Dragon*Con wrap-up 2009:
Wow. That was one hell of a trip. Third time is most definitely a charm :)
So my trip really started Thursday, because I had to have everything done in the apartment and the car packed up before I went to work Thursday afternoon. Knowing that all my stuff was in the car and ready to go made for a very long last day of work before Dragon*Con. But I made it, and even managed to put all the crap on my desk into neater piles before I sprinted to the parking lot at 8:01. Then I made my way to capt_amos's house, and despite our excitement we went to bed at a decent hour. This was to be the last that happened for a very long time. :)
The next morning, we moved all my shit from my car to Bob's, and headed out to Lexington to meet with mythfish, kismets_kiss, and gypsykate1890. There all of our bag were moved once again into the van and we loaded up and headed down to Atlanta! The trip there always feels so mch shorter than the trip back. I snoozed for a little, woke up in time for lunch, spent the next couple of hours playing the new Professor Layton game on my DS, and then fell asleep when Bob and Dieter switched driving again and I got to curl up on warm boy in the back seat. When I woke up, the massive skyline of Atlanta was looming over us, and we were almost there! Once at the Hilton we unloaded only to find that the parking lot was full, and we'd have to put it somewhere else. Joy! Luckily, there were spots in the parking garage a block over, for only $4 more than we were expecting. Okay, crisis one averted. So we checked in, and were directed to floor 23, where our room was. 23! Holy crap that's high. We all took pictures out the window (because DUDE! 23rd floor!), changed clothes (I put on my swooshy skirt, and the high-necked, buckled steampunk bodice I bought last year), and headed out to registration to pick up our badges.
Now the first year I went to Dragon*Con, I missed Pre-Registration and had to wait in the Ticketmaster Line. I was waiting in line FOREVER, waitingwaitingwaiting to get my badge. I swore I'd never do it again. So we all get up to the Sheraton, where we discover that all of us did Pre-Registration except for Kate, who would have to go wait in the Ticketmaster Line. After we picked up our badges, we went back to check on her, convinced we would never see her again, when we see that the Ticketmaster line is pretty much dead. Within 5 minutes of us getting there, she had her badge and we were all checked-in! Crisis 2: averted! We split up for dinner, and made plans to meet up at the Bree Party that night.
I love the Bree Party. This year it was my only time that weekend to see Emerald Rose play (I didn't do either the Yule Ball or the Shindig this year), and I really enjoy listening to them and watching the dancing. Everyone just has a fantastic time, and it's very laid back and fun. Plus, only at Dragon*Con will you see Indiana Jones and Link dancing with Hobbits and Elves. :) Bob pulled me up to frolic once, which was totally awesome in my swishy skirt. Around ten-ish, we snuck out to go hang out at the Hard Rock Cafe with jerrysugarav (who has a ridiculous amount of awesome costumes) and friends. After a crazy couple of minutes where we tried to figure out exactly how many people were coming, everyone got seated. I was told I'm too quiet, and just smiled from behind my margarita. After hanging out for a while, we all went back to the Hyatt for a Super Sekrit Midnight Voltaire Concert! And by super sekrit, I mean it wasn't on the official schedule, but anyone who had stopped by his booth or had him friended on facebook/myspace knew about it. Still it was a smaller crowd than we're used to seeing for Mr. "I attract so many people to my concourse shows the Fire Marshall has deemed me a fire hazard and shut us down", and it sort of felt like all request hour, so it was sort of like we were all special enough to have our very own private Voltaire concert. Pretty great way to start a birthday! (It was past midnight at this point, so totally my birthday. So there.)
Next on the Birthday agenda was Abney Park! I loff them. I love the steampunk look, and one day will achieve my very own steampunk outfit of awesomeness. I do like their music, even though sometimes it gets a little too industrial scratchy growly guitars for me. Actually I think I like their acoustic sets better, where I can hear what they're singing, and can pick out a melody. That said, the big show was awesome, all huge beats and growly guitars and one awesome new song that was like a techno/Big Band mashup. It was glorious. I even managed to not get elbowed in the head, despite the best efforts of the guy dancing unrestrainedly next to me. Afterwards, totally exhausted, our band of sleepy airship pirates all curled up in bed and went to sleep, somewhere around 4am.
