Class assignment: How I spent my summer vacation (aka Anthrocon 2010)
After mother nature gave a preview of Armageddon (but where were the frogs? Hail, flooding, thunderstorms, tornados, and power outages should at least include some frogs), delaying departure ~8 hours, I finally made my way out to Pittsburgh Thursday afternoon for AC 2010.
Union politics essentially ended participation of the video crew, so I found myself lending a hand to the Dorsai Irregulars. In short, they're a great group of people, and I enjoyed working with them. It's quite clear the motivating factor for the DI is keeping everyone safe and happy, despite some opinions regarding inflated egos. There was a fortuitous reprieve on the end of the fursuit migration tags with this AC the last ever, so I had the distinct honor of finally distributing tags after chasing them for several years. One observation for all those predators out there: You should be ashamed of yourselves! The herding behavior begging for tags is unbecoming a top member of the food chain. Stop acting like prey! It often took mere seconds for one pathetic begging canine or feline to turn into half a dozen or more! :)
Thank you to those who attended the lawn party, and extra thanks to mach for his ceaseless efforts with setup and hosting. We finally shut down at 5am, making it an eight hour long event. The Westin was particularly accommodating, as I was in touch with hotel security in the earlier hours ensuring we were not disturbing others on the floor and they left us to our devices. Apologies to perro and horny_oryx, whose party ended earlier than I'd have liked due to a misunderstanding with the hotel the night prior.
Finally, and perhaps the most rewarding aspect of AC, were the emotional hugs and tears while reminiscing about one we've lost. I'm extremely fortunate in having an opportunity to help keep those memories alive, and deeply moved by those who I brought a smile or tear to.
Union politics essentially ended participation of the video crew, so I found myself lending a hand to the Dorsai Irregulars. In short, they're a great group of people, and I enjoyed working with them. It's quite clear the motivating factor for the DI is keeping everyone safe and happy, despite some opinions regarding inflated egos. There was a fortuitous reprieve on the end of the fursuit migration tags with this AC the last ever, so I had the distinct honor of finally distributing tags after chasing them for several years. One observation for all those predators out there: You should be ashamed of yourselves! The herding behavior begging for tags is unbecoming a top member of the food chain. Stop acting like prey! It often took mere seconds for one pathetic begging canine or feline to turn into half a dozen or more! :)
Thank you to those who attended the lawn party, and extra thanks to mach for his ceaseless efforts with setup and hosting. We finally shut down at 5am, making it an eight hour long event. The Westin was particularly accommodating, as I was in touch with hotel security in the earlier hours ensuring we were not disturbing others on the floor and they left us to our devices. Apologies to perro and horny_oryx, whose party ended earlier than I'd have liked due to a misunderstanding with the hotel the night prior.
Finally, and perhaps the most rewarding aspect of AC, were the emotional hugs and tears while reminiscing about one we've lost. I'm extremely fortunate in having an opportunity to help keep those memories alive, and deeply moved by those who I brought a smile or tear to.