OddCon.. an observation from a Nix-esq perspective
OddCon.. Odyssey Con.. a collaboration of sci-fi/fantasy enthusiasts
I had not really gone to a con for many years, not since my teens in the mid-90's, while waxing nostalgic makes me feel a bit elderly, (an example being the ability to say ' why, back in my day...') it had prepared me, in some manner, what to expect. Sadly, after moving, I had not continued my con-going status. I attended one while in New Hampshire, and sort of attended a couple in the south. While I had not ever attended Dragoncon (the major southern con), it never really appealed to me.. the other cons I did go to seemed to miss that small nuance that the conventions had in the north. The convention I managed to go to in New Hampshire was certainly an enjoyable affair.. but.. then again.. New Hampshire isn't in the south.
What did I expect?
geeks, nerds, and other intelligently blessed persons..
certainly.
gaming.. glorious gaming..
certainly.
long-winded debates concerning anything from hydrogen cars vs. electric.. to hepa-filters and how much D&D 4.0 sucks donkey entrails...
certainly..
(ok, maybe not those exact topics.. but topics along similar lines)
heavy drinking and the bare minimum of sleep..
certainly.
incredibly hot chicks..
certainly..
and.. huzzah.. they were represented here as well.
All of these expectations were met and most were exceeded. I would (and did) give major kudos to the organizers of the entire event. They created a relaxed atmosphere that permeated every corner of the convention, saving it from the hectic neurotic hell it could have been. All of the chair people.. pseudo-chair people.. and other individuals that were so intrinsic to the operation did an amazing job creating the convention and with keeping it running. My previous expeditions into convention going I had done very little to nothing in the way of contributing. I would give a bit of tip at the con-suite (if the food existed), but other than that, I would simply enjoy myself. My few dusty, alcohol fogged, and sleep-deprived memories that I have of my previous conventions, I enjoyed myself thoroughly at those previous conventions.
Yet, I did not hold my previous convention ideas to OddCon since each convention has its own personality. I've been to small conventions, large conventions, and gi-normous conventions and OddCon certainly fell into the 'small' category. Being small isn't a negative, far from it, it usually creates a much more intimate affair since it is the same few hundred people attending over the next few days opposed to the same few thousand.
Through emailing, I had happily volunteered some of my time at the convention. Apparently, I had volunteered allot of my time at the convention.. especially when I am just some schmo off of the street with no connection to the convention. I'm a giver.. if I can do something to help.. I do.. its in my nature. Thus, on Thursday, I drove down to Madison to help start setting stuff up. This set-up started at two, Nix was there at one thirty, and helped out with really minor things for the next few hours when the day was wrapped up with a pre-con party at a local eatery for the guests of honor. The food was a bit pricey, for me, but well worth the cost and the selection of beer, wine, and vodka was impressive. Since I had to drive afterwards, I did not partake of any alcoholic beverage.
Friday snuck around and I headed back down to Madison arriving at 9 30 ish in the morning since the days activities started at ten in the morning. I sat quietly off to the side and read an rpg as others filtered in and settled into their own rooms. I saw one of the top people wandering around looking like she was planning stuff so I ambled on up and waited to be given a list of orders.. I guess I made my hide roll.. and my sneak roll.. cause I surprised everyone and my day was swept up with duties. Nix ran thither.. Nix ran hither.. Nix carried this.. Nix carried that.. Nix ogled a hottie here.. Nix ogled a hottie there.. Nix helped set up the con-suite.. Nix helped set-up the art-show (I excused myself from hanging the artwork.. cause I was nervous about damaging anything as many of the items were stunning).. Nix was being.. well.. Nix.
As things slowly started to come into focus I found out where I was to be sequestered for much of the con, and, at first.. I was less then enthralled since I would be working the con-suite. The con-suite is where con-goers can go for free munchies and drink (non-alcoholic).. now, most cons I have been to the con-suite simply had a few lukewarm sodas and a bowl of chips. So I slid down that way to further figure out what I would be doing for the hours I was scheduled. When I got there it was a controlled chaos, so I set out some more of Nix's triple-chocolate-spice cookies. The dude in charge of the con-suite showed up and I found out that there would be much more than the bowl of chips offered at most conventions. There would be hot dogs, pizza's, two tables of snacks, three coolers of various soda's, a gluten-free dish, a vegan dish.. and Saturday there was even a wider selection. the 'dinner' menu had sloppy-joes, chili, three-bean salad added to the list. At breakfast there were bagels, cream cheese, various specialty breads, fruit, juices, and of course coffee.
Never before had I seen such a wide spread of choices.. it is here that I can say 'why, back in my day..' cause.. I could say, 'why, back in my day.. we had a bowl of potato chips.. and we were happy to get that!’ even though we had dishes that ran the gamut of eating desires.. we still had some that complained that there were not enough of this dining plan.. or that dining plan, but these were few and far between. Mostly, people raved about the quality, quantity, and service.. especially since the entire thing was gratis.
Friday night I attended a party.. drank heavily.. if one considers downing around a gallon of an extremely alcoholic mixture to be 'heavy' (I could still walk.. sort of.. so.. I had not yet hit my 'limit'.. which.. since I'm Irish is the 'I can't walk anymore' stage). At this point.. Nix actually talked to a hot chick. (gasping here in surprise is perfectly expected)..
Now.. I have an odd list of 'hotness'..
and she hit many of them.
geek = hot
smart = hot
gamer = hot
librarian = hot
sadistic = hot
non-tall = hot
sci-fi enthusiast = hot
glasses = hot
red-head = hot
gives me alcohol = hot
laughs at my 'witty banter' = hot (note: witty banter can also be read as 'lame joke')
I'm not sure if she was a sadist, cause that never came up in the conversation, but she pretty much hit every other indicator.
