Atlantis Squee Weekend - a report
The First Annual Atlantis Squee Weekend (FAASW as it has been dubbed here) was wildly successful and the best time you could have without having to actually use your bail money!
A group of like-minded fangirls got together in the sweltering heat of South Carolina bound only by the love of a sci-fi TV show and a handful of characters. Not anymore. The group is now bound by plushie porn, broken BBQ grills, kick-ass jerk marinade, a non-working swimming pool, caffiene, Hot Zone in black and white, a delightful waiter at the local Ruby Tuesdays (who, given a few more days, might have gotten an education he wasn't quite ready for), Blueberry ale (or the lack of it), the horrible, stomach-sinking feeling that you're in the wrong state, great snack food, friendship... AND a sci-fi TV show and a handful of characters.
(see key at bottom of post)
Heh... quite an impressive group, huh? You bet it is. The first thing that struck me was that I was woefully 'under-read' among the group but I'm working to remedy that. Meeting friends that I've interacted with on LJ, whether old friends or new, was quite an experience and one I won't soon forget. This is an amazing group of women and I am better in some way for having met them all.
For me (and this is my squee post after all) what I enjoyed most was the exchange of ideas, hearing some of my own thoughts about John and Rodney and fandom echoed by someone else in a totally doesn't-everyone-see-it-that-like kind of way, and hearing a completely different theory on a point and going, "Hmmmmm, I never thought of it that way."
Story ideas flew, able to traverse the cool, thin air inside with ease. Discussions about episodes, personal squicks, what makes us hit the back button, and what kind of fic we wanted to see made the time disappear much too quickly. Ideas for a new comm were hatched and we discussed the creation of an all-encompassing SGA Fan Awards (more about those later). Brainstorming? Heh, we could show TPTB how it's done! A few times there, I eve forgot that I was a born introvert who normally didn't talk a lot in a group.
Again, for me, some of the discussions were stimulating - almost like an aphrodisiac - showing me over and over that my passion for the show, the McShep pairing, writing, and this awesome fandom is a good thing. They also gave me the nudge I needed to start thinking seriously about the possibility of expanding into original fiction.
Also, I believe the consensus is that Season 1 Rodney is hot like a hot, burning thing and just what the hell did happen to him along the way to Season 5?
So... forgetting the ongoing battle with the hotel's lovely flat screen TVs - that we found out much too late are NOT compatible with conventional DVD players ON PURPOSE... and that I spent a good deal of Squee Weekend on the floor connecting and re-connecting wires and cables... I had the time of my life and I seriously can't wait to do it again. I miss everyone horribly, but have already started a FAASW fund (or is that a SAASW fund). There are tentative plans for a "next year" and I encourage anyone who was only thinking of attending this time to keep that in the back of your mind. As great as this first time was, there's no doubt it will get better and better.
See the other squee posts here, here, and here.
Key to Group Photo: Top - L to R: M.M. Kaye (3rdof4), Dorothy Sayers (sgamadison), Jacqueline Susann (melagan), Marie Curie (kensieg). Bottom - L to R: Mary Shelley (altes_dev), Helen Keller (Nova), Andre Norton (goddess47), Dorothy Parker (mezzo_cammin), Anais Nin (neevebrody)
A group of like-minded fangirls got together in the sweltering heat of South Carolina bound only by the love of a sci-fi TV show and a handful of characters. Not anymore. The group is now bound by plushie porn, broken BBQ grills, kick-ass jerk marinade, a non-working swimming pool, caffiene, Hot Zone in black and white, a delightful waiter at the local Ruby Tuesdays (who, given a few more days, might have gotten an education he wasn't quite ready for), Blueberry ale (or the lack of it), the horrible, stomach-sinking feeling that you're in the wrong state, great snack food, friendship... AND a sci-fi TV show and a handful of characters.
(see key at bottom of post)
Heh... quite an impressive group, huh? You bet it is. The first thing that struck me was that I was woefully 'under-read' among the group but I'm working to remedy that. Meeting friends that I've interacted with on LJ, whether old friends or new, was quite an experience and one I won't soon forget. This is an amazing group of women and I am better in some way for having met them all.
For me (and this is my squee post after all) what I enjoyed most was the exchange of ideas, hearing some of my own thoughts about John and Rodney and fandom echoed by someone else in a totally doesn't-everyone-see-it-that-like kind of way, and hearing a completely different theory on a point and going, "Hmmmmm, I never thought of it that way."
Story ideas flew, able to traverse the cool, thin air inside with ease. Discussions about episodes, personal squicks, what makes us hit the back button, and what kind of fic we wanted to see made the time disappear much too quickly. Ideas for a new comm were hatched and we discussed the creation of an all-encompassing SGA Fan Awards (more about those later). Brainstorming? Heh, we could show TPTB how it's done! A few times there, I eve forgot that I was a born introvert who normally didn't talk a lot in a group.
Again, for me, some of the discussions were stimulating - almost like an aphrodisiac - showing me over and over that my passion for the show, the McShep pairing, writing, and this awesome fandom is a good thing. They also gave me the nudge I needed to start thinking seriously about the possibility of expanding into original fiction.
Also, I believe the consensus is that Season 1 Rodney is hot like a hot, burning thing and just what the hell did happen to him along the way to Season 5?
So... forgetting the ongoing battle with the hotel's lovely flat screen TVs - that we found out much too late are NOT compatible with conventional DVD players ON PURPOSE... and that I spent a good deal of Squee Weekend on the floor connecting and re-connecting wires and cables... I had the time of my life and I seriously can't wait to do it again. I miss everyone horribly, but have already started a FAASW fund (or is that a SAASW fund). There are tentative plans for a "next year" and I encourage anyone who was only thinking of attending this time to keep that in the back of your mind. As great as this first time was, there's no doubt it will get better and better.
See the other squee posts here, here, and here.
Key to Group Photo: Top - L to R: M.M. Kaye (3rdof4), Dorothy Sayers (sgamadison), Jacqueline Susann (melagan), Marie Curie (kensieg). Bottom - L to R: Mary Shelley (altes_dev), Helen Keller (Nova), Andre Norton (goddess47), Dorothy Parker (mezzo_cammin), Anais Nin (neevebrody)