a good impression. Which makes me nervous. When I'm nervous, I get silly. Well, sillier. I know, not pretty. I managed to have a good time anyway, but I spent a large portion of the time wondering if I was being far too stupid to live. Sometimes I can't tell. I suppose I'll find out if I hear back reports of people saying "Oh, yeah, that weird person. Don't let her eat so much sugar. Also, does she usually need to wear a helmet? Because maybe she should." It's a possibility that they'd think that. I didn't actually fall or impale myself on anything this time, but I am rather obviously a giant spaz. I'm sure people could tell.
But when I wasn't meeting new people, I was hanging out with friends I don't get to see very often. So I had a lot of fun. And I got to be my giant spazzy self with people who already know that about me, so I could relax and just let them laugh fondly and pat me on my head and think, well, they already know. No changing it now. And so I danced a lot, and said weird things, and had people stare at me like I'm crazy. Well, because I am.
jensfire and I, and anyone else who wanted to join in, have a chant from the weekend: What do we want? STUFF! When do we want it? WHENEVER! Because we are apathetic anarchists, and real protests are far too much work. Also, our plans are vague, and include things. And stuff.
The dances were crummy, so we had to make our own. The dances that they had in the dance space were full of teenage boys staring at women's chests and deciding they were so very cool with their shiny lighty things. "I"m a Ninja! Ninja! Watch me ninja with my lighty things!!!!" You're so not. Not a ninja. And not cool. Please stop hitting me with your lighty thing. Also, my breasts are not here for your entertainment. Move along. Plus it stank in there like end-of-school-year boys locker room. Holy cow. Bathe, people. Seriously. Use soap. Wash your hair. Shave things if you have to. Deodorant is also necessary. Use it. Wow. And the music kind of sucked. Remixes that go on forever can't be your only fare for dancing, because the get so damn boring. I like a little variety in my dancing. And I'm someone who'll dance to just about anything because I love the dancing so much. So if *I* was unwilling to dance in there, then it really, truly did suck. Please to fix.
So we found other ways to indulge in dancing. Friday night there was a regular salsa night in the hotel bar. The locals were less than pleased at our joining in, but we had fun. Jen and I in particular did a lot of chair dancing. Because we'd both had too much sugar. There was random kissing again, but I did not partake. At that time. Saturday night there was one room party that had a DJ willing to play what we wanted, at least until her internet connection ran out. There were about seven or eight of us dancing, and then it dwindled until it was only
mistymarshalland I, and then mostly me, and then the internet connection ended and the music went back to rave-esque and we left. But I got a good solid half hour of dancing in there, with my super hero boots and pink and black argyle tights. Mostly people kept staring at me like I was crazy. It's kind of a trend. Join in. You won't be alone.
I went to the casino for dinner on Saturday night, too. Mostly with people I had just met. I met a lot of really cool people this weekend. Very smart and capable people who have a lot going on and were pretty interesting. I listened a lot. Misty came with us to that dinner, and since her birthday is coming up, got treated to dinner and then cake. Cake is a happy thing. THe only other time I got out of the hotel for anything was when Miki, Misty,
mapescapacityand I went walking to find food that was not hotel food. We walked about a mile to a Quiznos. We were stared at *a lot* by the townspeople, from their cars. I get the impression that not a lot of walking goes on there. Which means those sidewalks were practically brand new, really. Hardly used at all. But it was such a lovely day, and it felt so nice to be out in relatively warm sunshine. And walking. I do love to walk.
Um, other things. Kissing happened again. Since my guy kissed both Ken and Jen, Ken decided that it was only fair that they got to kiss me, too. So they did. There was dipping. We are a very weird bunch. It was late. Many people were drunk. I'd had a lot of sugar. These may be excuses, but they're my excuses, and I like them. I crashed hard at the end of Saturday night. Sunday morning was the usual round of rushing goodbyes. I missed a few people, and I miss a lot of people. It's a strange culture I've folded myself into these last few (8?) years, but I rather like it. Even if I don't get to see a lot of people I really care about more than a few times a year. And even when I do see them, it seems rushed and we don't have enough time to really catch up. Well, I suppose that's the same for my family, so it's not as weird as all that. Except for maybe the venue. And the wigs. And the clothes. And sometimes the ears. But that's something I try to stay away from.
The ride back was fun, with the three of us plus
scarlettina listening to my iPod happy happy joy joy mix, looking at the scenery, chatting and occasionally nodding off. We stopped for lunch at a pub in Richland that a friend of Scott's owns. Good food. Atomic something. Misty and Justin joined us there. I don't know when we left. We got home around 8 or so. I had some yogurt, tried to figure out why Mingus was majorly drooling all over the house and down his front (toothache? Cut on his mouth? What is wrong with you? but it's gone this morning, so I guess I don't have to take him to the vet) and comforted the cat who was mad, and went to bed. Bed good. Sleep better. Now I need to get back to work. After lunch.
Oh, yeah, I need to go to Radio Shack and buy another cell phone charger cord, because I left mine at the hotel. Dangit. Even with checking around three times, I always manage to lose something. Oh, well. It's a small price to pay for fun.