Yet, amazingly.. Nix talked to her. Sadly, I am still a gentle-nix.. even when heavily inebriated. So, I was incapable of actual flirtation.. and while I did ogle a bit.. that was mostly because she wore (like many female gamers) highly revealing clothing but I didn't just stand there and leer at her boobies.
I guess I am also in possession of a Nix-stare.. a stare that drives away wanton behavior from normally-ok dudes that are being slightly inappropriate. I found this out after a dude stuck a phone down into the ample cleavage of the above-mentioned hot chicks friend. Now, I could tell she was very unimpressed with this, and I guess this displeasure spilled over into my visage, cause he quickly skedaddled away and she thanked me. I explained that even though she was very buxom.. that that was no reason to be a jack-ass. She gave me more liquor. People trailed in.. I drank more..
eventually one of the greatest shows was slipped into the DVD player.. Dr. Horribles Sing Along Blog..
at first I felt bad that I was unaware of its existence..
but then I found out that it has come out while I was basically bereft of a real internet connection.
Holy schnikies.. describing Dr. Horrible is beyond impossible..
Eventually I wandered away and snuggled into the back of my pick-up truck.. the previous night I had gotten a sleeping bag, spare pillow, and pad at wal-mart for around 20 bucks and passed out for a few hours.
Saturday rolled around and I awoke with a slight grogginess and dehydration (no major hang-over), and headed into help with the con-suite. The rest of the day was a blur of activity as I zipped around the con-suite cleaning up, filling snack bowls, keeping drinks cold, and cooking up bits of food.
My term in the con-suite ended and I headed out to wander.. eventually snagging a quick nap before heading back into the con-suite for my other shift that day... only to find it in utter chaos. The guy in charge had had to leave for awhile to perform other duties related to the convention and the person who was in there.. let it go to hell. I quickly filled everything up and began to stock the things that were empty, when I was told I was doing it all wrong and it was supposed to be done another way.. Alex (the con-suite guy) showed up and found out that he needed to make a food run, and while the other person was in charge the help that he had had set up.. had left (mostly because the other person was an insufferable ass).. I tagged along with Alex as he ran to get food instead of staying in the con-suite.. basically because the other person was an ass (he completely understood). We got back and soon got everything running smoothly and I stayed over a couple of hours to help him a bit more.
Left there.. went back to a con party.. drank a bit.. watched some robot chicken.. watched Dr. Horrible again.. and then racked out. Sunday.. I was almost in the con-suite the entire day. when the con finally closed down, I stayed to help tear everything down, clean-up, pack-up, etc.. Alex had to scurry away for awhile so he could clean out his own room to avoid the additional fee of late-check out (though they are a little relaxed about it at conventions.. getting down to the front desk a few minutes late isn't the great tragedy it is at other hotels)
By the time he did get back, Karen (one of the convention organizers.. and main 'shopper') and I had almost the entire thing tore down, packed up, and cleaned up. He then had to shuffle off to the closing ceremonies of the convention.. which I would have gone to, but had forgotten about while I was cleaning. At the closing ceremonies people of course cheered the organizers.. the guests of honor.. but, what surprised me was that I was actually named and that I got a very hefty round of applause due to my efforts to help with the con..
which I would have heard..
had I not been helping with the con :-p
I received a healthy amount of free swag.. the main bit being a huge Watchmen poster that was saved especially for me on Friday morning (cause I was being so uber-Nix and helping so much).. all the convention makers thanked me.. as did many of the con-goers.. when the con-suite in general was complimented, Alex mostly past that onto me and the another woman that had volunteered to help out.
While the amount of gaming I got done was basically nil.. and the events I went to were basically nil+1.. I still had an amazing time and plan on going next year, where I hope to volunteer again. It might not be as much as this year since I will have a job.. and I would like a better chance of hitting some of the panels (discussion groups).. but I would happily volunteer the rest of my available time. (and I told them thus..). After everything was shut down.. cleaned up.. put away.. we headed out to the after-con party where I was treated to a free meal. The place was upscale, but not snooty. The prices were high, but reasonable. The food was beyond belief and the serving sizes huge. Alex asked me for my contact info for future gaming-ness.
Even though Madison is Skita-less, and Monkey-less, and Rich-less, and Minx-less, and Naughty-less..
I still think I could be happy here the food is great, the atmosphere isn't achingly stagnant and hypocritical, and the gamers are very open and accepting. Due to the college, Madison is actually progressive (and... hey.. there is even a hundred year old magazine called 'the Progressive' here)..
I have always known how achingly backward that much of Tennessee was. But this weekend truly exposed all that the south lacked. I can completely understand why when people head out to go to school, they rarely ever go back. As I dip more into Madison.. I hope to find further evidence of happy-nix-ness.
but.. here was my schedule
Thursday: 2pm till 5 30pm.. helped with set up
Friday: 10 am till noon.. helped with set up
noon till 5 30.. helped in the con-suite
6pm till 8pm.. helped in the con-suite
Saturday: 10am till 1pm helped in con suite 4 30 pm till
8 30/9pm helped in con-suite
Sunday: 10am till 2pm helped in con-suite
2pm till 5pm helped in tear down
much of these times are a bit speculative.. as I don't wear a watch.. but they are pretty close.. and while I did spend a lot of time in the con-suite, I had an amazingly fun time
www.oddcon.com/index.php (the page does nearly list all of the different shenanigans going on..)
Nix