Dragon*Con Recap....
I'm just hitting the highlights here, since I'm too exhausted to do anything else, and probably won't remember most of it when I'm more awake. So, Dragon*Con....
Thursday - Chaos unloading in front of the Hyatt, but check-in was a breeze. Had dinner at Sway, the new restaurant in the Hyatt lobby. Pricey, but OMG good. Pretty much the best meal of the whole con. Got my badge from Tang while Nigel went to work. Finished up sewing on Applejack's appliques in my hotel room, then crashed.
Friday - Hit the various dealers' rooms the second they opened, since I needed to buy stuff I would be wearing later that day. Picked up a wig from Arda Wigs and pony ears from Yaya. Changed into Steampunk Cinderella for the photoshoot in the Sheraton. It was looooooong. Like three hours straight. By the time we were done, none of us wanted to go anywhere else because we were so tired.
Changed into street clothes to grab a beer and dinner with Corey, then it was on to Applejack. Wandered around for a while and ended up on the 10th floor of the Mariott, then a room party. Drinking occurred, so much of the night was a blur.
Saturday - Slept in and changed into the Ice Fairy. Went to the Mariott and couldn't find the rest of the group, save Linda and Merry. Mariott is not a good place for meetups. We were even on the same floor and couldn't find each other for almost half an hour. Finally met up with everyone else, though by that time, Merry had to leave to go on shift.
Went to the 10th floor for photo shoot minus the Summer Queen. While up there, Nigel ran into one of the Game of Thrones shoots and, as he was dressed as Robert Baratheon, joined in. I went back to the hotel room to rest and prep for the Pan shoot. After a shower and a lot of ironing, was ready for Pan. Two of our group bowed out at the last minute; one because she was too tired, the other because she couldn't get into her room to her costume. Unfortunately, we also lost our photographer, so I ended up taking the majority of the photos for the shoot. Of course, this meant I wasn't in very many of them because it was rare I could hand the camera to someone else to get in the frame.
After that a good number of us went to Hsu's for Chinese food. Also, Christine won her "no speaking for 18 hours" bet and was finally able to talk again halfway through the meal. After that some more drinking, and I dragged about 20 people to the Cabaret. We thought we weren't going to get in, because the room was almost full, but thanks to Ryan, Joe and Linda's sparkling personalities, we managed to make it. The Cabaret was fabulous and I am so glad I went. There were some seriously amazing performers in the show.
After the Cabaret a few of us went to the Freezepop concert that was already in progress and danced until we were all exhausted. Bed happened shortly thereafter.
And, yes, that was all just Saturday.
Sunday - After breakfast, I donned my "Mad Men"-esque dress and went to do my booth shift for Accelerando. Since the game had already been going since Thursday, it was pretty slow. Also, the line for Wil Wheton and Felicia Day blocked most of our booth, so we couldn't see anything and any potential players couldn't see us. After my shift was over, I wasn't feeling too hot, so went back to the room to nap. Woke up a couple hours later weak and extremely sick.
Yup, food poisoning.
I'd eaten about a third of a wrap earlier in the day that tasted a little odd, so I didn't finish it. The only other thing I'd eaten that day was a cookie, so the wrap was the obvious culprit. I spent most of the rest of the night violently ill and the stress of the situation also triggered my asthma.
It sucked. I missed all of the steampunk stuff I'd planned to do that afternoon/evening. I wasn't even mobile until almost 11:30. When I finally felt better, Nigel and I went out to see what people were up to and ended up hanging out on the LARP floor and babysitting a very drunk/ill Tang. I didn't have much left in me, so I pussed out around 2:30 AM.
Monday - After fetching breakfast from the food court, we checked out and loaded our car. Nigel and I hit one of the dealer's rooms before we had to head across town to get the dogs out of hock (i.e. - their kennel, which closed at 2:00). After grabbing some lunch and dropping the dogs at home, we then went back to the con and hit the other two dealers' rooms until they closed. I came away with a reasonably priced pair of black leather bracers for Thora, an Aperture Science t-shirt for both Nigel and I, a bottle cap pendant with a pinup cowgirl on it (hard to explain, you'd have to see it) and, finally, a corset that not only fits, but one whose busk the mighty boobs will hopefully not destroy.