So my trip really started Thursday, because I had to have everything done in the apartment and the car packed up before I went to work Thursday afternoon. Knowing that all my stuff was in the car and ready to go made for a very long last day of work before Dragon*Con. But I made it, and even managed to put all the crap on my desk into neater piles before I sprinted to the parking lot at 8:01. Then I made my way to capt_amos's house, and despite our excitement we went to bed at a decent hour. This was to be the last that happened for a very long time. :)
The next morning, we moved all my shit from my car to Bob's, and headed out to Lexington to meet with mythfish, kismets_kiss, and gypsykate1890. There all of our bag were moved once again into the van and we loaded up and headed down to Atlanta! The trip there always feels so mch shorter than the trip back. I snoozed for a little, woke up in time for lunch, spent the next couple of hours playing the new Professor Layton game on my DS, and then fell asleep when Bob and Dieter switched driving again and I got to curl up on warm boy in the back seat. When I woke up, the massive skyline of Atlanta was looming over us, and we were almost there! Once at the Hilton we unloaded only to find that the parking lot was full, and we'd have to put it somewhere else. Joy! Luckily, there were spots in the parking garage a block over, for only $4 more than we were expecting. Okay, crisis one averted. So we checked in, and were directed to floor 23, where our room was. 23! Holy crap that's high. We all took pictures out the window (because DUDE! 23rd floor!), changed clothes (I put on my swooshy skirt, and the high-necked, buckled steampunk bodice I bought last year), and headed out to registration to pick up our badges.
Now the first year I went to Dragon*Con, I missed Pre-Registration and had to wait in the Ticketmaster Line. I was waiting in line FOREVER, waitingwaitingwaiting to get my badge. I swore I'd never do it again. So we all get up to the Sheraton, where we discover that all of us did Pre-Registration except for Kate, who would have to go wait in the Ticketmaster Line. After we picked up our badges, we went back to check on her, convinced we would never see her again, when we see that the Ticketmaster line is pretty much dead. Within 5 minutes of us getting there, she had her badge and we were all checked-in! Crisis 2: averted! We split up for dinner, and made plans to meet up at the Bree Party that night.
I love the Bree Party. This year it was my only time that weekend to see Emerald Rose play (I didn't do either the Yule Ball or the Shindig this year), and I really enjoy listening to them and watching the dancing. Everyone just has a fantastic time, and it's very laid back and fun. Plus, only at Dragon*Con will you see Indiana Jones and Link dancing with Hobbits and Elves. :) Bob pulled me up to frolic once, which was totally awesome in my swishy skirt. Around ten-ish, we snuck out to go hang out at the Hard Rock Cafe with jerrysugarav (who has a ridiculous amount of awesome costumes) and friends. After a crazy couple of minutes where we tried to figure out exactly how many people were coming, everyone got seated. I was told I'm too quiet, and just smiled from behind my margarita. After hanging out for a while, we all went back to the Hyatt for a Super Sekrit Midnight Voltaire Concert! And by super sekrit, I mean it wasn't on the official schedule, but anyone who had stopped by his booth or had him friended on facebook/myspace knew about it. Still it was a smaller crowd than we're used to seeing for Mr. "I attract so many people to my concourse shows the Fire Marshall has deemed me a fire hazard and shut us down", and it sort of felt like all request hour, so it was sort of like we were all special enough to have our very own private Voltaire concert. Pretty great way to start a birthday! (It was past midnight at this point, so totally my birthday. So there.)
Next on the Birthday agenda was Abney Park! I loff them. I love the steampunk look, and one day will achieve my very own steampunk outfit of awesomeness. I do like their music, even though sometimes it gets a little too industrial scratchy growly guitars for me. Actually I think I like their acoustic sets better, where I can hear what they're singing, and can pick out a melody. That said, the big show was awesome, all huge beats and growly guitars and one awesome new song that was like a techno/Big Band mashup. It was glorious. I even managed to not get elbowed in the head, despite the best efforts of the guy dancing unrestrainedly next to me. Afterwards, totally exhausted, our band of sleepy airship pirates all curled up in bed and went to sleep, somewhere around 4am.