Unfortunately, I missed the art show completely, since it apparently closed an hour earlier than the dealers' rooms. That, the Time Traveler's Ball, and the fact that I didn't go to a single panel this weekend were the things that most disappointed me. I think, next year, I won't be doing as many photoshoots, as they seem to have become prohibitive for me to actually see most of the con.
I am already compiling a list of possible costumes for next year, however, I think I'm going to stick to mostly just roaming around in them and not scheduling big chunks of my days to being in a certain place at a certain time. I haven't narrowed things down, but here's the potential roster for next year (I obviously won't be doing all of these):
Catra - yes, from She-Ra; it's an easy costume, so I don't see why I couldn't do it
Margaery Tyrell - since they've cast Natalie Dormer in the show and I somewhat resemble her... plus I like the character and love that series
Nini's Cancan Dress - from Moulin Rouge; I've been wanting to make this for years, though it would be pricey
Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite - this one's pretty much a given, as I'm tempted to begin working on it in the next few months
Applejack - going to reprise my current costume, but try to add a few more pieces
Steampunk Blue Lantern - possibly for Q's group, we'll have to see how things pan out
Cranach Snow White - from the "historical Disney princesses" artwork, I'm also leaning strongly toward this one
Arkham City Catwoman - I just love her little aviator-style cap with the cat ears and goggles, not completely sold on it, though
Tali - from Mass Effect, this is sort of my dream costume, but money has been prohibitive in the past and may be once again
Wonder Woman - why the hell not?
As usual, I also welcome suggestions. Keep in mind that I'm going to be keeping my hair black, so anything that doesn't require a wig will likely be more strongly considered.
And that's it for now. I'm tired just reading back over everything. I think I definitely need a more low-key (and less sick) con next time around.
Thursday - Chaos unloading in front of the Hyatt, but check-in was a breeze. Had dinner at Sway, the new restaurant in the Hyatt lobby. Pricey, but OMG good. Pretty much the best meal of the whole con. Got my badge from Tang while Nigel went to work. Finished up sewing on Applejack's appliques in my hotel room, then crashed.
Friday - Hit the various dealers' rooms the second they opened, since I needed to buy stuff I would be wearing later that day. Picked up a wig from Arda Wigs and pony ears from Yaya. Changed into Steampunk Cinderella for the photoshoot in the Sheraton. It was looooooong. Like three hours straight. By the time we were done, none of us wanted to go anywhere else because we were so tired.
Changed into street clothes to grab a beer and dinner with Corey, then it was on to Applejack. Wandered around for a while and ended up on the 10th floor of the Mariott, then a room party. Drinking occurred, so much of the night was a blur.
Saturday - Slept in and changed into the Ice Fairy. Went to the Mariott and couldn't find the rest of the group, save Linda and Merry. Mariott is not a good place for meetups. We were even on the same floor and couldn't find each other for almost half an hour. Finally met up with everyone else, though by that time, Merry had to leave to go on shift.
Went to the 10th floor for photo shoot minus the Summer Queen. While up there, Nigel ran into one of the Game of Thrones shoots and, as he was dressed as Robert Baratheon, joined in. I went back to the hotel room to rest and prep for the Pan shoot. After a shower and a lot of ironing, was ready for Pan. Two of our group bowed out at the last minute; one because she was too tired, the other because she couldn't get into her room to her costume. Unfortunately, we also lost our photographer, so I ended up taking the majority of the photos for the shoot. Of course, this meant I wasn't in very many of them because it was rare I could hand the camera to someone else to get in the frame.
After that a good number of us went to Hsu's for Chinese food. Also, Christine won her "no speaking for 18 hours" bet and was finally able to talk again halfway through the meal. After that some more drinking, and I dragged about 20 people to the Cabaret. We thought we weren't going to get in, because the room was almost full, but thanks to Ryan, Joe and Linda's sparkling personalities, we managed to make it. The Cabaret was fabulous and I am so glad I went. There were some seriously amazing performers in the show.
After the Cabaret a few of us went to the Freezepop concert that was already in progress and danced until we were all exhausted. Bed happened shortly thereafter.
And, yes, that was all just Saturday.
Sunday - After breakfast, I donned my "Mad Men"-esque dress and went to do my booth shift for Accelerando. Since the game had already been going since Thursday, it was pretty slow. Also, the line for Wil Wheton and Felicia Day blocked most of our booth, so we couldn't see anything and any potential players couldn't see us. After my shift was over, I wasn't feeling too hot, so went back to the room to nap. Woke up a couple hours later weak and extremely sick.
Yup, food poisoning.
I'd eaten about a third of a wrap earlier in the day that tasted a little odd, so I didn't finish it. The only other thing I'd eaten that day was a cookie, so the wrap was the obvious culprit. I spent most of the rest of the night violently ill and the stress of the situation also triggered my asthma.
It sucked. I missed all of the steampunk stuff I'd planned to do that afternoon/evening. I wasn't even mobile until almost 11:30. When I finally felt better, Nigel and I went out to see what people were up to and ended up hanging out on the LARP floor and babysitting a very drunk/ill Tang. I didn't have much left in me, so I pussed out around 2:30 AM.
Monday - After fetching breakfast from the food court, we checked out and loaded our car. Nigel and I hit one of the dealer's rooms before we had to head across town to get the dogs out of hock (i.e. - their kennel, which closed at 2:00). After grabbing some lunch and dropping the dogs at home, we then went back to the con and hit the other two dealers' rooms until they closed. I came away with a reasonably priced pair of black leather bracers for Thora, an Aperture Science t-shirt for both Nigel and I, a bottle cap pendant with a pinup cowgirl on it (hard to explain, you'd have to see it) and, finally, a corset that not only fits, but one whose busk the mighty boobs will hopefully not destroy.
Unfortunately, I missed the art show completely, since it apparently closed an hour earlier than the dealers' rooms. That, the Time Traveler's Ball, and the fact that I didn't go to a single panel this weekend were the things that most disappointed me. I think, next year, I won't be doing as many photoshoots, as they seem to have become prohibitive for me to actually see most of the con.
I am already compiling a list of possible costumes for next year, however, I think I'm going to stick to mostly just roaming around in them and not scheduling big chunks of my days to being in a certain place at a certain time. I haven't narrowed things down, but here's the potential roster for next year (I obviously won't be doing all of these):
Catra - yes, from She-Ra; it's an easy costume, so I don't see why I couldn't do it
Margaery Tyrell - since they've cast Natalie Dormer in the show and I somewhat resemble her... plus I like the character and love that series
Nini's Cancan Dress - from Moulin Rouge; I've been wanting to make this for years, though it would be pricey
Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite - this one's pretty much a given, as I'm tempted to begin working on it in the next few months
Applejack - going to reprise my current costume, but try to add a few more pieces
Steampunk Blue Lantern - possibly for Q's group, we'll have to see how things pan out
Cranach Snow White - from the "historical Disney princesses" artwork, I'm also leaning strongly toward this one
Arkham City Catwoman - I just love her little aviator-style cap with the cat ears and goggles, not completely sold on it, though
Tali - from Mass Effect, this is sort of my dream costume, but money has been prohibitive in the past and may be once again
Wonder Woman - why the hell not?
As usual, I also welcome suggestions. Keep in mind that I'm going to be keeping my hair black, so anything that doesn't require a wig will likely be more strongly considered.
And that's it for now. I'm tired just reading back over everything. I think I definitely need a more low-key (and less sick) con next time around.